Friday, May 30, 2008

Camping English Version





OUTDOORS

Camping has become Coqueta’s hobby for the past years. Ah! There is nothing like exposing yourself to the woods, the outdoors, and the nature. Living in a city with its noise, pollution and the daily routine of work during the winter time can wear you out a bit. But by placing yourself out there in the middle of the woods, under the shadow of the pine trees, listening to the singing of diverse birds and the smell of burning logs can transport you to a magical world. This magical world does not exist unless you make the effort to create it for yourself.

When was the last time you experience the dark of the night and its silence while watching a fire burning? Have you ever experience the good company of your friends having Coqueta’s drink recipes sitting around that fire forming a circle and talking about anything (jokes, scary stories, about your life, life or anybodies life) until the sun is about to show.

Feeling the last cold of the winter on the last week of May here in New England inside your sleeping bag have no comparison to the cold that you feel while in your apartment and on top of that with the heat on. Believe me this cold is so refreshing that can give you the best night sleep that you can afford. (I recommend an air mattress under your sleeping bag, of course.)

Waking up with the singing of the birds, when you had finished sleeping all you wanted to and not to the sirens of the ambulance, fire truck or police (sometimes your neighbors) it’s priceless. Preparing your breakfast in the cool morning at the grill and having your favorite warm drink it’s just part of all the magic that you can create.

What about taking a trail walk, a tour with an expert nature guide, a swim in a pond, a kayak adventure, or just swinging in your own hammock? No radio, no television, no computer, except a cell phone just to give directions to your friends and families coming over to the camp site.

Every year my starting point of my summer season is the Memorial Day weekend. I make my plans on January and I carefully chose my camping sites. I make my list of the places I want to visit, I make an inventory of my camping gears, in case I need to replace or add some. The list of the friends and family that I would like to take with me is also planned.

It is my intension to give you ideas that can boost your life.

These days when the prices of everything has rise so ridiculously I have to be careful with my budget. More than keeping my pocket healthy there are many reasons why I like camping.

Advantages of camping:
1. One of the advantages of camping is the price. One camp site for a long weekend will cost you the same amount of dollars a hotel room with indoor swimming pool will charge per day.
2. In a hotel room the number of people is limited compared to a group camp site where you can accommodate up to 40 of your crazy friend and family members.
3. You don’t need to buy gears every year.
4. You bring the food to cook compare to buying already made food.
5. You can not cook in some hotel rooms but at most of the camp sites you can.
6. You gather with your friends and can have your conversation until morning, of course, you can not laugh the way I do after 10:00 PM or the rangers will tell you to “be quiet”.
7. In the woods you have space to do some athletic challenges with your group. You can also have talent shows; stand up comedy and any other crazy ideas to do for fun.
8. At camping you get in touch with Mother Nature.
9. You get the peace that modern civilization does not offer.
10. The memories of good times with your friends and families are forever. Let’s not forget the teaching/learning experience for all.

Teaching/Learning Experiences:
a. Survival skills
b. Learning your gears, building your tent.
c. Dealing with burning logs, cooking in the outdoors. Torch and oil use. Flash lights and so on.
d. Respecting fires and keeping them under control. Use water to extinguish the fire before going to sleep.
e. Dealing with knife and axes.
f. Limiting the use of water to drink, clean and cook. (You can shower in most sites and use the toilet too.)
g. Including all ages of your group in all your activities.
h. Dealing with the cold/heat.
i. Learning about the animals of the woods, and respecting them. Do not forget you’re visiting their house. You don’t even kill an ant. You don’t feed wild animals, and don’t leave food, trash and your cooking gears out during the night.
j. It is our responsibility to teach our children to love and respect nature for the well being of the future of our planet.

Well, I hope you enjoy my experience. For questions and more details you can always email me at
CoquetaClub@aol.com.
Have a great time!


Cons about camping according to my chic Coqueta member Nikki:

1. Oh boy! The insects, the mosquitoes, the flies, anybody OFF?
2. Dirt under my nails. I’m keeping my shoes on or my pedicure person will kill me.
3. Washing my hair and feeling I’m freezing during the night.
4. The tics, horror!
5. What about the raccoons, can they not just come to check our coolers at night?
6. Crying not to go to your tent at dark after listening to scary stories. “Boston Strangler”, “The death girl of the truckers”, “The Ghost of the children in the attic”. “The spirits of the woods”. These were some of the stories that I’m struggling to forget.
7. Walking to the bathroom during the day is a trip, but finding a safe spot to pee at night as a female is terrible. (I don’t want anything crawling over me.)
8. Bugs on the shower.
9. No signal for computers, and for cell phones; no cell chargers (well, I discovered the bathroom plugs.)
10. The smell of your cloths when you get back.

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