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Tommy and I FINALLY got a chance to get away for a weekend. After one of the busiest months for me, it was so needed. I am feeling pretty refreshed although I could’ve easily stayed a bit longer to recharge more.
The last couple weeks have been busy prepping and overworking so I could relax this weekend and not have my mind thinking about all the things I had to come back to. Grateful I did that and put in the extra time so this week is pretty smooth.
Last week specifically Tommy started to season our cast iron pan (we’ve had it for almost a year lol) and our griddle needed redone too. He was the chef this weekend other than me making sammiches for lunch so that hardly counts haha.
We pre-planned what we were eating and what else we needed. I ordered the best open fire kettle on Amazon! It was the absolute best, worked like a charm and I am so happy with it. Whatever water we didn’t use for coffee, we used for dishes.
By the way.. never ever and I’m doing instant coffee again lol. I hate it every time and I don’t know why I do that to myself. A French press is on my list of things to invest in for the next time. It actually tasted like coffee flavored water. I’ll have to bake a batch of my gf brownies with it or something else that’s chocolate. An excuse to bake soon when this weather calms down. It’s been so hot lately!
Anyway, I prepped some fresh honeydew melon to bring with us, strawberries, lettuce, cooked some cubed potatoes, chopped up onions, put bacon in a ziplock, and prepped the meat for burgers. Tommy prepped the steaks ahead of time. No way was I going in the sticks to touch raw meat without a sink nearby. Ew!
So grateful I prepped everything ahead because it made life sooo much easier and all of our meals, especially dinner ended up being super quick.
We also brought some other snacks for the weekend and the Annie’s small graham crackers are so good! I haven’t had them in forever. I forgot how good they were. Also a few gallons of water but next time I want to definitely get a 5 gallon jug and one of those water pump things on Amazon. I saw it and I wished I had it this weekend to make life way easier.
We already had plenty of things so we didn’t buy much gear for this trip. You can read about everything we bought last time here in part 1 and part 2! They will be super helpful if you are looking to start going camping to know some basics to get! There’s a lot that we realized would be great to have. I’ll get into that later lol.
So Friday finally came and we prepped Willow for my parents to come stay with her for the weekend. We were originally going to bring her but maybe if we have a camper we will. I’m not sure she would be a fan of the tent. She honestly would hate us haha.
We packed the car and headed out! We realized a few miles away from the place that we had absolutely ZERO service SOS mode. I won’t lie, a little panic set in because what if we needed to get ahold of family or something. I feel like there should be enough to at least send texts or make a phone call. It was a nice social media break though, much needed but again I wished we had at least one bar there lol. One would come through here and there but it was so random and you’d lose it as soon as you realized.
We checked in and that process was super quick and easy. I did the pre-registration online (definitely recommend doing this). She gave us the rundown about the place, where trash goes, hours for the garbages, showers, lake, rentals, etc. it was all such a blur for me that I barely remembered anything she said. The staff was so friendly though!
We drove to our loop/campsite and scouted the place out. We made a quick bathroom break, loved that it was close by but not directly next to us. I always plan a spot or two away from it because of foot traffic and I’m so glad I did. The doors were super loud and noisy lol. I barely saw anyone in them all weekend. Just a person here and there passing by.
We went back to camp and unloaded some of the car. Tommy got the tent set up and I made us some sandwiches for lunch. I helped once he got the basics of it together afterward. Once up, I got the air mattress set up and then got the rest of our bags from the car. I ended up bruising the top of my foot on a rock setting up the air mattress so that was pretty bad all weekend. What a way to start the trip off loll.
We explored for a bit afterward and found a big field with cut grass behind our campsite. So weird! It would make a great spot for soccer or lying under the stars. Came back, waiting for Tommy to help me set up my hammock and relaxed for a few.
I found a spot between two trees to hang my hammock close by so Tommy helped me set it up. I wasn’t tall enough lol. So happy I got that this time! Amazon is great. You can find the Hammock here!
We then relaxed for a bit and started on dinner. After, we came up with our routine for the weekend. Eat dinner, go to the main entrance to throw the garbage out then shower while we were there. The showers were great! I love that they had a lock and they were a pretty good size. They’re by the lake so if you go swimming, you could easily pop in the shower on your way out of the main area. Make sure you check out my travel blog on the place itself.
We had a small fire going so Tom got it up more and we just relaxed and enjoyed the night. We roasted a couple marshmallows and k made a s’more to have with wine. I’m a huge red wine girlie and Josh Reserve is my top favorite. I was completely exhausted so I went to bed around 9:30.
We woke up around 6:30-7 and I went straight to the bathroom after getting dressed. I attempted to wash my face but the sink had only one handle and you had to twist and hold it to make the water run. When I got back, Tommy got up and we started prepping for breakfast. He got a fire going for the kettle, the griddle started to cook bacon and eggs.
We made bacon egg and cheese on rolls just like the deli’s and they were sooo good. It’s been awhile since I’ve eaten one like that.
While he cooked, I made coffee and it was okayyyy… I’m not an instant coffee girly. I tried lol. Definitely getting a French press for next time.
I washed dishes after breakfast in a giant blue bowl. The water spigot was close by too. Loved that for us! Def getting a couple collapsible baskets for next time to wash and rinse in.
We ran to the store nearby afterward. Apparently ants got in my marshmallows! Everything else was wrapped up and somehow I lost them again this year. Last time, raccoons took them lmao. When we got there, we had a bar of service so I made a call to my sister to make sure she passed the word on about service and that willow was doing good with my parents. I grabbed a fresh bag of marshmallows and Tom grabbed what he needed then we headed back just in time to rent a row boat for the day!
We went back to our site to relax until we went to the lake. I took this time to journal and stay low key because it was getting super warm out quickly. We made our way to the lake around 11 and it was such an easy process. We were on the lake quickly and stayed out there for about an hour! First time on a row boat and with Tommy so that was a fun new experience. We had a so much fun out there! I made sure to bring a non tox sunscreen with us and threw some on my legs, feet, and arms because they were getting a little pink and toasty out there lol.
We got back to shore after 12 and headed to the car to have lunch. I made us a couple sandwiches and we sat at a picnic table close by to eat together. I had roasted chicken, cheese, lettuce, and this dressing is SO good. I haven’t had this brand since my competing days and I’m so glad I grabbed them recently.
This lil cutie was hanging with us while we ate. Then we packed up and went back to camp. We relaxed awhile, I colored lol, read some of my book laying in my hammock and then we decided to take a walk around. We walked 3 of the loops and went by the lake through the woods. It was just so pretty!
We made our way back and got a fire going to start dinner. This one was really good because we used the cast iron over the fire to cook it. 10/10 recommend. Everything was delicious!!n So glad things were cut already and prepped so we could just throw it all on! Cooking on this and the griddle is a bit of a learning curve but Tom did great! He’s so proud of himself too.
After, we cleaned up and went to do our nightly routine. Throw out the garbage and then shower. We came back squeaky clean and sat around the fire roasting marshmallows and making s’mores.
We went to bed around 10:30 and I woke up at 11:30pm to use the bathroom. Tommy walked me because it was so dark out at this point. I’m a huge chicken lol! We fell back asleep right away before I was woken up to foot steps in the woods behind us at 3:30am. I was so freaked out, I couldn’t sleep til 5am. Tommy did go out and check things out a few times but we have no idea what it was! So strange.
I was exhausted when my alarm went off at 7:00. I thought we had to be out by 10am even though realizing after we left, the latest was 11am. My bad lol.
We tried to make a fire but for some reason it wasn’t catching! Tommy made us bec’s again and I packed things up while he cooked for us. I wish packing up was as easy and quick as unpacking lol. After breakfast we washed things up, packed and headed back home after checking out! PS always bring a sweater with you. Mornings and night time get pretty chilly.
I hope you enjoyed this little catch up travel blog. While this weekend was a bit busy, it was such a great time for us away and to be with each other. A very much needed mini getaway.
Thanks for reading! I’ll see you in the next one. Chatting about all things we still need/would love to add to our camping adventures!
Questions for you!
- Have you ever been camping?
- Do you have a camping place on your bucket list you would time to visit?
- What’s something(s) you bring camping that you love, or just make life easy!
