I can’t remember the last time I spent the night in a tent. I think I was in high school! I know that’s a shocker to those of you who love sleeping under the stars, but I am not much of an outdoorsy girl! I love to be outside during the day and go hiking, swimming and beaching, but when the sun sets, please keep me away from the bugs and night creatures! (Also: bathrooms, please.) However, I wanted to test the waters with Mazen a bit because I think camping could be a really fun family activity for him, so we set up a huge tent in Sarah’s back yard and spent the night listening to cicadas.
Instead of a lake or river, we had a pool #glamping : )
And the only creature in sight was this big guy!
After swimming for a bit we got the kids in their jammies and had a nice dinner outside.
Deviled eggs, shrimp skewers, zucchini, and baked potato wedges.
And bug spray!
We set up the Struckmann’s tent, which is epic in size. I think one reason I haven’t loved camping in the past is my old tent was just a little two-person guy, and I am a bit claustrophobic.
But this tent was grand! (I believe this is the one they have. It was also much easier to set up than my old 1995 tent, despite its size!)
After that, John lit up the bonfire, and we enjoyed s’mores for dessert! Couldn’t do it any other way.
Mazen and Sylvia went to sleep at around 10pm, and we followed a bit later. Just Thomas and I stayed in the tent with the littles.
I fell asleep initially, but only lightly, and both Thomas and I barely slept the whole the night. We had insomnia and tossed and turned from 12-3 until we finally dozed off at around 3:30am, I think. I just couldn’t turn my ears off! There were so many noises, and Gus ended up barking at some point. The kids were up at 6am, so I got about three hours of sleep. Not the best report to my first adult camping night! I hate to use white noise when the cicadas are so beautiful, but next time I need to not be able to hear all the bumps in the night. (I always sleep with a fan on at home for the same reason.) The good news is that Sylvia and Mazen slept all night and had a great time!
Despite the rough night, the morning was beautiful. I loved the fresh air and this view:
Sarah made us breakfast — quiche from Mazen’s Supper Camp, bacon, and waffles with Nutella (a kid treat that the grown-ups jumped onto!)
Tell me all of your camping advice!!!
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog says
That is a huge tent, what a fun camp out! I’ve only ever gone camping once or twice, when I was a cub scout, haha!
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com
Christina @ montessoriishmom.com says
That sounds really fun (except for the not sleeping part)! I love camping and I think we’re going to take our little guy camping on the beach this Fall (it’s too hot in Texas to take him right now). I often sleep poorly the first night, but settle in after that. I also love the white noise app on my phone though for sleeping in weird places.
KathEats says
As much as I love the beach I think I need to try camping there!
Carrie says
Earplugs! I can’t camp without them. We bring blow up mattresses,, too. A lot of people struggle with a sleeping bag so bringing sheets and a blanket might be better.
Carrie this fit chick says
Ah I did that when I was little! I bet I would have the same issue sleeping. I cant relax with noises around, so that would be tough for me!
Christine says
We are taking my 3 year old twins tent camping for the first time in a few weeks – just at my sisters house. I was thinking of bringing ear plugs because I know the birds and bugs will keep me awake all night. I may also play white noise though my headphones. I’d like to get a few hours of sleep!
KathEats says
If you’re a light sleeper like me I would definitely plan to do something like that!
elle says
Not sleeping well the first night is totally normal! Your cave woman brain has to stay awake to learn the new sounds and protect the kids. The second night is better. I camped out in the mountains once and there was a bird (owl?) whistling at 4am and I half thought it was some creepy person whistling outside my tent.
So staying for a couple of nights is always better. And if you are somewhere (not a back yard) where you can do some hiking and stuff from your camp site, and you are cooking on a gas stove and not having all your furniture to sit on and basically using more energy to do all the daily tasks we take for granted, you’ll be much more tired at the end of the day and probably sleep better.
KathEats says
You are probably so right about the cave woman brain!
Linda @ the Fitty says
This is common for me too. Whatever I am in a new environment in the new bed, I never sleep well the first few nights. I get so grumpy the next day! Unfortunately, when my sleep is off, it sets off of mood for me to binge.
Amy says
A tent fan!
Sarah W. says
I totally second the tent fan. It sucks up batteries but makes sleeping in a tent sooooo much better. We normally have a fan running 24/7 in our bedroom so the tent fan helped a lot (plus it was really HOT when we were camping)…
Martha says
Earplugs and eye shades are key for camping. An air mattress or camp cots are also good. My husband and I go camping every year with our friends and used camp cots for the first time this past year – it was seriously the best nights sleep I have ever gotten while camping.
Taryn says
We love camping! We took our kids for the first time last fall (ages 3 and 5) and the first night was rough but the second was much better. Probably because we were all so worn out from all the fresh air! We went again this past May, and it was much better. The only thing to think about is the time of year, as everyone naturally goes to bed when it gets dark (so October means a much earlier bedtime than May). Also, a campground means lots of different noises and you never know how late your neighbors will stay up.
I wrote a blog post about food prepping for our last camping trip, which turned out perfectly! Minimal dishes and more time to play! http://www.healthyfamilydefined.com/food-prepping-vacation-style/
KathEats says
Thanks for sharing that!
Jess says
You and Sarah look so pretty!
KathEats says
Thank you! Hope you are getting settled 🙂
Linds says
I also love white noise when I’m sleeping. They make special headphones that are comfortable to sleep in, that may be good for travel. I haven’t tried them, but I want to!
https://www.amazon.com/AcousticSheep-SleepPhones-Classic-Headphones-Medium/dp/B0046H8ZHS
KathEats says
Cool idea!!
Eileen says
Did you have a foam mat, or an air mattress or anything? I’ve even heard of people using yoga mats to cushion the ground.
Also, beach camping is about as tough as it gets. You often need special stakes for the tent; some beaches have biting flies; and sun rising in the morning sounds beautiful but it can make you feel like a baked potato.
KathEats says
We had an air mattress. And yes all the sand probably gets everywhere too! Especially in sleeping bags. Biting flies don’t sound fun, but at least there are no spiders (that I’ve seen) or bears (on East Coast beaches!)
Samantha says
I just went camping a couple weekends ago for the first time in my adult life and it was a bit rough- we couldn’t blow up our air mattress so we slept on what felt like a million tree roots with just a tiny sleeping bag under us. The noises weren’t a problem because of this handy dandy fan (https://www.walmart.com/ip/O2COOL-10-inch-Battery-or-Electric-Portable-Fan/49332866) I highly recommend it!
KathEats says
I’m glad I’m not the only one trying to make it happen! A million tree roots doesn’t sound like fun. Fan looks awesome!
Aimee says
I haven’t been camping since my now 14 year old was a baby. I took her (aboute10months old) with a couple friends. As soon as we got to the camp site my daughter had explosive diarrhea. And….we locked the keys in the car with all the diapers and wipes. I ended up washing her off in a gross bathroom and wrapping a t shirt around her until the lock smith opened the car several hours later. Not my idea of fun lol
KathEats says
Oh gosh!!!
Alisa says
My recommendation: CABINS! … still all the great things about camping but with a bed and a bathroom! I live on the West Coast and there are tons of cabins to rent near the ocean, by lakes or I’ve even rented one in the forest, which was pretty cool.
KathEats says
Haha love it! Gotta look for some nearby
Sarah W. says
I did the same thing recently…bringing the family to go camping (My dear hubby who has never gone before — and my 3.5 yo son). I grew up camping with my family and have fond memories of it so I figured we’d have a go of it and see how it went…We went for a long weekend and my son LOVED it. Getting dirty, swimming (hugging mama the whole time with his floaties on) in a lake, roasting marshmallows (and attempting to make smores). He keeps asking every weekend when we’re going again. My husband also weathered the trip — he complained about getting in/out of the tent, the bugs and the bathroom that was a trek away from the tent…but agreed that it was enjoyable.
I’ve reserved a couple more campsites this summer just to continue to gain more experience (some just with my hubby and son, another with another family). I studied Pinterest for all the great hacks. If you are planning on doing more camping in the near future, I recommend getting some bins to separate all the equipment you should bring (highly recommend this list: https://simplefamilypreparedness.com/family-camping-list/) It helped be prepared for anything (even when we were camping with a larger group).
Oh, make sure to not just put bug spray on arms and legs, but also get it on the back of the neck and forehead! My son got eaten alive by mosquitos on his forehead the last morning…it was horrible!
KathEats says
Thanks for the bin advice! I think camping is an art that takes practice 🙂
Chelsea says
Honestly, it depends on what you do during the day. If you guys are all pooped out from hard swimming, hiking, then you’ll sleep like a baby! But the first night camping is always hard if you haven’t been in awhile. It’s hard to get used to all those sounds!
Jessica says
You might enjoy camping at Kiptopeke State Park on the Eastern Shore! They have a beautiful yurt on a wooded bluff above the bay so you can hear the water at night. It’s less than 4 hours from Charlottesville, and you get to go over)through the Bay Bridge and Tunnel – always a treat! In fact, when you’re at KSP, you are within sight of the bridge, so you get a different sense of its enormity. The Chesapeake Bay is so great for kids to swim and play in, and you can often find sand dollars washed up at the park. There are also these really cool WWII concrete ships to see just off the shore that you can kayak out to; they act as a break wall. You’d also be super close to the sweetest little town on the Eastern Shore – Cape Charles! You may already know about it because the Young House Love family bought a summer house there – you can visit them! 😉
https://www.virginia.org/listings/PlacesToStay/KiptopekeStateParkLodgesRVsandYurt/
KathEats says
Thanks for the suggestion!! (And yes I’ve been wanting to go to Cape Charles because of YHL 🙂 )
Kelli @ Hungry Hobby says
So the last time I went camping was when I worked for the Boys and Girls club and we took a group of kids up to the grand canyon I remember sleeping like that EVERY SINGLE night and I slept in the van ha ha this looks like way more fun and way less tiring!
Jolene (www.everydayfoodie.ca) says
I love camping, and always have better sleeps camping than I do at home. I think the fresh air just does wonders for my sleep. The noises don’t seem to bother me, although a dog barking would wake me up. It’s pretty quiet where we go camping.
Katie says
I haven’t been camping since I was a kid either! Thankfully when we were kids we always went to campgrounds that had bathrooms and I think that’s a must for me, but I would like to give it a try again because I find the idea of sleeping in a tent, making s’mores, and cooking breakfast over a big fire to be kind of fun! (At least the thought of it – HA!)
Rita says
I always sleep better the second night of camping because I’m so exhausted from the first night!!! We have a lot of fun making meals over the campfire using pie irons. You can cook desserts using bread/pie filling, pizza’s, breakfast sandwiches, the options are endless.
Amber says
I love camping so much. Love KOA’s because I can enjoy my adult beverages, unlike most state parks. Please go camping more often, and give us some good healthy campfire recipes! 🙂
Amanda P. says
Everything you said about camping is ME! Claustrophobic, want to go in at night, can’t sleep, need a bathroom…. So, now we do what my husband and I call We stay at a camp ground with cabins or just rent a cabin….hike, have a bonfire, eat outside and then go inside when it’s time for bed. haha Works for us 🙂
Paula Clark says
We love camping and have tent camped for 45 years with kids and now with the grandkids or dogs. But we always camp in a campground that had electricity and a bathhouse/restrooms with showers. Last fall we took our two dogs and camped all the way from Alabama, through Wisconsin for a dog rescue function and into North Dakota to have lunch in my hometown. We took a different route home and it was probably one of the best trips ever. The dogs love to travel, we carry a small fan for white noise and we camp in the fall when the weather is cool. We owned a camper/trailer for a few years and decided that it wasn’t really camping and it took too much time and money to maintain. So back to real camping for these old people.
Emily E. says
I never sleep very well the first night of camping, lots of tossing and turning.. But I always sleep like a baby after the first night, especially if it is a little cool outside. I prefer camping cots to blow up mattresses. The mattresses just make too much noise every time you move!