Not in ages although a couple of years ago I went out to a hill top when there was an esp great night for shooting stars. I'm envious of our son who has slept out in various places including Alaska where he was sometimes treated to the Northern Lights. I always look for Orion in the winter sky but my favorite time of day to be outdoors is early early morning.

Many times when we had our sailboat.

Some of the best views was when we anchored in Chicago and went to sleep looking at the city lights before us and having morning coffee on the deck watching the city wake up.

I promised George I wouldn't kiss and tell.

The state park in Ludington, MI right on Lake Michigan....our cabin that we were renting was directly behind us and getting kind of cramped, so me & hubby grabbed sleeping bags & slept on the beach. The western beaches along Lake Michigan are a hidden gem.....

Yes, many times! Camping as a kid, and now backpacking. The absolute best way to fall asleep and the best way to wake up.

When I lived up in the Santa Cruz Mountains. In the summer I would sleep out on my deck watching the stars. The best night sky experience I've had was along the Sonoma coast at Sea Ranch. I've seen bright stars, but nothing like that!

yes
very special
definitely

Never have slept outside EVER, not even in a tent! LOL. Closest thing I've come to sleeping under the stars is in my SUV on a beach on the east end of Long Island...but this June, my plan is to fall asleep under the stars in a hammock on Jost Van Dyke in the BVI....and hopefully won't get eaten alive by island mosquitos :)

The first time was as a child. My parents put out sleeping bags for all of us in the back yard and we watched a fantastic meteor shower. I was raised in a small West Texas town, outside the city limits, so there were no lights to take away from that huge Texas sky full of stars.
Now I love camping with my husband. We have a tent with a screen roof so we can lay there cuddled up on the air mattress and gaze up at the stars without any bugs to pester us.

Yes, many times as a child and as an adult. It's wonderful!

Yes yes yes, and yes it's worth it.

I fell asleep on the deck of a cruise ship last week. As I get older, roughing it seems less appealing. The only star I might sleep under is Pierce Brosnan. Don't tell my hubby.

Great stories... It's something I've always wanted to try but thought I might regret it the next morning. Any other stories? I enjoyed reading all of them so far.

There's nothing like it. You need to get away from the city-glow to be able to really see the stars clearly. We travel regularly to the remote northwest of Western Australia (the Kimberely and the Pilbara). A mozzie-net keeps the bugs away if you are in danger of getting eaten but that varies with location. Other than that, the less mod-cons, the better.

Oh and by the way, at least where we go, the birds in the morning make sure you are awake before dawn, and that's pretty special too.

I don't camp. Period.

I do love being outdoors. I love sitting on my deck late into a summers night watching the summer sky. I have wrapped myself in a quilt and watched the northern lights. I have snuggled up with loved ones on different continents, different countries, and many different states to watch the night sky. But when I'm ready for sleep, I want to walk inside and climb into my bed.

There's a funny line in a movie, the title of which is lost to my memory. A character is talking to his girlfriend: "As I lay there on my back watching the stars dance across the sky, one question kept running through my mind. I wonder what happened to my roof?"

jersey, don't know where you are staying in Stl Lucia, but one of the best stargazing experiences was in the plunge pool at Jalousie - and then wrapping up on the private patio chaises. VERY nice.

Enjoy St. Lucia. Take a water taxi to where you want to go (Anse Chasenet's black sand beach, the market, etc) rather than going by taxi via road.

Thanks Starsy. We are staying at Ti Kaye, supposedly quiet and romantic. I love the idea of water taxi's. My husband is an amature astronomer and as we stargaze he points out the different plants and the like. It sounds like a great opportunity to watch the night skies.

My family used to have a hunting cabin that was quite small - basically large enough for cooking and meals, but no bedrooms. Outside the cabin we had quite a few old victorian iron bedframes set up - leveled with rocks under the legs. When everyone was up there, we'd haul out the matresses and the quilts, make up the beds and everyone would sleep outside. Now THAT is sleeping under the stars ;)

I've slept outside many times while camping or on the deck of our small boat. But the most awe-inspiring occasion was on our rented houseboat on Lake Powell. The boat wasn't air-conditioned and it was more comfortable to sleep on the roof. I'm sure the stars would have been spectacular, but the moon was full and it was like trying to sleep while someone held a flashlight to your face. But I've never slept anywhere with such huge, wide-openness around me. It was breathtaking in its vastness.