S/O vacations

[T'smom]

So....if you are of the opinion that a vacation is a break from doing 'work'- do you consider camping a vacation?

This has been a topic of convo a LOT lately among dh's extended family. They all own trailers and are astonished that I have NO desire to own one. I enjoy camping, in moderation, but camping is more work (at least for the mom) than staying home! I can't figure out why they want to go on weekend camping trips and they can't figure out why I don't!!!!! (And their dhs are significantly less helpful than mine!)

So, camping....vacation or not?

[MamaT]

Camping is a vacation for me because I really enjoy it. We usually take one "nice" vacation (think Disney or a cruise) and then camp several times a year. My dh and I try to go somewhere by ourselves for at least a few days once a year. This year things are tighter, so the "nice" one may not happen. I love camping.

[fivetails]

Yep, it would be a "vacation" to me....

 

Or at least, I guess it would. We've never gone camping as a family, though I took the kids for a weekend with friends years back - dh doesn't do "outside". :tongue_smilie:

[aggieamy]

We have a little popup camper and I do consider it a vacation at least a mini one. I wouldn't want to camp for a week but for a weekend it's fun. Almost anywhere we go I'd have to cook and do dishes so that's a given. No vacation, except one where we'd eat out every meal, would spare me dishes and it's too expensive to do that. I always have to do laundry after a trip so it might as well be icky camping laundry. My DH is moderately helpful so I'm lucky in that regard.

[Jennifer in MI]

Not for us!!! Yes, it's fun. But, it's not a vacation. Especially for the mom!!! I was the one in the other thread who said that a vacation for me was no work!! (Our first "vacation" was two years ago. Since then, we've decided that it's very important to our family to "vacation" every year. We've budgeted for it and scrimp and save all year so we can afford to do it!)

 

But, I think it can depend. I know a family whose extended family gets together each year and camps for a week. EAch family takes a day and does the food for the entire day. Now, that COULD be a vacation IF the family gets along well (and theirs does).

[Debbie in London]

I don't enjoy camping so nope, not a vacation for me.

[sassenach]

I grew up in a camping family. I LOVED camping growing up, but the first time I brought a toddler camping, I realized that my world had changed. I have not been camping since. I actually think I'd like to try it again, but I haven't pulled the trigger.

 

I love this stand up bit about camping.

[WTMCassandra]

We tent camped for a long time, and just this year we got an RV. I LOVE it. Camping in an RV is way less work and way more like a vacation than tent camping, especially if your DH will help. The preparing can be done slowly in the few days before the trip (like cooking ahead), and then you just go, you have a comfortable place to sleep, a place to wash up, etc. So I vote for trying the trailer.

 

Let's face it, any family activity is not going to be that much of a vacation for Mom. But RV camping comes the closest, IMHO.

 

To me, anytime without the children is a vacation. While they are in horse camp each morning this week--it has felt like a vacation to me--even though all I am doing is watching IEW videos! LOL. Not really a vacation in the technical sense of the word, I'm sure, except for homeschooling geeks.

[Jennifer in MI]

While they are in horse camp each morning this week--it has felt like a vacation to me--even though all I am doing is watching IEW videos! LOL. Not really a vacation in the technical sense of the word, I'm sure, except for homeschooling geeks.

 

Yup!!!!! That's a vacation!!!

 

Now, add a beach and someone offering me food and drinks and it's a true vacation!!!:lol::lol:

[Mommyof4ks]

Camping is a vacation for me, but we cook over the campfire and sleep in a camper. No clean up and little mess!

[charmama4]

camping used to ugly for me. I had to stay around the camp and cook 3 meals, pick up after everyone and never got to go "play".

 

well that changed after I put my foot down!!! I now pre make 75% of our meals and seal them up in ziplock bags and freeze flat for better storage in the cooler. I write out my lists (I am the queen of lists!!) and then delagate who does what before during and after camping. There are now chores for all to do while camping, just like at home. One major rule is that no one leaves the site until the site is up to my standards! The kids learned real quick if they wanted to check out the area, the site better be picked up!!

 

If mommy is happy then everyone is happy!!

[Carol in Cal.]

I like hearing the outside noises while I sleep, like wind and rushing streams. We have one of those really fat aerobeds, so we can sleep in cushy comfort and not bottom out. It has a battery operated pump. We could even put conventional bedding on it, but in actual practice we use sleeping bags.

 

There are only three of us, and our tent is modern and very easy to put up. We have a drop cloth under it, so it doesn't get very dirty.

 

I like to make meals or significant parts of meals ahead of time and freeze them in quart or pint canning jars. These act as ice for the cooler. I prewash salad and bring it in Tupperware or lidded glass serving bowls. I prewash strawberries and do the same with them. If these are thoroughly dried after washing, they will keep for at least 5 days in a cooler. I usually bring chili, refried beans, some kind of soup, and spaghetti sauce. Often there will be an unfrozen meal salad (like a chicken salad) for the first night. I throw some hardier veggies into the cooler as well if we are going to be out more than 4-5 days--that I can chop up and cook late in the week.

 

Everyone else helps with the dishes, setup, and tear down.

 

I love it!

[AHASRADA]

It depends. The only camping I have ever done is in a camper trailer, with comfy beds, a toilet and shower, kitchen with range and microwave, a TV, AC and a heater...and with my parents. So yes, this constitutes a vacation for me. All the comforts of home, but in a beautiful natural setting, with built-in babysitters.

 

If it were camping in a tent, a small camper without full facilities, or even a nice big camper, but that I had to stock, pack and repack myself every trip, no, it would not count.

 

My motto is: If it's less comfortable than home, it's not a vacation. Period.

[elegantlion]

I grew up camping in a tent trailer. Loved it! Love being close to nature. We haven't camped in a long time and we were looking for the tent this week, can't find it. :glare: Dh and I camped on our honeymoon, now that's a story!

[Crimson Wife]

I hate camping but I've never gone camping in an RV. DH swore after he got out of the Army that he wasn't ever "roughing it" again. So now we usually go off season and stay in a cabin.

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

A nice cabin at a state park is about as "camping" as I get these days. My mom loved camping, but I never enjoyed it. So, to me it would be more of a chore than a vacation.

[Granny_Weatherwax]

Yes, camping is a vacation. I love camping. When we lived in CO we would camp at least once a month. This was the good kind of camping - in a tent in the high mountains very few people nearby. Loved it! We have special foods that we eat only while camping.

 

Camping here in IL is so weird. Most everyone has trailers and people are everywhere. It's very difficult to find a place away from all of the people.

[m0mmaBuck]

No vacation as far as I'm concerned. We (and by "we" I mean DH and DSS) are "remote campers" meaning we don't camp in campgrounds and generally we have to trudge several miles with backpacks before we can pitch a tent and find a tree to pee on. That may be fine when it's people who can carry their own stuff and can readily identify poison ivy, but small children do not fit that bill.

 

Camping is all the B.S. of home with none of the conveniences.

 

I hate it.

 

Guess where I'm going next weekend.

 

Grrrr....

[PinkInTheBlue]

Said with much love but any vacation with kids is not really in my category as true vacation yet. Maybe when they get older it will be different. Now that I've had several trips with just my husband and I again, I remember the difference.

 

However, to answer your question, no. I would not feel a camper or camping to be a vacation. It takes all the same work just in a different place. Vacation for me means someone else doing the clean up and cooking, at least. :)

[linders]

Pre-kids, we backpacked. Think miles of hiking, all your stuff on your back. And because of that, there were no fancy meals (think instant oatmeal for breakfast and freeze-dried stuff to which you added hot water at dinner). Minimal dishes, no soap. Minimal clothes, minimal sleeping bags and tent, little effort to set up and clean up. Yes, that was a vacation. None of the ordinary household duties.

 

Now we have a popup trailer, with a small 3-burner stove and little fridge, plus tables in and out, mega ice chests, sheets and blankets, all the clothes you want to change every time you get wet/dirty. I can cook meals like home, with the attendant dishes and all. There is always something to pick up or clean up. DH loves it. Comfy. I almost hate it, I do the same chores as at home. Just 1-2 more years and I will drag him and the boys off backpacking. Then, I will consider camping a vacation again.

[whitestavern]

Definitely a vacation! It's the only time dh is removed from his computer so he can really "shut off" of work. We do tent camping and while I do enjoy cooking, we will also often eat out, so I feel like it's a vacation for me as well. Oh, and not having to clean the house is great too!

[T'smom]

It's so interesting to read the diverse perspectives! Not that I expected anything less. I'm firmly in the 'if I have to cook/clean, it's not a vacation' camp. Not that it's not worth worth the work to go camping once in awhile. During the summer we go to the beach once/week and I was just contemplating how it takes longer to prepare to go and then clean up after having been there than we actually spend swimming/playing! It's worth it. Most of the time.

[lauracolumbus]

I grew up in a camping family. I LOVED camping growing up, but the first time I brought a toddler camping, I realized that my world had changed. I have not been camping since. I actually think I'd like to try it again, but I haven't pulled the trigger.

 

 

:iagree: except about the toddler part.

 

Laura

[m0mmaBuck]

Pre-kids, we backpacked. Think miles of hiking, all your stuff on your back. And because of that, there were no fancy meals (think instant oatmeal for breakfast and freeze-dried stuff to which you added hot water at dinner). Minimal dishes, no soap. Minimal clothes, minimal sleeping bags and tent, little effort to set up and clean up. Yes, that was a vacation. None of the ordinary household duties.

 

Now we have a popup trailer, with a small 3-burner stove and little fridge, plus tables in and out, mega ice chests, sheets and blankets, all the clothes you want to change every time you get wet/dirty. I can cook meals like home, with the attendant dishes and all. There is always something to pick up or clean up. DH loves it. Comfy. I almost hate it, I do the same chores as at home. Just 1-2 more years and I will drag him and the boys off backpacking. Then, I will consider camping a vacation again.

 

We backpack camp with our 4 and 8 yo's... You could totally do it now. Since you enjoy that sort of thing... :001_smile:

[Rosy]

I love camping. Yes, meals are more work, but when that's done there isn't much cleaning...and no TV/computer, no house to take care of, no responsibilities other than spending time as a family. No laundry (until we get home), no paperwork or mail (until we get home), no yardwork...once breakfast dishes are cleaned up we can hike or swim or whatever we want.

 

Now, we recently spent a week in a hotel just outside of Yellowstone. We had a full kitchen and a washer/drier, and that felt like work at times. Probably because we don't have cable at home so everyone was sucked into the TV the whole time. :glare: But it still was a week away from the demands of home, which was nice.

[LibraryLover]

Being away from looking at my own home can often feel like a vacation. At home, there are always chores staring in me in the face. Anytime I am way from my particular visual chore cues, it feels like a vacation. :) My SIL's home is a haven. Any Marriot is a brief respite. :) I love cabin camping. Tents are harder for me, but I still love being outdoors, going to/being on the lake/boat/waking up *right there*. I love grilling, I love fishing. I love grilling fresh fish. :)

Edited June 9, 2010 by LibraryLover

[2squared]

Dh and I were just talking about this. We don't have a need to camp because we live on a piece of land that is camping worthy. So, no, camping wouldn't be a vacation to me. It would be extra expense and extra work for no change in scenery.

 

Actually, camping would be a vacation if the kids pitched a tent somewhere on our property and hung out there. I could be comfy in my house and pretend to be on a real vacation without hearing their chaos for a few hours.

[cathmom]

No. Camping is in no way, shape, or form a vacation.

[AngieW in Texas]

I enjoy going camping with my 14yo and 12yo 1-2x/year. I wouldn't want to go more often than that. It is fun with my two younger girls. If my dh is there, it is NOT fun. If my 17yo is there, it is NOT fun. They both suck the joy out of camping by complaining the entire time and wanting everything to be what they want to do regardless of everybody else. We leave them at home so we can have fun. They'd rather not go anyway.

[keptwoman]

I like hearing the outside noises while I sleep, like wind and rushing streams. We have one of those really fat aerobeds, so we can sleep in cushy comfort and not bottom out. It has a battery operated pump. We could even put conventional bedding on it, but in actual practice we use sleeping bags.

 

There are only three of us, and our tent is modern and very easy to put up. We have a drop cloth under it, so it doesn't get very dirty.

 

 

Everyone else helps with the dishes, setup, and tear down.

 

I love it!

Same here!

DH does at least 50% of the cooking and the kids take over dishes/clean up duty. The only work I have to do is sweep the tent daily and take the laundry to the laundry room with a good book or magazine and relax while it washes. The kids are off with their friends, we relax, read, play games, swim, sip G&Ts, relax, read, paint, sketch, relax, chat, relax. Yeah, it's a holiday!

[Wheres Toto]

We just started tent camping this year after years in the same RV resort (always spending every weekend with MIL:glare:). I do consider anything where DH does stuff with us instead of going fishing all the time to be an okay vacation. Most vacations at this point are for DH or the kids. Mine would involve adult activities, peace and quiet and no children. Tent camping is more work for me - washing dishes, the piles of laundry, the packing/sorting/preparing. DH does all the cooking and a lot of the work so that helps.

 

I have two recent posts on my blog about camping with the little guys. It really hasn't been as bad as I thought it could be.

[cassiemc]

Yes, we do consider it a vacation. Our last camping trip we drove 10 hours, spent a week, tent camped on the beach and DH did the cooking and most of the cleanup. The kids also help. If the mom/wife is doing all of the work, I think a family talk is in order.

[RoughCollie]

Camping is a vacation for the kids, not for me. DH will not go. I've been taking the kids camping since DD was around 1.5 years old, although we haven't been in 2 years.

 

The only reason I take the kids is that it is the cheapest vacation I can think of, and they enjoy it very much. The kids don't know it, but I do not enjoy camping.