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Fun Facts

#1–Since we have left North Carolina….

We have had to use the laundry facilities at the campgrounds we’ve stayed at. They have ranged from $1-$2 per load. We usually do laundry once or twice a week. It’s not too bad but we are thankful we got to use free laundry the whole time we worked in the Outer Banks. 

#2–What we miss most: (besides all of you humans!)

Him- a bed that his feet don’t hang off. A queen bed is one thing but a “camper queen” is another thing. Although the padding is fine, the length leaves much to be desired.

Her- never ending supply of hot water for showers. (We have replaced the shower head so don’t worry it’s not as terrible as it looks in that picture!)

We sleep and we get clean just fine but that’s what we would say we miss most. 

#3–The worst part about the camper….

The dining room set up. It’s a u-shaped dinette. The long bench area seems to scream jumping pad, wrestling arena, balancing beam etc. rather than please come sit and enjoy a lovely meal with your family. This has generated a thought of removing said dinette and getting a normal table and chairs! Hoping to get this completed when we are stationary for the holidays.

#4–What do we cook….

The same thing we always did just in a little smaller area. The stove top has three burners and the oven fits on 9×13 pan max. We have eight plates and four cups so we do dishes after almost every meal- we are the dishwasher 🙂 The fridge is bigger than a regular camper fridge but it’s smaller than a normal residential size. We easily fit a weeks worth of groceries in it.

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Louisiana

We left Lake Enid, Mississippi and had an easy travel day down and over to West Monroe, Louisiana. We crossed over the Mississippi River and there was something that took us back to the good ole days when crossing the Mississippi River was such a feat and we did it so seamlessly. So thankful for the ease we live in these days! 

If you do not know, West Monroe is the home of the Duck Dynasty crew. We were able to tour the facility that the show was filmed in, as the production of the duck calls is now taking place in another facility. It was neat to walk around and learn more about it all. Thankfully we got to make our own duck calls during said tour and the boys are now two proud owners of duck calls 🤪 

We found some Christmas lights to drive through on a Saturday night…don’t know why we didn’t think about the wait to see the lights. The little guy fell asleep, but listening to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory for an hour was grand for Big M and then ahhhh the lights! So neat to get to see them, they claimed 1 MILLION lights in 1 mile!

West Monroe is also where we bought paint to start a little renovation project on the camper! More to come but the paint is on the walls woot woot! 

Campground Review:

Pavilion RV park

$36 night full hook ups

Site 24- same as any other spot 

Details: had laundry and decent pond/walking area. No playground. Easy off the highway in-town stop. Had a “digger” on-site…if your two year old loves them it’s sure to be a hit….do you see that face….the face of a boy finding a digger!

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Diapers

When pregnant with our first, we mulled over the cloth vs disposable diapers option and decided to pull the trigger on cloth diapers (Chase was skeptical but came around pretty quick). You can get a more expensive cloth diapers for $20-$30 per diaper or you can get cheaper cloth diapers for $4-$5 per diaper. Since we didn’t know if we would actually “do” cloth diapering and we were just trying it out, we went the frugal way and man oh man was it amazing. The 25 diapers we bought for Big M are the same ones we used for Little M (that’s five years of the same diapers being used). $125 for five years of diapers….yes please! We were not a hard never use disposables ever type of cloth diaperer….we used them on occasion and used “normal” diapers at night. We bought roughly a pack of 30 disposable diapers a month during that time.

Per Google it costs $750 a year to diaper a child which is $3,750 for five years. Our pack of Aldi diapers was $10 a month, for easy math let’s say we spent $150 a year on disposable diapers which is $750 for five years. If you add the $750 we spent on disposable plus the $125 we spent on cloth that’s a total of $875 spent on five years with of diapers vs $3,750. For a little extra work, we saved almost $3,000 compared to the Google average plus that’s way less that are now resting in landfills!

We would make the same decision again in a heartbeat, but the other side of the story is you have to clean those bad boys. When you live in a house with a washer and dryer you simply put the poo in the toilet and the diaper in a laundry basket (with a lid). When said basket is full you put them in the washer (for two back to back cycles) and then put them out to dry in the sun or in the dryer depending on weather. Very easy very simple, its purely just another load of laundry. But when you don’t live in a house with a washer and dryer and you live in a camper… you go back in time to a bucket and plunger. Since August our cloth diapers have been cleaned via plunging and rinsing and plunging and rinsing. A lot more work but again its way cheaper and we do have time on our hands. In more exciting news…. we believe we are DONE WITH DIAPERS! When the first poo is at a gas station, when we had over a six hour drive with no accidents pulling over only two times to go to the bathroom we are feeling pretty good about the whole potty training thing! You know you are a travel family when he’s struggling a bit to master the poo-ing aspect of things and you ask him where he wants to do said #2 and he says “gas station” bahaha!

(Anyone who has questions about cloth diapering I’d be happy to chat. It did seem daunting at first but we figured it out and you can too!)

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Mississippi

We stayed at a Corps of Engineers campground on Lake Enid. We had full hook ups for $20 a night! It was an amazing campground. The one crazy thing about this lake… in the off season they drain it… like drain it, drain it. We went over the dam and that part still had water but where we were, hardly any. We wouldn’t change a thing about our spot but had the lake been full (like we assumed it would be) it would have been even better. 

A view of the dried up lake. Big M with the camp fire. Little M loving life.

While there, we gathered our Christmas decor. Gather meaning we went on a walk with a bucket and scissors and snipped pieces of white pine and collected pinecones between rain showers. We created a centerpiece for the table and garland for the island and with the leftovers an all natural air freshener that simmered on the stove top.

Our little one has been playing a game the last few weeks called “catfishing.” To play, you simply throw any sort of string down, pull it up and say “look at my cat fish.” This is usually performed with a nylon string and five clothes pins attached to the end, but can be performed with a blanket or most other objects as well. Alas, we’ve been talking about catfish a lot, so when there is a restaurant down the road called the “Catfish Hut” you have to go. The food was phenomenal and the service great, but the experience was from another world. You know that stereotypical southern/backwoods restaurant you see in the movies? All the employees are wearing their normal everyday clothes (gym shorts or jeans plus a random t-shirt) and they answer their phone on the way to the table. That restaurant where everybody knows everybody and notices when someone that is not them comes through. That restaurant that has FROG LEGS and fried bologna sandwiches on the menu. Yes, that is the restaurant we consumed the best catfish we’ve ever had at. Also, Chase ordered frog legs… and ate said frog legs… and gave his verdict… “chewy yet satisfying.”

Campground review:

Corp of Engineers at Lake Enid- Water Valley, MS

Cost: $20/night full hook ups

Site #16: amazing

Details-It is a flood zone lake. They start filling it in February and drain it in the fall. Out in the country. No propane, laundry etc. Great remote place to get away.

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South Carolina & Tennessee

Our last day of campground work was Friday, November 13th. That Saturday we packed up and got everything ready to go and on Sunday we enjoyed the beach and hot tub and relaxed on the coast one more time. On Monday we left and went back to the main land! We got to Florence, South Carolina (had to get to SC to scratch it off our map) and stayed there two nights. There was definitely a “we’ve come back to the real world” moment and it was honestly a little overwhelming. We’d lived in a town of 250 people for almost four months. The nearest Walmart was 45 minutes away the only franchise store/gas station/fast food etc. in town was a Dollar General. Being there for four months just kind of made you slow down, it was amazing but literally there was nothing to do (besides beach, pool, hot tub, playground etc.). By the time we set up our camper the sun had set and as we went for a little drive there were sooooo many lights- street lights, business lights, stop lights. It was a bit overwhelming having had no idea feelings like this would happen it was quite an experience to say the least. (When leaving North Carolina headed south on interstate 95 there are about a million billboards about “South of the Boarder” aka a Mexican themed tourist trap right over the boarder in South Carolina…hence the giant sombrero!)

Campground review:

Swamp Fox- Florence, SC

Cost: $36/night full hook ups

Site: all would be the same

Details-Had a playground and cheap laundry. Right in town off the interstate. Decent neighborhoods to walk around near by. Campground itself no real appeal.

After Florence we trucked through the entire Smoky Mountains all the way to eastern Tennessee to the “peaceful side of the mountains.” We ended up in Townsend, TN. Townsend has about 500ish humans- way more our jam than our South Carolina experience had been. We LOVED Townsend. We stayed less than a mile from the entrance to Smoky Mountain National Park. There was a creek/river that ran alongside the campground and all the way up into the park. It was BEAUTIFUL! We did a little loop called Cade’s Cove- that is where Big M fell in love with all things “old fashion.” We hiked back to Laurel Falls right before sunset and it was gorgeous. We would highly recommend Townsend and would consider going back again one day ourselves! We were there for four nights before we went to Nashville, TN. 

Campground review:

Townsend KOA- Townsend, TN

Cost: Free (thank you KOA employee discounts)

Site: 33– employee village

Details: Creek runs alongside it, quiet and peaceful. Great playground. Beautiful spot. Has laundry, propane, and a small store.

Nashville will forever hold a special spot in our hearts. While there our baby started using to the toilet and our big guy turned 5! On his birthday, per his request,  we toured the Belle Meade plantation to go for the “old fashion” theme he wanted. We went downtown for lunch and had pizza per his request. We walked around downtown and over the pedestrian bridge before calling it a day and coming home for hamburgers, again his request. He received tons of cards mailed to the campground and was ecstatic to check the mail every day. (Again thank you to all who sent cards and wished him Happy Birthday from afar!)

The campground backed up to a wooded area with farm land and right outside of our camper turkey and deer would show off everyday. One night we walked around the Christmas lights at the Grand Ole Opry. As we approached, big M spotted a huge nativity set “Mom Mom there is Jesus.” As we walked up to see it they were playing the Christmas story over the loudspeaker and it was a sweet, albeit cold moment. 

Campground Review:

Nashville Resort KOA- Nashville, TN

Cost: Free (thank you KOA employee discounts)

Site: 425– back by the open field

Details: The KOA bought a neighboring RV park. We were placed in the back of that park. No golf cart made it a trek to the playground but it was great. Propane, laundry, store on site.

We have now scratched off South Carolina and Tennessee. We are planning to add Mississippi, Louisiana and Arkansas to the list before going back home for the holidays.

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HE IS FIVE!!!!!

24 pictures of our kiddo born on the 24th because why not! All from our travel adventures!

  • In the hot tub
  • Catching a sunrise on the beach
  • Silly fella
  • With the imported fall products
  • He LOVES science experiments
  • Creamy milk- hot milk with a marshmallow and splash of creamer…only to be earned after a “cold” walk
  • Doing the things because he’s “big”
  • The world is yours!
  • Taking in the scenery
  • Busting it out during karaoke
  • Working boy
  • READING!!! just three words but look at that smile!
  • On the ferry
  • Living in the south, look at those trees
  • sweet sweet boy
  • His first selfie
  • Lunch at a lighthouse
  • Beach day
  • Riding our bikes home after “work”
  • Travel day….yes that’s my CD player from when I was 10. Listen to a burned worship CD from…..2007ish
  • He could do this ALL day
  • squishy face
  • Learned how to swing by himself at the play ground in SC
  • He was loving it!

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Things we have learned thus far…

1- When you move to an island for three months any form of metal will rust! To combat this one is supposed to spray WD-40 over EVERYTHING to prevent the moisture from touching the metal…..Schneider’s did the WD-40 trick about three weeks into the journey and now have a light case of rust covered with a slimy film of WD-40. Note to self…. do it sooner. 

2- The beach is amazing and is beautiful but it’s not our forever jam. We are so thankful for our stent there but deep in our bones we are not islanders. When I say I miss trees I mean like there is a piece of my soul missing. So fun to visit but we have zero desire to live somewhere like that forever. 

3- Propane. When traveling down the road our fridge can be kept cool via propane. The oven and stove use propane and the furnace is propane as well. After not having filled our two propane tanks since mid September, having traveled for two days with the fridge using propane and having reached the Smoky Mountains on a cool day using the furnace in the early evening….it was around 10pm when we realized our propane had run out and we had zero means of getting it re-filled until the morning. So on the coldest night in our camper thus far we had no furnace! The low for the evening was 33 with a real feel of 29. Sooooo we put a sleeping bag out on the floor (more insulation) in the boy’s room and gave them the space heater. They remained warm and even “hot” per Big M. I heated our bed with a heating pad and we both put on some extra clothes and slept just fine. In the morning the inside temp was a brisk 50. We baked cinnamon rolls with the electric convection oven and all ate in the boys room picnic style. The tanks got refilled, we got warm, and we made a memeory. Moral of that story- buy a $10 gauge to put on your tanks to keep on eye on how much propane you have! 

4- Truck wash lines….when you have to go to a Semi Truck “car” wash to get your pickup and camper washed (to get all the sand and salt water grime off) and you pull in line and there are only three vehicles in front of you…don’t assume in will take oh maybe 30 mins or less. Just go ahead and count on an hour and 40 minutes added to you 5 hour drive time. We don’t regret getting it washed but boy oh boy we did not expect that delay on a travel day! 

5- Cotton fields were everywhere! Our campground in South Carolina was right next to a cotton field. On one of our walks we went to look at it and the actual crop was taller than expected, 2-3 feet tall and then later that day we got to see it getting cut! Looks a little different than the crops we’re used to seeing in Kansas!

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THE BEACH

The beach here is always changing. Our neighbor that lives here all summer said “I love the beach because it is always changing. You never know what it will be like. It changes every day.” Honestly I kind of thought she was crazy because I’m from Kansas and I know a lot about the beach, and the beach is……. the beach.  

We got here at the end of August and the beach was like a postcard. The sand was nice and clean, smooth, so soft, no seaweed. Right now there is a cliff (4-5 foot drop) that got here about two weeks ago. It never used to be there. When that cliff first got here, there was hardly any beach. Then it came even closer and when you got to the end of the walkway there was the cliff and the waves were crashing right up to it. It went from a huge smooth sandy beach, to tiny beach, to a drop off cliff beach…..and as most flatlanders know, fields don’t change like that in Kansas.

There can be different items that get washed up too, from driftwood to a big bench from who knows where to a telephone pole (huge normal sized telephone pole covered with barnacles) to tons of seaweed. It’s always changing! Our neighbor was right. 

The beach that is always changing reminds me of life, life is always changing. People come and go, things come and go. The beach goes through seasons, life goes through seasons. When you hear the word beach you typically think- it’s sunny, 80 degrees, no wind, perfect day. That’s the beach on occasion but not always, it has its seasons. Just like life has its seasons. There’s a bible passage that talks a lot about seasons:

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 “To everything there is a season, and a time for every matter or purpose under heaven: 2 A time to be born and a time to die; a time to plant and a time to pluck up what is planted. 3 A time to kill and a time to heal, a time break down and a time to build up. 4 A time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance. 5 A time to cast away stones and a time to gather stones together, a time to embrace and time to refrain from embracing. 6 A time to get and time to lose, a time to keep and time to cast away. 7 A time to rend and a time to sew, a time to keep silence and a time to speak. 8 A time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.”

Now that is time for a lot of different things! The beach looks different on different days and life will look different on different days. It comforting to know change has always been and will be but it is even more comforting knowing He is with us every day of every season.

Another time of change is coming for us. We’ll be packing up in a week or so and taking five weeks to get home for the holidays. We have a scratch off map and are excited to mark off some new states. We won’t be “working” we’ll just be adventuring. I’m sure things will go “wrong” but it’ll be a part of the season, this new season that He has given us!

1- The morning they found the cliff, Oct 26th

2- The “cliff” from the down below

3- From the waters edge

4- Seaweed wreath

5- From the walkway looking out to ocean before the cliff

6- Beach art- when the ocean gives you seaweed make it beautiful!

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Inside Our Camper

We are still very happy with our camper and the space it has for us. We’ve done a few little personalizations of space and thought we’d share!

Their bunk room had a couch and a fold down bunk bed on one side. We took out the couch and put a crib mattress on the bottom where Little M sleeps (as shown napping… like real life, I just took that picture). As you can see we put a tension rod across the top bed area and turned it into a closet/storage area. Big M sleeps on the other side of the room in a bunk!

Would you look at that back splash! Oh the work! Just kidding, sticky tiles for the win!!! Just a little added color to make it feel more homey. We also put these sticky tiles in the bathroom behind the faucet (as you can see below).

We replaced the bathroom faucet! We also replaced the shower head, that was a water pressure game changer!

We replaced the kitchen faucet. Our new one has the pull down head to help clean the sink and dishes a little easier! Had to drill a new hole for this update but it turned out great!

Every window treatment got an upgrade. Took the camper curtain down and added ours from home.

Covered these window boxes with fabric to help lighten the color scheme, it came with a lot of dark browns and tans.

Covered the windows in the dinning area as well. The backrest to the dinette used to be two dark cushions. We replaced them with a folded mattress wrapped with our old curtain to bring in some color!

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Our Days Off

Our Days Off

We get two days off a week. Thankfully we both get the same two days off and those two days are consecutive days. Typically speaking we get Monday and Tuesday off. Most weeks we spend those two days differently. 

One day we stay at the campgournd and we rest.  We go to the beach, we go to the pool, we go kayaking, we play at the playground, we use the hottub. We go for walks, ride bikes, fly kites etc. We read our bible stories, we sing our Sabbath songs and we rest. I started practicing the Sabbath in January. It looks different than what I had always thought it was but mostly it’s acknowledging that God tells us to rest one day a week and it’s not crossing things off any list. It’s not doing laundry and paying the bills while trying to “be” with your kids. It’s just a day of rest and a pause. At this point in our life it’s not meditating and quiet for hours on end. But our two year old and four year know that the Sabbath is different than the other days. As they grow I hope to make it more meaningful but for this life stage this is what it looks like for us. 

On our other day off we act like tourists and go see the sites. We’ve bought three tanks for gas since August 28th, it’s nice to have everything you need so close, plus no commute (besides golf carts). But on this off day we get out and go see things.

To date we have been on a ferry to an island (that can only be reached via private airplane, boat or ferry). We have been to five different lighthouses and we were able to climb up one of them. We have gone to a sand dune state park, to the Wright Brothers National Memorial, the NC state aquarium (that had a sea turtle hospital), multiple fishing piers and seen sea fishing first hand, plus new parks and boardwalks. 

And now here are some pictures of all of that!!