Assateague Island, 2005 from left-to-right: My wife, my daughter (youngest child and now a freshman in college), my second son (a sophomore/junior in college), my first son (a med school bound college senior). Perhaps my wife and I will go camping by ourselves once or twice in coming years.
That’s my family in 2005 during a camping trip on Assateague Island. Assateague provides gorgeous beaches, a fine nature center, abundant wildlife, and activities led by park rangers and naturalists. One great draw is the population of wild horses; animals descended from those of early explorers—perhaps stranded after European ships foundered in a storm.
Nearly every vacation I remember from my childhood involved camping. My parents were outdoor enthusiasts, so camping suited them—and it helped that the cost of a rented campsite was way lower than the cost of hotel rooms for a family of six. I inflicted this vacation equals camping mentality on my wife and kids, and no one seemed to mind. (Except during rain storms. Camping in the rain gets old fast especially when the rain fails to respect boundaries and moves into the tent with you.)
I loved this particular trip to Assateague. On our first visit years earlier, a horse had stolen our lunch and caused some anxiety. We were smarter about “wild” horses the second time around.
It seems unlikely we’ll have the kids together for further camping trips. Makes me sad. Maybe there’ll be grandchildren some day and my wife and I can weasel in on some of their camping vacations.