{Editor’s note: our 8 year-old son wanted to write his very own blog post! The following is his post for you to enjoy!)
thats a red wood tree.
this is me holding wood.
Our first Family Glamping trip, and how Good Samaritans saved the day
After months of planning, researching, test driving, dreaming and more, we FINALLY got a chance to take our new Coachmen Apex Nano bhs193 camper on its maiden overnight voyage.
To keep things as simple as possible (considering this was our first time ever doing this), we chose a state park close to home, and close to civilization. Luckily, Paris Mountain State Park in our hometown of Greenville, SC, fit the bill.
We selected site #36 – which had a slight grade to it, but was mostly flat — good for our first time trying to get the camper level. But before we jump into how much fun we had camping, we should back up and share what we learned before we ever rolled into the campsite. Continue reading “Our first Family Glamping trip, and how Good Samaritans saved the day”
Best RV camping online resources
If you’re new(ish) to this RV camping thing like we are, you might find yourself spending hours at a time surfing the Internet trying to compile the best places for trusted advice and how-to tutorials. Even if you’re a seasoned camping veteran, it never hurts to discover new methods and tricks to make your RV life even more fun.
We compiled a list of top online resources we consistently click on to help us learn the RV camping ropes. Bookmark these sites so you can quickly reference them the next time you need to find an answer to a camping question! Continue reading “Best RV camping online resources”
It’s all happening! We found our first camper…
Finally, after months of visiting local dealerships, and scouring websites, forums, Pinterest and books, we think we found the one. Our First Camper.
I honestly don’t remember if I was this happy when we closed on our first house. Maybe I was. But I can tell you there was definitely happy dancing going on in the parking lot of the RV dealership when we decided this was going to be our first camper home.
We decided on a (used) 2017 Coachmen Apex Nano 193bhs. Continue reading “It’s all happening! We found our first camper…”
Our Travel Trailer Wish List
So, we’re not-so-patiently waiting for the arrival of our first travel trailer! We’ve ordered the one we want through a local dealership, and now we’re just waiting on it to come in. (Is it here yet? Is it here yet? Is it here YET?!).
We’ve been given an estimate of January 2017 for our travel trailer to arrive. I fully expect us to be waiting at the dealership with balloons and a cake to help make it feel more welcome when it gets to us!
In the meantime, Gib and I are making wish lists galore of things we want to have in our travel trailer. Obviously, there’s a LOT we need to get, and we’re already plunking down a chunk of change just investing in the trailer alone.
So we’re trying to be smart and not blow our entire vacation budget in one fell swoop by looking for things we know we need for our first trips, and things we can purchase down the road.
Happy 8th Birthday to our Youngest Family Glamper!
Happy birthday to the youngest in our Family Glamper crew. Our little guy turns 8 today – which is so hard to believe! It’s true what they say, “The days are long, but the years are short.”
This guy is full of life, overflowing with love of adventure. I pray he always keeps that as he grows.
In honor of his birthday, I “interviewed” him on what he likes most about camping, hiking and adventuring. Here’s what he had to say:
How old are you today? 8
Where is your favorite place to hike? Table Rock State Park
Why is that your favorite? “Because I was so happy when I made it up to the top of Table Rock. You could see out so far!”
What’s your favorite camping food? Potato chips
What is your favorite thing about hiking and camping? “Going around nature, and climbing! Climbing is my favorite.”
If you could travel anywhere to hike, where would you go? The Himalayas (interesting choice, we thought!)
What are you most looking forward to when we get our new travel trailer? Sleeping in the bunk beds!
What do you want to be when you grow up? “A person that digs up dinosaurs and looks at their bones.” (aka – an archeologist)
What is your favorite memory of one of our past camping trips? Eating dinner in the car when it poured down rain. (Please note: this was NOT mom’s favorite memory!).
What tip would you give other kids who want to hike and camp?
He said, “Encourage yourself to hike more, even when your legs are tired, because if you keep going, you will see something beautiful at the top.”
No truer words spoken, son. We wish you the happiest of birthdays, and can’t wait to see what the next year of adventure holds for you!
Camp Site Review: Table Rock State Park
Happy Wednesday, folks! We don’t know about you, but we’re already in the throes of planning out our camping trips for 2017. (This is in part due to how fast the state park camp sites fill up in North Carolina and South Carolina, and also because we have to submit vacation days off requests, work around school calendars, etc.).
We try to do a ton of research on sites like ReserveAmerica, TripAdvisor and the plain, ole Internet to try to find camp sites that are 1) within driving distance from us in Greenville, S.C., and 2) have good outdoor activities for us – be it hiking, swimming in the lake, kayaking, etc.
We thought we’d start a new series here on The Family Glampers to review the camp sites we visit to provide another resource for YOU as you’re planning your next trip. First up: Table Rock State Park in Pickens, S.C.
Go take a hike to Rainbow Falls
One of the most amazing things about living in Greenville, SC, is how close we are to some incredible hiking trails.
Forget access to the Appalachian Trail (which runs right above our neck of the woods), there are dozens of great day hikes in our area, most of which are moderate enough for the whole family to enjoy.
We’re working on a post of our Top 10 S.C. day hikes for families which we will post soon! But one hike to get you started is Rainbow Falls in Jones Gap State Park in Marietta, SC.
Camping in the Rain
You may wonder what got us started on the journey to become glampers? And I’m here to tell you. Rain. Rain is what started this whole journey.
You see, I LOVE the outdoors. I like camping in the woods, I love exploring new hiking trails, I adore sitting around a campfire with my family.
But I do NOT like camping in the rain. And for the first couple of years we started out camping as a family, it seemed Mother Nature was determined to literally rain on our parade.
Camper shopping time
It’s a beautiful fall Saturday here in S.C. – a perfect day to go camper shopping! We spoke to a few sales associates at two different RV stores in the area, and narrowed down some options we might like to consider.
Talk about overwhelming! First of all, when we first walked in to the first place, we were completely bowled over by the range of RVs and campers on the lot. From your $500,000 tour busses to the most basic of pop-ups, it was all there.
Not going to lie. We took a few minutes to walk onto one of the mac daddy tour busses and look around. I could definitely get used to that kind of style. A girl can dream, right?