Last weekend we packed up the camper van and headed out for a few days with some friends. It had been a while since our last trip, but the moment we pulled in and set up camp, I remembered why I love it so much—spending all day outdoors.
I love our camper van, quirks and all. And boy, does he have his quirks. Affectionately called Otter. The electrical system behind the windshield is toast (thank you, eternally-leaky windshield), and he takes his sweet time deciding whether he actually wants to make it up a hill. But he’s ours, and he’s cozy. The girls sleep up in the pop top, and our son snuggles in with me and my husband—sometimes crawling over me in the middle of the night to get to him. (Our son, not my husband. Just to be clear.)
I love the smell of campfires. I love the sticky fingers of kids eating their tenth marshmallow (I’ve learned there’s no point counting after the fifth). But most of all, I love how camping shuts us off.
Off from the hustle.
Off from the constant notifications.
Off from the background hum of modern life.
My brain doesn’t have an off switch. Not really. But maybe camping—or just being outside—is the closest thing I’ve got.
We came home and started “full-time school” again… whatever that truly means. (We still take plenty of creative liberties in our schedule.) On Monday morning, I loaded up my nature backpack, the littlest two hopped on their bikes, and my oldest and I hiked down to the creek. We painted with watercolors, read a nature book, and just sat for a while.
Then we came home… back to the beeps, the alarms, the calendar alerts, and the low, steady hum of electricity.
And maybe that’s why I’m already looking at the calendar for our next camping trip.
Run Teach Bike 