My First Camping Trip with My Man

Camping with my fiancee had been a dream of mine ever since we started dating. All I wanted was a romantic weekend alone with him and the outdoor and I was so happy when he decided that it was finally about time that we go.*** I may have to add for importance that this was his first ever actual camping trip, so the pressure was on! ***

We decided on a weekend in June, and I wanted it to be perfect. I booked a spot that looked like we wouldn't be near a lot of other campers. I bought candles, an air mattress, and I packed several lingerie sets. Needless to say, I was super excited!

So the day finally gets there. I carefully planned everything, I even made meticulous lists and I was in charge of packing most of our stuff. The morning of I was racing to get everything together and was waiting for him to finish some errands he had to to before he left. I was so scatterbrained by the time we got the car loaded down, I was like "yeah, looks good! We finally left and half way during the 2 hour drive I had a whole list of crap I forgot!!!

We stopped at a small grocery store and buy the rest of our food and water. We were kind of strapped for cash so we decided on a 12 pack of water, not a good idea in the middle of June. Anyways, we got back on the road. And yes, as I unpacked, more was added to the "I forgot list."

We got there midday. The green trees blurred in the heat and I felt like I was melting. The temperature was at 98° but if felt like 102°, plus the surrounding cedars blocked a lot of the breeze that tried to come through. It was hot and I am not a very heat tolerant person.

It was a 1/2 mile walk in campsite and we had to make several trips back and forth to the car. I finally decided to stay at our site and stake our tarp down while he finished getting our things, which was a chore to do. Despite all of the rain we had gotten in the past month, the ground was hard as a rock. Our campsite was also full sunlight, so with the sun on my back I scrambled to get our tent put up so we could have some shade.

Once we had the tent up, I went to lay inside and felt horrible. My heart beat so fast and my head hurt really bad. I drank water but it wasn't cold enough. Thank God we had gotten ice packs for our food, I put one in my armpit and one on my thigh and hoped I could cool down. I seriously am convinced that I had a heat stroke that day.

We ate dinner, well he did, I tried and got sick. Heat sickness and hot dogs are not good together, which by the way ladies is not sexy, and in no way was part of my romantic plan.

I was so mad at myself because I thought I had ruined everything. But, I didn't. He helped me through everything and was so patient and he helped me feel better. And yes, after I washed my mouth with mouthwash we kissed and... stuff....

Speaking of, I want to add for a side note, just because you're excited, don't bring lingerie to wear in the woods for three days, it is not worth it and if he is willing to go camping with you he will understand that you can't look like a supermodel. That's the point of being in the woods, being natural! You could be wearing his t shirt and he'd still think you were sexy ladies.

We were supposed to stay there for three days and two nights, so the 12 count water bottle was a real issue. Luckily we were close to a water spigot and we could drink from it, so that wasn't too terrible.

We survived all of that stuff, but heres the doozy, we forgot the firewood! When we arrived the camp hostess took pity on us and gave us some wood that previous campers have to her, but it wasn't enough. Plus, it was very dry and burned up pretty quick so we had to forage for wood. It was fun, but getting bark all over me was not the most comfortable experience I've had. He was a real pioneer though. He absolutely loved gathering wood and building a fire from scratch. And I will have to admit, even though we could have avoided it, I did have fun with him, walking around in nature and seeing his scruffy side. This trip, along with its difficulties, definitely brought us closer together.

After our first day the weather turned super nice and wasn't hot at all. In fact the day we left it was raining! Talk about hormonal Oklahoma weather! Because it was so nice, We walked the lap around the campground, collecting petrified wood and he would pick up rocks telling me what types of rock it was. We sat in the water and sunned (I don't swim in lake water, it's an irrational childhood fear) and then we would just sit by the fire and just talked. You would be amazed at the conversations you can have when a tv or a phone isn't in your face. It was a really nice time during the day.

At night on the other hand, was terrifying. Our first night, I was laying there, highly uncomfortable because my clearance air mattress would squeak every time I moved. And yes, I move a lot. He was freaking out because it was hot and he could hear the breezes moving, but we couldn't catch one in the tent. When I finally drifted off, I was woken up by the sound of something standing outside our tent. I sat up and looked out the window and saw... nothing. Do you know how horrifying it is to hear something walk past you, crunching leaves and making all sorts of noise and you can't see a thing?? It's horrifying. I shook him awake and he lay there holding my hand, paralyzed fear just like me, waiting for something to come and kill us. And then, a low guttural squabble happened right outside our tent. That's right, freaking raccoons. I guess it would be important to mention that where our site was there was a ravine about 10 feet away, which is where apparently every night a gang of raccoon punks like to gather and do a nightly fight club.

The next night we were waiting for it to be dark enough for us to sneak into the family shower. (We were self conscious about someone seeing us) While we were waiting I was playing with my flashlight and I caught the reflection of two yellow eyes staring in our direction. (Also horrifying) I whisper-yelled,"babe look." I must have counted six pairs of eyes. He was like "I wanna see one," and no more had the thought left his mouth when this fat little dude just trotted into the middle of our campsite. It looked up at me, froze and I'm guessing saw no alternative by to slowly and awkwardly back its way into the ravine. We laughed for a good 10 minutes after that. We went to bed and listened to more raccoon screaming, plus the jerk in the rv ahead of us wouldn't shut his outside light off. I got no sleep that night.

Our last day we packed up and cleaned up pretty early. It was kind of bittersweet for me as we drove away. I was glad to go home to my normal, but I didn't want to leave the world we created where it was only me and him.

I really did have a great time, even if things didn't exactly go our way, just being there for each other and fixing any conundrum that came our way was what made the trip. We made memories and laughs that we will always remember. Sure we could have been a little bit more prepared and avoided the uncomfortable parts, but then we would have missed out on some things that were difficult, yes, but fun. It brought us closer together and I love that.