Fires, Festivities and Final Warnings- Memorial Day Weekend 2013

Fires, Festivities and Final Warnings- Memorial Day Weekend 2013
Mohican Country
May 24-26, 2013

So, I met a group of people on Facebook with similar interests, activities and taste in music- we became fast friends!  When it was mentioned that they’d planned an entire weekend of camping out, drinking heavily and floating down the Mohican River, I was in! 

On Friday, Di and I loaded up the Vue with what looked like just about everything we owned and headed toward Mohican Country, near Loudonville, Ohio.  It was an easy drive and we pulled into the Mohican Reservation Campground in the early evening and set up camp.  Joanna and Troy arrived a little while later and we all settled into our spot, made a fire and ate some hot dogs.

We met up with the gang who had the sweetest campsite ever- right on the river- and the party was on!  I’d made a batch of Peach Pie Liqueur to share with the group.  I brought a bottle of tequila for myself.  Di had several bottles of wine.  There were pudding shots and other party treats.  We all settled back by the river to enjoy libations, a roaring campfire and homegrown music. 

Okay, so this group knows how to party and party we did!  So much so that campground security visited the site several times to tell us to pipe it down, stop playing the didgeridoo and hand drums, quit being so unruly.  Most of those times it was good natured with them saying ‘We want you all to have fun- we just can’t have you screaming ’99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall’ at 2:30 am- it is waaayyy past quiet time!’  We did however party ourselves into a final warning and they did seem pretty serious about it. 

It should not go without saying that it was damn cold that weekend- like lows in the 30s cold!  Damn, it was cold!  It was superhard to sleep in a tent what with all the coldness!  But, persevere we did.  We’re tough. 

We chilled for a great amount of Saturday, then decided to rent a raft and paddle an easy 9 miles down the Mohican, which runs through very scenic Ohio countryside.  A lot of other people were out on the river even though it was on the chilly side.  We floated past other campgrounds and waved at the people sitting along the banks of the river.  At one point, we ran into some of the gang kayaking along.  But, the highlight of this paddling adventure was when we ran aground in a shallow part of the river; Jo and I got out to wade our way off the sandbar.  Troy and Di stayed in the raft which quickly floated away from Joanna leaving her stranded in the middle of the river and plowing me right down.  That’s right- I was run over by a river raft!  

Later that afternoon we were busted yet again by campground security- this time for venturing into ‘Authorized Personnel Only’ territory in an attempt to find a secluded spot to chill for a bit.  Same story:  they wanted us to have fun but we could not be climbing, sitting on or otherwise anywhere near the giant pile of wood they have hidden behind the fence.  That’s cool!  We just headed back to the river spot and chilled with everyone back there for the rest of the night.  This evening we kept our shenanigans down to a dull roar and were only approached once, maybe twice by campground security. 

On Sunday morning we awoke, broke down camp and packed up- we were headed for a Loobypham fave- the Utica Old Fashioned Ice Cream Festival in Utica, Ohio.   We usually drive right through Mohican Country on our way to the annual event so our location was very convenient and we enjoyed a quick country drive and were soon at the festival. 

Not one to miss a shopportunity, I quickly made my way to the vender tent I’d seen before even pulling into the parking lot- the tent selling hippie dresses!  LOVE me some hippie dresses!  We made our way around the rest of the festival, checking out classic cars, watching a helicopter arrive, cheering for the toddler tractor-pulling, enjoying huge scoops of ice cream and looking at every tie-dyed hippied out piece of clothing I could get my hands on.  I walked out of there with not one but two hippie dresses.  Di and I enjoyed a leisurely drive back home to rest and recover from our crazy Memorial Day weekend.