Glamping – Urban Dictionary defines as “to camp in style, comfort, and/or luxury while still experiencing the great outdoors.”

In the scenario below, well-known among girl campers, surely, I’m glamping:

Camping with a group of women and everyone has beautifully decorated trailers with themes and throw pillows and twinkle lights. Gathering in a group at a campground with full hookups – maybe a pool. Activities are planned – wine tasting, dress-up nights, crafting. Or a dinner creek-side complete with table linens, candelabra, china and silver. How chic!

But what if you take away the crafts and costumes and activities? Are we still glamping if we just have fancy decorations and full hookups?

And what if I don’t have a decorating bone in my body, and the camper looks pretty much the way it did coming off the factory assembly line? Let’s say I’m in an RV park with full hookups with a bunch of girl campers. I have all the electricity and water I need. I’ve got comfort, and some might even say luxury. So, I’m still glamping, right?

When I was a kid, family camping trips were what we now refer to as “boondocking” or “dry camping.” We would drive out to the middle of nowhere, park in a circle or cluster, pull out the motorcycles or horseshoes, and spend the weekend enjoying the great outdoors without numbered sites or hookups or rules (other than those my grandma imparted). But, most of us had pop up trailers or campers or motorhomes, so maybe we were, in a way, glamping. I mean, we had beds to sleep in and water in tanks that we could pump into the sink or toilet. My friend Manya says as long as she has her own toilet, she is glamping. So perhaps glamping is anything in a recreational vehicle?

Now consider this. At one of my first girl campouts, a gal brought a big canvas prairie tent and added fancy lights and built her brass bed frame inside with an air mattress. She didn’t have a bathroom, but she sure had a glamorous set-up! Or, how about the vintage trailer rally with Beverly’s Aristocrats Anonymous group. Those little beauties mostly don’t have bathrooms, but when they get together, they sure glam up a place! Talk about style!