Winterized

Well we are all winterized! Sad, but we still camp. We are actually planning  two camping trips this winter in our camper, never have we winter camped but this year we will. We finished our regular camping season at Yogi bear natural bridge. We participate in the site decorating contest every year. We seem to be missing first place by a nats but! We have three 2nd place finishes up there. Still fun and we enjoy decorating. We win a free night of camping so not a total loss LOL…

We only made it to Running Cedar once this year, some friends of ours want to camp there next spring so we will plan on it. Maybe for easter again, that was a blast camping there for Easter 2009. We had a great season of camping this year, minus the weather. We made safe trips to and from with no road hazards or mechanical problems. The weather is another story. We only had clear weather for one trip, that was Easter at Running Cedar, the rest of our year every weekend we camped it Rained!! And a couple times it was cold! In July!! Our friends Jeff and Megan said they were going to stop camping with us because it rains so much with us.

We are hoping to go to Tennessee this spring and visit Dollywood and Gatlinburg. A whole week! We are also planning a trip to Ohio to visit family, there is a nice campground on a lake close to where we lived as kids. So we have an exciting 2010 season planned, not that the 09 season is over yet. Till next post, keep the campfire burning.

Calland Family Camping!!

Well we finished the Ironman Louisville in August, Now time to make up lost camping time!! We are going to Jellystone a couple times in October to participate in the Halloween site decorating contest. We won 2nd place there last year and have our sights set for 1st this year. We really get into the scare.

We are also planning a trip to Va. Beach over Thanksgiving weekend. Trav-l-Park has a special theme with lights and cold weather fun. We hope you all are getting out and camping. Give us a shout, stop by our camper anytime!!

Getting back in the woods.

Well, it has been several weeks since we have been camping. Our last trip was Luray Va. I am training for Ironman Louisville which takes place August 30th. so our weekends have been filled with many training hours, this has put our camping on hold for a while. But, the good news is we are going camping the weekend before we leave for Louisville and this will all be over soon.
We will make up for lost time come September and we have a buisy October booked. We love the Fall camping the most, crisp mornings and evenings with a fire is awesome! Our camper needs 4 new tires, anyone have advice on tires or where to get the best deal? Thanks and enjoy your summer, “The Calland Family”.

Jellystone Luray 5 Stars!

Our 4th of July weekend at Luray was a total blast

this campground had so much for the kids to do. Pools, water slide, golf, jumping pillows to much to list. If you are looking for a vacation spot that will keep your family occupied this is the one.

The only negative was we were placed in a back in site between 3 families of tenters, so I had to school them on campground ediquette (spelling?) They would walk thru our site. Not just thru but almost close enough to go under our awning! Then they would yell back and forth! Not just kids but the adults to. I assumed they only camp once a year or maybe this was thier first, all the gear looked brand new.We did get to change sites and that made a world of difference. Still love the campground, just will make a reservation next time for a specific site. I reccomend that campgrounds put a note on the handouts when you arrive, please respect other campers do not walk thru sites.

We do not know what is next, we are short on $$$ so we may not be camping till August. Hope you all are enjoying the season, we are! Tim are you still out there? No blog in a while. If you need extra hands on your RV resort let me know, glad to help,

Until next time, “The Calland Family”

Off to Luray Va.

We are loading up the camper for a long weekend in Luray. We are camping Jellystone campground in Luray Va. with our friends Jeff and Megan and thier two children. This will be our first time camping at this campground so we are excited for new scenery.

Jellystone Luray has a full list of activity’s for the kids/adults all weekend long so there should be plenty to do. Let’s pray for clear weather!!
We have only had the camper out once since Disney, we camped two weeks ago in Va. Beach Trav-L-Park, one of our favorite campgrounds, very large and activities for kids/adults. We hauled our golf cart with us, first time doing that, it was worth it, fun to drive it around. Not many campgrounds allow carts these day’s.

As we woke Monday morning to pack up we decided to drive the dogs to the dog park, when driving past the cafe’ we realize it burned to the ground Sunday night! 4am caught fire, we are shocked and sad for them. That is how large the grounds are, we did not hear a thing.
After this weekend we have nothing planned, we will camp local the rest of the year and support our community. Till next time keep the campfires burning!!
The Calland Family.

Fort Wilderness and Disney 2009!!

Well, we made the biggest trip with the RV yet, DISNEY!! The weather was hit and miss on the drive down to Florida. We camped in a Wal-Mart parking lot Saturday night, big mistake, very loud and felt creepy, not much light or security at this one, won’t do that again. We arrived at Fort Wilderness campground around 2pm Sunday. To say the least we were disappointed:( There were very little instruction on what when and where to go or how to get around the parks. The campground had way to many restrictions, took the fun out of camping. Can you believe they do not allow campfires at ANY site!! Not even a fire ring so you can’t break the rules.
We got all set up on our site which had lizards and armadillos running around everywhere which drove the dogs crazy! Not sure about my spelling, sorry. Sunday night the rain set in and never let up till Friday morning, long enough for us to break down camp and get out of there. The drive home was very stressful, high winds and pouring rains, I was white nuckling the steering wheel the entire day Friday. We called a KOA in South Carolina, Points South KOA. This little campground was so awesome! Cozy and nice, we left them with great feedback and let them know how much we enjoyed them, and wish we lived closer so we could visit them more often.
Our son is only 7 years old and had a blast the entire time, so that was a blessing, the weather did not bother him at all. Our next trip we hope, will be Trav-l-Park Va. Beach for Father’s day weekend. We are thinking about reserving a month during September out at Running Cedar, they have a relaxing atmosphere that we enjoy.
I think we have decided our next RV purchase will be a motorhome class C. Well, that is all for now, see ya’ll at the campground. The Calland Family!!

Running Cedar Camping.

Well we finally camped at Running Cedar Campground! The weather was Perfect for camping. My 7 year old son and I arrived Friday afternoon and set up camp, we just hung out taking our time getting things together. It was quiet with only a couple campers on the grounds. Not long after we arrived a couple more campers pulled in next to us and across from us, these were VERY nice people, we enjoyed meeting and visiting with them, I think my son was ready to go home with them and leave us, he played with the little girl they had with them. There were several children there this past weekend, so it worked out great for our son.
Running Cedar had a few fun activities for the kids/Adults. Easter Egg hunt, relay races, Wagon rides (my favorite) and Bingo that night..
Don’t let the size of this campground fool you, as the saying goes, good things come in small packages. Running Cedar is Awesome! The owners have several great ideas for the future of this campground, we are excited to be a part of watching it grow from here. The campground is a family atmosphere that most campgrounds do not have.
The site we stayed in #4 was perfectly level, all I did was back in and the camper was level side to side, not often that happens. As we were there we checked out other sites for future use, many sites are desirable, hard choice, maybe we need to try them all!! LOL… I know I am rambling on and on, All I can say is we are so glad we camped with the Reynolds at Running Cedar. If you have not been there it is your loss.
Until next time, keep the campfires burning and the Marshmallows golden, “The Calland Family”

1st weekend camping 09′..Let the fun begin!

Well, It is raining and suppose to rain all weekend, we DON”T care bring it on! We carry our good time with us.
We are camping Jellystone Natural Bridge with our good friends, the Duncan’s with thier two children. We are participating in the clean up for a free night of camping. We arrive at our campsite around 3:30 pm. our friends are already set up. It is raining a bit but not enough to put out our campfire! We managed to have a campfire all weekend! Saturday morning we met the other campers who volunteered for clean up weekend and the grounds staff. BOY! What work it was, I doubt I will do that again, I will just pay for both nights and relax. It worked out to be a pay check of $5.00 an hour! Not worth it in my opinion for a nights stay. The staff was very thankful to all of us for the help. The rain held off all day Saturday, with a few drizzles Saturday night, not enough to bother us. Sunday was warm and clear, made it nice for break down of our campsites and driving home. I don’t know about you, but I like to set up and tear down in pretty weather.
We are sooo excited, we are finally going to Running Cedar RV Resort the weekend of April 18th!! Tim Reynolds has worked very hard on this campground. We hope to be regulars there in the future. I really enjoy the good ole’ come on out and pay when you get here trust. No hassle just takes my word and off we go!! Looking foreward to it. My son (7) and I are going up Friday night to camp as MEN!! My wife works 3rd shift so she will come up Saturday mid morning. I am looking foreward to spending time with my son in the campground doind guy stuff. He is excited too. Well, till we blog again, keep the campfires burning! The Calland Family..

Jellystone N.B. 1st weekend of the 09' season

Cleaning RV and packing for the season!!

This weekend had beutiful weather for washing and stocking the camper. I had to wash a couple times to get the grit off! New tag decal, and towing to Forest RV for a new inspection sticker and she will be all set, we alway’s get excited to go camping. We have been sitting in the camper playing games and pretending to be out camping LOL… We head for Natural Bridge this weekend to kick off the 09′ season, lets hope the weather is good. Our friends the Duncan family will be camping beside us as well, they camp with us regularly, we have a blast!! 4 adults 3 kids, 3 dogs!! And several beverages… Enjoy! Until next post, keep the camp fires burning…

2009 season soon to begin!!

Well finally I logged back on my blog successfully.

It is March, the weather is starting to tease us with somsome Spring temps. We are scheduled to camp Natural Bridge Yogi bear campground the weekend of March 27th. We hope to take advantage of Running Cedar $10.00 a night March special before then.

The Calland family had a wonderful 08′ season, we managed to camp over twelve trips! spent just over 30 day’s in our Coachman travel trailer, Awesome!!

Last year we made several reservations way early, we are not doing that this year. We are not sure on what when or where at this point we want to camp. We are camping Smith Mountain Lake park again, we enjoy it there. Also we talked about trying a couple more state parks this season, parks are cheap and clean! We are Camping Natural Bridge with some friends, we both have kids that will be celebrating Birthday’s that weekend, should be a blast! Let’s hop the weather holds and starts to warm up. Till we actually camp, talk to ya later, The Calland Family.