On camping...

I grew up car camping with my mom and backpacking with my dad.  As an adult, I was a bit of a camping snob and only camped (almost always backpacking) in remote, off the beaten track, back country destinations.  Then I had kids.  Camping was totally out of the question for a good long time.  Then camping in the back yard became doable... and then we started borrowing a Euro-van for bigger adventures.  This past weekend, we were invited to join a few folks at a nearby state park on a reservoir for some good old fashioned camp ground car camping.  Our group had our own cul-de-sac with nothing but views of the lake in every direction (it honestly felt like we were on an island).  The kids rotated between riding bikes, swimming in the lake, and tent hopping.  The grownups ate, drank, watched kids, and enjoyed the many simple pleasures of camping out (not including washing dishes in the spigot... decidedly not one of the simple pleasures of camping out, but necessary nonetheless).  Dish-washing and all, it really was an unequivocal success!  It made all of us really happy... and it might not have been a pristine mountain lake in the Sierra Nevadas, but it was just what we needed!  I have the feeling we'll be doing a whole lot more of this family style camping for the foreseeable future.

Here are a few things I learned in the process:

• Table cloths and flowers make your campsite feel like a little home away from home (I learned this from my own mama!)
• Air mattresses are dreamy!  
• Having a rug outside your tent's front door is key.
• You can never have too many chairs (or hammocks).
• After getting the campsite set up, be sure to have a cocktail ready to help you relax from all that hard work (gin and tonics were a very delicious choice!).
• Potluck dinners are especially awesome when camping out (we had the Tofu King's famous mac'n'cheese with broccoli and garlic, corn on the cob grilled over the campfire, hot/not dogs, salad, baked beans, strawberry shortcake, and s'mores... yum!).
• Coffee (I remembered both the french press and coffee mugs!!) is even better when you add left over whipped cream from the strawberry shortcake... and even if your air mattress is comfortable, you'll still need coffee in the morning (trust me!).
• Pancakes are even better with leftover strawberries... I think strawberry shortcake is now required on all camping trips from here on out.
• Never go camping without bikes.
• Ditto the Sunshade.
• Baby turtles are amazing!
• Even the local reservoir can be filled with beauty and wildlife... and there is nothing better than falling asleep to a chorus of singing frogs.