I grew up camping. I have great memories of campfires, marshmallows, jiffy-pop, finding your way to the bathroom in your pjs after dark, mosquito coils, ‘camping cereal’ you eat right out of the box, coleman stoves, fishing and swimming in lakes, rain falling on the canvas sides of the camper… I could go on and on. Then I grew up a bit and camped some more… in tents with friends on long weekends, late nights. Jay and I even camped when we first got together… pre-kids. Then the kids came and we suddenly realized our boys were missing out. But something changes as you get a bit older, after you realize the luxury of hotel travel, camping just doesn’t seem all that enticing anymore. But we wanted to do it for the boys.

So, a week ago we headed to Two Jack Lakeside in Banff National Park and we did it (mind you we weren’t sleeping on the ground) – I discovered these awesome little oTENTiks – a good compromise between a tent and a cabin. I have to admit camping is a lot of work – the packing was insane but once we got there and saw the view, it made it all worth while…. you don’t get that in a fancy hotel (and only 15 minutes from the town of Banff, I didn’t even have to forgo my morning latte   ; )