Tent camping has always been one of our favorite ways to relax and enjoy each other. The more remote and without amenities, the better. “Roughing it” just made our adventure more exciting. The variables of bad weather were just part of it. We are officially glampers and I couldn’t be more excited. Ryan and I looked over at each other and realized we should have done this sooner. Our tent days were fun and we will still find opportunities to use our tent. With our larger family, a camper makes more sense financially and logistically to spend more time making memories.

We got to our site just before 2pm and found that we had a family of ducks staying next door. The girls followed them around trying to catch them and take pictures. After eating sandwiches and getting our suits on, we headed out for a few hours to enjoy the beach. We decided to attend Mass that was being held at 6pm that evening. We got there just in time, clothes changed and smelling of the beach. It was nearly full except for an entire row right in the very front. Norah was so well behaved and Nicholas made it through communion before needing to be taken to a change of scenery. Norah was tired so she mostly sat quietly cuddling her bunny. She copies us, standing when we stand and kneeling when we kneel. At this church, the front row kneelers are detached cushioned stools that slide out from under your seat. There is not a place to fold your hands and rest them in front of you for balance. Norah knelt just like the rear of us, trying so hard to stay balanced while folding her hands in prayer. The priest and everyone behind us watched in admiration as she continued to participate in Mass.

After we left church we stopped at the store for a few groceries and returned to the RV to cook. Our camper has an outdoor kitchen so we did not have to worry about heating up the inside. We cooked sausages, macaroni and salads that were prepared before the trip. We played UNO with the girls and tried to watch a movie, but they fell asleep on our dinette table turned bed as soon as it started. Ryan and I enjoyed a few sips of wine before bed. I started to fall asleep sitting up and we both decided it was time to retire for the evening.

Now that we have experienced the beach with the RV, I am not sure how we can ever just “day trip” it again. All the time we spend getting ready for the beach we nearly exhaust ourselves making the two hour drive there and back again after spending all the day in the sun. We usually get back so late because we want to spend more time in the sand to make the trip worth it. Paying for a hotel at around two hundred dollars a night is over half of our monthly camper payment.

Getting food, four kids and all the necessities ready for the trip is so much easier from the camper. We have maximized our beach time by being able to get ready and eat before we head out for fun in the sun. I don’t know about Ryan, but I was so much more relaxed. That is definitely saying something with a newborn and a toddler in tow.

We had to check out and leave our RV site by noon but we wanted to go back to the beach again. We cleaned up the camper, got ready and decided to bring the RV to the beach with us. We were a little nervous since the beach was so crowded the day before. We got there early enough that we had enough room to turn around and park along the dunes across from our beach setup. The best part of having your camper at the beach, the outdoor showers we took before we left. It was perfect and we had the canopy over us for shade while we cleaned up.

I must add that the trip was not entirely without incident or mishap. We had a going away party for a friend on Friday evening and since we were not far from the storage facility we decided to bring the camper home and park it in the driveway. Our neighborhood doesn’t allow for campers to be parked on your property so we store about 30 minutes from our house. Ryan needed to install a hitch/sway bar to help ease the pulling and make for a smoother ride. Early Saturday morning he wakes up to work on the hitch and realizes that the ball on our truck is too small for the trailer’s receiver. The ball should stay in place when locked and lifted. We had driven nearly forty miles with the wrong size. This could have ended up badly. God was definitely with us. I do not want to even imagine what would have happened had the trailer came loose while we were towing. Ryan also accidentally pinched the trailer wires on the hitch, which was an easy fix thank the Lord. We also forgot the hoses to fill our water tanks. Ryan has two drinking water hoses that were from filling up the tub during my home birth and forgot them. We got to our campsite and realized our tanks were completely full. This was a surprise since you are not suppose to haul your camper with full tanks. We had assumed the dealership drained them before sending us off. But the full tanks explain why the camper seemed to tug more than normal, it was the water sloshing around. We would have been without water that evening it we had not towed it with us. Thankfully our neighbor at the campground seemed to be a resident and had plenty of hoses hung up outside her camper. Ryan borrowed one (without permission) to fill our tanks. He or she wasn’t home during the day. I’m sure it wouldn’t have been a problem, most RVers are so happy to help. Other than the mosquitos carrying Ryan away at night, the trip couldn’t have been better.

We had a few learning curves and we were glad to have them. We already have our next trip booked and we are a little more confident about venturing farther away!

Blessings,

Venice