Tuesday, September 18, 2012

My first tent experience

I am proud of myself, I did something that wasn't even on my bucket list because I never would have guessed I would have ever done it in my life.  Camping.  I know it sounds silly - but I have a huge fear of bugs and having them crawl on me and being ingested.

My sister invited me to this amazing sporty thing that I will talk about tomorrow and I really wanted to go...and to do that it made more sense to camp before hand then drive so much in one day.  

Knowing I was doing something I was petrified about - I made sure to go in full swing...I am an overachiever after all.

As soon as we got out of the car, I read the directions to put up the tent and was able to do it by myself, well my sister helped too- someone did come over and give me a pointer, but I would have figured it out even if he didn't because the tent assembly was actually quite easy. 

It got dark really soon, but my people did all the cooking and cleaning up so it was really easy for me.  After dinner we played a little flashlight tag, stargazed and then roasted marshmallows for S'mores and was in the tent by....10.  It ended up being a bit chilly, about 40 degrees and we weren't prepared for the chill.  The kids slept on an air mattress and I gave them my blanket leaving me laying on the tent floor without a blanket...making it very difficult to sleep.  Everyone in my tent moved to the car at about 5am at which time I layed on the air mattress and used a blanket and thought camping wouldn't be so bad if I was comfortable like that!  Next time I'll have to remember that small luxury until (assuming I do this again) I am comfortable enough with this to really 'rough' it. 

Overall, I have to say that camping wasn't as horrible as I expected.  This place was good for first-timers; I wasn't worried about not showering or peeing in the woods (although there was a bath house there) and the car was right there where we can store food/bags.




1 comment:

  1. That's not bad for a first time, Denise. :) I get you, I have entomophobic friends too, you know. It's a phobia that is most common to children, actually. When you're out camping, avoid wet areas with a lot of stagnant pools or tall grass. Bugs breed in such conditions, and they love to feast on any creatures within reach. Oh, and don't forget to apply insect repellent lotion on your skin.

    Sue Mattson

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