I hate vacation prep. Does that sound irrationally negative? In the interest of full disclosure, I would much rather curl up in bed, under piles of blankets, than pack for a trip. There just must be a better approach, because my anxiety level is through the roof.
Not only is planning frustrating, but when you come home you need a vacation from your vacation. This year I'm being smart. I'm taking off the day after we're planning to return, so I can start on some laundry and SLEEP BLISSFULLY. We'll see how that works.
This year I'm making use of online websites, as well as books, suggesting ways to make the process simpler. What I could really use is a cookbook for camping, which doesn't exist at my library, or even within our system. Perhaps Borders has something. There have to be easy recipes not requiring lots of clean up. Surely?
Another challenge is the problem of what - and how much - clothing to bring. While we're going through the Pacific Northwest, where it's freezing at night (45 F) and moderately warm during the day (60s - 70s F), the three day trips there and back pass through stinking hot western states. Basically, we need every form of clothing from shorts to jeans, tank tops to jackets and heavy sweaters. And I was hoping to be as minimal as possible. As for doing laundry? The goal is to do it just once, halfway through. HA HA! I know.
I've learned camping requires bringing a mini-version of your entire house, cramming it into less than 1/20th the space. The pop-up camper fills up quickly, and just when you think you have everything in a convenient place, everything shifts. Then no one can find anything.
What's not to love about that?
Washing dishes in a sink the size of a paperback book is fun, too. Since there's no separate sink for rinsing, it's impossible to wash dishes without also taking a shower in the process. Then again, maybe I should look at that as multi-tasking. Laundry, personal hygiene and washing dishes, all at the same time!
Perhaps the worst part is how quickly quarters become cramped, and cluttered, in a camper jammed with five people - four of them adults or as big as adults - all trying to occupy the same space at the same time. It gets old really quickly.
Bears and other wildlife ... They scare the living hell out of me, especially the bears. I'm afraid one of them will come sniffing around our camper because we forgot to put something scented into the van. So of course I don't sleep nights. If I'm going to become a grizzly bear's midnight snack I want to be awake to see it, dammit.
I've covered storage, cramped quarters and bears. Offensive odors are fun, too. As is trying to find your clothing and/or toiletries in the maelstrom. Oh, and showering in a public bathroom, where someone with a life-threatening fungus may have rinsed off just before you. And, dressing in a room so tiny you bump elbows on either side, while standing on a tile floor streaked with dirt. Which your clothes drag through, on their journey to your body.
And the fun part is ...?
This week will be full to the brim with vacation prep, so don't be too surprised if posts are sporadic. Think of me kindly, and for God's sake, if you have any tips on how to survive camping without committing hari kari, feel free to drop me a line. I'd appreciate any advice.
Back to the list making for me. Goodie!
My family always went camping at least once a summer when I was a kid. But it was in northern Illinois or Southern Wisconsin, which was always sticky hot and normally rainy. Nevertheless, I have found memories!
My husband and I have decided neither of us have any interest in it, so alas, our son won't get those found memories. Kudos to you for doing it even for not wanting to!
Posted by: Rebecca Reid | June 23, 2009 at 03:00 PM