Have you heard of glamping? Probably not. Everyone seems to go "huh?" when I say it, so I'll enlighten you.
It's camping but with style. i.e. glamour camping. And if you know me, you know that styling a campsite isn't really a stretch. Everything is better when done with a little flair, right?
So, you've gathered it's not exactly "roughing it". In general, when we go camping I have rules:
1. Queen size air mattress
2. Wooded campsite
3. Campground must have flushing toilets
4. Campground must have hot showers
I think for most, glamping is about bringing a level of refinery to camping. Real dishes. Bed linens, not sleeping bags. Extra furniture. Etc.
For me it was about creating a look. And if you remember, I've been lusting after the look of a gypsy caravan. Very bohemian and colorful. That's what I went for here.
How'd I do?
Now, please don't be fooled by these pictures. Our campsite looked like this for about 15 minutes total. Then the rain came, and the trying to cook for 9 people (we went with my parents and some friends), and the kids playing in the mud... but the color was always there.
This was the "living room" tent which was useful when it was buggy, rainy, or we didn't want the kids playing in the dirt. Sadly it collapsed from the weight of the rain on the roof after a few days and was no more.
If you were wondering, we went camping at Half Moon Pond State Park, VT. It was a lovely quite campground with a nice smallish pond. The big drawback was it was far from anything, and with 3 kids under 6, we really wanted to go "do something" more than just hang at the campsite. We did go to Burlington which was cool.
It was a fun trip, but I think once a year camping with the kids is my limit. The packing and unpacking is just too much...
JT
