"Where do you go camping? What do you do?"

Campfire Time wrote:
One thing I will say is that non-campers simply don't "get it". We get some strange looks from people we know when we answer this dame question. Some folks want to lay on a beach doing nothing for 5 days and I suppose that's OK, but there again, that's something I don't get.

We're a lot like you, we like to see things. We hike, bike, play tourist and visit historical sites, lighthouses, and anything else that looks interesting. And sometimes we just sit around and relax. At the end of the day one of our greatest pleasures is sitting by a campfire.

DW & I are in our late 60's and retired and from the Mid-West, but still with family obligations, and like to get away as often as we can. My Sister-In-Law, who loves the beach and only a couple of years younger asked us the same question recently. "You guys still camp?" Why? My rebuttal was: Well, we're on a fixed income and like to see things and explore this great country. You like to go to the gulf, rent a condo and walk the beach for a week. We like the gulf also, but also want to see and experience different things and stay longer than that. We can tour a town, take in the sights, enjoy great local meals and return to our camp for a nice campfire afterwards. Or maybe not even leave the camp other than to visit our private beach and spend the day cooking in our dutch oven or grilling some fresh local seafood. and BEING OUTDOORS! For what you spent on 6 days at your condo we enjoyed 2 1/2 weeks of camping out. Our recent trip we put EVERYTHING on credit card, to capture total expenditure, to Daytona and St. Augustine Beach and back. Gas, groceries, camp fees, meals, entrance fee to historical sites, etc was on the card. Our total bill averaged $100 a day. We were happy with that and didn't scimp on site seeing, meals or the such.