Yep, we did it again. We took our annual “Big Love” camping trip. Did your eyebrows just raise at Big Love? Like the naming of race horses and 7th children, the label developed organically by accident, but we’ve explained that all before. What we really like bragging waxing poetic about is 5 moms handling 13 kids (plus or minus 5 depending on teen work schedules and cousins joining in the fun).
Ellen: In fact, we were just regaling your sister with our stories. Your sister, who I finally got to meet. I swear you were deliberately keeping her from me.
Erin: I knew that if you met her, you’d be over me. Like, “Why bother with Erin when I can hang out with THIS wonderful woman.”
Ellen: She is pretty fabulous, but I’m not over you yet, Buttercup. I always comfort myself with the fact that you have to put up with me and my utterly joyful ways, too.
No, it’s more like I would like to be adopted as the third sister. Besides, she does live over 5 hours away. You’re worth it for your geographical convenience alone.
Erin: And you’re worth it for keepin’ it real . . .
Ellen: Which brings us back to sharing our Big Love stories with your sister.
Erin: Ah, yes, when we were talking about the park service taking away one of our refrigerators . . .
Ellen: And she put her hands up like a crossing guard protecting the lives of sweet babies from the fast and furious Humvee motorists of America and proclaimed:
“Wait a minute! I feel like I’ve been deceived. You have been misrepresenting.”
And I believe your reply was a classic doe-eyed Erin:
“What?”
Erin: Yeah, that fueled her fire a bit. Her voice may have risen in pitch as she continued:
“I see pictures of Keens and canoeing and campfires, but you have a kitchen!?!”
Ellen: Well, I didn’t help matters when I added:
“And bathrooms. But only three and they’re like all mismatched and have avocado green toilets.”
Erin: And THAT is when her head exploded.
Ellen: But because I AM a big believer in keeping it real, I reviewed our pictures. We were mostly posting things like this.
Keens: Serious footwear for serious camping.
And this.
Mary: Spokesmodel for Serious Camping
Erin: Yeah, that doesn’t look like the face of a woman who got to use indoor plumbing, even if it was avocado green.
Ellen: And there is a tent and camper in the background. I guess they could be misconstrued as ours.
Erin: OK, since I love my sister . . .
Ellen: We love your sister . . .
Erin: Since WE love my sister and care what she thinks, we’re swinging the camera around to show you behind the scenes.
Ellen: Really we’re just posting other pictures, but what Erin said had so much more flair.
The Other Side of Big Love
The first thing to clarify is where we stay. It’s a “conference center” which when translated from state park-ese means “really strangely configured two story house.” In our defense, we never claimed to be backpacking in and pitching tents. We even posted a video where you can see the house in the background, but whatever. Let’s take a tour now. Shall we?
The building apparently has a name that is so iconic, someone carved it into the tables. Is it “Downton Abbey” or “Fancy Pants Camping Hotel?” NO! It’s called The Shanty. Still accusing us of “glamping” now?
Glamorous + Camping = “Glamping,” NOT “The Shanty.”
And here is the exterior.
OK. So it kinda looks like a big comfortable house.
But there are only 4 bedrooms for 20 some people because of a HUGE open room upstairs.
Yeah, it echoes. Awesome feature at 5 AM.
Just look at that room filled up with kids! Are you going to accuse us of indulging in relaxing luxury now??
Which takes more courage to face? A bear in the woods or these beasts?
And look how the kids were crammed in the bunk rooms.
That is a whole lot of girl shoe-horned in one room
Ellen even had to sleep in a closet.
Ellen had to run an extension cord to power her purple fan. Sheesh. And to top it all, she had to use her pink suitcase to keep her pillow from falling off of the bed.
And there was NOT a cappuccino machine. For froth, we had to heat the milk in the microwave and beat it with a whisk. A microwave, we said! Oh the civility!
That is the chocolate for the s’mores that we’re grating on top of our lattes. It’s hard to get more rustic than that.
But we weren’t kidding or exaggerating about the bugs.
You know it’s serious when you’re willing to wear something that looks like THIS to keep the bugs away.
Or the fact that we’re communing with nature in the most outdoorsy of ways.
This is why we do it, folks!
Erin: So, in the end, we weren’t really misrepresenting so much as cherishing the best and most important aspects of the trip. We were sharing the essence of our experience.
Ellen: Nice spin, but now that we are coming clean and offering full disclosure, we should also add that in addition to the above-mentioned, we also have air-conditioning, an industrial-sized fridge, and a crockpot.
We had to walk out to the end of the dock to get reception to call for that pizza delivery!
Erin: But we are still herding cats, I mean kids, through various sundry outdoor adventures and that is not a feat for the faint-hearted.
Them there’s a lot o’ kids!
Erin: But it’s all worth it for the stories alone.
Ellen: That’s what you keep telling me.
Erin: And on that note. . .
Our Sisterhood is what it’s all about.
–Ellen and Erin
What do you think? Does this count as camping or not?
Sounds like my kind of camping! 🙂
Jessica recently posted..[147/365] Hard Worker
It is so chaotic, we deserve the air-conditioning! Ellen
I’m 100% jealous! I wanna come!
You would be a great addition to Big Love! The mosquitoes might kill you though. 🙂 Ellen
Just last weekend the family and I went “camping” with another family to a private campground owned by our friend’s company.
It was technically a campground but there was also a cabin with bathrooms and showers, a fully working kitchen with two fridges, stove, microwave the works.
To be honest I couldn’t quite get in the right mind set. It was too nice to be camping yet not quite comfortable enough to be considered a resort. The worst part was trying to decide whether or not to drink my whiskey and lemonade by the camp fire or in the nicely covered dining hall. It was exhausting.
Christian at Point Counter-Point Point Point recently posted..The Quadracorn Winner!
Problem solved – the whiskey and lemonade in the dining hall and moonshine by the campfire. Duh. Ellen
Yes, let the record show…I am the most serious camper out of all of you!! Rough it Mary is my name:)
You did stay in that camper cabin that one time! Also, I support your dream of going across the county in a camper. Dream the dream “Rough It Mary.” Ellen
Um, I do recall that I can sleep without a pillow or a sleeping bag IN A TENT. I win this crown, princess! Love ya for trying! ; ) Erin
That sounds awesome! Except for the part where there are children.
Jenn @ Something Clever 2.0 recently posted..Droppin’ Science Like Galileo Dropped the Orange
GLAMPING. GLAMPING???? I’ve camped and glamped before and I much prefer the glamping. I’m not judging and I very much want to do this with my future sisterhood. 🙂
Are you kidding me? You guys went without a cappuccino machine? That is not camping, that is right up there with being dropped by helicopter into the wilderness with only your wits to guide you. I am so impressed!! Lol! Looks like a good time was had by all!
Kathy Radigan recently posted..Getting Possessed with Kathy & the Dishwasher: 2nd Victim – Vikki Claflin of Laugh Lines
It’s the only kind of camping I would consider doing!
Robbie recently posted..Remembering Summer
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People need to understand that you are the sisterhood of sensible moms. Underline sensible.
I went “glam ping” with a Brownie troop at an unnamed camp ground in Indiana. It was a beautiful conference center with bunk beds and a fully equipped kitchen.
Little did we know that we were camping right on top of a huge bedbug infestation. My co leader asked me if I knew what lice looked like.
“Why?” I asked.
Turns out she had been rolling up a sleeping bag for a camper and saw a bug that when she smashed it was full of blood.
So I went and looked. We lifted up the mattress and there were literally thousands of bed bugs
Once we knew what we were looking at, we threw everything freaking thing away! Sleeping bags, pillows, luggage, hats, you name it.
I was itching for weeks. I had posttraumatic stress and had flashbacks and nightmares about bedbugs for months.
So don’t let anybody give you crap about camping indoors. It is not for the faint of heart.
DoctorDiva recently posted..This is An Important Camping/Hiking with Children Post
I am now hyperventilating. Gah! What an awful things to occur! GAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH! Ellen