This week we took our 1st voyage in our new to us pop up camper!
We visited Occoneechee State park in Clarksville, VA, on Kerr Lake, the stay would be 3 total nights sleeping in the camper.
Day 1
We arrive way later than planned, had to evict some wasp nest, set up and I still needed to rehang all the washed curtains. We had only snacks on the ride up and no plan B for dinner so, we were grumpy and hungry setting up camp. It was well past baby girl's bed time when we had finally ate dinner, good news no one got dirty enough to need a shower before bed, so we ate brushed teeth and hit the bad the 1st night.
Day 2
Waking up with the sun, having slept much better than I ever had in a tent. It was time to get dressed, have breakfast and check this park out!!! The visitor center had a nice little set up about the Occoneechee Indians, the kids enjoyed that. Then we checked out the playground, our dog Dixie came along and scored because the playground was fenced in and she was able to run and play with the kids since we were the only ones there. We discovered a nice 1.2mile hike through Occoneechee plantation terrace gardens, learning a little along the way. There was lunch and dinner, and the showering in the bath house. Chloe and Molly learned they enjoyed helping around camp and fought over who would wash dishes next. Mom sure didn't mind giving up this task!!
Day 3
Boy was it cold over night, we just used an electric heater to keep warm, but learned we needed to set the propane furnace to kick in when the electric heater was just not enough. We cranked the heat and ate breakfast indoors while we waited for the day to warm up.
I received a call from my parents they wanted to drive down, check out our set up, and bring us lunch, such a nice surprise. So we hung out in the camper and waited. We had pizza for lunch, in our home away from home, then showed them a little of the park, and they headed home.
While lounging around camp, at a loss for what to do, I mention Geocaching, as some parks will let you check out a gps system for the day. Well the park office was closed when I had my moment, but with having iPhones, Stephan downloaded an app that would let you hunt 3 Caches free. So we were off on an adventure in the woods hunting "treasure" with 4 kids and a dog. Good fun we found 2 that evening, then headed back to camp for dinner and smores! Our over night was a bit warmer since we had learned the trick of how to set up the electric heater and furnace.
Day 4
Pack it up.
While Stephan cooked breakfast the kids and I began some packing up. It is nice to be able to give the kids little tasks that once we had to do ourselves, makes them feel part of the process and makes the process move along faster as well. T picked up buckets, and a few other toys. Chloe folded all the camping chairs, placed them in their bags, and brought them to the camper to be put away. Molly aided in keeping an eye on the baby and picked up any stray trash and helped load some things into the truck. I handled getting all the sleeping bags and blankets straight, dirty laundry out, ect.... Once the camper was folded and ready to go, we checked out and went searching for just one more Geocache, ended up hunting and finding 2 more in the park. Good fun, everyone is hooked on the Geocache stuff, and it's good motivation to move along, and hike when there will be something to find.
Ready to go home, had a good time, and learned how to improve next time we take a trip.
We visited Occoneechee State park in Clarksville, VA, on Kerr Lake, the stay would be 3 total nights sleeping in the camper.
Day 1
We arrive way later than planned, had to evict some wasp nest, set up and I still needed to rehang all the washed curtains. We had only snacks on the ride up and no plan B for dinner so, we were grumpy and hungry setting up camp. It was well past baby girl's bed time when we had finally ate dinner, good news no one got dirty enough to need a shower before bed, so we ate brushed teeth and hit the bad the 1st night.
Day 2
Waking up with the sun, having slept much better than I ever had in a tent. It was time to get dressed, have breakfast and check this park out!!! The visitor center had a nice little set up about the Occoneechee Indians, the kids enjoyed that. Then we checked out the playground, our dog Dixie came along and scored because the playground was fenced in and she was able to run and play with the kids since we were the only ones there. We discovered a nice 1.2mile hike through Occoneechee plantation terrace gardens, learning a little along the way. There was lunch and dinner, and the showering in the bath house. Chloe and Molly learned they enjoyed helping around camp and fought over who would wash dishes next. Mom sure didn't mind giving up this task!!
Day 3Boy was it cold over night, we just used an electric heater to keep warm, but learned we needed to set the propane furnace to kick in when the electric heater was just not enough. We cranked the heat and ate breakfast indoors while we waited for the day to warm up.
I received a call from my parents they wanted to drive down, check out our set up, and bring us lunch, such a nice surprise. So we hung out in the camper and waited. We had pizza for lunch, in our home away from home, then showed them a little of the park, and they headed home.While lounging around camp, at a loss for what to do, I mention Geocaching, as some parks will let you check out a gps system for the day. Well the park office was closed when I had my moment, but with having iPhones, Stephan downloaded an app that would let you hunt 3 Caches free. So we were off on an adventure in the woods hunting "treasure" with 4 kids and a dog. Good fun we found 2 that evening, then headed back to camp for dinner and smores! Our over night was a bit warmer since we had learned the trick of how to set up the electric heater and furnace.
Day 4
Pack it up.
While Stephan cooked breakfast the kids and I began some packing up. It is nice to be able to give the kids little tasks that once we had to do ourselves, makes them feel part of the process and makes the process move along faster as well. T picked up buckets, and a few other toys. Chloe folded all the camping chairs, placed them in their bags, and brought them to the camper to be put away. Molly aided in keeping an eye on the baby and picked up any stray trash and helped load some things into the truck. I handled getting all the sleeping bags and blankets straight, dirty laundry out, ect.... Once the camper was folded and ready to go, we checked out and went searching for just one more Geocache, ended up hunting and finding 2 more in the park. Good fun, everyone is hooked on the Geocache stuff, and it's good motivation to move along, and hike when there will be something to find.
Ready to go home, had a good time, and learned how to improve next time we take a trip.
1 comment:
We seriously need one of those! Looks like y'all had a lot of fun!
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