This week I tackled RVing kinda sorta on my own. My good friend, MJ, asked me watch her kiddos,
( Hunter 9, Lexie 6, Tristan 6 ) for a few days during the kids' Spring Break from school. I've been promising to take them camping so I thought taking the kids and the RV just a few minutes down the road to the local KOA http://www.koa.com/where/fl/09205/ would be a great way to get away without being too far away. And it was.
The St. Augustine Beach KOA is only 15 minutes from our home but it felt the same as if we were hours away. A quick blurb about this KOA: First and foremost, the park staff have more patience than I will ever have. The park was full and every site had at least 2 kids if not 5 plus there was a whole troop of Boy Scouts! The camp store was always full of kids buying one candy bar or soda or ice cream at a time. I quickly learned that for $1.50 ( 50 cents per kid ) I could get 10 minutes or so of quiet time. Obviously, I wasn't the only parental figure in the park with that idea. The park sites are small but very clean. There is a cute Turtle Lake that is full of turtles, fish ( smart fish who no one ever caught ) and ducks ( the Momma ducks are feisty ). I wish the pool had been heated. The kids tried every day to swim but just couldn't handle the cold water. The park was full of kids on bikes and kids walking dogs. I was so impressed by how the park staff were zooming around in their bright yellow golf carts but didn't run anyone over. I have a feeling they secretly wanted to on many occasions.
No major events or mishaps on this trip. We spent Monday setting up camp ( big thanks to Dwight for helping me ) and Savannah brought out our dinner of hot dogs and chips. We had a big fire where the kids barely heated the hot dogs but succeeded in burning the marsh mellows to a crunchy crisp. And then Dwight and Savannah abandoned me! I was all alone in a rather small RV with 3 little kids and a 3 month old puppy. But all was good. We all played Slap Jack & watched "Dancing with the Stars".
Tuesday was dedicated to the beach which is only a few minutes down the road. There was a quick stop back home to pick up extra blankets and sweatshirts because the temperatures really dropped at night. I was so glad I decided to camp just a few minutes from the house. :) Hunter made a new friend at camp and was invited over for dinner. In the "real world" the acceptance of such an invite would require background checks and fingerprinting but in "camping world" it just requires a quick stop by the campsite to be sure your child hasn't invited himself to dinner. Dwight and I stopped by Hunter's new friend's campsite to meet his very nice parents whose RV probably cost more than our house and who won't let their kids ride bikes without helmets ( although I think that was just an act for our benefit ). Did I mention, Hunter would be dining on ribs while we were looking forward to last night's leftover hot dogs?
Wednesday was "tourist day". We went to the Fort http://www.nps.gov/casa/index.htm and Ripley's Museum . http://staugustine.ripleys.com/ Savannah ( my hero ) took the kids out for pizza, mini golf and Rita's Italian Ice.
All in all...it was a great experiment. I learned you don't have to spend a whole day or even a 1/2 day driving to "get away". I also learned: pack for unexpected weather, pack extra of everything, bring lots and lots of quarters, and always bring a puppy to keep the kids entertained.
( Hunter 9, Lexie 6, Tristan 6 ) for a few days during the kids' Spring Break from school. I've been promising to take them camping so I thought taking the kids and the RV just a few minutes down the road to the local KOA http://www.koa.com/where/fl/09205/ would be a great way to get away without being too far away. And it was.
The St. Augustine Beach KOA is only 15 minutes from our home but it felt the same as if we were hours away. A quick blurb about this KOA: First and foremost, the park staff have more patience than I will ever have. The park was full and every site had at least 2 kids if not 5 plus there was a whole troop of Boy Scouts! The camp store was always full of kids buying one candy bar or soda or ice cream at a time. I quickly learned that for $1.50 ( 50 cents per kid ) I could get 10 minutes or so of quiet time. Obviously, I wasn't the only parental figure in the park with that idea. The park sites are small but very clean. There is a cute Turtle Lake that is full of turtles, fish ( smart fish who no one ever caught ) and ducks ( the Momma ducks are feisty ). I wish the pool had been heated. The kids tried every day to swim but just couldn't handle the cold water. The park was full of kids on bikes and kids walking dogs. I was so impressed by how the park staff were zooming around in their bright yellow golf carts but didn't run anyone over. I have a feeling they secretly wanted to on many occasions.
No major events or mishaps on this trip. We spent Monday setting up camp ( big thanks to Dwight for helping me ) and Savannah brought out our dinner of hot dogs and chips. We had a big fire where the kids barely heated the hot dogs but succeeded in burning the marsh mellows to a crunchy crisp. And then Dwight and Savannah abandoned me! I was all alone in a rather small RV with 3 little kids and a 3 month old puppy. But all was good. We all played Slap Jack & watched "Dancing with the Stars".
Tuesday was dedicated to the beach which is only a few minutes down the road. There was a quick stop back home to pick up extra blankets and sweatshirts because the temperatures really dropped at night. I was so glad I decided to camp just a few minutes from the house. :) Hunter made a new friend at camp and was invited over for dinner. In the "real world" the acceptance of such an invite would require background checks and fingerprinting but in "camping world" it just requires a quick stop by the campsite to be sure your child hasn't invited himself to dinner. Dwight and I stopped by Hunter's new friend's campsite to meet his very nice parents whose RV probably cost more than our house and who won't let their kids ride bikes without helmets ( although I think that was just an act for our benefit ). Did I mention, Hunter would be dining on ribs while we were looking forward to last night's leftover hot dogs?
Wednesday was "tourist day". We went to the Fort http://www.nps.gov/casa/index.htm and Ripley's Museum . http://staugustine.ripleys.com/ Savannah ( my hero ) took the kids out for pizza, mini golf and Rita's Italian Ice.
All in all...it was a great experiment. I learned you don't have to spend a whole day or even a 1/2 day driving to "get away". I also learned: pack for unexpected weather, pack extra of everything, bring lots and lots of quarters, and always bring a puppy to keep the kids entertained.
*Photo date says 09-09, correct dates are 03/29/10 - 04/01/10. Camera was on the fritz...sorry :(
