Cabin-Less Camp

The word “camp” means different things to different people. Loners or groups? Tent or cabin? As with almost everything, the meaning you attach depends on one’s personal experience. And the meaning is changing for me.

For now, Camp Many Moons remains cabin-less. In the five years since I spent 50K for this 300-foot waterfront lot, people have often asked “When are you going to build?” As if the desire to build is a foregone conclusion.

It wasn’t foregone for me. We turned a swampy parcel that others passed by into a park-like waterfront, with emphasis more on the outdoors than on comfort. That’s what “camp” meant to me, and it was enough.

Until now.

What’s changed? Camper life gets old, especially in winter, and campers are ugly. Plus, I want family to visit and most of them want a flush toilet. (I think the compost toilet works great, but most people can’t get used to it.) The lot has been building-ready for years. The well, septic system, electricity and even the building site are ready. And, finally, so am I. Nervous, but ready.

I was actually ready two years ago but The Great Loop and a scary economy intervened. I was frustrated then but now see that the time wasn’t right. Have you noticed how that works? How something that seemed like a barrier is later seen as a blessing? Patience is so important sometimes! And for someone like me, who gets very focused once I make up my mind, also hard. Ah, well. Important things are often hard.

So, onward? We’ll see soon! Jeff and I attended a building show yesterday and we’re close to a housing plan after finding a perfect planning partner (a former general contractor) among our Huron Bay neighbors. I’m excited and scared all at once, which I hear is typical for new home-builders. The budget is daunting, of course. The economy and product availability remain a concern. We’re going to see what we can do on our own, hiring labor as needed. Jeff knows his stuff but it’s still unnerving to me. Without a general contractor, I guess I’ll be acting as one…dealing with permits, paying for laborers, etc. It’s kind of like setting off on the Great Loop. Many unknowns ahead but an adventure nonetheless! Just take the first step….

You may soon see a new choice on the blog menu called “The Build.” Meanwhile, see photos of our current cabin-less Camp Many Moons, and Jeff’s little cabin in the nearby woods, below…