I'll admit, I've been camping a lot less since I started having children. I never meant for that to happen.
But, well, I'm pretty sure I know why.
The first trip with my eldest was well-planned. We even opted for car-camping instead of backpacking. We had a lovely dinner, watched the sunset over the mountains and off to bed. At 2 a.m. we were awakened by our daughter vomiting all over us AND our sleeping bags. Had it been just us, well, I'm guessing we would have stayed. But, wet and smelly sleeping bags wouldn't cut it. So, we packed up in the dark and drove an hour home.
The second camping effors were pseudo back-packing trips (e.g. we carried our stuff for a mile). No vomit on this trip. But, the only way my daughter would sleep was on top of my head. Literally. Naturally, I woke (truthfully, I neer even slept) with a migraine and a stiff neck.
Third trip: repeat of second.
Fourth trip: I declared that for some time going forward camping would be a father-daughter thing.
Fortunately, we have had a couple of successful efforts now. Thank goodness. Because, when it works, camping really is fun.
But, now little Miss Goo-Goo-Pants has entered the picture, so I'm guessing...just guessing (the terrible sleep patterns, the put-every-in-thy-mouth-mantra, the seek-danger-attitude are just a few of my cues)...we might be in for some camping bumps again.
In any event, I'm very excited to get one of these very cool Mobile Foodie Organic Spice Kit for our next camping trip. We love to cook when we are camping. To us, sitting down and having yummy food in the middle of the no where is a really cool feeling. But, packing the right things for this isn't always easy -- and, now we can be certain we'll have the right spices for whatever we cook (e.g. whatever we catch!) on the trail.
The spice kits are available in four different flavors...a general "survival" kit which includes a little of all the most-common spices; Mexican, Thai and Indian.
The Mobile Food Organic Spice Kits are made in New York City by a team of developmentally and other mentally challenged adults, under the supervision of professionals training in working with the mentally challenged, at the Manhattan packaging and assembly workshop of the nonprofits AHRC.
AHRC, a nationwide 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, was founded to support developmentally disabled children and adults. The organization currently offers adults in this population the opportunity to be gainfully employed in various ways. This allows them not only a sense of accomplishment and the opportunity to contribute to their own support, but a place to build an ongoing, daily community and the accompanying sense of place.
All the herbs and spices in the kits are USDA-certified organic (not including the wasabi, which is so expensive in organic form that the kit would be prohibitively expensive itself), and come from a farming co-op in Oregon that is dedicated to sustainable farming practices. At this point the Tabasco and soy sauce in the kit are conventional, but that will change at the earliest opportunity. In the meantime...
By buying a Mobile Foodie Organic Spice Kit, you are supporting not only sustainable, organic farming practices, but also the gainful employment and sense of well-being of the disabled adults who made it.
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