It's my yearly camping trip this weekend! So, I'm curious about you, your camping ideas and all that fun stuff. We go camping in PA.... then chill around the fire the first night, canoe/kayak the next day on the Delaware River, maybe a little shooting practice, frog hunting with kids, add a little ATV riding, hot tubbing, lawn games, fire pit and chill next night. Breakfast on Sunday, and then heading home. There ranges from 35-50 people.... this year we are around 30, so it's a smaller group. Me, my family, my kids and a bunch of their friends... my family (uncle and fam) and random friends. We stay on my uncles property, he has a little house that we can use the bathroom/shower. It has all the amenities, but a little rustic, lol! It's perfect! Everyone tents it, and it's pretty easy! Have you ever been camping? Favorite story?
I was introduced to camping as a Girl Guide at about 10. I camped a lot as a teenager, and for the first few years of our marriage. The last camping trip was before TJ was born. We haven't dared camp with the children. Our camping tour of Europe in 2005 was awesome, but busy with lots of campsites in different environments.
Your camping sounds so fun! Frog hunting and hot tubbing especially. I grew up camping on the top of a mountain. My parents would sleep in the trailer and the kids would sleep in the tent. No bathrooms or showers; true roughin’ it. My son doesn’t know what real camping is because he’s only been in a trailer with a toilet and shower. My girls have camped in tents with their church youth group so they know how to rough it. They even got hailed on this year!
Actual camping with a tent? Nope! But camping in a small motor home in 1975 at the campground at Cedar Point. Yep! The parents of one of my high school friends had a small motor home. Pam could drive it so Pam, another high school friend and I along with 3 of Pam's college friends went to Cedar Point for a weekend. Each camp site had a grill so we didn't have to take any thing like that. That was the one and only time I went camping.
I don't know if I would have the patience to camp when the kids were little. That's hard work! lol! Now, it's much easier as they are older.
Yeah, this is the best version of camping that I think I could handle. I need a bathroom. And I love the ability that I don't have to cook. My uncle and friends cook for everyone, we just hand over some money, lol! You'd love my frog pictures....and the hot tub... especially since the hot tub is warmed up by a Macgyver-ed pizza oven! So, pizza in the hot tub... haha!
Camped with my family as a kid (mountains and beach), camped with the Girl Scouts as a kid, camped a few times with my former husband, camped with my grandkids' scout troops. The first time I went camping with my youngest grandson and his cub scout pack I quickly realized that I needed an air mattress ... the ground was too darn hard. It's been about 8 years since I last went camping. I love to camp, but it's a lot of work, esp. if you're not with a group to divvy up the planning/shopping/chores.
I must have an air mattress, lol! I can't sleep on the floor! And yes, a group is the only way I've camped.
I haven't had the best camping experiences, but I always enjoyed getting out in the woods. before our daughter was born, my husband and I tent camped at Lake Powell with some friends and family who all had campers and boats. Every single day we would come off the water and find our tent blown over and have to pitch it again. When my daughter was 6 months old, we tried tent camping again, but we were not prepared for the temperature drop that occurred overnight in northern Arizona. I think that was pretty much it. I did take my daughter's Girl Scout Troop to Girl Scout camp, that was rustic, but we were basically in shacks with bunks, but there was a lodge with comforts. When I was paper scrapping we used to go on retreats that were in some nice wooded camps, slightly rustic, but there were communal bathrooms in each building, electricity and a common room with kitchen stuff.
We grew up camping all the time! I mostly liked it. As I got older (think teen years) it wasn't my fave. We've camped on and off with our family through the years. More when our kids were younger, then we sorta took a break for a few years and then since covid, we've camped every year and always love it. It's the planning and packing that I don't necessarily love. Packing all the food, tent, sleeping supplies, etc... Most memorable trip was probably camping out west for several weeks with my family. Or the time our church group camped and it got down to 28 degrees. We were all up at 4:30 am around the fire because none of us could sleep (we were not prepared well!).
I'm sad now. My uncle had to cancel. Weather does not look good. A little rain is one thing, but thunderstorms and possible lightning will not work. Booooo.
We love camping in our family, but it is becoming increasing more difficult to get campsites in Michigan. It seems that a LOT of people started camping in 2020 when that was the only option for vacations. We tried to get campsites for a couple different weekends this summer and everything was booked. We even tried to make reservation the second sites were available (6 months out) and they'd all be gone already. Apparently people learned a trick to reserve sites for 3 week blocks that include the weekend they want at the end of those 3 weeks and then later they just cancel everything except the weekend they wanted. That allows people to get a site 6 months plus 3 weeks ahead of time, while we were waiting until exactly 6 months ahead of time. Sigh. I would never have even thought to be so sneaky just to get a camp site! Sheesh. Luckily we were able to get some reservations for our very favorite campground in September. I'm really looking forward to that! We are still tent campers too. Everyone else I know (except my sister's family) have purchased campers now. We still have our old tent which is nice and big, and we do have some comfy cots to sleep on, but no camper for us yet. We have nowhere to store one anyway, so it's good that we can still do the tent.
I must admit I like my comforts so camping is not something we do. When the kids were younger they wanted to, and so we gave in and once spent two nights in a knight’s tent in Legoland Germany (we had beds with mattresses and the tent itself looked fancy but that was it). It was middle of July and the weather was hot, and we thought we were prepared… but the temperatures dropped unexpectedly and it ended up being the coldest night in the whole summer. To keep ourselves warm, we slept wearing every item of clothes we had, including rain jackets and boots… and even towels… That was the end of family camping. For ever!
I just got home today from four days of camping! I actually enjoy camping - it's a lot of work but it helps that I have a hubby who is a hard worker and enjoys camping too! He helps a ton. We get together every summer with my family - sometimes we camp and sometimes we rent a big house or cabin to share. It's tricky because there are 40-50 people so it can be a challenge to find a location that will fit everyone. It was my turn to plan our trip this year and I found a group camp site just 20 minutes from our house. It was right on the lake- no flushing toilets or showers but that was ok because I was able to run home and shower mid week. It was hot but we were able to stay cool in the water and our campsite had plenty of shade. We had a great time!
