With my first camping trip of the year just days away, I’ve been thinking of some of the little things that make camping so enjoyable for me. Some of them are:

- No distracting television (although I have to admit I will be going through a little withdrawal next week because I’ll miss American Idol. I’m glad I have a DVR to tape it so I can watch it when I get home.)

- I don’t have to do anything more with my hair than wash it.

- I don’t have to wear makeup.

- I get to be outside as much as I want.

- The smell of grass.

- Birds chirping.

- The smell of a campfire.

- The sound of the waves lulling me to sleep at night (okay, this doesn’t happen every camping trip - only the ones where we are camping near large bodies of water which for us is the Great Lakes - usually Lake Michigan)

- Roasted marshmallows

- Pudgie pies (especially reuben pudgie pies and cherry pie pudgie pies - yum!!!!!)

- No cleaning to do

- Falling asleep at 9 pm because I’m tired and worn out from the active day and the fresh air (no tossing and turning and having sleepless nights)

- Sitting outside and reading a book

- Being entertained by the antics of other campers

- The peacefullness and relaxation of not having to think about anything more than what I’m going to wear (something comfortable) and what I’m going to eat (something easy that I can cook outdoors). Everything else during the day is optional. There’s no “set in stone” plans. We do what we want when we want.

- It’s inexpensive.