Granite Hill September 2013

I really enjoy going to Granite Hill. This campground is huge, but unlike a lot of campgrounds we go to its really spread out and you definitely have some privacy when you stay here. Our drive there was pretty uneventful it doesn't take to long to get there from Baltimore, about 2 hours.  The campground is in Gettysburg Pennsylvania right outside down town. It also has a little bed and breakfast in an old house at the entrance. This campground and four playgrounds, a stage, a fire pit, a cafe', a rec room where they have dances and do crafts, two ponds, a very large mini gold course, and a pool that I'm going to assume is heated because it was open and steaming. Like most campgrounds they also have a small camp store.
We had a beautiful site that was right next to a farmers field and there was no one around us. no sites on the right side four on the left but like i said they were all empty. We were literally parked in the middle of a field so Elle (our dog) and the kids had plenty of room to run around. The picture that I''m adding doesn't even begin to do it justice. at the end of the four empty sites was a wooded area that was for tents, that to was empty so the kids got to go in there with the dog and "explore". They made sure to call it "their woods". It was really nice and quiet and we had our own little fire pit. I'm including the website to look at the campground map just to see how big this place is. If you do look at the map we were on site P23.

http://www.granitehillcampingresort.com/facilities/resort-map.asp

 I thought it was really neat the first night we were there they had free make your own smores by the fire pit, so friday night we went to the playground and had some smores. After we left there we sat by the camp fire for a while and laid on our cots.

Saturday morning we had breakfast I made bacon and eggs, it was another beautiful day. After that we sat around for a while and decided we need to make a trip to Walmart. It was really dewy out and Kenzie had canvas shoes so we got her a new pair. Then we had lunch at Mcdonalds and waited there for what seemed like forever waiting on our food. Why a bus load of Asians would pick Gettysburg and a vacation is beyond me but there must have been 30 of them at Mcdonalds. After we ate we were doing to go home but decided to stop in the park and I'm glad we did. We went to Devils den and 

After we left the park paul made fried chicken for dinner and then we went to a dance party at the rec center at the campground lots of fun.

We really did have a good time and Granite Hill and I hated to leave sunday because it was such a nice day and such a nice site. I uploaded a better picture of the site we were in. This picture really puts in perspective how alone we were.

Frontier town August 2013

Frontier town is a good place to go if you want to stay busy. Not only are there things to do in the campground but going in to Ocean City is always fun.
We left on thursday around 1 got there around 4 I think we stopped in cambridge to have lunch. The god had diarrhea that day so she road in the bed of the truck till we stopped for lunch. She pooped in the bed of the truck but we felt bad and she was making me a nervous wreck so we moved her to the trailer. I don't like riding around with her in the bed she looks like she's going to fall over the sides. when we got to the campground she had a big old surprise waiting for us, she threw up the size of a large plate twice. Of course that was the trip I forgot to pack paper towels , so I had to go to the camp store right away and buy them. after that I had to figure out how I was going to clean it all up, I thought for sure it was going to stain and smell but it didn't.
The first day the water park was closed, not that I cared it was freezing in my book, so we went to the playground. for some reason this trip our kids were terrible so there were a lot of broken promises. We were suppose to play games at the board walk that night but we didn't because of attitudes.
The next day was Friday I took the kids to the playground in the morning then the pool. I was very surprised they were in as long as they were. After that we had lunch and I can't remember what we did all day. I want to say we did rides at the indoor boardwalk then we let the kids play in the sand.

Saturday we went to the water park thinking we wouldn't be there to long and planned to go on the beach. The kids had other plans I think we were there for like 3 hours or something. They were so independent that they were going down the slides and floating down the lazy river by themselves. At one point they were trying to get out of the lazy river and the cute little things drug their double tube all the way to the edge and put it away. They were to cute that day.

We had so much fun at the water park watching them and they had a lot of fun to. I didn't get in the water at all poor Paul went in with them most of the day and it was so cold. That night we went back to the board walk and did outside rides. I'm sure I'm leaving a bunch of things out but we just really did so much its hard to remember everything 

Rockey Gap Aug 2013

Lets start by saying this was one of the most disastrous relaxing camping trips we've had in a while. Now let me explain, Thursday started with us bringing the camper to the house to load it up. Rockey Gap is a state park right outside of cumberland Maryland so we had no sewage or water hook up, therefore we had to fill our fresh water tank. What normally would go off with out a hitch for some reason this time the water leaked out of the top of the tank and flooded the trailer. So before we even got on the rd we were already frustrated and had to dry the floors and carpet. After we left the house Paul realized he forgot something so we turned around. After we left the house the second time I realized I forgot something, but it was just Mayo so we just kept going. On the way we stopped at the cut in the mountain to use the restroom and walk over the bridge and see the sentiment rock.
We arrived at Rockey Gap state park after an uneventful ride. Just the usual are we there yets and this is taking forevers. We got all set up we had an awesome site with an empty campsite on the right and a common trail to the left there was a site right behind us but no one was in it the whole weekend. other then some campers walking the trail to get to the lake it was pretty private.

After we got everything set up and settled in I started making Tacos for dinner I browned the ground beef and went to put the seasoning on the beef only to realize I had everything but the taco kit for the tacos. And if you ever bought a taco kit you know that the shells the seasoning and the sauce are in it. I had an oh shit moment. how the hell am i going to make these damn taocs. luckily Paul bought and extra pack of seasoning and I had the bright idea to go to the camp store and buy Dorittos to crush up as the shells. I made it work and it really didn't taste all that bad to be honest. After a near dinner disaster I took the kids to the lake while Paul took a nap on his new fold out camping cot. We were there about an hour and then came back and did a fire.

Its now friday we decided today was going to be an all day lake day we got there after eating breakfast a putting around at 1:15. Its a beautiful day the sun is shining theres a nice breeze we get the umbrella up, the blanket out, and proceed into the lake. After like 2 min the lifeguard comes over to us and say the lake is closed because they heard thunder on the other side of the lake some 2 miles away... awesome. She also tells us they close the lake for 30 min after they hear thunder and the lake would reopen at 1:30. Not to bad considering its 1:15. So what else can we do but wait, 1:30 arrives ok everyone back in the lake... 10 minutes later we hear thunder. Out of the lake for another half hour. May I also mention that there is not a cloud in the sky at this point, I don't know where this thunder was coming from but it was no where near us. So before we left home paul bought the kids fishing rod and worm and a fishing license for himself, so we decide while we wait we should past the time with some good old fashion fishing. We go to the pier open up the worms we got from Walmart that say one dozen on them only to find 2 yes 2 worms inside. I couldn't believe it so I cut them up into 3 and just made the best of it. The only thing we caught was seaweed and we saw some pretty big snapping turtles. An hour and a half later we can finally get in the lake and we didn't leave until like 5 when we saw big storm clouds and heard big thunder. We ate dinner and went for a night walk with the kids we had a lot of fun.

We woke up the next day, now saturday, had a good breakfast and went to the beach. Dinner was going to take about 2 and a half hours to make so I left Paul and the kids at the lake to start dinner. I chopped all the veggies and put everything together and cook it for two hours checking it every so often and stir it. Paul bring the kids back they change and go to the playground. They come back just as its about to be ready. I go in to get it off the stove and hit a cloud of smoke as soon as I enter the trailer... Shit I burned it 15 min before it was done, awesome. It just one thing after another I can't win at this point. we all eat it anyway it tastes like its burned a little but were starving. We take a ride to the other side of the lake after dinner and take a hike to the dame. After that we came back and saw the aviary they had barn owls, screech owls, horned owls, a bald eagle, a hawk of some kind, brown hawks, and a one winged chicken hawk. All the birds have been injured in some way and are used for the scales and tails program. it was dark so we couldn't see them really well but they were all beautiful birds. 

Sunday we woke up to rain and Paul had to put everything away wet. of course as soon as we were done and ready to make the drive home the rain stopped. All in all even after everything that went wrong we had an awesome three days. We love Rockey Gap, it's always clean and well maintained and its just a really pretty place to go.

Yogi Bear Jellystone Quarryville 2013

So this trip we went with another couple and their 2 kids. Our friends are Mike and Darlene the have a 5 year old (Emily) that is 6 months older them Kenzie and and Michael just turned 1 a couple weeks before we went.
  As you can see we had a very nice site, we had plenty of room for the kids to play and had 3 vehicles on the site. The first day Paul got there with the kids and I drove with Dar and met him later that day. It was like 100 degrees that day so Paul just set up the trailer and took the kids to the water park till dar and I could get there.
We didn't do much that first day just Farm store chicken and the playground at night. it was to hot during the day to really play anywhere but the pool so we just threw some glow sticks on all the kids and let them swing. Bed time wasn't as bad as i thought it was going to be. Mckenzie and JP tend to chat a lot before bed and we've been letting them stay up and sit by the fire later this season. They're not running around as much and giving me a heart attack, I use to just get fed up and make them go to bed when I couldn't take them running around the fire anymore. Now they sit in there camping chairs and do marshmallows and we put a TV and DVD player outside to give them something to do. Emily slept with Darlene and Michael slept on the dinette while JP slept in the back bed and Kenzie on the swing bunk. Darlene and Mike were on the sofa bed and Paul and I in the front bedroom.
The next morning Paul and Mike went to the Grocery store while Dar and I stayed with the kids. I'm assuming the boys wanted to get away from the craziness of 4 kids in the camper. When they got back we had lunch and mike went to work and we took the kids to the water park.

This water park was small but it was on of the best we've been to. It had 2 small slides and 2 larger slides. There were a ton of interactive cannons and buckets to play with. It had a big water tower that dropped water on everyone around it ever10 minutes or so after a train whistle went off.  Sunday we stayed there till 730pm I think, we were all having a good time watching the kids play and playing  with them. 

They had tractor rides, a bouncy pillow, pedal carts, an arcade, a golf course, a three in a half foot heated pool, and a lake for catch and release fishing. It was over 100 dollars a night to stay here which is more then we've ever payed to camp, but everything was included, and everything was very clean.

The golf course was the nicest we've ever seen at a campground 18 holes with 2 rivers and a water fall. All in all a very good camping trip we had plenty to keep us busy. The second night we had 40 pieces off wood delivered to our site for 25 dollars and had smores. We would of had pizza sandwiches but Paul left the sandwich maker in the fire a little to long and it melted lol.

We left monday the campground was very nice but I really don't think we'll go back just because of how it was so much money. 100 dollars a night is so much money to pay to camp thats like a hotel price.  Our next camping trip is going to be mid August just Paul the kids and me and I'm really looking forward to some alone family time at Rockey Gap state park. Its 96 dollars for three night so very affordable. 

Happy Camping everyone 

Harper Ferry June 2013

If you have been reading this blog you know by now that Harpers Ferry is one of our favorite places to go. It never disappoints us and we always have something to do without having to go to far from the campground. We had a really nice site right across from the playground to the kids could go back and forth as they pleased. Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures from there. We got there Tuesday after about a two or three hour drive I'm not really sure. Pauls parents met us wednesday so we had Tuesday with just the 4 of us which was a nice change. I was a little worried about having people with us the entire trip that we wouldn't any along family time but it turned out to be a great 12 day trip. We went to the pool, rode our bikes around, played in the arcade, did some shopping, went to the theatre, and played mini golf. Paul and his father took the kids to Historic Harpers Ferry to walk across the train bridge while me and Mrs Ann went to the Walmart. Im a little behind on my blogging its now august and we went in June so I'm drawing a blank. lol Just know we had an awesome time

Shannondoah Valley/ Skyline Drive June 2013

First let me say that this campground was the most crowded most dirty campgrounds we have ever been to and we wont be going back there anytime soon. When you go into the bathroom to pee and theres poop on the floor thats disgusting. However it did have some good qualities but the bad out weighed the good. They had really good funnel cake and snowballs and everyone was very nice.
We met my parents at this campground we arrived on Saturday and it was so jam packed full of people that we had a hard time getting through the craziness of people walking around. Our campsite was pretty small and we were right on top of our neighbors but they were nice and had a NY Giants flag flying so nothing to complain about them. This campground also had a pool, small golf course, a river you could tube down, a catch and release pond and about 50 rabbits running around that you could feed.

After most of the crowd left Sunday the campground was quiet and not as crowded. The problem was the campground was a good size but instead of having all the full hook up sites spread out within the park we were all in the same area. Paul and the kids got to float down the lazy river and I'm pretty sure neither of the kids liked it to much. After spending 80 dollars on stuff to do it they only went twice. I think the problem was that there were some rapids and where you were suppose to get out was really rough and they almost hit some rocks and a tree. But the water fall at the end was just so pretty. 

My sister and her boyfriend were suppose to meet us there for the day sunday but somehow they ended up at the wrong place and decided to go home because it was to late. That night they showed a movie in the pavilion, Second hand Lion, we sat and watched some of that and then went to the arcade. Most of the games didn't work so that didn't last long we made the best of it though and played a couple of games of air hockey.

So Monday we went to Skyline drive and took our annual pictures. We decided to have lunch in the park this year so I packed a cooler but the bugs were so bad I guess because it was about to pour that we really didn't enjoy it and basically had to keep moving and eat at the same time. It was pretty funny seeing all of us dancing around with our sandwiches and drinks. I'm sure we looked like we were crazy but the bugs were not letting up even though Paul scoped out the area and said it wasn't buggy. At one point Mckenzie saw some "tracks" in the dirt that I'm pretty sure was just where someone was kicking dirt with their foot and swore it was bear tracks. They were so funny and so excited I didn't have the heart to tell them what it really was. We had to basically inhale our food because we could see the rain coming as soon as we were all done it started to pour down rain and it rained the entire time we were on the mountain. Being on the mountain was what we were all looking forward to and we couldn't really enjoy it.

We went to Massanutten indoor water park the rest of that day and had an awesome time as usaul. my parents stayed back at the trailer. We left tuesday for Harpers Ferry I'm really glad my parents could come with us. They aren't really big outdoor people but we try to make them come as much as we can. 

Williamsburg June 2013

This year is the first year we've camped in Williamsburg and the campground we stayed at was really nice and quiet. Paul and I decided to stay there because my father inlaw has two aunts that live there and we haven't seen them since I was pregnant with JP and Paul was in Iraq at the time.
We invited my inlaws to come with us and followed us from frontier town I think it was about a 3 hours drive and we have to stop 30 miles out because I had to use the bathroom. We took the bay bridge tunnel from eastern shore Va and that always a nice ride. I can't believe how long that thing is. If you ever get the chance to go over its defiantly cool.

We got to the KOA around lunch time Paul set up the trailer with his father while my mother inlaw and I took the kids to the " bouncy pillow". This KOA had two, one for 7 and under, and one for 7 and up. I though that was really nice because once the big kids get on them things they send my kids flying. I really wish Harpers Ferry KOA had that, then I wouldn't have to be biting my finger nails the whole time. If theres to many bigger kids on it I wont let them get on at all because it freaks me out.

We were in a row with 5 other campers that were all together and they were all apparently firefighters that camp in 5th wheels. They were all older couples maybe in their 50s or 60s so needless to say our row was very peaceful. I think that was one of the quietest places we've ever stayed, I'm sure we will go back there again.

We all got in the pool later that afternoon and did marshmallows that night. The next day we went to historic Williamsburg where our history lesson turned into a shopping trip. Im not a big history nut I think its interesting but could take it or leave it. My mother inlaw doesn't really care about historic places and thinks its boring. My husband and his father are very big into history and like to go to the places and look at the statues and read all the plaques. So Paul was a little disappointed when we saw a bunch of shops and Mrs Ann went to look. It turned out to be an ok trip either way it was just hot. We bought bus tickets so we wouldn't have to walk the 20 minutes back to the car.

After we left there we did a family reunion at Aunt Frans for a couple of hours and Aunt Abby and Uncle Ed stopped by. I was having a heart attack the entire time because Aunt Fran has a lot of very nice , and breakable, things in her house and I was worried that the kids would brake something. We went to Fridays for dinner and almost froze to death then we went to the Yankee candle store. That store is huge and it doesn't just have Yankee candles in it either. They have a toy store, a candy store, a place to get wax hands, a christmas part, book store, a fudge shop, a popcorn candy apple store, and some random things. It just so happened that Santa Claus was in the christmas part talking to kids and recording their names in a big book with what they want for christmas. It also snows in the christmas part every couple of minutes and they have huge decorated trees.

After that we took a trip to Walmart and decided we wanted to buy bikes for Paul and I to ride with the kids. I was absolutely horrible at riding a bike and Paul made fun of me because I could balance on them. Jp and Mckenzie are better at riding bikes then I am and there 5 and 3. By the time we got back to the campsite Paul was annoyed because he hates shopping while were camping, and it was dark and couldn't ride the bikes after all.

The next Morning we packed up to leave and headed up to the Shannondoah Valley. Mrs Ann and Mr Lee left us to head home and we were meeting my parents there.  Took us about 2 hours to get there

Frontier Town June 2013

So this year we started our 2 week camping trip in Ocean City Md at Frontier Town. We had a good time there even though it rained most of the time. We got there on Monday the 17th of June, our site was in a corner so it was pretty big, and it backed up to a ditch with trailers on the other side. The site was really wet though because it had rained like a week straight before we went down. My husbands parents followed us down so they got there right after we did.




Setting up was easy, after 5 years of having our camper we have a good rhythm down. Paul always sets up the outside while the kids play and I get the inside ready. When we have people come with us its there job to keep an eye on the kids because everything goes smoother when we set up alone.

This year was the first year that I forgot to take pictures of all the sites we stayed it, I didn't many pictures of anything really. Monday we had dinner when we got there. i plan all the meals by day ahead of time and all the simple meals are on arrival days. so Pigs in a blanket was Mondays meal, quick and easy.

Tuesday we went to the water park. The water park is included in the camping price so you just have to get a bracelet. We stayed till 4 it rained on and off the whole time we were there and almost as soon as we got back to the trailer it poured until 7 I think. 6 people in the trailer isn't pleasant but it is doable. we have three TVs to keep people entertained and normally we bring a direct TV cable box but we left that at home unknowingly.  It would have been great to have though because we were stuck indoors a couple of times this trip. After the rain we went to the board walk till 11pm and played at the arcade just about all night. A couple of people gave the kids there tickets and at one point my husband won 200 tickets at the deal or no deal game. We got lucky and on of the machine malfunctioned and spit out 600 tickets, after playing for a couple of hours we have over 1200 tickets and decided to call it a night. We all had a lot of fun watching the kids and playing the games to.

Wednesday we bought the kids and Paul, my husband, ride bracelets and rode rides just about all day. Mckenzie was big enough to get on a lot more alone this year and Paul got her and JP on this crazy ride that goes around and up high. He also tried to take them in to a playhouse that was scary, but the turned around as soon as the went in.

We left for Williamsburg Thursday when we woke up. I took the kids for a walk while everyone got ready and packed up. Frontier town is really a lot of fun. They have a lot of stuff for the kids to do and its always very clean when we've been.