Twamping (The Ultimate Camping Trip)

At 10 a.m. on Friday, July 30, five prominent DMV Twitter users embarked on the adventure of a lifetime. Twamping.

You read that right. Twitter + Camping.

Now, “what stays in the woods stays in the woods” (inside joke) but I did want to give a quick overview of the trip and some of the lessons learned.

The explorers included myself (@alexpriest), @sisarina, @charswann, @swannrmonavie, @aishajcreative, and @baileycuddles. We boarded two tightly packed vehicles with enough food to feed an army, chairs for everyone including the pup, and tents to sleep 14 people (no kidding). The journey began.

After a super-fun, totally rockin’ car-ride, completely with the noxious scents of darling @baileycuddles (he was definitely feeling whatever he ate the night before–we all suffered), we arrived at our campsite, selected by @sisarina. It was perfect. We managed to be the only ones in our entire neck of the woods–literally–and it was, to say the least, a picturesque spot.

The trip was an absolute blast. We got to know each other quite well, and in my case, I know I learned a fair bit about myself too. I learned how to use my new DSLR a little better, for example (as seen in my photos in this post, and on my Flickr set page). But more than that, I learned a little about how I’m perceived by others, and began to look at my fellow travelers in a new light.

Before this trip, I’d seen my “Twitter friends,” as I affectionally call them, as great online friends and networking friends, but hadn’t always been able to look deeper and see who they really were. In some cases (not all!), I had let my age get in the way of a real friendship (despite some of my recent writing on similar issues). In recent months, particularly on this trip, I began to look deeper at these amazing, amazing friends I’ve found and realized that I have something truly special.

In a lot of ways, it feels like overcoming issues with body image. My friend @SpringMelanie has been tackling issues of body image recently on her blog and it’s gotten me thinking about the way I look at myself and my friends around me. I’ve begun looking beyond titles, jobs, ages, and locations, and looking at who exactly the person is that I’m tweeting, chatting, and spending time with at all these happy hours and networking events. People like @swannrmonavie (Rahiem Swann) and @charswann (Charlotte Swann, below), who are, without a doubt, some of the nicest, wisest, and most incredible friends I’ve ever had the privilege to know.

This post, and all my ranting and raving, can’t even begin to explain how much fun I had on this weekend trip. It was amazing to set aside the technology, the phones, and even the clocks (for an entire afternoon, we thought it was three hours later than it actually was, thanks to @sisarina misreading military time on her camera). And it was great connecting with four other people (and one adorable puppy) who I’d met entirely online in such a deep and meaningful way. Thank you all so much for a wonderful weekend, and I can’t wait for our next twamping trip. #SMCampers for the win!

Now, time to get some rest. Check out all the rest of my photos from the trip on my Flickr set page.