I'm sure most of you envision that my idea of camping would be pitching a tent with down comforters in a hotel room WITH room service! Ha! Boy are you in for a surprise! My idea of camping is in an RV. I guess you could call it glamping. That's right, we glamped all over Arkansas and back! It went a little something like this:
Saturday morning leave at 9:00 am (4 hours to destination)
Saturday morning we decided to sleep in a bit and then load up RV
Loading up RV took 6 hours
Saturday afternoon leave at 3:00 pm (storms are coming)
Takes 15 minutes to get it out of the driveway
Finally on the road
Jason drives in the slow lane and refuses to go a mile over 60mph
Hit Dallas rush hour (what? On a Saturday?)
Finally on the other side of Dallas and out of the city well after 5:00 pm
Jason already asking where a rest area is so he can stretch his legs
Stop in Sulphur Springs (only ½ way to Texarkana) to eat at Chili's
On the road by 7:00 pm and rain is upon us
Get to Texarkana by 9:00 pm something
Decide to stay in a KAO RV park for the night instead of driving to destination
Finally hooked up and parked by 10:00 pm (exhausted)
Goal to be on road before 9:00 am Sunday morning
Slept till 9:00 am (can't believe Reed didn't wake up with the sun)
Having a really lazy tired morning
Leave KAO park by noon
Drive to Crater of the Diamond State Park, one hour away
Stop for gas and make a Walmart run (this just wasted more time)
Jason driving slower than Christmas…a little under 2 hours to our destination
Officially in RV State Park heaven late Sunday afternoon
I have to say, this was truly one of the most memorable vacations we have taken as a family! We all loved every single moment. Well almost! I did have to get my domestic on, which was a bit rusty. What couldn't't be cooked on the campfire, I was preparing in the kitchen. Even though I was doing this……….it felt like this:
But nonetheless, I invented some meanass recipes! I officially became a fan of the hobo foil packs! Did you know you can put just about anything in a heavy duty foil “pack” and stick it over a fire or hot coals? Chef Christy prepared chicken & veggies…baked potatoes in hot coals, grilled steak and shrimp, and a breakfast casserole in a cast iron skillet of corn tortillas, beat eggs, shredded frozen breakfast potatoes, organic chicken sausage, and cheese sprinkled on top (to die)! It looked a little something like this:
But my very very favorite ever…(you'll want to make note)…sliced bananas, marshmallows, Hershey's chocolate, and a little bit of brown sugar…wrapped in a foil pack and set over hot coals! HOLY MOLY!!!!! My kids are still talking about it! Gold star for me!
Oh, and one more….This really is my very fav. I was soo proud of my “outside of the box” thinking on this one. Before we left town, I ran into Roy Pope's to grab FROZEN Swiss Fondue…Yup, Chef Walter still whips up these long time favorites and you can get them at the best 76107 zip grocery store. We enjoyed genuine, traditional Swiss Fondue (cooked in a hobo foil pack over hot coals) from the once famous Old Swiss House restaurant in Fort Worth. One of Fort Worth’s 1st fine dining restaurants.
You know, I have to say…this truly was one of my favorite family vacation we have ever taken. For the 1st time ever, I really saw the kids happy (the whole time)…in an unfamiliar environment. They made friends soo quick with every kid in the park, and I'm not talking about trailer park kids either! There were many nice families...similar to this one below:
We enjoyed a non-stressed vacation…unlike the battle of ski school, long days on the slopes, and worn out children just in time for dinner at a fabulous mountain restaurant. We didn't have to worry about intense sunburns and monotonous days at the beach! This trip was perfection in every way possible.
Speaking of perfection! I am sooo thanking the Lord that we didn't have a turd floater moment like this! There wouldn't be enough therapy in the world to fix the damage done to Jason's ego!
So that's our trip in a nut shell. We panned for diamonds at Crater of the Diamonds State Park.
Biking, nature walks, and water activities were the norm.
And telling stories around the campfire while we cooked our food!
I sure hope your Spring BREAK was as wonderful with your family as it was for ours, regardless if you went on vacation or not!
Giveaway!!!
One lucky winner will receive Swiss Fondue delivered right to your door. You can enter to win this by:
- Subscribing to my blog (up top…on the right side…below WEDDED BLISS!). If you receive this blog via email, you are already subscribed.
- Share this post on Facebook (link at top near my pic).
- Leave a comment below. Winner will be announced in the comment section Monday morning. (You must contact me within 24 hours to redeem your prize, or I will have to draw another winner! xoxo)
For more information on renting an RV, check out Quest. This was actually our 5th time to rent! Shocker, I know! It was the 1st time we took the boys though, and they are totally hooked!
PLUS, I'm drawing the winner for a Bistro Louise dessert TODAY at 5:00 pm. Only 3 people have entered the drawing, so the chances of winning are REALLY GOOD! Check it out here!
