Guilty Camping...

So at the beginning of July, my sister and Dad drove down to San Diego for a family reunion. My Uncle picked out a campground that his family has been going to for 3-4 years. It might not be the authentic camping atmosphere but it was fun. It had an outlet post at each campground (so yeah, we did have electricity) but what mattered was the family. The kicker though was one the first night Holly and I were puttering around, getting bedding ready for the night when our neighbor camper called out a hello and came to introduce herself. She neighborly offered any help we might "because her husband is an Eskimo" and she introduced her cat. She made us smile and was pretty interesting. But then she asked us where we were from and we told her and we asked her back. She said they were from California. I asked her if she came to the camp very often and was completely caught off guard when she told us that she lived there. Then she told us they had lost their house in the fires and didn't have any insurance at all. It was a little akward after that because the more we talked the worse I felt. Here we had driven 10+ hours to go camping at this campground and they were forced to live there. They couldn't afford the nightly fee so she volunteered at the campground cleaning the bathrooms. By the end of the vacations we'd gotten to know them a little better and I was grateful to know that they did have a house in Texas. They hadn't lived there for 20+ years and have been renting the house out since then. It's in such bad shape right now they can't live in it, and they're also saving on getting there.

So even though I felt guilty, I still like camping. And even though my home is not the way I'd like it right now, or completely finished, I can forget about that and just be grateful that I do have a house to go home to.

-Jas