camping edit

our adventure has come full circle, and we are back home again.  we had a great time visiting, catching up, exploring, relaxing, and reading.  i honestly did not miss a single thing the entire week (except maybe a bug-free environment).  i wanted to make a few notes about how the "minimal" packing worked out, so here goes…

essentials:  
we used every single thing on the essential list except for bandaids and umbrellas (phew!).  i would definitely pack those again…just in case.  we were expecting rain, but it never came.  if you camp, you know how blessed that makes you feel!  the mosquitos were ferocious in one camp spot…we all have plenty of itches to remember them by.

clothing:
i am so happy about how this worked out!  i knew i could probably leave one dress at home, and that held true.  i never wore my olive button-down shirt or the long sleeved t-shirt i packed at the last minute, being afraid of cold nights in the tent.  i bought a zip-up sweatshirt, because i didn't have one…and i am happy that i did.  if i had the same nine day trip to do again, this would be my clothing packing list:
-caftan
-black tee dress
-grey light cardigan
-constellation tank
-olive shorts
-black tee
-light jeans
-toms
-flip-flops
-athletic shoes + 2 pairs socks
-leggings + long tank = pi's (the hood on the sweatshirt was great for keeping warm at night)
-5 underwear + bra
-swimsuit + hat
-towel
-zip-up sweatshirt
-jacket

food:
we were with family for the first half of the trip, so we ate with them.  during the camping part of our trip, we ate out a couple times.  we also went to grocery stores, buying just what we needed for that meal and buying some bananas for breakfast each supper time (to eat with the granola bars we brought from home).  we didn't even use our towel/placemats.  my mom couldn't believe we didn't have a can opener for the can she tried to pack for us.  i didn't have the heart to tell her we didn't even pack silverware!  :)  we used our paring knife to cut shared sandwiches in half and also for vegetables.  we only camped four nights, so this approach worked for us this time.  i'm glad to know that there would have been room for my bin (i just wasn't sure, since we'd never taken this car camping before).

we love finding local food along the way!  it is cherry season, so we stopped and bought these cherries from the family that grew them.  they were also selling the most delicious cherry ice-cream sandwiches ever!  yum!

one of the encouraging things we noticed were recycling bins in the campgrounds!  we were able to save any recyclables and sort them out there.  fantastic!

and the prius?  plenty of space- really.  we didn't even have to pack that carefully.  it was great to wake up that last morning in the tent, with a long drive ahead of us, and be gone in 20 minutes!  

i just have to say again that i didn't miss a thing!  we were truly four happy campers!

wishing you happy trails,
jane