a peek inside the fishbowl

We’ve been camping for years, ever since the girls were wee, and as much as I love camping  there is one thing I absolutely dread: packing.

It’s my job to pack up the supplies and coolers (although my kids are responsible for packing their own clothing) and it’s my husband’s job to pack it all in the car. I find my part of camping prep extremely stressful, even though I have been doing it for years and work with lists that I’ve developed over the past decade. It sounds ridiculous, but I am afraid of forgetting something. Crazy right? After all, if I forget something it’s not really a big deal. We aren’t camping in the remote wilderness. It might just mean a trip to Canadian Tire, a general store near the campsite, or worst case scenario… WE DO WITHOUT.

I have forgotten some pretty important things in the past, such as extra tarps (they keep stuff dry), maple syrup (the disappointment when the kids had to eat dry pancakes was positively tragic), cooking utensils (Mark had to fashion a spatula out of tin foil once), and shortening. I feel it keenly when something is forgotten, in fact it makes me feel like a failure when I do. (Sigh.)

So when Ford offered to loan us a vehicle for our annual summer camping trip you can probably imagine how grateful I was. It meant that we’d have tons of extra room and packing would be much easier! Yay!

What I didn’t realize at the time was that we’d wind up with something a little different:

… a brand-spanking new four door Ford F150. And hey – did I mention – I had never driven a pick-up truck before.

As I circled around this truck for the first time I felt slightly worried. But I got over myself soon enough. I realized that This Was Going To Be An Adventure and that I’d be a better person if I mustered the courage to drive something that was a little outside my comfort zone.

This is where I need to remind you (or maybe you knew this already) that we drive a Prius. We bought it in 2010 after thinking long and hard about how (a) what kind of people we are and (b) what kind of vehicular requirements we have. I personally believe that people are better off buying cars they need, not the cars they think they MIGHT NEED. So we decided that 98% of the time we needed our vehicle to help us fetch groceries and library books, and get our family of four from point A to point B in an efficient way. We have no real requirement for roomy seating or extra cargo space… that is, unless we are camping. Packing for a camping trip when the kids were toddlers was relatively easy. We had a smaller tent back then and they didn’t have as much gear. PLUS, we were able to pack duffle bags and sleeping bags under their feet. Well, kids grow. They’re a lot taller now (so no more stuffing things at their feet) and their gear overall takes up more space too.

Anyway, I honestly didn’t know what to expect going into this experience, but I was very pleased with the outcome. First of all, packing was a snap. For a change there was no a tetris-like undertaking of WHAT-FITS-WHERE and I did not hear any moaning or groaning about how much food I was packing.

Mark was happy, as you can see. Everything fit!

The truck bed cover proved to be secure and water tight (we were rained on during the ride down). It’s worth noting that our loaner had a shorter cab – it was about 6ft long instead of 8ft – it was the perfect amount of room for all of our camping gear AND it gave us the added benefit of a lot of extra space on the inside. I had this preconceived notion that we’d be squeezed together like sardines, but nothing could be further from the truth. I couldn’t get over how roomy it was, and neither could my kids. Before we left my youngest pointed out that she could easily sleep in the back seat (which may have come in handy in case of inclement weather, but I wasn’t about to point that out):

Camping is the ultimate road test for this kind of vehicle because we regularly find ourselves in all kinds of different conditions, whether it’s plain ol’ highway driving, backing up between tree stumps, or driving along scary single-lane dirt roads through remote bits of forest (long story – but we did it!):

May I make some personal observations about our experience?

• I was worried about driving the F150 at first but I really didn’t need to be. Ford has excellent safety standards. The vehicle handled really well and was easy to drive too and the cab of the truck was like being in a luxury vehicle. And I have to admit, it felt pretty awesome to be so high up off the road for a change.
• There is much power to be found in the F150. This baby can tow 11,300 lbs (5,126kg). Sadly we had nothing to tow, but we noticed a lot of other F150s on the road towing all kinds of boats and trailers.
• I’m a big fan of the tech. MyFORD Touch makes everything really easy, and syncing the system with my phone (“Call grandma!”) was a snap. Everything is located in the centre column, such as climate control, music, and communications. Here’s a funny thing, the GPS can’t be set if the vehicle is in motion. I understand why, but I couldn’t even set it while Mark was driving.
• The backup camera was a sanity saver… and may have saved a few plastic beach buckets and small trees from getting flattened.
• The F150 cost more to fill up than our Prius (doh) and we suffered a bit of sticker shock at the pump, but I shouldn’t even mention it because it is a very unfair comparison. The F150 has an exceptionally large tank – I think 136L and we took it far – but the fuel economy was better than I had expected. It’s rated 9.0L/100 km (31 mpg) on the highway in case you’re wondering. (Oh, and that visit to the gas station cost almost $170. Our Prius costs about $45 to fill up.)

All in all it was the perfect vehicle for our road trip: extremely comfortable, reliable, and it ferried all of our stuff (and was capable of hauling much more)!

I guess I’m now a fearless pickup truck driver! (Ok. ALMOST fearless. I’d be nervous navigating around a parking garage.) As for packing, I am not sure if I’ll ever be a fearless packer, but I’ve done it enough times to have learned a few tricks that help. Namely:

• Use a list! Keep this list on your computer using an easily finable name (er, like “CAMPING LIST”). Fine tune the list every time you return from your camping trip. It will make your life a lot easier later on. Trust me on this.
• Take it easy. You can always make a spatula out of tin foil if you need to.

Someone here at Casa Fishbowl is starting ninth grade tomorrow. I am pretty excited for her. The parent orientation day took place back in January so I’ve had a few months to get accustomed to the idea. There was a tour of the building, and lots of great information to bring home and consider. The high school experience has come such a long way since I was a student (and my high school was quite progressive and had a some interesting programs that were unheard of elsewhere). I was thrilled to learn about Nepean’s fantastic drama program, their commitment to fitness and athletics… and more.

I sensed that staff at Nepean are passionate about the education and experience of their young charges. I walked away happy that day, but there was one thing gnawed at me, and has been ever since. What about the news stories exposing the froshing and hazing rituals that seem to come out every September?

This all first came to my attention in 2010. I’m not sure whether it was because the stories received so much media attention, or because we live near the school (or maybe it was because we were close to becoming parents of a high school student) but they hit close to home. Here’s an archived news story about it. If you read it, don’t skip over the comments. Some people obviously don’t think it’s a big deal, but I do. And then there was this:

“I entered Nepean High School in 2001, with the double cohort, and a sibling graduating that year. Every single day for three weeks I was egged, beaten, taped to trees, covered in mustard, honeyed and feathered, chased in cars, and shot by paintballs. All of that… Every day. My parents contacted the police and the school, but nothing was done and they were told it was just “kids being kids.” I also had text books stolen the same day I got them, which made me look like a bad student and cost me money to replace.

Some of the comments say students should just “take another route” and kids should have “sense to notice and avoid trouble.” It’s not possible when you’re the 13 year old target running home from groups of ten 18 year olds with cars.

I have rarely spoken of these events, but I have decided to open up in the spirit of saving other young students from going through what I went through.

Hazing was a major problem at Nepean nine years ago, and apparently they still have done little to prevent it.

Thanks Nepean.”

It is worth saying that this happened 2001, but it still breaks my heart. This person has lived with this experience all of their lives. I can’t imagine what it must have been like to be that person. And the example given above is probably (hopefully!) an extreme one, but I don’t think that ANY froshing is acceptable, even something as seemingly innocuous as tossing an egg at someone as they’re riding their bike. (Speaking of which, there’s also this story about a kid being charged for running over another kid’s bike.)

I am certain that Nepean administrators are doing what they can to prevent this from happening, and it’s likely that only a small percentage of the student body is involved. On our orientation day I leaned about something called the FUSE program, which is ultimately about mentoring and building a stronger and more inclusive school community, but the truth is that the admin’s reach can only go so far.

So here’s what I’m going to do.

Tomorrow I will go outside at 3:15 when school lets out. I will take the dog for a walk, making sure that my route includes the streets bordering the school. My plan is to do this until about 4:00. And I’ll bring my phone with me, just in case.

I don’t expect much, but my small hope is that maybe the presence of an adult will help deter any drive-by eggings and provide a small comfort to the young students who will be walking home, hoping they don’t end up taped to a tree.

Will there be froshing this week? I hope that my action will be rendered useless and that nothing happens, but I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. Froshing may be considered tradition in some people’s minds, but in mine it is nothing but bullying, plain and simple, and it’s unacceptable.

What do you think? If you live in Westboro will you please consider taking a stroll around the neighborhood at 3:15? Or perhaps sharing this post with someone who can? Even if you can’t walk, even sitting on your front porch at that time might really help someone. Thank you!

Not pictured: a 4000 gallon fish tank, taxidermy, local beer brewing (and the only female brewmaster in the state!) and more great food including beer-cheese soup and crème brûlée.

Today I am on my way home!