My First Time Camping

Fruitland Park, Florida- It was the first time camping for me and my daughter, not Yamil, he is the camping pro. We had so much fun! We went to Fruitland Park in Florida, a small town of about 4,000 people on US-441/US-27 north of Leesburg. We found this amazing park called Lake Griffin State Park where they have campsites, hiking trails and water activities. They also have one of the largest live oak trees in the state. We set our tent and campsite to our liking, we wanted to make it magical for our three year old (at that time). We set our dining area using a fire bowl to heat up food and make our coffee, of course, we also hung some string lights, we put inside the tent an air mattress with lots of pillows and comfy blankets. The following list is all the items we brought with us to make the experience more convenient, especially when camping with a small kid.

Items we brought with us:

-Books

-Camping Table

-Camping Lamps

-Air Mattress with Sheets and Pillows

-Camping Chairs

-Hammock

-Fire Bowl

-String Lights

-Games

-Kitchen Supplies

-Pre-made Food

We set our kitchen supplies on a picnic table. There we had a camping dish-washer bowl with biodegradable dish soap and sponges. That was our set kitchen corner. We also had a small cooler for all the drinks and cold items. And finally a bag full of snacks and meals. Then we set our "chill-out" spot. We had three folding chairs, the fire bowl in the middle and we hung the hammock between trees. Lastly, we set the interior of the tent with the air mattress, bunch of pillows and blankets. We even had a small fan in it and a lantern. It was so relaxing and fun. Yamil and Adriana were playing by making shadow forms while I just listened to the silent night. And to be the first time camping for Adriana and I, we slept like angels all night in the wild.

The next morning we got up bright and early. The alarm clock this time was the sun shining through the tent. We had slept so comfortably in our queen size air mattress. One thing I was grateful for is that Lake Griffin Park has full equipped restrooms with showers and all. They even have a coin laundry room. We were able to take a quick shower, brush our teeth and get ready to explore. Off we went to do some hiking, and this park has lots of trails. 

In our exploring we found some pretty cool things, from a forest to a beautiful and peaceful lake. The coolest of all was finding one of the tallest live oak trees in this park! In person, this was breathtaking. It was almost like a tree mansion (not a tree house) if you went and climbed up the tree. Such beautiful experience to feel the energy from this tree which is estimated to be between 300-500 years old. This was definitely some experience. Setting your camp-site, sleeping under the stars, being in touch with nature, listening to the sounds of the wilderness, my first time camping has 10 stars! I cannot wait to do it again, but this time, in the mountains. 

Leave your comment below and tell me where you've stayed camping or where you would like to go. :)