Camping 101

Our cute little A-Frame Trailer

I never thought I would like camping as much as I do.  My husbands family camps quite a bit, and years ago, before we had any gear, or anything, we decided to join them on a family camping trip.  We bought a 12 man tent with two rooms (yes, I may love camping, but I am a bit high maintenance).  We planned our meals, froze our food, bought our booze, and off we went.  What a fantastic experience!  We loved it so much, that 1 week later, we were proud owners of new (used) tent trailer!  We used the trailer for a few years, and last year recently upgraded to a Chalet-style A frame trailer, complete with bunk beds for the kids, a double bed for us, and it fits in our garage for storage.

One bunk on the bottom...

One bunk on the top!

I am by no means an expert camper, but have picked up a few things that I like to do to prepare for any camping trip.  Of course it all stems around food, booze, snacks, appies, wine, happy hour....and this weekend was no exception.  We went out for our first camping trip of the season with some friends and had a great time. 16 of us in total, counting the kids.  All things considered, our weather for the most part cooperated.  Of course on Saturday night, it POURED rain, but...thanks everyone being proactive in building us a wind and rain shelter over the fire pit, we sat around the campfire as it rained around us and it was fabulous!  Here are a few things that we did to prepare for the weekend....

• Plan all the meals and snacks, and don't forget to take some nice cheese and crackers!
• Pre-fry all the bacon and freeze it (works great, and you just reheat on the bbq in foil or on your handy Coleman stove)
• Pre-fry sausage and freeze it
• Bring some good pancake mix and make them fresh while you are camping.  Then....here's something new I learned this past weekend, since I forgot syrup....Pancakes + Nutella = Bliss......
• Pre-wash all veggies and put in ziploc bags or container
• If you  are planning to have ribs out at the camp site, pre cook them at home and then just toss them on the bbq!  easy, quick, and so very delicious
• One of our friends brought "Heluva good dip" (see link below). It was so yummy, and this dip has now been added to my permanent camping list
• Really, whatever you can do at home to lessen the work while camping....do it

Hard to see, but this is our
amazing shelter!  Awesome!

Cheers!  Definitely a great time had by all!

Even though it is a lot of work, it is so worth it in the end to get away from everything, and to just take a minute, and take a sip......and relax.  Thanks everyone for a great time!   

http://www.heluvagood.com/