Camping

One of our favorite past times is camping. Or is it RVing? I don't know that I have ever take our Camper RV-ing. I associate RV-ing with cooking indoors in a kitchen and watching TV. It's along the same lines as "hotel camping" except you bring your own room, which is all fine and dandy except that is not the experience we enjoy. Since we do have a camper I wouldn't say that we rough it but most of the bells and whistles in our camper are neglected on our trips. We have never used our cable hook up nor have we watched tv while camping. Even with a sink I do find it easier to wash dishes outside and then bring them inside to rinse them in the sink.

For us camping is about being outdoors experiencing nature and new adventures. We are the dummies who fit everyone under a tarp including the dog while the rain pours down around us rather than going inside where electricity and a comfy couch await us. More often that not we cook either on the grill or over the fire, scrambled eggs on the grill is always fun.

We use the time to connect together. I get the best stories out of the kids when we are sitting by the fire. I get to see them wander off a little further in unfamiliar areas and test new skills. We have explored many different terrains and learned about the animals and plants in each area. Camping has given us an opportunity to relax with old friends and meet new ones. The kids get to play with kids from all over the country and learn about what games are cool and what words are common place in different areas.

I love the chance to just escape reality for a short period whether its 15 minutes from home or hours away. Another really great thing about camping is that it can be very inexpensive. One year we went away on vacation to the beach and spent a ton of money on just a hotel room and eating meals out. The next year we purchased our first camper (secondhand) for about the price of that one vacation but had six camping trips to look back on.

I do miss the days of tent camping but I have to be honest with 3 kids one of them an infant it is nice to have the camper when the temperatures and humidity are super high. We also have been camping where it has rained for three days straight and that camper was such a blessing because after a day of playing outside in the rain we were able to escape to some where completely dry to sleep. This year we will be using our camper for the first time in the  "off" season to try out some cool weather camping which should be fun. Oh and my favorite part of camping is that no matter where we go and what adventures await us I always get to go to sleep in my own bed which is one of the greatest feelings in the whole world.