Every weekend during the summer everyone in the family packs up their bags and piles into the car awaiting the next camping adventure that lies before them. If you grew up in a camping family, then you know that some of the best memories come from being at the campground. There are so many reasons as to why there are such fond memories associated with going camping, but here are the ones that nearly every child who grows up in a camping family takes with them long after the trip is over.
1. The bonfires.
Here is where the majority of memories are made. First off, this is where all of the conversation really takes place. You catch up with friends, talk about life, and the best part, you get to hear all of the good gossip as the adults aimlessly talk around you, and even if you don't quite understand why/who they are talking about you always give it your full attention because you never know when you may need such information (even if you were sworn to secrecy). Second, as kids we were always "free bugs" we always wanted to have an excuse to do something to the fire, and when asked to put new wood on the fire it was always a footrace between friends to see who can get there first. Lastly the food, all campers know that food cooked over the fire is the best food! Whether it is a hot dog, a burger, or a s'more, food made of the smoke of a blazing fire always tastes better.
2. Your camping family.
If you are a the type of camper who has a yearly site at a campground then you know that you don't have just your family who you live with, but you also have the campground family. The campground family is just an extension of your real family, there is no relation what so ever (but there might as well be), and you met them at the campground as strangers and slowly grew that bond into becoming a giant family. It could be five people or it could be one-hundred people there is never a limit on how many people can join the "family". You sit around the campfire with them, you go to the lake with them, you play on the playground with them, and when the camping year comes to an end you say your goodbyes because until the next camping year you will most likely not see them again, but that never disrupts the chemistry of the campground family.
3. Holidays are camping days.
Whether it is labor day, fourth of July, a birthday, or any other summer celebration, that celebration takes place at the campground. You watch the fireworks over the lake, you always participate in the campground parades, it is a must to always break it down not the dance floor when the DJ comes out, and there is never a dull moment when you get to watch all of the "new" campers come in and try to set up their tents they haven't used in years, or try to back up that huge trailer into such a small space.
4. Adventures.
No matter where you went there was always some where new to be explored and all sorts of new adventures to be had, and the best part was that you finally had that little bit of freedom to do what ever it was your little heart desired. The options were endless. You could build a fort in the woods, catch all sorts of fish/bugs/turtles with your bare hands, make a raft out of sticks to go out on the like with, or just run around the campground with your friends talking to each other through the walkie talkies. No adventure was to big and you were always up for trying something new!
5. Hitting up the camp store.
Going to the camp store as a kid was always something to be looked forward to. The camp store carried all camping needs, but all you really knew they sold was candy and snacks. The candy ranged from chocolate, to taffy, and to the always beloved candy cigarettes. Candy cigarettes usually just tasted like chalk, but you never left without a box because for whatever reason our young childish minds thought that acting as though they were real cigarettes made us the coolest kids in the park. Plus, it was always a funny scene when you get "the look" from that one parent who had to do a double take when they saw the chalky stick leave your lips.
Camping all of the time is such a great way to grow up, and it is something that every child should get to experience, even if it is not every weekend. There are so many memories to be made that last a lifetime, and for some (like me) camping becomes a way of life and that is just how we want it.
