I’m finally getting to write properly about our ECT trip in August. We went to ECT for my brother and sister-in-law’s wedding. We left the last Wednesday in August at the “glorious hour” of 3:30 in the morning, to go to the Orlando International Airport and fly to Tennessee for a connecting flight to Newark where we were to pick up a rental car and drive to the ECT location at Camp Netimus.

The flights went fairly well, we had a bit of turbulence landing in Newark which freaked out the munchkin a little because he’d been asleep before the decent and was having problems with his ears, but other than that he did brilliantly with the flying. When we got to Newark was when we had some problems, because there was a mix-up with the rental car. My brother-in-law had arranged the whole trip for us, bought the tickets for the plane, given us the funds to pay to stay at Camp Netimus with them and also as we all, including him, thought pre-paid for us to have the rental car.

However, it turned out he had only reserved the car, not paid for it and if his card was to be billed for the car he would have to be there to pick it up, which was more than a little impossible considering that he was in Staten Island and we were in Newark. They told us that we could have him book the car for us on Hotwire and get it that way IF we were willing to wait three hours. At this point we had been on the go for ten hours with a three year old. We were all exhausted. The crux of the issue was that they wanted a credit card to bill the deposit too, and wouldn’t take a VISA debit card even though I could show them using my Instinct that we had just enough money in our bank account to cover the FULL fee for the car.

Anyway, things sorted out and we did get the car. I nearly had an emotional meltdown in front of the Budget counter and she said that she would take the fee off the debit card “just this once” even though she wasn’t supposed to. So, thanks to the Gods we were finally on the road to ECT.

We made it to the camp before the rest of the family, despite stopping just inside the NJ border to eat at a diner. All of us were marveling at the scenery. It reminded me a lot of England. The mountains, the hills, all the green. The only difference was the fields of corn.

We got to the camp around 4 p.m. and took everything up to our cabin. Everyone we met was extremely friendly despite the fact that we were “outsiders” in a sense, given we had not been to a Gladsheim event before being in Florida, and in hubbie’s case not being a heathen. There were a few rumblings about the “family” showing up which was making some of the heathens a little uneasy, but after we played boomerang toss with Wulf and his family we all felt a bit better with each other, given we clearly weren’t wanting to be a negative influence or spread discord.

We shared evening meal together, but kept out of the opening ritual because we didn’t want the munchkin to disrupt things as he kept trying to take things from people’s stalls. We did help them set up the fire pit that night and shared conversation and mead around the fire before retiring around 10:30 that night.

The cabin was a little uncomfortable at first because we had no pillows or blankets given they we were being brought by my brother-in-law and they didn’t arrive for another hour or so, but we made do, bundling up clothes to be pillows and using towels as blankets. The cabin was actually a pleasant temperature once night fell not too cold, not boiling hot as it would have been here in Florida.

SIL, BIL and nephew arrived and we greeted each other, and then all went to bed with the sleeping bags and pillows they’d brought. Munchkin roused early the next morning, just after six, and I surprised myself being able to get up with him without too much stiffness. I took him out of the cabin to wander around the camp and explore where the amenities and things were.

That is the view from the top of the hill where our cabin was, looking down towards the pavilion (where the wedding would be held) and the dining hall.

That’s looking back up towards our cabin from the same point.

We met a few other people who were also early risers and chit-chatted about zombie apocalypses, and then saw SIL had also risen and went up to meet her and get the rest of the family up for breakfast, and then check out the vendors.

After that we went into town to get supplies that we hadn’t been able to pick up the day before because after doing the debit for the car we only had about $2 in the bank and the $30 I had in cash. Thankfully I got paid on the Thursday and hubbie was going to get paid on the Friday, and BIL had the cash to give us for the car given he thought he’d paid for it in the first place. So, we were able to pick up a few things that we hadn’t been able to bring an excess of like diapers and bottled water, and flip-flops for the shower. I also picked us up a couple of thicker shirts for the night time things more suited to the Pennsylvania weather.

We saw an old-fashioned diner on the drive out there and decided to eat lunch there. It was very neat. The diner had been built in the 1950s and was all stainless steel and glass. A very neat experience. I took a few pictures and the munchkin asked to take some as well, so we had a goof around with the camera on my cell phone for a little while, which was neat. I realized it was the most relaxed I’ve felt in a very long time.

The munchkin took that one.

and those hubbie took. I realize now that we did A LOT that Thursday.

We participated in a Freyr blot for health and fertility that morning, which was a great experience. Everyone welcomed us to the circle and even the munchkin started to participate with the, “Hail, Frey!” which amused everyone.

In the afternoon we went on a walk with nephew up the hill away from camp and into nature. The woods were amazing. We saw a lot of neat things, including another fire pit and an obstacle course, as well as fallen trees and rivers, and real moss.

I came back from the walk early but the rest of the family soon followed. I was talking to some of the vendors. Then when BIL and SIL came back from picking up chairs and things for the wedding celebration the next day we hung out by the swings playing with some of the other children. The munchkin made some friends.

They took him to play at a stage nearby and BIL and SIL tried to teach us how to growl like a heathen for part of the wedding ceremony, before we had dinner and D went with nephew to a “Heathen Hold’em” tournament, while SIL and I folded a wove the programs together for the wedding ceremony.

Hubbie came back with the news he’d come second in the poker tournament, and we all flaked out, ready to finish preparations the next day for the wedding that evening.