buy a tent

We finally bought one this weekend. It is really cool. It has mesh for the whole roof so you can watch the stars all night if you want. Aaaaw… how romantic!

We’ve purchased 2 $200.00 tents over the past 3 years. We use them heavily from spring to fall with 3 kids plus ourselves. We’ve decided we want to buy a canvas tent like the one my parents owned while I was growing up… it lasted 25 years. None of this cheap material and flimsy zippers that fall apart after a year… ant something study that we can WALK around in in comfort.

One day in July 2007, I had to buy a tent basically overnight, for a spontaneous camping trip. I knew nothing about tents or camping gear, but in 6 hours, I went through a to of information about camping, ultralight camping, shelter types, tents, tent fabrics, hammocks, pole materials, sleeping pads, sleeping bags, how to join two sleeping bags in one, and sleeping pad connectors. I’ve summarized my findings at http://dandv.wikispaces.com/TentBuyingGuide.

yesterday! YEAH…it’s nice and green and big and we can’t wait to go camping!!!

I can’t wait!! I’ve been wanting to have a tent for a long time…I used to have a small one, tiny one. But now, we want a bigger, nicer, sturdier one. We are trying to save money, so expensive trips are out of the question. Camping is cheap and fun and I can’t wait till we get to go!

I bought a tent from Cabelas ... and a lantern, and a gas stove, and a king size air mattress… :D

I’ll let you know later if it was “worth it” or not.

My father in law gave me a $500 gift card to Cabella’s. I think I’ll get a tent…

So i found a tent for $17 at Wal-Mart (the next highest price was $29 and they were about the same size i think). i’m keeping my receipt just in case, but it’s 5’ x 6’ so i think it will be big enough for just me. The question is if i can find a cot that will fit in it because i’ve gotten tired of sleeping on the ground. Maybe i’ll just buy a pad. i don’t know when i’ll get to go camping but hopefully soon (in August almost certainly).

I went to Target on Saturday and bought an “Eddie Bauer Family Dome Tent”. It reaches a height of 6 feet, which should be tall enough for me. I haven’t set it up in the living room, because it’s heavy, so it will live in the car until I use it this weekend. When I got home, I looked it up online, and the customer reviews were not terrific. Hopefully, those people were pickier than I am. HOwever, I kept my receipt, in case the tent is awful. I also bought a tarp for extra rain protection (I haven’t seen a completely sunny day in NY in weeks). The tent cost $119, which wasn’t great, but Target was sold out of almost everything, so WHAT THE HECK! At least I won’t be sleeping on the dining room floor this 4th of July. There’s something very self-sufficient about having my own tent. I feel free.

It doesn’t have to be fancy, but it’s so irritating when I can’t stand up in tents. Otherwise, it’s very hard to find anything or get organized. I’d like to have it in time for 4th of July weekend, so I won’t be a charity case at the big Fourth of July tent party my friends throw every year. Last year, I had to sleep in the dining room of the house, and everyone stepped on me, and I was miserable, but no one pitied me because I had no tent, and was labeled a “Spoiled city girl who can’t sleep outside”. I CAN sleep outside! I just need a decent tent!