Category: Camping

Pop-up Camping in Florida Fall

As we enter the Fall season, our family has a new tradition this year of gearing up to go pop-up camping. The cooler air, coupled with the reality we haven’t taken enough vacation days and need to use them before end of year, gets us motivated to explore and enjoy a Florida Fall.

Our inaugural Fall camping trip took us to Westgate River Ranch – out in the sticks of Florida in East Polk County. You drive, for what seems an eternity, off I-95 inland across flats of sod farms and cow pastures. It is rare in Florida to travel across terrain that isn’t littered with fast food chains or housing developments – we were getting well into the sticks. The resort was a little oasis, complete with a small swimming pool, a large camping area, an amazing BBQ joint, and one hell of a Saturday night rodeo. Evie got to pet animals, cheer on the bucking broncos at the rodeo, and play in the large field next to our campsite. I strapped her in on the back of my bike and we rode for miles checking out the scenery. She even picked out an orange cowboy hat at the general store! Chad fished a bit and even contemplated a go at trap and skeet. We enjoyed the experience and will definitely go back. Next time, we will stay in the main RV area and not the general camping area. The general camping area is right next to the trap and skeet range and the bathrooms were gross. The rodeo experience alone is worth making the trip out to River Ranch, it was one of the most authentically American events I have ever experienced. Evelyn, Chad and I had a ball. I left the experience having thoroughly enjoyed myself, but also feeling thankful to live in America.

Our second trip of the season led us to Jetty Park. Uncle Brian invited us along. Unlike River Ranch, it was, without a doubt, one of the toughest weekends on record. Anyone who has experienced a toddler knows that sometimes, they are just…. NOT NICE. Evie decided this was her weekend to bundle up all the frustration one toddler could possess, and she unleashed it on us a good portion of the weekend. At one point, I begged Chad to take us home! I was so tired and was at a loss of how to make the situation any better. Moms and dads alike know these toddler days, and we just happened to experience them in the middle of a campground in a pop-up camper. Sigh.

Within a few days after the trip, Ev was back to her usual happy demeanor. We are thankful 🙂

More posts to come, including Evelyn’s first trip to Magic Kingdom and our annual camping event – Campapalooza!

Salt Springs Recreation Area

We made our way up to the Ocala National Forest and camped at Salt Springs Recreation Area. This is a great campground with a beautiful spring and is the only campground in the Ocala National Forest that seems to offer full hookup at their sites. Evelyn enjoyed the cool water while wearing her spring suit. We pushed her a little far on Saturday and she was a bit of a handful that afternoon. However, Once she woke up, she was greeted with some chocolate cookies and all was right in the world. We enjoyed pulled pork for dinner the first night. Bagels for breakfast, roast beast sandwiches for lunch, and tortellini on the camp stove for dinner on Saturday. Who said food always has to be cooked on a grill when camping? We enjoyed our stay and will definitely visit again.

Setting up and breaking down camp has now become a breeze as we have figured out all of the subtle nuances our camper has. They all have a personality of their own that you have to figure out. Setting up camp takes less than 30 minutes at this point. Breaking camp takes somewhere between 45-60 minutes. I broke camp in record time this trip, and really patted myself on the back about how much better I have gotten at it, a real “expert” now… until I realized I left all of the food in the fridge and had already packed it all up and folded the roof down. Doh! 🙂

No big deal, we got home and popped it back up, I cleared the fridge, folded it back down, and wheeled it in to the garage. I have found out that patience is a necessary virtue when you own a camper, and I have learned to take the issues in stride. It is actually quite therapeutic, and I have enjoyed learning how to troubleshoot and resolve any issue I have come across. This little camper of ours really is so much fun!

On the Road Again….

Since we got this AMAZING pop-up camper in March, we have been camping 5 times! This pop-up camper has definitely changed our view on finding adventure – we plan a trip, go and have a blast, then plan another! Chad blogged about our inaugural trip to Silver Springs. Here are some of the other exciting places we’ve camped so far this year:

United Methodist Youth Camp – Fruitland Park, FL: Our second trip was a family affair. My sister’s twins were being confirmed at church. We wanted to be a part of the experience, we got to spend a quality weekend with my sister and brother-in-law, as well as the extended family. My mom’s camper was also parked across from our pop-up at the camp, so we to spend mornings with my mom – and Evelyn woke up and immediately wanted to go over and wake up Gran! We swam, had Whole30 meals, and shared drinks and love with our family on my sister’s back porch. Great weekend.

Jetty Park – Port Canaveral, FL: Third trip was Jetty Park. This unique campground is located next to the Port Canaveral cruise terminals, so cruise boats are passing by your camper at all times! Evelyn loved this – she especially enjoyed the “Mickey Mouse Boat” as it sounded it horn to the tune of, “yo ho, yo ho, a pirate’s life for me,” and, “when you wish upon a star.” She has been talking about it for WEEKS since the trip. Uncle Brian invited us to camp with him – he was parked next to us and was a great host the entire weekend. We even had a family lunch on Saturday and Gramma Sue came out – Chad cooked souvlaki and I made a greek salad. At one point, we laughed because all the adults were outside and the kids were playing in the air-conditioned campers! Amazing weekend, great location – we will definitely go back to Jetty Park.

Ft. Wilderness – Walt Disney World, Lake Buena Vista, FL: Contrary to this being a kid-friendly venture spot, we actually went without Evelyn!! Evelyn got to spend a long weekend with Gigi and Papa so that Mommy and Daddy could cut loose with Mindy and Mike! We got spots on adjacent loops, so we brought our bikes so we could easily ride over to visit. The weekend was filled with long talks camper side, fun meals, and tons of laughter. Mike had to work on Saturday afternoon, so Chad treated Mindy and me to a sushi lunch at Kona in the Polynesian! We ordered Lapu Lapus – an over the top fruity bar drink served in a pineapple! We had so much fun, we got home on Sunday and booked another weekend at Ft. Wilderness for Mother’s Day weekend! Two weekends in a row at Disney!!!

Mother’s Day Weekend – Ft. Wilderness (again!) – This time, we brought along the little bug Evelyn. She loves the camper! Chad and I have figured out it is easier if one of us attends to Evelyn and the other does the set up. Chad (wonderfully) chose set up, so Evelyn and I ventured to the playground and the marina. What a perfect weekend. The weather was cool in the morning and evenings, so the days were bearable! We took Evelyn on a boat ride (Mickey Mouse Boat, Mickey Mouse Boat) from Ft. Wilderness campground over to Ft. Wilderness Lodge and scouted the pool. We went back in the late afternoon on Saturday – there is a huge kid area with slides and water features. Evelyn squealed with delight at the slides – Chad and I dutifully rode all the slides with Evelyn in our laps – it was pretty funny to see us attempting to get off the slides as we hauled up Evelyn and tried to (as gracefully as possible) stand up and get off the slide before getting barreled over by a kid behind us. We had lunch at Whispering Canyon – the BBQ ribs and smoked sausage was great. Evelyn was a dream all weekend – we played and laughed as a family and got to just enjoy each other. We let Evelyn stay up extra late on Saturday to watch the water parade and fireworks. Now, her new words are, “fireworks…. BOOOM!” Getting to watch her experience the water parade and the fireworks is a new experience for me a mom – seeing life through Evelyn’s eyes. The referent joy I receive from watching her joy just makes me misty! My heart gets so full when I see her happy, as she is getting older, it brings me so much joy to see her smile and understand new things. For Mother’s Day, we went to breakfast at Trail’s End, then let Evelyn run loose on the playground. We got a late checkout (smart idea courtesy of Chad), so Evelyn and I could go to the pool while Chad broke down the camper. Once he was finished, he joined us for a dip, then we set course for home.

I cannot begin to express how much fun this camper has brought to our little family. We get away from our daily routine and experience each other without distractions. I am learning to be more relaxed and just learning to enjoy the moment in an unhurried way. When we are camping, we just spend time doing what Evelyn wants, we take a slower pace, we let the days unfold. I need this!

 

 

 

We got a camper!!!!

Well we did it… after much deliberation, research, and saving, we found a camper! We have purchased a 2012 Coachmen Clipper 1285sst. It was in amazing condition, garage kept, had all the features we wanted and was priced out the door for what we wanted to pay.

It was an adventurous journey to find and pick up our camper in Green Cove Springs, FL. After signing the deal, the dealer found that there was something wrong with our Jeep’s 7 way connector, and that we essentially had nothing but running lights when we were ready to leave. That meant if we were going to get home with it, I would either have to take the Jeep to a dealer and get them to fix it in Green Cove, go home and get it fixed and then come back for the camper, or mount up with no brake lights, turn signals or electric brake. This bad boy weighs about 2800lbs dry…. so needless to say, I was biting my nails. After talking to Marci we agreed… lets just get it home!

This meant that a guy who had not towed anything in 10+ years would be towing a 2800lb trailer that is 19ish feet long with running lights only. Let me tell you folks… it was a white knuckle experience! To simulate brake lights, every time I would touch the brake peddle with my foot, I would also actuate the Jeep’s headlights with my left hand, thus turning on the running lights on the trailer, simulating a “brake light.” Have you ever chewed gum, rubbed your stomach, scratched your head, and oh by the way… crapped your pants all at the same time???? Well that was our trip home!

Needless to say, we made it. We took the long way home through the Ocala forest which kept me off of the highway until we got to i4 in Deland. It gave me enough time to get a feel for how long it takes to slow/ stop, accelerate, etc. My parents met us at the house when we arrived and my dad helped guide me in to the garage in reverse for the first time. It was tight, but I was able to do it!

Our first camping trip was to Silver Springs State Park. Right as we got ready to leave, I found the Jeep’s battery was dead. I figured the camper had been plugged in too long and had sucked all of the Jeep’s battery dry trickle charging the Deep Cycle battery on the camper. I jumped the Jeep with the Mazda and we set out on our way. About 45 minutes in to our trip, I noticed my brake controller stopped functioning and that the running lights were also off. We pulled over to take a look but because it was drizzling and getting close to dark, we decided to just barrel through and get to the camp site. We arrived at Silver Springs about an hour and a half later and I quickly got the camper detached from the Jeep and leveled. I then went to hit the electric winch up button to lift the popup and found the deep cycle battery was dead. Crap!

I plugged in to shore power and found that the winch would not operate off of AC. Of course it was getting close to dark, Evelyn was getting a bit nudgy, and while I knew there was a manual crank backup to lift the popup if the electric winch died, I knew it would require some panel dismantling to get to. I quickly remembered I had jumper cables, disconnected from AC, turned the Jeep around and jumped the camper’s battery to lift the popup. A morning evaluation found that the fridge was running on DC power since we brought it home from the dealer. Whoops!

We took Evelyn for a glass bottom boat ride which she loved, played around the campground, lit a fire, and did all those things that make camping fun. While our maiden voyage was far from perfect, I learned a lot and we enjoyed the experience. We figure it will get easier each time… and I am sure it will! 🙂

Here are some pictures!

 

 

Bonabloo Tent Festival

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Well this year’s family and friends camping trip was at Blue Spring. Wekivapalooza will hopefully return once the rennovations are complete, but all in all, this year’s trip was a success and everyone had a great time. The park was a great place to camp… minus the TRAINS blaring the horns in the middle of the night on three seperate occassions. Woooo WOOOOOOOO! 🙂

Here are some pics…

Withlacoochee/Rainbow River Camp and Kayak Weekend

 

Click here for photos!

Chad and I had the pleasure of spending the weekend paddling with the Florida Sport Paddling Club. We headed to Dunnellon on Friday and set up camp right after night fall. It was bone chilling cold, the temp got down to 27 degrees by the morning! After setting up camp, we made a late dinner of burgers and lipton noodles. Then, off to sleep in our cozy tent, aptly equipped with a small heater (thank you, Chad, for making the run to get that heater earlier tin the week!).

We awoke Saturday morning to a frigid morning, but as we got moving, the bite of the cold wore off and gave way to a gorgeous morning. We loaded the gear and headed to our kayak drop off on the Withlacoochee River. After shuttling back with the club, I rejoined Chad and off we went down the magnificent river. We paddled for many hours, enjoying the quiet, the fresh air, the serenity of being in nature and clearing your mind. We stopped at a clearing in the woods for a short lunch break, then headed back out on the water. We were on the water about 5 hours on Saturday, I give total credit to the fitness level of this club, they paddled for so long and kept a great pace – and did not complain once about aches or pains. I think it was the scenery, you just cannot feel bad in such a perfect place!

We finally landed at our finish mark and loaded the kayaks. While many of the club members wanted to catch an early dinner, we wanted to get back to the campsite and enjoy the down time and have a nice cocktail. For dinner, we made tortellini and pasta sauce, a favorite of ours when we camp. The night was capped by a gift exchange among the group, we laughed together, shared stories and cider, and kicked back after a long paddle. The tent was calling my name and we were sleeping soundly by 10!

Sunday morning brought a close to many of the group member’s  weekend. Many had long drives and decided to pack up and head out early. We, on the other hand, wanted to spend another glorious day on that water! Staying at the Rainbow Springs park allows free access to the boat launch. We loaded our gear and headed upstream to Rainbow Springs, about a 2 mile paddle. Arriving at the spring, it was quiet and free of the usual throngs of swimmers. The cold weather meant we had a spring all to ourselves! We took great pictures and enjoyed the clear waters.

We decided to drift back to our launch point, and fish along the way! Chad chose to fly fish, while I chose spin. Neither of us had any luck, I think the fish were stunned from the cold! Either way, it was a great time to practice casting.

After we arrived at our launch site, we had some lunch by the river, then packed up our gear for a ride home. What a spectacular weekend, great new friends, beautiful scenery, a perfect Florida weekend!