Of course, I want the same for my child: Memories of camping — minus the swimming pool, but add a natural body of water. I’m embarrassed to admit I’ve taken her camping just once during her nine years. So, when a family friend invited us to camp at Sebago Lake State Park this past weekend, we jumped at the chance.
Only problem was we had no camping equipment. And very little money.
I hauled the fam to Marden’s to purchase equipment on the cheap. While our very first trip to Marden’s is a story in itself, we left with a tent, sleeping bags, mats, flash lights, a lantern, camping dishes and a trumpet — now referred to as the “family trumpet” — which was not meant as camping entertainment but rather a stimulus for home life.
Preparing for this trip was quite an ordeal. I had a list of lists so I wouldn’t forget anything. I called Sebago to find out how far away the water hookup is from our site and if there were logs nearby for a fire. Oh, and did I need one of those firestarter logs? What about bathrooms? How many coolers do I need? And how do you make coffee over a fire?
These questions would inevitably be answered after we set up camp. And it wasn’t that big of a deal if something was forgotten — we were only 40 minutes from home and staying just one night.
It was like an introduction to camping for dummies. And our trial run went relatively smoothly. The hustle of camp set up was a breeze and the day trip spent on the beach was spectacularly relaxing. There is plenty of shade for the fair-skinned, sand to build castles and water to wade in. It’s the only beach I can spend hours at without getting third-degree sunburns.
The kids were all smiles, as were the adults. Discussion of staying another night began around our fire-cooked dinner, which was a smorgasbord of meat — organic steak, chicken, hamburgers, hot dogs, turkey cheddar hot dogs, Boca burgers and sweet Italian sausages.
Nothing could ruin our utopic camping sesh.
Nothing but an all-night and all-morning rain storm. I woke out of a dead sleep to a down-pour of rain patting the tarp over our nylon ceiling. Rain? I never considered the one thing that ruins all camping trips! I didn’t even bring an umbrella. Lucky for us that discounted Marden’s tent wasn’t leaky. We made it through the night without a drop getting inside, however, I woke up every 10 minutes to check the floor and ceiling for leaks.
Lying in what would have been a pool had we shared a tent with our friends at the next site, I thought about the tear-down process. Taking that tent down in the rain would be, well, an adventure.
We all grudgingly slushed out of our tents to the canopy, where coffee was made on a propane stove (who knew!) and comments like “this rain kind of takes all the fun out of it, huh?” and “did you wake up with your face in a soggy pillow, too?” were exchanged. There would be no staying an extra night, only the quickest tent breakdown you’ll ever witness.
Sure, I haven’t the slightest idea where we’ll air out that tent considering we live in a tiny apartment and have no yard, but we’ll figure it out. And next weekend we may be packing it up again for a two-day trip ... with umbrellas and extra shoes.