Knitting; And More Pennsic Thoughts

I have been getting so much done this week. I'm not sure what the difference is, since I've also had to work over several days this week, but ... whatever, I'm happy. I've been getting stuff done around the house, and knitting. The right front of the cardigan is almost done! I could have finished it last night, but got sucked into watching the 'mid-season finale' of Ghost Hunters, and put the knitting down so I wouldn't make a mistake. (It was a good episode, too; wise choice not to knit during it).

Since deciding at the last minute to pre-reg for Pennsic after all, I've been doing a lot of thinking about that. There just doesn't seem to be any way to make Pennsic easy anymore. When I used to camp with another group, someone else was responsible for all the 'group camp' stuff - hauling it there, hauling it home, cleaning and repair, storing it. I did my part - I helped with setup and tear-down, but other than some work at the beginning and end of Pennsic, I was free to enjoy myself, and only had my own stuff to worry about getting there and back.

When I got together with my boyfriend it was a whole different story. He has his own camp, so I inherited all the stuff that goes with it, including responsibility for packing and hauling it there and back, sorting and storing it all at home.

It takes enough of one's own personal stuff to make a nice Pennsic - not just the usual and expected camp stuff- tent, bedding, clothing, cooler, food, and beverages, but all the extras that go with an SCA event: garb accouterment (belts, hats, pouches, scarves, baskets, etc.), decor (lanterns, poles, tikis, fuel, candles, banners, etc.). Then there's 'something to do for a week' - an important aspect to me, as due to the heat I rarely leave camp during the day: books, knitting, embroidery, a guitar, other stuff to keep me amused and entertained.

Now multiply that by two, because since we have always gone together, there's my stuff and Greg's stuff to get there and back.

Then add in all the group camp stuff, and it gets crazy insane: a common pavilion, tables for that; a kitchen pavilion (currently a huge carport), including another table, shelves, camp stove, propane, pots and pans, utensils, some way to wash dishes, a camp shower (the portable shower stall, the pump & tubing, water hoses), and all the group decor and things to make it comfortable and safe - sheet walls; lanterns, candles, and fuel; various ropes, tiedowns, and stakes; extra chairs; tools ... etc., etc, ad nauseam.

This is a lot of stuff for two people to be responsible for. Especially with only an SUV and a small pickup truck with a cap. And it's what's been making my passion for Pennsic wane over the past few years. I don't like having to put this much work into my vacation. Greg had a good point when we were talking about this recently: you need basically the same things whether your camp has 4 people or 24. We happen to have a very small camp, with other people who do not have the means to either haul or store the stuff themselves - so it falls all on me and Greg. If we had a larger camp, we might have more help, but we'd also have the hassles of a large camp - the personality clashes, the organization, and the land issue - with more people and a larger camp, we'd probably get thrown out of our current spot, where Greg's had his camp for umpteen years. So a small camp has its perks, but it also has it's downfalls when it comes to handling all the stuff. It would make it enormously easier if we had a trailer, but we haven't been able to afford one.

I don't like all the extra work. I liked the old days when I was only responsible for myself. Lazy? Eh, whatever. It is my vacation too, and I'm not inclined to work quite that hard on my vacation. I know if I had to have my own camp, I'd find a way to simplify things, whatever it took - I'd never haul and store this much stuff if I had a choice.

I know a lot of people put far more work than this into their camps, some people building entire things on site even. But one thing that makes a huge difference - they, and my boyfriend, are usually there for the whole two weeks. I am only ever there for one week. I've said before, if I could be there for the entire two weeks, the work involved might seem more proportionate to the time I get to enjoy the fruits of my labors.

This year's different all the way around. When I decided at the last minute to pre-reg, I only had a vague idea that I might drift in and out of Pennsic over the week, maybe going out for a night or two, then coming home for a couple days. Doing it that way, I wouldn't have needed to take a lot of stuff - just garb for the day(s) I was there, maybe a little bit of food, and one knitting project or book. I wouldn't be using any group stuff (kitchen, shower). I thought I might not even set up a tent, as for the few nights I'd be there I figured I could crash in Greg's tent. (Why we don't use the same tent even though we live together at home is a whole 'nother story - several of them, in fact).

I told Greg up front that if I went, due to limited time and the fact that I wouldn't be using any group stuff, I wouldn't be helping with hauling stuff there or back, setting up, or tearing down, and asked if he would mind my pre-regging with the camp, knowing that. (There is something in it for them - they get the extra land, for each person pre-regged you get something like 250 square feet of additional land). He said no problem.

But then the complications set in. Like dating or having kids, I began to forget all the bad and only remember the good of Pennsic, and began to talk myself into maybe going for the whole week after all. At first I thought I'd be as minimalist as possible, and started a 'new, improved Pennsic packing list' which was only about a half a page long. Then of course it grew, and now it's up to the usual two pages.

Sigh.

So I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I know if I end up setting up a tent for the whole week, and plan to use any group stuff (like the shower), I will have to find time and a way to help with at least some of the set up and tear down. And inevitable hauling of crap. Which means I'm most of the way back to what I wanted to avoid. But unless I can pry myself away from going at all (which doesn't look likely), I don't see any way out of it.

Pennsic - it was the best of times, it was the worst of times. We've got to find a better way to do this, one of these years.