I love to camp.  My parents couldn’t afford to take us to exotic places, so every year we’d go camping during my dad’s summer vacation times instead.  We started off in a small trailer, with all four of us kids sleeping across the upper bunk, then when we got too big to fit, we were relegated to a tent while my parents remained cozy in the trailer.  Since my dad usually had 3-4 weeks of vacation time to use or lose, we’d spend 1-1/2 to 2 weeks camping in the mountains, the other half of his vacation time camping at the ocean.  The beauty of living in Washington State where you could flip a coin for the mountains or ocean, and be there in less than a day’s drive.

My earliest memories of camping was myself, my older sister and my parents – we did some sort of road trip to California and camped in a tent on the beach.  Apparently ‘back in the day’ when it was allowed.  I remember my parents miscalculated the rising tide, the inside of the tent had two cots on each side, one for each of my parents, and me and my sister were sleeping in sleeping bags on the floor.  We woke up to water lapping around us, so we crawled into the cots with my parents until morning.  At least they only miscalculated a little, so there was only a few inches of water rather than being washed out with the surf.

Every time we went camping my parents would bring our bikes along – us kids would spend hours riding around on the trails and bring back fire wood when instructed to do so.  We’d bring along a slew of toys and have our own little villages set up in the campground for fun.  When we camped in the mountains, we would always ride innertubes down the river, or fish from the banks.  When we camped at the ocean, we’d always brave the cold water so we could jump and splash in the surf, play in the sand or fish from the rocky heights of a jetty.

My favorite part was when it got dark and we had a roaring campfire to keep us warm, roasting hot dogs or marshmallows over the open flame.  There’s nothing quite like the sounds of nature all around, with the intermittent crackling of the fire interrupting the stillness of the evening.  Any time I smell the smoke of a campfire, I’m always taken back to those fun and carefree days as a kid.

When us kids got older, we continued the camping trend, spending a weekend camping with our friends and making it into a huge camping fun party.  There was one weekend we had a huge group of friends that decided to go camping for the 4th of July weekend – I didn’t have my own tent, so my parents let me borrow their 6-foot one.  At first I thought it would be lame, but after everyone converged on Ocean Shores for some fun, it started to rain.  Suddenly my parent’s ‘lame’ tent became the place to be, as many people as possible piled in to stay dry.  My brother and some of his friends dug a huge fire pit – we’re talking at least 8-feet across and 3-feet deep.  We had the biggest bonfire going which seemed to draw people from all over.

One of my brothers friends introduced me to gourmet camping – she and her boyfriend brought along a cookstove and instead of the usual fare of hotdogs and hamburgers, she made things like Parmesan Chicken and Alfredo.  Any camping trips after that I followed her lead and did the whole gourmet cooking, too.

I have only talked my hubby into going once after we moved to PA – of course it rained like crazy that weekend, so we cut the weekend short.  He apparently considers ‘roughing it’ as a cheap motel without room service.  I’m still working on him – Princess Nagger has heard some of my camping stories (and one of these days I’ll finally dig the pictures out of the attic to share) and has expressed interest in going camping.  I’d love for her to experience some of the fun I had camping as a kid – I know she’d love it as much as I do.

Do you like to camp?  Or are you more like my hubby in the ‘roughing it’ department?

This Camp-Out Spin Cycle was brought to you in part by Jen, who I bet would enjoy camping with some gourmet cooking and who is also Sprite’s Keeper.  Stop on by and see what camping adventures the others have spun up – maybe you’ll get the camping bug, too.


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24 Comments

  1. I love a good camping trip. Although, I will admit, I can be a bit fair weathered…in the sense that we take our cozy 18ft. camping trailer along. But we cook, clean and eat by the fire, and use the trailer for only sleeping. The best part..the guys do all the cooking when we camp. Man, I love those dutch ovens and the meals they whip up.
    Danielle would like you to read ..@&amp Auto-CorrectMy Profile

  2. We used to camp a lot as kids. And my husband and I camped several times the first three years we were married. But after a few recent bad camping experiences, of completely sleepless nights, we haven’t been in about 3. I would totally love to have a camper and go again.
    Kristina P. would like you to read ..Nap DancingMy Profile

  3. love camping…grew up doing it with my family and others…as a teen we used to take our bags and a light pack and hit the AT and just sleep in spots along the way…of course, pretty sure you know i lived outdoors for a year right after college…
    brian would like you to read ..tapsMy Profile

  4. I didn’t camp at all as a kid but since meeting Nick we have been camping a lot. We have progressd from tents to sleeping in the back of his truck under the topper to a camper–pop up style. We just got a newer pop-up camper and are still going camping. There is something about the smell of a campfire that just makes me feel relaxed.
    VandyJ would like you to read ..Camping- Jones style-Spin CycleMy Profile

  5. I’m a camper like you. Hmmm, one year we should meet somewhere in the middle! I bet PN would love to show LG how to hunt for fossils in the woods.

    I love reading about other people’s good memories of their vacations from their childhood. Usually you only hear about how horrible people remember it being!

  6. I camped , took my kids camping, took hubby camping a couple times in a rental trailer and he is not a camper. Your childhood memories of camping are wonderful. I hope you tell Princess Nagger stories of some camping trips and show her pictures. My kids have told me lately how much they have enjoyed my telling stories of things like that to them.
    TechnoBabe would like you to read ..The Older We GetMy Profile

  7. We did a lot of camping before we had our children. We lived in Illinois and we would drive out West. It was awesome. We did a motor home when the kids were little. That was fun and I would like to do that again but you really need to have a car with you. Then we took the kids camping when they were a little older. Now we do the cabin in the woods.
    I don’t think I will tent camp again.
    Debby would like you to read ..SNAIL MAIL PROJECTMy Profile

  8. Your camping trips sound a lot more pleasant than my childhood camping trips. Though the tide coming in is pretty bad!!!! : )

    My husband won’t even CONSIDER camping … not even a “renting a cabin” type of camping (which isn’t really camping). What spoiled little babies we are married to!
    Jenners would like you to read ..Writers Workshop- FreedomMy Profile

  9. Great spin! My family went camping every year too, always in a little travel trailer we’d pull behind our station wagon. My mother loved it because she got a bed and a bathroom, and Daddy loved it because he got a campfire and the great outdoors!
    Gretchen would like you to read ..Spin Cycle- Mother Natures SonMy Profile

  10. I didn’t camp as a kid but have done it a lot with hubby and kids…love it! Much prefer riverside to the beach because sand and camping are not fun for me! However, here where I am in Va. it’s only three hours from ocean to mountains…love that I can go between the two places I want to be. I hope you get to take your Princess camping! I know she’ll have as fond memories of it as you have. Great spin.
    SuziCate would like you to read ..Not A Bicycle Gearhead!My Profile

  11. I do enjoy “camping with amenities” – you know, a roof, walls, beds, heat, wi-fi. I don’t require indoor plumbing, although it’s nice, but electricity is a must. We stayed in KOA Kabins on a trip last fall and they were great – the campground restrooms and showers were clean and comfortable.
    Carol would like you to read ..Smells that make me happyMy Profile

  12. I love your story. I have fond memories of camping as a child and we are still making memories almost every weekend. We have a campsite but now it seems like there is a lot more preparation then when we were young. We love every minute though, especially the campfire cooking. Thanks for the story!

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