Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah

We bought a pop-up camper on Thursday, my last day of work was Friday, my DH left Saturday for his annual golf trip (not even close to as elitist as it sounds - I believe the goal is to find the cheapest round of 18 in the tri-state area), and I am about to drive My Dear Son to summer camp. It is pretty much the start of moving our home to the road.  For the next 4 days, all we will be doing is:

• Eating everything we can in our stationary house (we are already down to the last in the fridge) 
• Cleaning up so that when we come back to Suburbia it feels like paradise (as if a real shower won't be enough)
• Packing so we don't end up buying stuff on the road that we already own (crushes my frugal heart)
• Planning the last details of the month long camping trip

Frankly, it will be easier now that we have a pop-up camper.  Kind of.  There is a simplicity to just having a tent that I will miss but as with all life, there are levels.  We thought we were hard-core with a tent, but then you get on the road and see someone with a motorcycle and a tent, and then someone biking with a tent, and then someone walking with a back-pack.  We are still slightly hard-core.  The camper is very used.  It came complete with a stove, fridge, 3 full beds, and 12 wasp nests.  It also has air, which given that the day we leave the temperature is projected to be 106, I think that was a choice well made.  At least on the nights when we have no hope of it cooling down, we can opt to camp at a place that is $16 a night, and has electricity.  Or we could really go nuts and stay at a place for $42 a night and have WiFi and a pool (and I'll get to blog)!

The camper story is funny but probably loses something in writing, maybe when I write a book, I'll include that bit of the story, but in the end, my DH has wanted a camper for YEARS.  We started by looking at new, but they are expensive!  A good 7-10k; and then you need to pay tax on top of that.  Then I had this very vivid dream that we took the camping trip in a pop-up that we bought for $1800 on Craig's List and it was the greatest money we ever spent.  It made our trip heavenly; bounce forward to the moment we pull in the driveway with the new pop-up and my Dear Daughter said, "Last year, it was like we just tried to survive. This year, we are going in LUXURY."  Not many 8 year olds consider a 16 year old camper luxury, but I'll take it.  Anyway, in the morning we go on Craigs List and there are TONS of camper options.  Some even in our price range.  As with everything, my DH is totally on board and makes it his personal mission to find us the perfect camper.  And as with everything (especially on Criagslist) a series of mishaps occur until in the end we buy a near perfect camper within 7 minutes of our house -- for $1800.

On a different note (I'm all over the place this morning, a 6 hour drive will probably help me focus), My DS is off to summer camp for the first time ever.  There are no electronics and no communication.  It is just a sports camp and they stay in dorms (rooming with a friend from soccer) so I think it will be a good beginner camp for him.  I am so so so excited for him.  I didn't force him to go, he wanted to go.  I loved camp (not the first time, I was way too young) but I grew up the most at camp, just like college, it is such a short but intense period of time.  I could change without the hassle of  being at home. I became the person I wanted to be, not the person I had accidentally become.  I was always nervous to go (because I was a ridiculously insecure and nervous kid) but by the time camp was over, I was near tears because I didn't want to leave.

And in typical fashion, I'm nervous and scattered and excited about the month ahead... so from here on, the next time I write, we will be on the road.  My goal is to see if I can blog a little from the trip... but here is a sneak peak at the adventure that lies ahead...

Iowa
Wyoming
Tetons (just driving through Yellowstone because we did it last summer)
Glacier (mostly East because we did West last summer)
North Cascades (one of the prettiest places on earth)
Victoria, BC (just me and the DH for our anniversary)
Olympic National Park (Twilight)
Oregon Coast
Redwoods
Lake Tahoe
Yosemite
Salt Lake (the kids really want to go)
Rocky Mountains (and James Taylor live at Red Rocks)
and then back to Suburbia...

Happy Summer my Friends... we will miss you... please send little snippets of civilization to us.  You have no idea how excited we get. <3


A friend wrote this article on the other-side of camping, a great read:  http://hinsdale.suntimes.com/opinions/14399570-598/the-beauty-of-camping.html