Mr Pencil and Little Pencil have gone camping to some place that sounds like the residential address of Dr Seuss. I have elected not to go because I do not relish the idea of giving up a night’s sleep to the great outdoors, even if the great outdoors is cordoned off by a canvas tent. I am rather partial to walls. And floors and ceilings, not to mention a bed with linen and soft pillows. Oh and a bathroom with hot and cold taps and a kitchen with a fridge and coffee maker…..
So, because I like living indoors with access to provisions I was not even consulted on the preparation for camping. Apparently indoorsy people like myself do not know how to cater for a camping trip. And I can see why – after my husband had put aside the provisions he needed for TWO nights not including food or clothes, I breathed a a grateful sigh of relief that I was not assigned to be his Sherpa . Believe me it was a lot of stuff to take with you when you are going away for a weekend. I mean if you were going to work for two months and your job was to create an outdoor conference centre from, scratch and you had to provide your own supplies, and this is what you were taking, I’d get it. But for a weekend away ? No.
Then I noticed a sheet of paper, covered in writing. No white spaces remained. This was the list Mr Pencil had made himself so that he did not forget anything. Let’s just say that the sheet of paper was big enough that he could have used it as a tablecloth. That seems like a lot of things to remember for a weekend away.
Mr Pencil was assigned the job of catering for two breakfasts on the trip (he is camping with lunch and dinner makers) so he took two aisles of Coles with him as well. He also took a wardrobe full of clothes for Little Pencil in case it was cold, hot, snowed, rained, or indeed if the weather was mild. He seemed to forget that he was going away for two days and that we have access to the Bureau of Meteorology website.
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I reminded him that he also had to fit Little Pencil in the car. His face fell even further.
I know that some people love camping and clearly I am not one of them but I just cannot understand why you have to take so much stuff to get away from everything.
Hehe, I seriously doubt anyone roughs it when they go camping. It’s like taking all the comforts of home but being in a canvas tent. I must admit that I would probably have been the same with clothes – I do that now for myself. The best thing is you have 2 nights of bliss with just you and fluffy pencil. Perfect. xx
I have four boys. This means I have no choice but to embrace camping with the love and adoration normally reserved for the birth of a new member of the family.
But there is something I have learnt in learning to love The Camping. Going for one night or for one hundred you need to take the same amount of stuff.
No really.
It’s true.
That and the cold hard reality that it’s an absolute bastard when you finally get the car packed and realise you still need to fit in the kids.
I am sadly a lot like Mr Pencil …my DH shakes his head *sighs* and keeps pushing stuff in.
I enjoyed this post.
I’m with you. The only stars I like to lie under are the five stars of the nearest Hilton or Hyatt.
I like camping about as much as I like concussion, so respect to your husband for tackling this issue. But taking the home with you if you must, that’s just a little bit odd. Although, my life’s motto has always been ‘never leave the house without a blender’ and I’m still alive today so it must be working.
Your husband needs to meet my husband. He is the lightweight camping King! And that is not just a term I gave him – it is a community! There’s blogs, websites, equipment etc etc etc etc and the stuff comes to our doorstep regularly in little lightweight packages! Me, I prefer a bed! Enjoy your weekend x
It is a no from me.
Camping – schwamping- never liked it, did it once. Aged 12 with girl guides – sooo awful – a tent & a hole in the ground ‘loo’?? nah, never again, don’t get it, i need any experience including an overnight stay to include the following;
– four walls – solid and attached securely to a roof etc etc – as you said so well BUT Sharpest Pencil – the
T. O. I. L. E. T .. That’s it – gotta have it.
I am guessing however, and I do not usually take you to task SP, that some of your precision and attention to details along with planning for EVERY eventuality re Little Pencil, has now rubbed off (pencil pun) on Mr Pencil….? Food for thought!
As a side remark to the camping trip – the notion of the men & boys “roughing” it – apparently- is catching on in my extended family. The men & boys camp under the stars by a river, cook and do messy stuff like mudfights.
Thank goodness us women and girls do ours in the local Westfields. Less mess. & temperature controlled.
for me the perfect solution to camping is to go visit friends for the afternoon/evening that are camping… just gotten home from doing just this. The kids had a ball – rode bikes, ran around, kicked the ball, swam, had a BBQ, toasted marshmellows – the whole kit and kaboodle – without all the stuff!! What did I take – a picnic with my contribution of food, swimmers and towels.
Was wonderful. think I will call it the cheats way to camp 😉
and the best bit… have my hot shower to get into, and my comfy bed and pillows without mosquitos and other bugs.
I’m totally nodding my head here. My husband takes longer to pack than he spends camping. But he’s better than my father-in-law who spends a week laying everything out before-hand.
Relaxing, it ain’t.
We are a camping family and we love I but we are minimalists. Our biggest luxury the past 2.5 years has been the portacot but not long before we ditch that. Babyderoach came on his first camping trip at 15 weeks and scared all the other campers away with hisconstant crying so we ended up having the national park to ourselves.
I have one word for Mr Pencil: cheese. It is the perfect camping food. Doesn’t need cooking, everyone likes it, doesn’t matter if it gets wet, can be eaten for all 3 meals, does not require a can opener or matches….
Other than that I’m all out of camping tips apart from: don’t go. Sensible you!
I hope they remembered to take scroggin.. Essential camping food.
Remember when Azaria Chamberlain disappeared? To me, one of the biggest mysteries was how a family of five was able to go on a camping holiday, driving from Townsville to Uluru, in a 2 door Torana. How is that possible? Where did the esky go? The travel cot? The board games? When our family goes camping for a long weekend, our Prado is packed to the gills and the trailer is overflowing. And we still make the kids hold their pillows.
We go camping all the time but we have one of those pop out Jayco camper trailers and a Toyota Hilux – so not exactly roughing it! Plenty of room and a little bit of fibreglass to go with the canvas. Love it.
Camping – it’s quite the latest thing apparently.
I have just wasted my Sunday morning following the Husband and Son around the Perth 4WD&Camping Show…it was one of those “family outings” that has to be endured for the sake of peace. Fortunately at this stage, the camping is all in theory but the minute they hire a camper trailer, I’m OUTTA HERE.
and by outta here, I mean to the nearest 5Star Resort!
Bah ha ha, ain’t that the truth. I’m with you, I think camping is just lovely, for someone else. The irony is that I married someone who has set up a camping website, for true camping enthusiasts, and the site seems to be gaining momentum. Seems there are many secret campers among us 🙂 If any of you campers would like to take a look, the link is http://truecamping.com.au.
haha – this is so timely! D just said to me yesterday morning – ‘I think it would be great if we went camping’.
I spent a lot of time camping as a kid and I’m ok with it – but there is no way I am organising it!
My response was a ‘mmmmm that could be nice, well you have a little think about where you want to go, what weekend etc – and then let me know’. I can guarantee we will have the same conversation in 6 months, and then 6 months after that……. 🙂
Where we go at Easter there is a camping site next door, people have their huge TV’s and lounge chairs….it’s crazy !! seriously, just rent a holiday house 🙂 I don’t understand the whole camping ‘thing’….something about ‘getting back into nature’ I suppose.
We won’t be going camping again until we can be sure the 3yo will not escape the mozzi screen and abscond into the night. He’s a mini houdini at the best of times, I’m not temping fate.
My husband is a massive overpacker though. He went and got a $400 bag to take away to Papua New Guinea on a surfing trip a few years ago. Apparently it all the bells and whistles to make him more efficient when traveling. Clearly it also made him more efficient in spinning shit.
Hope they had a great time away and you got some “you” time x
LOL. I’m with you. Completely. Worst part is that you get there and you have to unpack everything. Then you have to move it all around every time you want to do something, like, um, breathe. Then you have to REPACK it all – dirty and horrible – into the car. No thanks.
Yes! Finally something about Can Opener.