We’ve crossed dangerous seas to get to Antartica but we’ve never been camping… I’m almost ashamed to admit that we’ve never ventured to try this great American past time.  However, our desperation to see our family who we hadn’t seen in months due to The pandemic coupled with the high risk of flying, forced us to think outside of the box. And anyone who knows me knows I’ve been on the super cautious side during the pandemic.

After a long venting session, a close friend of mine suggested renting a RV.  I had never considered the possibility.  After doing some extensive research, the hubby and I decided that we should go for it. This was a first for us that we would be experiencing with the little ones.  

So in true Sabrina fashion, I started planning.

Below is a brain dump of all of the tips and tricks that I used.  As always please feel free to reach out to me with any questions! Here we go:

The RV

1. We used Outdoorsy.com to rent the RV. It’s pretty much the airbnb of RV rentals.  We wanted to go with a more well known company like Cruise America, however at the time they weren’t offering any deals and their rates were way more.
2. We chose this particualar RV for two reasons: Excellent reviews & manageability, the RV was small enough for us to drive with confidence (its about the size of a small Uhaul)

Checkout my IG page for videos of the RV (IG: sabcamp)

Preparation

1. I cooked a ton of food the night before we left.  I did not want to stop for anything except for gas so I cooked enough to ensure we had breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  I made Baked Mac N Cheese, eggs in a muffin pan for easy handling, & burgers and hotdogs.  We had tons of snacks and drinks.  There is a refrigerator and microwave oven on the RV so these items were very convenient.

2. I created a large bag of all the COVID essentials. Lysol spray, wipes, hand sanitizers, masks, gloves, etc.

3. We did the RV walkthrough days before the actual trip to get it out of the way.  Remember to take lots of pictures during the walkthrough for insurance. Luckily the person we rented from was really thorough and even had youtube videos on key instructions.

The Trip

1. We left at 3AM so that the kids would stay asleep for most of the ride. Which thankfully they did.
2. I had a box of new (cheap) toys on hand so that they would spend time playing with their new things. By time they ate, played with some toys, sang a few songs, and watched a movie. We were already at our destination. (I bought this little tray below from Michaels for only $4.99)

The Campground

1. We stayed at Santee Lakes KOA. Ok, so once again, this is my first time going camping. Guys, it was only $60! For the best spot, right in front of the lake with all the hookups (electric and water).

2. We spent one night there and only had a few more hours of driving in the morning to our destination.

Overall the trip was definitely a great experience. If you are interested in a RV trip, go for it!

Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions.