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The Wandering Woods

  • Sprinter Conversion
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Gear Reviews

Do Yourself a Favor: Get a Freshette

February 13, 2016 Betsy Woods

The topic of female urinary directors (FUD) is something that's often discussed with amusement and comments about how much women must want to be like men to create a device to enable them to stand and pee like their opposite gender counterparts. Laugh all you want, but hell yeah I want to be able to stand and pee with minimal exposure when we're backpacking in zero degree weather, or when we're traveling and I go into a disgusting bathroom with overflowing toilets. Incase you're completely unfamiliar with these devices, they're all basically the same: some sort of funnel with a spout that allows you to remain standing without having to drop your pants if you don't wish to. I can't tell you how many times I've been traveling and had a bus stop for a bathroom break in the middle of nowhere without any good vegetation to hide behind. All the guys get out and all they have to do is face away to discretely relieve themselves, while all the women are stuck holding it and praying for better luck at the next stop. Get an FUD and problem solved. Fortunately, Justin wasn't a laugher and gave me my first, and so far only FUD. He did a lot of research and concluded that the Freshette was the best way to go, and it's been pretty darn awesome. Even if it hadn't worked well I think I would still have to be fond of mine since Justin used it as part of his proposal... it's a long story. Because of that I feel that I should be entitled to Freshettes for life - like the company should use the story for advertising purposes and give me Freshettes in payment. I can't imagine that there's anyone else out there who got proposed to with a Freshette. If there is, they probably said no! But obviously I'm a special kind of crazy. After receiving it I got a little nervous that I'd have issues using it and end up in a very uncomfortable situation. As such, I decided that giving it a few trial runs at home before taking it backpacking was a must. Fortunately I've had nothing but success and find it pretty easy to use, but I have read some reviews where the reviewer complained that they got splashed. I can see that being a possibility if you don't get it flush up against your skin, or if you pee on a really solid surface like a rock which would cause a lot of splattering instead of letting the pee soak in right away. Sorry if this is getting a bit gross - I'm an ER nurse so just about any topic is table conversation for me! Probably time to wrap this up before you're screaming TMI. In my opinion the ability to use an FUD in a myriad of situations from outdoor sports to travel and beyond makes these handy little devices something that every woman should at least consider adding to their gear stash. There are a number of different ones out there, so go do some research to find out which one is right for you. You can thank me later. 

Backpacking With The Fly Creek UL3 Tent →

@wandering.woods

Is it sad that one of my first thoughts upon waking is how happy I am that it's a new day so I can eat another gummy vitamin? 😂 That has nothing to do with this photo, just thought I'd put that out there.

This photo is yet another from Big Sur and documents the first time we've simultaneously had ocean and campfire views out the back of the van. It's something we could get pretty used to #parkedinparadise
Stormy sea views along Highway 1 from our Big Sur adventure last weekend. The first time Justin and I drove Highway 1 to Big Sur was a totally spontaneous trip. We were dating at the time and he was in med school and had a little time off for some sort of break or holiday. While we were hanging out that evening, Justin said that we should make the most of his freedom and take a road trip. We pulled out a map and after a few minutes decided six hours to Big Sur sounded pretty good. I went home and got some food and my sleeping bag while Justin packed the car and then off we went with no plans aside from finding a campground. When we got too tired to drive, we slept in a Wal-Mart parking lot in the wee hours of the morning. When we woke up, I found out I'd passed my nursing boards which I'd been pretty sure I'd failed leading to lots of tears and dramatic statements 😁 For that reason and many others, Big Sur will always be a memorable place for me. The moral of this long story is that you should never be afraid to go on spontaneous adventures! Sometimes they turn out to be the best ones.
When your jacket matches the ocean 😍 We stopped at this pullout overlooking the most amazing beach during our Big Sur adventure this weekend. It's hard to see in this photo, but there's actually a waterfall flowing onto the beach and the ocean was such a surreal color of blue. The beach appeared to be private property with a gated road leading down to the beach where a very neatly spaced row of palm trees made us wonder if there used to be a house there. Can you imagine? What would be the view from your dream house?
Ocean and campfire views out the back of the van = a perfect way to spend the weekend. When Justin and I were dating we took a spontaneous road trip to Big Sur and drove by the most incredible campground perched along the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean. It was completely full so we weren't able to camp, but we've never forgotten about it. Well, this weekend, seven years later, our wish to camp there came true and it was every bit as amazing as we thought it would be 😊

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{all photographs copyright of Justin + Betsy unless explicitly stated}