assumptions and expectations

There's a fine line between an assumption and an expectation. I expect the sun to come out tomorrow. I expect my car to turn on in the morning if I put gas in it and kept up with regular maintainence. If I thought I wouldn't like someone before I even meet him, I would be making an assumption. If I read some Internet gossip and believe it to be true with no other basis, that would be an assumption. Assumption, which in this case means "something taken for granted," has a more negative connotation than expectation.

I expected my twenty-five-dollar tent to hold up in case of rain, after making the assumption that it's a reasonable expectation from something designed for shelter. I really thought that was a standard feature. Rocky and I were camping on the beach near Santa Barbara, and it rained hard. We noticed the tent got wet -- it leaked at the zipper seams. After some deliberation and loading everything except the sleeping bag into the car, we drove to Rite Aid (just outside the camp site) and bought some packing tape and trash bags. The patch work did its job and held up until morning.

Today I browsed Amazon for a waterproof tent, and read one reader comment which said that "Almost all tent manufacturers, even for the most expensive brands, suggest that the buyer seal the seams to assure everything is watertight. A knowledgable camper wouldn't even think of purchasing a tent without applying sealant to the seams," in response to a reviewer who complained that his tent leaked. OK, so I'm a beginning camper, and I have not camped with anybody who is experienced. How was I supposed to know? This was the first time I've even heard of seam sealers, and I'm an avid instruction-reader so I'm sure my tent instructions made no mention of it. Anyway, now I know, and it was actually fun in the process, since we could've slept in the car if the trash bags hadn't worked out. And the morning was beautiful.

Our campsite

Walking on the beach

More of the beach