Tag Archives: camping

The KOA Work Kamper Boot Camp in Branson, MO

March 29, 2015 suzy 2 Comments

Part of our plan when we became full timers in our RV was to spend at least the first couple seasons working at campgrounds. We felt that this would give us a better transition from full time jobs to full retirement. And at the same time give us a little security money-wise until we feel that we can do it on our own. KOA was our first choice. We put our resumes out last August on the KOA site and were hired within just a few days. We will be working in Bar Harbor, Maine this summer. I will be working front desk, and Dave will be working in maintenance.

KOA offered a Work Kamper “Boot Camp” in Branson, MO that would give us a taste of what to expect when we arrive in Maine in just a few weeks.

The Work Kamper program is simple enough. You work for the campground as a couple, putting in between 25 and 40 hours a week depending on the season. In exchange, you could be offered a campsite free of charge, utilities and other perks, along with an hourly salary. (The benefits vary from campground to campground as most are individually owned).

We were excited to meet KOA’s Chairman and CEO, Jim Rogers. The show, Undercover Boss featured him a few years ago.

Boot camp was a lot of fun. We met nearly 100 other couples who are doing the same thing we are. Most did not have jobs lined up yet, and took advantage of the virtual job interviews offered at the end of the class.

The folks at the Branson KOA were wonderful and made us feel like part of the team.

And while we were in Missouri, we got a good taste of midwest weather. We ate dinner the first night looking out the window as hail the size of marbles came down on our VW bug and motorhome. (No damage- unless you want to count the indigestion…) The second night, we had major thunderstorms all night.

All night. The dogs literally had their legs crossed by morning.

Really. We made the decision pretty quickly that we didn’t want to spend too much time in tornado alley during spring and summer.

The third day was beautiful, sunny and cold. Since classes were over, we decided to check out Branson.

Stay tuned for part two where I don’t get to meet Barry Williams (AKA Greg from the Brady Bunch), but I do end up seeing some pretty famous folks that nearly made up for it!

Campground Reviews

River’s End Campground & RV Park

March 12, 2015 suzy 2 Comments

Overall Rating: Nearly Perfect

River’s End Campground & RV Park is located on the Georgia coast near the South Carolina/Georgia border on a little island called Tybee Island. With the historic town of Savannah within a 15 minute drive, there is lots to do here.

Since purchasing our RV in 2013, we have stayed at River’s End Campground about 5 times. We love the fact that it is so close to the beach, an easy commute to Savannah, and just blocks from the beach!

Setting: Lots of moss covered hardwoods offering shade, picnic tables, fire pits, level gravel lots. The park offers full hook up and the park in general is big rig friendly. You are only three blocks from the beach, and the Tybee Island light house.

This photo was taken during the off season in late fall. During the busy time of the year, this park is pretty darn slammed. And we have to tell you that spots are very close. We very much prefer the spots along the main road. They are easy to pull in and out of and give a little more space.

Notes: Big rigs need to be particular careful of the hanging branches. While we cleared nicely, it was still a bit nerve wracking if you happened to be parked underneath one of these huge tree branches. Also, during peak season, maneuvering through the park in a big rig can be very tight.

While we do prefer the roadside lots, we need to note that traffic on that road is busy at times. It can get noisy as the police station is right next door to the campground. Care is needed when using the road for biking to the beach.

Amenities

Bathhouses are easy access and during our stays seemed very clean, while rustic.

WIFI- The park offers it for free and while it might be different during peak times, I never had an issue getting on line.

Laundry- They have a nice laundry room available 24 hours a day. Personally, I do not do laundry in the middle of the night, but if you wanted to, you certainly could.

Swimming Pool- River’s End boasts the largest swimming pool on Tybee Island. And it is very nice. It is only open during the peak season from about April to September. And they do not offer lifeguards, so supervision of children is a must.

Staff is very friendly and helpful when needed. They even delivered wood to our doorstep on our last stay. When we were hit by an unusual snow storm in Atlanta last year, we needed to postpone our trip to Tybee. The staff was very supportive and at our request, held our deposit until we were ready to reschedule a few months later.

Dog Friendly– the park itself offers two different dog parks, one for small and one for large dogs. Folks don’t necessarily pay much attention to the size restrictions as the smaller dog park is much closer than the other. They do offer bags and trash cans in the dog park to dispose of waste.

On the negative side, they do not offer dog waste cans and bags in the campground itself, which I definitely prefer. And the main stickler (while it is no fault of the campground) is the fact that dogs are not allowed on any of Tybee Island’s beaches.

The positives? Well check out the beautiful lighthouse that is only three blocks from the campground! Further down the beach are a fishing pier, lots of shopping, and some fantastic restaurants.

Don’t feel like cooking? The North Beach Bar and Grill is located right by the lighthouse, three blocks from the campground. They serve a fabulous margarita. Just saying.

For more information on River’s End Campground & RV Park, be sure to check out their website!

Recipes

Teriyaki Orange Beef Shish Kebabs Recipe

March 8, 2015 suzy 1 Comment

We took another trip in our RV this past week and visited the cool crafty town of Franklin, NC. While we were there, I tried out my latest campfire recipe, Teriyaki Orange Beef Shish Kebabs.

This is an easy recipe that you can make ahead of time so that when it comes to dinnertime while on vacation, you don’t have to put out a lot of effort. That is my kind of cooking!And they are pretty darn good too!

Want to know how to make them?

Teriyaki Orange Beef Shish Kebabs

1 lb. cubed beef
1 lb. sausage
peppers (green, yellow and red)
mushrooms
1/2 onion

Marinade:
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
1/3 cup orange marmalade
1 tbsp. vinegar
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 tbsp. dark brown sugar

Mix all marinade ingredients together in a medium bowl.

Use a gallon size ziplock bag and pour the marinade into it along with the sausage pieces and beef cubes. Create a separate marinade batch and marinate the mushrooms separately in their own ziplock bag. (I don’t like to mix raw meats and veggies). Put both bags in the refrigerator and marinate overnight.

Just before cooking, go ahead and cut up the peppers and onion and prepare them for the skewers.

String your meats and veggies on wooden skewers. Kind of a messy process, but totally worth it. Keep your Wet-Nap wipes close and you won’t have to worry about sticky hands.

Then place them on a hot grill.

You will need to cook them until the beef is done. In our case, about 15 minutes over hot coals, turning them a few times over the time period. For even cooking, it is sometimes necessary to move the kebabs around a bit to give them all a chance at the center of the coals.

These kebabs turned out fabulous! They have a sweet and spicy mix of flavor with the tang of teriyaki and the sweetness of marmalade. A simple meal to make, but so full of flavor and fun to eat too!

Teriyaki Orange Beef Shish Kebabs Recipe

Recipe Type: Dinner

Author: Suzy Myers

Prep time: 12 hours

Cook time: 15 mins

Total time: 12 hours 15 mins

Serves: 6 servings

This is an easy recipe that you can make ahead of time so that when it comes to dinnertime while on vacation, you don’t have to put out a lot of effort.

Ingredients

1 lb. cubed beef
1 lb. sausage
peppers (green, yellow and red)
mushrooms
1/2 onion
Marinade:
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
1/3 cup orange marmalade
1 tbsp. vinegar
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 tbsp. dark brown sugar

Instructions

Mix all marinade ingredients together in a medium bowl.
Use a gallon size ziplock bag and pour the marinade into it along with the sausage pieces and beef cubes. Create a separate marinade batch and marinate the mushrooms separately in their own ziplock bag. (I don’t like to mix raw meats and veggies). Put both bags in the refrigerator and marinate overnight.
Just before cooking, go ahead and cut up the peppers and onion and prepare them for the skewers.
String your meats and veggies on wooden skewers. Kind of a messy process, but totally worth it. Keep your Wet-Nap wipes close and you won’t have to worry about sticky hands.
Then place them on a hot grill.
You will need to cook them until the beef is done. In our case, about 15 minutes over hot coals, turning them a few times over the time period. For even cooking, it is sometimes necessary to move the kebabs around a bit to give them all a chance at the center of the coals.

Recipes

Southern Style Bacon Wrapped Slaw Dogs Recipe

March 5, 2015 suzy 1 Comment

I lived in Atlanta for many years, but I’m not originally from the south. We moved to the Atlanta area from the north when I was 15. I’m not going to say how many years ago that was, but suffice it to say, I did learn a little southern cooking. So I want to share with you a great camping recipe, Southern Style Bacon Wrapped Slaw Dogs!

When we first moved to the south, the culture shock was pretty significant. Learning the dialect was daunting.

Here are just a few examples of the colorful local vocabulary:

All Y’all – You, you and you! Every one of you!
All bowed up– Ready for a fight
Mash the button : Nobody ever pushes anything around here, it is all mashed.
Buggy: That thing you probably refer to as a shopping cart
Might Could: More than likely it can be done!
Fixin-to: About to do something, or at least thinking hard about it
Eat up- Go out in the yard at night and you get eat up by mosquitos. Seriously.

So lets practice: “All y’all are fixin-to get eat up if’n you don’t mash that button and spray those suckers. Don’t get all bowed up. You just might could carry yourself down to the quickie mart and fetch a buggy and some bug spray. Reckon?”

Got it?

But vocabulary wasn’t the only thing we had to get used to. Southern food is a whole new adventure. Steak for breakfast, chicken and waffles, collard greens, cornbread, sweet tea, pecan pie and cobbler. The veggies are all fried. Which is good in a way because boiled okra is just disgusting.

Oh, and then there are grits. Yep, not just one grit, but many. That is one southern standby that just has never grown on me.

Recently, I tried a southern version of hotdogs. You see, in the south, they put slaw on their hotdogs! And you know what? It’s actually pretty good! So, I decided to make my own version of Southern Style Slaw Dogs.

Created by a northerner who now pretty much blends. Want to know how?

Southern Style Bacon Wrapped Slaw Dogs

Coleslaw
1/2 cup Kraft mayonnaise
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup sugar
1-1/2 tablespoons vinegar
2-1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
8 cups shredded cabbage (I used pre-shredded cabbage, carrots and red cabbage)

Bacon Wrapped Hotdogs
1 (16 oz) package Oscar Mayer beef hotdogs
1 package Kraft Singles Sharp Cheddar
1 package bacon
toothpicks

Make the coleslaw ahead of time. It needs to sit in the fridge at least two hours. Overnight is good too. In a large bowl, mix together all the coleslaw ingredients except the cabbage.

Use a whisk to mix the ingredients well.

Add in the shredded cabbage and toss well, then refrigerate. Simple right? My favorite kind of recipes only take a few moments so that I can get back to my craft room. Just saying.

Now lets work on the hotdogs. Slice the hotdog horizontally, not going all the way through. Then place narrow slices of cheese in the crack. (Another option is to place your cheese in your bun. When you add the steaming hotdog, your cheese will get all melty and delicious).

Wrap each hotdog with two slices of bacon. Starting at one end, anchor it with a toothpick. Wrap around the hotdog, adding the second piece of bacon at the middle and continuing it to the end. Anchor that end also with a toothpick.

Did I mention that most anything tastes great with bacon?

Here are the wrapped hotdogs ready for the grill!

I guess you could cook these in the oven, but since we are traveling a lot, we love to find new recipes for the grill. This one fits the bill.

Because this is bacon over a hot flame, it is a good idea to lower the coals a bit to give the hotdogs some breathing space. And then be sure to supervise, turning the hotdogs frequently with a pair of tongs. We found that it takes about 15 minutes to cook the bacon all the way. The hotdog inside will be ready at the same time.

Now add your slaw to the top of the hotdogs. Some folks add mustard at this point, but I like it just the way it is. You will be surprised at how well the sweet slaw goes with the saltiness of the bacon wrapped hotdog.

This is one southern dish that I definitely stand behind!

Grits? Well not so much. But maybe one day it might-could grow on me. Reckon?

What is your favorite southern dish?