I read the sign: "Obdinoha Park 10 miles." Ah, it was good to be back. This would be my second time here. The first time was almost exactly a year ago. Once was enough to make it my favorite place to get away. It was a bit too cold for the masses to be out camping, and although the fishing wasn't great this time of year, I'd prefer the crappy fishing season over the crowds.
I was very excited, not just because of the park, but because Micah was meeting me there. Micah and I were best friends back in high school, since we were both 16. Now, we're both 20 in our sophomore years in college. We went to different colleges pretty far away from each other. Last year, we decided to meet about half between us and camp at Obdinoha Park and make a long weekend of it, skipping Friday and Monday classes. It's about a 6 hour drive for me, about 5 for him. It was the only time I got to see him since we left for college. Neither of us went back home much, and if we did, our timing was off. He had his summer business internships and I had my summer doctor-shadowing for my pre-med program. We still kept in touch via phone and IM conversations, so that was nice. I missed him, though. I guess at some point we decided to make this a yearly thing. I pulled up to the camp site. I got out of the car and stared at the beautiful scenery. The camp sites are on a hill overlooking the lake, so it's a nice view, but you can't pitch your tent directly next to the lake, though. There is a heavily wooded area separating the camp sites from the lake, with just a small walking trail connecting the two. Luckily, just like last year, we practically had the camp sites to ourselves.
It was starting to get late. I figured I would set up the tent while I waited for Micah. I was a much bigger camper than Micah, while he was the fisher. The deal was that I brought the camping equipment (minus his sleeping bag), while he brought the fishing equipment. I pulled out the tent from my car and began to set it up. It was a nice-sized family tent that could uncomfortably sleep 5, but comfortably sleep about 3. Luckily, it was just us two, so we'd have plenty of room.
I had grabbed my sleeping bag and threw it into the erected tent just as I heard Micah's pickup on the gravel road. I turned around as he pulled around the corner out from behind the trees. I walked towards the road as he pulled up next to my car. He barely had time to turn off the engine before he jumped out of his pickup and ran towards me. He gave me a big bear hug, lifting me off of the ground.
"Hi to you too," I said.
"How's my Ryan doing?" He put me back on the ground. He was never afraid of showing his affection to me as a friend.
"Oh, you know, you know."
"Yeah, well there's only a little more than an hour of sunlight left," he said looking up at the sky. "Let's get in some fishing in while we still can." He ran back out to his pickup and rummaged through his stuff. He grabbed two fishing rods and a mini tackle box out of the bed of the truck. He left everything else in the bed.
"Don't you wanna unload your stuff and put it in the tent? My bag's still in my car, too" I asked.
"No, man, we can do that later. Let's fish!"
"Ok." He handed me a fishing rod, and we trotted down the little trail towards the lake.
About an hour later, we were still at the lake. It was almost dark, and it was starting to get really cold. We would pack it in within a half-hour or so. Micah had caught a few small fish, but had to throw them back. I didn't even have that much of luck, as usual.
"So... How you coping, man?" Micah started.
"Well you know how it goes. The long-distance thing was just too hard. Marissa brought it up, but I was thinking the same thing, too. I guess even after two and a half years, our bond just wasn't strong enough." I responded.
"Well, you're still young. And you've been dating her since high school. You're in your prime... You should check out the other fish in the sea, no pun intended." He always had a different way of viewing things.
"Yeah, I guess," I scoffed. I knew he was right, though. "I'm just worried about getting back in the game, you know. Plus, its not like I can catch a girl's attention like you can." I definitely don't have the best self-esteem. I have classic dark hair and light brown eyes, but I am about 5'7, slightly pudgy, thanks to the freshman 15. Micah, on the other hand, was quite the player. Never had a serious girlfriend, although he is a charmer, and I knew about a few girls he had taken to bed. He was just under 6 feet tall and definitely kept up his physique more than I did. His light brown hair and boyish looks kept him busy with the ladies, that's for sure.
"Well, I'd do ya." He chuckled. Then the awkward silence. How do I respond to something like that? Even though we had been friends for 6 years, he always kept me on my toes. Always some kind of crazy joke out of nowhere.
A loud boom broke the silence. Startled, we both jumped in the air. We turned around and saw the sky. It was the loudest thunderstrike I had heard in a while.
"Where the hell did that come from?" Micah yelled. Apparently, some ominous storm clouds creeped up behind us. The darkening sky had prevented us from seeing the black clouds. We both felt the cold wind drop the temperature several degrees. We looked at each other in shock... Then it happened. A torrential downpour started before we even had time to pack up our stuff.
"Shit! Grab what you can and leave the rest!" Micah commanded. I grabbed my fishing pole and ran for the trail. Micah was just on my tail. Even the thick cover of the trees over the trail wasn't enough to keep us from getting drenched. As we got closer to the top of the hill, the ground became muddier, bogging us down with every step. Finally we reached the campsite.
"Shit! My sleeping bag and bag with my clothes were in my truck bed. They're going to be soaked!"
