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Lifestyle

How To Survive Camping at a Country Music Festival Without a Grill

This article is written by a student writer from the Spoon University at St. John’s chapter.

Finals ended, the sun was out, and I was on my way to kick off summer by camping at a three-day country music festival called Taste of Country. I packed the car, threw food in the coolers, and pretended to know how to pitch a tent. But after the concert, I ran into a little trouble… 

The Wildebeests are Wild and Hungry 

country music festival wine beer
Nicole Gallina

The next morning, I woke up to the pitter-patter of rain hitting the tent. After a windy and rainy night of camping, I emerged from our tent looking somewhat like wildebeest, ready to get a little mud on my boots. The smell of crisp bacon carried through the breeze from surrounding tents I realized how hungry I was.

I whipped out my brand new George Foreman grill, while my friends prepped the waffles and bacon. It was then that the worst thing happened; there was no sizzle on the grill. The green light never turned on to symbolize the cooking of what could have been, our delicious breakfast.

country music festival tea coffee
Nicole Gallina

After a few frantic minutes we knew we were out of luck. We looked at each other in despair while “Friends in Low Places” played idly in the background. Just like that the smell of bacon became a long lost dream and the smell in the air was just taunting us. When the rain picked up again we decided to retreat to our car with all that we had left….one box of cheerios. With our box of cheerios and a nice cold can, we sat there playing catch phrase and made the best of an unfortunate yet unforgettable morning. 

toxic friendship beer pizza
Nicole Gallina

The wildebeests that had earlier emerged from their tent had transformed into smiling gals in their matching American flag bikinis ready for the day to really start. Even though we had to spend money on every meal at the festival in-between sets, our smiles never faded. As we sat on the sky ride that carried us across the festival, we were already planning bigger and better things for next summer. 

Nicole Gallina

St. John’s '19

Nicole is always seeking out new adventures and pushing her limits. Whether she's hiking on a forest trail that leads to a hidden waterfall, riding a zip line, or simply tasting her way through a food truck festival, a day spent with Nicole is a day you'll never forget. the word boring is not in her vocabulary. Tag along for a journey full of unique destinations and delicious meals.