Now that I am 59 years old and been camping, pretty much all my life, I will say, it all changes over time.
As a kid my parents had a camper and for a kid, it was always play, play, play. Swim, fish, hike, ride bicycles, play football with other kids, hide-n-seek at night, campfires, hotdogs, marshmallows, climb trees, and try to steal beer!
As a teen to middle 20's, I had a motorcycle and a tent. I would take off by myself and visit family members in other states, that often meant a road trip from 300 to 1200 miles. I camped at KOA's. My Dad also owned a motorcycle and after they sold the trailer, we'd go true camping, sleeping on the ground beside our motorcycles. My mother rode with Dad, my sister and husband rode together, my parents next door neighbors rode together. We'd all 4 take road trips and literally sleep under the stars ... Michigan, Canada, Niagara Falls, Kentucky, Tennessee. This was a great part of my life.
When I got a little older, I had a Big-Brother kid, and we took trips on my motorcycle and a tent. Traveled all over (North Carolina), Outer Banks all the way to Gatlinburg, TN. That was fun!
When I got married at age 29, wife and I rented a pop-up. I was in the Army. We camped at different military campgrounds, and visited local attractions, like museums, building, malls.
When the kids came along, we tent camped, and then purchased our own PUP. We did it all then. Hiking, fishing, boating, swimming, horseback riding, museums, malls, amusements parks, historical places, zoos, parks, water parks, visited family, sport events, it was always go, go, go!
When the kids grew up and quit going with us, wife and I purchased a bicycle for 2 (tandum Schwin), and a child's cart that towed behind. We took our dogs and we did a lot of bicycling every where we camped. We quite the hiking, swimming, and running, and also bought a canoe. We canoed our way have across America (or so it seems). And the dogs loved it too!
Now, we feel like we've done it all. And you know, its now kind of nice to just have a little campfire and roast a hot dog and marshmallow or two and reminisce over days gone by. Yup! We've slowed down on the physical activities. We haven't had the canoe out in over a year, I kind of miss it, but it's a lot of work to move it about.
We still like an occasional hike with our dachshund. He's such a funny dog and so playful. We enjoy watching the 2 cats stretch out and enjoy the camper, looking out the windows and getting all upset when a squirrel passes the window, and the dog gets really upset when a raccoon passes under the camper in the middle of the night! He just knows that that happens! We now enjoy our Dish Satellite TV, eating really good meals fixed at the camper, and sleeping in long in the morning.
Yes, we've slowed down quite a bit. But still would not trade a quiet week-end at a campsite roasting a hotdog for anything in the world, as long as health continues to hold out!
