Camping

Now that the weather is warmer, my family and I will spend some time at our favorite place nearby: Red Top Mountain State Park.

It's surrounded by Lake Allatoona and it's a perfect spot to fish, hike, play in the water, or just sit by the lake and soak up the surroundings.

My husband and I stayed in a cabin there the second year we lived in GA. Back then we lived about 45 minutes away from the park. Now we're about 15 minutes away, making it easier to just drive over and spend a couple of hours on the spur of the moment.

This year we are considering going camping there.

In a tent.

My husband and son love to go camping. Usually, they go camping off the Elk River in Webster Springs, WV. That's a spot my husband and his family have been camping at since he was a little boy. It's a beautiful, untouched spot and it's my husband's first choice for any camping excursion.

Hubby and son haven't been there since the summer before my father-in-law passed away. My husband isn't sure when they'll go back there. That place is tied up with memories of his dad and those memories are hard for him to face right now. I'm sure they'll go back there eventually, but maybe not this summer.

I've been to the place where they camp on Elk River, but have only spent a few hours there. The accommodations are primitive. For example, the toilet consists of a hole dug by my father in law with a bottomless bucket and an old toilet seat on top.

Now, I like primitive as a decorating concept, but not as a way of life. So I have not spent the night at Elk. And probably never will. I'll live that joy to the men in my life.

Last summer we camped off the Greenbrier River in Ronceverte. This style of camping was more for me. We stayed at property right by the river owned by my sister-in-law and her husband. They've had the place for years and have equipped it with a building that has running water, with a toilet, shower, and sink. There is also a refrigerator, a stove, and a dryer.

There are no sleeping quarters in that building, but they have their RV parked right beside it. The RV is where we slept while we camped for a few nights.

The RV has a few very comfortable beds, plus the RV has air conditioning if the heat gets to be too much during the day. Honestly, I didn't need the air so much because I'm used to Georgia heat now and sitting under a tree on the hottest WV day feels kind of like heaven to me. Our little pug appreciated the RV, though, and we'd put him in his crate and let him nap when he got tired of running around outside.

So that's my idea of camping, folks. Showers, running water, refrigerators, electricity, and a nice, soft bed.

Kind of like being home.

This year, I stuck my foot in my big, fat mouth by suggesting we go camping a little closer to home when spring came. We are planning to camp in Ronceverte again this summer, but (because of me) we are also planning to camp at Red Top.

In a tent.

Granted, it won't be as primitive as the accommodations on Elk River, but it'll be a whole new way of living for me.

We're only staying a maximum of two nights.

And, if it gets to be too much for me, I'm driving the 15 minutes back to my house and leaving the boys in the tent!

I guess that's another luxury of camping so close to home!