Front Royal RV Campground, Front Royal, VA

This is the view driving into the campground in the morning!


First, I would like to point out that this campground does have spaces available for more than just RV's. They have ample tent spaces that are super shady!

So, we went here for Labor Day Weekend 2009. It was not crowded and once quiet hours started, it was quiet. Which is good, because the campsites seem a bit close for my comfort. Not very shady in the RV section. Also, I should point out that this campground was obviously a KOA.

Amenities: Pool, hot tub, playground, basketball court and campstore. They also advertised WiFi, but we didn't bring computers. There was a waterslide that had leaves in it. There was also a catch and release fishing pond that was moss covered and hard to get to, according to my husband. After that report, I didn't go looking for it. The pool was very cold, for an adult. The kids didn't seem to mind too much. It was also one of those beach-entry types, that became more shallow as you went towards the edges. Pretty cool! The hot tub was for adults only! But it did feel nice after the freezing pool!

I did not venture into the bath houses. I took all of my showers at our RV. There were only two bath houses and they seemed kind of far from the tent area. My husband said they were nice. I don't know what that means, but he would have said something if they were dirty!

In the area: Front Royal. It is very historical for the Civil War.

Front Royal also has antique stores that I really can't comment on since I don't go "antiquing". There are a couple of local restaurants that were all walking distance downtown. We parked in a public lot and walked around with the two children. We did this on Saturday and there was a Farmer's Market. On Sunday, we ventured into the North Entrance of the Shenandoah National Forrest Skyline Drive.

We picnicked at the first visitor's center and drove about 15 miles into the drive. We did this in Ford F-350 with little trouble. There were all sorts of vehicles: Harley Davidson's, mini vans, bicyles...whatever. Oh, and Cruise America RV class C's. Considering how narrow the roads are, that was amazing to me.

Skyline Caverns is also less than a mile away. Guided tour lasts about an hour. Bring a jacket or sweat shirt and wear pants. It was down right cold down there! The gift shop attached has a lot of things in it, but nothing that most touristy gifts shops don't. The tour guide was really good about stopping along the way to let us take pictures.


Overall, this was an enjoyable weekend. We didn't use our AC the entire weekend! Open air camping. Love it!

The link Front Royal RV Campground

Koreshan State Park, Estero, FL

This is a basic state park campground. Although it is right on US 41, it is quiet there. The bath houses are centrally located and seemed adequate.

There isn't much to do here, unless you like to fish or enjoy just a quiet trip down the river. The campground isn't large, but adequate. Bike riding conditions are good. There is a historic presentation, but young children will not find it interesting. There is no swimming here, not even in the river.

I probably went to this campground 4 or 5 times a year for 3 years in the mid to late 1980s. My family liked to boat and fish and we always went with another family. We camped in tents one time and it poured! My dad did not like that! The campsites are large and shady.

The link! Koreshan State Park

Blue Springs Florida

We went to this park several times when I was a tween and teenager (1980s) and then I went again as an adult (1990s). Here's the link to the State Site. http://www.floridastateparks.org/bluespring/default.cfm

At this park, there aren't any "full hook up" sites, but I remember really enjoying this park. I believe every time I went here, I was in a pop-up type camper. I remember walking to the bath-house and it being fairly cool here with lots of trees. However, the last time I camped here was in 1995.

The best part about this campground is the spring. You can walk there from the campground and be prepared to spend the day tubing down the spring. Also, it's COLD! 70* year round, I believe. You can also rent a canoe and fish on the St. John's river. Well, you don't have to fish. It's an enjoyable time anyway. You can see down to the bottom of the river in several areas! You can also bring your own water craft (canoe or small fishing boat).

Before you go, get your own inner tubes, the big semi-tire type. You can rent them there, but the cost is daily and if you plan or think you'll be tubing more than one day, it's cheaper to buy your own.

Hybrid Camper photos

Here is a picture of our hybrid camper.
The first one is of the camper set up. You can see the front queen bed folded out and looking closely, you can see the back one as well.


This picture is taken from the front of the camper looking to the back of the camper. On the right is the bunk beds and fridge. On the leftt is the kitchen and the bathroom door. We have vinyl flooring throughout for easy cleaning.

This is a picture of the front bunk. Ignore the mess. While camping, we relax and tend not to make beds or clean up things too much.

One final picture of the kids' bunks. They LOVE these and prefer to sleep here to the queen sized bed in the back.

Just getting started

Hello. I already have a blog, but this one is more about a specific topic: camping with a family. My husband gave me this idea because I love this sort of thing. I don't think he realized that I already had a camping log. I'm not really great at keeping up with the log, so maybe this blog will stay more up to date since I'm always on the computer!

I have been camping with my family (Dad, Mom, Sister) since I was three in 1975. If I ever get those pictures, I'll be sure to post them. We started out camping in the back of my dad's pickup truck. He already had an aluminum topper on his truck so he made a bed for my sister and I that rested on the top of the truck bed. It was only 1/2 of the bed. My parents put a full sized mattress on the floor of the truck bed and we camped. No AC, no heat, no bathroom...we MIGHT HAVE had a fan, but I'm not sure. That was the beginning of many great family camping trips, although not all of them were in that style!

My family and I (Husband and two children, boy and girl, elementary age) currently camp in a hybrid camper. It looks like a travel trailer, but two queen-sized bed fold out from the front and back, almost like a pop-up camper to create more sleeping room. At full capacity, we can sleep 10, if the couch and dinette table each sleep two. The most we've slept in this camper is six, two adults and four children. I will post a picture of the outside later.

Hope you enjoy this blog and find it useful!