TCM's First Camping Trip

In 2015, I had my first experience camping.  Being a minion, I don't typically get taken with as I am expected to stay at the house and clean or something.  But this time, I was honoured and taken with.  I had a great time!  Let me share some of my experiences with you!  This took place in St Brieux, Saskatchewan.

When we first arrived, and we pulled up in this empty spot, I was scared.  While I may be a fuzzy minion, I still like the creature comforts like a real mattress instead of lumpy rocks in my back.  I found out that I would have something softer to sleep in and I was much happier.

Our campsite

Yay!  Real beds in here!

One of the nights we were there, we went to watch fireworks.  Unfortunately, they hung me up to watch but really, who am I to complain?

Hanging out watching the fireworks

This minion ate really well while we were at the camp.   Below is supper one night, steak and potatoes.  Yummy!   And then later that evening, we hung out in front of the campfire and made marshmallows.  I even managed to sneak a drink from the adults in the group.  Unfortunately, they caught me and took it away before I was able to have too many sips from it but I was still walking a bit funny after.

Yummy supper!

I didn't get to drink much before they took it away.

Sugary goodness!

I managed to eat this before it fell off

I decided to walk out to the dock one evening.  It was getting a little nippy out though so I figured it was best to stay out of the water and just look.  It was very relaxing, the dock was swaying a bit underneath me.  It took me a minute to get my balance but then I was ready to go sailing.  Too bad none of the boats belonged to us so I wasn't able to.

Typically each evening the group unwound before bed by playing cards or reading.  My preference was to steal a kindle and read or a few minutes.  There wasn't a lot of minion reading material on there but well, I couldn't be too choosy.  I typically just gave up and went to bed after that.

Time to relax

I can't wait to go to the lake again!  

Happy camper

 Want to see more from TCM?

Who is TCM?

TCM's First Flight

TCM's Africa Adventures

Keeping a Journal While I Travel

One of the things I do when I travel is have a notebook to journal in.  My goal is to journal every night but that is not always possible for a variety of reasons.  For instance, my trip to Africa, a lot of nights we were in bed early and there was nowhere to sit down and write.  So when we got somewhere that had a bench and a place to write, and we weren’t going to be making supper immediately or something, I would get caught up.

What Do I Write?

http://amzn.to/2bavyS3

Start with the basics.  Where was I, what were we doing, any key points that stand out to me.  These journals are what I use when I blog the trip.  Relevant information like what we saw that day, special notes, things that are unique that I want to remember in the future or something interesting the guide told us.  Sometimes my entries are very short and not very informative beyond what creative thing I may have tried to make in the kitchen with limited resources.  On a tour, I may make notes about the meal we had or a food that I tried.  Depending on where I am, there are notes about the weather. 

Spending

At the back of my notebook, I keep track of the money I have spent.  I like to have a good idea of what I spent and how I spent it.  Of course, I can always track it based on how much money I converted or put on my credit card.  The other advantage of listing my spending is that it can help me remember where I was on a certain day, especially if I haven’t journaled for a bit.  I typically keep the spending list current.  If I convert cash, I will make a note of the exchange rate I got when I did the exchange.

Do you keep a journal?  What do you record?

Where am I Going Next?

Now that I have been to Africa, what is next on my list?  Funny you should ask that.  Next spring I am off on a cruise to the Caribbean with friends.  I haven’t been on a cruise for 20 years so it should be interesting.  I know a lot has changed!

Cruise

https://pixabay.com/en/cruise-ship-mediterranean-sea-112002/

It is an 8 night cruise through the Eastern Caribbean.  There are four of us going so we have upgraded to a balcony room.  I don’t know many of the details, just the dates of our trip.  As it is over 6 months away, we have yet to figure out our excursions and activities we may want to do but I’m not overly concerned.

If you are curious to see the trip, check it out here:  8 Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise

Europe

https://pixabay.com/en/neuschwanstein-castle-germany-532850/

My next big trip is likely going to be Europe.  People are always surprised that I haven’t been already but that is just the way it has worked out.  My thought at this point is that I want to do a tour and see the highlights and then I can return in the future to further explore the areas that further interest me.  This saves me trying to figure out accommodation as well as transportation.  While I’m sure many people speak English, I worry about getting confused and not getting to where I want to be.

I am thinking that I would like to go to Switzerland, Austria and Germany.  I want to go to Neuschwanstein Castle as it has intrigued me since I was a teenager.  As its still two and a half years from now, I haven’t really started much research.  

 Is there anything that you think I should make sure to see in Europe?  Chances are I will make sure to have a few free days on either end of my trip to relax.

Notes for My Next Trip from My Africa Trip

While my trip to Africa was great, there are things that I wish I had done a bit differently.  Below are the things that I would have done differently as well as the reasoning.   Take them with a grain of salt and your mileage may vary. 

https://pixabay.com/en/notepad-memo-pencil-writing-note-117597/

Bring an old smartphone instead of a tablet

For this, a lot really depends on what you are using the electronics for.  I did end up watching a few movies on my tablet so it was handy for that, but in the grand scheme of things, my phone would have been much more convenient.  I find typing on my phone easier than on my tablet and the phone is smaller and easier to carry.  It would have been much easier to share pictures with people back home via email if I had used my phone.

Bring my Kindle

I read, a lot.  I read 12 books over the course of the month that I was in Africa.  I found my tablet was cumbersome to read on and sometimes it was too bright due to the screen.  While reading didn’t drain the battery too badly, many other things did so I quite often was charging it when I wanted to read.

Make sure the locks I bring fit my carryon

I typically keep my carry on locked when I am travelling.  But the locks that I brought were too big to fit on the bag I was carrying.  This was actually due to using a different bag than a proper travel bag due to space.  I assumed all zipper pulls are the same but these were not and as a result, I couldn’t lock up my bag during my trip.  It wasn’t a big deal but it was frustrating.

Bring a change of clothing/sunscreen/deodorant in my carryon

I’ve always heard a person should have spare clothing in their carryon just in case.  But, as I have never lost luggage before, I hadn’t bothered.  Now that it has happened, it is something I will definitely have to consider.  While I did wash out my clothing at the other end, due to the weather, nothing dried and I had to go out in damp clothing.

Put name inside my luggage and first destination

Again, this has to do with losing luggage.  Another traveler told me of them losing her luggage and the identification tag got lost somewhere.  She was able to get her bag as she was able to describe it and think her name was inside somewhere.  For this reason, it’s a good idea to have something with your name and first destination inside so that they can verify the bag belongs to you.

Head lamp if camping

Apparently I did not read the packing list very carefully, if at all, and this caused some problems during the trip.  For the most part, I was able to make do with my flashlight and the light I got off of others headlamps.  While I don’t expect to do anther camping trip, hopefully my mistake will benefit you.

Calculator for easy currency conversion

I typically do not have an issue with figuring out various currencies and what equals what.   But there were times I was getting confused, especially as we were changing currency on a regular basis.  Having a calculator for some quick math likely would have helped me out once or twice or at least reminded me of how much I was paying for something.   With that, if I had an old smartphone, it would have had a calculator app I could use.

While this list is not a definite list of items that I wished I had had, it is a starting point and hopefully will help others.  Have you gone somewhere and wished you had brought something else with you that you had left at home?  Please let us know in the comments.

TCM’s Africa Adventures

TCM came with me to Africa (Don’t know TCM?  Meet TCM!).  He wasn’t always that great about getting into the photos so I don’t have a lot of his adventures.  For a minion who wants to travel, he is a bit shy about actually coming out of hiding.  But regardless, here he is.

First up is TCM enjoying the balcony in Nairobi.  Thankfully he travels in style in the carry-on luggage or else he would have been left behind.

Off to the Serengeti!

Oohh.. spoke too soon, we have to wait our turn.  So TCM decided to explore.  He isn’t sure if he is wildlife or not.

TCM came out to ride in the hot air balloon.  Our pilot saw him and commented that we had a stowaway.  But he was a well behaved stow away, he was too scared to come out of his hiding spot once we were on our way.

Off we go to spot some wildlife.

Relaxing as the truck travels down the road.  TCM did this a lot!

Hanging out at the beach at Zanzibar.  Too bad TCM can only look as water would be dangerous for him. 

Bananas!!!  I’m surprised I got such a clear shot as TCM was vibrating he was so excited!

Ahhh.. more Beach!  TCM really wanted to go swimming but I had to remind him that he would drown and miss the rest of his adventure.

With that said, TCM didn’t want the adventure to end once we got to Victoria Falls.  In fact, he ended up hiding in the truck and he missed the trip to the Falls completely.  He almost stayed behind in Africa but I managed to find him with a last look in the truck before the continuing tour left.

TCM was exhausted when we got home; it was a long journey for him.  He also needed a bath but minions are a bit tougher to scrub clean than humans so he is no longer quite as bright yellow as his cousin’s.  He seems to be okay with this though, he feels it makes him look more rugged and adventuresome.