The Teardrop Cookout
A good celebration is in order! My husband and I bought our first house, finally settling permanently in Arizona. That’s right! Finally, homeowners. This was too good to celebrate on our own, so we knew just the thing to do. Invite our friends to camp out on our new property! The next thing we knew, the day of the cookout arrived and people started pulling up with their rigs and their teardrop trailers.
What better way to promote the party atmosphere than to encourage others to safely celebrate? Our guests are pulling in and taking a few minutes to set up while my husband gets through the first batch of burgers, both meat and vegan options. Friends invited friends, I mean all are welcome for this joyous occasion.
Ending up with more mouths to feed than we anticipated turned out not to be a problem at all. The people in the Arizona mountains sure know how to put on a good time. With the teardrops flanking our new home on the opposite end of the property, it is amazing to see how truly universal the trailers are. Some friends brought their teardrop along for kiddos naps while others knew they might consume alcoholic beverages and chose responsibility.
Once all of the guests arrived, teams gathered to take turns on the cornhole games that we spread out for all to enjoy.
While my husband finished up the batches of food on the BBQ, I facilitated the indoor lineup for everyone to come filter through and fill up their plates. I was thinking about how this same setup will be easy to duplicate for our future camping trips! Imagining the teardrops pulled in through the campsite and a buffet table strewn along the outer edge of the site. This could work!
I hear laughter filter in after I take my turn at the end of the food line and turn to look out my large front windows. I see smiles and good hearted cornhole competition. I see littles running around and hear music playing on the outdoor speaker. I see the teardrops lined up like sentinels, protecting its people but leaving room for new friends to join in.
I smell the goods of the BBQ, awaiting those that wish for seconds. I see older kids piling into the hammock. Parents are feeding young ones at the picnic table. I feel our celebration comes together and friends become family.
I feel so blessed to provide this opportunity for people of all kinds of backgrounds to feel united. A celebration of our new endeavor becomes more than just a property BBQ. It becomes a chance to relax from the pressures of daily life. To socialize and get past the normal “how do you do”. To relate on a deeper level, which is truly the reason why we go camping in the first place.
To relate with ourselves, with others, with our environment, and understand that we are more than bills and a paycheck. We escape to our teardrops and campers to live more simply and remember what it is like to live with the basics, even if we don’t have to.
I can tell others feel the same way, because passing looks like show contentment. No pressure to make conversation, but to be in the moment together. To feel comfortable in our silence. To feel the comfort in a genuine laugh. No airs or pretentious showboating. Genuine personalities coming out and feeling comfort in the fact that others are seeing our true selves.
Cookouts in the Arizona mountains are not like regular BBQs, I found out. They don’t last a couple of hours, but a whole day of festivities. People stayed out until after dark, enjoying the atmosphere and conversation. When it was time to retire for the evening, others climbed into their teardrops. I could see soft lighting in some, more likely enjoying a good movie before bed. Others belonged to families and it was well past their bedtimes.
Music still played on low as the teardrop lights went out over the next hours, one by one until there came the night silence.
If you own a teardrop already, you know exactly what I mean when I saw that the sleep was good that night. Long and deep. If you are thinking about getting a teardrop camper you might entertain the idea of renting a teardrop a couple of times before your purchase. Just to get a feel for what all is involved.
The sun came in slowly the next morning, giving a new meaning to friendship and family. As the day went on, teardrops pulled out of the property, giving us a wave farewell until next time. Yes, there will definitely be more teardrop cookouts to come.
