Camping at Pocahontas State Park

"Spring Camping"

349 pieces  |  Area X: AX0103

Assembled by Vanessa Reyes, June 2025

Interaction Rating: 3 / 5 (interaction with the set is okay, but only with help from an adult)

March 29-31, 2024

The spring of 2024 wasn't an easy time for the couple. Sarah was experiencing extreme stress at her job due to a toxic work culture, and they'd recently discovered mold in the house that was making Sarah ill (we're talking brain inflammation, or what Sarah's doctor called "reversible brain damage"). The mold cost around $15,000 to remediate, and after that, the couple, along with Sarah's mom, Bonnie, had to sterilize the entire house. Sterilizing is different from cleaning. It involved fogging each room with special chemicals that caused the mold spores to drop out of the air and onto a surface, and then they had to clean every single surface in every single room of their house. Wash every single piece of fabric. Clean every single book and knick-knack with a microfiber cloth. Scrub every wall, door, window, ceiling, and vacuum every floor. Wash every dish. It was EXHAUSTING. They were all working full-time and just trying to clean during every spare moment they had. For the better part of a month, the couple wasn't even sleeping in their bedroom because they hadn't had a chance to sterilize it yet. So they were experiencing just a little bit of stress during this time.

By the end of March, they still weren't sleeping in their own bed, but decided to get out of the house for a weekend and immerse themselves in nature to relax and reset. They chose to stay close to home by camping at Pocahontas State Park, about 25 minutes away (which ended up being helpful when Sarah realized she forgot some of her food at home). It was two and a half days of reading a good novel for Sarah, and playing with fire and big sticks for Hunter. They came back home to a house still in need of more cleaning, but the camping trip helped them regain the energy they needed to finish the job. By the following weekend, they were sleeping in their bed again.

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Hunter accidentally re-enacting the crucifixion, and Sarah enjoying a good novel among the trees.

Hunter misses this tent that they briefly owned, which allowed him to stand upright inside. Alas, the rain fly didn't fit properly, so it was returned to REI after the camping trip. It was glorious while it lasted.