A Weekend at LBL Piney Campground

After what has seemed like forever we were finally able to set a weekend aside to go camping. We had originally planned for Easter Weekend but with the unforeseen events of the Westy crapping out on us we had a little set back. The hubbs went away for training for a while and well now he's back. 

Friday afternoon we loaded up and headed out to Land Between the Lakes (LBL) as soon as I got home from work. 

I'm absolutely loving that it stays lighter out longer now. Spring / Summer weather please stay awhile won't you. We made it to our spot for the weekend at Piney Campground, set up and had time to relax and kick our feet up before the sun went down. It was a bit chilly that evening, which I wasn't expecting. Nothing that a little campfire and some S'mores couldn't cure. 

Waking up to the sounds of the birds chirping, the wind blowing and a chill in the air was absolutely the best. The pups were enjoying a relaxing morning laid out by the Westy while I was cooking up some breakfast. 

Pancakes and Turkey Sausage was the perfect way to start our morning. I could really get used to this, sitting out on the picnic table enjoying our breakfast. Doesn't get much better than this. 

Our campsite was right near the boat dock with a little path leading across. After breakfast the pups and I took a little walk out to the pier while the hubbs met us there on his bike. It was so peaceful and relaxing. I could have sat there for ever just over looking the lake. 

After breakfast we decided to take the pups for a walk around the campsite before heading out on a bike ride. We ended up going for a good 16 mile ride down to almost the other side of LBL and back to our campsite. Man where there some nasty hills we had to up and down along our ride. I managed though, not one time did I have to stop and rest. I pushed through, telling myself each time "just make it to the top". 

After our ride, a nice little nap and some tasty lunch we sliced open some watermelon to cool down with. One of my favorite summer time fruits, it was just what I needed. 

For dinner we did something a little different. Hobo Stew. I'd never had Hobo stew before and wasn't quite sure how it would turn out but I'm a believer. It was a perfect campfire dish. We chopped some 

veggies, marinated bison rolled it all up in foil and tossed it on the fire. About 30 minutes later we where feasting on this fine meal with a side of cornbread muffins. 

Another first for me, campfire popcorn. The hubbs went up to grab some more firewood from the general store and came back with popcorn. I've seen it before in stores I've just never made it myself. It didn't seem to be popping at first. I assumed it would start right away but took a bit. But once it got going and was finished we had a lovely little buttery snack. 

Can we just go ahead and talk about how spoiled these two are. Bailey clearly was just fine laying on the gravel earlier that morning but for some reason she seemed so much more relaxed laying on the blanket once I pulled it out. Spoiled much. Then you have Dingo who can't be more than a couple inches away from us it seems like. After we had finished off our s'mores and were sitting by the fire he helped himself in to the hubbs lap. They both think they are lap dogs and take full advantage of it. 

The next morning we had breakfast before taking the pups on a walk and packing up to head back home. Fired Eggs with Turkey Sausage between a toasted English Muffin with a slice of melted Pepper Jack Cheese. I think it might have been my favorite meal of the weekend. Aside from the S'mores of course. And I mean you can't beat a view like that now. 

We decided just to leave the bed down for the drive home since we where going to be washing the sheets and the inside needed a good cleaning. So of course these two mutts took full advantage. I'd be pretty tired to if I decided to go darting through the back screen of the Westy in the middle of the night and run around the camp site. Yup that would have been Dingo. He must of saw or heard something and jump right out. The mesh screen we have for the back that allows you to leave the hatch open does not attach to the bottom. Only the top and sides so he just went right under it. He's such a turd!!!  

We had such a great time and are already looking forward to our next trip out in a few weeks.

Happy Vansgiving

We decided to do things a little nontraditional this year and for go the big hoopla of a meal and all that comes with it. Wednesday afternoon I was able to get out of work a bit early and make it home just in time to help the hubbs finish packing up the Westy. Shortly after we where on our way to celebrate our first holiday of what I am sure will be many to come in the Westy. Vansgivning!!!! 

We arrived at Montgomery Bell State Park just after sun set, set up camp (which in the Westy is seriously so easy.) While the hubbs worked on starting a fire I started getting dinner ready. Bean & Cheese Quesadilla with a side of chips and salsa. We are still trying to figure out what meals work for us on the road / camping and what doesn't so we decided to keep it as simple and easy this time around. We spend the better part of our evening around the fire just enjoying the evening. The weather was perfect not to chilly at all. We roasted marshmallow, made s'mores, and chatted with the In-Loves a bit. 

The next morning we, well I tried to sleep in some but the pups and my ever so lovely automatic alarm clock in my head just didn't let me. One beautiful thing about arriving to your camp site after dark is when you wake up you get to see the beautiful surroundings around you. The stream running right behind us, and the lush trees made for a cozy sight. Which simply put that pep in my step for a early start to our day. Sausage, Eggs and a bagel for breakfast while sipping on some Hot Chocolate. After breakfast we headed out to do a little exploring around the camp site with the pups. I managed to get in over 8000 steps before 10:30 that morning. It always fun to take the pups out walking along the trails, they get so excited. 

The plan was to have Thanksgiving lunch at the Park Resort. It was only 3 miles away so we knew we would just ride our bikes up there. Literally up, it was mostly up hill half way there. Around 11:00am we decided to make our way over to the Resort, knowing we'd probably have to wait a little bit we wanted to get a early start. Much to our surprise the Resort Restaurant was already packed full of waiting guest's to eat. We where told it would be about a 45 minute wait, which really didn't seem to be that bad considering the amount of people there. It gave us time to catch our breath and cool down from our ride. Lunch / Dinner was served Buffet style, with all the traditional Thanksgiving foods and then some. I'd never been to anything like this before and I asked the hubbs if he had either and he said nope. I didn't really know what to expected. I was so used to doing everything myself and or being with family. This was all so new to me, but let me tell you the food did not disappoint. It was simply fabulous, hot, fresh and kept us full. It wasn't a bad deal at all for $15.95 you could enjoy a feast till your heart desired and that we did, dessert included. Although I couldn't help but think about the fact that we had to ride our bikes back. 

We headed out to the parking lot and the hubbs mentioned he figured out a short cut. Ok, I'm all about that, although he failed to mentioned that we would first have to carry our bikes down a couple flight's of stairs ride across a bridge and then straight up close to 100+ stairs to get back up on the road. I wearing boots, blue jeans, a sweat and not to mention I'd just stuffed my face with loads of food. So to say I struggle just a tiny bit would be a true statement. 

The pups did so well staying in the Westy while we where gone. We didn't think we would be gone that long but I'm so glad they didn't mess anything up or get into anything.

 What else do you do after a full Thanksgiving feast, crash out. And that's just what we did. The four of us passed out on the bed. We left the door open to enjoyed the nice breeze coming through and the pups did so good, they didn't even get up to go out once. 

Later that afternoon we went on another little trail hike across the stream back behind our camp site. I loved how it was super dog friendly and yet gave us a pretty good work out at the same time. Gotta work off all that goodness we ate right. 

That evening our site-neighbors arrive, we chatted with them a bit, cooked up some skillet pizza's for dinner, made some s'mores and relaxed around the campfire.

We knew we wanted to head home shortly after breakfast the next morning and of course I did everything I could to sleep in but it just didn't happen. So up early again, I cooked us up some eggs, bacon and potatoes that we enjoyed and then we went on a little walk to get some of the pups energy out before heading out. 

It was the perfect Vansgiving, just the two of us. The weather was amazing the entire time!!! No hustle and bustle of trying to get a big meal prepped and cooked or being on a time schedule having to be at one place or another. I am very traditional and generally want to do things the old fashion way but this was perfect for us. As I grow and experience life I've learned and come to realize that its not all about doing things like everyone else or going all out but rather simply just about being with the ones that matter and that was just what we did this weekend. It was simply but it was perfect!!! 

I Hope You and Your Family had a Wonderful Thanksgiving and are Enjoying the Holiday Season. 

#GabrielVansgiving2015

Our 1st LBL Camping Adventure

We took the Westy out for our first Camping Adventure this past weekend at LBL also known as Land Between the Lakes. Its a pretty huge recreational area that sits going through TN and KY and yes you guessed it, its surrounded by water. Although just driving through at first you wouldn't know that. There's so so much to do at LBL, this was only our second time out there. The first time was last fall before the hubbs deployed and then we just made a day trip out of it and drove around checking out different areas and what there was to do and see.

At the beginning of the week the hubbs mentioned going camping, kinda out of know where. I though it was kinda odd since we agreed we'd wait till we got the upholstery redone on the inside in a week or so. But hey, I didn't have school that weekend and we didn't really have any other plans so I mean why not. We booked a camp sight not really knowing where it was located and went with it.

Friday since the hubbs was off work he picked up a few things we needed to our little adventure. Also trying to see if could get the stove in the Westy looked at. It runs off propane and we are 100% sure it works and well frankly we don't want to cause any damage trying to start / light it. Not having any luck with the local shops here we decided we'd just get a little camping stove to take along with us. We'd planned on buying one at some point any how, so it worked out. He spent the rest of the afternoon loading up the Westy and getting everything ready, so when I got home I just had to change and we could head out.

On our way there it was raining, it had been raining the whole afternoon but I had hopes that since our camp ground location was on the opposite end of LBL that we'd be fine and that we where it had cleared out just shortly before we arrived. Although since it was the first time driving her out in the rain we did notice a leak in the sky light / sunroof on the top. It wasn't horrible but something we need to add to our todo list for sure.

Once we arrived and set up "camp" we started up a fire and made some dinner. Chicken Noodle Soup it was. We bought on of those packets that you simply add boiling water to and let it cook in the bag for so long and TADA its done!!! We enjoyed our first meal in the Westy followed by Hot Chocolate and S'mores over a nice little camp fire. I set up the inside bed while the hubbs and pups relaxed and took in the night stars. It was absolutely beautiful out there, so calm and peaceful. It was so nice to be away. We had no cell phone reception which was nice because we where able to disconnect from the world and really spend time with each other.

I'm the mean on between the two of us, I wouldn't let the pups sleep with us that night. I mean come on the bed is pretty much the size of a full size bed and when you have a 115lb dog and a 45lb dog plus the two of us that's quite a bit on one bed. We turned the passenger seat around and Dingo slept up there and I brought a old blanket and Bailey slept on the floor. Everyone made out fine and they didn't seem to butt hurt. Plus I really wasn't wanting them on our brand new bedding we had just bought. The hubbs took the night shift in letting them out to potty, because you know they just had to go. So, I kindly got kicked out of bed for the morning shift to take them out, and boy was it chilly. Lucky for him I had to use the restroom myself so other wise I would have not gotten my butt up outta bed.

We spent the morning making breakfast over our little camp stove and enjoyed the crisp fall air. Shortly after breakfast we decided to take the pups on a little walk about the camp grounds and explore the area some more. It was such a beautiful place, and the views of the lake at some of the camp sites where amazing. We definitely made note on a few sites we'd like to book in the future. After our walk we lounged around a bit, the hubbs rode his bike up to local store to check it out and over heard one of the workers about a walking trail. So we decided to leash up the pups again and take them for a walk. They did really good and lucky for them got in lots of extra exercise through out the day. Once we got back to our campsite I decided to fix lunch, Guacamole Shredded Chicken in Pita Bread with a Apple / Grape Salad. It was so tasty!!!! The hubbs decided he was going to be lazy and take a nap so I went for a nice little bike ride around the camp grounds, checking out the other side that we hadn't walked. 45 minutes later I finally made my way back. That's when the hubbs decided he was gonna go for a ride. We could have gone together but We really didn't wanna leave the pups alone in the Westy. I took advantage of the bed to myself and took a little nap. It was the best, I just laid there with the door open and even let the pups lay on the bed with me. Shocker I know!! When he got back he had the wild idea to go get ice cream at the general store up the road. We made it a family outing and the pups walked up with us, I had brought with us some special treats for them so I took a couple with us so they could enjoy something while we where eating our ice cream.

We lounged around a bit more that afternoon, played with a wooden airplane the hubbs had bought and decided we head back that evening, instead of early in the morning as planned. (hubbs had to be in Nashville super early Sunday morning) Not before dinner over our campfire, Chili Hot Dogs. I couldn't even tell you the last time I ate a hotdog, let alone a Chili Hotdog. Not my thing but there's something about camping that brings them out and makes it ok to eat. Of course since we had a fire going we had to make up some S'mores. It's not a camping trip without stuffing your with the yummy goodness of chocolate and marshmallows smushed and melted between two graham crackers.

It was the perfect way to end our much needed relaxing little get away.

We even took a different way home that evening so we were able to see a new to us part of KY and it was such a beautiful drive. I can't wait to go back out camping and for all the fun adventure we have ahead of us in our Westy!!!!