Catching up after several days afk. Pinecrest camping trip was a welcome break from tech. Forced by circumstances I relished doing nothing for as much time as I could. Tommy opt'd to stay w/his friends at their campground over ours and that was fine with me. Lauren and I enjoyed the spacious tent. Air Mattress worked great, far better than any other option so far. New sleeping bags also proved effective, one more than the other so return and swap already initiated for next time. I enjoyed our 4.5m walk around the lake but it also tested my stamina and then some. Still, after resting up we hit the lake on a kayak. And did it over again the next day, too. (Kayak, not hike). We made efforts to hang with Tommy but most of the time he was pretty much in the 'friends zone' w/Karl and Gavin and as stated before, fine by me. I support that as it's how I would have played it at 16. Lauren kicked ass at starting the fire herself without my help, and she's looking to go camping w/her friend soon for some solo time this summer and I'll work w/her to find something close by that she can hit for a few days. It's great recognizing her growing independence, but I routinely have to remind myself having to stop trying to intervene. She's fully capable. We took a great drive past PC and Strawberry and towards the Sonora Pass but had to stop when I realized I was at a modest risk of not finding fuel stations to refill and return… so we'll have to try again next time. She/I returned yesterday afternoon, dropped her at her mom's and caught up w/Jen while unpacking and getting ready for the work day ahead. Great night's sleep last night, much needed, good work day and great PM 5 way card game w/friends. Setting up a bi-weekly schedule to expand to the extended "big dogs" crew next week. Ended the day watching some fascinating and enlightening documentaries about 'corporate media' and the scope of control being exerted by corporations on the communications industry. It's pretty eye opening and obvious once you look at it, but the powers that be are not necessarily focused on people over profit. I'm enjoying working w/Jen to find reliable data sources and defensible positions, especially after her mom's issues w/what she called Liberal Media, when that's certainly not what the mainstream media is, at all. It's good to be more informed, but I wish I had more insight at a younger age.