Category: Camping

I first got the bug for a vintage travel trailer when I went to Branson and stayed in a cute little cabin at the KOA Campground. My dad and stepmom were attending the Vintage Rally there in their 1966 Forrester Travel Trailer and I wanted to go and see what it was all about. Well, I fell in love. You can read all about that trip in this post, Vintage Glamping 2015. I knew I really wanted to have one of my own after that trip. “She believed she could, so she did” I love that quote! My first trip to Branson in Effie was in 2019. We skipped last year due to Covid, and this year Mike went with us! Still not his thing, but he did go. lol I’ll just let you scroll and enjoy the pics. I had so much fun seeing all the campers. (People. People […]

Hi Friends! I hope you are all enjoying your spring and have had the opportunity to spend some time with family and friends as we move into 2021 with a little more hope of getting back to the lives we knew pre-Covid. These last couple of weeks have felt like 2019 for me and it was soooo nice! Camping, dining out, time spent with friends and an upcoming vacation in a few weeks. It feels like life is moving forward verses the Chevy Chase Groundhog day it was imitating. How about you? Is life moving forward for you? I hope so! Even if it’s just a few small steps. My 11 year old granddaughter accompanied me and Effie to the lake recently to camp. It was Effie’s first time out this year and she did not disappoint! Amiyah entertained herself with a glider that didn’t want to glide while I […]

Last week I spent three full days with my daughter in a cabin on a mountain in Oklahoma and it was unbelievably perfect! Because of this unusual time we find ourselves in, I’m putting forth effort to be mindful and present. Tess and I spent three days being “in the moment” as much as possible. We agreed to just a few brief minutes of 2020 talk, then only focusing on the present. The moment. The sights, sounds and smells of where we were. It was exactly what we needed together. I’ll keep this post that way as well. All about our time at the cabin. Now let me flood you with pics. We hadn’t seen each other since Mike and I went to visit her and Manuel in Texas the first weekend in March. I needed to see my girl. My drive down from Kansas was about 5 1/2 hours […]

This is my mom in the van we camped in during my childhood. I absolutely love this picture. It feels like a picture right out of a late 60’s magazine. Mom getting the camper ready for lunch with the family. Is it not the cutest?? When I bought Effie I had all of these little day dreams of what camping with Effie would look like. Me getting the camper ready for lunch with the family. Cool fall mornings with lots of coffee. Watching the leaves fall while sitting around the campfire. Cool evenings eating chili around the campfire. Camping with family and making memories. I love my alone time in her but I was imagining all of the memories Effie had to offer. Several months ago I started planning an October family camping trip. I wanted to see how many family members I could get together at a campground and […]

Hi friends and Happy Monday to you all! I’d love to be enjoying that cup of coffee at the lake right now, but I’ll be there again soon enough! I’m sharing a lot here today. I hope with each post you leave feeling encouraged to continue on your own journey, motivated or inspired to try something new and that you leave with a smile on your face. I continue to learn just how crucial all aspects of life are to my health, physically and mentally. My mindset plays such an important part of my overall health as I know it does for most people. I’m focusing on that more and more as I find myself seeking out creative ways to spend time with family, friends and spend time alone on a walk or at the campsite. I’m learning how mindfully being present in those moments with either family, friends or […]

Hi Friends! This post is looooooong. I’ve been enjoying this little trio of mine, Effie the travel trailer, Lari the truck and Little Red. I could say 1,000,000,000 times….Follow your dreams. Chase your dreams. Make them happen. Little Red came first in 2016. I remember friends asking me when I bought Little Red, “Where will you kayak?”. I didn’t have big adventurous plans of rapid rivers or any risky outings. I imagined the great views the kayak might bring me while also getting in a little upper body workout. I had quiet little plans of paddling out to a spot I wouldn’t be able to enjoy otherwise, and floating. I imagined a thermos of hot coffee with me on a cool morning, or a cold drink on a hot afternoon, maybe I’d read a book, maybe I’d just stare at the water or the sky, I just knew I would […]

I decided sometime Wednesday or Thursday to take my girlfriends offer to camp on her family farm over the 4th. Mike is knee deep in cabinet assembly in the garage, our friends that host an annual July 4th get together cancelled due to the rise in coronavirus cases, so I decided this was a perfect weekend to venture out by myself and check out my friends farm. I picked up Effie after work on Thursday and parked her in front of my house so I could pack up and leave after my Friday morning workshops. I remember as a kid hearing stories of my friends family farm. She is one of eight kids, and most holidays they spent at the farm. A few years ago, she decided to build a barn on the property and turn that barn into living quarters. I’ve seen some great pictures, but I was really […]

I finally made it to a campground this past weekend and I am SO happy that I made the decision to add A/C to my little Effie. She cooled down within minutes of turning her on and it was a hot hot weekend! I took my grand daughter Amiyah with me and although she is only 10 years old, it felt like I took a girlfriend with me. She spent the night at our house Thursday night and we headed over to my dads house Friday morning to follow my dad and stepmom for our 150 mile drive east into Missouri. I camped at this same campground last year and I remembered that crossing the Missouri river was absolutely gorgeous! I was excited to have someone with me in the car to share the drive with. She seemed to enjoy it just as much as I did! The picture doesn’t […]

Obviously I would love nothing more than to be doing my job in person, hugging members, making eye contact, having one on one conversations about how the week went, asking how life is going outside of WW, but it’s just not happening right now, so I’m seeking out all of the positive experiences about this whole Virtual Workshop thing. Maybe you’re not a WW member and you’ve got your own Virtual life happening right now? Family time? Teaching? Meetings? Classes? It’s weird, but I do find the whole experience much more personal than I ever thought that I would. Also, I have learned so much. I’m having fun trying to stay creative with the Zoom experience and make the Virtual Workshop feel like a Studio Workshop as much as possible. Knowing we will be virtual through May 30th, I am thinking about how many different locations I could set up […]

So I went camping last night with friends…..kinda. I pulled out all the fun stuff. I set up camp just like I would at the campground. Awning, rug, chairs, lanterns…..even the Potty Tent. My high school friends came over for a safe social distancing Happy Hour at Effie. They came inside one at a time to see her for their first time, then we enjoyed the outdoors. I really wanted to sit around the table with them, but that day will come. We’ve been Zooming and texting regularly now for the last several weeks, but it was sure good to see them in person and catch up! I told them all they had to brink their own drinks, food, chairs and blankets then ended up making something I thought we could share. It’s a weird time to be a hostess! They stayed until after 9:00 and it was the best […]