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Over the last couple of years we have been staying closer to home due to jobs and kids and activity schedules. That meant finding a campground within an hour or so from our house so we can easily get away for a quick weekend. One of our finds is a beautiful private campground on a lake called Little Black Creek – Campground & Park ( lbccampground.com ) in Lumberton, Mississippi. We love this little gem. LBC features about 100 sites around a pretty, quiet lake. Some sites are right on the water (our faves), some are tucked away in tree covered hills with a decent amount of privacy. There's a group area as well and some lovely cabins. The campground is quite spread out, it takes a bit to get from one side to the other. Time slows down at Little Black Creek. The sunsets on the lake are magical. The people are friendly, the fishing is good, along with canoeing/kayaking (they have rentals), bicycling, and the golf carts putter around but are not overly obnoxious. They have a full disc golf course, which is a good way to spend the afternoon (check Amazon or Academy Sports for a reasonably priced starter pack). We like to bring our Kayaks to fish and paddle. It's mostly fishing, little catching, but the boys don't mind given the scenery. There's a camp store with the basics, and a well-stocked grocery store just down the road (Ramey's). Hattiesburg is about 25 minutes away. I have talked about Hattiesburg in earlier posts. Just down the road is a wonderful Safari Park, Little Creek Landing in Sumrall, MS. Pics below for this sweet little park. They just opened and they're doing a great job; they have about 300 animals and a little safari tram that takes you to see the zebras, camels, a white buffalo, yaks, and a bunch of other interesting animals. It's a great way to spend an afternoon! I'm also strongly considering hosting my kiddos birthday party here next year. Great restaurant, gift shop, and ice cream too! If you find yourself in this neck of the woods, check out Little Black Creek and Little Creek Landing! Links: Little Black Creek - Little Black Creek – Campground & Park ( lbccampground.com ) Little Creek Landing - Waterfowl, Peafowl, Exotic Animals - Little Creek Landing ( littlecreeklanding.com ) Ramey's Grocery - Purvis, MS • Ramey's Marketplace ( rameysmarketplace.com ) Sunset from our campsite A campsite on the water Little Creek Landing Entrance Snuggling with the baby Fennec Fox Fluffy cow in the petting area Brand new baby - born hours before The escaping tortoise. He kept breaking out and finding us!

It's spring, the best time of the year to RV. Of course the RV (5th Wheel) has been in the shop for a couple of months now, having warranty work done. Two of the hydraulic jacks stopped working, the AC only works in the ALWAYS ON (not auto) setting, meaning it's ALWAYS blowing. A window was installed upside down so it leaks into the loft when it rains. So, here we sit, RV-less during the absolute best time of year to get out on the road, and when kids schedules are relatively clear. I imagine it will be ready as soon as it hits 90* and 90% humidity consistently, which starts in a few weeks. As spring break was approaching and we had no RV to drag around the southern US and nothing else on the books, we planned a road trip instead. The first stop was in Hattiesburg, MS where we stopped in the weirdly cool Pocket Museum Alley, a joy for all ages. The alley is home to the most random collection of "pocket" sized dioramas, sculptures, art, sidewalk art, a pigeon departure and arrivals board, and games for kids and adults. We have heard rumors the Hattiesburg Pocket Museum is unusually entertaining but cannot confirm that yet since we haven't been there when it's open, but it's on the list. If you are ever in this neck of the woods, the randomness of the alley is well worth a few minutes - make sure to look in all the nooks and crannies for surprises. It is one of the happiest places around. Our stop was rounded out by a visit to Southbound Bagels and Coffee Shop, home of yummy bagels freshly made each morning by a local restaurant legend and veteran. We piled back into the car to drive north to Oxford, Mississippi (home of the University of Mississippi, better known as Ole Miss). We booked a hotel room to cram the family of 5 in - featuring two queens and a sofa. We miss our RV, sighhhhhh. But, alas, Oxford is beautiful and the flowers were in bloom. The town is cute and quaint with great shops, restaurants, and world-class bookstores - Oxford is hometown to both William Faulkner and John Grisham and other noteworthy authors I'll admit I don't actually know. Ole Miss as a campus leaves quite an impression; it is very stately and beautiful and historic. The football stadium is wildly impressive. The next day found us making our way to Memphis, in spite of everyone's warnings regarding our safety. Booked another name-brand hotel near Beale Street, smaller room than the last, with the same sleeping arrangement. Very cozy and by cozy I mean very annoyingly cramped, with one very questionable bathroom. Still missing the RV. Memphis, however, was lovely. It was mid-week so Beale Street was relatively quiet. The BBQ was outstanding, the people were friendly. The weather was perfect. We tried to see the "famous" ducks at The Peabody hotel but the fountain was under renovation. The hotel is beautiful and the ducks could be found on the roof in a pond with an enclosure. Not the experience we were hoping for, but there it was. Our middle kid's request was to visit the Bass Pro Shop + Hotel mecca in "The Pyramid", which is epic and bonkers and a must for anyone outdoorsy. He really wanted to stay in the hotel but I overrode that request when I checked the price. The interior is... something. Indescribable really. Sportsman's paradise. There's a lake with full-sized boats inside. We lost a few hours there, but managed to spend less than a hundred bucks so yay us! We also checked out the Rock 'n' Soul Museum, which tells the history of Music in Memphis. It was very informative and interesting. Well laid out, on the smaller side so not a huge time commitment. Our youngest's request was the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel, where MLK was assassinated. I was not familiar with the museum, she heard about it in school and was excited to check it out, so we planned our visit. We were all so glad we did - from the 9 year old to the teens to the... much older adults. It is so well done and tells the story of the civil rights movement as we have never seen with videos, news footage, art, artifacts, interviews, pictures, and a full sized 1960's era city bus to walk through with a gorgeous bronze of Rosa Parks sitting in her seat. The motel is completely preserved back to that day in 1968 and the museum is built into and behind it. If you are in Memphis, this is a must, must-see. It was also a little bit life-changing, in a very important way. We spent about three hours, and could have stayed most of the day because there was so much to see, read, experience, explore, understand. But alas, we were due to get back on the road. Our drive home took the route of the Mississippi Blues Trail, via the towns of Tunica, Hernando, and Clarksdale, among others. Clarksdale is home of Ground Zero, Morgan Freeman's original blues club (sadly closed until the evening) and some fantastic burgers at the aptly named Owen's Burger Shack, where you have a choice of Burgers and/or Fries you order from a window punched in the side of a warehouse next to a gas station. The boys in the family put these burgers in their top 3 of all time. This was followed by a stop in Leland, MS - hometown of Jim Henson - and a visit to the Jim Henson Museum. It features adorable memorabilia and bonus, it's free! We spent maybe 10 minutes here. Admittedly, the Blues Trail is rough, the times have not been easy on the area. But it has its own charm and history, and is important. I recommend a book called Dispatches from Pluto by Richard Grant for a glimpse into the culture of the area, known as The Delta. It is thoughtful, poignant, and laugh-out-loud-funny. Our trip concluded in the Homochitto National Forest near Crosby, MS where I rented an amazing little VRBO for the last night of our trip. I'm pretty sure time stood still for those last 20 or so hours. This fantastic little find was tucked into a National Forest with a small pond and an amazing porch with rockers, a swing, and a fireplace, so it was a little bit like camping. We still miss our RV and it's still sitting at Camping World... maybe we'll be able to break it out one day soon. Fingers crossed. Update from June 2024: We have the trailer back. It also hit 90* this week and all the nearby campgrounds are booked up. Yay. Update from July 2024: another jack broke, our awning no longer works, and all the cables on one living room slide decide to self-destruct. As we're not ready to forego another few months of camping so it can sit at Camping World for an undetermined amount of time, we're going full southern and just making it work for now however we can. I am not giving up my summer and fall too. Hattiesburg Links Southbound Bagels: https://www.southboundbagelandcoffee.com/ Hattiesburg Pocket Museum: https://hattiesburgpocketmuseum.com/ Oxford Links Oxford, MS: https://visitoxfordms.com/ Square Books, Oxford: https://www.southernliving.com/square-books-oxford-mississippi-7104576 Memphis Links Memphis BBQ at Rendezvous: https://hogsfly.com Ducks at the Peabody Hotel: https://www.peabodymemphis.com/peabody-ducks Bass Pro Shop Pyramid Mecca: https://www.memphistravel.com/attractions-activities/bass-pro-shops-pyramid Hotel at Bass Pro: https://big-cypress.com/bass-pro-shops/ Rock 'n' Soul Museum: https://www.memphisrocknsoul.org/ National Civil Rights Museum: https://www.civilrightsmuseum.org/ Mississippi Blues Trail Mississippi Blues Trail: https://msbluestrail.org/ Explore the Mississippi Delta: https://www.visitthedelta.com/ Book recommendation - Dispatches from Pluto: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/25111132 Owen's Burger Shack, Clarksdale: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g43722-d8018927-Reviews-Owens_Burger_Shack-Clarksdale_Mississippi.html Ground Zero, Clarksdale: https://www.groundzerobluesclub.com/ VRBO: Capital Cottage - Cottages for Rent in Crosby, Mississippi, United States - Airbnb

Our greatest RV adventure to date started during a little thing called The Pandemic (eeeek!) In the lead up to Christmas 2019, I found I could not bring myself to buy more toys and gadgets for our kids, items that would end up cast aside, broken, or otherwise discarded. I talked the husband into gifting them an experience instead. I painstakingly planned and booked a European Adventure for our family of 5, to England and France for spring break that coming year. We surprised them with it on Christmas morning, with a scheduled departure date of March 20, 2020. The world shut down March 17, 2020. The husband and I were both about to be on vacation for 2 weeks, our kids had been kicked out of school, grocery stores were empty, playgrounds were covered in caution tape, there was still snow on the ground, and things were getting weird, so we decided that instead of being stuck in our house for the next two weeks, there was no reason we couldn't "quarantine" in our RV instead. We decided to hit the road and head south (it was warmer). We threw all the food we had in the 5th wheel, loaded up a couple of weeks' worth of clothes, jugs of water, the dog and kids, and hit I-25 south out of Denver Metro. We made it to Southern Colorado the first night, to a dingy campground. Someone tried to steal our bikes off the back in the middle of the night. Everything was strange. The next day we drove through New Mexico (we weren't allowed to stop) on our way to Wichita Falls Texas, to a beautiful Jellystone campground with all the amenities including a little farm/petting zoo. Things seemed normal, people were out, kids were running around, farm animals were waiting to be pet. The following day things started to shut down, and we headed out to Tyler Texas. Tyler was again normal when we got there, everything was open, we went out to dinner to celebrate one kiddo's birthday, our always patient middle child, who was supposed to celebrate his birthday in New York City on our way to London. Instead we had mediocre Mexican food followed by cake. A cake we picked up in town. A cake that we failed to notice was made of ice cream. And we put it in the fridge for a few hours. Whoops. Things were not looking up. The next day everything shut down around us again. We drove through Downtown Dallas without another soul on the highways, it was EERIE. We felt like we were on the lam. We landed in Vidalia, Louisiana and camped in a beautiful RV park on the Mississippi River. We spent a day touring Vicksburg National Park (which is a great place to visit; the history is fascinating), went to a drive through daquiri shack, had a nice walk along the river. Once again life seemed normal. The next morning the Sheriff drove through the campground (multiple times) with his bullhorn telling everyone to stay inside. We were already planning to bail to Mississippi that morning, so we threw everything in quickly, buttoned up the rig, and drove off after the sheriff made his next round. Fortunately, Natchez, Mississippi was about 2 minutes away, just over the bridge. We drove through Mississippi on our way to the Gulf Beach RV Park in Biloxi. I seriously had to Google to see if Mississippi had a coastline - I had no idea. We booked a spot for 3 nights, thinking we would make our way to Florida and settle there for a bit. To our surprise we were welcomed to Mississippi with true southern hospitality. We settled into our RV spot (concrete pad, 50amp, view of the gulf, by the pool) and prepared to stay for a few days. A few families had also landed at the Gulf Beach RV Park, but it was maybe 1/4 full. As we were tired of being on the lam, and unsure if we could travel from state to state any longer, we decided it was a good time to stay put for a bit. 3 nights became a week, a week became a month, a month became 3 months. The Easter Bunny even made an appearance. Ironically the husband always said he wanted to live in an RV and travel around the US with the kids. I told him he was insane. Our unexpected three months together were surprisingly enjoyable. We found we didn't need a big house full of things; we had everything we needed in that small space. Eventually we had to return to work remotely during the day when our vacations were over, the kids did online school in the mornings. We worked from the RV, out on the deck, or in the club house depending on the day and the weather. Life had returned to mostly normal on the gulf coast, people were getting back to work. The adults and kids in the RV park became fast friends and we would all mosey out to the deck overlooking the Gulf in the afternoon, bring ice chests full of beverages, dinner, a speaker for music. The kids would run around free-range children style; we quickly became a big Covid Family. We made life-long friends and many very cool memories. We had a taste of living in the south and we were smitten. By the time June rolled around, we had to stop living like Peter Pan and return home to Denver, a very different world from the Mississippi Gulf coast. We sold our house in Denver and moved south exactly one year later. Life is certainly unpredictable. This pic is one of my absolute favorites from that time. Camp socially! Campgrounds: Jellystone Wichita Falls: https://wichitafallsjellystonepark.com/ Jellystone Tyler Texas: https://jellystonetyler.com/ Gulf Beach RV Biloxi: https://gulfbeachrvresort.com/ The Covid Kids

I can't remember going camping without a pet. As a child, that pet was our overly patient Cocker Spaniel, George. He was a sweet boy and his absolute favorite adventures were our annual week-long trip to Cherry Lake in California's Sierra Nevada Mountains. Each summer we would pile into the Chevy Blazer (burnt orange, I was, after all, a child of the 70's) with everything we would need to live on an island in the middle of a lake for a week, hook up the boat, and head for the hills. We would set up camp with our family friends and us kids would explore, swim, water ski on the glassy lake early in the morning (George a fixture on the front of the boat with ears flying, doggy smile plastered on his face), float in our blow-up rafts (with George swimming circles around us), cook all meals over the camp stove, bake in the sun, consider swimming in the lake our "bath", and poop in the woods (of course burying it). George had free rein, which never happened at home in our small back yard, where all adventures beyond his yard required a leash. His soft curly ears would be crusted with mud and stickers, he was a happy water dog surrounded by water, he would sit by the camp fire between our camp chairs, and curl up in the tent with us at night. These were, by far, his happiest days. I often think back on these simple times and wonder if they were for real - they seem like a dream - but we have the pictures and the shared memories to prove it. Our next camping pet was inadvertent - on the day we were getting ready to head out for a camping trip with family, our cat Tigger, a very smart tiger striped tabby, a savvy and sweet boy, ended up under the car when my mom was moving it and broke his leg (but was otherwise ok). Off to the vet he went, full front leg cast applied. We couldn't leave him home, so Tigger came along on this camping trip to the woods. Tigger and his cast piled into the paneled station wagon with us and made the drive to Blue Creek. Turns out he also loved camping; he spent the day basking in the sun, sat on our laps by the campfire, and would tuck into the flap of the tent at night. Later, once my parents bought an RV, we traveled with our fat Siamese cat, Chopstick. He also loved his time away from home, he was happy to lounge on the dash in the sun when we parked, ride sitting in our laps or curled up on the bed in the back. We would never dream of leaving for a trip without loading Chopstick in with us. Unfortunately when he was a little older and during a trip driving through the US southwest, he became ill. My parents found a vet in Las Vegas and took him in. The vet asked to keep him for a few days to run some tests and for observation, and sadly diagnosed him with Feline Leukemia and he didn't make it. It was a sad, sad trip. A reminder life will always throw you curve balls, even when camping. Fast forward many years, our pup Zara, a quirky Belgian Malinois, is now our traveling companion. Wherever we go, she goes. She is the best traveler and we joke she has car narcolepsy - she crashes out as soon as she jumps in the truck and will stay that way, curled at the kids feet on the floorboard, for hours on end. She loves anytime she spends with her people, so she's a happy girl. Zara's favorite time ever was during Covid when we were at a mostly-empty RV park for 3 months, where she knew all the people and could run leash-free with her new best friend, Mylo, a Parsons Terrier. We have now added another quirky Belgian Malinois pup to the family since Zara is getting older (she just turned 11), who we named Piper. It's a little chaotic but she is learning the ropes from Zara. We are looking forward to the many adventures to come with our girls. Camp socially - with your furry best friend! Pictured: Zara and our oldest kiddo.

As a kid, we typically RV'd in a caravan with another family or two. We often traveled up and down the west coast of the US and Canada with one other family. We were a family of 5, they were a family of 4 and their son (Toby) was the same age as my older sister, their daughter (Trina) was a few years older still. Trina was the perfect specimen of a teenage girl in the 80's - sunny blonde hair that feathered perfectly, thin, popular, with great clothes and makeup. Toby was the perfect specimen of a boy who grew up in the country, equally blonde, perfect hair, confident, popular, football player. We were much less blonde, less thin, less perfect and less popular, but we all got along well, ran wild together, and had many memorable adventures during our early-ish years. Our dads always took on the motorhome driving duties, communicating by CB using their handles (Bug Man, Muckraker) for stops for gas, sightseeing opportunities, or just to stretch their legs for a few minute and shoot the... you know. Us kids would switch back and forth between motorhomes, whittling away our time playing games at the dinette: Cards, Yahtzee, Monopoly, Sorry, always trying to keep the pieces from sliding off the game board and ruining the game. We would look out the windows, watch the scenery go by, do our best to stave off sheer boredom. We would talk, listen to whatever music we could get when local radio stations would come in, and later listen to tapes on the battery operated boom box. We all had one goal: to talk our parents into staying at a KOA. Why? Because they had a pool. Never mind that we had pools at our houses. We grew up in the central valley of California where summers are an endless procession of 100* plus days. Their pool was a beautiful built in, with diving board and separate hot tub overlooking their land. Ours was a "dough boy" pool mostly buried into the ground of our small-ish backyard in town. Regardless, the KOA pool was the goal. We would keep an eye out for the billboards for upcoming campgrounds, always trying to spot the KOA. When we'd see that big yellow billboard we would all get excited and start the process of convincing the parents, listing the reasons it made sense to stop. The signs would continue to go by, 50 miles to go! 30 miles, 15 miles, 5 miles. We'd beg. And then! We would drive right past the exit. Every time. We would be shattered. Every time. Always proceeding to the State Park campground or wherever the destination was for that day. Sometimes we have childhood memories we question if they are really as we remember them as we get older (or at least I do). A number of years ago we threw our parents a 40th anniversary party and all of us who traveled together as kids reconvened as adults. It had been years since we had been together in one place. We were all now well into adulthood, but we reminisced about those long drives and amazing memories of camping together in our childhoods; running around completely unsupervised, getting very lost on a trip over sand dunes to the beach in Oregon, picking up lizards by the tail only to have them fall off, snipe hunting by flashlight in the dark, freaky nights in a tent when we were probably too young to be out there on our own, fishing from the lakefront. Someone mentioned the longing for the KOA campgrounds and we all excitedly remembered those days of watching that yellow sign come into view, and then eventually go right by. We laughed and laughed at the hope we had, and the crestfallen feeling of knowing it wasn't happening again this trip. There were a few times we did stay at one, I think probably because it was at the right place in our road trip and made sense to stop there, but they didn't plan around a stay at a KOA. As adults, we now look for KOA's with good amenities when we search for campgrounds (particularly KOA Holidays) and they are often part of our destination, rather than a stop along the way somewhere. We tend use our RV a little differently than our parents did; the campground for us is as much a part of the journey as the ultimate destination. Staying in our RV is usually our reason for getting out; we can set up camp for a few days, relax, walk, explore, float in a lazy river, BBQ, enjoy time together. There is no house to clean, no lawn to mow, no tv going in the background, no obligations to keep. Our kids don't always love it, but I know as adults they will appreciate this time as I do; it isn't often our family stops, sits around a camp table or campfire, rents a canoe to float around in a lake, or enjoys idle time together to just chat. Our boys are older teens and their camping trip days are fewer and further between. Our youngest still looks for kids to hang out with at the campground. My hope with Camping with Friends is that we can find another family or two that we can meet up with and get to know, and create our own caravan, let our kids run free, find a lizard or two. I probably won't let her play "light as a feather, stiff as a board" with her friends as we did as kids, but that's another story for another post. And yes, it absolutely worked sometimes. I swear! Camp socially! Check out a KOA Holiday. Link: KOA Holiday Campgrounds, Basecamp for adventure | KOA Absolute Favorite KOA Holidays: Silt (Glenwood Springs), Colorado https://koa.com/campgrounds/colorado-river/ Wichita Falls, Texas https://koa.com/campgrounds/burkburnett/ *Note: not all KOA Holidays are created equal, so check comments and amenities.

Camping is in my genes. We called my dad's parents 'Camping Grandma and Grandpa', which I didn't realize was weird until I was an adult, but it's how my siblings and I refer to them to this day. Our early camping trips were an extended family affair, with my immediate family in green heavy canvas army tent my grandpa schlepped back with him from the Philippines (or that's what I remember. In retrospect, I doubt it's true). My memories go to my mom in faded bell bottoms with a bandana around her hair making breakfast on a camp stove, my toddler brother with a filthy face after crawling around in the dirt, my sister and I in pigtails, equally filthy. My parents eventually bought a second (or third, or fourth) hand smelly tow-behind trailer which we had for a short time, then moved onto The Superior, a very unique, used, Class A motorhome that traversed the west coast of the US and Canada, and made a number of gambling trips to Nevada. (We always begged for Circus Circus). In 1986 they threw caution to the wind, mortgaged life, and bought a brand new 1986 36ft Pace Arrow motorhome. In 1987 we spent a full month traveling from the west coast to the east coast, and back again. It was simultaneously the most memorable trip full of history and wonder, and the most boring month of my young life. Fast forward a few years, I got married, we moved to Colorado, and had a few kids. Once again, we started with a tent (a much nicer one from REI this time) and eventually borrowed Tony and Dorothy's 5th wheel for a family trip to the Northern California coast. They talked us into taking it back to Colorado with us due to dad's health issues, and we began exploring Colorado via RV parks and campgrounds. We have since upgraded a few times, settling on a ridiculously long 42ft Montana that accommodates our family of 5, along with friends and family members who join our adventures, though we're considering downsizing again. But, it also doubles as a very nice guest house since we have a little bit of property so we'll see. My happy place is a State Park campground with tons of trees, dirt spots, rickety, splinter-y picnic tables, rudimentary fire pits, and some sort of lake or water nearby. My husband's happy place is an RV Resort with a lazy river, concrete pads, Adirondack chairs artfully placed by a lovely firepit, and 50amp. So, we run the gamut. In full disclosure, I am no longer allowed to book our campsites without proper supervision. The 1973 Dodge Superior. Fancy! The 1986 Pace Arrow. Luxury!

I work from home. Or the road. Really wherever. I was fortunate to find a 100% remote job 10+ years ago. We had to move states for my husband's job and I thought I would be amazing at stay-at-home mom-ing so I gleefully quit a job I really loved. We moved. The oldest started kindergarten, I was at home with the then 3-year-old. Turns out I am not very good at it, and it kind of sucks to be a stay-at-home mom when money is somewhat tight and you're kind of cheap. There are only so many trips you can take to the park/playground when it's 110 degrees outside, you don't know anyone, and there are only so many Handy Manny episodes you can listen to. I also fell into the 'eh, I'll take care of it tomorrow' trap and our house was perpetually messy. And I'm a neat freak. Side note: I am not necessarily a clean freak. I like things clean, but I really like things tidy; I hate clutter. But I don't care if you can eat off my floors. Things were neither clean nor tidy. I found a job identical to what I was doing before but fully remote, interviewed, got the job. Found nanny to come to the house to help out with the 3-year-old, and got to work. There were some bumps in the road with that nanny. She often had to bring her own kiddo, a little girl about the same age as our little guy, so I had to hide out in a bedroom to work. One day she called in to tell me she couldn't make it because she broke her husband's, ahem, baby maker, during a particularly active round of... relations. How do you respond to that? I certainly had to Google to see if it was even possible (it seems to be) and delicately ask if he was "doing better" later on. She was out for a couple of days. Handy Manny, Legos, and Tonka trucks to the rescue. Ten + years on, there have been ups and downs, more moves, more childcare options, and one more kid. Fortunately no more broken... never mind. The husband's job has changed a number of times, while mine stayed steady. His included a stint where he traveled around the country 3-5 days/week meaning lots of fun airline miles and hotel points but also lots of time apart. We were able to take some pretty cool trips, or I'd tag along on a work trip for him, working from a hotel during the day. It also allowed us to take the RV around the country a bit where we both worked from the road. He is now onto another position and we are traveling less, but he's home more. Life has its phases. I always pray for good Wifi at the RV park, and state parks are out because they're usually too remote or service isn't great, but it's been a pretty fun road. We now have a high schooler, one heading off to college, and an elementary school aged kiddo, so the weekends/vacations aren't as free as they once were, and the trips shorter and closer to home. But we have found some fantastic spots and are always on the lookout. I look forward to sharing those, and learning about all the fun places people recommend. Camp Socially! My remote office in Biloxi, MS during the pandemic.

Why did we start Camping with Friends? As the husband and I were driving back from a work event on Florida's Emerald Coast (beautiful) we were discussing our next camping trip and the our usual conundrum - we don't have friends to camp with. We have amazing friends in our lives, but none of them camp, and many aren't nearby. So, when we camp, it's just our family. And we love our family, and sometimes being just the 5 of us is just what we need, but we are also extroverts and love to be around other people so we are always open to making new friends and that's often a LOT of time with just us. In this digital age of social media and yelp and DoorDash and working-from-home, the opportunities to have real conversations with real people, in person, have been diminished. Our intention is to use Camping with Friends as a way to facilitate in-person interactions. The world just functions better when we talk face-to-face and we understand the human race just a little bit better. We love to RV because our fellow RV-ers just seem a little happier, a little more open to being out in the world, in nature, in a new location, a little more adventurous than the average bear. We also love that RV-ing spans ages, backgrounds, generations, religions, political affiliations. It is quite literally open and accessible to anyone. We often take walks around campgrounds, looking longingly at the camping groups; family, friends, family and friends gathered around a picnic table or campfire, enjoying each other's company. That dynamic isn't easy to infiltrate. When staying in larger RV parks (like Reunion Lake in Louisiana) we wonder if there is anyone we know there; any other families our youngest has spent the day swimming with, riding bikes around the RV park, hanging out at a playground. I wonder if any of the RV-ers who do the amazing RV renovation projects I see on Facebook and Instagram are staying there. I'd love to talk to them and hear all about what they've done. I know they would love to talk about it and show off their renovations. The husband wonders if there's anyone else who loves Craft Beer or whiskey and would like to share a new find with him, or check out a nearby brewery, or knows of a good fishing spot nearby, or even someone who can fix our jack that stopped working. In large campgrounds, some of our new found friends could be just down the way and we would never know it. As a whole, we love to meet new people, and RV parks and campgrounds are a hive of people from all over the US, and sometimes the world. During Covid we met a couple from Australia (husband) and Croatia (wife). Talking to them was fascinating and we learned so much about them, their home countries, their travels around the world, their jobs, their families. Covid was a unique experience where a bunch of families had a chance to forge new friendships while staying at an RV park for weeks on a time. We want to have a chance to forge those same friendships, but perhaps in a shorter time span. Let's do it! Let's Camp Socially.