For various reasons, Mr. Congo and I really need to get away from our house this weekend. So, we decided to go camping. Actually, we’re staying in a cabin so I don’t know if it counts as camping.
I know that we need to bring utensils and towels. The campsite provides a bed, fridge, hot plate and other various things.
The only thing I can think of for food is marshmallows. I also planned on cards, my cribbage board, assorted board games and trivia games.
So, what am I forgetting?
My advice would be to bring the Cribbage board and a deck of cards (or two), but leave the rest of the games at home. Part of the beauty of camping (I think) is the lack of things to do. Toting along too many activities sort of defeats the purpose. I usually brought a habachi, because it’s easier than cooking over an open fire. Hopefully, you’ll have a fireplace, so you’ll need…
A couple folding chairs
A big warm blanket
Bug Spray (Deep Woods Off is good)
A propane lantern, or a battery-operated lantern
Bug Spray
A flashlight (with brand-new batteries)
Extra Towels
A radio
Bug Spray
Sounds like fun! I used to camp in Maine a lot before I got hitched, but SmithWife’s idea of roughing it is no room service. 
One more thing: bring a clothes line to hang your towels and swim suits to dry if you plan on swimming (you can buy 50 ft for a buck or two at any hardware store and most well-stocked grocery stores). The last thing you want is damp stuff in the cabin with you.
So, do I need to bring bug spray?
Actually, I’m glad you said that. I never would have thought of that.
Part of the reason for the games is we never get to play. We have all kinds of games but with his brother living with us, it’s hard to find a quiet time to play. His brother always wants to join in and we don’t want him to.
We probably wont be swimming but if we do, the cabin has a porch and a deck. I think we’ll have enough railing space to hang things up there.
One of my friends just suggested a treat that her mother-in-law makes when they go camping.
Take a firm banana and peel back one strip of the peel. Don’t pull it off though. Cut a slit in the banana. Stuff the slit with chocolate and marshmallows. Replace the strip of peel and wrap the banana in tin foil. Put next to the fire until the chocolate and marshmallows melt. Eat with a fork and a bib.
We used to go cabin camping all the time when I was in scouts.
We would bring the following:
[ul]
[li]Sleeping bags (Bunks were provided with mats, but there were no covers)[/li][li]Eating utensils[/li][li]Cooking utensils[/li][li]Food[/li][li]Clothing appropriate for the time of year[/li][li]Extra blanket (Because it can get quite cold at night, even during the summer)[/li][li]Water (unless the cabin you are in has water)[/li][li]Flashlight, lantern, or both[/li][li]Bug spray[/li][li]Some sort of games to play - cards, board games, etc[/li][li]Some books to read[/li][li]Good walking shoes or hiking boots[/li][li]Plenty of rope for a clothesline, or anything else that may require it[/li][li]Toiletries, including soap, shampoo, toothbrush, etc.[/li][li]Sharp pocket knife[/li][li]Camera[/li][li]Binoculars[/li][li]And of course something to carry all this stuff in like a suitcase or backpack[/li][/ul]You may not need everything I have listed here, but this was the base list we used to use all the time when we went out camping. Hope it helps.
Here’s another great campfire recipe:
Core an apple. Cut off the top of the core. Fill the cored apple with cinamon/sugar mix. Replace the top of the core, cover with aluminium foil and toss into the coals of the campfire for a few minutes, enjoy.
And another favorite:
Hot chocolate with peppermint schnapps.
Have a great weekend.
That apple recipe sounds really good. I’m going to have to try that one too.
Thanks!
Let’s see, what to bring:
Box of cigars
couple of books
chair
yep, got it all covered.
Actaully, I love to cook while camping. Dutch oven, grill, rocks, pans and coffee. I bring way too much food and snacks and love when I’m cooking for a gang. I’d have been happy running a chuck-wagon for the cowboys If I’d have been born earlier.
Ahhh, camping. It’s the only time my wife lets me and our son eat a pound of bacon at every breakfast!
One thing that I don’t think has been mentioned yet: if you’re gonna cook, you’re going to want to clean up afterward, so bring the necessary supplies (dish soap, dishpan, something to heat water in).
I can’t tell you enough to use bug spray.
Take the games, definitely. With a cabin, you’ll have a safe place to store them, and lots of quiet time to enjoy each other’s company.
Just one more thing I never would have thought of. Thanks.
Are you doing all the planning and packing?
Is your husband helping out any?
Don’t forget toilet paper!
For food, I like to make easy stuff when going camping. Eggs and toast or eggs and pancakes for breakfast, lunch meat sandwiches and potato salad or coleslaw for lunch, hamburgers and/or hotdogs for dinner.
Hamburger, hot Dogs, buns, ketchup, mustard, relish, salt, pepper
Potatoes, onions, potato salad, snack foods - chips, pretzels, fruit, pudding, eggs, pancake mix - w/butter and syrup, bacon, sausage, milk, bread, jelly, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, lunch meat. If you bring a hibachi you could grill pork chops or steak or chicken too.
I like to make Girl Scout dinners when we camp out. Cut up potatoes, carrots, and onions and put in a good sized piece of tin foil and put a hamburger patty on top of it, wrap it all in the foil and place in on the grill or fire 30 minutes to one hour. Make sure the hamburger is cooked all the way through and the potatoes and carrots should be soft. Yummy!
If you’re not accustomed to the “great outdoors”, suffer from allergies, and/or there is a significant altitude or temperature change between home and campsite, I cannot recommend enough that you take some basic medications (antihistamine/decongestant, Tylenol, etc). Nothing will ruin your idyllic getaway faster than a snotty, stuffed up nose with a sinus headache.
My husband and I are SCAdians, so we camp quite a bit these days. I have managed to set up a nice little clear plastic tote with a handle that carries all the medicines we might need over an extended time away from home. It’s not as fancy as some I have seen (re: a large toolbox outfitted as a portable medicine chest), but it has kept our family of five relatively comfortable and pain-free.
FB
That’s one of my favorites! Also the foil dinners. Here’s another one: See if you can pick up some corn on the cob (it’s a little early, but maybe you can find some – or save the idea). We’d peel the husks back – but not take them off completely (leaving them attached) – and stick the ears in a bowl/pot/bucket of water for 30 minutes or so. Pull them out, put a little margarine on them, fold the husks back up. (Optionally wrap in aluminum foil at this point if mess is an issue). Stick them on the coals of a fire (just like the foil dinners) but not in open flames. After about 20 minutes, pull out your roasted ears and eat.
And in case you missed the line in Dragwyr’s post, I want to point out: Unless you already know otherwise, a cabin with beds may not have anything on the beds – be prepared to bring either sleeping backs or sheets/blankets as desired.
Also, take a pair of comfortable shoes, a water bottle comfortable to carry with you, maybe a camera, and spend sometime walking around near the cabin, far away (I hope) from the city. Enjoy just being outside.
If you like stargazing at all, consider taking a telescope or binoculars, and taking advantage of being away from the city lights at night.
What we’re 15 posts into this thing and no one has said “beer”?
C’mon, people, get with the program! It’s a camping trip! Bring beer!
BEEEEEERRRR
Oh, I forgot to mention to bring beer.
Now that beer has been mentioned, I will go with another common sense item:
First aid kit - don’t forget to include a head ache reliever, tampons, tweezers ( for removing splinters ) and burn spray/gel.
Also another thing that comes in handy is diaper wipes. Our youngest has been potty trained for a while, but they come in very handy.
Banana Boats! We used to make those when I went to sleep-away camp as a kid! Wow, the memories you just brought back! 
My family and I go camping quite a bit (real camping, in tents, none of this fancy cabin-camping ), and it looks like all the basics are covered. Games, bug spray, toilet paper, beer, books, rain ponchos. Have fun!
If you are really looking forward to a campfire make sure you have contingencies. A cord of dried wood and maybe even a fire-starter log depending on your confidence in your abilities. A couple extra old newspapers if you want to do it the old way.