A Little Background

My husband and I have been camping since the beginning of our relationship, about 14 years now. In fact, I knew he was the one when he told me before our first real date to bring tennis shoes! I was pleasantly surprised when he took me out to the Barton Creek Greenbelt in Austin, TX for a hike and a wade in the cold springs. My roommate thought I was crazy to fall for someone who found joy in bringing a girl he didn't know into the middle of a densely forested area without an expensive dinner. Especially me and my foodie self (I am somewhat known in my circle to get "hangry" without food). But I loved it and fell for him pretty much instantly after that. There is a lot of excitement in actually spending quality time getting to know someone without the interruption of cell phones, social media, or the buzzing of passersby in a trendy downtown restaurant. Let's be real, it also makes for a great story that we started our adventure on day one.

I grew up RV camping with my parents in a 1980s Class C motor home that had bright yellow plaid curtains and a bed over the cab with swirly patterned mattresses that looked like a mix of spilled coffee and shag carpets. We went to the same place pretty much every time - a piece of land right on Lake Travis where you could hear the water splash the limestone rocks at night. That is, of course, if you listened past the sound of our parents and relatives around a campfire shaking a vodka-type drink they lovingly referred to as "yucca." I can still hear the sound of ice shaking in a plastic gallon pickle jar as I think about it. 

It wasn't too long before me and my new adventurous boyfriend (now husband) started tent camping. Both history lovers, we gravitated toward anywhere with a good story to tell. Basically anywhere that had a war reenactment or people in general willing to dress in historical garb and speak in old Texas English, you could sign us up. We started pretty basic, with a tent, sleeping bags, a cooler and a pan to cook over the fire. Slowly, we started adding little luxuries until we ended up with a space heater, air mattress, and Coleman grill.

Shortly after we got married, we upgraded to a small pop-up camper, then a large pop-up camper, which was a disastrous purchase and a humbling reminder to be grateful for what you already have. The large pop-up was in horrible shape in pretty much every way, but the hubs couldn't resist the "steal of a deal." Let's just say our last trip in that jewel was in Canton, TX after torrential rains left everything soaking wet inside the camper.

We took a few years off when we started having the littles because, let's be honest, I was just trying to keep them and myself alive at the end of every day. Success so far! Once our second turned about 18 months, we started itching to get back out there and purchased a 24.5 foot bumper-pull travel trailer and haven't looked back. Now we have two kids, a dog, a camper and a seemingly never-ending craving for adventure.