My sister would occasionally invite a lot of friends over to her cottage. When there were too many to sleep in the cottage, she would have them all stay in trailers. When those were too full, there would be tents. My daughter, Caitlyn, would have a tent for such an occasion when she was invited to her aunt’s house.
Cait had been storing her big red tent in our garage and on a day when I was organizing the garage, it came to me that we should go camping. I hadn’t done this since I was very little and Charlene had not experienced it. I asked Charlene if I could plan a camping weekend and with a great deal of reluctance, she said yes.
I, too, was apprehensive. I did not know what to expect or what was to be done at a campsite. I started to look up things to bring from various websites, then started to figure out where we could go. I chose our first campsite to be Restoule Provincial Park.
It was perfect.
This site had its own private beach, although it was very small but very scenic on the lake. Privacy was not as good as I was expecting, but facing the entrance of the tent towards the water made us feel like we had this place all to ourselves.
It was perfect.
Thank God this site was perfect because the next one I chose for that weekend was less than ideal, with the weather playing a factor in our impression of the campsite and camping in general.
But because the first one was so perfect, Charlene and I started to incorporate a lot more camping in our trips. By doing so, we saved considerably more money. Hotels cost the equivalent of three to six nights at a campsite and we discovered something rather strange once we started to camp.
Sometimes, well, all the time, campsites are dirty. Dirt on the ground. Dirt going into the tent. Dirt from walking. Dirt from dirt. Bathrooms were public with more dirt on the floors and if there was a beach at the campsite, then there would be a lot of sand in the showers.
But we are okay with that dirt. Not so in a hotel. Any speck of dirt, hair, stain or anything automatically sets that place as disgusting.
Plus camping adds to the experience of the trip. There is something different about setting up a tent during a massive rainstorm. Or when the wind is strong and the tent is threatening to collapse. Then there was the demonic sound that walked by our tent one fall evening that turned out to be a horny fox.
But also, there is the greatness of staring at the campfire, watching the darkness overcome the place and seeing fireflies dance in the forest. One night in Quebec, we stepped out and saw the beauty of the Milky Way. On a couple of occasions, a deer would grace its presence to us.
Camping is a must and is a great way of adding value and memories to a trip.
I did get jealous of other campers. Some would have custom-made signs featuring their names. I always wanted one for our site. Then Charlene found someone who could make these and got one as a gift to me for our camping excursions.
Thank you, my amazing wife for such a gift. I appreciate it more than I can express because it shows me that you love to camp as much as I do and that you value our time together.
I am looking forward to displaying this proudly wherever we go!
