I've Never Been Camping

I grew up in the country, so I am a country girl at heart. But somehow that didn't translate into an outdoorsy girl. I don't mind getting my hands dirty, but I would like to wash them when I am finished. I have lots of great outdoor memories, most with my dad. Finding earthworms for fishing on a rainy night, planting flowers, outdoor ed in 6th grade, getting ready for the county fair, picnics at a family friend's pond. But I blame my mom and my allergies for limiting my outdoor fun and slowly I turned into a timeshare in Florida kind of girl instead of a state park vacation kind of girl. Which is funny, because all of my friends who grew up like me went camping for their summer vacations. We didn't, Pompano Beach Florida was our vacation every year with my grandparents.



So many people are sort of shocked when I tell them I have never been camping. I have been working up to going camping because the idea sort of terrified me. Last fall we camped out in the backyard as practice. My goal was that once I left the house I would only be able to go back in to use the "bath house." I did really well until the lows that night got into the low 40s and at 5am I ended up inside because I was SO cold. I was discouraged, but optimistic for the next time.

Here I am setting up in our backyard

As we traveled the Blue Ridge Parkway (Mark, Anna, Madeline, Audrey, Mike and me) the best way to have the Parkway "experience" was with camping. Originally the group wanted to camp at some of the state park sites, but they were missing one important thing - showers. I was not willing to give this up, I just couldn't do it. So we found a private campground called Moonshine Creek Campground just a few miles from the Parkway in Sylva, NC. It was a really nice small campground with a creek running right be the campsites. The sound of the water was so relaxing!

We got to the campsite at almost 7pm and were losing light so Mark, Anna, and Mike set up while I tried to occupy the girls and not get in the way. I didn't and still don't have a clue on how to set up a tent. But I did help set up chairs and sleeping bags and air mattresses. We had a great dinner of hot dogs on the campfire and finished up with smores. It was a great relaxing evening by the creek.

In the morning we woke up and slowly got going. The funniest experience for me happened in the bath house that morning. I was in taking a shower, no one else was in the bathroom and a man opened the door and said, "Can I came in?" I was freaked out! My response was, "Uh, in a minute." I hurried up and got dressed and got out of there. Mike was waiting for me out in the common are and I told him about the guy. He said, "Yeah, I know. It was a cleaning guy." That made me feel a lot better! There were signs posted all over that the bathrooms were cleaned between 1-2pm so I had no idea the guy was an employee. All I knew was some guy was asking to come in the bathroom!

I had a great time at the Moonshine Creek Campground. The weather was fantastic, the location was wonderful, and the company was even better. I think that in the future I wouldn't mind camping again, especially when the funds are tight. But best of all it was an opportunity to spend time with great friends and my hubby.