2~Nash>San Diego >Nash | Jan - May 2017

Ah, this was a real treat! Nathan's family has a lakehouse in Fort Gaines, GA, so we know this area very well. In all the years of him coming down and spending the summers here, he had never visited the campground. This was a FABULOUS campground. Huge lots with great scenery over the lake. We stayed near the back in the more marshy area but it was wonderful and we loved the location. We actually extended our stay because it was such a great place for some solitude between visiting with everyone in Nashville and the upcoming Rally we knew we were headed into.

If you are vegetarian, you better bring your own food. Bad restaurants and a dying town - but the history is rich and this has actually been a huge hotspot for homeschoolers. I will also say the 4th of July is excellent here. They do a great job of fireworks over the lake, put on by the free masons (who have a tendency to have them explode while everyone runs for cover). It's a big shindig there and a great time to visit.

HIGHLIGHTS: Okay, not really a highlight, but this was rest and recovery for us. It was needed after a bit of a whirlwind and we just so enjoyed the downtime and isolation. There is a sweet little playground and it was nice to just relax.

For camping...um, no. It's a huge field and the non-sewer hookups are a long ways off from the showers. The setting was nothing excellent and we would never have opted to stay there. However, we did because this was the Full Time Families Rally - our first event where we met other families that are traveling full-time like we are.

The Rally was FANTASTIC. It was so much fun, and we met so many people. There were over 85 families, 160+ kids, and it's like we found instant community. Although it was definitely a diverse group, there were so many great connections, and the kids made instant best friends. Nathan and I were gluttons for punishment and thought it would be a great idea to volunteer to handle all activities for the 6-9 year olds. It was a bit overwhelming and stressful at first, but ended up being a fabulous way to meet a ton of families and let people get to know us as well. Of course I'm already on the planning committee for the next rally.... ;-)

This time was wonderful - we've decided these rallies are super-important for us to be a part of and give us that community and connection on the road. We'll have to work on staying up later - apparently we didn't get the "everyone is a night owl" memo. ;-)

HIGHLIGHTS: So many friends for all of us to meet, delicious potluck dinners, bubble soccer (although Nathan broke his glasses), crazy bike ride on super busy streets with kids...the highlight was definitely the people.

This was our first experience at a Thousand Trails campground. It was...functional. Apparently we were in the "lame side" according to our friends, and the other side was better. ;-) It stretched across the street - lots of campsites and people packed in.

It completely worked and was super convenient to where we needed to be - this wasn't so much because we wanted to visit the area - it was us coordinating with new friends to watch our dog while we went on a cruise! We met some fabulous new friends at the rally who offered to watch our dog while we were on a cruise, so we came up here to connect with them and leave Harley. Ended up having other friends join us there and having everyone over for dinner, which was excellent!

Of course, when inviting over people, don't say, "come on, I have two salmon filets - bring whatever and we'll eat!" When you are feeding twelve people, 2 salmon filets doesn't appear to be enough. It was actually two Costco-sized filets, but our polite guests didn't question me; they simply brought their own meals. We ended up with a LOT of food! Harley ate well for her last dinner before we left - about half a HUGE filet of salmon!

LOWLIGHT: Can't say this is the highlight, but as all the families were visiting and enjoying the masses of food, Juliet decided it was a time to show off her daredevil skills on a two-wheel bike. She crashed and burned on the concrete road - with no helmet on - and split her forehead wide open. It was a little cut, but definitely stitch-worthy. Nathan immediately went to doctor mode, we put a butterfly strip on it, and she healed up beautifully - with a sweet little scar as a reminder to always wear a helmet!

We didn't actually camp here - left our trailer in Orlando and scooted down for a one-week cruise on the Caribbean! Had a blast visiting Charlotte Amalie, St. Maartin, and San Juan. Of course, Jules got a high-grade fever literally as we were leaving Fort Lauderdale. All three kids had horrible coughs and we spent a lot of time stuck in our room with sea sickness and colds. It was a work event for me, and wasn't quite our traveling style - but hey, it was an experience and now we've done a cruise! :-)

Here was just where we stored our trailer while we did the cruise. Had a friend with a gated warehouse - we just pulled it in and locked it up and we were golden - even was able to keep the fridge plugged up to power.

This was a surprisingly beautiful park! There were peacocks just walking around all over, a fun playground, a beautiful lake, and nice secluded campsites. It's gated at night, and, although this area is beautiful, it is close to a little rougher area. We were approached by a weird dude in a hummer as we were setting up camp - he drove up and asked us for money. Um, in a hummer. Really. We called the campground host and he came out immediately, said this had "never happened before", and they patrolled the area. They were super responsive and great here, and the park was wonderful. However, I would not say this is the safest park we've been to. Even with the gates locked at night, we were a little extra watchful here.

HIGHLIGHTS: So nice to have some down time after a whirlwind adventure from the rally to dropping off dog and trailer to the cruise and everyone being sick. I swear, the girls MAYBE get sick once a year - and for it to happen on a cruise... oy. Anyway, the first day we were at this park, we walked over to the playground and a huge bald eagle flew up from the lake right in front of us - pretty cool!

Ah, what a beautiful place! This was a fabulous park with a gorgeous beach! We loved this state park and really enjoyed just being close to the beach and relaxing. Met up with some friends to just enjoy more downtime without a lot on the agenda. We would definitely go back here.

HIGHLIGHTS: Wherever we go, we hop on the Facebook marketplace and Craigslist for the area. We've been looking for a camper topper for our truck to replace the flat tonneau cover we had, and Nathan found one close to use in Panama City - boom - new camper topper = a lot more room!

Ah, another fun park. This was recommended to us by another traveling family, and we met up with quite a few here, which was excellent. In the summertime there is a waterpark here for an extra fee. This was a super family-friendly park - some sites are great, others, not so much. We got a spot on a corner closest to the railroad tracks. It was busy and a bit louder - not awful, but we didn't have a great area for hanging out. Our friends, however, had a huge sandhill next to their lot and the kids had a blast playing in it.

While here we visited the Abita Springs brewery - excellent tour, fabulous tastings afterward, and fun with friends. It was a hoot listening to our crew of homeschool kids grilling the brewery tour guide with questions on beer and the brewing process. Future brewmasters in our mix. :-)

We also had some amazing beignets, AND happened to be here right during Mardi Gras:

HIGHLIGHTS: The Pass Christian Mardi Gras parade! Wow - we had never experienced a real Mardi Gras parade. We learned all about Mardi Gras, and at this one parade we walked away with FIVE grocery bags of beads, stuffed animals, candy and randomness. It's definitely worth it to take in a MG parade, and Pass Christian rocked it. Super cool experience, and so much more fun to have experienced all of this with other full-time-family friends!

This was a one night stop, and not anywhere we would ever come back to. Literally in the middle of a swamp, we were super thankful it wasn't mosquito season! Right after we set up, we ate lunch out on our picnic table and spotted a HUGE water moccasin sunning himself about 20 feet from us. Good times.
It worked to get us our LA sticker but we're good to keep on moving!

Love love loved McKinney Falls! It was a beautiful state park, great campsites, and right next to one of our favorite towns - Austin TX! We really enjoyed our stay here and wish we could have stayed even longer. The hikes in the park were enough to stay a while! It's absolutely beautiful around here.

We also went into Austin a bit - if you want some rockin' thrift stores, check them out here! Zilcher park is awesome as well - lots of things to see and do, and an excellent playground. Which leads me to....

HIGHLIGHTS: Not only is this a favorite stop for us, but the best babysitter in the world happens to live there. Ms. Kate is fabulous, and we had the pleasure of using her while she was in nursing school in TN. Once she moved back, we coordinated for her to meet the girls at the playground. We left them in her care and Nathan and I were able to steal away and eat.

We went to a restaurant called "The Odd Duck" - which lived up to it's name in a very positive way. It was one of the best meals we've ever had. This place is completely farm-to-table, right down to locally made in-house bread and butter. The menu is constantly changing based on what they can get in-season, and the combinations are definitely for adventurous foodies! We had an appetizer that was fried potatoes with cilantro and a coffee/mayo sauce that sounds horribly weird yet was divine. Plus a fish sandwich with sauerkraut baked into the bun??!!! Uh-may-zing. Definitely go there. Great local brews as well!

This place was incredible! We had such a great time here. First off, the sandhills are super cool - you can spend days just playing on them. Now, for the record, the image you have of flying down the sandhills on the sleds at record speed....um, no. I called it "sledding for beginners". You go at a snail's pace, so even the biggest looking sandhills are pretty tame. The trick is to create a smooth path, and then you can pick up some speed - any bump slows it down considerably!

You can rent the sleds from the park office, and you definitely want to wax them to get any movement with them. Two other words of caution - the sun is intense, and the wind can be strong. As an adult, I loved the breeze and the sand. For my four-year-old, it was a lot of harsh sand blowing on her legs and in her face. I highly recommend wearing sunglasses (and long pants for littles) to keep the sand from beating you up.

The bathhouse was fine - just keep in mind that with this much sand, clogged drains are a constant battle. We loved the handicapped stall shower room - it was great for all the kids to take a shower together - but the slow drain flooded the room pretty quickly!

This was close enough to Carlsbad Caverns that we did a day trip there. This was definitely worth the 2-hr trip. The caverns are incredible! If you make this a part of your trip, time it so you are there through sunset - you can watch thousands of bats leave the cave at dusk, and then the stars are supposed to be excellent. We had to get back to our dog but want to make sure to come back for the bats at some point.

HIGHLIGHTS: Huge sandhills and playing in essentially a giant sandbox. Connecting with another full-time family - we love when we all get to meet up! Carlsbad Caverns and the incredible views around the cavern.

Ah, Roswell. You were weird, quirky and fun. The alien heads on the lamposts in town were pretty great. We didn't stay long here - it was a great place to stop and super convenient to Roswell. It was quiet and worked great for a quick stay.

HIGHLIGHTS: The UFO Museum. You can't go here and not check it out. Super interesting. Make sure you stare at the aliens inside for a little bit - it's super slight, but they MOVE and it'll freak you out. ;-)

Carlsbad Caverns was well worth the trek. It's incredible - the largest underground rooms in the world (I think...) - it's pretty amazing. Time it so you are there at dusk and watch the bats fly out by the thousands - there is a viewing area to watch the bats and then the stars come out!

This was an excellent park - big and open and around a field where we could let the dog run (oh wait, of course I didn't say off leash, right?) Beautiful sunsets around here!

We did a day trip while we were here and rode the tram up Sandia Mountain. It was a pricier excursion for us, but pretty incredible. Nathan though better of his decision once it was too late - if you are scared of heights, the tram is NOT your friend. It was a cool ride up and the view at the top of Sandia was beautiful. If you want to do it, hike around the area, and make sure you wear shoes for walking in snow up at the top. It's not frigid when the sun shines, but there is snow everywhere - our open-toed sandals didn't work for much hiking around at the top!

We took two day trips to visit the Petrified Forest National Park- the Painted Desert one day and the Petrified Forest the next. There are some great stone shops along the way where we got some beautiful stones, and wow - the painted desert is gorgeous. Really neat to see it in comparison to the Monahans Sandhills - it was similar in many ways, but hard dirt instead of sand - MUCH easier to walk on!

HIGHLIGHTS from the Petrified Wood NP: The petrified wood was truly magical - seeing all the color and beauty in these stones and learning about the history of it all was really fascinating. The children really enjoyed learning about it all!

HIGHLIGHTS: Great thrift stores in the area - scored some fun pants! Seeing New Mexico for the first time was awesome - we really liked this town. Had a spontaneous meetup with Aunt Teri (Ashley's sis-in-law) who was on her way back to her home in CO, and the little restaurant we went to had the sweetest lady running it. She brought out a special "nana treat" of sopapillas in powdered sugar for the girls. The little things like that are always special!

This place it gorgeous. The variation in color and texture with all the petrified wood is beautiful. Lots of cool photography opportunities, and a super rich history to learn about. This was Ellie's and my favorite place until we hit Zion National Park! It's pretty incredible in its own way, though, and definitely worth seeing.

OK RV lived up to it's name. ;-) It was fine and functional, and offered coffee and muffins for free in the morning. However, there are main roads throughout the campground and we had a few joy-riders that flew past. We weren't as keen on leaving anything out so we locked everything up when we were gone. We spent most of the time at the Petrified National Forest - so both days were spent there - and THAT was worth it all.

This was a fabulous park with one huge caveat - there is a train that goes right by it at 3am every morning. GOOD MORNING!!! So if you are a light sleeper and planning on staying for long, this may not be your cuppa tea.

They are super dog-friendly - they have a kennel you can leave your dog at for $22.50 for a full day (technically can let them stay over until 11am the following day) - so if you want to do a full train ride to the Grand Canyon, your pup can be cared for here. It's clear they are all dog lovers - lady at the front desk had dog paw tattoos and the sweetest little long-hair chihuahua puppy sitting at the counter with her.

If you have Passport America, this is affordable and great for kids. Nice playground and gift shop to visit. There is a small indoor pool and hot tub at the hotel you have access to (kids loved it, we saw all the tweens and teens in the hot tub and decided we'd stay out). You can take a train from there to the Grand Canyon, so in the mornings at 9am before the train leaves, there is a free "wild west shootout" show that is pretty cute. They make it funny, it's about 15-20 minutes total, and free entertainment suitable for the whole family. We stayed to see that even though we opted not to ride the train. Instead, we just drove to the GC so we could take our dog with us.

HIGHLIGHTS: Wild West Show was cute, but seriously, there cannot be any highlight that would top the Grand freakin Canyon. Oh my gosh - breathtaking, amazing, incredible, beautiful. Worth it for everyone to see. We spent the whole day on the southern rim, and the girls loved the Junior Ranger program there - it was perfect for all three of them - even my 4-yr-old. They all proudly wore their badges around and learned so much about the GC and it's history. We went into town to eat (everything is pretty pricey - wasn't that great but we didn't expect much in the touristy area) and then went back up to watch the sunset and stay for the stars to come out. Incredible!!!

GO HERE. It's epic, it's incredible, and please, please please be careful! We saw so many people climbing on the rocks more focused on the perfect selfie than the dropoffs...and a man fell to his death while we were there. (I reference it and what I saw here: http://www.mamasaysnamaste.com/social-media/).

The Junior Ranger program is great, and stay for the sunset and to see the stars - it's fabulous!

Ah, Campland, you concrete jungle, you. This was quite a shock to us, coming from so many state park campsites and being used to space. This was our longest stretch of driving - almost a full ten hour day. It was a haul, and we arrived to this place to discover that not only were we packed in like sardines, but I had somehow secured a two-week stay with no sewer. Since this was by far the most expensive place we'd stayed at (over $1k for two weeks), we were pretty bummed. We get to the campsite, and there was absolutely NO WAY we would fit. The trailer alone was about 4 feet too long, and that wasn't counting the fact that there was literally nowhere to park our truck. So here we were, tired after a long day in the car, and now stuck with no where to (literally) fit.

After much going back and forth and trying to keep our cool with some frustrating campground staff, they finally delivered. They moved us over to sewer free of charge since they clearly didn't calculate our size correctly when they booked us ten months before. We backed in to our miniscule spot and decided to make the best of it.

And boy, did we ever. After the initial shock and frustrations, this turned out the be the perfect place for us. I had Social Media Marketing World at the San Diego conference center, and oh so conveniently some new FTF friends were living at Campland and Wade was volunteering at the SMMW event - hello free parking and free ride to my conference! It worked out beautifully and we were able to visit with three other FTFs while we were in San Diego.

Our first time in CA was a success - we loved it and really loved all the pointers my sister-in-law and her friend suggested to us - insights from the locals - this has so much awesome info I want to post it here for others when you go (I'll post my comments in here as well in caps):

Welcome to San Diego :)

I'm listing neighborhoods heading south from camp land.

Grunion run: http://www.californiabeaches.com/grunion-run-schedule/

POINT LOMA & OCEAN BEACH Liberty Station- a new a tourist & local destination with Corvette diner (kids love this 50's themed spot), Liberty public market (food hall), a fancy movie theater, Yoga Six and a lot more. Phil's BBQ is super popular Koby's Swap Meet on the weekends
Cabrillo Monument is a gorgeous adventure. Wednesday night farmers market in ocean beach is a lot of fun. It's on Newport ave which ends at the water. Azucar- fun Cuban bakery also on Newport ave just before you get up to sunset cliffs blvd. Ranchos (sit on garden patio) for Mexican food with lots of veg options Sunset Cliffs for a run or just the view.

LITTLE ITALY India is the main drag Blick for art supplies James, bird rock or influx for coffee Pokiritto for a sushi burrito or poke bowl Burger lounge for great shakes, salads, veggie/ turkey/ beef burgers Filipi's is a SD institution Papalecco Saturday am farmers market is one of the best in SD. Prepared foods too. (WE WENT TO THIS AND IT WAS EXCELLENT. BE SURE TO CHECK OUT CIRCLESANDSQUARESART.COM - HE'S A VENDOR THERE AND I FELL IN LOVE WITH HIS ART AND TSHIRTS!) Harbor for breakfast. Dailey method for barre class Extraordinary desserts is a MUST Walk towards downtown to go to museum of contemporary art

DOWNTOWN Lots to see if you walk around New Children's Museum- this is my favorite!!!! (THIS PLACE IS A MUST - WE SCORED SOME FREE PASSES FROM A FRIEND, BUT IF I WERE IN THIS AREA FOR LONG I'D COMPLETELY BUY A MEMBERSHIP HERE) Petco Park- baseball stadium in the middle of downtown Tender Greens is on broadway near Horton plaza (mall) and is a healthy fast casual concept with farm to table food. (They grow most of it.) love it! Balboa Park- organ pavilion, puppet theater, science center for kids (its noisy but that have an IMAX theater that shows nature films so I tolerate it), Museum of Man, Museum of Photographic Arts, Panama 66 for vegan donuts or a meal & beer in the sunshine, soft serve ice cream over by the Spanish village, international cottages on Sundays to speak to people from different countries and try their food, worldbeat center, carousel and train ride as you walk towards the zoo. If you get hungry at balboa park grab a beer or food outside at Pajama 66. Kids love the science center at the park. They also have IMAX theater that usually shows nature films. Sushi deli (there are much higher quality places but it gets pricy. If you want veggie sushi this will do.) (OH, WE ONLY ATE HERE THREE TIMES. ;-) IT IS DELICIOUS AND AFFORDABLE FOR OUR WHOLE CREW. FOUND OUT THAT ALL THREE KIDS LOVE SUSHI, AND 4-YEAR-OLD JULIET LOVES CALIMARI SUSHI BEST)

NORTH PARK 30th street is a Mecca for breweries from South Park to north park Tribute pizza is awesome Sipz for veg food (never been) Ranchos Walk the shops & restaurants on 30th & university Ace. Lots to see. One Door North is a camping themed restaurant you can eat in a tent Underbelly has a good vegan ramen (all ramen ha good here but Americanized. Fun place to sut outside.) Encontro has yummy healthy options Pigment is the cutest gift shop ever Verbatim for used books Amazing coffee & vibe at Holsem or communal coffee Holy matcha is brand new & adorable

SOUTH PARK The Station- great black bean burgers, tots, beer and an outdoor play area for kids. Popular neighborhood hipster spot. Fun shops on that block, including a couple vintage and a store that only sells things by local makers. Also love gold leaf for home & gifts. It's in the big building on same side of the street. Daily Scoop- ice cream Del Sur- Mexican and margaritas Kindred- hot new vegan spot in the same spot- I've only had cocktails there but heard the food is great. Buona Forchetta across the street is the best Italian restaurant In SD- everyone's Italian, the pizza has won the world championships in Italy multiple times including gluten free. Super cute & reasonably priced.

NORTH OF CAMPLAND

LA JOLLA Children's pool beach is a must to see the sea lions (DEFINITELY A MUST-SEE. FREE, LOTS OF PLACES TO PLAY, AND SEA LIONS! A WEE BIT SMELLY, BUT SO COOL) Explore the cove Museum of contemporary art Puesto for Mexican food Walk around prospect street- fancy but pretty Salk institute has amazing architecture UTC is a nice mall. Tender Greens is healthy and sooo good. Fancy movie theater with reclining seats. Whole Foods if you need to stock up

ENCINITAS Funny boho beach town in north county (LOVED THIS AREA!!) Moonlight beach Stroll along the 101- lots of fun shops & restaurants Chuao for chocolate or gelato ;) The self realization fellowship has amazing gardens overlooking ocean (WE DROVE AROUND OUTSIDE AND WISH WE COULD HAVE MADE IT WHEN IT WAS OPEN - IT LOOKS BEAUTIFUL. TALKED TO A LOCAL - CHECK OUT http://floraandthesun.etsy.com/ - SHE SAID THE DOCUMENTARY "AWAKE" IS ABOUT THE YOGI THAT STARTED THE SELF-REALIZATION FELLOWSHIP).
Tons of yoga studios If you go up north here I can give a ton more recommendations because I work nearby in Carlsbad. Oh we do tours at the Chuao chocolate factory on fridays: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/chuao-chocolatier-factory-tour-tickets-29661228533 (I DID CHECK THIS OUT AND THE CHOCOLATE TOURS ARE RESERVED FOR AGES 10+ SO WE DIDN'T GET TO DO THIS).

38 Essential Restaurants- http://sandiego.eater.com/maps/best-san-diego-restaurants-38

Also check out Discover SD, City Beat or the San Diego reader websites for events & fun things going on around town!

HIGHLIGHTS: Man, lots here. This was our first time to stay for two weeks in one spot since we started, and there was so much to see - we could have stayed even longer! Campland was great for the convenience to downtown, so we will most likely go back there, but want to check out Pico Pichu and Santee Lakes as two other options to stay that are a bit further out and a little more state park spacious.

At Campland, not only did we enjoy some great concerts, but the pools were awesome. We were there during St. Patrick's day, and the Irish restaurant owner on the property went all out to celebrate. The Green Day cover band was great! There are four pools there, all heated. Two of them are hot tubs, and one of those is a big one the size of at least two regular hot tubs. Now, this is a bit of a party place, so these pools are full of chlorine and lord knows what else. There is a lot of drunkenness going on, especially on the weekends! But the girls LOVED the warm pools and had a blast - Jules diving in and swimming across the 8' deep end with no problem...while giving all adults around a heart attack. ;-)

Sushi Deli was a favorite, as well as the Children's Museum, Little Italy Farmer's market, seeing sea lions, and exploring the beautiful parks. San Diego traffic is no fun, and I fell in love with Encinitas even more so - but yep, we will be back!