North Landing Beach 2020
/We just got home from a much needed get away!
Thank goodness we have a camper and are able to take these trips. I didn’t realize how stressed out we have both become as this pandemic and semi-lockdown continues. I missed so much the fun of summer and fall travels and I know we will be back to it one day but still this is flat our hard so anytime we can “reward” ourselves with these quick trips I think we will.
First time we took all three dogs with us in the camper, it was more work but it worked out really well. We created a fenced “yard” for them and once Ben got use to things they all settled in for a relaxing weekend of their own. So glad we know they can join us and I won’t worry as much about it because we have lots of trip ideas for 2021 in our plans.
RV Roadtrip To the Smoky Mountains ~ All Blog & Video Links Are Here
/We are just back from our first ever RV road trip to the Smoky Mountains. It was amazing and I have/am creating several blog posts and videos sharing our adventures.
If you want to follow along, please join us as the blog posts are listed below (and include the video links) or if you just want to see the videos you can find those on our YouTube Channel.
Here we go.....
1. Roadtrip to the Smoky Mountains Day 1 ~ Getting There
2. RV Roadtrip to the Smoky’s Day 2 - Rainy Day Exploring
3. RV Roadtrip to the Smoky Mountains Day 3 - Roaring Fork Nature Drive & Hiking Our First Trails.
YouTube Video's
1. RV Roadtrip to the Smoky Mountains Day 1 - Getting There
2. RV Roadtrip to the Smoky’s Day 2 - Rainy Day Exploring
3. RV Road-trip to the Smoky Mountains Day 3 - Roaring Fork Nature Drive & Hiking Our First Trails.
RV Roadtrip to the Smoky Mountains ~ Getting There
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Out the door and heading down the road by 6:00 was the goal. We were driving this road trip to Tennessee all in one day. This would be the longest we have done with the camper both in time and miles and we wanted to make sure we had plenty of time.
It rained almost the entire drive but luckily it was a completely uneventful drive. Lots of views, talk, laughter and snacks along the way. After a few stops for stretches, gas and a groceries we arrive around 4:00pm. First impressions of the campground were very good and this did not change throughout the week. I had no idea we had the river behind our site, and while the trees, plants and grasses had grown to block most of the view we had that lovely sound of a babbling brook passing by us all week. So relaxing, especially at night.
Set-up took no time, dinner was simple and when the rain moved in later that evening we called it a day knowing the fun was just starting....
Camping at Pocahontas State Park
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Finally camping season 2019 has arrived. To say we were anxious would be an understatement. We had bought ( and been paying for) our new 5th Wheel since September and had only been able to camp in it for three nights before we had to close it up for the winter so heading to Pocahontas SP was a weekend we had been looking forward to for months.
We knew this was going to be our shake down trip so we picked POCO as it is only an hour from the house and 30 minutes from my office. The plan was for Guy to bring the camper to POCO while I was at work Thursday afternoon and I would meet him there. This worked out perfectly. He got it pulled in and secure and when I arrived we set the camper up, had a nice first camping meal of the season (flank steak, potatoe and veggies), went of a short trail walk and then we just sat together and relaxed until we decided to head to bed, a bit earlier than we normally do camping but I was going to work on Friday, saving myself from having to take a vacation day, while Guy worked around the camper, re-educating himself on the ins and outs of how everything worked.
Do you know how hard it is to get up at 5:30 in the morning at a campground to go to work? Let me tell you, it ain't easy!!
Friday afternoon my boss sent me home early and so I was able to get to POCO earlier than anticipated which worked out well as Guy needed my assistance to take down and replace the TV in the living area that had somehow gotten cracked over the winter. Once done, we were able to take a drive around POCO then another short hike with the puppies, cook a nice meal (brats, chips, potato salad), talked with our camping neighbors and relax. Rain was threatening so we were not able to set-up the entire site as we normally would do which wasn't fun, but a good call as it it started raining around 8:00 pm and POURED!.
We had planned on getting up early and head over to our granddaughters first ever soccer game (about 20 minutes away) but surprise (NOT!) it was still raining so we were very lazy, sleeping in late and then headed to a class on Cast Iron Dutch Oven cooking that I had registered us for several months. The class was about 3 hours long and while it wanted to rain, it never did which made it much more enjoyable The class was so much fun and we are looking forward to them offering the next level. Here is a link to the video and post I created about it.
The afternoon was dedicated to hiking a few of the many trails POCO offers and more relaxing. Rain was once again in the forecast for the evening and of course it did so no outside fire again. I really wanted my campfire to sit around darn it.
On Thursday we had decided to stay one more night (Sunday) and I would head to work from the park Monday morning while Guy brought the camper home. Unfortunately this didn't work out for us. We awoke Sunday morning to a very large storm system heading our way that evening with high winds and tornadoes possible both at the campground and at the house. We discussed it and made the call. We would enjoy our morning at the camper, get one more hike in and then pack it up and get to the house before the storm. This ended up being a perfect decision as the storm did arrive and we were in tornado warnings all night through daybreak. We read online that the winds at POCO were crazy strong and campers were actually seeking shelter their so I am thankful we were in the house and not the camper.
Over all it was a successful shake down. We left relaxed, but with a list of things to get done, a few things to buy and some ideas for organizing better and are now counting down the days to our next (and longest ever in distance and time) camping trip to the Great Smokey Mountains in May.
