My family & I decided to make a last minute trip to a local campground. It's close enough to home that my partner & I can commute for work when needed (we're both self-employed) and yet far enough away to not have the day to day annoyances.
We 'camp' in a comfy camper with almost every luxury from home- real beds, TV, stove, fridge, cell phones, etc. We do occasionally tent camp too & have a more rugged vacation; but more often it's the camper when we want to get away.
Just wondering how many luxuries the average family brings on camping or other vacations? And do you feel it enhances or takes away from your overall enjoyment of your trips?
[question posted by eden32]
responses and comments:
I have never been camping with my family before but since your camper has a lot of the mod. cons already, then I suppose it wouldn't hurt to take a laptop too. But i would prefer for a camping trip that as long as we had access to a phone incase of emergencies, then that is probably all we would need, besides the normal stuff you do take for camping. I think it would spoil the camping trip if our children took those playstation gadgets along, portable dvd player and so forth. I would not think to watch tv either (unless you were worried about the weather forcast and stuff) but then again you could use a radio for that. I think it may take away the overall enjoyment of the camping trip. Its a different story if your going on a road trip I would think :) Happy Camping and hope you have lots of fun! We hope to do that one day with our son too :) [maddysmommy]
If I had a laptop I'd probably never come home :) We do bring our cell phones. I don't allow my kids to have game boy type toys anyway, so I wouldn't allow them camping either. We do have a TV with a DVD & VCR; but that's more for veggie out before bed than anything else. We don't have a satelite dish (which I see most RVs do) so we don't watch TV shows while camping, just an occasional movie before bed. We had a great time, very relaxing- my only complaint is that it's over already. [eden32]
The most I'd take is a camera and maybe a laptop computer, but otherwise, it's best to enjoy nature. Sometimes I think we are too spoiled with luxury and need to learn to appreciate the little things, especially when camping out. Now if it's a vacation to another city, I basically will enjoy what a hotel has to offer. [curvychick77]
Thank you for responding. I think having a laptop on these trips would be rough on me. I <3 my computer & spend way too much time on it already; it's best that I don't have one for these trips & spend all my vacation time on it instead of enjoying the trip. [eden32]
I ussually go to a place that has the technology ready for me, like a hotel. I do not like camping all that much. [keda69]
I like hotel vacations too. For a bunch of reasons though, we just can't take those types of vacations often. Among other reasons, I have an elderly dog who would not do well in the care of others while I vacationed, and not many hotels are pet friendly. Thanks for responding :) [eden32]
It depends on the vacation, really. If we're going camping (we only tent camp), I take a cell phone (and leave it in the truck) and camera. If we're staying in a hotel, I tend to bring cell phone, camera, laptop and maybe video camera, depending on where we're going. Having the cell phone, camera and video camera definitely enhances the vacation - the cameras might be a minor pain to carry and keep up with while we're there, but the memories are absolutely priceless. I would be so angry with myself if I didn't have those. As for the laptop, I like to download pics at night while we're away (so I don't fill my camera up) and keep up with family and friends via email, if we'll be gone for a while. It's just handy, I'm somewhat of an internet addict - nice for the hotel downtime. :) [ragmama]
I always bring my cell phone, and I usually bring my laptop, so that I can transfer my photos to it from my memory cards each day. [Kalikala]
If we are going camping, we take a tent and leave technology at home. I don't mind a radio in case we want to check on a weather report or something, but we usually just listen to the car radio. Most of our vacations are camping vacations, so I guess that we really don't need technology on vacations at all. [kelly60]
If I am going on vacation I want it to be a vacation from everything - that means the computer, cell phone and television. With that being said, the longest I ever went on such a vacation was three days. After that I had to drive home and lock myself in my office and get my internet fix lol. [freak369]
wel i do not camp mch wit my family. also technology whch i do take along wit me wud hv to be my cell phone, i jus cnt imagine my day witout tht. n an ipod to listen to music wen i m bored. i won pefer taking laptop or anythng tht is wrk related1 [fleur_petal]
I class it as luxury if we get electric hook up when we camp. my mobile phone is about the best I get cos I can recharge it in the car :) [sirenna]
When i go camping...i try to rough it as much as possible...i would say that i bring a lantern and flashlights.. as my only technilogical advancement...but if i go on vacation to floirda or something...im flying the plane on my laptop listening to my ipod and playing video games haha so it really depends on where im heading [junksta14]
Thanks for responding :) [eden32]
u bring ur home with u for the camping trip huh? i go on trips mostly to get a taste of nature dats ol [di1indilin]
Sometimes we tent camp & rough it; but with having both a little one & a teenage one the house on wheels works nicely. The little guy appreciates sleeping in a real bed, the teenager likes putting her make-up on by electric light :) Thanks for responding [eden32]
I like to go camping when I'm on holidays. We have a slide on camper that fits on the back of our truck and we go up north to the lakes and camp and fish. I find this very relaxing, Getting away from everything. I do keep my cell phone on though, incase someone has to get a hold of us because of an emergency. We usually go for about two weeks. Last year we did something different though. We drove to BC from Alberta. It took us about 5 days to drive to Vancouver because we stopped and camped at a few places. When we got to Vancouver we stayed in a hotel for a couple days and then started our trip back. We went back a different way so we could see different things. We again camped on the way back and it took us another 6 days to get back. So in total we were gone for about 14 days. It was fun, but too much driving. I would much rather just go camping in my own province. [helenfillion]
My mother & I use to take trips like that when I was a kid. Her brother lived in Missouri & we lived in Massachusetts; so we went across the country a few times to visit him. And we would stop for a couples days in various spots along the way. I can see now all that driving was probably tiring for my mom, but I thought they were great trips. [eden32]
I think Mobile phone,Laptop etc. Your Computer speed is very poor?Tips for Faster Download in my today discussions.Pls reply & sent comment about it.Thank U & waiting for Ur reply. [1stmoney]
I could never camp. I am to much of a comfortable person that has to have a bed and stuff like that. I could also never sleep in a tent coz I would be to scared *lol* from ebverything like animals to killers =) [Marie2473]
I honestly hated camping when I was with my ex. I have been heard to say things like "I spend a lot of money to live in a nice home, why would I want to pretend I am homeless for a weekend?". And he was such a complainer, even though he loved to camp, he loved to b*tch even when he was happy. So our few camping trips together were miserable experiences. My partner now is a big fan of camping & outdoorsy stuff; and he's really made these trips enjoyable for me. Now I honestly like it as much as he does. Besides our camper really is as comfortable as being at home or a hotel. [eden32]