Obsessing about all these choices got me thinking about my best friend in 6th grade (Smokey Mountains). We spent the night at her grandparents and enjoyed the afternoon swinging on grapevines (from one side of the ravine to the other) and picking teaberry leaves. We had dinner on the screened in porch - homemade bread and watermelon- which was just about the best meal I had ever had. The bedroom was wallpapered in newspaper - mostly the funny pages. Talk about bedtime reading. Going to the bathroom at night was exciting because we got to go outside - to the outhouse. They did have running water though - a very long pipe connected to a natural spring trickled in the kitchen sink 24-7, then ran out through the floor of the house and on down the hill. I didn't ask where they showered.
We had regular plumbing ( 1 small bathroom for 6 people) but we kids preferred the river. We used to take our shampoo, soap and razor down to the river in the summer. You haven't lived until you sat on a rock washing your hair while schools of minnows tickle your ankles. That water was so cold that 4 hours later your skin would still feel cold to the touch. Makes me kind of homesick.