You guys are going to love this. The title of my blog means more then you might believe. It isnt always about the fish you lost, the line that broke, the electronics that failed or the spot that got confiscated by the locals. It can sometimes be the littlest things that can irritate the most. These little nuggets of insanity make me, my wife, and my extended family wonder what the hell Im doing with my life.
Whats it like sleeping in your truck? Well, to put it plain and simple, it sucks. I purchased a camper shell for my truck last summer in preperation for what was to come. Brilliant idea huh? Sleep in your truck, save some money and all is good. Thats fine and dandy until you add in the other bullshit that comes along with it. A camper shell is far from a "conditioned" space. At Toho, it got unseasonably cold the first night I was there, I brought a heater that took me a week to figure out how to use. The damn thing would shut off every few hours so on top of freezing for 30 minutes, sweating for 30 minutes and on and on, I had to continously adjust the thermostat to get the stupid thing to kick back on.
Least we not forget the cost of "camping" at a campsight. My very first night, I spent $25 for the luxury of sleeping in my truck just so I could have an outlet to plug my boat into. To put that into perspective, most cheap hotel rooms are usually $50 or less for a night, if I had had a roomate, it wouldnt have cost a dime more to have a real bed to sleep in. Needless to say, that was the last night I actually payed for a camp sight, after all, the whole point of sleeping in my truck was to save money, paying $25 to do it seemed retarded.
Homelessness. So you dont have a hotel, you dont have a campsight and you dont have an outlet but hey, your saving money! This is where it gets interesting. Your there to fish, so by the time you are done practicing for the day, its getting close to getting dark, thats ok because it makes the stealthiness you need to find an outlet that much easier. Wondering around from hotel to hotel at 10pm is about as frustrating as anything can possibly be and all your looking for is a place to "squat" for 6 or 7 hours. Outlets are not as easy to come by as one might think and the hotels that have them are aware of people like me trying to drop in. Thats where the stealthiness comes in. You absolutely have to look for hotels that are supporting other boats but you dont want one that has too many or you wont get a spot and if you do get a spot, there is a chance someone might complain, forcing the management to check trucks. Also, painting your extension cords black is another great tip, you dont want those bad boys to stand out, it certainly helps with the ninjaness you need.
You find a place to bed down for the night, hopefully its a repeatable pattern and you can make it last a few days. Get your boat plugged in,get your gear ready for the following day, eat a sandwich, pray for wi-fi and TRY to go to sleep. Keep your gun close! I cant lock myself into the bed of my truck so Im a sitting duck for anyone that wants a piece. Out comes Mr. Taurus 9mm. Is this illegal, I dont know but at that point, its hard to care. That sucker is next to my shoes, my phone and my computer ready for war if someone chooses to declare.
Your end goal is to get a good nights sleep, while charging your batteries for the following day and not spend any money. If you accomplish 2/3rds of that then it was a successful venture and saved you a whopping $50.
Showering. So this is just sort of how I am. When I am out of town or out of my environment, I dont usually have to drop the old #2. I dont sweat much so If I havent had to drop the ole duece then I really am not in a dire need for a shower but it obviously becomes an issue at some point. I do end up breaking down and getting a room especially since I have a travelling partner now but even when I didnt, I was getting a room for the days of the tournament regardless. But your their for 5, 6, days before that happens so you have to improvise. Truckstops, locking gas station bathrooms and the such help but its not a substitute for a real shower. My wife actually advocated jumping in the lake? Not my cup o' tea but it wasnt a horrible idea considering the alternative of not showering at all. Whatever it takes right?
You finally get to a hotel, some of these managers are so confusing its crazy. For instance, I get to my hotel on sunday night in Tennessee. I get my boat parked and un-hooked because I need to get up to B.P.S. to get a few things. The manager comes out and tells me that I cant park where I parked because its too close to there loading area and they were affraid someone would hit my trailer. I say fine, hooked back up, moved to another spot where he told me was ok to park and a few minutes later another manager comes out to tell me that my extension cord was in the way. Ok, moved my extension cord. A few hours later, my roomate shows up, parks in the spot that I parked in first. I tell him that the manager is going to make him move. He says, "he told me to park here, I was parked where you are parked now and he told me I had to move because I was taking up too many spots". WTF, he never said a word to either of us the rest of the week, these people I think sometimes just want to think they are important.
Im sure I will think of some more crap to tell you guys but Im typed out...
Later S.T.P.
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