*I now remember, how could I forget, that Gizmo hates camping! He gets hot so very fast, fleas pounce on him every second (despite the small fortune I pay for in preventative junk) he hates getting his feet wet or dirty and he becomes grouchy when we take him to the lake!
*I also remember that we eat way more junk food, more than we'd ever even own at home, while we're camping. Why do we take so much of that stufff with is and then "graze" on it the entire time?
*There is alot of walking involved in camping. I do remember that part and enjoy it. It's nice to take Gizmo on walks, walk to the bath house and walk on adventures looking for deer. (That are everywhere and come so darn close!) Though the fall does make these walks a little more enjoyable with cooler temps.
*I am not as in shape nor as tall as I'd like to believe. I had the insane idea that I could hike my big rump on the front of Dad's boat, from chest deep water. What was I thinking?? I thought one big jump outta do it, boy was I wrong! I now have bruises on my tummy (who knew you could get bruises there) from bouncing off the front of the boat and bruises on my rear. (from bouncing from the boat, down, all the way doooowwwnn to the bottom of the lake, under the boat and under the water) It was pure entertainment for my family who are still talking about it and not so hot for one's pride!
*I had forgot just how much I love looking like crap day in and day out! I love love throwing my hair up in a clip, not putting on a drop of make up for days and wearing only crummy clothes!! Maybe I like it more than I should?
*I had forgotten just how many critters join ya in the shower at the bath house. (That we use because the shower in the camper is super tiny and a pain to function in) On shower #1 alone, I was joined by 2 Grand Daddy Long Legs and 1 super huge mosquito! It didn't get better from there-
*I now remember that my husband is just as scared of big ole bugs as I am. Not the tiny ones that you can squish and come to expect from the great outdoors. I am talking about the super big flying things that you never see until it's too late and only come out in the dark. The kind that buzz in and bonk you on the head while you're in bed..making you scream in terror...and making your husband duck his head under the covers saying "no...you handle it" Where do those things come from?
*I had forgot how much we love the people we run into while camping. There is no friendlier group of fantastic people on earth, than those who camp! Everyone speaks, waves or stops to chat. It's awesome and reminds me that people are generally good hearted and the world is a nice place.
*I had forgotten how much I love roasted marshmallows. I insist on those, over a big ole flaming fire...even if the temps are insane. (triple day time digits and 80's at night) I still make Andy slave to find wood, build me a big old blazin' fire and only roast a few-
*I now remember just how fast we can set up & unpack. We have it down to a science. We can be unpacked, unhooked, set up inside & out, tacky lights hung up included, and ready to go all within about 30 minutes tops!
*I did remember that we really do love being on the water. We were fine up there "in the woods" and didn't mind going to the beach. It's much nicer to be on the water though, with your own little piece of the lake to yourself.
*I was also reminded of how much fun we have when Mom & Dad stop in to pick us up for a few hours of swimming & riding around.
*We had both forgotten how important it is to take our own grill. We decided to just use the fire pit/grill area they provide, low on/in the ground. That becomes a problem with the afternoon thunderstorms that wet everything. While you are trying to start your supper fire....the water drips from the trees to put the fire back out. You must cook your hamburgers on the stove inside. Not too bad, but next time we'll take our own grill again! *Thankfully that only happened 1 night*
*I was surprised to find out that we could survive 3 nights/3 days without a TV/DVD or laptop AND not kill each other!! (We did have the radio in the camper) We played more board/card games than I thought were possible. We played 16 games of "Clue". How much did we love that thing? Alot! (I had just bought it the day we left, hadn't owned it in years. Why not? I love this game!) We played a marathon game of UNO for days, an almost endless game of "Dawg" opoly, oodles of hands of card games and Connect 4. Then....we found a Big Lots just 15 minutes away and bought a giant Game Chest. It has 10 games with it!! (Chess, Checkers, Tic/Tac/Toe, Chinese Checkers, Snakes & Ladders, Mancala, Back Gammon, Pass Out, Parchisi and Solitare) We just may choose to leave the TV at home and off around here more often-
All in all we were reminded just how much we love camping! We are so glad that we didn't sell the camper afterall. We love it, we have fun, we're back in business and looking forward to our week at the lake in early August!!!
*I also remember that we eat way more junk food, more than we'd ever even own at home, while we're camping. Why do we take so much of that stufff with is and then "graze" on it the entire time?
*There is alot of walking involved in camping. I do remember that part and enjoy it. It's nice to take Gizmo on walks, walk to the bath house and walk on adventures looking for deer. (That are everywhere and come so darn close!) Though the fall does make these walks a little more enjoyable with cooler temps.
*I am not as in shape nor as tall as I'd like to believe. I had the insane idea that I could hike my big rump on the front of Dad's boat, from chest deep water. What was I thinking?? I thought one big jump outta do it, boy was I wrong! I now have bruises on my tummy (who knew you could get bruises there) from bouncing off the front of the boat and bruises on my rear. (from bouncing from the boat, down, all the way doooowwwnn to the bottom of the lake, under the boat and under the water) It was pure entertainment for my family who are still talking about it and not so hot for one's pride!
*I had forgot just how much I love looking like crap day in and day out! I love love throwing my hair up in a clip, not putting on a drop of make up for days and wearing only crummy clothes!! Maybe I like it more than I should?
*I had forgotten just how many critters join ya in the shower at the bath house. (That we use because the shower in the camper is super tiny and a pain to function in) On shower #1 alone, I was joined by 2 Grand Daddy Long Legs and 1 super huge mosquito! It didn't get better from there-
*I now remember that my husband is just as scared of big ole bugs as I am. Not the tiny ones that you can squish and come to expect from the great outdoors. I am talking about the super big flying things that you never see until it's too late and only come out in the dark. The kind that buzz in and bonk you on the head while you're in bed..making you scream in terror...and making your husband duck his head under the covers saying "no...you handle it" Where do those things come from?
*I had forgot how much we love the people we run into while camping. There is no friendlier group of fantastic people on earth, than those who camp! Everyone speaks, waves or stops to chat. It's awesome and reminds me that people are generally good hearted and the world is a nice place.
*I had forgotten how much I love roasted marshmallows. I insist on those, over a big ole flaming fire...even if the temps are insane. (triple day time digits and 80's at night) I still make Andy slave to find wood, build me a big old blazin' fire and only roast a few-
*I now remember just how fast we can set up & unpack. We have it down to a science. We can be unpacked, unhooked, set up inside & out, tacky lights hung up included, and ready to go all within about 30 minutes tops!
*I did remember that we really do love being on the water. We were fine up there "in the woods" and didn't mind going to the beach. It's much nicer to be on the water though, with your own little piece of the lake to yourself.
*I was also reminded of how much fun we have when Mom & Dad stop in to pick us up for a few hours of swimming & riding around.
*We had both forgotten how important it is to take our own grill. We decided to just use the fire pit/grill area they provide, low on/in the ground. That becomes a problem with the afternoon thunderstorms that wet everything. While you are trying to start your supper fire....the water drips from the trees to put the fire back out. You must cook your hamburgers on the stove inside. Not too bad, but next time we'll take our own grill again! *Thankfully that only happened 1 night*
*I was surprised to find out that we could survive 3 nights/3 days without a TV/DVD or laptop AND not kill each other!! (We did have the radio in the camper) We played more board/card games than I thought were possible. We played 16 games of "Clue". How much did we love that thing? Alot! (I had just bought it the day we left, hadn't owned it in years. Why not? I love this game!) We played a marathon game of UNO for days, an almost endless game of "Dawg" opoly, oodles of hands of card games and Connect 4. Then....we found a Big Lots just 15 minutes away and bought a giant Game Chest. It has 10 games with it!! (Chess, Checkers, Tic/Tac/Toe, Chinese Checkers, Snakes & Ladders, Mancala, Back Gammon, Pass Out, Parchisi and Solitare) We just may choose to leave the TV at home and off around here more often-
All in all we were reminded just how much we love camping! We are so glad that we didn't sell the camper afterall. We love it, we have fun, we're back in business and looking forward to our week at the lake in early August!!!
5 comments:
Monica, your post made me smile. I love the pic of your camper, it's just too cute. I miss hanging our lights out, our awning is too high on this rig. I do string them on trees at FW though, you just have to have the gawdy lights!! It aint campin without them. Your post has made me want to get my blogg going....thanks, just what i needed...another project!!!! Looks like you had a ball on your trip, glad you kept the camper.
Yep, we're glad too. We have 2 sets of gawdy lights. This set is a combination of bugs & flowers. I think some had fallen off for the pic though, I had to do some work on them..they're getting old. The other set is fish. (like bass fish) When we have a spot on the water we put one set on the awning and the other around the little fence at the picnic table.
We really do enjoy being out there together, away from the rest of ... life. We're excited about our week trip in August back to the lake. We're also talking about the mountains in the fall again. (though a November cruise would keep that budget super tight)
How fun your camping pictures are and your set up looks great!
As a kid my family would camp everywhere in our tent trailer.
Maybe as Dexter gets older, we could look into buying a little trailer and camp too.
My idea of camping is a hotel with an outdoor pool.
Of course, I did love our RV trip three years ago.
Great Pics Monica, I wanna go camping but never been. We considered it once and we will sort of camp when we go to Australia (one day!!)
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