Sunday, July 4, 2010

Why does there have to be so many people???

Caution: RANT AHEAD Hubby and I decided to take our canoe and go to Pawtuckaway State Park today. We all know what that entails: Find the bathing suit. Locate the beach towels. Pack a bag with those items, plus books, reading glasses, newpaper, etc. Run to the grocery store to get BBQ supplies. Pack drinks, cups, plates, napkins, spatula, etc. Pack cooler with ice, food, etc. 2 hours later, it's time to leave. In our case, we have to make a side-trip to my brother's house (which, of course, is in the opposite direction to where we want to go) to pick up our canoe. The State Park is almost an hour from our home. A few miles before we got there was this sign: Pawtuckaway BEACH CLOSED. WHAHHHHHHHHHT????? We pondered the reason as we continued towards the park. Maybe the water is bad. Maybe they don't have the funding to staff it. Maybe we can still go in and canoe if we don't use the beach. When we got there, we found out the truth. It was FULL! And it had been full since 8:15 am. The State Trooper who was guarding the entrance said they opened at 7:15 am and were full by 8:15 am. And here comes the rant: Why can't I do the things I want to do, when I want to do them? Why does there have to be so many people?? I can't go to the beach in the summertime, unless I want to wait in miles-long lines to pay tolls, get into the beach, and then get out of the beach. And that's if I can find a parking space. I can't go to the opening of a movie, unless I want to wait in line for hours for tickets. I can't go to a concert, because I can't even get tickets. I tried. And the website crashed before I could even get into it. Because there were too many people. I can't go to a major league ball game, because the tickets are too expensive, cause too many people want to go. I can't drive around in my own town on a Saturday, because the traffic is horrendous. Even the backroads are busy, because everyone knows there are too many people on the main roads. I can't go grocery shopping at my local grocery store without planning and plotting to either go very late or very early. If I go at a regular time, I can't find a parking space, and I have to wait in line forever at the cashier. I think you get my drift. By the way......we did go canoeing......at a smaller lake, with no beach for a cookout. We canoed and swam (illegally, at a closed YMCA camp, because the main beach was FULL!) and then came home and had our BBQ in our backyard. It was a nice day, and we had a nice canoe and swim......but I'm still not happy with the amount of people in the world. What are we going to do about it, people??

2 comments:

Kaye said...

Short of mass sterilization, a good dose of the plague or another round of Spanish influenza, I think we're stuck with things the way they are. The planet is overpacked, that's for sure. I suppose you could always move to N. Dakota or Wyoming. Supposedly it's not so populated.

Debbie said...

I hear you, Karen. And the older I get, the less tolerance I have for crowds. There are places I don't even go at all anymore because of how many people are there. You and I need to find a nice, remote place and move there with our families:)