Mother And Daughter Explore Love Of Camping, RVing

Stephanie Adair said she and her family didn’t even have a tent the first time they went camping together. Rather than selecting a different way to entertain themselves, she said, they opted to improvise.

“About 1989, we went to Home Depot, got PVC pipe, found an old Army tent and camped in the front yard,” said Adair, 41, of McDonough. “It was fun because it was bonding with your other cousins. Little by little, it kind of stopped along the way because the kids were growing up. We would have family campouts once a year on Memorial Day weekend or Labor Day weekend. I remember those because we all had tents, and we all shared food.”

Those early experiences eventually led to a string of camping trips for Adair and her mother, Esther Lazar, 69, of McDonough.

Adair is a sales assistant who works in Ellenwood. Lazar, a retired teacher, is involved in an after-school program at Cotton Indian Elementary School.

Adair said camping excursions with her mom kicked into high gear in 2008.

“After the family campouts, Mom retired and moved to Georgia,” said Adair. “I was like, there are so many wonderful state parks in Georgia. Let’s go camping. I looked up High Falls State Park in Georgia. We bought two domed tents, and went camping.”

“We grew up in the high desert in California,” she added. “Then we came to Georgia and saw all the trees, the lakes and rivers. California was just hot and dry. It was just a different feeling in Georgia.”

Adair said while she and her mom enjoyed visiting Georgia parks, they didn’t necessarily agree on the best method for camping.

“I was in my 30s and was tired of being on the grass with a cot for my dog,” said Adair. “So, I went on the hunt for a pop-up. Mom likes the open-tent situation of a pop-up, and I like being off the ground. “So we looked on the Internet and found a dealer in Macon. We found a $1,300 Coleman pop-up camper.”

Read the full article from Henry County Times here.