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Happy-Gourmand

Camping memories hang on

As my regular readers will know, I’m an old-fashioned gal who loves nostalgia.

Apparently nostalgia is a popular thing in a pandemic world. It might be one reason why camping has been a top activity for families this summer. 

People are creating new memories, about which they can be nostalgic years from now. There are also us older folks, shaking our heads as we compare our nostalgia with the newer version. 

I remember camping as being a time when most of the every-day rules were suspended. Bedtime was when we were done having fun for the day; parents didn’t mind because that meant we were out of their hair. 

As far as I can tell, this part hasn’t changed in principle. The difference is that often the activities and entertainment was provided by the parents, not thought up by the kids. 

If we ever said we were bored while camping, we were given a task such as picking up any garbage on the ground in the campsite or chopping wood. It taught us to come up with our own more attractive alternative.

Today’s version is often supplied: I saw more than a few parents videos setting up videos for viewing in camper trailers. 

I’m not sure what is new and exciting for kids today; for me it was simple things that changed when we went camping. Perhaps that was because we didn’t have portable screens?

Maybe some other old folks out there share my memories. 

Are you ready? Here we go...

  • Those nifty miniature cereal boxes you could cut open and eat from. We only had Apple Jacks and Fruit Loops. My dad ate the Rice Krispies. 
  • Camp cooking was home-grown ingenuity — wonders that could all be cooked in a fry pan. Store-bought cookies were a camping delicacy -—Oreos and Dad’s Chocolate Oatmeal we’re our favourites. Mom’s cookies at home were good, but you couldn’t pull them apart or lick off the coating. 
  • Time in the car was even entertaining. (OK, it was, except for when my little brother took up more than his share of the back seat, or when the dog drooled on my shoulder.) We sang songs and played “I Spy” and license plate bingo. 

It’s true that there were times I didn’t enjoy in the moment. Cold and wet and tired, dragging myself back to the campsite after hiking Illecillewaet, I felt even worse when my vinyl runners melted by the fire as they were set out to dry.

When my cousin got his roasted marshmallow stuck in my pigtail, that was no fun either. But those times are the threads that make the fabric of my life unique. 

I don’t mean to say one has to suffer to have a good story, but experiences offer us a chance to learn and grow, and share the excitement that can entail. 

When I was a kid, the ultimate camping treat was Jiffy Pop popcorn. It was a compact tinfoil pan when Mom packed it, but one we shook it over the fire or Coleman stove, it unfurled into a magnificent silver ball full of steaming hot popcorn. 

On our recent trip to the Kootenays, I discovered the current version of Jiffy Pop does not have the “pop pop” I remember. Rather, it was the “beep beep” of the microwave. I winced. 

“When I was a kid” was the preamble for my Dad’s tales of how much more interesting his childhood was than mine. Now, that I’m about to become a grandmother I look forward to being able to pass along the wisdom of my days to a brand new generation. 

Most of all, I hope camping will be an occasion to remind my grandkids about having time when there is no need to rush, just a desire to share.

We will sing songs in the car and stop for ice cream and collect treasures and roast marshmallows. Then, they can tell their kids about the days of old...

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.



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About the Author

Kristin Peturson-Laprise is a customer experience specialist by trade, which means she is someone passionate about people having a good time. 

Her company, Wow Service Mentor, helps businesses enhance their customer experience through hands-on training, service programs, and special event coordination.

Kristin enjoys her own experiences too, and that is what she writes about in this column. She and her husband Martin Laprise (also known as Chef Martin, of The Chef Instead) love to share their passion for food and entertaining.  

Kristin says:

"Wikipedia lists a gourmand as a person who takes great pleasure in food. I have taken the concept of gourmandise, or enjoying something to the fullest, in all parts of my life. I love to grow and cook food, and I loved wine enough to become a Sommelier. I call a meal a success when I can convey that 'sense of place' from where the food has come . . . the French call that terroir, but I just call it the full experience. It might mean tasting the flavours of my own garden, or transporting everyone at the table to a faraway place, reminiscent of travels or dreams we have had."

 

E-mail Kristin at:  [email protected]

Check out her website here:  www.wowservicementor.com

 



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The views expressed are strictly those of the author and not necessarily those of Castanet. Castanet does not warrant the contents.

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