Road Trip To The University of South Carolina

Posted on by Michele

Columbia Road TripWhen our oldest started thinking about college, we knew she wasn’t going to be one of those kids who went to school in our backyard.  Little did we know that she would end up about 8 hours away!  The bad part?  We definitely don’t get to see her as often as we’d like.  The good part?  ROAD TRIP!!

Over the past three years, we’ve made quite a few trips – Parent’s Weekend, sorority parent’s cocktail parties, spring break visits… and the occasional “just because” trip. So, when we got a phone call a few weeks ago from one very stressed-out collegian, we knew we had to head south for a visit.  Nothing like some good food, wine (she’s legal now… how did THAT happen?), and some good old fashioned family time to help calm a little of the angst of life as an (almost) grown-up.

 The eight hour drive to the University of South Carolina is a bit of a long haul, so we always try to drive halfway after work on the first day, spend the night, and then head the rest of the way down the next morning.  That usually puts us into town just in time to buy her (and usually at least one roommate or her boyfriend) lunch usually followed by a little shopping, lots of walking, a visit to the bookstore for some swag, and then more eating.

There is always a little bit of culture shock when we head to Columbia – it is a BIT of a departure from DC (you think?).  But if you look hard enough, beyond the college dive bars and burger joints, there are some really terrific restaurants and bars.  And we LOVE our restaurants and bars.  And, of course, you can’t be in the South over the weekend and not experience that quintessentially Southern tradition – brunch.

JOIN US for a little RV park research, a little spring snowstorm, and a little family time on our weekend road trip to Columbia.

Rocky Gap State Park

Posted on by Michele

Rocky Gap ThumbnailIt is still cold on the east coast, but we have been itching for weeks to get out into the woods.  And now that we have Marvin (our silver spaceship to the great outdoors in comfort and style), why wait until the weather gets warm to start our adventures?

Surprisingly, you don’t have to go too far outside of DC to find some beautiful places to explore – and one of our absolute favorites is Rocky Gap State Park just outside of Cumberland, Maryland.

It’s pretty perfect actually. 

·         Want hiking?  There are hundreds of miles of well-marked trails

·         Kayaking more your thing?  Multiple docks are available where you can use your own equipment, or during the season rental kayaks and paddleboards are available.

·         Camping?  More than 100 tent and trailer sites are available and most are fairly private.  Cabins are also available and there is a bathhouse on each “loop”

·         Need a little more nightlife than just a campfire?  Rocky Gap Resort (and Casino) is just down the street – great restaurants, golf, nightlife, gambling… and more! 

It can get pretty crowded during the summer, but one of the things we absolutely love about Rocky Gap in the off-season is that we basically have the entire place to ourselves. 

Peace and quiet, convenience, AND beauty?  Yes, please…  

With every weekend trip we take, we get a few more kinks worked out of all of the nit-picky little things we have to figure out before our year-long adventure.  Just how many dishes do you need – or more importantly, how many wine glasses are enough?  What kinds of pots and pans? How do you wash dishes when you are dry camping? There are a million things to learn… and we are just scratching the surface. 

JOIN US as we do a little shopping, get a little snow, and see how Michele’s first attempt at cooking campfire pineapple upside-down cake turned out.