Tell us about your very first camping trip

[Rhonda]

I thought it would be fun for everyone to tell the stories about the first time they went camping!

For me, it was soon after we were married (20 years ago). I begged dh to bring me camping because I'd never been camping before!

So, we bought a tent and a couple of sleeping bags and he brought me to Jellystone Park in Wisconsin Dells, thinking he would start me out slowly.

Well, it POURED the whole time! We were in a station wagon, with just the tent and sleeping bags for shelter. I remember we huddled under the hatchback of the car, eating cold, soggy sandwiches! The inside of our tent was wet, because I didn't know that I wasn't supposed to touch the sides! LOL! My hips hurt from sleeping on the hard ground, and we were basically miserable! But, somehow, through all that mess, I decided I LOVED camping!

The next year we went to WDW and stayed offsite, but we went to a breakfast with the characters that was offered at Pioneer Hall at that time. We took one look at FW and we were hooked! We went back and camped the next year, and we've been there every year since! We've gotten smarter though - we now have a screen tent, cooking stove, air mattresses, sheets & blankets instead of sleeping bags, and many more gadgets that make camping much more fun and easy! Last year, we even bought a small popup trailer.

Ok - you're turn! Let's hear about your first time!

 

[Michelemouse]

The only camping I did as a kid was the occasional night-in-the-backyard kind of thing. I met DH in 1988. He was/is an Eagle Scout and had done lots of camping with the Boy Scouts over the years but had never once been to Disney World. Well, I decided that I just had to introduce him to my favorite place so we started planning a trip. We were poor, starving college students at the time and didn't want to spend lots of money on a hotel but we wanted to stay onsite. On our family trips when I was a kid we had discovered the Wilderness Homes at FW and I remembered how much I loved that resort so we decided to try tent-camping. We stayed in Loop 1400 for a week in June, 1989 and had a blast! DH easily was easily converted from a WDW-neophyte to a WDW-addict and, therefore, we were married in 1991.

We took one more trip to FW before we were married and have taken our kids camping there twice, with another trip planned for May. We've also stayed in the cabins once with our kids and they now love FW as much as we do.

We've also camped in Maine and Vermont and have a trip to Mammoth Caves (KY) planned for this Summer. I can't wait!

 

[loriandmatt]

As a child i was dragged to my fathers camp in the PA mountains. I HATED it!!! (outhouse on the hill, beautiful mountains - but at 14 i was not able to appreciate it, cold and cold running water from the stream, chase the critters out of your mattress before going to bed.....YUCK!)

Many Many Moons later - DH wanted to get me to go camping. Reluctantly i went along. Well, Heck - there is such a difference between camping at a campground and roughing it!!!! I loved camping at a campground! (even with a tent and hauling all that crap with you!)

While planning our first trip to WDW, i was told not to miss the Hoop Dee Doo, so we made ressies for our arrival night. We got there hidiously early(not knowing the ins and outs of WDW transportation) and had time to check out the campground. Our converstation: " HOLY COW! We gotta come back here and camp! But what about the florida critters - Let's buy a pop up! COOL. "
A year and a week later we were back at FW with our pop up. Now that's what i call camping. (my father would hate it!!! "no out-house and an electirc hook up, what's the point of even calling it camping?!?!?! - OK, dad! You go pee off the porch in that nasty cabin of yours and i will hang out in MK with dole whips and Mickey Mouse."

- lori
(by the way - we have gotten SO MUCH USE out of that pop up. we drag it everywhere! (in addition to our WDW trip this fall, we will be dragging it all over jersey and PA this spring/summer and even on a several stop jaunt across tennessee.)

 

[Whosemom]

Last summer I talked DH into tent camping for a two night trip around Ohio. The night we bought the tent, he decided he didn't want to wait for the trip, so we headed to a statepark. It was July 6, and we were lucky to get in. We set up the tent with me reading out the directions, then headed to Denny's Diner for supper (LOL, no time to pack much). Came back, DH tried to start a fire while I took my wee ones, 6, 3 and 18 mo for a walk. As we got back, some man took pity on dh and came over to start the fire. We had popcorn, slept like a litter of puppies LOL, the two little ones were rolling all over the tent in their sleep. The next morning was poptarts and tear-down with the three year old crying and clingy. NOt to mention, somehow 4th of July weekend it was 55 degrees and we weren't dressed for it.

And like soggy-station wagon camper, Rhonda, we were hooked regardless. We had a blast all summer. DH favorite part turned out to be dutch oven cooking, after a false start there too.

I guess anything good is worth an effort

Micki

 

[Krisu]

DS's scout troop had a family camping weekend at a state park about 1/2 hour from us. He was very experienced but DH and I were not! We were assigned a nice site and set up our camp. The first night was uneventful. The next day was filled with activities and a big campfire. The next morning I woke up to the sound of pouring rain. DH was throwing our rain ponchos at us saying "get up now, we have to leave"!! The campsite was flooding and we had to take down our tent and dining canopy, fold them somehow and stuff them in the car and GO!!!!!!! No one knew what happened to us since they all slept late in their nice floodless sites. I've never been that wet before or since!!!

 

[house_of_princesses]

I had the same type experience as Krisu. I was 9 or 10, and we went cloth tent camping (not the new ripstop stuff!) with my girl scout troop. I can never sleep the first night out, so was peeking out at our leader, who was sitting at the fire, watching the sky. Before you knew it, Leader yells an alarm and we are instructed to grab essentials. Sleeping bag and flashlight. We had to walk nearly a mile in the rain to shelter. A horrendous thunder storm had hit fast and furious. When we went back in the morning ours was the only tent with a stream running through it. No one bothered to mention that we were supposed to secure the bottom of the tent to the side walls. (As I said, old style tents.) I don't think I tent camped again until college! (I backpacked through the Smokies. Great!) I wonder what my mother said once I arrived home with all that mud!

 

[Whosemom]

well ok - seems the key for a lifetime of camping fun is a REALLY bad first night. LOL

 

[Cinderelli]

My DS joined cub scouts this year and we just got back yesterday from our 1st family camping trip. We just decided last Monday that it sounded like fun, went to WalMart and bought a tent, lantern, a few flashlights, mats & sleeping bags and off we went. We weren't too worried. We figured we would be around a ton of scouts so we were safe. We had a ball, although I'm a bit worried as we had wonderful weather all weekend. From the sound of the other stories, the key to enjoying camping is to have horrible weather the first time, ha!

We were definitely novices. The group that camped next to us had 3 tents. The husbands and sons all arrived first and within 30 minutes had the 3 tents up, ropes tied between trees with lanterns on them (giving wonderful lighting), had their grill started (where they proceeded to cook the most wonderful mahi-mahi and shrimp - and they shared with us!!!). We just kept watching them in awe and taking notes. We were almost embarassed to have them see us packing up yesterday with our suitcases. Yes, we used our good luggage (only one piece, but it did look rather odd pulling it out of the tent).

We didn't sleep much the first night. Some animal kept running around outside our tent at night (I thought a large animal but DH says it was an armadillo), then we had two LARGE owls hooting at each other for about 15 minutes around 5 AM. Then at 6, the Boy Scouts (who were camping on a different loop than the Cub Scouts) seranaded us with duck calls. At 6:15 I gave up and headed to the shower.

I will say our first night there was the most relaxing night I've had in a long time. We were all so happy. Just like clams. We took some games for the kids, but they never even looked at them. There was so much to explore. We didn't have a chance to do any of our own cooking (taken care of by the Pack) and really look forward to doing this on our next trip.

We're hooked and have decided to give the tent a few more whirls and then perhaps look for a used pop-up next year. I'm trying to convince DH to camp the 1st weekend of May (our last free weekend before summer). We would either do the Beach (we have a lovely campground called Fort DeSoto and it's right on the beach) or a WDW trip. Send pixie dust my way for DH to change his mind. He thinks it will be too hot.

The only funny thing that happened was there was a rat snake who positioned itself over the entrance to the mens side of the restrooms all day/night Saturday. The little Cubs (my DS included) all decided to use the ladies side. They would look around to make sure none of their friends were watching then scoot into the ladies side. Of course, the actual Boy Scouts got right up into the rafters and got right next to the snake. They thought it was pretty cool. I was glad it chose the mens side to visit. I would have probably "held it" all weekend rather than walk under that snake.

Happy Camping!

Lissa

 

[ftwildernessguy]

I had camped most of my life in the Scouts, but my wife had never slept in anything but a motel before. After our DD was born, I thought it would be fun to start a family tradition of camping (and besides, it was the only way I could afford for us to go on vacation). DW said the only way for her to go was to get a pop up, so we located an old used Coleman and off we went.

DD was about 2, and DW was very pregnant with DS. It was pretty cold the first night and I wasn't confident enough to start the furnace in the pop up. In the middle of the night, I woke up to the sounds of DD screaming "Get offa my head! Somebody turn on the light!". When I got the light on, our Yorkshire terrier was cold and had made a bed on DD's face. I opened my sleeping bag and down the dog went to the bottom, not to be seen until tomorrow.

That was a long time and many camping trips ago. DD is now 18, DS came along and is now 16. Sadly, we lost our beloved Yorkie 5 years ago at age 14 - she was our regular companion on every camping trip. Now we have a Beagle who accompanies us. The original pop up still resides in our driveway, to be converted to a utility trailer, and we are on our third camper, a hybrid we got last year. Through it all, our favorite camping memory is this first trip in the Redwoods in California.

 

[christinou]

Well my first camping trip was in 95 in a 32 feet motorhome, at Fort wilderness, there were 4 adults, a 2 yearl old and a 4 months old. We got hooked, even though it was not really camping, and bought a pop-up after that....

 

[DisneyFanGuy]

Our first trip with a brand new camper was to a campground in Wisconsin in mid-April. We forgot the crank (Had to go to a local coleman dealership and now carry two), and sleeping bags (the small furnace didn't really help......it got down in the mid 30s overnight!).

We have been happily camping ever since!

 

[tim5055]

Well, If I remember correctly - It's been so long ago......

Actually, my first camping trip ever was to Fort Wilderness. We lived in Miami at the time (around 1974) and Miami was not known as the camping capitol of the world.

I was in high school and on the baseball team. As a team "field trip" we went to FW for a few days.

We packed up the old yellow school bus and trucked up the turnpike to this new place to check it out. We reserved 3 campsites if I remember correctly, and ended up on the4 Little Bear Path.

For those who never camped there in the early days, neat things happened.

For one, instead of busses they ran trams like the parking lot at the Magic Kingdom around the campground loop until around 2AM. Busses to the park (remember it was just the MK then) only ran from the settlement or reception outpost. The trams were neat because you could ride round and round all night.

The were still running the steam train then and that was a lot of fun to ride.

Who would ever think 30 years late I would still be going to FW.