Once, when I was getting together with a new girlfriend, we decided to take a trip together. We would spend five days on the road, camping and exploring out West. I was so excited. I planned and packed all the meals, got the tent, sleeping bags, maps, camping and hiking books. The scenery was beautiful as we headed out and the tunes on the stereo were excellent. When we got to our first campsite, things began to unravel. Turns out, my new girlfriend hated bugs. As in, the buzz of one fly around her head was enough to have her jumping in the tent, zipping up and not coming out until every crawly thing had been exterminated.
Well, you can imagine how a camping trip would go with someone who couldn't stand the sight of a mosquito. It wasn't going to be any fun at all. At first I got pissy. What did she expect coming out into the woods? I could have let her attitude and mine ruin the vacation, but instead we came up with a compromise. We would spend every other night in a tent and the others in motels. We still did some hiking and biking during the days and we ended up having a great time. It's a good thing I followed my own advice about how to get the most out of a vacation with your girlfriend.
© Kathy Belge
Kathy,
You had every right to have been a little pissed. I would have been pissed too. It takes a lot of time to plan and to pack for a camping trip. I know this from personal experience. But on the other hand we all have to experience certain thing in order to know whether or not we’re going to enjoy it.
Yes, it dose help to discuss and to plan a trip of any kind with a significant other. Yes, there are a lot of bugs in the woods(she should have known that), there are just as many bugs in a persons own back yard.
Good advice!
Great article. I had to laugh when I read the bug thing. Who doesn’t know the outdoors have bugs? The compromise to the hotel was a great alternative. My partner and I are campers ourselves, and particularly in nasty weather, camping can be a drag. I often say “if its all going to crap, we pack up and get a hotel. No sense in misery.”
My girlfriend hates bugs too bur she still loves to go camping with me! We just take lots of bug repellent in many forms!