This felt like a spontaneous weekend trip even though it was planned out. My friends and I packed up and took off right after work. We hit some traffic leaving the city, but afterwards, it was a smooth ride.

By the time we got there, it was dark, but we set up pretty quick. There was a fire restriction, so we couldn’t have a fire. We had plans to do hot dogs, but our electric griddle wasn’t working. We were okay with eating uncooked hot dogs. We sat down, played a card game, and in the end, we enjoyed stargazing.

Even though a tent was set up, I slept outside looking at the stars. It was pretty awesome. I’ve done outdoor camping plenty of times, but I’ve never slept right out in the wilderness like that. Usually, there’s a little hidden fear of someone or something attacking or biting me. Weirdly enough, this time around I felt completely comfortable being out there. The weather was perfect. The night was perfect. Life has been a bit weird lately, and this nature trip was exactly what I needed to ground myself.

I got up at 6am and went on a short trail. By 7am, the sun was beaming and by 8am, we were packed up and ready to go. Since we couldn’t get the electric griddle to work, we went to Denny’s and had a great breakfast.

By 1 p.m., I was back home. I felt a different kind of peace. Even though I went on a cruise the weekend before, this felt different. Don’t get me wrong, I love my family and our trips, but by the end of them, I need some alone time or time to hang out with friends. Family trips are fun, but they are stressful. It was nice for once just being a passenger princess.