The Upside of Topside

Our new home for this project is a quaint little four-bedroom, four-bathroom cottage called Topside. The name is descriptive enough; it is perched at the very highest point of the camp, which means trudging up and down a steep hill every time we leave our residence. Aside from the daily workout, the team is quite thrilled with our new home. It's by no means luxurious with its thin, crooked walls; worn, outdated furniture; and occasional rodent or bat visitor. But in its own rustic way, the cabin is comfortable and it's always a thrill to glance out the window and catch a glimpse of the redwoods.







This is my tiny piece of the cabin. I claimed this little corner the moment of laid eyes on it. While it may not be the prime spot, I like how it is set apart from the rest of the house and how the light filters in every morning from my small window overlooking the garden. It feels private, personal, and inviting, which is all I need to be content in my new home. Plus, there's plenty of room to stash my stuff and hang my clothes. I share a bathroom with several other boys, but it's connected to my bedroom and is the largest one in the house.











Here's a few shots of some of the other sleeping areas of the house:











During waking hours, however, most of our time is spent in the common areas of the house. The living room comes equipped with two sofas and a papasan chair and an ancient television set that makes any movie we watch, no matter how recent, look like it it was filmed in oversaturated 1960s-era Technicolor. We get no reception, not even the basic channels, but thankfully lots of our team members brought DVDs, including multiple seasons of good TV shows.






The kitchen is amply stocked with loads of dishes and cooking utensils, and there's plenty of storage space for our massive quanities of groceries. Unlike Sheridan, we have a refrigerator entirely to ourselves. As an added bonus, the camp frequently has food remaining after its weekend retreat visitors have left and generously donates the tasty leftovers to us. As a result, we very well may have chicken maribella, teriyaki vegetables, beef chili, or apple cake with whipped cream for lunch instead of ham or turkey sandwiches. The giant wooden dining table has become a real hub of the household. This fine piece of craftmanship was made by a previous NCCC team and can seat the entire team if we squeeze in tight. Aside from meal times, it has also become the site of team meetings, jaunty conversation, and games of water pong and is a great place to use your laptop or read a book. The table is also right next to the woodburning stove that keeps the room nice and toasty during the drizzly Northern California winters.