I remember impulsively buying a tent last fall. Aside from setting it up once to check it out, it’s been sitting untouched ever since. The weather turned cold, and I never found the right opportunity to use it. The following weekends were busy with wedding photoshoots (I even ran a red light and lost six points on my license, so I haven’t driven since 😓), then there was a trip abroad, leave adjustments, the New Year, more leave adjustments, my sister starting school, my mom returning home, and days of continuous rain in between. Suddenly, this week was full of sunshine, and the temperature rose to over 20°C, so we decided last Monday to go out this weekend.
Initially, Xiao Pei suggested going to Qiandao Lake, and we even booked a pet-friendly hotel. But later, it didn’t feel that appealing. Then, on Thursday evening, I came across a post about where to go in the Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai area this week, and someone mentioned Haiyan in the comments. I looked it up, and it seemed nice—pet-friendly and not too far in Jiaxing. I tagged Xiao Pei, and she agreed, so we settled on it.
We slept in until past nine on Saturday. While I went to get the car, Xiao Pei prepared everything—washed the fruits, bought sugarcane and some delicious snacks, and brought along the neglected tent. We then drove to our usual breakfast spot, a routine I always look forward to. Xiao Pei would feed me tasty bites while I chewed and steered. 😋
Our first stop was Shenxian Lake. Nearby, vast fields of rapeseed flowers were in full bloom. Potter was thrilled as soon as he got out of the car, exploring freely off the leash—something we hadn’t done much recently due to the spring mating season.
The second stop was a nearby air-raid shelter. We encountered many dogs there, but Potter has been quite temperamental lately, so we kept him on the leash the whole time without slacking.
The third stop was the windmills. There were already many people there, but thankfully, most were concentrated by the sea, and the grassland wasn’t crowded with campers. The nearby sea wasn’t that impressive—not blue at all, nothing compared to Dalian. I guess this is the East China Sea? Anyway, after setting up camp, we hid from the sun in the tent. The delicious snacks tasted even better inside the tent. 😄 This was my first time camping for fun—I’ve only set up military tents before, and that was just to get the job done.
While we were resting, three little dogs arrived next to us—probably a dog owners’ gathering. Potter really wanted to go out, but I knew it wouldn’t end well if he did. 🤯 Many kids came over to look at Potter, probably attracted by his big tail. It was a bit awkward being surrounded in the tent. After eating, we went out for a walk. We met a pair of guys with a female Corgi, but the owner said they didn’t like male dogs. Hahaha… They wanted to take Potter away, but he shamelessly chased after her, sniffing her butt.
I forgot to bring garbage bags, and I was worried Potter might poop, so I went back alone to get them. I also grabbed Potter’s water bowl and water. On the way, I realized I left my phone in the tent. Hesitating, I decided to go find Xiao Pei first. Just then, she called me to bring a power bank, and I got scolded again. 😭 I thought I had just forgotten and wanted to bring the stuff first, trying to be hopeful, but I argued back a bit, got upset, and went back to the tent. I apologized, and Xiao Pei didn’t say anything more. We ate some fruit, rehydrated, and then went out to play Frisbee. I really enjoy it, but Xiao Pei is too lazy to play with me, so Potter and I competed for it—jealous much?
The journey back was smooth sailing.