Vacation Lodge

I'll be honest - I am not a nature girl. I don't like bugs, spiders, snakes or extreme heat. Ryan and I camped a bit in our younger days (much younger - like with no kids). So, as we have gotten older, looking back at those camping trips are remembered as good times and full of nostalgia. We (just he and I) took a mini-camping trip last May and it was lovely. However, the tent we had was small - there was no way all 6 of us could really camp in that tent. We have several sets of friends that tent camp often and had invited us to go. It is relatively cheap for a family our size and it is good family fun. I am always looking for ways to "unplug" my boys from their beloved electronics. So, we bought Ryan the "Vacation Lodge" for Father's Day and gave him a camping trip over the Fourth of July holiday as his birthday present. He was surprised but glad to go. For extra fun, we invited some friends to come along. Looking back, the trip would not had been nearly as pleasant had they not been able to make it - we (I) had no idea what I was doing! We may have starved. Ryan, of course, was a champion at setting up the tent, cooking over an open fire, being immune to the heat and bugs. I have been trying to reflect on the differences between camping in the early 90's vs. now. I have come up with a few differences: 1) We lived in Boone. Rarely is it 102 in Boone. 2) We didn't really go to campsites - we just picked spots along the Blue Ridge Parkway. There were no other people there (other than the people we invited).3) We didn't really "cook" - we stopped by and brought fast food there or just snacked. 4) We traveled light - there wasn't a lot to pack, unpack, store, etc. Having made this list made me feel much better. I am not wimpy - just seasoned! Overall, we still had a great time and we are definitely going to try it again - maybe a little longer this time and in cooler weather! Besides, we have to camp again - I left my wedding ring in one of the pockets that got folded up inside the tent - only me....