My Trip to LA

LA in this case means...Lower Alabama (sort of).  Our 2nd trip of the year was at Florence Marina State Park, about 2 hours south of us, west of Fort Benning, right on the Georgia-Alabama state line, bumped up against the Chattahoochee River.  Still don't know where we were?  That's ok.  It was literally the middle of NO-WHERE.

No problem, though, because...

Of course, we forgot a couple things...and surely there was a town nearby to pick them up.  NOPE!  Jeff coined it, "Lumpkin: Where hope goes to die."  There was barely gas in the nearby town, let alone some last minute meds and creams we needed (ugh, don't ask).

ANYWHO, we had a great site, off of the water.  Not super shady, though, and definitely can see how HOT and HUMID it probably gets during the summer.  The gators don't mind the weather, and that means it's a fishing and boating (not swimming) kind of place if you ask me!

On Saturday, we headed just a few miles down the road to Providence Canyon State Park.  It was magnificent.

You could hike around the rim, or down into the canyone and squish through the sandy, running water of any of 6 canyon hikes.  So cool!  Unfortunately, "someone" (me) forgot the camera so this is the only photo we have.  This is definitely a must-do-again trip.

Finally, on Sunday we picked up THREE geocache logs hiking the nature trail by the water - and also set a new Travel Bug out into the wild.  Travel well good buddy!

Camping Meals

Eating healthy and going camping do not have to be mutually exclusive.  I know it seems counter intuitive (hot dogs, smores, chips) but you can still remain committed to eating healthfully while roughing it. Combine that with my two favorite activities (hiking and swimming, not napping and watching Homeland) and your weekend will be perfectly on plan!

Here are some easy camping weekend meals to get you started.  Oh, and seriously, just buy a Coleman stove and a nonstick pan.  And white gas and a lighter.

Friday night arrival - it's late and you're hungry. Whip these up super fast!

Egg salad sandwiches plus Cheetos (Jeff) and crudites (Jess)
- make with light wheat bread and light Miracle Whip, and boil the eggs on Thursday night with your awesome microwave egg cooker

Shredded pork sandwich plus chips or canned baked beans
- cook a pork loin in the crock pot while you're at work on Friday (1 tsp oil in the bottom plus Rendevous seasoning, dump and cook on low 6-8 hrs), then pack it in a container to heat and shred in a pan with bbq sauce upon arrival!

Ravioli with sauce
- Boil water, add ravioli and cook, strain, add jarred sauce

Beef Tacos
Cook beef and add seasoning...make tacos with all the fixins or just cheese (however you like)

Saturday lunch...trail lunch of nuts and/or protein bar, or one of the below ideas

Saturday dinner...presumably you have some time but who wants to spend more than 30 minutes cooking?

Salmon and couscous - pan fry plus boxed mix and a salad
Jambalaya with brussel sprouts - use frozen already cooked chicken and sausage to speed things up
Spaghetti - see ravioli description
Chili and fritos - the 4 can dump method
Pizza pie irons - advanced technique!  Uses campfire to cook
Bring your own grill or make sure your campsite has one (and don't forget briquettes and lighter fluid)
Hamburgers and hot dogs with popchips (Hebrew National 97% fat free dogs and light buns)
Bone in chicken breasts with wild rice and green beans
Pork chops with couscous and broccoli
Steak and baked potatoes with sugar snap peas

Breakfast is dependant on what the rest of the activities will be...mix and match as you please.
Pancakes, Bacon - use the add water and shake mix
Scrambled eggs and Bacon
Yogurt and fruit
Oatmeal / granola
Bagel with cream cheese

Other snacks!  Be careful with these...
Cheese sticks
Popcorn
Smores
Clif bars / Larabars
Oreos
Nuts
Skinny cow snacks
Apples or dried / frozen fruit

Inaugural 2013 Camping Trip

Well, well, well.  What do we have here?  SPRINGTIME!  (Pine Pollen time.)

We took our camper out for the FIRST trip of 2013 a few weekends back, over President's Day.  Hello FLORIDA!!!  We went to Torreya State Park, just over the Florida Georgia Line (anyone else love that band, BTW) and it was beautiful!

We had a great spot, super secluded, and had fun with each other and the outdoors - we went hiking and geocaching (of course), drove about an hour Wakulla Springs State Park to see a super deep spring and a boat tour.  GATORS!  OSPREY!  HUSINGA?  OTHER STUFF!  SO COOL!

We also met up with our friends Jed, Anna, and little Owen and hiked some more, then headed into Tallahassee for dinner with them.

Most importantly - we did not freeze our butts off at night, got to sleep in a real bed, and had a wonderful time.  More camping trips are coming...it's SPRINGTIME!