Been out working (not to be confused with working out) and maybe playing a little too! The next phase of my life is gonna be more about making beautiful memories! For myself, my husband, my 2 amazing boys, my daughters because of my boys, family and friends. That IS what life is about!
I love camping! There is something so relaxing about it! I have tent camped for the last 10 years, mostly for travel lacrosse, which my boys were big into and one stomach hurting (from constant laughing), fun, relaxing, hilarious trip with the girls! Oh, the laughing! Almost got half our party thrown out! Meanwhile, in the “Barbie Tent”, I almost suffocated whilst laughing into my pillow! Trying to make sure I kept out of trouble! You will understand the “Barbie” reference in a bit!😉
To be fair…and truthful, I am a “glamper” more than a camper. Even my tent had to be all decked out, cozy and functional. I try not to do anything in a “kinda” fashion! Go big or go home is my credo! Maybe that’s the “Leo” in me! I’ve been called “the best homeless person ever” or “Barbie”….which made my tent the “Barbie tent”…Lol!
Why? Well, let me run down the layout!
Every good camper needs at least one good folding table for one end of the tent…of course you need to purchase a big enough tent to have separate living areas (dont roll your eyes). So, back to the layout. Large table with table cloth to act as the kitchen, bath area. On the table, after the tasteful, yet functional cloth has been laid out, the coffee pot, electric fry pan, dish pan and huge insulated container with 10 gallons of clean hot water from home….I’ll share my campground bathroom experiences…in no real detail (you will thank me for this) later in this article.
Under the table goes all the food and supplies….mamma doesn’t want to trip on stuff in her makeshift castle. So, the table cloth also serves the purpose of hiding the extra gear! (I can almost sense it….did you roll your eyes again?)
Next is the rug. A good soft one to cradle your tootsies as you kick back and relax.
Then comes the bed….I have taken more grief for this than anything else! I use 2 blow up mats. Queen size, so they keep you nicely elevated. I don’t do sleeping bags, so my bed is equipped with a fitted sheet, flat sheet, thermal blanket, comforter, at least 2 pillows in their matching shams and a blanket folded at the bottom…just in case. I DO NOT have throw pillows…cuz that would just be weird! 😄
On either side of my bed are makeshift night stands that hold my hot rollers (I just rolled my own eyes….so, its cool if u do too), fan, chargers, DVD player, hand held tv and lights. I’m sure there is more…but it’s been a couple years!
SO, after years and years of dreaming of a camper to travel in, we finally bought one! I am hoping this means I will be out and about a whole lot more…enjoying what our country has to offer! This year it will be all about what Michigan has…and that’s ok! Need a bigger truck to go any further than local and that will occur next year!!
My favorite things about camping:
- Quiet conversations around the fire.
- The sounds of night and nature.
- Most peeps at the campground are down to earth and very friendly.
- Just being somewhere other than work or home!
- Seeing new places.
- Something about cooking on a grill or fire….everything tastes better!
- Bonding with whomever you are camping with!
Least favorite:
- A party of 3 raccoons raiding our garbage our first trip…scared the hell out of us. I actually think these monsters were employed by the campground to alert all the sleeping customers about the dumb asses on site 38…they didn’t put their garbage in the correct location!
- Campground bathrooms! Yuck! Haven’t been in a “good” one yet! But let’s talk about the few story telling scenarios! In the thumb, there are a couple really nice campgrounds. We went to one that had a building for bathrooms, but the shower stalls were all around the outside of the building. There were doors, but the tops and bottoms were open to let the places air out. My first shower in one of these was chaperoned by a bull frog the size of my dog! That was a fast shower….I felt like I was being watched! Day 2, I got in…checked for my chaperone, who thankfully had taken the day off!🐸 No frog….but the “toad” of a man I was showering next to (in the stall next to mine….dont need the wrong idea out there) must have eaten a vat of beans for breakfast, lunch and dinner. You know how they are the “magical, musical” fruit? Well….this was the worse multiple instrument sounding trumpeting I had ever heard….and something about those expulsions mixed with water…well, that was another fast shower! DAMN… I think I liked the frog better! Ooops….was supposed to be less detailish! Sorry! There is one other story….camping with my girlfriends….cold water that suddenly turns warm….we wont finish that story….but us girls laugh about it all the time! Now do you understand my water from home? (Nothing high maintenance about this girl 👸).
- Packing, unpacking and repacking.
- Rain….although sometimes is fun…until you have to pack that mess up!
- Train tracks. UGGGHHHH. My last camping trip with my son was to Hershey, PA for a lacrosse tournament. 13 hour drive in the rain followed by a soaking set up! We got all set and were relaxing when my friend called. She and her fam were on their way. She was calling to inquire about the “train tracks”. What? She continued to tell me that when she made reservations, the office told her that we were up the hill near the train tracks. Of course…the train no longer runs much…the office said. What they SHOULD have said is that the train doesn’t run much during THE DAY! I’m here to tell you, it DOES run quite a bit at night! We were about 50 feet from the tracks…I’m pretty sure I lost some fillings on that trip with as many times as we were shaken out of our bed!
Hopefully the days of the above are done and the worst I will have to worry about is emptying the black tank….is that bad??? I have visions of hose spreaders and “Bobby Joe” from the movie “RV”. I’m gonna cross my fingers we dont run in to those issues!
Back to business in the next post! Mushrooms and roots part II is coming up!
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