Roughing It

We’re going camping. Real no-electricity, sleep in a tent, cook over the fire camping. I don’t remember whose idea it was or how we got here. But we’re leaving in a hour. The mini-van is full – a tent, bug spray, cooler full of food, sleeping bags. I’ve hidden my best pillow under the stacks – can’t imagine sleeping without it. But what good is a comfie pillow when you’re laying on dirt and gravel? Yikes.

We borrowed the camping equipment from our friends, Jamie and Greg. I think Greg has camped a lot over the years. And Jamie is a much better sport than I am. (She might even like it, I’m not sure. I do know that she never used the words hate, miserable, filthy, disgusting when talking to me about camping…) I suppose the only thing worse than going camping is buying equipment so I’d feel obligated to do it again. Seriously, I consider this THE camping experience my children will have. If it’s pleasant, they are free to camp as free agents when they get older.

My parents took us camping when I was a child. With a camper. Nothing fancy, but someplace to sleep. We did have to hike for the bathroom. That’s some memory. I remember the joy of looking for firewood. And the bug bits. And swimming in the lake (I actually did like that part….) and eating burnt fire-cooked hot dogs on flimsy paper plates. I also remember that my father brought a portable TV and stayed inside the camper most of the time. It is likely that this experience might explain why it’s taken more than 30 years for me to embark on a camping experience.

Oh wait, I did go camping at the Grand Canyon with my friend, Joe, after college. It was very different from my family experience and we were very unprepared. We slept in a tent and the nice people in the tent down the way gave us their leftover food to eat. Really, it was just a place to crash. Though I have a great picture of Joe feeding Doritos to the squirrels. Nacho cheese flavor, if I remember correctly. Ah yes, responsible naturalists….. But I digress.

We’re taking so much with us, it’s amusing. The meals will be grilled cheese lunch, shishkabob dinner, pancake and eggs for breakfast. And we stocked up on Trader Joe’s snacks and brought the fixings for S’Mores. We have beer, wine and the not-yet-opened bottle of Makers Mark that our new next door neighbors brought us from their hometown of Louisville for being hospitable to Phil for the time before the rest of his family arrived. (Had we known we’d be rewarded so nicely, we would have had him over even more! Will be nice for bourbon…)

The kids have packed books and games. Of course we have lots of flashlights. And bug spray and Benedryl spray and sunscreen and Advil.

Just like the pioneers….