Category: RVing with Grand Kids
Stairs: The Hidden Danger In RVs
November 30, 2012 by Cynthia Baum · 4 Comments
The day after Thanksgiving, the full day of eating whatever we want; we set out for a fun weekend of camping at the beach. The beach camp spot my aunt reserved this year was at Leo Carrillo State Beach, a scenic stretch of canyon leading to gorgeous coastline, where the Santa Monica Mountains meet the Pacific Ocean. You access it from the Pacific Coast Highway, just south of where we live. My dear aunt was only one day late in reserving our typical spot at Carpinteria State Beach and, lo and behold, there were no spots left! So we settled for second best: Leo Carrillo, where I grew up camping and loving every second of it. Leo Carrillo is just off a narrow, windy stretch of highway along the coast with no bike lane, so bicycling with our kids in tow to the campsite was out of the question (although we did enjoy riding around the campground and over to the beach side)! We packed up our bikes and set off with the RV and a handful of tents for two nights at Leo Carrillo State Beach... [Read more...]
Georgia on My Mind: Cumberland Island Turns 40
November 28, 2012 by Rex Vogel · Leave a Comment
Cumberland Island National Seashore recently (October 23) celebrated its 40th anniversary. Access to Cumberland Island is by a concession operated passenger ferry, The Cumberland Lady. © Rex Vogel, all rights reserved When President Richard Nixon signed federal legislation creating the national seashore off the coast of Georgia in October 1972, it culminated what Park Service officials said was “a long and complex process of obtaining support from various individuals and groups to make Georgia’s largest barrier island one of America’s national parks, reports nationalparkstraveler.com.” Before the National Park Service acquired most of the island for a national seashore, 90 percent of it was the private domain of Lucy and Thomas Carnegie (brother of Andrew) and their descendants. The Carnegies bought the island in the 1880s and built five mansions on it during the next two decades. The most superb house was the opulent 59-room, Queen Anne-style Dungeness on the island’s... [Read more...]
Book Review – Hidden Magic of Walt Disney World
November 26, 2012 by Canadianladybug · Leave a Comment
When you travel with your RV, you sometimes plan where you will end up. And one of the places we would love to bring our children is definitively Walt Disney World. My husband and I dream of the day where we can surprise the kids with an extended trip to Florida and explorations to places like Walt Disney World. I wish I would know when this could happen. I am hoping in a near future. In the meantime, we plan places to visit and where to stay. We have found a very reasonable place to stay for an extended period of time. We just need to figure out when we will go now. As part of our planning, I stumbled on an interesting book which highlights the secrets of Walt Disney World. Here’s my review of it. The Hidden magic of Walt Disney Wold – Over 600 secrets of the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom Written by Susan Veness Published at F+W Media About the book Sure, it’s the Happiest Place on Earth, but how much do... [Read more...]
Black Friday Camping with an RV
November 21, 2012 by Cynthia Baum · Leave a Comment
Many folks enjoy getting killer deals the day after Thanksgiving. In fact, some will go to so much trouble as to camp outside of particular stores days in advance in order to get a good spot. While some will sit in a chair, others will actually pop-up a tent and get themselves extra comfortable since they figure they will be spending lots of time waiting, including at least one night there. They do this in order to get the first pick of all the amazing deals at a given store, and possibly even come up on a freebie or two. Some 34 percent of American consumers plan to shop on Black Friday, the beginning of the hectic Christmas shopping season, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers. Depending on their shopping list, people will camp outside of Walmart, Best Buy, Target, or any other store that offers the best deals on the items they desire. More often than not, stores will offer special savings and free stuff for the first 25 (or more) people in line. The... [Read more...]
Giving Thanks On the Road
November 21, 2012 by Diane Berry · Leave a Comment
Fall can be the most beautiful time of the year to camp. The seasons are changing and campgrounds and RV parks are not as packed with vacationers as they may be during summer months. If you are fortunate enough to have the time for travel in late November, you could have the unique experience of celebrating Thanksgiving on the road. However, preparing an entire Thanksgiving feast in a camper or RV can be a daunting task and rife with unique complications. If you travel in a large vehicle with a full size oven, your solution may be obvious and your problems, minimal. However, if you are a tent camper or have a smaller travel trailer, as we do, you could experience multiple issues in attempting to achieve your usual spread. Our small 18’ camper certainly contains an adequate kitchen area to meet our usual camping needs: a two burner stove, a small sink and a refrigerator. Indeed, it feels luxurious after many years of tent camping. However, we have no oven in which to cook the turkey. If... [Read more...]
Plowing for Diamonds in Arkansas
November 20, 2012 by Rex Vogel · 2 Comments
Crater of Diamonds State Park is the world’s only diamond-producing site open to the public. On average, two diamonds are found each day at the park. The state park’s policy is finder-keepers. What park visitors find is theirs to keep. Diamonds come in all colors of the rainbow. The colors found at the Crater of Diamonds are white, brown, and yellow, in that order. The search area at the Crater of Diamonds State Park is a 37 ½-acre plowed field, the eroded surface of the eighth largest diamond-bearing deposit in the world in surface area. Why plow the search field at the diamond mine? The practice of plowing the diamond field goes back to the earliest days of commercial diamond mining, according to Park Interpreter Margi Jenks. In the early 1900s miners used a mule team and farming plow to dig trenches. After tourism began in the 1950s, Millar’s Crater of Diamonds used a road grader to turn over the dirt on what is now the north end of the present diamond search area. Today’s... [Read more...]
What Are You Thankful For?
November 19, 2012 by Cynthia Baum · 7 Comments
What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving? How do you remember those you have loved and lost? How do you keep their memory alive? Around this time of year, with holidays fast approaching and family making their arrivals, is when I really start remembering and missing the loved ones I have lost. I am not sure if it is because of the holidays and having family around a lot or if it is because today is my late father’s birthday: probably a combination of the two. The way that I remember him and all those who I have lost over the years is to do things that remind me of them and of who they were. Whether that includes seeing the Nutcracker ballet and accompanying symphony in their memory, because he had always wanted to take us kids (and never did), or going golfing in the rain because you have sweet memories of doing just that with them when they were here. There are so many things you can do, including the more traditional outing of going to the cemetery with flowers. In... [Read more...]
Camping with Kids II
November 15, 2012 by Cynthia Baum · Leave a Comment
Petting zoos, swimming pools, water parks, play structures, and so many more amenities are offered at numerous KOA campgrounds across the nation. These Kampgrounds of America (KOA) are the ultimate family-friendly campgrounds that also have unbeatable specials, such as camp one night, get the next night for free. This is an especially common promotion at the local KOA we frequent. One of the local Moms groups I am involved in actually plans their bi-annual camp outs around this exact deal. It turns into a weekend-long play date! With fun teepees to sleep in and lots of other family-friendly options, including an exhilarating zip line, cozy cabins, and some kid-friendly play structures such as climbing walls, parents can look forward to taking their kids camping at such sensational campgrounds. Knowing how important it is for kids to get outdoors with their parents, KOA’s have even been known to offer free camping just for kids for a given weekend. For example, this year for... [Read more...]
First Backpacking Adventure Continued…
November 14, 2012 by Cynthia Baum · 4 Comments
When I left off with our very first backpacking adventure, we were just turning in for the night. Picking up where I left off… My family of four all slept in one queen-sized sleeping bag that night—not the best idea we ever had. With the two adults on the ends and two little ones in between us, we didn’t keep each other warmer, as we had originally thought. Instead, we just didn’t have enough room and were waking each other up all night, with even the smallest of movements. The air inside the tent was so cold that any skin exposed (which was basically just our faces), was frostbitten. Even sleeping with all of our snow clothes, hats, gloves, and jackets still on, inside the sleeping bag, we were still freezing! By morning, we were all a bit grumpy, tired, sore, and frozen-stiff. While cooking our oatmeal, we got some hot dogs in a pan, ready to go on the stove next, with an inch of water just barely covering them. By the time the oatmeal was cooked and ready... [Read more...]
Thanksgiving Traditions
November 9, 2012 by Cynthia Baum · 1 Comment
How do you spend your Thanksgiving weekend? Camping in your RV, at the beach, in the mountains, or elsewhere? Do you spend it with extended family or close friends? My family has some fantastic Thanksgiving traditions, including a 33-mile bike ride, a camp-out on the beach in the RV, basketball and chess tournaments, followed by a competitive race on the bike ride home (for another 33 miles). The weekend of fun begins on Thanksgiving Day when we meet up for a delicious turkey dinner, complete with tons of mouth-watering homemade side dishes. My younger sister famously bakes these “Out-Of-This-World” Pecan and Pumpkin pies and we finish off the last hours of daylight with a basketball game at a nearby park, while the annual Chess Tournament takes us into the wee hours of the night. The following morning, we get up early and take a brisk 33-mile bike ride, along the scenic Southern California coastline, to Carpinteria State Beach. Those who choose not to ride,... [Read more...]
