Through the years our family has had a handful of interesting tent camping experiences together. Two are quite vivid in my mind. Enjoy the highlights.
Ocotillo Wells, CA. I'm not sure we were even at a campsite. It seemed more like the leader of our pack just found a spot in the desert and said, 'this is it'. We were armed with our trusty tent while our companions rolled up in their tricked-out Class A Motorhomes and trailers filled with 4WD goodies. It was about 100 degrees during the day and 40 degrees at night. Even our dog, Max, didn't seem to get the appeal.
We had peanut butter and jelly shoved in a backpack while our friends laid out a complete Mexican feast for dinner thanks to their stocked kitchens. Luckily, they took pity on us and we went to bed with full tummies. As is often the case in the desert, a huge wind storm picked up in the middle of the night. We barely escaped being carried off as effortlessly as a tumbleweed into the sunset, when our friends offered their trailer for refuge. We picked up the entire tent and our belongings and spent the rest of the night inside a tent, inside a trailer.
San Onofre Beach-Camp Pendleton, CA. A celebration for July 4th. A group of friends, Marines and their families, were going to camp and watch the fireworks together with all the kids and their craziness. Some tents, some RV's. The best and most terrifying part of these campsites was that you were very close to the edge of the Pacific Ocean. I was convinced we might just be swept out by a wave during the night and wake up in Hawaii. Aloha!
When we arrived, Mike marveled (and griped) at bags upon bags being handed to him. I had accepted the challenge of creating our most happy camping experience to date. He gave me a particularly astonished look when he realized he would be inflating a queen sized air mattress. The cherry on top of my camping sundae, and source of Mike's most embarrassment, was the unveiling of our king sized down comforter. This is not the 'roughing it' model Mike had grown up with or experienced as a Marine. Lucky for me, he just forged ahead with a (albeit small) smile on his face. Happy wife, happy life as they say.
I was not surprised by the inner resistance I continued to feel regarding camping. My surprise came with the joy of shared experiences, camaraderie, quality family time and a great story to tell. My true enthusiasm and delight came with witnessing my girls having the time of their lives! I knew there must be a happy medium between completely roughing it and, the now trendy, glamping.
Side note: We never saw the fireworks on that 4th of July. We were on the wrong side of a bluff that blocked our view! Who knew?
Happy travels ~ Sara
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