2013 Camping Season

It’s Friday. That’s great news. I am finally getting caught up after a few days of fun with the guys in Vegas and I am finding myself dozing off thinking about other things. Started thinking about camping with the kids and trying to plan out at least a few weekends on top of all the other things we have going on this year. We are in the middle of trying to sell our home (remaining positive….we will sell) and most likely building another in New Town, so that’s going to be a big decider of our 2013 schedule. My brother is getting married and even though I am not the one getting hitched it’s a pretty big deal. Ali and I are also going to take a trip to Florida sometime in August. Throw in a possible trip to Ohio and at least one Houston visit…the schedule starts stacking up. That’s one of the best things about the camper…you really don’t need to do anything but hitch up and take off. If you have a free weekend you can decide the day before or even the day of.

Since buying Clarabelle last year, we actually used it much more than I thought we would with all the things going on in 2012. Not that it’s a contest but I would assume it will get used a bit more this season. I wanted to hit at least one of the holiday’s this year. It’s surprising to see that almost all the state park sites book up quickly….Labor day at Lake of the Ozarks is already full! Being new at this I have learned that you need to be on the gun 6 months ahead of the holiday to make the reservations.

On the list this year to hit:

*Babbler State Park in Wildwood- Very close to home with all paved sites. Heard nothing but good things about this park on line. Only drawback is there is not a playground there. Its worth checking out.

*Lake of the Ozarks State Park- We stayed here in a rental in 2011 and it was our first camping trip ever. It didn’t go smoothly because mainly of the equipment and the fact you had to take everything with you because it was a rental.  It was a cool park and now that we are a bit more seasoned…it will be a good time.

*Pere Marquette Alton Ill- This is another that is on the list. It’s a bit of an unknown as the Illinois state park department website is a bit lacking but its close enough to the house it would be worth driving out and taking a look.

* Cuvier River in Troy- Spent 6 nights there last year. Site #1 is literally next to the playground and is a big hit with Sam. This is a go to for sure.

Any Others?

Not As Easy Anymore....

Contrary to what you believed when you were eighteen; life gets exponentially more complicated as you start tacking years on. I always thought once I graduate high school things just get easy and I cruise to the next stage. That next stage came I couldn’t wait to get out of college and land a job and start making the “big bucks”. What actually happened was a hard slap of reality. Fast forward 10 years, 2 kids and a house, things are not as easy as I imagined it would be. Lots of things my parents warned me about when I was younger are defiantly truths.  I think back to that time where I really thought the world was out to get me and realize that that period was by far the most stress free time in my life. Don’t get me wrong, Life is good now…much better than I would have ever imagined back then, it’s just more complicated. I never dreamed I would have a job that is essentially all or nothing venture, nor did I ever think we would have two kids I absolute adore and love more than anything. I never worried about the future and what it would hold…I just took a line and rode it for a while until something else came along.

Time has a funny way of idling dreams and transforming your views on the world. We (Ali and I) have been very fortunate to have found each other so early in life and we both have very similar views on what direction to go next.  We have been lucky to make the right decisions together for ourselves and our kids. I have no regrets and we have worked damn hard to get to where we are at.

Sometimes it’s easy to lose sight of all the things you have done in the past to get you to where you are now.  We have a pretty good track record so far…..