Little Red Travels to Table Rock State Park...SC

We had heard many things about Table Rock State Park for years but never made it there. Its approximately 3 hours from where we live so it's not a bad trip at all.  We left late on a Thursday so that we could be set up and ready to enjoy the day on Friday.  This was another set up in the dark and not without it's unique set of issues.  But....what's a camping trip without some fun troubles....Right???

So we left around 6:30 PM and with a few potty stops for Miss Lucy and a quick run through Bojangles we arrived at about 9:45.  This park is in the mountains but not too bad if you come in through the correct entrance.  😏  I should mention here that I am horribly afraid of heights.  I can enjoy the view somewhat but can't look down..ever!!!  This campground had two ways to come in and one is not for those towing or driving RV's.  That's because the road gets very narrow and sharp..I mean extremely sharp curves.  But luckily Greg was familiar with this after talking to the office before we left home and we made it in on the right side on our first try.

During set up on the pull through site we had, we got really close to the box that provides power but couldn't really see that when we set up.  Anyway after getting level and working inside to set up I got the shock of my life when somebody (Greg) forgot to take the chains off before pulling forward.  I thought Lucy and I were taking the short way home via the mountain.  But it was all good - we just lurched forward off of the lego block he had used to level up.  No harm done....except that Miss Lucy was significantly shaken up.  She just glared at us for the rest of the night.  She hates the ride in the car and thought she had snugged up in her bed to relax so this was particularly upsetting to her little system.  Poor baby...we have to work on her issues with riding in the car.  I have ordered her a car seat for dogs so we will see how that works.  More on that later.

The next morning we had an awesome view of the side of the mountain - our site was sort of down in a little valley.  We were on 43 and it was fairly level with the usual amenities of a fire ring, water and power.  This campground was fairly large with sites down at the bottom for larger rigs and camp hosts and the area we were in was mainly for travel trailers, etc.  This is a very busy state park and we really loved that.  There are so many trails and of course you can hike up to the top of the mountain.  We made it to the the second level and would love to be able to go to the top but I'm just not sure the ole knees could make it.  😆 It's a wonderful meandering path with different trails that are different difficulty levels.

The weather was nice for the whole weekend with the exception of Saturday night when the rain came in - it was very late though.  We prepped for this by putting away everything outside that night so that we wouldn't be putting away soggy wet chairs, etc.

While there we met the campground hosts which were some of the nicest we have met so far and they have a real community there.  Lucy met lots of dogs and especially loved Big Otis who was one of the hosts...he was a pit bull mix and just so sweet!!  We met some snow birds from Canada and all sorts of kiddos.  We also spotted something I have been looking at but had not see other than pictures.  It was the new Vintage travel trailer and its made very much like the Retro but bigger.  It would be too heavy for towing with our car but it was so nice.  We will have to watch those and see how they do.

All in all we loved this campground and would definitely return.  Because it's located in the mountains, we did have issues with our cell phones but awesome television reception.  Go figure.  Some of it was caused by the fact that our site was lower down.  If we walked outside we could get a little better reception.  I have a Samsung and was just able to send text messages and receive them but Greg has an IPhone and he got much better results.  Not sure why.

We are still loving our Little Red and would recommend the brand to anyone.  We still get lots of questions and comments and we are normally the only retro in the parks that we visit.  We have been told so many times that seniors with huge big rigs want to downsize because it just so much to haul and handle.  We will be doing an update on things we have learned after 6 months of use and our travels to 10 campgrounds.  More gadgets to come also. 

Peppy's First Trip in Little Red

We are planning Trip Number 5 in our Little Red Retro this weekend.  We are pretty excited to visit Cheraw State Park.  We had hoped to travel down to Edisto but that campground filled up pretty quickly.  We are thrilled to visit this very unique site on our quest to hit all SC State Parks and surrounding areas.

According to Google Cheraw is ( /tʃərɔː/ chə-raw, local /ʃərɔː/ shə-raw) is a town on the Pee Dee River in Chesterfield County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 5,524 at the 2000 census and center of an urban cluster with a total population of 9,069. It has been nicknamed "The Prettiest Town in Dixie."  More info is available on the SciWay website.

This will be our Camper Elf Peppy's first ever road trip.  We are excited for him to travel with us and hoping that Lucy Loo will allow him to survive the trip.  Maybe they will decide to get along.  She is very fond of removing the face of his kind (stuffed toys...shhhh don't tell Peppy)  and chewing it into non-existence.  Silly girl...  His job is to watch over our little camper and it's inhabitants.  

 Cheraw State Park is unique in that it also has a golf course on site and it is quite popular.  Hubby is going to bring his clubs along and check it out.  It also sits on the beautiful Lake Juniper and fishing is popular there as is boating and kayaking.  We will probably take the canoe along too and see how it goes.  Lucy still needs to try out her little life jacket.  She won't be happy about that.  Temps are supposed to be up this weekend so hopefully we can go out for a little canoe ride.

We will keep you posted on our visit and let you know how this campground stacks up.  Lucy and Peppy are quite excited.  😉

Happy New Year and Gifts for Campers

We had a wonderful Christmas and New Year around here and we received some awesome camping goodies!!  Most of our family members are well aware that we love camping....probably because we talk about it all the time and there is this cute little red camper in our drive way and all.  The kids were so thoughtful and really set us up for our next trip.

This is the gas grill that we had hoped for and of course it's red.  It folds down and you can actually pull it along like a wagon.  I don't know if we will be able to wait to use it.  We had seen one of these in action several years ago and knew it would be perfect.  They gave us the converter so we can hook it right up to the extra gas bottle we travel with.  We love it!!!  You can find them here.

Also on our wish list was the portable black water collector or as we affectionately call it "the Pooper".  In a small trailer having extra holding space for black water really helps out if we're camping more than a few days.  That way we don't have to take the whole shebang down to the dump station or worse, risk an over flow.  Not fun by the way.  The only color I have seen these in is usually a poopy brown so I was pretty excited that our son found this blue/grey one.  It has a nice strong handle for pulling and he also grabbed a neat box of gloves that has a dispenser that adheres inside the storage area.  This guy is going to make for less trips to the bath house.....and believe me old people have to go a lot.  😀  These are located here.

Next up were warm Snuggies for us both.  In our small space we try not to take anything unnecessary inside the trailer and big coats stay out in the car.  I would never have thought of these but we just love them and they are lightweight and easy to carry and just perfect for hanging out in our camper during colder months.  They even have a little pocket up front which is perfect for the remote or any needed snacks. So much fun at home too.  You can find them here.

I also received the most wonderful socks.  I wear socks all the time in cold months and try to take my shoes off whenever I'm in the trailer.  Two types that I completely recommend are the Cuddle Duds pictured here and also the Fireside Socks which are aloe infused and lined with fleece.  They are super comfy and it doesn't hurt that really cute too! 

We also received our little Camper Elf, Peppy, and we are excited to see what he and Lucy will get into on our next adventure.  We are hoping to get down to Edisto Beach Campground sometime in January.  It's a beautiful area and beach and should be be peaceful this time of year.  Our wish list for trips this year include Tybee Island, Asheville, some upstate campgrounds and hopefully some along the North Carolina coast as well.  Wishing all a Happy New Year and many wonderful camping adventures. 

Myrtle Beach State Park

We took Little Red down to Myrtle Beach State Park last week and it turned out to be an awesome campground!  I wasn't really expecting much but hubby had faith. 😃  We had not seen this one in many years and I have to admit as younger tent campers our expectations were very different.  Also we were camping with kids back then and activities for them ranked high on our list.

We arrived after dark in the wet and cold so set up was a little challenging but hubby did an amazing job.  I stood outside with a flashlight beamed on the tree that lived very close to the hookups and he was able to line up perfectly.  😅Unfortunately this site was not level and we have not purchased anything to put under the tires to level up so we were leaning a bit but it wasn't bad.  We had a full hookup along with picnic table and fire ring.  We found all of the sites to be fairly good size and clean.  We were on number 29 and it was roomy with grass and we could have set up a tent with no problem.  Also there were a good many campers in that particular area of the campground which was nice.  We weren't sure if many would be there for cold weather camping.

This was our set up and even though it was too cold to spend a whole lot of time outside, we still enjoyed it.  This campground has a boardwalk that runs from the entrance of the campground all the way to the beach.  It's awesome and makes the walk such a pleasure.  It is also really good for dogs - helps get their little paws all free of sand by the time you get back to your camper.  Lucy really enjoyed the beach and visiting with other dogs and walking the board walk.  I am sure this state park is very popular during the summer.

Another really neat thing here is that they provide horse rides on the beach for a fee.  They bring them in each day and it looks amazing.  We didn't try it but we so enjoyed watching them glide across the sand...it was magical.  Of course Lucy thought they were big dogs and she was none too impressed.

We went Christmas shopping a couple of days on this trip and found some great deals and loved the decorations.  At Bass Pro Shop Santa was visiting and they invited us to bring Lucy in for a picture.  She loved walking through the store and sniffing things and talking to people.  Of course she got lots of attention too.  This is she and Greg waiting in line with a reindeer in the background.  We always visit this location when we are at the beach.  We also checked out Red Robin for lunch and it was delicious.  I know lots of people say it's over rated but we truly enjoyed it.  Lucy loved the burger bite we took back to the car for her.  It was very cold that day so she was fine waiting for us there and she was wearing her jacket.  😁


The campground was very clean and updated with wireless throughout the park.  It was a little weak in some areas but worked well on our phones to save us a little data.  The full hook-up worked really well and we didn't make many trips to the bath houses.  However they were very clean and looked like they had recently been updated.  The shower stalls were large and included a place to hang towels and clothes.  Greg took a couple of showers there and said the water was nice and hot.

There is also a legendary pier in the park and it is pictured on the left side bar as well as on the state park
web site. There are trails to walk and both the pier and the registration area have stores that include all sorts of t-shirts, mugs and other goodies as well as necessary staples and camping supplies. 

Our son gave us a Star Shower for us to take with us to decorate our campsite.  We so love it.  We had seen these at Halloween when we camped at Devil's Fork and during the summer at Hunting Island.  For this trip we used the red and green lights and it was very festive.  I wish we had been able to get it to show up on camera.  You can find them on Amazon and at Target as well as lots of other places.  It looks like you put up hundreds of little lights and it only takes a minute.  We have them set up here at home too.  The campground was festive as lots of other campers had decorations and lights.

So on our list of campgrounds this one goes up at the top end of the list.  It was so much better than we expected and had very little damage from Hurricane Matthew.  The rates, location, campsites as well as dog friendly park along with the beach made it a perfect fit for us. The camp customer service representative even called us on our way down to be sure we had the gate code to get in since we were running late.   We give it a big ole five!!!  While we were in the area we visited Huntington Beach State Park.  This was another great surprise and we really loved it.  We will definitely try and camp there next year.

Cost:  $  (Snowbird rates are excellent!)
Location:  5 out of a possible 5 - this is one of our favorites!
Service:  Excellent
Overall Rating:  5+ out of a possible 5 Campers
 

Update on our Retro - we are still loving it and enjoying spending time in it on every trip.  The heat worked well in the cold weather on this trip and with full hook ups it was great.  We love being able to stock the fridge when we pack and not have to worry about moving the food when we get to our destination.  Hubby says the camper is very easy to pull and he can barely tell it's back there when driving.  We still get lots of comments and horn honks every where we go.  A guy actually stopped us in traffic on this trip to talk about it.  Of course we love talking about our Little Red Retro!!!


Another note on Hunting Island - we heard on this trip that it more than likely won't reopen until 2018.  This makes us very sad and we are hoping that things will move along a little faster.  We will keep you updated on anything that we hear.

Camping Trip Prep...

Oh my gosh - I so remember the old days when getting ready for a camping trip was pure torture and included days of packing and a nightmare the night before.  Also when we returned the amount of work cleaning up things and putting them away was a job too.  But we still enjoyed the trip and did it again and again for a week at a time.

One of the many reasons we wanted a camper was so that it would be somewhat self contained and the packing would be minimal.  So far that has been the case and we hope to get better at it as we do more.  In our case Hubby has to do most of this because I have some health issues that limit my energy and ability to lift and move easily. So anything we can do to simplify and ease the process is appreciated.  He also still works more than full time so we have to make the most of what time he has.

Over the years we have finally learned not to take so many clothing items.  We each have a duffel type bags and we roll our clothes and we only take what will fit in each bag.  Those are stored at one corner of our bed near the cabinet and stacked.  That works for us and doesn't really get in the way.  Anything not needed for everyday use clothing wise (ex. hanging items)  stays in the car.  We keep duplicate personal items such as tooth brushes, deodorant, toothpaste, hair items, etc. in a mesh hanging bag inside the bathroom door. So no need to worry about packing those.  We also keep some staple non-perishable food items in the cabinet so we are ready to go at any time.

There are lots of packing lists available on Pinterest and we have saved lots of those to reference.  Our main

thing is to cut down on excess stuff and weight and keep "things" from stressing us out.  We are also still learning what necessary items are needed.  The next thing on our purchase list will be one of these containers that can be attached to your black water hose and can be wheeled to the dump station.  We don't use our bathroom exclusively and still make trips to the bathhouse but we have found that after about 3 days our black water needs to be dumped.  We actually overflowed the toilet on our last trip...yep that was fun but a good learning experience all the same...just water thank heavens!!  They can be found here.

We do carry a camp stove and cook outside on it a good bit and over a fire.  We normally do make most breakfasts inside and love using our little two burner gas stove in the camper as well as our little toaster oven/coffee maker/griddle.  As the temperatures cool some here in South Carolina, we probably will venture outside to cook even more.  We love this little guy and totally recommend it.  It is just perfect for two and works well for us so far.  You can find it here.

I have mentioned before that we love to take at least one leftover frozen meal.  This goes in the bottom of the cooler and helps to keep the ice cold and other items cold.  Our fridge works on gas while we are traveling so we fill it too.  Next on our wish list will be a Yetti Cooler.  They are very expensive but such a great item to have for next year when we hope to take a couple of week long trips.  I have to drink lots of water and ice becomes a big deal.  Those bad boys can keep ice for days.   There are lots of sizes and styles and they even make one big enough to hold a body.....not that I would ever need that. (Smile).  This one can be found here.

We are learning so much from fellow campers and for this trip I hope to get a notebook ready so that we can exchange email addresses, etc. and keep in touch.  Meeting people and hearing their stories is the very best thing about camping.  We will share more after our trip this week.  Thanks for joining us on this journey!!

Cabbage Roll Soup

Here is another easy recipe that works great to prepare at home and take along with you on the road.  We love this one because it actually tastes like cabbage rolls without all the hassle of putting those little guys together.  Sometimes it's called deconstructed cabbage rolls.  Either way it is delicious if you like cooked cabbage.  So yummy!!  You can use all sorts of meats but we mostly go with hamburger, ground turkey or both.  Here again this is a really easy big ole pot of food and you can make it your own with seasonings and additions.

Cabbage Roll Soup
2-3 pounds hamburger or ground turkey (or use equal parts of both)
2 large cans diced tomatoes
1 can Rotel
1 very large (6 lb 9 oz) can crushed tomatoes or other tomatoes of choice
1 large head of cabbage chopped
1 or 2 large bell peppers chopped (depending on taste)
1 large onion chopped
2 tablespoons jarred garlic or fresh
1 large container beef broth
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons basil
2 tablespoons Mrs. Dash Seasoning (love this stuff)
2 cups brown rice prepared (optional)


We love this soup in fall especially but the main reason we made it this week is that my daughter-in-law brought us the most beautiful large fresh cabbage.  I just wish we had taken a picture before we cut it.  Also I just
happened to have that massive can of crushed tomatoes on hand.  You don't really have to have that and can use any kind ~ pureed, crushed, diced or mix of those. But they have these at Costco and they are awesome to have on hand for soups, etc.  If you don't like it so tomatoey (that's a word, right??)  then you can increase the broth, add water and decrease the tomatoes.

As usual I like to put a big ole pot on the stove and add the sauces/liquid and seasonings.  Then I brown the onions, garlic, cabbage and bell pepper and season as I go and add to the pot after they are softened.  Then I brown the meat again seasoning while it's cooking and since I used turkey this time I didn't need to drain.  Add to the pot along with the cabbage.  This one was so fresh that it took a little bit of time to soften but I just kept stirring and simmering for at least two hours.  Just keep testing to see that it is the desired tenderness.

We serve ours with a bed of brown rice in the bottom of the bowl.  This is completely optional and the rice could also be added to the soup raw and let it cook in the pot.  It's all up to how your family likes it.  The guys like lots of hots sauces for toppers and we make skillet corn bread to go along with it.  Enjoy!!  Oh and it freezes up beautifully making it easy to take along on your camping trip.

Decorating the Camper

A big part of the fun of camping and having a camper is decorating it to make it feel like your own portable little home away from home.  I am ashamed to admit how very many pins I have on Pinterest that are all about the inside.  I have loved all things retro for a good while and incorporating that in our little retro makes it all the more fun!

A sweet coffee mug for enjoying a good cup while camping is an essential.  This one is my favorite and was a gift from my kids.  It is a nice heave ceramic one and has the retro design that I so love.  You can find these on Amazon under Camp Casual!  They have a couple of other colors too.  We were able to find a set of red melamine dishes that go perfectly in our camper.  Camp Casual also makes a full set of dishes in melamine with a camping theme - also sold on amazon.

My next favorite thing would be cute dish towels and such.  My daughter-in-law made this one for me and it

is absolutely perfect!!  She adapted the colors to match our camper. I haven't decided how best to display it but you can be sure it will not be drying any dishes - this one is just for the joy of its beauty.  Of course it is also retro!  Love it!!

The Retro campers have a little wood valance over all of the windows and this makes an excellent place to have little items on display when camping.  We also set it up when it is parked here at home.  We are working on some ideas to place the pins we collect from the state campgrounds we visit.  We're also thinking of adding a map board that we can pin each campground as we visit.  You can see the valances in the picture below where Camper Lucy is enjoying the pillows on the bed.  She likes napping there and sleeps like a baby on the bed with us at night.

We also have a really cute retro toaster-coffee maker-griddle thing that lives on the dinning table when we are camping.  Of course it's red and I also found it at Amazon.  It is just perfect for two and works great. It also comes in the old fashioned aqua too.  Since we camped for years before we had a camper, we have a lot of stuff like chairs, mats and such.  Surprisingly Walmart now has a decent camp section and we added a new large outdoor rug from there to cut down on tracking in sand and dirt.  We also added two of those balance type chairs for our campsite and they are so comfortable you can even take a snooze in them.  Pictures of this set up are in some of our earlier posts.

We love lights for our little awning that pulls out over the front door and the kids gave us a set of chili pepper ones.  One strand works perfect and they are pictured in the right side photos.  We are planning to get a video done of the camper inside and out the way we set it up when we camp.  We will include information on where we found items included.  I am sure we will add more as we go.  We are always trying to get things as organized as is possible and to keep out weight under control when towing.  For us the main objective is for it to make us feel at home wherever we go and just plain fun.

Why Do We Camp???

Why do we camp....this is a question we hear a lot - especially way back when we tent camped.  I can't answer this for anyone else but for us it is our reset button.

Why would you want to cook outside, use bug spray like it's hand lotion, hover over a hole in the ground to do unspeakable things???  Also - there is lots of discussion about what is really camping and what is just staying somewhere else other than home.  Some say if you use an RV then you aren't really camping.  Others call it Glamping.  For us our little camper is a safe haven.....we still cook outside, still use the bath house at campgrounds and spend a good deal of our time outside the camper.  But I am the first to admit that we are not the hard core campers who are out in the woods in a tent with no running water.  We are old and those days, for the most part, have passed us by.  I like knowing that I have a place to go if I need to use the bathroom at night and its dark outside.  I like having a hot shower in the bathhouse and I like the combination of the comforts of home along with the experience of staying in a campground.

Now why do we do this - well here is a list of our reasons - I am sure there are others but these are the ones that come to mind.  I love knowing why others enjoy it too.  We have met so many people along the way and we share our stories and we find so much more in common that we could imagine.  It is an awesome community!

1. It is a reset - a back to simple things trip that gives us time to do things that we just don't take the time to do at home.
2. It makes us thankful - for running water, hot showers, a clean place to sleep, and good food to eat.  When we get back home we are ever more thankful for the ease of life there and we appreciate simple things so much more.
3. The nature - I can't say this enough.  We have seen things at campgrounds that we would never experience at home.  Having a  young deer lick your hand and look you right in the eye is something I will never forget.  Seeing a little family of raccoons scamper up a tree and sit and watch is was just amazing.
4. Walking....we walk and exercise so much more than at home.  We drive less and force ourselves to do things and we actually like it.  If you knew me then you would know that is quite the accomplishment.
5. People - campers are just the best.  We meet the most remarkable people and they teach us so much. We meet their awesome dogs and learn about where they are from and what camping means for them.
6. The food - you just learn a new appreciation for how to make things over a fire or on a small grill.  You learn to combine the skills you use at home with making the best of what you have on hand.  When you sit down to enjoy that meal you just created it just tastes better, smells better and you linger over your meal and enjoy the experience.
7. The atmosphere.  One of my favorite things is a walk around the camp at dusk when there are smells in the air of fires and dinners being prepared.  Lights of all sorts and types glow around the campsites.  Kids are playing outside and you hear laughter and joy.  I so enjoy seeing the different setups, tents, campers and more.  
8. Travel - camping allows us to travel and is so much more affordable.  Exploring our state and neighboring ones is something we otherwise would not be able to do.
9. The stars - you can't see stars in many places like you can in a campground or out away from light pollution.  We had never seen anything like the evening sky show we glimpsed each night on our last trip. 
10. The sounds - the chirping, croaking, humming, singing of nature is magical and so very peaceful for us.

Now I am sure there are many more advantages that don't come to mind but these are the highlights for us.  I
love discovering the joys others find.  In my mind camping is not just a leisure activity but a healthy habit.  Already planning our next adventure. 

Camp Cooking

Cooking and eating are two things we really enjoy about camping!  I especially love making stews and chili ahead and taking them with us.  You can freeze it for the trip and it will also help keep things cold in the cooler or fridge.

This week I made Chicken Corn Chowder with dumplings.  Now this is definitely not a soup - it is hearty and you can almost eat it with a fork.  You could make it soupier by adding more broth and or milk.  It is a little labor intensive but you could speed things along by using already prepared ingredients.  It makes a huge pot that would feed a hoard of hungry campers.

I am a utility cook, not a Martha Stewart wannabe or anything near close to it.  I love cooking but I make mistakes and burn stuff on a regular basis.  That's why I love soups and stews because they are so flexible and hard to screw up.  So here's my recipe.  Let me know if you like it or if you have any better ideas.  It will be going with us on our next weekend camping trip.
Fall camping is such a great time for this type of food!

Chicken Corn Chowder with Dumplings
3-4 pounds of boneless chicken breast chopped in bite size pieces
8-10 slices of bacon
1 stick of butter or margarine
1 large onion chopped
2 tablespoons jarred garlic (or fresh)
6 cups chicken broth (More or less depending on how thick you want it to be)
1 can cream of chicken soup
3-4 stalks celery chopped
1 jar alfredo sauce
1 1/2 cups carrots chopped
4-5 potatoes peeled and chopped
1 cup half and half
1 large bag of frozen corn
2 tablespoons corn starch
2 cups Bisquick or baking mix
2/3 cups skim milk
Salt and pepper to taste
Garlic salt

I like to build the stew so I start a stock pot with the chicken broth added and after it is warm I add the cream of chicken soup and alfredo - yep I said alfredo.  It gives the stew a nice creamy texture and a great taste.  I used a whisk to stir this as it heats and get it all mixed together.    Then in another pan, I add the chopped onion and sautee in grape seed or olive oil  (which ever I happen to have on hand) along with a couple of tablespoons margarine or butter.  I season each ingredient as it cooks with salt and pepper and garlic salt.  After they are softened I add the garlic and continue to cook for a few more minutes until both are transparent.  Then I add this to the broth and keep stirring.

Next I add the celery to the pan with butter or margarine and oil and sautee until tender, seasoning again as I go.  Add that to the pot and continue stirring.  Do the same with the carrots and then add to the hot tub.  Next add the potatoes to the pan and season well and sautee and add in with the broth mixture. 

Next I brown the bacon and put it aside to drain but leave the bacon fat in the pan.  Cook the chicken until browned slightly and almost done. I like it cut into bite sized pieces but hubby normally chops it for me.  He was working when I defiled this chicken so it was not chopped so perfectly but still worked just fine. Add to your pot.  At this point I let the stew simmer until the vegetables are almost done.  Then dump in the corn and stir well again.

Look at your stew and determine if it is brothy or soupy enough (yes I know that's not a word) and if not add more liquid.  Let it come to a gentle boil and add the half and half to a glass jar and add the corn starch and shake it up - after you add the lid.  Pour this into the chowder and stir well.  This will help it thicken.

Next add the Bisquick or baking mix to a bowl with the skim milk and mix well.  Be sure this is a very stiff dough or the dumplings will dissolve and you will have a pot of chicken mud. You can also use a can of biscuit dough cut into pieces.  Let the pot come to a gentle boil and drop the dumplings by the spoonful into the broth.  Don't stir - it's tempting but don't do it.  Let the dumplings cook 10 minutes with the lid off and then 10 with the lid on and this should get them done all the way through.  You can ladle broth over the top of the dumplings after the 20 minutes of cooking to get any raw spots done.  I also season the top of the dumplings with garlic salt and pepper while they are cooking. 

This can be served with shredded cheese and the chopped bacon.  It is delicious and it will stick to your ribs for sure.  Enjoy!

Maiden Roll for the Little Red Retro

We took our Little Red Retro out on her first journey and rolled up to Calhoun Falls, SC.  If you have never heard of this little town don't be surprised.  We live in SC and had never heard or been aware that it existed.  It is very small with only one little grocery store and it it's surrounded by Lake Russell.  We camped in Calhoun Falls State Park which sits on the lake.  We have a state park pass and hope to hit all of the ones in South Carolina, Georgia and North Carolina.

This park is large compared to some we have visited and when I say natural and quiet, that is a real understatement.  We actually witnessed a family of deer running through the woods and squirrels frolicked about with no fear.  Each site includes a large iron stand to hang your trash so that its not down low for animal consumption.  Our site was on the lake and most are and each one has
ample room for an RV and tents as well.  There are pull through sites for third wheels and we visited one of the handicapped sites which was located in a good flat spot with a roll up pad for wheel chairs, etc.  All lake front sites have a set of steps to get down to the water.  Of course there's a picnic table, grill and hook-ups for RVs.  We had no trouble with our trip to the dump station when we left and recycling is also available.

This park has something for just about every camper including tennis courts, basketball court, swimming area with a beach front to the lake, boat launch ramps, hiking trails and more.  The one thing you won't find here is wireless.  Lots of campers had tailgater pods and  little satellite dishes and they appeared to work fine here.  We have an air TV antenna on our unit but nestled in the trees here in the woods it didn't work  We did get good cell reception and that worked good throughout our two day stay.

So for us this campground hit about 4 out of 5 campers on our rating system.  The bathrooms were typical of state campground facilities and had ample supplies with older showers but toilets were in good condition and the bath houses were located in fairly convenient locations.  One thing to be aware of is there is very little lighting at night.  We found that a good flashlight was a life saver and really was necessary.  There were lots of dogs in tow and we of course had our little camper Lucy.  You will just need to bring along your dooty bags for pick-ups and pups must be leashed at all times.  Lucy gave this campground a big ole paws up - she made friends and loved smelling all the trails and lake areas.  So in summary we enjoyed Calhoun Falls and would definitely return.  We found the staff at the lodge helpful and friendly and the little onsite store had lots of goodies as well as necessary items you might forget.

Ok so here is our rating for Calhoun Falls Campground:

Cost:  $
Location:  4.5 out of a possible 5
Service:  Excellent
Overall Rating:  4 out of a possible 5 Campers 

So far we love our Little Red Retro and are very happy with our first RV purchase.  We already have our second trip planned for the end of September.  We will be checking into Hunting Island State Park Campground!  Pics and our review on that one to come.

The Litte Red Retro ~ Our Road Warrior

Well - we finally did it!  After 30 plus years of wanting and wishing, we took the plunge and got ourselves a tiny sweet little camper.  As old tent campers this is an awesome refuge from the heat and more.  We are in love!!  She is a Riverside Retro RV and very light making it possible that we can pull her with our Ford Edge.  We took her out on her maiden roll a week ago and it was awesome - more on that later.

This little unit is so compact but packs a punch in details and comfort.  It has a roof top air conditioner that will absolutely blow you out with cold air.  It has both heat pump and gas heat, gas stove and a wet bath.  There is a full size queen bed and dinning area and tons of storage spaces and cabinets.  It also includes a little dinette reminiscent of the 50's and 60's canned hams.  We had thought for years that we would try and rehab an old original one of these but one day when we were out and about we saw a couple of the Retro's at a local dealership and we were hooked - it was love at first sight!

There are different sizes and models of the Retro and we chose the Model 166 based on weight and affordability.  Their web site linked above gives the floor plans and pics of them inside and out.  Down the road if we change up vehicles, we may opt for a bigger model of RV.  For now this one is a dream come true and we are hoping to schedule one camping trip per month.

We will rate the sites we visit and offer tips and info on senior camping and what makes it easier, harder and just plain enjoyable.  For me, I have always loved the atmosphere of the campground and seeing all of the different campers and set ups.  It's an awesome community and we are so excited to be a part of it.  Join us as we roll through South Carolina, Georgia and North Carolina on our first adventures.  By the way we live in South Carolina.