Last Updated on November 5, 2025 by Fadra Nally
At seven years old, I’m starting to realize my son is spoiled. I don’t mean in a disciplinary way. He has manners and is generally polite. He also has a lot of stuff but let’s face it – that’s the plight of the only child.
When I say “spoiled,” I’m realizing that he hasn’t been exposed to much outside of his comfort zone. And it definitely shows. It’s a big part of why I plan to devote at least one day a week to take him on a field trip to explore or discover something new. And this past weekend, we were able to get a head start on the idea.
The entire family headed out on our first real camping trip to the Sea Pirate Campground in West Creek, New Jersey. It was Evan’s first experience roughing it and I had to say it took a little time for him to adjust.
Upon checking in, we were given a map of the campground, a key card for the gate, and the keys to our cabin.
That’s right. I said CABIN. We were “roughing it” with a small cabin complete with air conditioning, indoor plumbing (yes, a toilet, bath, and shower), small kitchenette, and enough space for six people to sleep (not including our dog).
And you know what Evan said?
Mommy, how do people LIVE like this?
This is when I realized I might have fallen down on some aspects of parenting. So I eased him into the camp lifestyle.
We ate french fries at the onsite restaurant.
We swam in the nearby swimming pool.
And we hung out each night with my friend Gina and two of her daughters while we learned the art of perfectly toasting a marshmallow (and Evan discovered an incessant need to throw things into the campfire).
On Saturday morning, we awoke, ready for the real purpose of our trip: an adventure to Tuckerton Seaport for the Privateers & Pirates Festival. As I mentioned last week, we have a long history with pirating so I was hoping Evan would embrace the day.
From the looks of it, I’d say he did.
And he did learn quite a few lessons along the way like…
1. The Tuckerton Lighthouse is NOT the original lighthouse (the first one fell into the ocean).
2. The lighthouse was actually on an island called Tucker’s Island (aka Sea Haven) which is now COMPLETELY GONE (under water).
3. The oil needed for the lighthouse weighed 22 pounds, which is very heavy for a 7 year old.
4. He would probably be a much more stable surfer than I would.
5. Boats are still made by hand, right on site.
6. Cannonballs can make smoke rings.
7. Little boys don’t always like crafts. Unless you can make your own pirate hook.
8. Mommy has a thing for goats.
And finally…
9. Spending a weekend with family and friends is not so bad after all.
By the end of the weekend, God’s honest truth, Evan turned to me and said:
Mommy, I think I could live like this. I didn’t even really miss video games.
Maybe I’m starting to get the hang of this parenting thing.
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of the Tuckerton Seaport. This program is in partnership with Real Mom Media (www.RealMomMedia.com). All opinions are my own. Also, the staff at both Tuckerton Seaport and Sea Pirate Campground were so friendly and accommodating that I wanted to give them a special thank you for the weekend!
Also, a special thank you to Partypalooza who provided not only a gorgeous beach bag for mom, but fun snacks and goodies to get us ready for our pirate adventures!
It looks like a fun time was had by all. Great piece.
Glad you liked it. Even though we had all the comforts of home, I still felt like I unplugged. I need to do more of this!!