A First For Everything

From the moment of our birth, we open wide to the world and take our first breath. We are alive. Our bodies have sensors all over and we begin to feel, hear, taste, hear and see more clearly. Our bodies are an incredible set of interacting systems. Amazing still, we interact with other bodies. A baby learns right off how to nurse from its mother, to cry as a means of communication when something is uncomfortable, as well as grasp its finger. It has learned basic survival skills within a matter of days or even hours. What does any of this have to do with camping? Or being a Nomadic American?

First off, let's a trip down memory lane, shall we? Camping for me (Jill) was way different than what we are doing now. My first camping excursions were as a baby in the late 1960's. My folks had a Nimrod pop-up camper. We would go to the beach at the ocean every summer. I became used to snoozing in a sleeping bag to stay warm. As I got older, I remember the fires being used for cooking our hot dogs and marsh-mellows. It was later on in Girl Scouts where I learned basic survival skills - how to wash and clean a Katine, start a campfire and mark a trail for when you hiking so you can find your way back. Tents and pop-up campers were the majority in campgrounds back then. Larger RV's were like an exotic animal - rare and usually set off to a section by itself.

Pretty much like Jill, my first camping experience (Dave) was also in a pop-up camper. It was in the late 60's as well. I can't remember the brand name, but I do remember it being white and orange; like a cream-cicle. I think it was considered more "high end" than most, because it had an indoor and outdoor Coleman propane cooking units, along with a sink, fridge, and lights.

I can also remember seeing photos and home movies of us when we lived in northern New Jersey. The camper was pulled by a VW Bus. We weren't hippies by any stretch of the imagination. Camping in the pop-up was one story in itself. If my memory serves me correctly, my sister and I had to share one side of the camper when we slept. Thank God for sleeping bags - otherwise we probably would have killed each other. The camper was a gamut of experiences for a few summers; it would hotter than blazes during the day, but if there was a night breeze, it was about as close to sleeping outside, where it was cooler, as one could get. When it rained, we had to zip up the sides like a tent in an effort to stay dry - which happened for the most part. There were times when it would leak. And speaking of rain, things went from damp to downright lousy if we had to "take down" in it.

The VW Bus was the other side of the story. While it was big enough for our family, it was hardly adequate to tow an 800 pound camper. Speeds of 0 to 60 took an average of 3 minutes and 41 seconds. The bus (like the camper, which is why I feel they were meant for each other) got just as hot in the summer, cold in the winter, and got damp when it rained - although it lacked the ventilation.

But it was the late 60's / early 70's. Did anyone really care? When it came to campers, A/C, microwave ovens, cable TV, and the Internet were non-existent. My brain is having some difficulty remembering exactly where we traveled to on the campers maiden voyage, but I do remember meandering through Pennsylvania, Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley, Ohio, the Great Lakes, Illinois, Wisconsin, and other destinations in the mid-west as well as the Northeast.

My parents did an admirable job finding campgrounds that were on lakes, places and things to keep kids entertained (and hopefully make some friends) and not killing us through the many miles we journeyed. Like Jills' experiences, most campers hit the road with either tents, pop-ups, or campers that fit inside the bed of a truck. Full size enclosed motorhomes were scarce, and when I say full size, I mean about 27 feet max - not the 40 to 50 foot behemoths like today, and 5th wheels just didn't exist. Perhaps that's one reason why we chose the Nomad as our first RV; it brings us back to a time when camping was truly camping - not the concept of bringing everything including the satellite dish with us as if living in a small condo...

Our first "settlement" - New Bern, North Carolina - we are here definitely until the first half of December. We've been here for almost a week and have had quite the variety of experiences to date.

Our first friend was a fine individual named Brian. We're unsure what his exact position is here, but we think he's one of the managers. If not, he should be - he's that good at what he does. He helped us decide which plot to park on as we cruised around in his electric golf cart. He pointed out pros and cons of some spots including some things we would have never thought of. Our current plot is #18. We have a gorgeous view of the man-made pond, complete with fountain and lighted foot bridge, a short walk to the pier, and we can generally see everyone else from our position while still having shade trees. Brian not only works here, but helps everyone else out on his time off. We have swapped experiences including the one that brought him here. His bottom line was, "Don't worry; things will work out. You'll like it here."

Survival tip #1 - Listen & learn from people who've already been where you are going and glean as much information as you can from their experiences.

We've mentioned before about the train that runs through New Bern. The first one usually comes through at 4am. On other days, it's come through at midnight, and again at 6am. While we're getting used to it, it looks like we may be purchasing some earplugs in order to camp in 100% comfort!


Our first campfire proved to be a challenge to Jill as she tried to remember what she learned in Girl Scouts in how to set up the wood. She placed some dry, dead leaves as a base, then added small twigs, then larger ones, and topped off the whole thing with a tee-pee of about 4 or 5 small logs. She then added newspaper, wadded it into balls, tucked one or two under the logs and a few along the edges along with some broken up cardboard. With a match or two, she set it ablaze!

We then broke out the Summer sausage and roasted it over the open flames. Yum! Our neighbors came out from their campsites, whether out for a walk or walking their dogs, and stopped by to chat and to warm their souls for a spell. No TV, no being on-line, no cell phones... just friendly people sharing a fire and some laughs. True camping.

Campfires are a good ending to a blessed day and for this blog!
Until next time,
The Happy Campers,
Jill & Dave