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List of items for rendezvous w/ family

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I am about to make my first rondy weekend with the family. I've camped before, either alone, as someone's guest, or with my daughter, but this will be the first one with my better half. So it's goodbye to the 6x6 wedge, and hello to a 20x20 marquis ( yes, it's immense, but it was a screaming deal that was cheaper than a wall tent 1/3 the size). Now what items should I bring to keep the Mrs. happy?

We will conceal an air mattress and a chem toilet, as those are non-negotiable, as is a cooler. We have plates, silverware, a brazier, a chair and stool, and bedding. I'm obligated to make a table and bench.

What would you suggest for a family of four, two adults and two kids? Any and all suggestions are welcome.
 
*Pillows or cushions to sit on,, something soft so that ya won't hurt yer butt sittin on hard wood stools/benches.
*Bed frames or cot's. Sleeping on the ground level works, but getting up an down gets old.
*A kitchen box that's more like a cupboard at home, with a food prep surface that's counter height.
*A wash station with a mirror.
 
I second the vote for the kitchen box and additional seating. I prefer chairs or stools to sitting on the ground or pillows. I'd also add a decent canvas tarp for a outdoor kitchen/porch/fire
pit area. I like both the shade and the protection from rain and I dig my fire pit just at the edge of the tarp so that we can sit outside or cook under protection even if it's raining.
 
cot for ur better half or you wont service the complaints of sleeping on the ground.
 
I suggest cots for sleeping on ,a few candle lanterns and "wait and see what you need". Many people start out getting a lot of "stuff" that they don't use. Let your first be a "learning experience" to make the next more enjoyable with out getting a lot of things you won't use. :idunno:
 
Made a few items today for the rondezvous.
A table:

CF926992-1EE4-40AB-A148-E596A27166D5.jpg


and two benches and a stool:

78AF6841-ACB2-4BE5-90E5-723B1EEB4738.jpg


The camera angle makes the legs on the benches look a bit strange, but they are level and solid. The legs are out at 22 degrees. All are pine, finished in a red oak stain and water-sealed.

I do already have a bed. Thanks for all the tips, and please, keep them coming!
 
A utility trailer, so that you won't have to continually pack and unpack all that gear at home.
 
The basic principal... IF she thinks this is more work than being at home where it's air conditioned, she has a flush toilet and a shower, and there aren't any bugs... you've lost. :shake:


What's the size of the brazer?

A single size brazer (holds one medium to large pot) is fine for a lone person, and can be made to work for two, BUT for four, not so much.

You're going to need to be able to heat water while cooking the meal, especially the morning meal. So if you have the standard brazier you will need a second brazier, OR one large enough to hold two pots, or a folding fire grate (easier to haul than fire irons) over a fire.

Speaking of water, you are going to need to keep water for drinking, so you may want to think about some sort of jug or water container, to keep potable water in when in camp. You need mugs for the four of you too.

Fire buckets are a good idea if you have a camp fire, a single "fire bucket" works for braziers. They can double as water to wash hands in, and to heat water for washing dishes. Then drown that camp fire at the end of the event. A fire extinguisher, disposable, is also a good idea. I've used mine only once... on somebody else's tent....and it helps with your wife's peace-of-mind.

A shovel to dig the fire pit (if you opt for it instead of a second brazier). If you use wood instead of "cowboy charcoal" i.e. hardwood charcoal, for fuel, even for a brazier, a good axe (not a hawk) and/or a saw will be helpful.

You should have a dedicated cooking knife, a pairing knife, a cutting board, a ladle, and a wooden spoon, a spatula, and a "meat" fork. Add to that a stone to keep the knives sharp.

Speaking of fire and knives... how about a first aid kit? Be sure in addition to burn ointment and anti-biotic cream, you should have some pepto tablets to ward off the "green apple quick step", some aspirin or tylenol, some allergy meds (if applicable) and/or some cold meds.

For cooking in a fixed camp, I like a couple of medium pots, with one that nests inside the other, and a skillet. You can fry breakfast, make hot water (or oatmeal,..or GRITS :grin: ), and coffee at the same time. If you don't make oatmeal you have hot water to wash up when you're done. You can mix pancake batter or biscuit dough in one pot while the other one heats coffee and the skillet is in use, so they serve many purposes.

Two light weight (hint hint) copper or tin pots work well with a light weight, steel skillet. I'd wait to get a Dutch oven, and if you get an iron pot (they can work for baking instead of a Dutch oven, if you get the right style), get only one, as two or more and you probably will need to buy a truss. A cast iron fry pan is great at the fire, but gets old when hauling it around... go with steel.

I hope this helps.

LD
 
Kapellmeister said:
Don't forget the baby wipes!
+1 on this and extra toilet paper.
One of those chemical porta pottys is pretty handy as well with young kids and the wife along...
 
I "vous-ed" with the family for years. Generally the kids love anything old timey as long as they are occupied. The Mrs. will be happier with creature comforts, bed off the ground, potty, shower, shady place to sit comfortably, etc. My deal with the Mrs. was that I do all the cooking. I already had a set of fire irons and cast cooking pans, griddle, etc.

Anything dried that can have water added to mix up conveniently helps. Bread mixes, and corn bread mix for the dutch oven. Rice and other dried foods that are easy to cook with water.

For our anniversary one year, I cooked sweet potatoes in the coals, roast corn on the cob, spice cake in the Dutch oven, a small turkey on the spit, had a table with table cloth and candlabra, table set, clay jug of wine, etc.

Heck at the eastern up at High Tor years ago, I made steamed lobsters, steamed clams, fresh biscuits, lots of butter , potatoes in the coals and had cold beer.

Mountain pies for the kids in the evening.

I made a shower with a frame of 2x2's a piece of canvas and used a pump up garden sprayer with a bent spray wand for "running water" You can heat the water in an old coffee pot or kettle over the fire to put in the sprayer. Easy to use the valve to get wet, soap up and then rinse.
(I have actually seen those old 19th century sheet metal bath tubs at rendy's, but that takes heating alot of water. )

I made a camp kitchen box about 28 wide x 28 high, by 11 inches deep. the upper half has cabinet doors and the lower half has a door that hinges down and fastens to make a 14 x 28 work surface. It has it's own detachable legs so the work surface is waist high.

A basin to wash dishes, hands, faces, feet, etc.
 
Lots of canvas squares.you can pick up cheap painters tarps from hardware stores and cut them up. These can cover a lot of comfort stuff. A few of the 2or 3 gallon water jugs with spots at the bottom gives you lots of handy water. At the risk of being called sexiest I have to say girls make it harder to keep an hc camp. But the old saying of happy wife...happy life applies to camp as much as home, a little covered comfort can go a long way.
 
Loyalist Dave said:
You can fry breakfast, make hot water (or oatmeal,..or GRITS :grin: ), and coffee at the same time...
LD

And you were doing so well until you went off the deep end -- grits indeed!
 
Attaboy, Dave! those of us who are part Indian know all about the comfort grits and other maize products can bring! Not to mention that fine tipi living! (Untreated?) :grin: (My ancestry includes MicMaq, Abenaki,Cherokee,and Choctaw.) Other folks may not understand, maybe it's an Indian thing! :rotf: Treestalker.
 
It might be..., my maternal grandpa hails from Canada, and I'm supposed to have Iroquois in me from him... though I'm mostly Highlander.... and I don't think I've found a corn product that I didn't like...food or beverage.

LD
 
Bring water with you. The rondys that I have been to all had a water buffalo. It was potable water but My wife frowned from drinking it. So I always take about 5 gallons with me. This is also good if you don't have a PC bucket/pail. I also always bring some firewood with me. I tend to find that the supplied wood is usually a little punky. So I bring some good dry stuff to get some coals down to light the wet wood better. The women can get impatient waiting for the fire to get going so you can cook lol. Also If you are going to use only a brazier, I would definitely bring a hatchet/axe. Most wood supplied at a rondy is meant for open pit. That is also assuming your not going to cheat an use lighter fluid :wink: Bring extra blankets. If she drinks, wine is always your friend lol. Bring some stuff for the kids too. Keep them involved but don't push too much. Bring a portable dvd player or something of sorts. Put them in the tent and let them enjoy once in a while. Let them go at their pace. Bring some burlap with you. You can use it for covering up a cooler to water jug or to carry fire wood. Besides all that. Most I've been to are very easy going if your just starting. Try to let your wife relax and have a lot of fun. I did pretty much everything for the first two my wife went to, now she'll start fire's, cook, clean, then want to go on the woods walk lol. Good luck
 

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