Kukla gets a first time experience
I went camping this weekend. Not my first time camping.
I took a week of vacation. I kind of wanted to go camping, or maybe to Michigan, but there were little obligations that popped up sprinkled through the week, plus the weather was literally hellish until Thursday.
However, once the cold front moved in we were treated to some spectacularly fine weather for camping!
So I paid for two nights at the state park just an hour out of town. It has nice camping spots, excellent trails, and river access. (Among other things.)
I have a separate story to tell about camping on my own, but suffice to say that I have done it, will do it again and I like it. I also like camping with other people, as long as they're not bozos.
As it happened, my friend who had a bunch of family obligations actually came down to camp with me overnight.
This is someone precious to me, a real found-family member. He's also one of my favorite people to camp with.
He brought whiskey. He had just returned from travel abroad and had stories about visiting an Irish distillery. (Some people can afford *nice* vacations, lol.)
And that is how I had a first real experience with an actual hangover.
Those who know me know that while I like to drink sometimes, I'm not a heavy drinker; I prefer to carefully cultivate and manage my buzz. I've had bad mornings after a party, but that was usually simple dehydration and lack of sleep. I wake up like that on a random basis while sober. In fact, I was taught early about how booze affects the body, so I'm actually more likely to be properly hydrated because I trade off while drinking booze.
My friend, who is almost a foot taller than I am, was pouring.
And we got silly and talked into the night.
We went to get into the tent, and the party mood continued. And then I needed *air*.
I was so drunk I'd gone claustrophobic in the tent.
Y'all. I'm not claustrophobic, AFAIK.
He brought me a blanket and I fell asleep (passed out?) on the wooden deck the tent was set up on. I remember that he woke me up and suggested that I go to the bathroom, so he walked me down to the bathrooms. I remember that light fucking HURT.
I went to bed. I woke up groggy at about dawn and needed to pee again, so I struggled up off the ground and stumbled back to the bathroom. Light still hurt.
A neighboring camper woke us up with a crying baby just before 8am.
That's when I knew; this is a hangover. I was extremely uncoordinated. I had a headache, heartburn, and some bouts of nausea. I had a shitty (ha!) case of the runs, too.
And the light was still terrible.
I knew that I wasn't ready for food but I drank water. I dug out my Pepto tablets, which my friend had to open for me. I got in the car and leaned the seat back, put on sunglasses and a hat and slept for another 2-3 hours.
And when I woke up? Felt so much better.
My friend was very apologetic about it. He seemed to think I could keep up with him, and I reminded him that I *usually* drink a booze, then a non-booze. I drink a whiskey drink, I drink a soda drink. I drink a cider drink, I drink a water drink. I polished off my bubbly water early in the night and didn't dig out another beverage.
Yeaaaaah. Hangover is very much bad. Whiskey and I can still be friends but it will be a long distance relationship for a little while.
