Ruby was seven weeks old last time we camped, three summers ago. We are tent campers of the fairweather, car, tent camping variety. We will hike but not carrying the piles of gear that one needs to set up camp and even more importantly not the piles of gear that six need to set up camp. I was deeply affected by a friend's mishap with a fire pit in which the fire had been out for several hours and her toddler fell into hands first. The incident prevented me from camping with toddler in tow.
Last summer I announced that I thought I had outgrown camping. We roadtripped. We stayed in nice hotels with swimming pools, in large cities with Open Markets and playgrounds galore. We visited museums, art galleries, government buildings, riverfronts, oceansides and other such areas of beauty and entertainment.
This summer feeling emboldened by enthusiasm for life, enamoured by the idea that we don't know how long our time here in this life will last. I decided that we really needed to give it another go.
Steve seemed less excited than I thought he would be considering how much he once loved camping. Obviously his memory is better than mine when it comes to the emotional attachment of an experience. "We need a new tent" was his response. We've gotten bigger and softer and squishing six of us to space for four is no longer acceptable.
While we were looking for a tent I came across and airmattress on a cot. I really have become a soft camper.
Our weekend was a success, except for the broken fingernail (mine) when I took the tent out of our front yard and attmepted to pack it back into it's original bag. That was a disaster.
But otherwise our forest exploring, tent setting, chair sitting, beach combing, paddle boating, volcano building, campfire tending, coleman lantern fire, campstove cooking, marshmallow roasting, s'more eating, gin tipping, ice cream treating, playground playing, crow squaking, sunshining, living, loving, laughing, birthday celebrating weekend was a success. Well, except for Steve's sunburn. Ouch.
Now if only I had a magic laundry fairy...
