Camping used to be a regular thing we did at least once a year. We would drive many hours up to a campground in Maine that was on the ocean, and spend at least three nights. Then we found a closer campground with an added twist: Island camping that required a boat. We then did that for a number of years, in any kind of weather.
But then I stopped seeing it as so much fun, but so much work. But I should admit that I was part of that problem -- I was always trying to one-up myself in terms of creating a comfortable home in the woods, with ridiculously extravagant meals, air mattresses, comfy chairs, tables, cookware, lanterns, enough changes of clothes so that we were never wet and so on.
And the work wasn't just being there. It began with the lists, then the packing, then setting up the campsite, maintaining the campsite, taking down the campsite and then returning home and having to clean everything that was either wet and disgusting or just plain dirty. It would take me about five seconds to say, nah, I don't want to camp this year.
And so, I can't even remember the last time we camped on our little island get-away --but suffice to say, it has been a number of years -- at least according to the gear I am getting out.
EWWWWWWW!
Every year, as I said, we bring up the subject of camping, and everyone always wants to go, but unless of course we women take charge, nothing comes of it. And this year we all mentioned it while we were vacationing on the beach, and I thought, well maybe. But when my sister broached the subject while we were hiking the other day, I had kind of put it out of my mind as another season lost, and so I didn't answer her.
But as I thought about it, I realized that all of our kids are growing up and it really will not be very long before it will be impossible to get something together. It was hard enough with the two private school princesses -- and in fact, they can only come one night, but that requires the assistance of a grandmother who is going to drive all over creation to get them there!
So I called my sister back yesterday and said that I hadn't really answered her about camping, and that I'd thought about it, and she in turn did something that SHE never does, and basically took that there bull and wrestled it to the ground immediately. Yes she did, she got on the horn and reserved THE site for next weekend. I was like ... interesting.
And then I just figured it would all work out fine, until I remembered I have three dogs and a child who goes to school on Saturday! And a boat that we haven't used since the last time we camped! But I refused to worry, and all problems seemed to work themselves out, and Charlie and Peter just turned on the boat engine out in the driveway and it started right away.
All good!
But I had to crack up, because here we are, one full week away from the event, and we have already invested all day on it. I have been pulling out crap, freaking out that we only seemed to have one air mattresses (I may be camping lighter than I ever have in the past, but there is NO WAY NO HOW I am sleeping on a hard platform without the benefit of a little air between me and it!) and then not being able to find a cord to charge the battery. But I just walked away and when I returned to the "camping closet," I discovered that I had replaced an old air mattress with a new one that had everything intact in the bag. (I also came across two sets of sheets that I had long since written off tucked into both bags!)
Now here is where I am going to "go light." In the past I would pack my air mattress, a goose down cover for that (I'm not kidding!) a full set of sheets, pillows and blankets and a little mint for the pillow. (Well okay, I made that last item up.) This year it is air mattress and sleeping bags. That's it.
Last year when I did a hike in the White Mountains with nothing but a pack on my back and a tarp to sleep under, I discovered that you really don't need all that much. (Though I did have a Thermarest mat to sleep on!) I liked the feeling of getting by with what you could carry on you, and so I am going to try to do my best to keep the load down. But even so, there are so many things you need.
Tent
mattresses
sleeping bags
pillows (come on, give me this one luxury!)
chairs
table to put grill on
grill
lantern
big enormous tank of gas to run stove and lantern
a huge cooler packed with food
pots and pans to cook food
firewood (if you don't bring your own, then you have to pay ridiculous fees for a few sticks)
clothes for four seasons (we can expect anything from snow to high temperatures!)
And well, already I am exhausted just trying to come up with everything! Other than the bedding, I am not really seeing where I am going light! I am not going big time on the food though, (in the past I've made grilled salmon and roasted potatoes with cheese cake for dessert, as an example) -- and I am thinking turkey burgers and dogs on the grill would work! I also have a ton of tomatoes rotting on the windowsill, so maybe I'll whip up a marinara sauce and we can have spaghetti one night. It's only two nights, so we have two dinners, two breakfasts and two lunches to deal with.
Well, in the meantime Peter has spent the entire day working on boats. As I mentioned, this campsite is on an island, and you can't get there without a boat. We have two Whalers -- one is 17 feet and the other is 10. The smaller one has been in the lake all summer, the kids use it. The larger one we keep around strictly for this event -- and it was dirty dirty dirty. They have been power washing it, getting it registered, replacing the battery, fixing the wires on both trailers and registering those (we don't normally register them for the short jaunt from our house to the lake). It is 4:00 and the plan is to take the smaller Whaler out to be washed and put in the bigger one to make sure it runs okay.
Overall, it is completely ridiculous.
But I don't think sane people camp.
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