looking back on visiting day, it was everything i said it would be.

and worse.

for starters, the weather was totally uncooperative. it was either raining or misting, so i had to walk around with a sweatshirt hood over my head the whole time. i got to see brother2, check out his bunk, make sure he's been washing (there was no growth on his hands and face, so he's either been swimming or showering), check out his bunk which was neat (read: Sunday morning activity-refold clothing in shelves, make beds, and sweep all garbage out of the bunkhouse) with the assortment of relatives in camp, we had a lot of people to visit, campers and staff alike. this year we sat in the regular dining room (instead of the staff dining room, a privilege that comes with being related to the head of a program in camp) with my mother's siblings, and ate lunch.

after wandering around in the rain, and checking out the spot where my brother checks his voicemail, and where he picks up his faxes, and where he buys his soda, and where he picks up his laundry... (visiting a first time camper, my parents had to do a very thorough visit) we drove to the other side of the world (or so it felt) to visit my sister in her camp. there we met up with both of my uncles at various points, sloshed through the mud and waded through the weeds to see the dilapidated pile of boards that sister2 has been calling home for the past two weeks. having gone to that camp, i was familiar with the graffiti covering every square inch of wall and ceiling, the lack of springs in the bed, and the familiar creak of the floorboards. but sister2 is having fun, so that's what's important.

in general, car rides are not my idea of a fun way to spend quality time with anyone. i get carsick easily, and sister1 is always cold. brother1 likes his music loud-not a good combination, as you can imagine. because the two younger ones weren't present, we weren't subjected to a battle of the ABC game. sister1 decided that she would play "call-out-anything-you-see" but that deteriorated when brother1 started calling "blade of grass, blade of grass, blade of grass..."

the ride back was slightly more subdued as we all were exhausted, hungry, freezing, and sick of traffic. we left the camp at about four pm. a ride that should have taken an hour and change, took almost three. every single bathroom and rest stop in Ferndale, Liberty, Narrowsburg, Monticello, and swan lake, were packed with minivans.

again, I'm not sorry i went to see my siblings. they're both having a great time, and I'm glad for that. it was nice to see all my cousins (though i could have just seen them at home.) and my uncle didn't even yell at me (which is a surprise). but Visiting Day just makes me happy that i only have to "celebrate" it once a year.