I am camping for the next few nights. Just a regular camping trip. Not a festival this time. My friend had vacation time and needed to get away so I volunteered to do a roadtrip with him. 

His roommate was suggesting places for us to go. He kept telling my friend of campgrounds that had great bars.  “Um, she doesn’t drink.” What is she looking for in a campground?  Seriously? Even in my drinking days, I don’t think I would have picked a campground based on the bars? How about warm showers!  Nearby hikes?

I thought it was cute my friend kept defending my non -drinking to his roommate. Also, sort of a shame that he had to.  “Did she ever drink?”

“Oh yea!” as he nodded his head intensely. “She drank A LOT!”

“Did she ever smoke?” My friend asked me if I did.  I told him only when drunk.  He then remembers me bumming cigarettes from him but never inhaling.  He said he used to always yell at me for that.

I asked does this mean his friend things I am some goody two-shoes. No,  he is just trying to understand me.  Why not ask if I ever did heroin or meth? I am odd for not doing any drugs?  I have a coffee addiction.  Does that make me human?

When picking up food, I told my friend to get beer if he wants.  I joked I will get bottles of root beer. “I thought you have up soda also? ”
“Um,  how about I only give up Coke and Pepsi products?” But no root beer. I got ice tea. If there were other people with us and we had plans to spend lots of time around a campfire,  I would have got those root beer bottles to blend in.

We went out to eat out first night because we were too lazy to cook. Only place open late in this small town was a bar.  I had a great burger. It was two-for- one beers. It is amazing how no one cares or bothers me that I don’t drink in a bar.  Not sure if they assume it is cause I am driving or they really just don’t care. He had four. I told him keep drinking so the mosquitoes well be more attracted to him and leave me alone.

We talked a lot during dinner about relationships and drinking.  I need to bring my “drinking journal” with me to jot down my drinking mistakes as they come up in conversations. Sometimes I get worried if I can keep this blog going daily. Then I am reminded of another drunk time and I think “oh yea… I will have 365 mistakes by January.” Just not sure if I can always try to relate them to whatever is the topic from that day.  For example, I can not think of any drunk mistakes related to camping. But the memory might come back to me in a few months.

He started a campfire when we got back to our site.  I was super tired.  I went to bed.  He stayed up about two hours later night fishing.  He smelled like beer when he finally crawled in the tent. That is such an unattractive smell. I used to stink like that?

Mistake 128- I was traveling India and staying with a local family.  I was in Kerala and the family was a man,  his wife,  and their adorable 8 year old daughter. We had a French couple over.  We were all having a good time on their rooftop porch. There was a festival going on.  We enjoyed fireworks and drinks.

The French couple left.  The wife and daughter went to bed.  The Indian father and I stayed up drinking.  I was drinking Old Monk and Coke. It is a very sweet Indian rum. He was drinking whiskey.

I sort of remember him kissing me.  I pushed him off. He kept trying to kiss me more. I don’t remember much more. I blacked out.  I mentioned it to a friend a week later “I think that guy kissed me?” He laughed “if you think it happened,  it probably did.”

Anything more happen? I have no idea.  I woke up the next day on the couch on the rooftop porch covered in mosquito bites. I passed out in a long Indian skirt and short sleeve top. I went to the guest room, grabbed my bag, and left without saying bye.

The father emailed me a few times asking me if I was coming back through town. He kept making comments on my Facebook photos and “liking” everything I posted. I eventually just deleted his friend link. Years later, I still do not know what happened that night except I got eaten by mosquitoes.