I love vacationing with my family and when we go places with our friends it’s even more special. We just returned home from camping and I want to say this up front: The families we went with are some of our dearest friends and nothing I’m about to say should be counted against them in any way. They made the trip worthwhile. And, for some highlights, let me say I enjoyed our time around the campfire each night; I loved watching my children on the lake in both a kayak (brought by our friends) and our blow up boat; I love being in the woods and enjoy the breeze through tall pine trees; and I loved following the family of elk (7 of them!) who wandered by our camping spot and then found a field to play in. I loved seeing the rock fort built by some of the boys and the wooden/tree fort built by some of the others. I love that we brought glow sticks because every campout should feel like a rave!
All that said . . . I’ve finally accepted that tent camping is the Napolean Dynamite of vacations. Everyone else seems to love it, they go often, they have great stories from when they go that make it sound so fun. I try and go, try it in a different place, try it with friends - even friends who love camping . . . but I just don’t get it. Nothing else in my life that I am doing for fun is more work for less reward. Even though a couple of my kids enjoy it, I just can’t imagine going again as a family.
We’ve spent a week on a boat in a dock - loved it!
We’ve camped in yurts up North with a wood burning stove and a hike to the bathrooms - loved it!
We’ve slept on people’s couches and floors as we’ve made our way long distances - loved it!
We have stayed in temporary housing and hotels - loved it!
But TENT camping . . . . the amount of stuff we have to take is ridiculous. We are so glad we have a trailer and yet frustrated that the only van that can tow the trailer broke down on the way up the mountain. We spent over an hour waiting for the tow truck in over 100 degree AZ heat, then had to pay cash for the trailer to be towed (we’ll be able to submit it to the insurance company but are out the money until then), and were thankfully able to go to the ONLY place in Prescott that was open on Sunday and he was able to fix the van for $32 . . . the reason being that the people who replaced our radiator after a previous camping trip (seeing a trend here???) didn’t bother to do a tiny thing that would have made it all work.
Back on the road we finally make it to the spot (3 hour drive took us over 6 hours) and then . . . we literally have to build a house! No going through a door and plopping on a bed. No deciding where to eat. We had brought our dinner already made, but we couldn’t eat it (despite how starving we were) until we had put up the tent and the gazebo and set up the kitchen area so that we had the plates and forks and such . . . and then we could eat.
After such a great day heading up it was no surprise that some of us spent our only full day there sleeping LOL Wanna go for a walk? No, thank you. We did buy a pump for our little row boat - but then we thought we weren’t going to get to play with it because it started raining! It stopped, we played a bit, we went back to camp. We played a couple of card games, that’s nice. Then it’s dark.
Our last day at camp, today, found one child covered in mosquito bites (yes, out of 7 people only one got attacked), one child so miserable he tried to sleep until we kicked him out of the bed to pack up, cold food we were too tired to heat up, and the opportunity to break camp - which just means undoing all the work we did a mere 2 days ago.
Now we’re home - van and trailer unloaded but still not put away because I’m exhausted. Can’t start the laundry until 7pm, but it will get done tonight. I’m showered (my reward for driving the whole trip is to get to shower while everyone else unloads) but everyone is starving after that long drive and it’s time to come up with something for dinner.
I really think I’d love to try the whole outing in an RV . . . but for now, I surrender. I just don’t like tent camping!
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