This week I will be away camping for a few nights with my dad and step-mom. They usually go for the entire week, however I’m not that much of a fan of sleeping in tents so I only stay a few days. What I do enjoy about our camping experience is that it’s at a state park where there are camp bathrooms and showers… and there’s a beach nearby. So it’s camping, but it’s not real camping. I would never survive camping out in the woods with no stores nearby or bathrooms.
Since going to beach and playing some outdoor games won’t keep me entertained all day, I usually bring other forms of entertainment for the few days I’m away. Yes, technology is included. I might be able to unplug from the Internet for a few days, but at the moment I cannot unplug from technology altogether… or, at least I don’t want to.
So here are a few of my essentials to bring along camping to keep myself entertained:
- Books/Nook eReader – I have a tradition of reading about 3-4 books when I go camping. There’s perfect lighting outside and being away from all the distractions at home makes it much easier to really get into the story the book holds.
- Book light – Also, for the physical books I bring, it’s good to have a book light so I can do some reading when the sun goes down and right before I go to sleep.
- iPod Nano – Why bring this when I have an iPhone? Well, using my iPod will keep me from using my phone battery up too much. This is good because when at the campsite I like to go for walks and listen to either music or podcasts while I walk.
- Journal – I’m starting to get into the habit of journaling, so this is a new essential for me to bring along in my duffel bag. Besides, you never know when something interesting might happen and you want to write that memory down.
- Notebook – Since I won’t have my laptop, I need a way to write my ideas down or an entire blog post or story when the inspiration hits hard.
- Gameboy Color – I’ve brought a portable game system every year, but I don’t always use it. It’s usually for backup purposes when I get really bored… and I mean really bored!
- Cameras – When you’re camping near a beach why wouldn’t you bring a camera, or three?
- Canon Rebel T3i
- Canon Powershot
- Fujifilm instax mini 8
I know it seems like a lot for only going camping for a few days, but I can usually find a way to use each item every day. Especially when it comes to reading, because I will literally sit in the sun and read the book start to finish (I got a bad sunburn on my legs doing this in 2009).
What are some items you like to bring camping (or just going away)?
orangeowldiaries 
I love camping. (: I like to bring my knitting, and now with the natural dyeing I’ve been trying lately, I think I might start bringing my pruning shears. You know, just in case I find a huge stand of invasive plants that also happen to by dye plants and need to be whacked back. (:
Glad I popped by to say hello, and thank you for following my blog!
Of course! I’m 50/50 on camping. I really don’t like not having a real shower and feeling gross, but I really enjoy the quality time with my dad, step-mom and step-siblings :)
Technology is a no-no on camping trips and beach trips for me. I grew up being taught that all those things stay behind, so, save for my phone (which we hook up for music, since we don’t own a radio), no tech at all. I actually miss camping. Scott and I are hoping to go sometime this year… if it works out. Might only be for a night or something, but we’ll see.
Yeah, my first two or three years, the only thing I had was my phone, but that was before I even had a smartphone. Believe it or not, my dad was worse than me this year. He wouldn’t get off his phone (Netflix) for anything! My step-sister, step-mom and I all had books to read (plus I took a few walks).