Going Camping
As the Victoria Day weekend approached, I heard my friends discussing their plans for the first camping trip of the year. It sounded so exciting, and I considered inviting myself along, until I remembered a vow I made several years back: “I will never again go camping on Victoria Day weekend.”
My bad camping experience was the reasoning behind this vow, as I’m sure you have already guessed. All in all the trip wasn’t bad, but the one night the temperature dropped so low I thought I was going to die. My jaw ached from the chattering of my teeth, I thought that I would never be able to straighten my hunchback of tightly clenched muscles from sleeping in the fetal position all night. The day being sunny and warm certainly didn’t prepare me for the night of cold that snuck out of nowhere. Driving the 4 hours back home to pick up an extra blanket or jacket was obviously not reasonable.
Truth be told, I lived for camping in my younger years. I enjoyed sleeping under the stars and never thought much about the bugs and the weather. Surviving on food that can be cooked on a stick, like marshmallows and hotdogs, and watching, smelling and listening to the roaring fire made the trip so enjoyable.
Nowadays, I don’t feel that blissful harmony anymore. All the packing then unpacking, prepwork and setting up camp is all SO much fuss, if I didn’t have kids I don’t think it would be worth it. Even then, I’m sure they could hunt for frogs and feathers on a DAY trip somewhere near our house. They must miss the tv at least as much as I do.
Camping is fun for about as long as it takes me to drink my first Mike’s Hard Lemonade after setting up the tent. Then it’s just really incredibly boring for hours until my husband starts the fire. And don’t you dare mention fishing. Nothing, and I mean nothing is as boring as fishing. After the third marshmallow that first night, I have had it. I stare into the flames dreading the next hike to the bathroom, trying desperately to remember what it was I did as a kid that made camping so fun?
And that’s on a good trip, WITHOUT the subzero slumber. Yep, that camping experience was unbearable to say the least. If I remember correctly, I believe we also had to pack up in a rainstorm that weekend.
Nature, what a beautiful thing… “Behold nature, children!” I shouted as I wiped off my glasses under the tailgate of the van.So, did I go camping the holiday weekend? No. Do I plan to go this summer at all? Perhaps.
If – and only if – when my husband asks, he’s holding a portable dvd player under one arm and down sleeping bags under the other. Or else the keys to an RV.
