11 Oct

Camping For Dads That Don’t Always Camp #FatherhoodIsLit

If you knew me before I had kids, then you would never think I would have fun camping.

I don’t like going a night without a shower, I hate getting dirty, and I hate bugs with a passion!!!

But for the past 8 years, my family and I have gone camping at least 2-3 times a year. So how do I survive camp life?

I turn it into an experience that I could VIBE with! Check out how someone like me, a noncamping city boy does it below!

Be Real With Who You Are

As I get older, I refuse to do things I hate to do more than once, this even applies to traditional camping.

I’m not a big fan of traditional camping which means you will not catch me tenting in the middle of the woods on top of some isolated mountain with bears and other random animals around me.

Because I know how much of a fool I am when I’m not comfortable we do camping our way via trailers.

My friends own campers over at Whip-O-Will in the upstate section of New York!

Here I sleep in a bug-free, ac filled, running water trailer. Yup no tents for me! We even have beds!!!! They aren’t as comfortable as my king size bed at home or as big, but its way better than using a rock for a pillow!

I love campfires and BBQs so that’s probably as traditional camping as you will catch me doing! The kids can do all the other stuff, I’ll watch.

You know how much you can and are willing to handle. Do it your way.

Overpack, I Rather Be Judged Then Stuck

Our camping trips last 2-3 days but I pack like we are there for 5 days.

I have no shame in doing so because I rather be over prepared on a mountain for 3 days than frustrated because I have to wear the same clothes with deer poop all over them.

The same goes for the kids! They are some messy little people so having extra clothes for impromptu car rides or simply so they don’t smell around me, is a must.

#RealDads know you cant leave the house with only one set of extra clothes per kid, something always happens! For camping, I go in on the packing but rarely ever use the extra stuff and I never feel bad about doing so!

Find Things You Would Like To Do While Camping

Besides staying in a trailer, my favorite hack is finding things I want to try! Kids usually have fun doing almost anything, dads are a different story!

Sometimes the simple life doesn’t cut it, especially in the rain. So before we head upstate we google things to do around the campsite.

This is our chance to do things we cant do in NYC like visiting a farm or going underground to explore caves like Howes Cavern.

This last visit we found a small family ran park that we last visited about 5 years ago by simply driving around. Some things aren’t on google, yup believe it!

We went into town, took a wrong turn and found a small family ran amusement park we have been trying to find for years! Its small but dirt cheap and the kids love it.

It’s ok to leave the campsite if possible. Use your kids as an excuse to try something different!

Live A Little

We all picture camping differently. I always stayed away from it because it wasn’t going to be as comfortable as my house.Now I’m the one telling friends that they should try it with their family, but it wasn’t always like that.

I sucked my 1st couple of camping trips, I didn’t want to try anything and I’m sure it affected my family as well.

Imagine being somewhere with someone that doesn’t want to be there? That was me.

I had to learn to chill a bit and enjoy the moment one activity at a time. I didn’t want to ruin my family’s time but also it sucked watching them have so much fun without me.

So if you always wanted to go camping but always thought it could never be your thing, remember it doesn’t have to be. There is no blueprint on how to do camping the right way, it’s your way or no way. At our campsite, I get great cell phone service, have running water, power and a working kitchen!

And I could care less if someone judged me for that, it’s my rules!

It’s not “traditional camping” but it is the perfect camping situation for me. It was up to me to change our own camping experience or I wouldn’t go! Now it’s your turn to do the same!!