How many of you have ever been camping? By camping, I don't mean heading to the fully furnished cabin or RV that has all the amenities of home lol! It is a totally different animal, and by different I mean different from what you envision and possibly how you feel! The first time we went some years ago, MOST of us went with an open mind but reservations (one was totally against it, but the adults refused to leave our teen at home for 3 days alone). The other half and the kids (all girls) were petrified of bugs. ALL of us are used to being tethered to our wireless devices. 3 out of 4 of us weren't fans of "being outside" beyond walking between the car/uber and our destination. We all were/are spoiled when it comes to food and its convenience.. and 2 out of 4 could hardly cook at all at time. Having to go to the bathroom? Well...I think you can guess the general consensus of how that feeling was.
Being the suburbanites we were, the mrs and I did do a lot of research online about camping. We also consulted friends and family who were into it... and the the mrs even talked to military family with experience of REALLY roughing it lol. After delving into it, we did as much prep as we could. We bought a LOT of stuff. A decent tent, 18 ways of starting a fire, all kinds of tools, 25 ways of purifying water, camping "outfits", you name it. Instead of being ready for camping we were more ready for a SHTF situation by many standards (Which we saw later would come in handy, but we'll talk about that in future entries).
To sum it up - EVERYONE wound up coming to a new understanding of what is not just camping, but the experience of being in the outdoors itself. We found that some of the major inconveniences weren't so bad. We saw that there were ways of making those more tolerable or no issue. We learned new skills in a fun way together. We learned that we were both underprepared and over prepared at the same time. We learned that some of the camping/survival tools sold were trash (again, later entry). The Mrs. and I confirmed some things that we knew...and through the experience what we DIDN'T know. ALL of us wound up having a great time. We struggled with some things. We found victory in them through failure and learning. We became more comfortable in the discomfort of the unknown. We disconnected from the world and we grew CLOSER in our experience.. and we had fun!!!! The spider in our makeshift outhouse at night (yes, we were fancy-ish, it was found by a screaming kid, she didn't die and we all laughed after lol). The fire that we couldn't start easily. The lugging of water back n forth to purify. The arguing of 2 teens forced to be together with no buffer. The fear of the animal sounds getting closer at night. The Smore's that were amazing. The taste of that first simple meal that seemed as good as any 5 star meal. The campfire that was peaceful and warm on a cold night. The new feeling of being totally FREE in the moment. All these and so many more made up one one of those core memories that I am glad we all shared together. What was YOUR first excursion like?
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