When looking for a campground for our Outer Banks Adventure I quickly keyed in on Camp Hatteras Campground as it had an indoor pool. This is a big bonus for a February vacation as you never know what the weather will be throughout your stay. Even though we were very lucky with the weather and temps were up in the high 70’s during the middle of the week you’ll see we wore our winter coats in the beginning of the vacation and were in T-shirts at the end. We did go in the ocean one day (as much as we could stand anyway) but the water temperature had to be around fifty degrees so the indoor heated pool and hot tub were key.

We did a lot of exploring and there’s one thing I didn’t plan on for this vacation : the amount of driving. The Outer Banks is about 200 miles of shoreline and there is so much to see and do from one end to the other and we did in fact venture from the southern most island of Ocracoke to the northern tip of Carolla during our weeklong stay. The driving can wear everybody out so there were a few days we elected just to stay at the campground. We swam in the pool, played at the playground, took Cooper to the dog park and rode our bikes and scooters on the nicely paved roads within Camp Hatteras. One day Ryan found a baby turtle on one of the roads and we let him visit with us for a day until we let him go by the pond.

The main attraction of this campground is the ocean. We booked an oceanfront site and were just steps away from the dune entrance. There weren’t  a lot of campers there during our stay due to being in the offseason and we found it to be very quiet, except for our kids of course. The rates are a lot cheaper as well but I feel we wouldn’t want to visit here any other time. I fear the crowds of summer might add stress, traffic and wait times. A lot of the businesses were not even open until March or April but the restaurants we ate in were top notch and all of the natural attractions and preserves are open year round.

We had a ball on Wednesday, which was the warmest day of our stay. The kids played in the surf and made sand castles. I even took an ocean dip briefly… very, very briefly. We spent the whole day at the beach.

 

Cooper loved the beach as well. We took an early morning walk on the beach every day during our stay while the kids were eating breakfast and getting ready for the day. We always say that Cooper is a camping dog and I think its because when we’re camping we’re away from the daily distractions of life. The dog just loves spending time with us and the same thing holds true for the rest of the family as well. When we’re camping we just spend time with each other and the time we spend together as a family is so valuable and precious.Ground fires are prohibited at Camp Hatteras and I don’t think I can fit another thing into storage underneath our motorhome so bringing our own elevated ring is out of the question. I stopped by the campground office and asked a staff member how we were going to roast marshmallows and he gave me a blank permit to fill out for a beach fire. The kids loved this! It was a new experience for all of us to be sitting on the beach at dusk roasting (or burning) marshmallows to the sound of the surf.

In summary, Camp Hatteras RV Resort and Campground in an excellent choice for family camping. It’s a family owned resort and we found the staff to be very helpful and the facilities up to date and clean. In the summer they open an additional outside pool. The dog park and playground were nice as well. We would definitely stay there again and probably will as I see us coming back to the Outer Banks in coming years as we loved it so much. Check out our video below to see more of the campground and stay tuned as we’ll bring you more of the Outer Banks over the next few posts. Thanks for stopping by.

Happy New Year from The Traveling Terrells!  From our family to yours, we’re sending you our warmest wishes for a safe and prosperous New Year. See you in 2018!

This was a Disney Descendants year for the Traveling Terrells. Sarah dressed up as Mal and Ava was Evie. Over the last few months we must have watched both Descendants and Descendants 2 almost a hundred times. Ryan dressed up as a “scary ninja.”

As always we started out the day with a Halloween Parade followed by the costume contest. As it became darker the kids all headed out to go trick or treating to all the campsites. The next day they painted pumpkins with Noni as we had arrived at the campground late on Saturday and missed that event. Later we bobbed for apples for the first time – the apples were on strings and you had to take a bite without using your hands or shoulders. It’s a bit more hygienic but probably a bit more challenging as well. You can get a glimpse of these events on the video below:

This was our last trip of this year. So sad… We’re just going to have get through the winter doldrums by trip planning and looking at this past year’s videos and pictures. Goodbye to the camping season of 2017 and we’ll see you all back here next year.

When searching for a moderate hike within striking distance from Brook n Wood Campground we found this hike listed as one of the top ten hikes of the Hudson Valley area. I’m so glad we found this hidden gem in located in Dover Plains, NY.

Following the guide book is critical on this one because hidden it is. They suggest parking in the Dover Elementary School just south of and across the street from the trailhead. We passed the trailhead, twice while looking for it.

The entrance to the trail is through a private drive. Once you descend the steps you cross through a meadow with columns of trees on each side, planted in orchard like rows. Just one tenth mile from the information sign, over a small footbridge you arrive at the intersection of three trails: yellow upper loop, red lower loop and the blue lookout point. If you go straight on through you’ll end up at the cave. We did just that first and later took the blue lookout point trail which is a 1.5 mile in and out.

The cave is an ancient cavern on the Stone Church Brook with a w.aterfall at the back of it. In the 1600’s a Pequot Chief, Sassacus and his warriors fled from the British Army and hid in the cave. According to a sign at the trailhead they were later found and killed by rival Mohawks.

We highly recommend this hike and it is child friendly. The cavern provides near instant hiking gratification and if you’re wanting more you can take one of the other trails before or afterwards.

We made a brief video showing these trails which can be found below. There’s some great commentary about seven and a half minutes in. Check it out if you’ve been entertained by our early series on Camping Interviews with Toddlers. Thanks for stopping by.

The end of August can be a sad time of year. School is about to begin, the temps are getting cooler and the summer camping season is winding down.

We spent the last week of summer swimming and playing at Lake Taghkanic State Park, visiting The Dutchess County Fair, picking fruit at Mead Orchards as well as just swimming and playing at Brook n Wood Campground.

There’s a great swimming beach at Lake Taghkanic. Lots of sand has been brought in for sand castles and sun bathing. When the kids aren’t swimming they’re trying to catch the numerous fish with the nets we brought with us.

We visited The Dutchess County Fair and got to pet and see numerous farm animals, we rode on the carnival rides and the kids each had a fresh milkshake on the way out.

On the last day of the week we picked apples, peaches, plums, strawberries and blueberries at Mead Orchards in Tivoli, just outside of Red Hook. To be fair, I think the kids ate just as much fruit while we were picking than we actually bagged. I’m sure Mead factors in the consumption factor but the kids were amazed in just how fresh and sweet everything was.

Brook n Wood Campground also offered up some activities, pine cone people (or animal) making and rock painting, and we got in our last swim as well.

Check out our video above chronicling our last week of summer. Hopefully we’ll get in some Fall camping before winterizing to show you next. As for now, thanks for stopping by.

• Just outside of Bolton Landing, NY can be found The Pinnacle Hike. It’s a mile and a half in and out trail that offers a breathtaking view of Lake George, one that people seldom see. 
• The trail was a bit steep at first but it leveled off as we made it near the 505 foot summit. A unique aspect of this trail was that it brought you straight to the view. Many of the hikes we’ve taken offer you glimpses as you make your way up but at the end of this hike you emerge from the forest right onto the ledge affording you a beautiful panoramic view of Lake George.

  

  Check out the following video of our hike and stay tuned for more adventures next as we begin to wrap up our summer. Thanks for stopping by.

• https://youtu.be/Ooj0XmNs1mking by.    Pinnacle Trail Video
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ooj0XmNs1mk&feature=youtu.be

We loved The Lake George Escape Campground so much last year we had to stay there again this summer. We were even able to book the same site, within sight of the playground and just a few more steps to the beach. Lake George Escape has tons for kids to do, every week has a different theme. Some the highlights, which can be seen in the video at the bottom of the page, were the waterslide, tubing on The Schroon River, DJ dance party nights, gem mining and of course the pool and playground. The playground was new this year and they actually have two pools: a kiddie pool with small slide and a larger saltwater pool. Dan’s Riverside Grille is right beside the pool and offers hot snacks and cold beverages for both the kids and Mom and Dad.

We drove the short drive into Lake George Village on our second day and went to the small amusement park near Million Dollar Beach and attempted a visit to The House of Frankenstein but shortly up the stairs the kids chickened out. Last year Sarah and Ryan went into Dr. Morbid’s Haunted House with me but this year was a no go. Luckily the cashier took pity on us and gave us a “good for life” ticket to go back. Maybe next year…

It was also nice just to walk around the village. Ava’s leg was in a full cast last year and we were unable to do many things we did this past visit such as our visit to Natural Stone Bridge and Caves and our hike on The Pinnacle Trail (up next). You can watch our day in the village as well as getting a glimpse of Lake George Escape Campground in the video below. Thanks for stopping by.

Natural Stone Bridge and Caves is a network of self guided nature trails located in Pottersville, NY.  Their well groomed but rustic trails take you above and below ground offering views of caves, underground streams and gorges created over 200 years ago.

The kids really had a great time here. It’s an hour long hike with 22 amazing sights along the way. You can also see an old sawmill, do some gem mining and see rare geology as well the largest marble cave entrance in the east.

Check out the video below detailing our trek through this adventure park. Stay tuned as we show you Lake George and The Lake George Escape Campground next. Thanks for stopping by.

 

Camping reservations at Smith Point Beach Campground are akin to purchasing concert tickets. After weeks of trying I secured a water and electric site for four days. My parents and sister live out in Suffolk County and thus were able to visit us each day. It made for a great time, especially for the cousins to be bonding.

The flat paved roads are great for bike and scooter riding and the large playground was sufficient. Bring shade with you, as there’s none of it here. What there is is sand. Plenty of it. We probably swept a half pound of sand from the camper each day.

While out here I took Cooper to the TWA Flight 800 Memorial on one of our morning walks. It’s been over twenty years  since since the mysterious tragedy but this is the first time I’m visiting it. It was a beautiful morning and we were the only ones there. Very solemn. Makes you realize how precious life is and we should be thankful for each and every day we spend on this beautiful Earth.

Naturally the attraction here is the beach. Being able to walk down to the surf from your camper is huge. If waves aren’t  your thing, there is also a small beach on the bay side thats fine for wading. It’s about 2 feet of water for a couple hundred yards out.

My kids spent hours each day playing in the surf and building sand castles. Although it’s not our usual style of camping, you better believe we’re going to to try to book a full hook-up site next summer. The very least, water and electric again.

Check out the video below that we filmed during our beach weekend. We’re heading back to the mountains next on our return to Lake George. Thanks for stopping by.

Santa comes to campgrounds in July. Check around and you’ll see that many campgrounds celebrate sometime during the month. Brook n Wood does a fine job of this. There are many activities centered around the holiday all weekend long, such as Christmas Cookie Decorating. There is also a site decorating contest and Santa’s singalong hayride in which my father-in -law, Mario provides the music. After the hayride we all congregate  in the activity center and Santa hands out gifts to the children. We all look forward to this weekend for months and the kids always have a wonderful time. You can view some the holiday cheer in the video above. We’re off to the beach next, thanks for stopping by.