Truth telling time: I did not grow up camping. Nor did my husband. Sure we each went on the occasional camp outs with our respective families when we were growing up, and I spent most summers attending summer camps in the mountains of North Carolina, where you’d camp out at least once.
But I didn’t grow up camping every weekend.
Many years into our marriage, and well after we had kids, my husband and I realized how much we liked hiking together. Again, we’d both had some limited experience hiking as kids (with families, with camp), so when our kids got old enough when we could start trekking up hills again, we went for it. We’re lucky we live in the foothills of the North Carolina mountains, so a great hike is just a short drive away.
But camping was a totally new ball game for us. So why did we decide to take the plunge? We started off tent camping with friends, and found we really enjoyed it – the campfires, the s’mores, being outside, listening to music, being away from our electronic devices. But then the rain came. Continue reading “We’re all new campers here (so come on in!)”