Camping in Wells, ME

Last weekend, I rented a tent. I love camping. It makes sense that I went to the Gunnery, founded by Frederick Gunn, the founder of recreational camping. Last year, my friends and I went once, and for me it was the first time in a while. I tried rallying the troops this summer, but it was difficult to get everyone on board. I have an affinity for yurts, and was seeing if there were any available for rent within a short drive from Boston. That’s when Google introduced me to Tentrr. It’s like AirBnB for tents. It looks pretty standardized. I got the impression that every site included the same canvas tent, queen bunk beds and wood stove.

There were a plethora of options available within a 2 hours drive of the city. This one in Wells, ME peaked my interest because of it’s location, price and dog friendliness. It was about an hour and a half from Boston, and probably 45 minutes to Portland. Not too far from here, but definitely in the woods. The drive was very nice. I thought the proximity to Portland might be nice in case we wanted to dine before returning to the city. We decided to go skeet shooting in New Hampshire instead.

This site was in the middle of a horse farm. I booked the tent through Tentrr, and was connected to Andrea who passed along her husband, Mike’s, phone number. My friend, Jesse, was the only one I could convince to come. Mike met us at the site, and gave us the rundown. We had to bring our own sheets/sleeping bags and food, but pretty much everything else was provided. There were skewers, plates, cups, drinking water, washing water, trash bin, a camp stove. Mike supplied us with wood and cardboard and told us to help ourselves to anything in the woods. We did. Or I should say, Jesse did. Can’t say I gathered too much wood.

When we arrived, it was “spitting,” as my grandmother would put it. Whatever, a little water never hurt anyone. Don’t tell that to anyone on the Titanic. Like Minnie, food is always on my mind, and as a result we had a well stocked camp pantry. After we unpacked and familiarized ourselves with the land and became one with nature, we drove to Hannaford to buy fire wood. We also got a bunch of less-than-healthy snacks like Tate’s cookies.

I don’t know where I was going with this. Rented a tent, had a great time camping. It was so relaxing to get out of the city, even if it was for just a night. No wifi, no sirens. It was a nice change of pace waking up to frost. It was also Minnie’s first time camping. Although I think she was chilly at times, I know she enjoyed the freedom of running through fields without a leash or traffic.

The next morning we went to a breakfast establishment of Jesse’s choosing. I had the eggs florentine. It was very good. The hollandaise was velvety. The hash browns: crunchy. There was something wrong with the waitresses though. I think they were heavily medicated. If our’s smiled any harder, her lips were going to split.

Then we drove to Green Mountain Shooting Preserve, popped off a couple rounds and headed back into the city.

*NOTE: I didn’t take most of these pictures. I wasn’t thinking about blogging at the time. The only photo that I did take, is of the Eggs Florentine. Jesse Greenstein provided the others.