Intimate Camping

There was a time when camping meant throwing on a backpack and setting out for the quiet and serenity of the great outdoors. A pack of matches, some canned or dried food and a sleeping bag was all that was needed to keep you comfortable. You were out to enjoy the sights and sounds of nature.

Times have changed. People now take not only the kitchen sink but everything else they have at home. It's difficult to enjoy nature's quiet and serenity when the guy next to you is blaring Law and Order on his satellite TV

The parks of course want to make as much money as possible so the RV spaces are right side by side, closer than the houses in your neighborhood. You can experience voyeurism without even trying. Your camping neighbor's every activity and conversation is available for your listening pleasure. I know because I just experienced this. A large rental RV parked next to our tent at a state park. The couple got out and we exchanged greetings. They were all lovey-dovey. Holding hands as they sat side by side on the picnic bench. They fixed their dinner and sat close to one another feeding each other bites and laughing at each others comments. Now I was not trying to watch but they were on a picnic bench right in front of me.

Later, I was treated to more intimate moment's, but those took place in the RV so thankfully I was not witness to the event but only heard it. A few hours later I awoke to loud arguing. Seems as if the loving had sparked a disagreement. I put the pillow over my ears and drifted back to sleep.

The next morning the lovey couple were back sipping coffee while holding hands. They left soon after, so the situation was not as awkward as what I once experienced on a cruise ship. The couple next to us would be standing on their balcony holding hands and playing kissy face. Then laughing they would go into their cabin and let's just say we did not need to tune into the porn channel. After some silent time we began to hear shouting and then the front cabin door would bang shut, the man would open the sliding glass door, come out, light a cigarette and sheepishly say hi. To which we pretending we had not heard a thing would respond hi. This was repeated frequently for the whole five day cruise.

So why when we want to get away from it all do we go to such close quarters where we can here our neighbors sexual activity and maybe even their morning constitution. Maybe it's because we are by nature pack animals and feel safer when we are part of a community.

The RV lifestyle is diffently a community. There are websites devoted to it. There are magazines about RVing and in the parks there are community buildings. It is fun getting to meet the people from all parts of the world. The people we met were friendly and having a good time. Camping in parks is something I plan to keep doing even if I have to pretend I didn't hear you screaming more, more, more last night.