A Camping We Will Go!!

Yay, it's summer!!! Too bad it's forecasting rain again...This Nova Scotia weather is downright rotten. And to think I put up ceiling fans in the bedrooms when I could have installed chandeliers and funky lighting instead. Grrr!!

Well, the house building process was last year...and (ahem) maybe the past few summers prior. No more! We are done building for a long while and we are determined to go camping again! Oh yes, this is going to be the summer for doing all we can and should and making lots of great memories (which should be easier now that we don't have to travel around together in my little car...hubby got himself a BIG truck!!).

Yes, we are definitely packing up the (sigh) tent, air matresses, and camping chairs and heading over to Marco Polo Land to do some "urban camping". They call Marco Polo the spot for urban campers because they are very accomodating to those of us who like our creature comforts in the great outdoors. They have two large pools, nice bathrooms (for a campground), a little convenience store for those forgetful campers...who moi?..., a youth drop-in center, ice-cream stand and even a fast-food take-out! It does sound a bit pathetic doesn't it?? Oh well, it is the place for me as it is also nice and safe with lots of security, nightly bonfires, and the kids can roam around on their bikes and feel quite independent.

My family often teases me when I say I want to go camping. The first time we took our kids was a family trip with my siblings, when I was 5 months pregnant with my third child. My bladder was on high alert, I was nauseous and my youngest boy had the remnants of a bad chest cold. Our tent said it was a four-man tent, and we were a four-man family (soon to be five...) but it sure didn't feel like it. I spent much of the night in pain trying to delay my frequent trips to the "bathroom" ( we were not at Marco Polo), and alternated that with worrying about my little guy whose cough seemed to be returning with a vengeance. The real kicker was that we were in a tent not a camper. You see, when we pulled up to our spot earlier in the day, full of good intentions, I was met with the sight of my brother and his family puttering about in their camper. They were cooking spaghetti (spaghetti??!!), had the radio going and were sitting at their table with a little fan blowing a cool breeze their way. I instantly felt sick...with envy!

Did I sulk for the remainder of the trip...you bet!! Pregnant, hormonal, nauseous and jealous! Yep, I was a prize...perhaps even acted a little child-like. Well, no more! No siree!! That was not the end of me as a camper. No way were my kids going to be able to say that their childhood was rotten because they never got to go camping. In fact, I treated my next camping trip like a really important "mission". That meant research, lists, lots of trips to the dollar store...you name it. By the time we left, we were sooo prepared! All my work paid off as it turned out to be a great time and I was a born-again camper!! No more sulking for me!!!

Since I'm now an "expert", I'll leave you with a few of my favorite tips: 1. If you want to be sure you always have clean hands (I'm a bit obsessive about this), take a bottle of liquid soap. a small handtowel and wrap a bungie cord around them and the tree near your water source. Perfect!! 2. Bring along a cheap vinyl tablecloth and a staplegun to secure it to your picnic table 3. Bring some of those dollar store "necklaces" that you snap and they light up. They make great night lights. 4. Don't have a portable toilet, but you do have a toddler? Bring along a potty for those inevitable middle of the night bathroom wake-up calls. This is a good one..trust me! 5. Precook your bacon so you can impress everyone with how fast you (or even better, your hubby) can get breakfast served. 6. Don't go camping pregnant...and whatever you do, don't go camping with a tent when the other parties in your group have a camper...unless you're really mature!! Happy camping!!!