Planning a family {camping} trip

Calvin will be one year old July 14th.  Since the girl's birthdays surround this (Ella turned 4 June 12th and Ava will be 2 on July 18th) I've had it in my mind to start some sort of family tradition during this season.  The beginning of summer makes for an easy time period to depend on kids being out of school so the family vacation tradition needs to begin.  We have big dreams for what this could grow into as the kiddos sprout up, but this year will start simple.

This past year we have not been planning any sort of vacation for this summer for a few reasons:
#1 we have been focused on paying bills and paying off debts with no budget for blow money
#2 Calvin spent his birth date to almost Thanksgiving in the hospital last year and has required 24 hour nursing since coming home (more on this another time - he's a handful)
#3 my family usually goes on a trip every summer somewhere and we had discussed skipping this year
#4 taking three preschoolers/infants anywhere is sometimes more work than play

These are minor speed bumps.  Those who know me well can tell you I can get determined and downright obsessed with things when I set my mind on them.  This applies to just about anything that interests me including but not limited to: toys, work, games, projects, etc.  The trick is getting interested and the difference is best described by showing you my college transcript.  The sneak peak is that my best semester included two economics classes and a couple other business courses with a dash of Scuba for athletic credit.  This was my heaviest hour load of any semester.  I went from hitting the Dean's list this semester to taking ten years to complete my Bachelors of Business Administration.  (It gets bad when I lose interest)

Also, this year the upcoming Independence Day Holiday here in the USA on July 4th has inspired me to overcome the above mentioned obstacles.  It holds a unique meaning for our family as well since Calvin has been dependent on life support since his birth to a decreasing degree.  This month we are going to get out there as an independent family!

So now I'm in planning and research mode.

First obstacle: How do I pay for anything?  Well, I've had a few opportunities pop up to do some on the side work that suits my experience in home theater equipment and have made some great money on a few days off.  I don't want to spend all this on some big trip though.  The 'what can we afford?' factor kind of decides a lot of things for you.  We would love to go on a cruise, take the kids to Disney, or many other grand adventures if money was not a factor.  Since we live in a culture where folks want to get paid for products and services we will have to work with what we've got.  I've been scrounging the web for the basics of family camping as this seems to be the most affordable overnight outing I can imagine aside from going to the in-laws.  So far I've been quite satisfied with the stuff we've put together for some easy car camping and have spent far less than my on the side jobs have made us.

Second: Can we take Calvin out?  Can we take him camping?  Calvin has only recently become more easily mobile.  This has been the single largest motivator and such a relieving, however slow transition. We would not consider such an endeavor without very high levels of confidence in our ability to keep him comfortable and healthy.  I can assure this obstacle has been the most carefully reviewed.

Three: The larger family vacation didn't seem to be coming together as my two brothers had lots of commitments over the summer and my father has to plan fairly far in advance to leave his workload in the hands of others.  This is harder to overcome so we were determined to do a little trip with my family if we could.  (Last year my parents and brothers took the girls to Florida while Cassi was in the hospital on bed rest with me working)  As of this writing we are planning a shorter than average time together which I'm very happy about after missing last year's beach week.

Four: What kind of bum would I be if I let a few little toddlers keep me stuck at home on a stay-cation when we could be out entertaining them?  There was no way a stay-cation was gonna satisfy our traveling spirit unless Calvin couldn't get out.  I sought out inspiration and found it first in a stack of books from my local library.  See the resources section for the books I most appreciated.  The final decision was to go camping less than an hour from home at a State Park for two nights.  This in theory leaves us the close proximity of city conveniences, hospitals, and home.  Cassi, my wife, has been googling stuff as I've tasked her with the menu and packing the kids.  She has found this blog helpful.

With the obstacles seemingly out of the way we are just about ready to pack up and go.

See you next time

Nick


Resources:
  The Down and Dirty Guide to Camping with Kids by Helen Olsson was possibly the best resource I found and read it cover to cover.  The chapters include planning and gearing up (including specialized kiddie gear recommendations), camp grub, recreation, and boredom busters, with a dose of hygiene and safety.  The arts and crafts section I may have skimmed through, but the checklists listed in the chapters and organized in the back were worth taking notes on.

  The Best in Tent Camping: Texas by Wendel Withrow is a well organized Top 50 of Texas campsite guide.  Sorted by region as well as sites listed in handy topics such as Best for Scenic Vistas, Best for Families with Kids, Best for Cycling/Biking, Hiking, Fishing, and others.  This gives you insights into why certain sites are better for some than others.  I've made a campground trip wish list  based on some of these detailed reviews.

"Family Camping Packing Checklist" blog mentioned:
http://realfamilycamping.blogspot.com/2011/09/car-camping-packing-checklist.html