The word "charger" kept flashing in my mind like a red emergency light. The campsite had no electrical hook-up so I didn't need it, I kept telling myself.
I paced anxiously through my bedroom at home, looking to make sure I didn't forget anything vital for our first camping adventure.
Also, I had promised my 7-year-old daughter I would stay away from Facebook and all social media while we were at the beach. I wouldn't need my phone charger. In the end I didn't need my phone.
This would be our first camping trip, and we had chosen Refugio State Beach in Goleta, Calif., to visit. My daughter had been asking to go camping for several years, so when I had the opportunity to be coached by my colleague, Mary Forgione, and rate her advice, I figured we should give it a try.
Camping is foreign to me. My idea of a short getaway involves room service, not bear-proof containers. My child's persistence paid off, even though I was apprehensive about bugs and other creatures (more on that later).
My husband did remind me that we went day-camping once with friends when we were dating, and there might have been a charcoal lighter fluid-flavored hot dog experience, but I knew nothing about packing a tent or the 300 other things I was supposed to take on our first family camping trip.
