While walking a local trail recently, I had a nostalgic moment, remembering the times when my kids were young and we went camping. Those were the days! Crackling fires, the fresh smell of the great outdoors, sleeping under the stars, marshmallows and chocolate smores. Suddenly, I really, really wanted to camp again after having absolutely no desire to do so for the last ten-plus blissful years of temperature-control and linens. Where did this wildly primal urge come from?
We still have most of our camping equipment although my college kids have been borrowing, which means some of the tent parts are missing and unidentifiable organisms are living in the pots and pans since they didn't clean them before packing them away again. The Coleman stove is there. So are those little clips that hold down the vinyl tablecloth, although the red-checkered tablecloth is missing. Going through our supplies brought back even more precious memories.
If I hadn't verbalized my thoughts, I'd have been able to stuff them back into dormancy. But the camping-again words left my mouth and landed somewhere in my husband's brain, causing his eyes to light with surprised delight. Yes! Lets! he said. Wow, this is going to be so cool! Somewhere in all the joy, we decided to get more camping equipment for each other for Christmas.
So I'm committed for 2010. We're going camping.
But now I remember much more - freezing cold, downpours, heat waves, leaky tents, wet sleeping bags, midnight visitors, creepy crawlers, smelly outhouses, dirty hair, flat air mattresses, achy bones.What have I done to myself??
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If it's like most camping trips I know of, you'll also soon remember that you (not your husband) probably has to get everything organized, packed and ready for the trip. And then once there, unpack and set up. Oh, then coming home you repack. But the fun part is when you get home and have to unpack (again), wash and put up everything that was used. Oh the joys of camping.
I'm a Brownie scout leader and I don't ever look forward to these camping trips! My back isn't used to lying on hard surfaces, and it always seems to rain...
Elizabeth
Mystery Writing is Murder
You are a braver woman than me, Deb. Our cottage has heat (but no AC) and hot and cold running water, comfy beds, and hubby STILL calls it camping. What does he want? The Ritz?
Oh no, I DID forget about all that work done by moi.
I've always said that my kind of camping is called a motel room! My husband grew up camping every weekend from Memorial Day to Labor Day and he misses it (or at least the nostalgia of it). We went two or three times during the first few years we were married. Now I don't even want to think the words, let alone say them out loud! If you do go, at least try and have fun. Good luck!
Yikes, better you than me! My idea of camping is the Marriott. My hubby's? Pack it in - pack it out. He feels, if you can't carry it on your back, you don't need it. Yeah, 16 years of marriage, one camping trip.
Good luck!
Ahhhh, yes, camping memories. Have a lot of those. Cooking over the Coleman stove, the Coleman lantern casting a glow, watching as my husband cursed and swore while trying to put up the huge old tent we'd bought used. It had interior poles. It was an experience just to watch him do it. We camped A LOT when we were first married because we had no money. And it was fun. And we were out in nature with other fun folks. Great memories. But---I do like those clean sheets of hotel rooms now.
When I was a young(er) woman I frequented a bookstore where every book was $.99. I bought a camping/hiking book and so wanted to try camping. Well I did and quickly learned I loved the "idea" of camping but not the actual experience. The last camping trip was on a beach in Maine. So cold,so sandy ,so wet when it started to rain. Boy did that Motel room feel good!
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