{"id":2678,"date":"2009-09-23T10:56:49","date_gmt":"2009-09-23T08:56:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.breigh.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2678"},"modified":"2010-06-16T05:40:40","modified_gmt":"2010-06-16T03:40:40","slug":"have-i-mentioned-that-i-love-autumn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.canadutch.nl\/blog\/archives\/2678","title":{"rendered":"Have I Mentioned That I Love Autumn?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Hrmm I think I <a href=\"http:\/\/www.breigh.com\/wordpress\/archives\/382\" target=\"_blank\">may have<\/a>\u2026 perhaps <a href=\"http:\/\/www.breigh.com\/wordpress\/archives\/373\" target=\"_blank\">once<\/a> or <a href=\"http:\/\/www.breigh.com\/wordpress\/archives\/137\" target=\"_blank\">twice<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Yeah, I <a href=\"http:\/\/www.breigh.com\/wordpress\/archives\/566\" target=\"_blank\">definitely have<\/a>!\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.breigh.com\/wordpress\/archives\/725\" target=\"_blank\">LOADS<\/a>!<\/p>\n<p>Yesterday was the first day of Autumn here in the Netherlands and what a great summer we\u2019ve had!\u00a0 Normally, I spend my autumn posts talking about what I love about the autumn but I\u2019m pretty sure I\u2019ve done that to death and you get the point, so instead I\u2019ll spend this post looking back on what I loved about the summer.<\/p>\n<p>One thing my husband and I have wanted to do for years was start camping.\u00a0 We never got around to it though because other things always got in the way.\u00a0 Either we had other holiday plans or didn\u2019t have the money for it, or just got too lazy to look into it.<\/p>\n<p>This year I put my foot down and said WE ARE GOING CAMPING!<\/p>\n<p>After a lot of research on some camping forums and equipment websites I came up with a list of thing we needed to find the right tent for us:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>It needed to have a sewn in or zip in ground sheet to minimize the creepy crawlies, mice and whatever else might decide to visit us in the night.<\/li>\n<li>It had to have a decent amount of space outside the sleeping area for us to spend time inside in the case of rain or when we want to let the dogs be loose in the evening.\u00a0 The weather and our dogs are too unpredictable to not have \u2018living space\u2019.<\/li>\n<li>There needed to be a big enough sleeping area for us and our dogs crates.\u00a0 They are crate trained and we\u2019d sleep easier knowing there was no chance of escape at night.<\/li>\n<li>It needed to have a \u2018luifel\u2019 or canopy so that if it\u2019s raining we can cook or sit outside without getting pissed down on.\u00a0 Again, unpredictable Dutch weather.\u00a0 It also provides shade for the times when we are camping in more sunny areas.<\/li>\n<li>Plenty of windows for good air circulation.<\/li>\n<li>Cotton or Polycotton for less rain noise than polyester, also more breathable to keep heat down.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>That was pretty much all we required and once we knew what we were looking for we headed out to the shops to find it.\u00a0\u00a0 We looked in every camping store in the city, as well as any in the surrounding area but didn\u2019t find \u2018the one\u2019.\u00a0\u00a0 Then a Dutch girl on a UK camping forum I joined mentioned that she thought she knew the perfect tent for us.\u00a0 It was in a shop about 1.5 hours drive from here, but we decided to go check it out anyway.\u00a0\u00a0 She was right, it was perfect and we went home with it that day.<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"First Test Pitch\" href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/36166632@N00\/3795885548\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/static.flickr.com\/3575\/3795885548_43b69c3a40.jpg\" border=\"0\" alt=\"First Test Pitch\" \/><\/a><a title=\"First Test Pitch\" href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/36166632@N00\/3795065805\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/static.flickr.com\/2663\/3795065805_55648c5403.jpg\" border=\"0\" alt=\"First Test Pitch\" \/><\/a><a title=\"First Test Pitch\" href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/36166632@N00\/3795885060\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/static.flickr.com\/2593\/3795885060_241d9d3830.jpg\" border=\"0\" alt=\"First Test Pitch\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a title=\"First Test Pitch\" href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/36166632@N00\/3795065805\/\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a <strong>Basecamp Ambato V <\/strong>and we absolutely love it.\u00a0\u00a0 The above photos are from the day that we did a test pitch on the grass behind our building.\u00a0 It took us a while and it was almost 30 degrees so I was starting to wonder what I\u2019d gotten myself into!\u00a0 I still loved it though, and was really excited.<\/p>\n<p>Once we had the tent, I started looking for good deals on some camping equipment.\u00a0\u00a0 Shopping!!<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"Our First Camping Trip\" href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/36166632@N00\/3846748536\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"margin: 5px 5px 5px 0px; display: inline;\" src=\"http:\/\/static.flickr.com\/3501\/3846748536_622f805807.jpg\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Our First Camping Trip\" width=\"160\" height=\"240\" align=\"left\" \/><\/a>I found a fantastic deal for a gas cooker and a stand to put it on for only 25 euro on <a href=\"http:\/\/www.marktplaats.nl\" target=\"_blank\">Marktplaats<\/a>.\u00a0 It was an older couple who was selling the stuff for their son, who had bought it all brand new and then found out his wife was pregnant with their 4th child.\u00a0 Oopsie!\u00a0 So we got about 150 euro worth of goods for 25 euro, pretty sweet!!<\/p>\n<p>It has 2 gas thingies and a grill that sits on top of it, and with one small pan and one small pot I\u2019ve been able to cook pretty much anything we\u2019ve wanted to eat while we were out.<\/p>\n<p>We considered getting a barbeque as well but in all honesty, the food comes out just as nice on this thing and it saves us having to lug around something else.<\/p>\n<p>We also got one of those little disposable BBQ\u2019s at one point, which was useless.\u00a0 We won\u2019t be doing that again!<\/p>\n<p>We got all the standard camping stuff, something to sleep on, a folding table and we already had chairs.\u00a0 It was sort of fun doing all the research and finding the best deals.\u00a0 The only really big expense was the tent, although even with the cheaper prices on some things, it all adds up!<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"Our First Camping Trip\" href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/36166632@N00\/3846747350\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/static.flickr.com\/3498\/3846747350_a881b528e2.jpg\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Our First Camping Trip\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>We went camping twice this summer, the first time about 45 mins outside of Rotterdam at a small mini-camping called <a href=\"http:\/\/www.campinghetvogelnest.nl\/\" target=\"_blank\">&#8216;t Vogelnest<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0 It was a small campground run by a nice couple.\u00a0 Their spots were pretty big and the people staying there were mostly 50+.\u00a0\u00a0 We thought that would be a good place to start out because we were worried about the dogs if there were a lot of children running around.\u00a0 It was their first time camping as well and we didn\u2019t know what to expect.<\/p>\n<p>You can see Xander in the photo above with the useless disposable BBQ.\u00a0 It cooked the grass beneath it more than anything we put on top of it!<\/p>\n<p>We arrived on Friday afternoon and left on Sunday morning.\u00a0 We learned a few lessons during that trip.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Don\u2019t bother with disposable BBQ\u2019s<\/li>\n<li>Cheap foot pumps are useless!! (ours broke and had to be duct taped to hell, held together and pumped by hand for ages to get the bed blown up)<\/li>\n<li>A weekend is not long enough.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a title=\"Our First Camping Trip\" href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/36166632@N00\/3845959581\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/static.flickr.com\/3521\/3845959581_6f3fe45dd5.jpg\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Our First Camping Trip\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>By the time we got there, set up and got to relax, it was time to make dinner.\u00a0 After that was done and the dishes were washed etc the evening had flown by.\u00a0 On Saturday we just chilled out most of the day and before we knew it, it was Sunday morning and time to go home.\u00a0 Way too much work for the amount of time we got to enjoy it.<\/p>\n<p>We then planned another trip at a campground a little further away called <a href=\"http:\/\/www.campingdepluimpot.nl\/\" target=\"_blank\">de Pluimpot<\/a>.\u00a0 This campground was a little bigger, had more children and was really close to the beach.\u00a0 We planned to go on Thursday and return on Monday, giving us a little more time to enjoy ourselves.<\/p>\n<p>What an adventure that trip was!\u00a0 We arrived on Thursday and set up at the spot we chose.\u00a0 It was on the edge of the campground closest to the water.\u00a0 It had a lot of trees and shade so we thought that would keep us cool on the warm days.\u00a0 Boy were we wrong!\u00a0\u00a0 It just so happened that for the next 2 days we had a mixture of VERY high winds, rain and thunder &amp; lightning storms.\u00a0 I was miserable!\u00a0 What we thought would be a cool spot in the sun turned out to be a <em>freezing<\/em> spot in the rain\u2026 ugh!\u00a0 Even when the sun did come out, we didn\u2019t get any of the warmth from it because we were shaded by the trees.<\/p>\n<p>I spent the evenings inside the tent with tons of clothes on and blankets wrapped around me, unable to get the damp cold feeling out of my bones.\u00a0\u00a0 I was having fun, because I was camping, but was hating it at the same time because the weather was crap and I was so darn cold all the time.<\/p>\n<p>On Saturday it warmed up a bit, but you\u2019d never know it on our spot.\u00a0 The rest of the campground was bathing in the sunshine while we were sitting shivering in the shade.\u00a0 At one point I took my chair to a nearby empty plot and sat in the sun to warm up.\u00a0 It was then that I\u2019d decided I had enough.\u00a0\u00a0 I spoke to Xander and told him that we had to either pick up and move to a sunnier plot, or pack up and go home.\u00a0 We both agreed that we didn\u2019t want to leave after only 2 days, so we moved everything across the \u2018road\u2019 to a sunny plot.\u00a0 It was a lot of work but it was SO worth it, the rest of our trip was so enjoyable, even during the rainy periods.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.breigh.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/pluimpot.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"display: inline;\" title=\"pluimpot\" src=\"http:\/\/www.breigh.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/pluimpot_thumb.jpg\" alt=\"pluimpot\" width=\"516\" height=\"403\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Excuse the photo quality, it was taken on my mobile\u2026 but as you can see, the whole family were enjoying themselves in our new sunny spot.\u00a0 It was heaven!\u00a0 It was that day, when we were all sitting out relaxing, that I knew we\u2019d made the best decision ever when we decided to start camping.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.breigh.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/pluimpotdogs.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"display: inline;\" title=\"pluimpotdogs\" src=\"http:\/\/www.breigh.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/pluimpotdogs_thumb.jpg\" alt=\"pluimpotdogs\" width=\"537\" height=\"403\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>We also knew we\u2019d made a good decision in our choice of tent when we sat inside on rainy days without having to worry about what to do with the dogs.\u00a0 They were perfectly happy to chill inside and snooze.\u00a0 Spoiled little things.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, we enjoyed it so much we ended up staying for two weeks!!<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.breigh.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/pluimpotsun.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"display: inline;\" title=\"pluimpotsun\" src=\"http:\/\/www.breigh.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/pluimpotsun_thumb.jpg\" alt=\"pluimpotsun\" width=\"537\" height=\"403\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>I spent most of my days sitting out in front of the tent reading.\u00a0 I read TEN books in two weeks, and I have never felt more relaxed.\u00a0\u00a0 I know that sounds silly coming from a housewife, but even we have stuff plaguing us all the time.\u00a0 Stuff that needs to be done around the house, bills to pay, social engagements to keep, laundry needing to be done\u2026 but camping is absolute bliss.\u00a0 Not a care in the world, I love it more than I can even explain.<\/p>\n<p>We did learn some things on this trip too though\u2026<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Have something for heat if you are going to camp in NL outside of July \/ August.<\/li>\n<li>A tarp would be handy for the really sunny spots so I don\u2019t need to use my towels to create shade when the sun is in front of my canopy.<\/li>\n<li>Time goes by really quick when sitting outside reading, sunburns when camping suck!<\/li>\n<li>Bring LOTS of books, because if you are a reader like me you\u2019ll go through tons! (I actually drove to my friend Penny\u2019s one day to get a load of books from her because I ran out and her house was closer than mine) Thanks Penny!<\/li>\n<li>Bring games, they can really keep you entertained on the rainy evenings inside the tent.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/S'more\" target=\"_blank\">Smores<\/a> taste just as good when the marshmallows are roasted over a candle.<\/li>\n<li>A duvet will not keep you as warm at night as a sleeping bag would.<\/li>\n<li>Cuddling in bed to stay warm in the tent is awesome!<\/li>\n<li>A port-a-potty may be in order in the future because there were a few times where I came frighteningly close to weeing in my pants after my 100 meter dash to the toilet in the middle of the night.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.breigh.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/pluimpotdogs2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"display: inline;\" title=\"pluimpotdogs2\" src=\"http:\/\/www.breigh.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/pluimpotdogs2_thumb.jpg\" alt=\"pluimpotdogs2\" width=\"537\" height=\"403\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>I think the look on their faces say it best \u2026 WE LOVE CAMPING!!!!!!!!!!!<\/p>\n<p>So, summer is over and I\u2019m a bit sad about that, but autumn brings a lot of other things to get excited about\u2026 Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas\u2026 but most of all\u2026<\/p>\n<h2>MY MOM WILL BE HERE IN 3 WEEKS!!!<\/h2>\n<p>Happy Autumn Everyone!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hrmm I think I may have\u2026 perhaps once or twice. Yeah, I definitely have!\u00a0 LOADS! Yesterday was the first day of Autumn here in the Netherlands and what a great summer we\u2019ve had!\u00a0 Normally, I spend my autumn posts talking about what I love about the autumn but I\u2019m pretty sure I\u2019ve done that to &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6809,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,20,39],"tags":[60,348,52],"class_list":["post-2678","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-life-in-nl","category-the-zoo","category-travel","tag-bailey","tag-camping","tag-xander"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.canadutch.nl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2678","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.canadutch.nl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.canadutch.nl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.canadutch.nl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.canadutch.nl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2678"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.canadutch.nl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2678\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5378,"href":"https:\/\/www.canadutch.nl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2678\/revisions\/5378"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.canadutch.nl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6809"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.canadutch.nl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2678"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.canadutch.nl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2678"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.canadutch.nl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2678"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}