Camping.

It's getting to the campsite, which starts out as a nearly empty plot of land, consisting only of a picnic table and fire pit. It's making that place your temporary home.

It's taking a while to set up the tent, and then throwing everything inside of it. It's making sure the zipper is always shut so bugs don't get in. It's not touching the sides of the tent at night, because the condensation seeps through. It's waking up cold and stiff.

It's smelling of smoke all the time. It's sitting around at night talking to friends of which only orange faces can be seen from the fire. It's roasting marshmallows, and the chaos of making S'mores. It's eating too many, because they taste so good.

It's biking to every location. It's having aches in your groin from newness of sitting on a bicycle seat. It's deciding not to shower because you're going to go swimming later. It's playing beach volleyball with strangers. It's having a picnic by the river. It's wading downstream in water that is just deep enough for the need to hold your shorts up above your thighs.

It's deciding to bike 13 miles with a friend, instead of taking a car like everyone else...just to see a Fire Observation Tower. It's going the wrong way on a One Way, because the path is shorter. It's getting there earlier than those who drove in the car, and walking with your friend, just talking. It's seeing a deer, and becoming silent and still for long moments until it finally moves on. It's having long conversations about life and destinations.

It's eating food whenever you want. It's making dinner for a hungry group. It's alternating dish duty. It's finding creative ways to make clean-up as simple as possible. It's bringing too much food along on the trip. It's making sure the scraps and leftovers are put inside the car, so the bears don't infest the site at night. It's having soggy bread because the ice in the cooler melted.

It's hanging wet clothes on a line. It's having a raccoon visit the site, and naming it Sharon. It's going on spontaneous adventures. It's losing track of time.

It's having a small sight range at night because you can only see what your flashlight illuminates. It's getting warned by the Patrols that quiet time began at 10:00. It's finding out new things about people you thought you knew everything about.

It's being exhausted, but wanting to make the most of the day.  It's cramming everyone into one tent and playing UNO while it rains.It's being giggly from lack of sleep.  It's finally calling it a night, and taking half an hour to get settled into bed. It's having a conversation in the dark. It's staying up late because you have just one more story to tell.

It's waking up early because of the sun. It's realizing you're freezing and not wanting to get up, but having to pee.

It's getting packed up, and not understanding how all that stuff fit before but doesn't now. It's leaving the campsite, and feeling sentimental as if it really was your home. It's driving with a garbage bag hanging out the window until you get to the dumpster. It's making pit stops on the way home, stopping in a small town to play mini golf, and at a giant souvenir shop.

It's having a road trip. It's the wind blowing your hair every direction because all four windows are down. It's blasting music and obnoxiously singing along. It's eating Oreos and chips, even though you had lunch recently. It's being ready to go home, but not wanting it to be over.

It was three days, yet I feel as if it lasted a moment.
It was three days, yet I feel as if it lasted the whole summer.

I just really loved it. That's all.