A Lake Cottage Girl Goes Camping
My family does not Camp. Historically, we're not big on finding sleeping on the ground with no plumbing a relaxing experience. My parents were city kids and therefore camping was not in our summer repertoire growing up.
What we did do was cram far too many people into a small rental cottages on lakes up in the White Mountains. Over the course of 2 weeks, 20+ members of my extended family ( + friends) would come and go. It was absolute chaos. I loved every minute.
We were in the woods. We had grills and campfires and stars.
We had indoor plumbing and mattresses.
Now I'm the grown-up and I have an almost 5-year-old who has been obsessed with the idea of camping since she was at least 3, maybe younger. She's asked many times to go camping, and I've always given non-commital answers.
Well, this summer, we fucking did it. We took a surprise trip to Vermont for a long weekend at Gifford Woods State park. But first: The Planning
The Planning
Confession time. I am not, how do I say this... a relaxed person. I am an anxious disaster who only has her shit together because of a borderline compulsive need to Plan.
[[ TODO - explain the extensive planning ]]
So what all did someone who has never camped shell out for to do it for the first time? Glad you asked! Lets break it down.
There's a lot fo little things on this list, but the big-ticket items were almost all things we will have other uses for even if we never go camping again:
- A Cooler: We bought an 52QT RTIC Ultralight. We'll be able to use it for cookouts, road trips, and beach days. ($199)
- A Camp Stove: Coleman Cascade Classic. Powers out? With this and a grill, we're good to go. ($100, but we paid $40 after cashing in some REI rewards).
- Camp Chairs: 2 Kijaro Dual Locks ($40) and 1 kids camp chair from Dicks ($15). The little gremlin is about to be just the right age for soccer, so these will get plenty of use.
Oh, and the campsite reservation was $60 for the entire weekend.
The Trip