'What happens around the campfire, stays at the campfire!'
Although you can camp all here, and I have, for most people, especially with school age kids, the last weekend of August marks the end of camping season. It's now time to head home, clean the camping gear ,(ugh) and start getting into a bedtime routine and daytime schedule in preparation for the beginning of school.
We camped a lot when I was a kid. Usually we went just on weekends because of my dad's work, but once in awhile, my father drove back to the city to work, leaving my mother and my siblings at the campground for the week. This usually occurred if some of my parents friends were also camping and mom had others, besides her annoying kids, to hang out with.
We also had a tent, or tent trailer borrowed from an uncle. My parents friends however, all had trailers. They had bathrooms and kitchens, and little 12 inch television sets to catch the news. I used to covet those trailers and those 12 inch TV's and thought their owners were so lucky and rich.
Anyone whose camped, knows that the take down is far worse than the set up. Sure, if you had an older tent it could be a bitch to set up, but taking down a tent, usually a wet one, and packing up damp, sticking clothes, dishes and equipment, for me, was far worse. You also knew, that as soon as you got home, your parents were going to bug you to hang the tent in the backyard, wash the equipment, and put in a load of laundry.
All that aside, I do miss those trips with my family. I still camp, but because I have a campground near the ocean close to my home, do the quick one-nighters. We call on Wednesday, book a beach front site, go with only what we need, one change of clothes, liquor and junk food.
We get take-out on the drive down on Friday, and breakfast at a diner on Saturday morning. No need for a stove or dishes. The only dish I bring is a glass, I like my wine in a glass, not a plastic cup. After breakfast at the diner, we head back to the site, swim, hang out and then head back, home again by dinner.
