Weinstein Travels

I can breathe now. We had a great 5 nights in the camper. HELLO OBX, NC! This is a first for all of us. My mom was so excited about our adventure, she decided to join us. She drove separately (she’s a champ!) and because we stayed in a KOA campground, they had a hotel on the premises. This allowed her the life of luxury while we roughed it in the camper.

We’re not really sure how it happened, but as we were putting the awning away, it got jammed on the left side arm. The good news is, it’s fixable. The bad news is… it broke the first time we used it. Now that our maiden voyage is over, I can say: this is pretty awesome that it’s the worst thing that went wrong. I’ll take it. Jason made an appointment at an RV dealership to get it fixed next week. So we will see the real damage then. We made a few silly mistakes again: We couldn’t figure out why our power outlet wasn’t working in the camper. A kind man who worked for the campground helped us figure it out. A switch hadn’t been flipped on the electric. For the first 24 hours, we couldn’t figure out why our hot water wasn’t working. Another switch needed to be flipped… easy fix. And now we know!

Jason and I spent so much time planning the logistics of camping, that we didn’t plan activities once we got to NC. Spencer got frustrated about that… so after the first day, he sat down and wrote out our schedule! Here’s Spencer’s itinerary:

What we want to do:

FOOD!!*

Fishing trip*

Look at horses*

Wright brothers*

Sunset photos*

Sand dune place because it was fun the first time and I didn’t want to leave*

Duck donuts*

PLAN::::::::::::: (48 hours to do everything, 24 of witch is sleeping, some of stuff doesn’t take too much time)

Day 2:

FOOD!!!! (Fast start unlike day 1)

Wright brothers (probably half day if not we get lucky)

FOOD!!!!!!!

Look at horses (if wright brothers is not too long this should leave us at around 4:00 I’m guessing.)

Sand dune place because last time we were there it was fun (if we have enough time)

FOOD!!!!!!

(Sunset photos if sky is clear)

Night night sweet dreams WUPS SORRY YOU DONT GET SLEEP BECAUSE WE HAVE CRAZY DOGS AND SPENCER IS SECRETLY SICK WITCH IS ANNOYING!!!!

Day 2:

FOOD!!!!!

FISHING TRIP LETS GOOOO!!! (98% sure it will take a half of a day)

FOOD!!!!!!

Duck donuts!!!!! (AKA FOOOOOOOOOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Maybe….. More sand dunes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Heavy maybe tho)

FOOOOOOD!!!!!!

(Sunset photos if sky clear)

Night night more bad sleep because dogs wake up early

Day 3:

Drive Home 😦

KEEP IN MIND WE NEED TO MAKE RESERVATIONS FOR A LOT OF THIS STUFF SO PARENTS IF YOU WOULD SO KINDLY DO THAT THAN THAT WOULD BE AMAZING BECAUSE I AM AMAZING BECAUSE I AND TALL AND GIANT AND SMART 🙂 (Also this day plan totally rocks)

We jammed it all in and pretty much kept to Spencer’s schedule. We missed going to Kitty Hawk. It was too far away from where we were staying. The boys had a blast at the sand dunes, but I was nervous about injuries. That’s how Carter broke his leg (in sand) and Spencer broke his leg in snow (similar idea) so I was too wound up to hang out and chill. I let the boys enjoy without my nervous energy— and no one got hurt! We learned about ghost crabs, which come out on the beach at night. Luckily another family was on the beach when we went out there, and they showed us the crabs they caught.

We went to Corolla and had to deflate our tires to drive on the beach. The reason for going is to see wild horses that live there. Well, we saw ONE horse (Grandma spotted it! Carter snapped the picture before it ran off)

The most exciting part was seeing the dead whale that had beached just a day or so before. While it was sad to see, it was still so magical, unusual and interesting to see. It didn’t smell at all (I was surprised at that). That big tusk looking thing you see is the jaw bone.

OK, So back to the topic of camping. The dogs did well staying back in the camper. I think they felt safe inside, and as far as we know, were quiet while we were out. Yoshi was a nervous wreck most of the time while we were at the camp ground. She cried whenever a family member walked away from the site, and didn’t stop crying until he or she returned. We called the vet to see if he suggested CBD— he said to give her Benadryl to calm her down. It didn’t work. I’m going to have to get a prescription for anti-anxiety meds for our summer trip. We discovered the last day that she hated being on leash all the time. She chilled out when we took the leash off (though it’s not allowed).

We had a hard time finding a fishing boat because it’s early season and boats are just starting their season— and many were too far of a drive from the campground. But we found one, and had a great day. It’s all catch-n-release because you’re not allowed to keep them until after May 1st. It’s too bad, because these are Sea Bass!

I really enjoyed the vibe of the campground. We chatted with our neighbors on either side — one of them was from Williston, VT! The other family home schools their kids. So interesting to meet different people.

We bought this little dish drying rack at the camping store for $10.99. It’s tiny, about 10” x 10”, and I love it. It looks big in the photo but that bowl is actually pretty small. It makes washing dishes so much easier!Before we got the camper, I was trying to figure out how to hang our toilet paper. I love this because it didn’t cost a penny!

This giant rig rolled in the last day of our stay. It’s a pop-up ON TOP of an RV! It is a good reminder that anything’s possible if you put your mind to it!

The drive home was better than I thought it would be. I drove 3 hours and Jason drove the rest. The straight, flat roads are much easier to drive than up here. We made it back to NJ At 7:30PM with just enough daylight for Jason to once again masterfully park the camper. It also stopped raining just as we got to Maplewood- another lucky break – mixed with a talented driver (Jason) and we were tucked back into our lives in NJ. Camper safely parked, dogs happily home, and boys back to their video games as soon as they could be.