Shopping for swimsuits

Hard to believe that our cross-country trip would include shopping for a swimsuit - particularly in January.  But's that what I was doing several weeks ago, when I found myself in possession of one of those $5 coupons from Kohl's.  (They PAY me to shop!)

I went in thinking that I would find a T shirt or some socks for a couple of bucks, and get out of the store in a few minutes.  But there was a big rack of swimsuits, and it occurred to me that the one I usually take camping had given up the ghost, so I dove in and started trying to find one for the trip.

You see, you have to have a swimsuit for when you need to do your shower/clean up right there at the campsite.  There isn't always a shower in the campground, but we have a solar shower (bag with reflective surface; gets warm enough to shower without screaming) and sometimes you just change into your suit, hang the bag on a tree limb and get sudsy right there at your campsite.  Then you can air dry in your swimsuit and it all works pretty well.  I already have a nice swimsuit, of course, but you don't want to carry a nice swimsuit 10,000 miles.  You need a cheap, lightweight and fast-drying suit - the smaller the better - so that it will be ready to pack up again in the morning. And that's not the type of swimsuit that I would wear on an outing to the beach with my friends!

What's worse than shopping for a swimsuit?  Most women would say "shopping for a swimsuit in January"!  And knowing that looks don't matter all that much, but it does have to fit, and it should be pretty lightweight so as to dry quickly, and easy to get into and out of in a very small tent, while at least covering the basics - well, that eliminates a lot of choices and sort of screams "two piecer" and that means, these days, a bikini.  So there I am, trying on a dozen bikini bottoms, hoping for one that will do the job, and of course these are on sale, so there are no tops to match.  Even that's not too much of an issue for the camp-suit, since it's really only going to be worn under extreme conditions, but still - a girl wants to look good!

I finally found a black bottom that wasn't too skimpy, and figured I could wear it with the brown top from my old suit.  I'll think of it as "two toned."  So, there's one problem solved!  And that leads to the next lesson, I think:

d.  everything you do has something to do with the thing you want to do.