My nephew joined us this weekend

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What another amazing camping experience. This weekend we went to Dan Nichols park in Salisbury, NC. 

We stayed pretty local because we had the treat of bringing my nephew, Maurice, along with us. This was his first camping experience. 

Our site was great. We lucked out and got a pull thru sight right by the lake. For some reason everyone wanted to be near the bathrooms instead (also the bathrooms were only about 30 yards from our site). Our site, while not the most level allowed me to wake up to a full view of the lake. It was so peaceful and serene. It type this now as I steal period glances out the window to watch the morning comings and goings of the birds on the water. 

It took us about an hour to set up camp. While me and the big kids worked the littles ran and played and it was wonderful to see them do so... No electronics, no toys, just them playing in the woods. 

Once we were set up we headed off to Dan Nicholas park. There is so much to do there. For only $23 all five of us explored the animal habitat, rode the train, rode the carousel, and did some

Gem mining.  We played at the playground, feed the ducks and ate a snack of nachos and cheese (at least they did...I'm still doing the vegan thing). 

When I was sure they were wore out we headed back to camp. Getting there and back took is on a nice scenic journey around the lake. It was a nice walk and I feel it satisfied my desire to hike :-)

Back at camp the big kids and I played board games while the littles played darts and argued with each other. Soon after we decided it was time to make our fire. This was not our first camping experience but was our first fire. I bought some starter logs so it was actually pretty easy to get going. The kids really enjoyed roasting weanies and marshmallows.  I also season and buttered a couple of pieces of flounder and put them on the fire. The kids said it turned out good and I believe them the way all four of them wolfed it down. I heated up my soup and grilled a couple of pieces of bread. It was delicious. 

After dinner we spent the next several hours sitting/ playing around the fire while the sun went down. I had no idea three logs (plus our toilet paper rolls and lent) could burn so long. We told stories for a while then put out the fire and went inside. We watched movies and played games for a while longer before lights out. The kids slept good and I slept as usual (constantly waking to make sure all was well). 

Campground/ RV Park Review: Barnyard RV Park, Lexington, SC

Barnyard RV Park, Lexington, SC
http://www.barnyardrvpark.com/Index.html

Although we have nothing to compare it to yet we give 3.75/5 (once we've stayed at more we may come back and update this post)

We really enjoyed this place.

Pros: The staff was extremely friendly and check in was a breeze. The site was conveniently located close to amenities such as restaurants, gas stations and entertainment. The park itself was clean and the park bathrooms were the CLEANEST public bathrooms I ever seen. Of course it is within walking distance to the awesome Barnyard Flea Market so that is a major plus.

Cons: My biggest complaint is that there are no fire pits so that means no campfire. There are not a lot of amenities at the park itself (playground, trails, etc) but I suppose the major attraction is the flea market. However, since the flea market closes at 430 it would be awesome to have some options around the park for the rest of the evening. The site wasn't family friendly (things of interest to both parents and children).

Overall, we would definitely stay at this RV park again.

First Camping Trip of 2014: Barnyard Flea Market and RV Park (Day 1 and 2)

Day 1 (2/21): The kids and I attended an RV show today right before we headed out in our RV for a weekend trip... it was probably not the best idea to see all those luxurious RVs before we piled into our 89 Chevy lol but we are at our first camp site of the year and LOVING it. We can not wait until summer!

We are parked at the Barnyard in Lexington, SC. It is adjacent to the bug flea market.  The kids and I can not wait to go explore the flea market tomorrow. The site is within walking distance to restaurants and gas station, so that is nice.

We got here just before dark so I was in a rush to get everything set up.  There was a fiasco with the water.  Apparrantly all the faucets were open so when we plugged in the water and turned it on all the faucets started spouting smelly water everywhere.  Lesson learned ;-)

We got everything set up, except for the awning (I'm hoping some avid RVer somewhere in this park can help me tomorrow) and the kids are cozy watching a movie while I type this. 

I could really get used to this!!!


Day 2 (2/22):

Today was another wonderful day.  We slept in until about 8a before we got up and leisurely started our day. Once we were out the door I took care of a few maintenance things around the RV before we headed across the street to the flea market. We had a blast at the flea market and left out of there with a bunch of random things. The market really reminded us of shopping at the market in Kingston, JA. That same feeling of excite as we moved from vendor to vendor.

The kids survived about three hours before they said no more. We came back to our RV for lunch. We enjoyed some hotdogs and chips while we played a game of Life on our picnic table. After lunch we attempted to make s'mores. They were extremely messy but delicious. After we cleaned up our sticky, marshmallowy hands and faces we headed to the duck pond to feed the ducks, geeese, and turtles before we moved inside for a movie and some more games.  The big kids played chess while me and the little one played with the magnetic darts.

Dinner was fun as pulled the electric stove eyes out to the picnic tables.  It was wonderful fixing dinner outside while the kids played beside me. The temperature was perfect, the the scene was set, and I cooked the most amazing beanie weanies out in the open air that we have ever tasted.  We also met several of our "neighbors" as many other families were enjoying the same weather and scenery we were. It was simply amazing and all I could think was I could definitely do this full time. 

We sat outside until the sun went down, then we pulled out our lantern and continued to enjoy the night air. Once it got so cold that we were shivering we decided to call it a night and relocated to the RV for the night. I am sitting here now enjoying a movie and this warm electric mattress pas as the kids doze off one by one... two down, one to go.

Tomorrow our plan is to finish the rest of the flea market that we didn't get to today and then hit the road toward home.  It's gonna take all of my strength to not pass home and just keep driving into a my life of full time RVing. I still have this summer to look forward to though :-)

on our way to the flea market... the kids reluctantly stopping to say cheese with the sun in their face

hot dogs over a game of life

s'mores

s'more fun

and even s'more fun ;-)

a little light housekeeping after lunch

some indoor games

play time while the beanie weanies cook

So proud that he climbed that tree all by himself

outdoor cooking at its finest ;-)

I rocked the mic... well actually the camera... but I still rocked it!

February 1

I have to admit that I am very proud of myself right now.  My back up camera arrived in the mail and today I conquered the installation.  Since the kids are gone this weekend I decided that I could at least take a look at the camera.

I opened the box and immediately begin trying to figure out how I could get someone to install it for a reasonable price.  I decided to check the blog world to see if someone with as little wiring/electrical experience as me had successfully completed such as task and to see if they happened to write detailed instructions on how to do it.

No such luck, but I did come across a youtube video of someone installing the monitor that I have. They made it look fairly doable so I decided to give it a try. After connected the red wire to the 10amp fuse and the black wire to the bolt I had a working monitor.  Since that was so easy I decided I would be defeated by the camera.

4 hours, many many many youtube and internet searches, and some creative wiring later I had a working camera. The only problem is that the cord that connects the camera and the monitor doesn't span the length of the rv, but that is an easy fix with a trip to Bestbuy.

So now I am patting myself on the back at a job well done. This project left me feeling confident and independent and ready to take on any challenge that comes my way.

So my interior remodel is mostly complete and now I have my back up camera. The only things left to finish are a couple of small projects and installing a new radio (unless I can come up with a creative solution).

Just several more months before our journey begins!!!

She's Perfect Under the Hood

"If she ran any better she'd be new" is what I was told by my mechanic today. He gave her an inspection and said she is ready for the road.

I am so excited and thankful.  I've been working hard on the inside trying to get her comfy. I took out the refrigerator cabinet and added shelves, I painted, I pulled up the remaining carpet, and I installed a table in the dinette area to replace the table I took out to make that area a couch.

Before the remodel

During the Remodel

RV Inspection

Today I had the RV inspected.  This great guy named Marty came out and did a very through inspection of Honey and walked me through how to use or access EVERY component on the RV.  He gave her a thumbs up for travel (Yay!) and gave me peace of mind to travel.

There are a couple of things I need to get fixed on Honey, like buying and installing vent covers and sealing some crack. I'm confident I can complete all the minor tasks that he pointed out.

I have a mechanic coming out next week and if he says all is well under the hood then we will be ready to go.  May will be here sooner than we know. So excited!

Welcome to our New Adventure!

January 6, 2014

I'm so excited to be starting this blog. Since I am publishing a blog again (remember my last one about our Jamaica adventure) it means we are preparing for another adventure. This time we are planning to fix up our old RV and hit the road.

Although we are not planning to begin this adventure until May, I want to bring you with me on this journey from the very beginning.  In addition, by me putting this out there I am being held accountable ;-)

So to begin, let me answer a few questions:

Who:
Me (Christina), my three children, and our cat.

What:
Traveling across the United States seeing what we can see how we can see it in our old Class C RV.

When:
We leave this May

Where:
We don't know all of our destinations just yet, but we plan to start this journey with a visit to our friends near Boston.

In What:
I bought an old 1990 Chevy Honey C Class RV for a very reasonable price.  When I bought it it ran great and we have had no problems with it (albeit we have only camped in it once so far).  I am starting the process of redoing the inside to make it more suitable for us and hiring mechanics to get everything else in order for us.

Why:
This is a tough one to answer.  This is something that I have been wanting to do for a while but after a recent divorce I was motivated to take action (instead of just talk about it) and pursue this goal. I think I've finally gotten over my fear to drive this big ole bus and I'm excited (and so are the kids) to hit the road. This is truly for me but I know the experience is gonna enrich the kids lives in ways I've yet to even imagine.

Our soon to be Home on the Road
This photo is from our first camping experience in Honey (Summer 2013)