We moved from tenting to trailer camping this summer – yet another indicator that I’m softening in my years. In an effort to manage the learning curve, we camped in it for the better part of two weeks as school was winding to an end.
The benefits:
- You are conscious of water use in a way that you never are at home, and never were in a tent. It’s a mindfulness that carries over to home for me.
- Our camp ground did not come with wireless internet. Being unplugged has its benefits.
- Fishing (benefit #1). Water, two sons, and a host of catch-and-release: smallmouth bass, pumpkinseed, perch, and bluegill.
- Swimming at the beach (benefit #2).
- Walking and (for the kids) biking.
- Camp fires are still camp fires, regardless of what you actually camp in.
- Trailer campers are every bit as friendly and helpful as tent campers. Beautifully so.
- Set up is so much simpler than tenting. So is take down.
- Being taken care of by students you once took care of yourself (at the camp ground and the trailer sales place).
- The realization of how small a home can be, and still be a home.
The deficits:
- The farm suffers. Weeds. (Although saving weeding up for a frontal assault instead of a daily chore has its benefits, too).
- The peonies bloomed and fell without us.
- The birds ate every single sour cherry off the vineyard’s cherry tree. I had plans for those. So, I guess, did the birds.
Guess I know which one wins.
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