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The Cabin of 66 Chickens

We’d be remiss without mentioning our comfy abode for this spontaneous vacation. Booked through Airbnb, we stayed at The Cabin at Allison Falls run by Carolina Vacations. The house was halfway up a mountain in the woods, but felt homey and secluded. It came complete with two stories, a fireplace, hot tub, porch, waterfall and……

Day 7: Pisgah Forest & The Cradle of Forestry

For our last day of exploring we headed south. On our way to Hendersonville we made a side trip to Pisgah Forest Gem Mine just outside of the Pisgah National Forest. This was your typical tourist gem mining experience, but we had fun finding and identifying gems and fossils all the same. Afterwards, we were…

Day 6: The Biltmore

We have a confession, not everything on this trip has been spontaneous. We knew ahead of time that one place we wanted to visit was the Biltmore in Asheville, NC, so when we arrived Friday it was one of the first things I checked into – and I’m glad I did. First, a ticket to…

Days 4 & 5: Waterfalls & Mountains

Day 4 was mostly a rest day for us enjoying the hot tub at our cabin and exploring the local area for dinner. We did take the dogs for a dog-friendly hike to the Soco Waterfalls. Advertised as an easy to moderate hike along a boardwalk, it was a little different when we got there.…

Day 3: Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Day 3 was fully dedicated to visiting Great Smoky Mountain National Park. A made a quick stop at Oconaluftee Visitor Center to pick up Ethan’s Junior Ranger booklet and then toured an old Appalachian farmstead. We then headed to one of the park’s main attractions Clingman’s Dome. This was probably a mistake considering it was…

Day 1 & 2: The Blue Ridge Parkway

Day 1 found us leaving later than planned due to dropping off the trailer for repairs, so our seven hour drive turned into a nine hour drive due to the holiday traffic. we collected our after hours check in paperwork from Carolina Vacations and headed up a mountain to our new home away from home.…

What do you do when plans change?

As the Williams Family was doing the pre-trip checklist for this year’s big family vacation to Houston, Texas, we ran into a problem. The slide out on our brand new Grand Design fifth wheel would not retract. This was thirty minutes before our planned departure. These are the types of horror stories you hear about…

Upgrading the tow mirrors on our tow rig

Tow mirrors can mean a lot of things to a lot of people. From those little self-adhesive stick-on fish eye, to the strap on/clip on extensions, all the way up to the super cool, factory, power folding, power telescoping with all the cameras, lights and sensors there are a broad spectrum of upgrade mirrors. We…

Camping on a Cliff

Last summer we had to opportunity to spend two nights in York, ME. This quiet seaside community depicts everything you’d expect from a New England Coastal town, but without the prices and crowds of some of the more popular destinations. (Hello, Freeport and L.L. Bean chaos.) First, we have to tell you about the campground…

Buc-ee’s and the Taj-mah Stalls

The journey isn’t all about the destination, sometimes it’s the unique things you come across along the way. If your travels take you along the interstates in the South, be sure to see if a Buc-ee’s is on your route. Not your normal convenience store/travel stop, these stores cater only to traveling vehicles – no…

Travel Challenge: Day 10

We made it! There’s a blog challenge going around where you post one favorite travel picture a day for 10 days without explanation, then nominate someone else to participate. Ten pictures, 10 days, 10 nominations. Want to guess where the photo is from? Comment below and we will reveal the answer in our next blog.…

Travel Challenge: Day 9

There’s a blog challenge going around where you post one favorite travel picture a day for 10 days without explanation, then nominate someone else to participate. Ten pictures, 10 days, 10 nominations. Want to guess where the photo is from? Comment below and we *might* reveal the answer in our next blog. Thank you Salsa World…

Travel Challenge: Day 8

There’s a blog challenge going around where you post one favorite travel picture a day for 10 days without explanation, then nominate someone else to participate. Ten pictures, 10 days, 10 nominations. Want to guess where the photo is from? Comment below and we *might* reveal the answer in our next blog. Thank you Salsa World…

Travel Challenge: Day 7 & Wordless Wednesday 1/13/21

There’s a blog challenge going around where you post one favorite travel picture a day for 10 days without explanation, then nominate someone else to participate. Ten pictures, 10 days, 10 nominations. Want to guess where the photo is from? Comment below and we *might* reveal the answer in our next blog. Thank you Salsa World…

Travel Challenge: Day 6

There’s a blog challenge going around where you post one favorite travel picture a day for 10 days without explanation, then nominate someone else to participate. Ten pictures, 10 days, 10 nominations. Want to guess where the photo is from? Comment below and we *might* reveal the answer in our next blog. Thank you Salsa World…

Travel Challenge: Day 5

There’s a blog challenge going around where you post one favorite travel picture a day for 10 days without explanation, then nominate someone else to participate. Ten pictures, 10 days, 10 nominations. Want to guess where the photo is from? Comment below and we *might* reveal the answer in our next blog. Hint: Today’s image,…

Travel Challenge: Day 4

There’s a blog challenge going around where you post one favorite travel picture a day for 10 days without explanation, then nominate someone else to participate. Ten pictures, 10 days, 10 nominations. Want to guess where the photo is from? Comment below and we *might* reveal the answer in our next blog. Thank you Salsa World…

Travel Challenge: Day 3

There’s a blog challenge going around where you post one favorite travel picture a day for 10 days without explanation, then nominate someone else to participate. Ten pictures, 10 days, 10 nominations. Want to guess where the photo is from? Comment below and we *might* reveal the answer in our next blog. Thank you Salsa World…

Travel Challenge: Day 2

There’s a blog challenge going around where you post one favorite travel picture a day for 10 days without explanation, then nominate someone else to participate. Ten pictures, 10 days, 10 nominations. Want to guess where the photo is from? Comment below and we *might* reveal the answer in our next blog. Thank you Salsa World…

Travel Challenge: Day 1

There’s a blog challenge going around where you post one favorite travel picture a day for 10 days without explanation, then nominate someone else to participate. Ten pictures, 10 days, 10 nominations. Want to guess where the photo is from? Comment below and we *might* reveal the answer in our next blog. Thank you Salsa World…

A Walk Through the Parade of Trees

This holiday season, we felt it was important to spread some holiday cheer from our neck of the woods to yours. Today let’s go for a walk through Green Cove Spring’s Parade of Trees. Tomorrow we’ll check out Deck the Chairs at Jacksonville Beach. Green Cove Springs, Florida is a historic community nestled on the…

Day Trippin’ to Cedar Key

Did you know Florida has more than two coasts? It’s not just the Atlantic and Gulf like your atlas says. We Floridians take great pride in the different areas of our state and name them to represent their characteristics. The more popular ones are the First Coast, Emerald Coast, Space Coast and Treasure Coast, but…

Adventure Backpack

Today I would like to share our travel secret weapon. It is a simple but invaluable addition to our travel arsenal, the humble adventure backpack. Now this in not a simple satchel or side bag. It could come in a variety shapes, sizes or colors, but is a must for any outing that is more…

Hooking Up Sewer Lines

Just a quick blog about hooking up to sewer at a campground. When we first started this journey I wasn’t sure how all these systems worked together so I looked around on the internet and found a few videos but had to piece some of the information together myself. I hope this helps. There is…

Space Tour Part Two: Kennedy Space Center

After our visit to the home of the first rockets, we planned a trip to see where the rockets are launched! Kennedy Space Center is the home of manned space exploration and you immediately get the sense of how history is continuing to happen in Cape Canaveral. Just turning into the main parking area you…

We Were on a Honeymoon COVID Cruise

I think we are far enough along in this pandemic now that it’s safe to admit we were on one of the last few cruise ships out of Miami the weeks before the shutdown.  There were no cases of coronavirus on our boat, but one case of Influenza A was enough for ports to turn…

Hooking up Power

Just a quick blog about hooking up Power at a campground. When we first started this journey I wasn’t sure how all these systems worked together so I looked around on the Internet and found a few videos but had to piece some of the information together myself. I hope this helps for all of…

Visiting Disney World during COVID

What’s Walt Disney World like during COVID? My mother and I planned a two-day girls trip to check it out and share with you. I felt it was important to wait the obligatory two weeks from our trip to share our experience. It was – different – like everything is now days. A resemblance of…

Setting Up Camp (Parking, Leveling and Disconnecting)

Assuming everything went well on the road, you’ve made it to camp and its time to set up for your stay. The first thing I do is stop before backing in. I walk the site I will be backing into taking note of any overhanging items, scanning the ground for anything that might damage your…

Space Tour Part 1: The U.S. Space & Rocket Center

The Williams family has some bonafide space geeks in it and this summer began one of our family bucketlist items:  To visit all of the Space Centers across the U.S.  There are thirteen NASA Visitor Centers in all, and we started where rockets began at The U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Unfortunately,…

View from the Back Seat: Our Big Summer Trip

Written by Ethan Williams This summer our family went on a three week camping trip. I rode in the back-seat with our two dogs, Ashley and Tank. Our first stop was Pensacola, Florida. At Pensacola KOA, we swam and saw fireworks over the bay. I liked the big fireworks because they were colorful  and loud.…

How do I hook this up again?

So, you’ve never done this travel trailer camping thing and you have a couple of questions about how it all works. We’ve all been there, below is a basic connect, we will cover towing, set up camp, tear down camp and how to on all the systems on our travel trailer a little later on.…

Review: House on the Rock

Following our Spring Green, WI review, we had to dedicate a whole post to House on the Rock. This is one of the most eclectic and eccentric places you can visit in the U.S. Guidebooks will recommend you spend at least three hours, but we’re telling you right now that it’ll take longer than that!…

How do I plan this trip?

Planning the Big Trip: Now that we had a camper and the right truck to pull it, our family wanted to hit the road! We did a couple of short range trips to local campgrounds (more on those in a later post), but we had some extra vacation time built up thanks to COVID, and…

Our Tow Rig & Travel Trailer

Soo… before I open up this can of worms, everyone’s level of experience is different and everyone’s opinions will vary. I am by no means an expert in this department. The choices my wife and I make our ours, and ours alone. The best advice I can give you is to do your research, understand…

Purchasing a Travel Trailer 101 or…

How to figure out what exactly you need. You can’t always get want you want – or maybe you can if you are willing shell out enough money. We, however, had a set budget in mind and a wish list of features that filled a full page. Primary on our list was a bedroom with…

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