I grew up in the suburbs, surrounded by paved roads, city parks, the occasional stream and plenty of Target stores. Pretty sure I just got the attention of all the indoorsy readers. There’s nothing like a good Target trip….except maybe a Netflix binge….or a top notch bookstore i.e. Vroman’s….if you’re in Pasadena you need to go to there.

As of the beginning of 2018 I had officially gone camping 8 times in my life. I slept in a tent only one of those times. Truth be told there were two camping trips in there where I was in an air conditioned cabin. So number of camping trips few….number of hotel stays many.

Here’s how I used to think about camping.

You spend a LOT of money buying gear so you can sleep on the ground, in the cold, covered in bugs. On the other hand you could save all that gear money and stay in a hotel for a couple nights where you could watch cable TV, have someone clean your room daily, and bring you fresh towels. I mean when I say it like that the choice is clear right?

BUT here’s the thing. I’m totally wrong. Camping doesn’t have to be expensive, if you bring the right gear you won’t be cold, the ground won’t be uncomfortable and at least where I’ve been camping bugs aren’t even a problem…plus, bug spray.

And while I’m not going to turn down a good deal on a hotel stay, I also see the importance of being outside. It clears your head, calms your mind and in my case it often gets me to do things I didn’t think I could do.

One of my goals for Indoorsy Camper is to get people like me outdoors.

Who are people like me?

• People who jump in their own houses because they think they saw a bug (which turns out to be a chocolate covered raisin).
• People who shower daily….because if they don’t the world would end…I mean not end, but come pretty damn close.
• People who place a high value on cool dry air conditioned air (and not the crappy kind of A/C….the good stuff…what I sometimes refer to as “Texas air conditioning”) because it’s big, bold, and hits you with a cold slap in the face when you enter the room.

I am all of those things…but that doesn’t mean I can’t also be a little outdoorsy too. So here we go, one camping trip at a time.