Cabin Cleanup Weekend (Finally)...

Some of my favorite memories from growing up are from family trips to my Uncle David and Auntie Lisa's cabin in Calaveras county. We'd usually spend a week there in the Summer. There were actually two cabins - the first, really was cabin like, the second is actually a really nice house. But we still call it the cabin.

I have tons of memories from those trips, and they all blend together so it's hard to remember how old I was. Brian was a movie buff and we filmed the Claws movies on Super 8. We played bumper pool for hours. Uncle Dave designed incredibly elaborate D&D mazes for us. We played innertube water polo at the rec center. I spent a lot of late nights learning how to program in BASIC on an Atari 400. Laurie and I rode the bus out once, too, when we were like 11 and 8. I don't think we'd let Jake do that today, even at 13.

Oh, this is a good one - at the little cabin, when we were all there, Chris, Brian, and I had to sleep outside in a tent. And we often had too much fun at night and slept later than we should have. One morning, Uncle Dave went to the trouble of finding a sound effects record, setting up his monster quadraphonic stereo outside on the deck and blasting us awake with the sound of a chainsaw felling a tree at full volume. It really freaked us out as we thought we would surely die. That was a great trick.

Every year, my Uncle and cousins spent a couple of weekends getting the cabin in shape for the season. I think my Dad went to help sometimes, too. This year, Uncle Dave took ill and couldn't do it all. Fortunately, things look good for him. His bone scan and biopsy were both negative (which is a positive) and he is recovering well from surgery, according to the last update I got from Aunti Lisa. This year, Chris asked if I could come help. So Jake and I took a nice long drive together and spent the weekend on the cabin cleanup. Chris' friend James also came. And, of course, Brian was running the show - evfer since we were little, he's always been "The Director." And like they say, many hands make light work. We got everything done the first day and then had a bunch of fun.

Here's the crew...



Now, cleaning up the cabin is more like vacuuming the forest. The main goal is to get all of the twigs and needles and leaves up for fire safety. This may not sound like a big deal, but we are talking 5000 feet with a lot of tress. The little cabin was in "Big Trees Village," and the new cabin is right nearby. So between Fall, through rough Winters and Spring, a lot of detritus can accumulate on the forest floor. And you have to be careful to get just the dead stuff without hurting the new growth. And it is a good sized lot. So most of the crew raked areas in to piles and then used a wheel barrow to get loads to the trailer to be hauled off to the dump for chipping.

Here's James running a load...



Here's Chris on the phone...



Here's me and Jake working on the poop...



Here's Chris working on his basketball moves. I think he may be on the roids as he is looking a little too yoked for a man his age...



Here's me with rake and shovel. I look a little too tubby for a man my age. But I'm working on it...



Here's Chris on the phone again...



Here's DJ Brian who kept us rocking while we worked. There is nothing like Tool being blasted in the middle of a forest...



Here's a dump load ready to go...



We emptied the trailer and then Chris came along asking if he could help. But we were all done by that point...



Here's Chris complaining about a little blister on his hand. He must have got it from the phone. He's used to talking on a headset, so this weekend was tough on him...



Here's Brian and Delenn...



Here's all of the tools I brought...




I often get grief for taking forever to pack and for "turning corners" when it's time to go. And I do over pack. And yes, I admit, I turn corners. But at some point during a trip, someone is always glad I brought something I packed and it justifies the corner turning. Sometimes it's a band aid. Or the jug of Gatorade. And I used everything I broguht except the stereo because Brian brought his. Oh, and the rubber mallet. That was worthless...



Since there was only one wheel barrow and the rakes were all in use, Jake and I spent worked on the deck, railings, patio furniture, and windows. The rails were covered in bird poop, and there was a lot of dust, leaves, needles, and junk on the deck and patio furniture. And Delenn "helped." Jake and I would finish a window or a chair, and she helped by soaping it up again. You know, in case we missed a spot. We both got pretty frustrated because we finished everything and it was all nice and pretty, but a couple of hours later, more stuff had fallen and you'd think we hadn't done anything. But the windows look nice, and it definitely improved the views from the inside. And the forest is just gonna keep doing it's thing, you know?

Here's what a well manicured forest looks like. You can see Chris on the phone in the background there...



When we were finished, we went to town for pizza. Mountain Mike's is no more, and so we went to Round Table. At least there isn't a Starbucks yet. Delenn was thrilled to get a little side of pineapple for her pizza...



When we got back, Chris and James went to play basketball but Brian's work is never done. He still had to paint some boards that had to be replaced. I sat and kept him company while strumming Uncle Dave's guitar...



Here's the boards Brian had to paint and Chris on the phone. I'm not sure who he was calling all the time...



Brian made us all a fabulous bean soup...



I don't want to get too gross, but let me just say that five guys and bean soup made for a musical and somewhat stinky evening.

That night, we had a massive light saber battle....



It was so fun, we all talked about upgrading to the $100 swords you can buy now. But we had a blast with the less expensive variety. Brian brought like 8 of them, including a little green Yoda sword.

Darth Brian was assaulted by a horde of Jedi...



I think "Jedi" is both singular and plural, like "fish.' But is "horde" the right word? Perhaps a flock of Jedi? A gaggle? A pride? Maybe a Force of Jedi would be best.

Later we played cards, and Chris played with Delenn's Elmo doll. "Elmo loves his goldfish. His crayons, too! That's Elmo's World!"...



The next day, Delenn decided she was a turtle...



And we posed for a Jedi shot...



Now here's the sad part...



The "cabin" is for sale. And I am coming to terms with the fact that we probably won't have another family trip there ever again. We all talked about maybe buying the place to keep it in the family. But Brian got it right when he said, "Do the math, you get ten heads chipping in and for the amount we would use it, you could rent a place alot cheaper." It was perfect for Dave and Lisa as they were teachers and spent their Summer and Winter breaks there. But it wouldn't make sense for us to be able to go once or twice a year.

It's sad to see part of your childhood die, even at 38. And I first had the thought, "You don't appreciate what you have until it's gone." But that's not quite right. I really did appreciate the cabin. It was always there, and something to look forward to. And I always knew I could go back there and feel young again, and, you know, have light saber fights. And Auntie Lisa assures us their new place in Grass Valley is beuatiful, too. It won't be the same, but I'm sure it will be great fun. I'm also really glad that Jake, Delenn, and Serra got to have a few cabin trips. So they will have great childhood memories as well.

In all, it was a lot of hard work in a short amount of time, it was emotional letting go, and as always, we had a lot of fun.

Oh, and here's a closeup of Chris' blister...