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Silver Lake State Park... Sleeping Bear Dunes, MI... (One of my favorites!)
I spend all summer at the Lake Michigan shore at various state parks going to the beach, camping, hiking, etc. The lake is only about 45 minutes from my house. I get a state park sticker for my car at the beginning of the season so I have admission any day all summer long.
One of the great things about camping is that there are a zillion ways to enjoy it. Get an RV directory like Trailer Life or one of the others and scour it for places you may want to go. You can find anything from extremely rustic no-hookup backwoods camps all the way up to 5-star resorts with private golf and multiple pools.
One of the best things about camping is that you can make a destination trip or you can camp on the way to a destination. We've done it both ways and each has its merits. So, whether you have a weekend or a whole month, you can always find something to do.
This past summer, our trip was from our home in So. Cal to Washington state. Even with the cost of gas this summer, it was a reasonable trip. We averaged 11 miles to the gallon (including over mountain passes). Had we flown, it would have cost waaaaay more than the $1,500 total we spent for the two weeks for our family of four. That's under $27 per person, per day for travel, food, and lodging!
If we have a long haul day, we'll make sandwiches before we leave our campsite and head to our next spot. Then when we make a pit stop, we'll bring the sandwiches up from the fridge to the car so that we don't have to make an extra stop just to eat. With as many trips as we've made to Washington in the RV (5 or 6) we've gotten really good at this. Our furthest trip was to Alberta.
And one other benefit to an RV. . . . When someone in the car suddenly announces they need to use the restroom - NOW - you can just pull off to a safe spot and send them back to the RV.
I know you should always watch for bears...but in South Ga and Florida......We have some vicous raccoons!!!!
I was eating spagetti by the camp fire, while my boys were sleeping in the tent....I was very quiet (reading a mystery novel) when someting touched my leg and scared the poopy out of me
!! When I hopped up to run....the huge raccoon, sat in my seat eating my dinner!!
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I know what you mean. Nothing beats a few days in the woods, alone a beach or river, or on a mountain top. I have a Hennesy Hammock and rock to sleep every night
We're doing the national parks. Our girls are scouts, so they get the junior ranger activities and badges. We have done both camping on the way to them and camping at them as a trip by itself.
I LOVE camping. I so wanted to go camping at one point this last summer (and we had no money for the gas!) that I had DH pull the camper up close to the house and we had a "staycation". We spent the weekend sleeping in the camper and grilling outside and ignoring the chores in the house and still enjoying our chickens!
We're on the East Coast so we've hit all of the PA and MD and DC parks - there are dozens!!