Last year's Christmas camping gear!

Last year we were getting ready to purchase our camper at this time of year.  Because I had taken a girls trip to NYC, I asked for no presents.  But, my sweet husband was determined to get me some things for our new camper.  These things included a dutch oven, trailer hitch and kitchen items for our camper.  Romantic?  YES!  I loved everything he bought because we were about to embark on a new journey together.  I couldn't wait to get started.

The Actual Cost of a Camping Weekend

Beautiful view inside and out from our camper window!

When we started talking about camping as a family, we felt that this would be a great way to spend time together outdoors.  My husband had happy memories of camping in the mountains of Southern California as a child.  My family was not a camping bunch.  But, we did travel out west each summer.  Camping was a way for us to do the things that we both loved - travel and time outdoors.

Camping With Friends

Holiday weekends are best spent with friends enjoying the good life outdoors and on Christy's new boat at the lake!

Guest blogger, Christy Rogers, returns this week to share her thoughts about camping with friends. 

Camping with friends is one of my most favorite things to do! In fact, in my tribe, we plan large camping gatherings for MONTHS in advance. Particularly around holidays. Some of our favorite camping times of year are Thanksgiving and Easter. I’m telling you, these friends of mine are crazy with the spreadsheets and calendars! We have a mix of folks who join our adventures: married couples, little kids, bigger kids, long time unmarried couples and singles, like myself. I’m grateful to have besties who have an AMAZING camper and are always willing to share their space with me! In fact, we pretty much decided last year that one would buy the boat and one would buy the camper, and we’d be good to go! I bought the boat. ;) Let’s just say we’ve had a great summer and are looking forward to another great fall!

Throw a Camping Thanksgiving Feast

Thanksgiving feast complete with twinkle lights and decorations on the table.

Growing up, Thanksgiving was always spent at my grandmother's surrounded by a large extended family.  These are some of my happiest memories of my childhood.  Our parents sat in the dining room, and the cousins sat cheerfully at the kid's table.  Early in my marriage, Thanksgiving became a holiday spent with a large group of rowdy friends.  Now, Thanksgiving is smaller and much more subdued, but that doesn't make me enjoy it any less.  And yes, Thanksgiving can be celebrated at the campsite.

RV AC Installation and Why You Should Use a Dealership

Peggy Sue before her update.

When we purchased our 2001 Jayco Qwest Popup Camper, we knew that we had purchased a project.  We had a long list of projects that would need to be tackled.  Nearly 1 year later, we are still doing some of the work.  With full-time jobs and a family, this work has to be planned out over time.  While we have done much of the work ourselves, some work is just handled by the RV professionals - a dealership.

Fall Camping Gear Guide

Fall camping is my favorite time of year for camping.  The air is crisp.  Nights are perfect for a campfire.  And, in the deep south, we still have warm days even if the evenings and nights are cool or cold.  It is a welcome change to the heat of most of our year.  Fall also signals the need to update your camping gear.

Camping Basics - 5 Pieces of Camping Gear You Need to Get Started

If you are new to camping, you are probably shopping for camping gear to get started.  You may think that there is a laundry list of things to purchase to get outdoors, but a few basics along with what you have at home can go a long way.  My husband and I have camped on and off separately before we married, and we each have different ideas about what camping entails.  There are some items that both of us can agree on, and that is basic gear.  For us the basics are eating, sleeping and safety.