I gathered up my youngest daughter Fiona, two of my dogs, packed the fridge with delicious healthy food, and left when I was good and ready (no baggage check and late rush to the airport for me!).
Expert Advice
RVing Mom Squad
I recently went RV camping at Campland by the Bay in San Diego with The Mom Squad – a group of 10 moms and 20 or so kids who take a vacation together every year. They were camping novices, and thrilled to give it a try. It was a perfect example of what makes RVing such a fun, easy and affordable alternative to traditional vacationing. Can you imagine the effort, cost and sheer exhaustion of these moms and all their children packing everything they need, flying somewhere for a vacation, eating all their meals out and being stuck in cramped hotel rooms?
I drove my Winnebago Sunstar down from Los Angeles, and the Mom Squad had beautiful RVs waiting for them. Many campgrounds have RVs on site available to rent and include electricity, water and cable TV connected and ready when you arrive. One of my favorite things about RVing is that you can bring anything you want from home – and these ladies did! Their main campsite was decked out with twinkling lights, banquet tables, coolers packed with their favorite foods (and cocktails of course), a huge fire pit and camping chairs for everyone.
Campgrounds are the neighborhoods of our youth where kids can just take off and play, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of scheduled activities to keep them busy too. We started our weekend adventure with a tie-dye class, learning all the different ways you can twist then dye your shirt into exotic designs. Then it was off to the sandcastle building contest with Fiona. Our castle had dragons guarding it and a queen searching for her king. Don’t worry, the dragons didn’t hurt anyone, this isn’t Game of Thrones. The beach was stunning and Fiona and I had a great time, even though we didn’t win.
As I sat with my daughter and dogs, I was able to truly relax in my RV, which has become a home away from home for me. I didn’t have to take time to set up a tent and camping gear, it was all right there for me in my motorhome. I was on vacation but still at home with all my favorite things, my own food, my own bed and my family – so comfortable in such a picturesque setting.
The RV allowed me to make easy, healthy and affordable meals instead of having to find a nearby (and undoubtedly expensive) restaurant. I could have my spoiled dogs Roxy and Pinky with me, which makes all the difference in the world when vacationing – they’re a nervous wreck when I leave them alone, and they hate flying! To those that say “I’d bring my dogs if I could but it’s just too hard, or too expensive” try an RV. Being able to bring my pets is one of my favorite things about traveling in an RV.
Listening to the waves ripple on the beach, building memories with my daughter and watching my new friends in the Mom Squad discover how their kids detach from technology and connect to nature really brought home how amazing it is to Go RVing.
