I grew up tent camping, but DH did not. To say he had a learning curve is an understatement. :B Once he was on board, we began taking the kids as often as we could, 6-7 times a year. We were hesitant at first because my youngest is severely mentally handicapped and at the time could not walk or do anything for himself (he was 3). Some friends encouraged us to try and the rest is history.
DS learned to walk and he just loved going camping. , We have two older kids too, who also loved camping. One night, when DS was about 7, he figured out how to un-zip the tent. Of course, that was the night that the temps got down to 25 degrees with a 30mph wind. I was so scared he would get outside the tent and freeze to death (he doesn't answer to his name or commands so he could have really gotten himself in to trouble.) I spent the whole night with my arm over his body so I'd know if he got up. The next morning I struck the tent and threw everything in the car. I was DONE with tent camping and I swore I would not camp again until we got something lockable.
In the spring we acquired a simple pop-up. Boy, we loved that thing! It was just right for us. Sorta like tent camping, but real beds for everyone and best of all, we could lock the door and DS couldn't get out.
And then, DH got sick. Very, very sick. His health waxed and waned, but we continued to camp in the pop-up. One Thanksgiving weekend we were camping with my whole extended family when I broke my ankle. Yikes! Suddenly, I was out of commission. It took my family 4 hours to strike the pop-up and then we had a 3 hour drive home. DH was utterly exhausted and sick. We decided right then that we needed something else.
In 2007, we came into some money. We went right out and bought a TT and a tow vehicle. I'm telling you, we were in HEAVEN! In fact, we took our kids on a 2 month, 6,000 mile cross-country trip that summer. DH's health was fairly stable(although he did get very sick on the trip)and I had a couple health crises. We learned that there are hospitals and Walmarts everywhere. We learned that I am a great driver, even in the Rockies. We learned that RV people are the best people in the world. They came to my rescue when I struggled to back up, set up, and hitch up. Eventually, I learned to do all those things by myself.
We still love our TT. At our age (57) and with DHs health issues, it allows us to get out and enjoy the woods. Or the beach. Or the mountains. Even when DH is feeling bad, he can sit by the campfire and stir it with a stick.
