Just asking

So I've been gone on a little vacation. I didn't want to put it out on the internet because some bad person might read about it and break into my house and steal some expensive cheese or one of my spotted cats. I don't think there's anything else of real value there except the house itself.

Although we're supposed to be not going anywhere this summer so we can stay home and work on our house, we slunk out of town for a few days at Berkeley Tuolumne Camp, up toward Yosemite on the south fork of the Tuolumne River. It's sort of like camping for really lazy people.

An organized camp is a funny place for someone like me to go to because I like to cook on a camp stove, love my tent, and particularly abhor activities. But that's just me. Husband and Sophie are delighted to scurry off to archery, tie- dye, and basket making. What I love about this camp is that there is no pressure whatsoever to participate in any reindeer games. It is just fine that showing up to three meals a day is all the group activity they get out of me.

But that doesn't mean I am idle at camp. I'm really very busy.

I spend a lot of time reading by the river. Sometimes I sit by the swimming hole and watch people jump off a big rock, but these days I'm more inclined to take my chair down to the less-populated Lower Beach for a little quality me time: Beach, book, and beer.

I also spend a little quality time with the Husband. We took a nice long hike up to an old quarry area above camp one morning.

After lunch is quiet time, when you need to be in your tent cabin or out of camp. (This is when they clean the bathrooms.) We usually beat it up to Small Falls, up the river. No pictures past this evidence of civilization because it's where we leave clothes and swim up the rest of the way. The water was really cold.

But by far my favorite thing to do at camp is TAKE A SHOWER. For several reasons. I get really hot, sweaty, and dusty. But really, it's all about the showers themselves. We call them "the stone showers."

They're all crafted from local river rocks. I love the irregular shapes and gently tumbled edges

And the ceiling cannot be beat.

I have long been a fan of open-air showers. We have one on our back patio so we can rinse off before getting in our hot tub and can avoid steaming up our bathroom when the weather is warm. What I wondered this year is whether there is any reason I cannot have a stone shower at home. Husband is a general contractor and can build, design, or fix just about anything. He has already plumbed a hot water shower out to the back. Why can he not add a stone surround to a couple sides of it?

Can you think of

a single

just one single

reason why not?

Well, fine. So can I. In the meantime my memories will have to serve.

One time, at Camp Toulemne . . .