Will We Camp This Year?

We still don't know if we'll be camping this summer.  Truth is, we don't know what we're doing with our vacation time at all this year.  We have ideas and possibilities but haven't made any decisions.  We need to get on that pretty soon.  We don't do much camping, because it's really not the hubster's favorite thing to do.  When I was growing up, all our family vacations that didn't involve visiting family were camping trips.  But his family's vacations never involved camping, so our mixed feelings now are the result of that big difference in our backgrounds.

For many years, we did one annual camping trip - we camped at Darien Lakes State Park in New York around the first week of August so we could attend the Christian music festival KingdomBound at Darien Lakes Theme Park (formerly Six Flags) nearby.  The first time we went Kennady was a baby, and we went with two other families from our church who had been previously.  That was a nice way to start out because we shared the responsibilities for meals and even child supervision.  We have been to KingdomBound almost annually ever since, with and without those other families.  

Besides the concerts and rides at the theme park (which are obviously the main reason for the trip!), we especially enjoy the evenings around the campfire. Coffee or hot chocolate and s'mores.  And one evening we forgo roasting marshmallows to do something rather strange - we burn our old Christmas lights, any strings that don't work any more.  (I'm not sure it's environmentally friendly, but as far as we know it's not doing any damage, so please don't harass me on that point.) It makes for a colorful display in the flames.  

We don't exactly rough it, although we do tent camp.  There are electric hookups at the campground, so when we set up our "family compound" (which usually gets named something like the Campdome or the Luxor) we use patio lanterns or strings of lights to provide ambience in the "courtyard" (a pop-up gazebo canopy that we put in the middle of our three tents to shelter the food prep area etc) and some years I've even brought my coffeemaker! 

The above picture is from a few years ago, before we had really perfected the Luxor Campdome set-up, but believe me, it's quite impressive.  LOL

  And - Bonus!! There's a Tim Horton's not all that far away!! 

Will we go this year?  I kind of doubt it, but it's not completely off the table.  

Incidentally, I just discovered that this weekend is the Great American Backyard Campout. (I find it ironic that the purpose of this is to encourage kids to get outdoors and camp, yet the grand prize is a trip for only TWO people - so not a whole family - and to stay in a HOTEL.  Things that make you go "hmmmmm" LOL)  Perhaps we'll just camp in the backyard sometime, even though we won't officially participate in the GABC.  And by "we", I mean "I and the kids" because I don't think DH will go for this.  But you never know.

How does your family camp - roughing it, motor home, backyard, or not at all?  Add to the comments, and visit the Schoolhouse Review Crew blog (this link will be live on Tuesday, June 26th) to see what other Crew members have to say about camping.  You can also visit the Schoolhouse Review Crew blog homepage to see the reviews we are working on, past reviews, and past blog cruise topics.