While my Scottish husband joined the Tartan Army in Boston for the group stages of the FIFA World Cup, I wanted to do something equally exciting with my 9-year-old son. A few of his friends had recently gone camping and came back with fun stories.
I knew he would love a night out under the stars, but I hadn’t camped since I was in my 20s. The idea of just the two of us in a zip-up tent in the middle of nowhere felt scary.
So, instead of jumping straight into the wilderness, we went glamping.
Glamping is definitely easier than camping
I booked a one-night stay at The River Electric, a glamping site nestled in the woods in Guerneville, California. I described it to my son as fancy camping.
When we arrived, we threw our bags into a yellow wagon and wheeled it to our canvas tent, which had a typical zip-up door and was flanked by two wooden lounge chairs. Inside, we found two double beds, a nightstand with a small lamp, a bright red locker to store valuables, and a couple of outlets.
I was nervous about sleeping in a tent with no door to lock, running into a wild animal, and being a solo parent in the woods. But seeing his little face light up when he saw where we would be sleeping helped me push all that aside. Right away, he claimed the bed on the right and started unpacking his stuffed animals. He was just so excited.
Surprisingly, at least for me, we both slept fantastically. Although we were in a tent, we certainly weren’t roughing it. It felt more like a boutique hotel — but in nature.
Courtesy of Nicole Findlay
The more we did, the less nervous I felt
My son and I swam in the on-site pool twice. We raced from one side to the other, splashed one another, and danced to the faint sounds of 90s pop music. Afterward, we warmed up at a nearby fire pit.
I challenged my son to a game of ping pong, pushed him on a rope swing, and we dined on smash burgers, fries, and ice cream at the on-site restaurant.
That evening just so happened to be pub quiz night, so we entered as a team of two. Our team name was the River Dogs (named after both our glamping site and our shared favorite animal). We came in last, but in our defense, we were competing against teams of six or seven, and I think we had more fun than everyone else.
Courtesy of Nicole Findlay
Glamping has all the best parts of camping
After our pub quiz defeat, my son and I strolled along the dirt trails to our cozy tent for a night of games and chats. We played a travel version of Guess Who (perfect for two people), Bananagrams (because learning to spell is more fun in the woods), and we flipped through a few magazines and activity books. We connected more by stepping away from modern technology.
Turns out, all the best parts of glamping are the things that regular camping has, too — sleeping in a tent, no screens, and being surrounded by nature.
We left the next afternoon in time to catch Scotland’s match against Morocco on TV. My son tried to find his dad at the game. He didn’t — there were just too many people in the stands — but we did get a FaceTime call so we could feel the Tartan Army magic.
I’m proud of our mother-son adventure in the woods. For me, it proved that sometimes when you do things that you’re scared of, they don’t seem quite so scary anymore. Who knows? We might even try regular camping soon.
