Camping

We went camping over the week-end. Last week-end. You know when it was 90 degrees and about 400% humidity? Yeah, that's the one. Did I mention that it was hot? Well it was. The kids, of course, were oblivious to the heat, because that's how kids are. I thought I would melt.

We ended up camping not too far from home (which was necessitated by a lack of planning all around) and it worked out pretty well. Joe was able to run home to take care of the animals every day (or was he just running home to the air conditioning?) so we didn't have to worry about that. Plus, anything we forgot to pack (which was a lot) could be easily picked up.

I was raised as a camper. My parents took us camping pretty frequently throughout the years and we always had a lot of fun. We would get on our bikes and just ride and ride all around the campground, making friends along the way. And that's just what our kids did too. At one point I went looking for Max and found him smack dab in the middle of an impromptu water fight. Cool.

We camped with my Mom and my sister Kelly who both have motor homes. Joe and the kids and I were in a tent. The first night was waaaay too hot so the kids and I slept in the motor homes (Joe stayed home). After that, even though I thought it was still hot, the kids wanted to sleep in the tent. There is something very sweet and wonderful about the smell of a musty, moldy tent and the sound of zippers, zipping and unzipping.

Though I profess to be a true camper, I will confess that Joe and I sleep on an air mattress. Anything less would be inhumane really. Still, the air mattress presents its own challenges - mainly trying not the launch the other person off as you get on. Movement in the night requires teamwork and patience. At one point, Joe got up to head to the bathroom and I was sound asleep right until the moment I hit the ground - hard.

The tricky part about camping in a tent is that you have no "Center of Operations". It's like living out of bins and boxes and never being able to find the salt. And once you do find the salt, you realize that it's slightly damp like the rest of your stuff. Everything is always kind of damp and sandy. But that's just how camping is.

Still, it just reinforces my need to obtain a camper. I'm not super picky about what it would be - a pop-up would do just fine, I suppose. But a hard sided camper would be even better. Just a little extra protection from the elements and a dry place to keep my salt. I don't ask for much.

Joe is of the notion that you aren't really camping unless you have no electricity, no water and no bathrooms. That sounds more like a third world prison to me but I guess, to each their own. I've offered that he can take the kids on his kind of camping trip without me but, as of yet, I've not seen the plans for that take shape. Hmmm.