Cherrystone 2011

Ok shall we start with the drive from hell. After getting a late start we stopped for gas and put air in the tires. The Burger King in the gas station was having a buy gas get 10% off you meal so Paul got lunch and the kids played on the slide. I had to climb my fat butt up there and help them climb to the top. They didn't go down any of the slides or in the tunnels, we just sat there ( which the kids didn't mind to much so whatever). The 5 hours drive that I was promised from my husband lasted seven yes people 7. We hit traffic in Williamsburg and we were at a stand still right out of Williamsburg. We took a potty and stretch break and we stopped at the rest/ gift shop on the Virginia bay bridge tunnel. I thought that was neat but i was glad to get the hell off of it. We saw a Navy Destroyer entering the bay that was neat to see and an air craft carrier in port in Norfolk.

When we finally arrive at Cherrystone (seven hours later) we had no clue how we were going to get our trailer in the site they gave us. The sewer connection was in the back and the water and electric were about 50 ft away in the front. We didn't have a line or hose or cord long enough, so Paul drove the trailer back to the office and explained whats going on. They sent someone up to help us and they lent us an electrical cord and hose. Im glad they came because I was just ready to shut down between the kids and my husband and the ride and then on top of that not eating i was ready to curl in a ball. The most stressful time during camping for me is the setting up and taking down because your trying to get things done but you still have to keep an eye on the kids, and they don't want to sit still long enough to do anything after sitting in the car for hours, so your running after them and they're running in the street and it's just really crazy.

Im a ball of stress during camping, small spaces, crazy drivers, backing up a 32 foot trailer, making sur you have enough food and clothes, and keeping the kids busy and happy. Lot of things on my mind and I do all the packing for all four of us and the dog. Paul takes care of everything that has to do with the outside of the trailer.

So as soon as we got there I took the liks to the camp store while Paul finished setting up the camper and we bought three bags of snack: Cheddar pretzels, Hot fries. White cheddar popcorn, and some Pop um powder sugared donuts. yum right? I spent 10 dollars on 4 things, but I will say that I think Cherrystones camp store is one of the most reasonable camp stores I have ever been in. Nothing is really over priced in there. I found that a lot of the camp stores you go to jack up there prices because the know if you really need it you'll pay the bucks. And a lot of the things they have in camp stores are very camper friendly, for example small ketchup and mustard, salt and pepper shaker in one.Things that are easy to store and don't take up a lot of vital space that you don't have much of in a 32 foot travel trailer. They ate their snacks while I pulled them around in the wagon. I went back to the trailer after I saw Paul was pretty much ready for us. then we had left over spaghetti and pretty much went to bed.

The next day we went to the small water park the kids really had a ball. Although they had a lot of flooding from Irene the pool was little dirty but they did a really amazing job of cleaning the 4 pools they have. You really wouldn't have know the place was under 2 feet of water just a couple of day before we arrived. We did mini gold there and checked out the cafe and arcade. After we did some sight seeing I took JP back to the camper for a nap and Paul took Kenzie to see the beach and a for a paddle boat ride. He took video of it to show me what they did she looked like she fun with her daddy. To tell you the truth I've lost track of what I made for dinner the rest of the trip so no clue what we did for dinner. We did go for a walk and watch the sunset on one of there piers and after that Paul went and got wood and gas while I took the kids to get a funnel cake from the cafe.

We met back at the trailer we did our fire roasted up some grub and we were good to go. Jp went to bed right after we got the fire started Kenz lasted a little longer but not much. Ive found during this trip that if you put both of them to bed at the same time it crazyness. So I put JP to bed first then I wait till I know that he is defiantly asleep before I even take Kenzie in. That night I put JP to bed and Paul, Mckenzie and I were sitting by the fire Paul and I were drinking a beer (Samual Adam Octoberfest) and kenzie was sitting on Pauls lap. I put JP to bed like 15 or so minutes before and I'm thinking he's out like a light, most of all after all the playing he did that day. I hear the trailer door open I look over and he's standing there with this big smile on his face, he looked like he was just up to no good.That really made me smile because I thought he was asleep and he looked wide awake.

We made sure we good up early the next day to make our way to frontier town. they have a big water park thats free to campers, It's this huge 2 foot deep pool just for the kids with 6 slides that look like a covered wagon. So we wanted to make sure they got a whole day in there.

Harrisonburg KOA 2011

Ok we left Hapers Ferry and made the hour and a half drive to Harrisonburg KOA after stopping breifly at Camping world off of 81. Sunday was spent mostly doing laundry Paul took the kids to the pool while Idid four loads of laundry. I met a very nice older women from Canada and we had a pleasant conversation while folding and washing our clothes. She made me smilebecause she had no clue how to use the laundry mate and her and her friend didn't ask for help so I just stood back and let them figure it out on their own, and sure enough they did it. That night we had grilled chicken broccoli and noodles. We woke up the next day had breakfast and we were on our way to Sky Line Drive. We stopped at the first couple of over looks and took pictures then we went on like a two mile hike to see a water fall. Poor Jp didn't fare to well during the hike and Paul had to carry him most of the way which was fine going to the water fall which was all down hill but going back to the truck was and all up hill truck. I personally have no idea how he didn't die because I was only holding kenzies hand and I was practically crawling back to the truck when we got done. Mckenzie did very well though she didn't asked to be carried once (thank god because I wouldn't have been able to do it.) So after we finished the hike from hell we ate lunch on the tailgate of the truck and continues to the nearest Sky Line drive exit. When you go to Sky Line drive you have to pay 15 dollars to enter the park and they only have four or five I think but its a week long pass so as long as you keep your receipt you can come and go as much as you want. We were very lucky to be driving and keeping our eyes out for wild life because we saw a small black bear roaming around in the woods. He looked very peaceful and very small but I'm sure the mama wasn't far in front of him.

After we left the park Paul had a surprise for us that he had planned so we had no idea where we were going after that. Come to find out we were going to an indoor water park Massanuttin water resort it was petty neat. The place was huge they had a frog pond, 4 huge water slides and lots of smaller ones, a hot tub, a hot springs pool, a lazy river, a thing they call Flow Rider its like a wave simulator so you can wake board and water ski and stuff. They have a whole other outside part that wasn't open because of the weather. They also have an arcade, restaurant, candy stand and store. We stayed there until JP pooped in the only swimmie diaper Paul brought, I would have packed two but he didn't tell me where we were going till we pulled up and I saw the sign for myself. It was a very nice surprise and the kids loved it and I would definitely go back again. When we arrived back at the camper we had a camp fire with marsh mellows and since it rained while we were at the water park the fire was a little reluctant to lite but Paul is a master fire starter( I think most firemen are).

What an eventful weekend we did a lot of things this trip because we had indoor potions from the rain. Im glad because the rain has ruined our camping trips many times before its good to have indoor kid friendly options. So its Tuesday and we are ready to make the 5 hour drive to Cherrystone. I hope everything goes ok with the kids we are definitely getting a much later start then we wanted and I'm sure we'll pay for it but I'm going to try to look on the bright side of this trip I'm sure the kid will be great and we plan on stopping once or twice to stretch. See you in Cherrystone.

Harpers Ferry 2011

Well our time in Harpers Ferry has been a little wet. We got here Thursday evening around 4 we have a huge site under the trees. Plenty of room here for the trailer, truck, awning, EZ up, and our in-laws van with plenty of room left over.

So we got everything set up and our lights out, while I got dinner read Paul took the kids to the pool and then i met them afterwards. Thursday was pretty uneventful. when we woke up the next day the sun was out and it was pretty. If you are a camper in maryland and you've never been to Harpers Ferry I suggest going and staying at the KOA. Even if you don't have a camper or tent they have really beautiful cabins some sleep up to 10 people. They have so much to do at this KOA it has so much to do including: a pool from 3 up to 5 feet that has a snack bar, a huge bouncy, 3 different movies a day, a wine shop, free mini golf, arcade snack bar with a basket ball court, camp store and on the weekends they have live bands on stage. A big plus for us is that it's totally kid and pet friendly they even have a gated area where your pet can run around with out a leash.

Of course friday I realized i for got syrup for the Mickey mouse pan cakes I was making that morning so Paul ran to the local Walmart and got some things including syrup. Later in the day we went to the camp store and I wanted to get a puzzle and Paul wanted tent stakes, but of course they cost an arm and a leg at the camp store so we took yet another trip to Walmart haha.

I decides I was going to make my home made pot pie for dinner since my inlaws were coming up that evening so i thawed out the pie crust i made at home and boiled my veggies then I had to make the gravy for it and cook it so that took most of my day up so Paul was nice enough to get the kids out of my hair and they went to the pool. My inlaws arrived at about 530 so we ate dinner and had a camp fire with marsh mellows and then it started to rain. Hurricane Irene showed her ugly face right in the middle of our camping trip. We managed to stay dry under the easy up and played UNO (I won) then went to bed after some chit chat.

The next morning it was raining we played mini golf did some wine tasting and played in the arcade for a bit we started a camp fire that night but got rained out and it continued all night. so that was the extent of our Hapers Ferry camping this year... rain. However we still managed to enjoy ourselves even in the rain we packed up sunday morning had free pancakes the camp ground made and we were on our way. Next stop the KOA in Harrisonburg VA. We've never been to that KOA and Im looking forward to seeing what it looks like.

Deep Creek state park 2011

Hello all of whom read my blog today starts 12 days of camping. We will be traveling about 900 miles from Baltimore to Deep Creek lake down to Harpers Ferry, even further south to Luray. After that we're taking the bridge tunnel to Cherry Stone then north east to Frontier town. I know what your thinking, thats a lot of camping in only 12 days... I agree. This was all put together by my husband we just bought a dodge ram diesel and he's very excited about seeing the gas mileage and towing further distances.

Ok shall we start off with the fact that we have two small children under the age of 4. Kenzie is three Jp will be two next month( where does the time go?). Luckily we brought our portable DVD player so that keeps the kids going for most of the drive but of course we do have our fare share of melt downs both us and the kids. Tip for long trips with kids engage them in the things around them : animals, scenery, signs, views, anything thats going to keep their mind off of being in a small cramped car or truck. another thing I think that definitively helps not to be rushed enjoy the drive you'll be less stressed and little things like traffic or crying kids wont bother you as much.

Now moving on Deep Creek is a very beautiful place, although I've never seen it in winter and I bet its ten times more pretty with snow and ice on the lake. We arrived here August 23rd and are staying till the 25th plenty of time to experience the camp ground. When we finally got here after about a three hour drive I guess it was 70 degrees, we had enough time to set up, eat dinner (chicken viola) and go to the park to burn off some energy. After that we drove around the lake and got gas went back to the trailer and payed the kids would go to bed... they finally did at 11 at night. We didn't even bother with a camp fire we were so tired, so we went to sleep.

The next morning Mckenzie wanted to go the beach so we ate breakfasts and got our bathing suits on and waited for Paul(my husband) to wake up and get moving. Let keep in mind that we are in the mountains and it was only 70 degrees but god bless my husband he took both of the kids in the water up to their neck and they had a ball in the freezing cold water. I was the designated photographer because I don't do cold anything.

I think it comical that after we went to the beach we found the closest Walmart and Kenie and I went shopping whilst Jp and Paul stayed in the truck so Jp could get a much needed nap. I don't care how prepared you think you are for a camping trip someone will always forget something, mine was butter, A1 sauce, and an outfit for Jp. that night we sat byt the fire and roasted marsh mellows and made a pizza sandwich or two. the next day it was time to pack up and go to the next place which would be Harpers Ferry of course it rained all night and clear into the next morning and we didn't leave till much later then we planned, but I pack most of the stuff up the night before so it didn't take any time at all. So as soon as it stopped raining we were on our way.

hope you enjoyed the first stop four more to go. I don't have the time or energy to fix all the grammar and spelling mistakes so you'll have to get over that part of my summary :) Im sure Jessie and Aunt Nancy and Maybe even Kayla will pick up on most of them oh well thats pretty much all my readers LOL. love you guys