Camping for homebodies

While we are professional homebodies, we do like to camp. But not too much. It’s all about balance.

Dale and I just returned from a camping trip at the beach on the Sonoma coastline, and I didn’t take a single picture. Just soaked it all in. I thought I’d share a few tricks that make the experience easier all around, especially if long wilderness excursions aren’t your thing.

To recap our camping history, we started out with a two-person backpacker tent many moons ago and eventually upgraded to Big Daddy, a luxurious base camp designed to sleep six. It’s big (hence the name) and heavy but not a problem for hearty car campers. The tent has an enclosed vestibule but no floor, and that’s where we keep the luggable loo for midnight pee excursions.

When we lived in Texas, where once it gets hot it stays hot, we upgraded to a retro-style teardrop trailer with air conditioning. We called it, “The Toaster.” It was super lightweight, and we towed it with our Honda Element.

We loved The Toaster at first, but it was poorly designed, poorly made, leaked, didn’t keep us cool and gave us nothing but problems. We towed it to California, leaving behind a bumper that blew off somewhere near Barstow.

Most of northern California cools off at night even when it’s hot during the day, so we didn’t need the malfunctioning AC anymore. We took The Toaster on some memorable trips, but it just got junkier and junkier. When I retired, we were moving anyway, so we donated it.

That put us back in the tent camping business. We resurrected Big Daddy and took a couple of nice trips pre-pandemic. Our last trip was early fall 2019. Napa, where it was hot and buggy. Yellow jackets (bugs not the attire) were in abundance, and in a moment of solidarity, Dale and I tore down the tent in 2.5 seconds and drove home.

This time around, I had a hard time finding reservations. People are camping more than ever. Even the spot I found at the beach was a miracle. We had a lovely site across the street from the ocean overlooking the bay, but there wasn’t room for our tent. We had to put it on the asphalt pad, and that actually worked out fine. When I unrolled the tent, guess what I found? A dead yellow jacket.

We have a deliciously comfy queen-size air mattress with a rechargeable pump and inexpensive zip-together sleeping bags. We try to do all our camping in favorable weather, so we don’t need high-end sleeping bags.

Dale & Donna’s patented camping formula is a two-night stay – more manageable in terms of food and other necessities, and also so the cat doesn’t get mad.

Our custom is to cook steaks one night and make steak sandwiches the next. A big breakfast of bacon, eggs and toast. Of course, we could modify the menu and come up with something just as easy. The key is not to add an extra night.

I have learned that trying to wash dishes at most campsites is a major pain in the ass, so we don’t. That’s one of the reasons we like the two-night stay. I have an old laundry bag, which I line with a plastic garbage bag. Dirty dishes go in there, and we put them in the dishwasher when we get home.

Most of the tent sites we get don’t have hookups, so we have a French press coffee maker. Load coarsely ground coffee into the bottom of the pot, boil some water on the camping stove and pour that over. Let it steep for a few minutes and slowly depress the plunger to separate the coffee grounds from the liquid. Delicious!!

On the morning we depart, we get up and go. Because we’re homebodies. We’re done. No breakfast, but we stop and get coffee for the road.

Most of the campgrounds we visit have flush toilets and coin-operated showers. I have this little cosmetic case that was part of a set I received as a gift when I graduated from high school! I used to love traveling with the various pieces, because no one has that color. The rest of it is gone, but I still have this little guy for camping. Flops and other shower stuff fits in the bottom, and there a little tray that sits on the top to hold your toothbrush, etc.  

We take music, books, games. Some places are great for hiking. On this trip, we had a lovely walk along the beach. We drove into town just to see what was there. I do like the woods, but all in all, the beach was quite pleasant. The sounds alone are worth the price of admission.

I’ve written often that we don’t have a travel Jones, but we concluded after this trip that in some form or fashion, it’s important to get out and about. To change your routine and your surroundings from time to time. See things from a different perspective. It’s good for your brain, it’s good for your relationship.  

That means we’ll continue to camp. The two-night stay is perfect for those of us who want to experience the great outdoors but still prefer the creature comforts of home.

However, we need a few upgrades. Our little camping side table that holds valuable happy hour consumables disintegrated, and we tossed it in the dumpster before we departed. The tent poles are warped, and Big Daddy is sticky and nasty with age. We figured he’s close to 20 years old! The zippers are starting to come loose from the sleeping bags, which are also about 20 years old.

The hardest replacement will be the tent. We loved Big Daddy, which is actually the Eureka Lodge. We would get the exact same tent, except they quit making them a long time ago. We have some shopping to do.

I admit I’m a little envious of the trailers, vans and fancy rigs one sees camping, but we don’t go often enough to justify the expense. Granted, we live in a mild climate, and rain or lack thereof is somewhat predictable, so that does make things easier.

We miss the old Honda Element and now drive a Honda CRV. The Element had more room, because you could remove the seats. However, we bought a cargo carrier that goes on the CRV’s trailer hitch and gives us more space for stuff. We keep all our gear stored in tubs and shelves out in the garage, and packing up, as well as putting away, is no big deal.

Yes, you can still enjoy camping without an RV and be quite comfortable. Just don’t overdo it and make sure you are comfy. We’re thinking some new equipment should fix us up just fine.