Reverting

When I was a young woman, I used to joke that the only kind of camping I was willing to do would be at Camp Holiday Inn.  This was mostly due to the fact that as a child almost every camping trip I went on with my parents was completely uncomfortable and usually ended in rain.  And then there was the one time it ended in a tornado...me, holding my baby sister, sitting in the tent and watching it heave in and out...yeah that particular trip might have had something to do with my dislike for camping.

Fifteen years ago, Nathan and I went on our fist camping trip together and I was shocked at the differences.  Instead of four people sleeping in a 'four person tent' (seriously, who sleeps side by side like that without any gear when camping?!?!?), there was just the two of us in a four person tent.

Instead of sleeping with rocks and sticks poking me in the back all night, we slept on an air mattress.  Instead of our campsite being in a parking lot next to fifty other campers, our site was secluded amongst the trees.  And instead of the cold and rainy weather I was used to, we had a calm cool breeze at night and it was completely-rain-free!

I was sold on this new version of camping and soon we started adding gear to make our camping more and more convenient.  Seriously, we camp like kings and queens.  Here's a picture of my camping bed, it's a double-decker air-mattress, with sheets and satin pillowcases:

We love camping so much we've considered buying and living full-time in an RV.  An RV....now that would rock.  Imagine most of your things pre-packed in your camper, pulling up to your sight, leveling your camper, and then....just enjoying yourself for the duration of the trip.

Over the last year or so, this RV dream of mine has become a bit obsessive.  It's to the point where I don't want to camp anymore without one.  I'm tired of setting up the tents (3 of them), filling up air-mattresses (4 of them, including the double-decker which requires a special plug-in that runs off the battery of the truck), putting sheets on the bed and rolling out sleeping bags, pounding the Kamp Pal into the ground (with it's paper towels, garbage bag, lantern, and hand sanitizer), putting out the table cloth, setting out the chairs, organizing the camp stove, gas burner, AND the gas griddle, stringing the close line, filling the water jug, erecting the canopy, and then finally playing the 'what did we forget?' game.

This past weekend we went camping and there was something *different* about it.  When we pulled up to the camp site, everyone jumped out of the truck and we had camp set up in less then an hour, less then an hour!  It was easy and fun.  I stood there, dazed and confused, wondering why on earth I wanted an RV so badly.  Then it hit me.  Over the last year, in an attempt to get a head start on our camping weekends, I have gone out early with the kids and set up camp without Nathan three of the last five times.

I don't need an RV, I just need my husband...the camper.