Camping by the Sea-arkiv

Here in our motorhome in Kungshamn, the countdown has begun. Not for all our motorhome trips, but perhaps for the last time we come here to Kungshamn this season. In our LVL² I meet silence, my thoughts, and everyday moments that turn into memories – with the coffee cup by my side, the sea outside, and the words that always follow.

Läs det här inlägget på svenska → Husbil Kungshamn – dagar av stillhet, maneter och skaldjur

Morning in the motorhome in Kungshamn

This morning I woke up in Kungshamn. The coffee was, as always, by my side while the rest of the family in the motorhome was still asleep. I love these moments when I’m awake all by myself in the motorhome and nothing, or no one, disturbs me while my fingers move across the keyboard.

It fills me with peace. Solitude is not loneliness – it’s a moment with myself and all that lives inside me: my thoughts, my feelings, and the stillness of waking up together with the words. Just me, the coffee – and you, reading this. It warms my heart that so many of you stop by here. Imagine, little me, writing things that others actually want to read.

Performance anxiety knocking on the door

When I only wrote in Swedish, there weren’t that many visitors. Now you are more, mostly from the USA but also from other parts of the world. It brings me joy – but also a small fear. An anxiety. The struggle to perform sneaks in.

What do you want to read about? Do I write well enough?
And then I realize – those are not the right thoughts. Because I am me, and I write best when I write with my own words. Performance anxiety only makes me worse. Therefore, I lean back and choose instead to feel grateful that so many of you read, even in English.

Bath memories from the motorhome in Kungshamn

We usually come here a few times a year. At Wiggersvik I have gone swimming late into autumn and very early in spring. One year, the water was only 4.8 degrees Celsius. A man sitting in a boat shouted that he thought I was brave. Maybe brave, but when you do it often it just feels natural.

Yesterday, as we walked down to the jetties, I saw that there would be no swim for me. The water was full of red jellyfish glowing angrily. I’m scared of them. If I were to swim among those stinging creatures, then I would truly test my courage. At the same time, I admit – here I’m a coward. A swim would have been refreshing and wonderful, but I didn’t dare.

Also read: Hanatorp Camping and ADHD – morning by the lake and the Law of Jante

A seafood evening and a lesson learned

Last night my husband and I sat outside. We set the table with crayfish, prawns, toasted bread and mayonnaise. For me, crayfish – I admit I’m a bit lazy, I don’t have the patience to peel small prawns. The prawns went to my husband, who has that patience.

We bought pre-packaged prawns and crayfish at Citygross. Usually, we’ve always gone to the fresh counter to order over the counter. I admit, I had a prejudice. I thought those pre-packed paper bags contained the seafood that wasn’t good enough for the counter. That the prawns wouldn’t be as fresh.

But I was proven wrong. I got a lesson. Because my prejudiced thoughts turned out to be false. Moreover, the prawns and crayfish were of excellent quality. One or two crayfish may have been overcooked, but most were firm and delicious. A small reminder to myself not to judge too quickly.

Evening by the sea

It was colder than the evenings before this weekend in the motorhome. I sat wrapped in a blanket and wished I had been wise enough to take a picture of the sea. The water rocked in long, soft movements – almost like a meditation. Clouds, rays of sunlight and seagulls turned the surroundings into a living painting.

Here in Kungshamn, autumn is already more visible than at home. The leaves glow in yellow and red, and the trees are bathing in color. I think it has all gone far too quickly. Still, it is beautiful. Summer already feels far away.

Read more about our travels in the category Motorhome Life

Reflection

Kungshamn became yet another journey that stayed with me. A place where I had to face both my fear of jellyfish and my prejudice about prawns in a paper bag. The sea swaying, autumn coloring the trees, and in the motorhome I found my moment with words. It is precisely these moments that make me want to keep writing, even when performance anxiety tries to sneak in.

AHA – between the lines

It’s not always the sea or the place itself that matters. It’s the meeting with myself that happens there. When the crayfish surprised me with their quality, when I chickened out in front of the jellyfish, or when the coffee tasted extra good in solitude – that was what mattered. It was never just Kungshamn, it was always me in the meeting with Kungshamn.

My voice – between the lines

I see myself here in the motorhome, with my coffee, my keyboard and the sea outside. I worry about not writing well enough, but at the same time I know that words carry best when they are my own. Between the lines I hear a pride that I dare to be myself, even in the small words. I doubt, but I don’t give up. And maybe that is why I keep going.

Carina Ikonen Nilsson

Yesterday has already rested in history, tomorrow waits further ahead. But right now – this is where life happens.
– Carina Ikonen Nilsson