Ready for 2013 Camping Season

We took a year off and now we’re back! The family was not happy that we did not get out to camp in 2012, but it was necessary for us to focus on other areas. Boy how we missed it!

We have our first trip planned for Memorial Day and I still need to finalize the rest of the summer. The family is EXCITED to get back into the groove of camping!

Our annual (minus 2012) July fourth trip will be in Pittsburgh, PA this year. My best friend since 2nd grade is getting married. And it’s too expensive for a family of six to stay in a hotel for 4 nights and although my sister is in that area, there’s just not enough room.

We plan on hitting up Kennywood on July 4th with the bride and groom! I’ve not been to Kennywood since 1991! 

OK…enough about July (I’m so exited)! I just wanted to share that we are on like Donkey Kong for 2013!

 

Finding a Home

I was talking to a fellow mommy about my daughter’s upcoming birthday party when the conversation turned to one of my favorite subjects, camping. Fellow-mommy shared they have a seasonal site at a nearby campground. I immediately started my questions. What made you decide to go seasonal? How did you decide on a campground? How often do you drive out to the site?

Fellow-mommy says they had been camping a long time. I think she said nearly 8 years. So here I am in my eleventh year of camping and I have no idea where I would like to be seasonal. I don’t know what it is. I think I may miss out on something. I still like traveling and I want to drive cross-country one day!

While writing this post, Will and I started talking about what would need to happen for us to become seasonal. As in real estate, the first three things you learn about in the business is location, location, location. The question is, does that apply to camping? You can have a great location and bad neighbors. Or you can find great neighbors but it’s a bad location. Right now, I haven’t found a location that feels like home or neighbors that make me forget about the location.

The drive is part of camping.

The price is another factor. With any seasonal location, what do you really get besides the site? Is there amenities exclusive to members? Are there special member-only events? Are day and overnight visitors free? Will the owners get to know me and my family or will I be another expected check in the mail?

Some people decide to become seasonal to avoid packing prep before each trip. I don’t mind the prep work. Our RV has most of it’s own supplies. All that’s left for us to get is sleeping bags for the kids. Yes, we’ve been camping all these years and they do not have sleeping bags. All other necessities are stored in the RV, carpets, cookware, towels, soap, etc.

To ease my perceived frustration around the seasonal versus non-seasonal dilemma, I Googled campgrounds in Western New York and found some places I’ve not looked into. So I have some visiting to do. I guess that means we’re not ready to be seasonal members. What about you?

2010 Memorial Day Weekend

The first camping adventure of 2010 was a blast. The weather was a wonderful 84+ degrees each day which allowed the children to swim several times a day. Sun screen was a must-have that weekend.

Frost Ridge, formerly known as Lei-Ti, is in it’s second year of new management. The changes to the campground are noticeable. The bathrooms were remodeled and a laundry facility is being built.

The camp sites were clean, but could have used a little raking after the grass was cut. And, the schedule of activities could have been better. The comfy lounge was great and served as a safe place for teens to hangout during the evenings.

It was fun to see the campground get involved in the wet-n-wild wagon ride on Saturday. Sites where there were no children had spray guns and buckets of water ready and waiting. Imagine, an hour of screaming and yelling. It was great. A rematch was scheduled for Sunday.

As with previous years, the campground was packed and children were everywhere. There were two nights of live music. The live bands played mostly country music. I asked myself several times why the live bands at campgrounds mainly country bands. It’s one thing to be the only black family at a campground, but to have to listen to songs about living in a hick town and being a red-neck is a bit too much for me.

Luckily, the Morgan Twins from the second season of American Idol, honored us with a great rendition of Fallin’ by Alicia Keys.

I was not thrilled the campground was open to the public for the music. There was a lot of drinking, smoking, and partying. That led to the need to keep the kids close by and I started thinking about changing our Memorial Day camping spot. A plus was the campground made sure the partying was done right when the curfew began.

We ended each night around the campfire with s’mores and hot dogs. You can see photos from this trip here.

Overall, I do recommend this campground!

Feel free to share your camping experiences with us! Use the comment section below.