santamonica

This is my first real post retirement adventure. DW is still working so I'm doing this daring thing, camping in Lewes Delaware. We actually went on a nice trip the week after I retired with the whole family where I swam with my xphone, but this is something different because I'm alone, except for Jake (dog).

I've made it as far as the China House restaurant in Denton (sesame shrimp, $5.50) next to Rose's where I'll buy a few camping supplies. No Sherpas. No supplemental oxygen. I'm going to be on the cover of Outdoor Life.

This is big.

ElendilPickle

Have fun, santamonica!

I don't know if it's still here, but see if you can find GoTravel's report on her camping adventure. It's hysterical.

Lee Ann

santamonica

I'll look. Camping is no walk in the park. Well, I walked about 5 yards from the van to where the tent proudly stands, complete with rain flap, swaying with the slightest breeze. But still standing. I hope it doesn't actually rain. Jake has been very agreeable. He said nothing about how long it took me to get the tent up and didn't laugh when the rain flap kept blowing off. But I think he'd rather be home. I think we'll take a walk and go to that pizza place by the ice cream store. A campfire would be just a little too campy.

santamonica

I've got to do more camp stuff. Cook. Now I'm at Bob Evans. That's just not right. Sir Edmund Hillary didn't break camp and go to Bob Evans did he? No he didn't. Later I'll visit the Lewes library. Then I'll gather firewood small animals for dinner. Eggs are here.

Dukey1

OK, how long before you hit the outlet stores in Rehoboth????

jubilada

oh, no. If I retire do I have to go camping???

santamonica

Dukey, Bob Evans is cheek by jowl close to the outlets, but I think outlets are nothing special. I prefer Marshall's and Walmart.

After breakfast, in fact, bought a tomato plant at Walmart (probably grown in Bangladesh) and returned to the campsite. Then I did camp stuff, like ride my bike to the beach and feed Jake, then I cautiously assembled the camp stove (firewood is troublesome) and then I warmed up chef boyar dee ravioli for lunch. I bet it's been a long time since most of you have had chef Boyar dee ravioli. See what you've missed Jubi?

Now I'm reading, watching the time fly by. The sun is shining, nobody is here. Very peaceful. Already it's 3:40, no, almost 3:50. Soon time to think about dinner. I'm thinking Dinty Moore.

Fra_Diavolo

Excellent! I was thinking of going camping this summer for the first time in twenty years, and I'm not even retired. This will allow me to live the complete wilderness experience vicariously.

LindainOhio

You made me sit here and laugh at a memory. Why are all those miserable events in your life so funny as we age?

We always camped with 4 families when our children were younger. We picked a different location every year. One year we all camped at Cape Henlopen. We were in a tent, it was really hot and we had sand fleas. It was miserable. We decided to abort the camping and moved to some cinderblock motel. We felt like we had gone to heaven. It was clean and air conditioned.

One family decided to pack it in and head for home but about 5 hours after they left, we saw them all walking down the beach. The kids cried and carried on in the car-"We haven't sung Watermelon/Watermelon. We haven't told the Uncle Tick Tock story. We haven't had S'mores" etc....
They got a room in the motel too.

This was our only really bad camping trip. All our families have the greatest memories from those trips. We were always taking cheap trips so we could save money, but those trips were really great(except for Cape Henlopen)

Our kids are all grown now. Every time one of them gets married we give them a clock in honor of Uncle Tick Tock.

We still travel with these couples--no more children. One couple is now looking into buying a trailer, one is getting a motorhome. We may be camping again. We'll just rent something.

Waldo

Before you start your camping adventure, stop off and get yourself a Nico-Boli or two!!!

tomfuller

For an adventure you can take the ferry to Cape May NJ.
Yes, I camped there many years ago before I retired.
It would not be wise to take the dog out on a fishing boat but you may be able to shore fish with rented tackle.
I also remember wading in waist deep murky water and clamming. The bottom was very gooey.

easytraveler

You are camping and you can run down to the store and get canned ravioli, return to your campsite for a sitdown spell, go the library, go back to your campsite, then go get a pizza for dinner?

How far is your campsite from the outlet stores? 10 feet?

Wow! I must try this "camping" East Coast style!

Have fun, sm! Sounds like a great retirement in the making!

ElendilPickle

Here is GoTravel's trip report: http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...-adventure.cfm

Lee Ann

Birdie

You went to Bob Evans with all those great restaurants in Lewes??!! As much as I like the beef and vegetable soup at BE, it's not in my top choices in Lewes.

santamonica

Lindain, for some strange reason, we share many vacation experiences don't we? Camping compresses the highs and lows of travel; its good the lows are so much more fun as memories.

No nicoboli or ferry to Cape May this trip, but they are good suggestions. ET, it was a good 5 or 10 yard walk from the van to the tent. That, coupled with figuring out how the tent works (poles go on the outside), was sufficiently challenging for jake and me.

Elen, i enjoyed the gotravel camping story (fra_diavolo would too). Sometimes us macho guys enjoy playing house.I took a little 2x3 shag carpet for the tent, which sleeps nine (but slept one; jake stayed in the van on his dog bed. jake farts and snores). And I had the fake daffodils stuck in the sand by the tent door. The fake daffodils go on every camping trip.

I saw Bob Evans had a three course steak dinner but last night I decided to get steak and salad and cook at the camp site. Groceries came to about $30 (I brought leftovers home, but still Bob Evans may be more cost effective. And there are lots of retired people there. They must like the beef and vegetable soup.).

The Coleman camp stove works really well, the steak was much better than Dinty Moore, and the cupcake wine ($7.97) didn't hurt. I went to bed around 8:30, listening to the waves.

This morning jake and I drove home ( I did most of the driving). It was a great get away. The beach and dunes at Cape Henlopen are spectacular, the weather yesterday was wonderful for sitting in the sun, resting against the weathered strips of the snow (sand) fencing, and watching the waves. I can still feel the sun, smell the cool salt breeze, and see the bursting white surf. I also like the nature center that has some cool live fish in aquariums (live fish are much more fun to watch than dead fish).

Thanks for sharing the trip, fodorite friends.

Fra_Diavolo

Thank you -- although I am sorry not to get and up to date report on the quality of Dinty Moore . . .