Gear Test and Future Plans?

My lovely wife and I will be going camping for a couple of nights soon. We will be going to events in another state. It's a good chance to check out the new tent. The “cheaper” hotels in the area are $140/night. The $25/night campground fees are easier to take. We'll also save a few bucks by cooking some meals at the campground rather than eating out.

In the next few weeks I plan on doing some house reorganization. The camping gear is going to be kept in a special place near the front door. Now it's up on the third floor. It will be easier to hit the road in a hurry when everything is more organized and doesn't have to hauled downstairs.

There's the possibility of come camping down south this winter. Outside of that our plans are fairly open. We are kicking around some different options for other adventures. Money and responsibilities will have some bearing on those plans.

I'm kicking around some other trip ideas for the future. Motorcycle adventures could be fun, but are tedious if the weather is bad. I even looked into doing a trip all on back roads with a scooter instead of a full sized motorcycle. It would be a slower trip, but cheaper and more laid back.

Every now and then I'm tempted to go on an extended canoe trip. The beauty of a canoe is that, unlike most forms of transportation, there's very little to go wrong. There's something to be said for a vehicle with no moving parts. That would be more of a summer trip for me. There's access to a 700 mile canoe trail two tenths of a mile from my house. While I've canoed in southern waters, camping in those wetlands doesn't excite me. Too many bitey critters.

Until I sell my van, I'm not really in the market for its replacement. One simple problem is that there would be no place to park it. Repairs, fuel, registration, and insurance are all expenses that have to be factored in. Taking care of just one vehicle for a while frees up some funds for fun.

Of course, we are always looking a various sailboat options. The more I look at the shape of this country, the more I'm tempted to get a sailboat capable of crossing oceans.

-Sixbears