We’ve discovered that RVing is a great family activity! We hadn’t had a chance to try it out until recently, and now that we’ve done it, we know it won’t be the last time! And did you know you can go RVing with your family even if you don’t own your own RV? To be honest, I hadn’t ever thought about it, but I’m glad I know now!
We have to admit that, when our friend Christy at GoRVing told us we were going to be driving 31-foot RVs, we were a little nervous. But it turned out that it wasn’t hard at all! We drove on the interstate and through some small towns and winding roads, so we experienced several kinds of driving conditions. And the view driving to the campground was stunning. Upstate New York around Jellystone in North Java is just beautiful! Who would have ever thought the landscape would look like this?
The day we left the RV park, it was raining, so we got a bit of experience driving the RVs in the rain too. Backing up is a little challenging, but we had our teens with us, so they were able to help guide us, and the backup cameras make it so much easier.
Once we arrived at Jellystone Park in North Java, New York, we had to get our RVs hooked up and ready to use. That was much easier than we thought it would be too! We had to hook up a few hoses and flip a few switches, and it was done! Then we took a few minutes to explore the RVs and their features before we went out to see what the campground had to offer.
Because Trish has three teenage boys and I (Wendy) have a teenage girl, we had separate RVs. Even with four people in Trish’s camper, they had plenty of room to sleep, eat, work, and relax. We were surprised at just how much room we had in our RVs! You can see from the picture above how big the inside is once the slides are out. Each RV had a bedroom in the back (complete with a queen size bed, a wall of drawers and cabinets, a TV, and two small “night stand” shelves beside the bed). The beds were very comfortable, but what Trish loved most was the vent over the bed. She had hers open the entire time (causing her boys to freeze!) to let in the fresh air.
There is no denying the bathroom is small, but honestly, I would rather have that space in the living and sleeping areas anyway. The bathroom was big enough to do what you need to do in a bathroom and was WAY bigger than some “shoilets” (shower/toilet combos) as they are called in the RV industry.
Trish’s boys used the bunk beds in her RV, and from what they said, they were pretty comfortable. And the bunk beds had their own little privacy curtain to draw at night and their own little night lights so the boys could keep up with their homeschool classes.
In this well-organized little kitchen, we had a sink, four-burner gas stove, a microwave and a refrigerator, and enough cabinets to store all of the pots and pans, dishes, and food we brought. Trish has three teenage boys, so you know she had a lot of food in her RV!
The kitchen table with bench seating doubled as our office, and it also converted into a bed (although neither of us needed to do that with all the other sleeping accommodations). The kitchen table had a huge window beside it which allowed us to get great natural light while we were working because, honestly, we ate most of our meals outside on the picnic tables or around the fire! Finally there was a nice couch that folded out into a bed if needed (which we didn’t), and each RV had a loft bed over the driver and passenger seats (both Gage and Mary Grace enjoyed this space so much in our respective RVs).
We arrived late on Friday afternoon, so we took the evening to unpack our things and eat dinner. Trish’s youngest son Blake did the cooking, and he did a great job! We ate dinner and sat around the campfire to visit for a while. In fact, it turned out that some of our favorite things to do the whole weekend were just to slow down and take the time to talk with our kids, tell stories around the campfire (You should have heard them!!), eat together, and enjoy each other’s company. But the campground also had some fun activities going on, and we did participate in some of those over the weekend too.
On Saturday, there were quite a few activities offered for kids of all ages. They had coloring & cartoons followed by a flag raising and “Hey, Hey, Hey ride.” Then they had arts & crafts, bingo, scavenger hunts, hide & seek, mini golf, a sidewalk chalk contest, and a glow stick hay ride that evening, not to mention the extra large game of Connect Four. Chase and Mary Grace played it during one of their many excursions around the premises. Who knew RV parks have all these amazing fun activities already planned and just waiting for us?
Saturday night as we sat around the campfire roasting marshmallows, we were being serenaded by a couple of families down the road. These guys sang so well, several of us wandered over to listen closer. They had three different RVs there full of their family and friends. It was a delight to see these families making time to enjoy each other’s company and to just downshift for the weekend. Everybody we met in the campground was just like this – so nice and helpful. I think that surprised all of us. We never really expected this kind of community environment to already be there and established. You automatically become a part of it the moment you drive in!
Sunday offered us more chances for coloring, hay rides, arts & crafts, bingo, and tie-dying. They also had a small arcade, a water park area (Which looked like a lot of fun, but the temperatures were in the 50s while we were there, so we opted against it!), a heated pool, gem mining (offered at certain times), canoeing and kayaking, laser tag, ceramics, candle art, a little snack bar, and a small store. And, for those of us who had to get some school or work done while we were there, there was free wifi. (You can see some of our kiddos playing games near the campfire in the picture above.)
We really enjoyed playing bingo with our teens a couple of times over the weekend! Blake and Gage both ended up winning! The bingo games we played were Candy Bar Bingo games. That meant, you guessed it, we had to “pay” with candy bars to play the game–which was pretty awesome because after the first round, everybody got to choose a candy bar as a prize. The person who won the round, though, got a big bag full of all kinds of candy bars! Both Gage and Blake were kind enough to share their prize with all of us!
Another of our favorite activities was tie-dying. My daughter and I and Trish and her kids enjoy tie-dying, so we were happy to know that we’d have the chance to do this. And it was (we have to admit) even nicer because all we had to do was show up with our nice white Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park t-shirts. Somebody else had all of the supplies we needed and had all of the dye mixed and ready. And we didn’t even have to clean up when we were done! We just took our shirts, dropped each one down in a grocery bag (also provided by the camp), and went back to our RVs. Because the shirts were still wet (It’s best to wait at least 24 hours–or up to a week–to rinse out our shirts and wash them before we can wear them.), we put them in plastic zip-lock bags just to ensure that they didn’t leak on anything while we waited to rinse, wash, and wear them.
We also had a great time getting creative and making our own etched glass lanterns! Our sweet friend, Christy with GoRVing, brought the supplies for us as a surprise. They were really easy and lots of fun to make, and they turned out beautifully! If you want to make your own, just take a look at our etched glass lantern tutorial. We used our new etched glass lanterns each evening outside on the picnic tables or inside on our windowsills.
Because we have only teens who will soon be grown and off to college or work, we truly did enjoy taking some time over the weekend to slow down and visit. We roasted marshmallows over the fire and each evening, played Scattergories
So not only did we prove to ourselves that we really are able to drive RVs, but we also had a fantastic time whether we were doing the activities provided by the camp or just hanging out with our teens.
If you have an RV, take every opportunity to use it! Go places–even if it’s just to a local camp. If you don’t have your own RV, check into renting one. Find a camping spot and enjoy your family!
WE SOOOOO WANT TO DO THIS! Sadly, we have a house in NC that got destroyed by the hurricane and until we get it dealt with and back on the market to sell we can’t afford an RV. I can’t wait until we can get one though………..I LOVE CAMPING and think it would be amazing to just pack the kids up and go adventure to SEE historical or natural sites
Jennifer, my brother lost a house in New Bern too. I’m so very sorry!! Know that I’ll be praying for y’all as you rebuild and figure out what you want to do.
This is our dream!
Right?!! I think it is every homeschooler’s dream!
Love this! We are a homeschooling RV family! Thanks for sharing ??
What has been your favorite trip so far?
Sounds like fun. Wish I had money to do this.
Erika, it is way less expensive than you might think!! Check into it!
We are wrapping up our first Summer with an RV. We picked up an older model Class C motorhome. Since our youngest is disabled, it gives us so many more options to get our girls our into our community and other activities to expand our classroom as needed. Our other girls have less limits on them because of their sisters stamina or need to rest. We want to be able to include her as much as sh is able, the motorhome lets us do that. We take it for local daytrip outings too. Helps us have room to take what we need and gives her space to rest instead of having to cut the day short.
Oh Margie, how wonderful for your family. I never really thought about RVs being used that way… but I can totally understand how perfect it would be for you and your family!!
Camping is a great way to spend family time. We had a camper when I was growing up, but my husband and I tent camp with our children. Now that we are getting older and only have the 13 year old left home we have discussed how much nicer it would be to have a trailer.
I am right there with you! My youngest is 14. Having a bed to sleep in and a bathroom was sweet!! When we retire and the kiddos are out of college, I want to do this!!
We really want to sell everything or donate everything, and go RV’ing. We are trying to figure out a job source though. Any ideas?
Great question!!
Sounds like a great trip! We have always tent camped, but bought a used travel trailer this summer. It was so fun to camp and stay DRY a few weeks ago.
Hahaha… right?!! So much fun!
We just got ourselves a used camper. We took it for a week to the beach and loved it. We have to tow ours but it isn’t hard to set up. I am looking toward to learning how to do it myself. Glad you all had such a great time.
I am from the coast of NC… I’m totally a beach girl and that is exactly where I would take mine too (if I had one)!!
My extended family my moms side of the family and my brother and sister all go camping in a camper… we can’t afford an actual rv although they look like a lot of fun. We each use our campers several times a year mostly in the summer and a time or two in the spring and fall. We love the time it gives us to just take time out of life and enjoy the togetherness. Even if it is a lot of closeness.
There were a TON of campers at Jellystone!! They make a lot of sense!!
We recently went on our first camping trip, and minus the chiggers Loved It. We have been discussing renting an RV to try out. Love all the family memories.
Mindee, do it!! You won’t regret it… I promise!
I would love to go on an RV vacation sometime! Just pack up with the hubby and kids and hit the road!!! I can imagine all the fun we could find along the way.
WE are in our camper now! I love the closeness and peace it brings us. Life is much simpler here. We actually get more school work done in the camper than at home and I feel so much calmer and relaxed in this smaller space which seems a bit ironic. Love it!
This is my dream. I want to just drop every thing and head out in an RV and travel the country. Lol I suppose it might be the Roma in me but my husband also has the same dream. Just haven’t figured out how to pull it off yet. Lol someday. 🙂
I would LOVE to try RVing with my crew!! This sounds like so much fun, and a great way to see the country!
We call this glamping. We prefer tent camping.
Thanks for sharing. Looks like a ton of fun!!
I am so ready to do roadschooling. My husband and I are looking for a camper to pull behind his truck. We’ve been thinking about this for a while, just waiting on all of the pieces to fall into place. Love this post!!!
We have actually been thinking about getting an RV and have looked at some. This was very helpful from someone who has actually used and lived in an RV.
Candy, I’m just a tiny bit jealous! 🙂 I would love to get an RV and travel with my kiddos… but mine are all teenagers about to graduate. I missed my window of opportunity!
Wow! That camper is gorgeous. I sure do miss visiting different places and staying in an RV. My in laws use to have an Air Stream we use to travel in with the family, so fun! Looks like your family is having a great time!!
Oh those are classic!! I know that must have been fun!
This is awesome! I like how nice RV’s have become. The few I have been in were old, cramped and not so nice. This looks like so much fun! Renting one would be perfect for us.
We are going to an RV show in March and will be sharing more about the cool trends in RVs… can’t wait! We would LOVE to own one and travel the US!!
This will sound weird, but I have never seen the inside of an RV before! I can really see the appeal! It is so beautiful inside. But how expensive is the gas? Do you think it ends up being cheaper than renting a car and staying in hotels or just camping?
My family and I traveled from California to Minnesota last fall. We were gone for three weeks. The entire trip cost us $3,000 that included gas, food, lodging, activities. My folks did the same trip (minus four days) and stayed in hotels, drove their car, ate meals out and they were within a few dollars of us. For us, it really comes down to maintaining our life while vacationing. My folks complained about hotel beds, the food and they couldn’t wait to get home. We were home, just traveling so we could have continued for weeks. The difference that we save on nightly rooms is eaten up in our gas bill. We average about 11 mpg. Hope that helps!
Now this is MY kind of camping/ traveling! I so want to do this at some point in my life. Now, to find someone to go with me.. because this kind of traveling is meant to shared with others.
Some RVs look like luxury hotel rooms, and they are an exciting way to get around. I haven’t been in one in the US but did years ago, in Europe.
Wow this is something i wish to experience, and also own. My partner will definitely like this too and perfect to use this to explore Europe.
I have never been on an RV, would love to get in on one. It definitely would be a dream come true for me and perhaps the coolest thing ever! Thanks for sharing.
Oh my gosh yes! Rving is a dream of mine and my husband we want to go so badly. Never knew it was so affordable!
This is so a dream! I’d love to just travel and see the world!!
Seems like a fun way to see the country.
I wouldn’t mind RVing for a bit
Wow! This camper is gorgeous!!
I love going RVing!! My whole childhood I absolutely loved going with my grandparents in their RVs. It is actually at the top of my bucket list to travel the US in an RV camping at all of the major National Parks. 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
I think this could be so much fun to do
That looks like so much fun!!
Wow, what an awesome RV to travel in! I’ve never been in one yet … someday.
I have never gone rving but OMGosh this Rv inside is so roomy and comfy looking… I would be ready to go rving tomorrow, if it is anything like the one pictured!
It would be nice if I had the time and the money.
Would love to live in one of these and travel the country.
I grew up a big part of my life in a RV traveling across the USA & Canada. It was one of the happiest times of my life.
This sounds like so much fun.
I went camping in an RV when I was younger. Such an upgrade now days in RV’s. They look so much like an actual home.
I have not done it but it’s on my bucket list
I love it but my husband doesn’t like driving them
We thought we wouldn’t like driving them, but we found out it’s not bad at all!
I have looked into renting an RV before, but have not taken the big step, yet. Sure looks like fun!
Always wanted one