Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Summer - Adventures in Camping

When Summer arrives, my thoughts lead to one thing, camping!

I have so many fond memories of my childhood summer vacations. Before I met my husband, my idea of camping was staying in a well-equipped RV at a really nice campground.

My dad was, and still is, a very smart business man. As such, we were very fortunate to be able to take so many trips. Every year we went to Florida at least once. Sometimes it was during the summer, other times we went during Christmas vacation. Sometimes both! I wish I could share some of those pictures of those trips here, but alas, they are not digital and I have to scan them all. (Hmmm....I feel a winter project in the works!)

Some of my favorite memories were when we went to Disney World. I remember as a child how I hated going inside The Haunted Mansion. It terrified me and my brother would always do something to make me jump and scream!

I loved visiting Sea World...I think it was favorite place. Seeing the whales and dolphins fascinated me, but I could never convince my mom to sit down front. She didn't want to get wet during the show! Oh well... Looking back on it now, going here several times when I was young helped to shape my desire to live near the ocean. Not that I can swim or anything...I just need to be near the water as I find it very soothing.

Other family vacations throughout the years included Tennessee to visit the Great Smokey Mountains, Mackinac Island, MI, the Amana Colonies in Iowa, Pennsylvania Dutch Country, Hershey Park in Hershey, PA, up north to The Wisconsin Dells, and even further up north to Hayward, WI to see the World Championship Lumberjack contests.

As you can see, most of my childhood was spent on the Eastern half of the U.S. After I married, I moved West, first to Arizona, and now, California. Since 1992, my husband and I have traveled all over the west on our vacations. But the difference this time is we camp...in a tent!


What a shock to my system! Here I was, used to the finer amenities of camping (my husband referred to that as my RVing years) and now I'm roughing it! Although, I must admit, I put my foot down and demanded there be a real toilet wherever we go. Or, at the very least, we take a toilet with us. Well actually, we take more than that. I always say, "We are not heathens! We camp in style!" We pack all the best things from home, just using camping gear!

One of the most memorable experiences was at Yellowstone National Park. I think the picture below says it all:

Nothing like having a buffalo next to your tent!

Oh and before I forget, we create a huge traffic jam, when my husband took this picture:


He was less than 10 feet away from these bad boys! That probably wasn't a good idea since it was the "rutting" season!

My favorite Camping photo is when we went to Pismo Beach. It's my favorite place in the whole world. The photo below captures it all for me:


I will say that my husband taught me the true meaning of camping. We have had so many adventures than I can count. I know that there are so many more to come. I hope to share more photos with you soon as we are off for another adventure in August. I am so excited, I think I am going to burst! I am going back to my favorite place in the whole world!

Until then,

Happy Summer Memories Everyone!




From Signature



***I have written this piece for a group on Facebook that I recently joined, GBE 2: Blog On. Interested in more...click on the picture below to take you there.

12 comments :

  1. I love that you love camping and make it sound so exciting! For me, a nice motel with a nice TV and a nearby restaurant! Great story of summer and well written. Welcome to GBE 2!

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  2. I can really feel your pleasure and enthusiasm conveyed through your words. I'm not a camping kinda girl but you almost got me motivated to try! Lovely pictures too, and thanks for sharing :)

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  3. When our kids were younger, we used to take them camping all the time. My daughter, now 21, was telling me how most of her friends have never been camping in their lives! How can a kid grow up without ever sleeping in a tent and sitting around a camp fire? Shame.

    Joyce
    http://joycelansky.blogspot.com

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  4. Holy cow! I'm kind of a hotel with a pool kind of girl, but I have to say that you give camping a good name! :O)

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  5. Enjoyed reading this. I've been fortunate to have done some traveling in my time and when we were first married my husband and I camped all over Europe. Now our oldest son carries on the tradition with his two sons.

    Love the picture with that buffalo outside your tent and the one that caused the traffic jam!

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  6. Camping, that would suit Estonia very well! You should see the scenary here!

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  7. My camping days are over - I remember too many occasions of being 'washed-out' when camping in Britain.
    Going to Disneyworld at Christmas - but will be staying in a hotel!

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  8. We camp in tents too. To be honest with you--I'd rather have an RV--because that would be a step up for me--or at least a camper we could pull.

    That said--I have one rule when it comes to camping. BLOW UP MATTRESS is a MUST! Ha Ha. Only twice was I in a situation that I had to sleep on the floor. The last time was the last time--I just don't go without a mattress.

    Your pictures here are great!! I want to go camping out west!! I really would love to go back to the yellowstone national park and go west and explore. Maybe some day soon!! Cheers, Jenn

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  9. Um. You go girl.. I like more than just a running toilet.

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  10. I'll tell you a story you pulled from my memory when you mentioned The Haunted Mansion. Once when I was very little with my mom at the county fair we'd gone into their haunted house deal. My mom was feeling the walls to guide our passage through the pitch black path and all of a sudden she felt a face! OMG! She let out a horror movie scream, but it turned out to be only 2 young girls who had got scared to go through. They followed us out.

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  11. LOVE that kind of excitement BURST!! We you a lil afraid of the "mooses" i heard they can charge

    buffalo in the background..awesome!

    OK can't wait to see the next trip!

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  12. I haven't been camping since I was a kid. Fun post.

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