Truth telling time: I did not grow up camping. Nor did my husband. Sure we each went on the occasional camp outs with our respective families when we were growing up, and I spent most summers attending summer camps in the mountains of North Carolina, where you’d camp out at least once.
But I didn’t grow up camping every weekend.
Many years into our marriage, and well after we had kids, my husband and I realized how much we liked hiking together. Again, we’d both had some limited experience hiking as kids (with families, with camp), so when our kids got old enough when we could start trekking up hills again, we went for it. We’re lucky we live in the foothills of the North Carolina mountains, so a great hike is just a short drive away.
But camping was a totally new ball game for us. So why did we decide to take the plunge? We started off tent camping with friends, and found we really enjoyed it – the campfires, the s’mores, being outside, listening to music, being away from our electronic devices. But then the rain came.
During a rare day date with my husband while the kids were in school, we had one of those great conversations about what we’d like to do “when we retire and the kids are gone.” We day dreamed about buying an RV and traveling across the country, seeing all the United States has to offer.
But the more we talked about it, the more we realized if we waited until we were retired, it might be too late. For one, the kids would be grown and (hopefully) off living lives of their own. Secondly, you never know what life is going to throw your way.
Why not live the dream now?
We decided to take the plunge and purchase our own travel trailer, and travel as much as our vacation time and school commitments would allow. So we did!
But not coming from a camping background, we were both complete newbies when it came to RV and travel trailer camping. We didn’t know how to hitch up a tow vehicle. Wait, tow vehicles have weight limits? How much can our car tow?
We didn’t know anything about gray and black water tanks. We weren’t sure about backing into sites, or what full hook up meant. We knew nothing.
YouTube became our best friend for learning how to hook things up. Pinterest is amazing for packing lists, recipe ideas and camper decor. Instagram and Facebook have such supportive communities of other campers who share ideas, tips, travel reviews. Membership clubs like Good Sam offer great campground reviews and discounts on gas, booking fees and much more.
Our local RV dealership, Bob Ledford’s Adventure Motorhomes in Greer, SC, has been an incredible resource for us – not just when we purchased our travel trailer, but beyond when we have questions on how something works and we just need someone to spell it out for us.
Websites like RVParkReviews.com and TripAdvisor.com were great about helping us compare campgrounds, with reviews from real travelers.
I share all of this with you to let you know if you don’t have a lifetime’s worth of camping experience, it’s all good! It’s why we started writing our blog, to help share some of what we’ve learned with others, just like others have shared with us.
One of my favorite things about the camping community is how helpful everyone is to each other. We’ve never had a question someone hasn’t been willing to help us answer, either in real life or online. It’s truly a wonderful group of people who love camping just like us.
We’re not full time RVers (although I love following that group on Instagram – what a bold and exciting lifestyle choice!). We’re weekend campers. We work. Our kids are in local public schools. Our kids play sports and participate in church activities. Our vacation time is limited by our employers. So we camp when we can, how we can. Sometimes it’s just taking a quick weekend trip an hour away to get outside for 48 hours.
And we try to take time to be silly – even when your kids are acting like punks at the campsite and you wonder why the heck you’re even doing all of this so they can make stupid memories anyway! (Sorry, where was I…..?!).
Maybe one day we’ll be in a position when we can travel the country for weeks at a time exploring. The sounds like a wonderful goal. But for now, we’re happy just getting away when we can, seeing what we can see.
What do you love most about the camping community? Are you a full-timer, or a weekend explorer? We’d love to know what brought you into a love of camping!
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