Redefining “Vacation”
Staying at a large all-inclusive resort is probably not happening for me in the foreseeable future. Staying around crowds of other people sounds a bit anxiety inducing given the COVID scare. Give way to the 2010’s break out travel star - airbnb - staying in a rental property sounds much more appealing. Alternatively, ever since I watched the Hallmark movie ‘Nature of Love’ I’ve been itching to go glamping (no making fun of me for being a Hallmark fan!) Tranquility, thinly veiled as simplicity, describes the way a hygge mountain escape would make me feel. With the Hallmark movie peaking my natural curiosity, I decided to do some research to find out if my hypothesis was true, are people planning to camp more often after the quarantine? According to a KOA study, prospective campers will increase by about 10%, so it looks like some of you will be joining me on my next yurt excursion!
Truth be told, Matt’s family were the real campers. Generations of his family loved to go camping in tents, R.V.’s and trailers. Their endearing stories over the years have slowly made me appreciate what camping has to offer. My family was more of the hotel or resort types, but don’t count me out! I did actually camp as a kid and Matt and I took our children camping (albeit in the air-controlled comfort of our R.V.)
Growing up, I camped in the many acres behind my friend Mike’s house where half of the neighborhood kids joined in the fun. It was exciting, a touch scary at times (hearing wildlife), but always memorable. Then there was my first family camping trip with my mom and brother in Cape Cod near Race point Beach in Provincetown with my Uncle Brian and my cousins. My Uncle had a bread truck that he used like an RV. I recall that we were supposed to park in the campsite next to him, but because they were oversold, that did not happen- wrecking my mom’s plan to share my Uncle’s supplies. I was 16 and I brought my best friend Tracey along; we were excited, we had our own 2-man tent. Thinking back, I don’t think we ever laughed so hard trying to sleep with the torrential rain; the wind, and thunderstorms were so strong that our tent collapsed. The drowned fabric laid on our faces, soaking us from head to toe. That storm was fierce, but screaming from her tent, my mother instructed us to stay put insisting the storm would pass quickly. Completely drenched and exhausted, Tracey and I decided to go against her instructions, and after about an hour we got up and walked over to my mom and brother’s tent to see if their glacial 4-man tent was any drier. Much to our surprise we found their tent empty and both were fast asleep in our huge Buick Estate Station Wagon, all dry and cozy. We could not believe it; they folded the three rows of seats down and made a super lounge in there and their tent was perfectly dry! We rode out the storm in our own tent after dragging a couple of folding lounge chairs inside- do you remember them? They cost about $8 at the time, they were made of metal with those thin plastic straps weaved into the frame, they folded into three parts for portability. Whatever happened to them? They were probably toxic in some way! Anyway, that was the first and last camping expedition with my family.
Fast forward to my twenties and camping with Matt. He knew all the tricks and how to properly camp, and what to bring. We camped everywhere - in Old Orchard Beach Maine, Block Island, Narragansett R.I., upstate New York, and lots of other places- usually with our friends Dan and Janine. Matt and I camped along the St. Lawrence Seaway all the way to Quebec in his sketchy white Astro cargo van too; but the older I got, the less I liked packing and unpacking all the stuff required to make it a comfortable experience. So, when my son Patrick was a baby, we bought an RV; I could leave all the “essentials” on board and we were ready to go at a moment's notice. That lasted until Patrick's sports schedule was so ridiculous that we had no time to travel- you may have experienced a similar problem. Today, glamping seems like a nice marriage between luxury, comfort, and being in the great outdoors. Check out this list of top glamping sites in America, they look amazing.
So before your next camping or glamping experience, pick up a few things to make your time a little more pleasurable. Perhaps a beautiful new outdoor blanket,a duffle bag, a backpack, maybe some Piper and Dune Silicone cups - and don’t forget one for your dog! An SOS emergency kit is essential or maybe a few 6 in 1 utensils? I also love the idea of packing a fun activity like our small stargazing, cloudspotting or music writing notebooks. Of course you will want a comfortable new T-shirt, a new hat and comfy socks too. Camping is always better when you have a few little trinkets or gadgets.
Stay healthy and Explore What Excites You!
Chris and The Piper and Dune Family
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