Loving Lately: A Camper

I can leisure camp with the best of ’em. I’ve camped out through nights so cold that I slept with my shoes on and the only thing sticking out of my mummy bag was my frozen nose. I’ve lived the joys of camping in weather so hot that you can hardly breath- let alone sleep. I know what it’s like to have the rain dripping inside of the tent because you’ve managed to come into contact with the canvas. And I’ve experienced hardly being able to get the pop-up off of the lot because the torrential downpour turned your space into a mud pit. I remember having to call the trip short because the mosquitos were so relentless outdoor activity was not possible. And I don’t want to think about the dangerous levels of Deet I’ve sprayed on my skin. Call me crazy… but that’s the good stuff! (Once you’ve gotten home, bathed and slept.) Because it makes for a lifetime of memories and naturally makes you appreciate all of those perfect days with sunshine and gentle breezes.

We’ve been shopping for a camper (aka travel trailer) for the fam, and I’m so excited I can hardly sleep at night thinking of the possibilities. We’ve visited some RV lots and have been perusing the web for ideas. I think we’ve narrowed in on what is going to work for us. Of course we need a 6 sleeper, and I’m partial to something with a hard frame…

I’ve done the tenting thing. I appreciate the simplicity and the ruggedness of it. But we stopped with that after baby number two. I was pregnant with baby number three, sleeping on a blow up mattress, crammed in a space growing tighter by the minute, hoping the weather would hold off. I want a trailer we can tow, so that getting around town wherever we land is a cinch. And I’m not looking to “air out” a pop-up after having to pack it up wet due to rainy weather. I want something that can go at any minute, and is ready to sleep in as soon as we hit the brakes… no matter how late we roll into camp.

I’ve already been contemplating the pots and cast iron pans I can contribute from the house. I’m envisioning the acrylic plates and glasses I need to buy that will travel well in the cupboards. But most importantly, I’m thinking about the places we’re going to see and the experiences my kids are going to have on the open road. From the Liberty Bell in Pennsylvania to the Grand Canyon in Arizona, the Black Hills of South Dakota to Yosemite National Park in California… I’m ecstatic with anticipation. I want to take them down Highway 1 and across Route 66, I’m nostalgic that way. And I’m certainly not above tourist traps like the world’s biggest ball of yarn. Lookout road, here we come!