Camping – Sometimes Easier To Stay Home

Oh, the joys of camping. Getting out into the great outdoors. It should relaxing, right?

I wish it were  the case.

I didn't realize what a slave I have become to all of life's amenities. Until I packed up recently for a camping trip.  Batteries, generators and extension cords are all on the packing list now.

When I was a kid, when my parents took us camping, it was truly "roughing it." boiling water to actually wash dishes and everything was done manually; we didn't have a need for air mattresses to sleep on, let alone, battery operated pumps to air them up. we put a blanket on the ground, and a sleeping bag on top of it...that was it.

Now, in addition to air pumps and easy set-up tents, we take warmers/coolers that are battery operated to keep things both hot and cold, respectively.  Now, fans (and electric hookups) are par for the course. If there's isn't a natural breeze, we bring our own with us.

It seemed like my father used to start fires by using flint rocks. Now days, we take propane appliances with us and use fire rings instead of rocks.

Basically after spending an hour loading up the car, and another hour unloading once we got to the campsite, it was like moving a portion of our kitchen and bedrooms from our home.

I'm thinking that next time, I'll just pitch that tent in the living room. That way, I'll have a/c and satellite t.v. without having to load anything in the car.