Vacations Part 1

This is a classic family picture.  My mom was a good sport to do this!

I took this picture of my mom and brothers and sisters in front of the pup tent.  They all loved  camping.

This isn't the first vacation we had, but it is the vacation that I learned to detest camping.  My mom and dad rented a camper and the three girls slept in the camper and the boys slept in a pup tent.  There were five of us then, number 6 hadn't been born yet.  
We camped the first couple of nights at a beautiful rustic place  called "Clear Lake."  It was beautiful I must admit, but the outhouse....was a big turn off for me.  I like creature comforts-the basics you know....like running water, real toilets, my own bed and lots of space.  I was very claustrophobic in the camper and had trouble sleeping (yes even way back then).  One night I had to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night.  I woke up my sister Magnolia and she agreed to go with me if I carried her piggy-back. She was afraid of snakes.  So I carried her to the outhouse and put her down and did my business quickly and we went back.  But alas, the door to the trailer was stuck and creaked as we went back in and we woke up my parents...and we had tired to be so quiet!
The next and last place we went this vacation was at a beautiful campground near the Mackinac Bridge.  It had running water, showers and toilets.  But...for me, it was still kind of basic and THERE WERE OTHER PEOPLE around when you went to the bathroom or took a shower and I STILL didn't like going in the night.  For some reason this is a big deal for me.  I have to admit it was a nice week we spent there; they even had a library which helped ease my pain about the bathrooms. 
I never went camping again.  By the time they seriously started camping, I stayed home with my grandparents.  I have probably missed out on some great adventures, but I like the creature comfort of house and home.