clair034

Talking to a friend about our upcoming camping trip for Memorial Weekend, I started reminiscing about trips I’ve made through my life – as a kid and as an adult. As a kid, we camped in a popup camper that I truly thought was the most magical thing ever – I mean how could it be better, camping in a tent, sort of, but not getting damp with the early morning dew. And a place to hide from my cousins, when necessary. We camped with my cousins almost every time we went out, along with some other various friends. It was these cousins I had spent a lot of time with anyway, so camping was great. Our families both had three kids close in ages, so we grew up together. One of the best parts of camping with my cousins was catching frogs in the pond. Trying to grab hold of those slippery creatures was great for a laugh, especially because someone or all of us ended up in the water. We also loved going to the camp store for that special candy. I remember being introduced to Swedish Fish and Gobstoppe...

When you were a kid did you dream of being a famous movie star or sports figure, invited to exclusive parties to mingle amongst the elite? Visit the Hearst Castle estate and, with some imagination, you might get a taste of what it was like to be part of that crowd. There are several tours available including their newest – a self-guided Gardens and Vistas tour – complete with guides standing by to answer your questions about Hearst and “The Enchanted Hill”. Interestingly, rather than a rote tour talk, each guide is permitted to develop their own spiel focusing on their interest in the Castle and it’s art, people, grounds, history, and more. Well, at least for now, allow me to be your personal Hearst Castle tour guide in this episode of the RV Cooking Show – Three Crepes and a Castle – then join  me in my RV kitchen. In honor of National Strawberry Picking Day I'm going to show you how to make delicious crepes. Though I use jam, curd, and nutella in this episode you can easily ...

Picture yourself lounging by the pool or relaxing at your campsite, lazily enjoying a really good book. It’s so good you finally finish it with a smile but that smile soon turns to dismay…you’re only into the 3rd day of your camping vacation and you've already used up your reading material. Enter the RV park / campground book exchange. Yep, most parks offer a “library” worthy of your attention. Locate the library (sometimes in the laundry room) and you may find magazines, books, videos, games, puzzles, newspapers and more. It works like this – take one, leave one or borrow and return one. At the very least, book and magazine exchanges can be found at many, many RV parks and campgrounds. The titles you’ll find in the camp’s library may be as diverse as a big city library – magazines from National Geographic to Cooking Light to Smithsonian to Highways, both fiction and non-fiction books - medical, travel, suspense, romance, etc. and often puzzles of every challenge level. In some par...