So we’re going to attempt camping.

And though I was once, long ago, a Boy Scout (or whatever it is they’ve decided to rebrand themselves to these days), it has been quite some time since I spent a full night out of doors. As a matter of fact, I haven’t truly camped since I lived in northern Utah, where we’d spend weekends primitive camping in Logan Canyon or down in Moab. (“Primitive” meaning, a sleeping bag, campfire, and several cases of Squatters.)

Jen and I did stay overnight once at the Texas Ren Fest early in our relationship…but I don’t really count that. (And, as an aside, I will never do such an thing again. I was ready to jab a bec de corbin through the next groundling who screamed “HUZZAH!” at the top of their lungs in the middle of the night.)

Our first full weekend camping trip is coming up next month, and so we set up our equipment in the backyard a few weeks ago, just to ensure it all functioned as intended. (And, quite honestly, so I could figure out how to put it all together.)

And with a few hours in an afternoon under our belts, we’re now going to attempt a full overnight stay in the backyard over this long weekend. That way we can see if Daphne is okay with actually sleeping in the tent, with much lower stakes than driving all the way to Lake Maidstone and finding out up there that this whole thing is a non-starter.

This is on my mind because the last of our required camping items arrived today (first aid kit and a coffee percolator) and with those we’ve completed our car-camping omnibus. Family-sized tent, sleeping bags, stove, lanterns, string lights, battery backup for AAC devices and iPhones…all that’s left is a goodly sized cooler and we’ll be ready to repose, rustically.

I will make mention of one other item that I ordered for Jen and I, though.

Historically, the worst part of camping, for me anyway, has been my inability to truly sleep throughout the night. (Granted, some of that might’ve been due to the aforementioned primitive setup and/or beer.)
To remedy this, I ordered Hest Sleep Systems (yes, it’s actually called a “sleep system”) for both Jen and I.

The rationale here is that my body is significantly older than it was back when I’d camp just about anywhere. These days things like “back pain” and “neck stiffness” occasionally barge through the front door of my existence and make themselves (un)comfortable in my day to day. As such, the expense of getting two of these seemed like a worthwhile step in keeping such maladies at bay, and ensuring that we all have a great time while spending a weekend outdoors. In essence, it’s 6″ of memory foam on top of an inflatable inner tube and, in our first tests, it’s been really quite comfortable.

I’ll be sure to get some pictures this weekend, and let you all know how it goes.

j.s.