Camping With The Boys

My idea of roughing it when it comes to camping is the Girl Scout way - in heated cabins with running water and flushing toilets, using duraflame logs to start camp fires, having mattresses accessible to lay on the floor underneath my sleeping bag, and having pizza delivered for dinner.


We have on a few occasions "roughed it". In fact, the last time we "roughed it" was with our neighbors two years ago. (See that post here.) We "roughed it" with a TV in the tent, a gourmet chef and a cul de sac for bike riding.

Why am I bringing all of this up, you ask? (Hangs head in shame.) Because I just committed us to camping with Ryan's Cub Scout pack this weekend. A day and a half of real roughing it camping. No duraflame logs. No beer. No heaters. No TV's. With 50 other adults and kids. In the woods. IN THE WOODS!

Ok, maybe I'm over reacting, but I've never camped for this long a stretch of time before. A day and a half. (Stop laughing!) Usually when we camp as a family, we arrive and set up camp right before dinner, eat and drink, sleep and then get up early and go home and shower the camp fire smell off.

In the handout we were given, there is a list of what to pack. Number one on the list? "Personal clothing - be prepared for cold and rain. We will get dirty!" Yikes. Number two? "Personal grooming items - camping is no excuse for bad breath and body odor." OMG! People actually have to be reminded of this? Last on the list? A sense of adventure - this will be fun." Ok, they've got me. I'm excited, because Ryan really wants to do this with his friends. I'll put aside my own fears to watch him experience his first Cub Scout camping trip. But, man! It sounds like we'll have to hose each other off as soon as we get home.