Long-Weekend Lovely

'I Love Not Camping' by Anne Taintor. Originally posted in The Look

May 2-4 is nearly upon us and this long weekend always reminds me of so many fun times. In highschool we'd hit up our local conservation area where we'd (try to) meet boys and then, usually underwhelmed by our prospects, crash in tents or cars.  As we got older, our group headed to my friend's grandmother's country lot (sounds lame but it wasn't) and hang out around the campfire for 3 days where we'd play guitar, drink a little (ahem) and battle the elements. From hot and gorgeous one year, to rain and floods another, to golf-ball sized hail the next, we encountered literally every type of weather on our yearly pilgrimages but somehow, the crazy weather only added to the experience.  

Then, I met my husband.  I brought him along to meet my friends for the first time and thought May 2-4 would be the perfect initiation. The campfire was lit, drinks in hand, guitars strumming in a can't-get-more-Canadian-if-we-tried situation and there was James, covered in ashes, campfire smoke aimed directly at his head and an expression of total distress on his face.  After he fell off his log, spilled his Rev all over his sweatshirt and was subsequently attacked by a massive swarm of bugs, I knew I'd made a super bad choice. We lasted from 7 pm until 2 am at which point James and I hightailed it back to Toronto where he spent an hour in the shower and claimed that he couldn't wait to sleep in a 'real' bed again.  Yup.  Good thing he's cute.

Whether you love to camp or just love a long weekend, toss aside your grungy old standbys in favour of these chic alternatives.  The good news about roughing it?  Giving up your comfort doesn't mean your style has to suffer, too.