Many of us like to continue our workouts while RVing. The dilemma we face is that we cannot carry our workout equipment with us. At home, I have a full set of dumb bells, stationary bike, treadmill, pull-up bar etc. All of this is impossible to carry either due to weight or space in our RV. I have a few suggestions that more than satisfy my needs.
The first is the most obvious. This would be a combination of jumping jacks, lunges, squats, plane, push-ups, etc. AARP has an excellent thirty minute workout on their website that incorporates all of these exercises and more. Another obvious routine is to carry a yoga mat and find a good yoga routine that fits your style. Many of these routines can be found at the App Store or free on You Tube. As with yoga routines, Pilates require very little equipment. A good set of resistance bands and a mat is all you need. Of course, both with yoga and pilates, you can add accessories to help expand your exercise routines, but you are adding weight and taking up space in your RV. Now for my all time favorite, resistance tubes! I purchased a set from Black Mountain for $35. It came with 5 tubes of different strengths, handles and a variety of accessories. It all fits in a handy zippered bag. Using resistance tubes, one can mimic many exercises that are done with dumbbells and other strength equipment. You can also use them with your pilate routines. As with yoga and pilates, you can find many videos to get you started. I find resistance tubes give me the most versatility in my workout routines. I cannot go without saying that Sherrian and I incorporate our workouts using the above equipment along with our bicycling, walking, hiking and an occasional swim. Have fun camping and have fun. As Mr. Spock used to say, "Live long and prosper."
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We have left Salt Springs and made our way to Apopka, Florida to stay in a Magnolia County Park. The Apopka Lake is here and lots of wildlife.
While staying at Magnolia Park Campgrounds in Apopka, Fl., We took a ride along the Apopka Lake North Shore Scenic Drive. It's an eleven mile drive along the lake and canals. It serves as a bird sactuary. Although we did this on a very cold and windy day, there were a surprising number of birds along the whole drive. We were able to see ducks, egrets, cranes, Turkey Vultures, Ospreys, Great Blue Herons, Little Blue Herons, Anhingas and Double Crested Cormorants. There are over 300 species at the lake. An eleven mile drive took about three hours so that should tell you how much there is to see. While there, also look for alligators, bobcats, raccoons and other wildlife. Make sure you take binoculars and cameras! We drove from Salt Springs to St. Augustine. The drive down 207 was pleasant enough with no traffic and much agriculture (mostly cabbage).
We parked near the visitors center in the parking deck ($12 a day) which we thought was a little expensive. You do have the option of using metered parking if you plan to drive from attraction to attraction. If you drive your rv, there is free parking for oversized vehicles. First we visited Castillo des Sans Marcos, a formidable fort on the harbor. In each section of the fort, there was usually a timeline and exhibits of when the fort changed hands between the Spanish, British and the US. There were also a variety of demonstrations. I enjoyed the one showing how musket balls were made. We also visited the Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine. It is a must see. The stained glass and paintings are beautiful. There are many, many touristy type shops if you like that sort of thing, but among them, there were a few interesting ones such as the mustache store. All in all, it was a good day! Thank you Mike Robinson If you are new to camping, here are a couple of good rules to follow.
1. Do not encroach on another's campsite.We hate nothing more than another camper taking a shortcut through our site. You're sitting outside reading or sleeping and a fellow camper comes lumbering through on their way to the shower, bathroom etc. This is just rude! Please, even if it's a little longer, go around. 2. Build your campfire properly and use properly cured wood, not wet or green wood. Build your fire with a large flat rock to the back to channel any smoke and smaller rocks on the side. Leave the front open to channel the incoming air that fuels the fire. You can still do this with poorly designed fire rings by propping the front and placing a large rock in the back. When finished with the fire, don't let it sit and smolder and unattended. No one likes smoke coming in their camper at night. 3. Dumping, even when you have a sewage hook up can be a smelly event. Don't do it when your neighbor is sitting outside trying to enjoy the fresh air. Make sure you are using a threaded fitting or a tightly fitted doughnut. Just following these steps will help you be a good camping neighbor. Thanks Mike We left Georgia two weeks ago for our winter trip to Florida. Our first stop was a Walmart in Valdosta, Georgia. It had to be the busiest 24/7 Walmart in Georgia. We parked far enough back to stay out of the busiest part of the parking lot, but the lot was practically full until about 10 pm. Our next stop was Ocean Pond Campground in the Osceola National Forests. It is a nice small park with only 19 first come, first serve electric/water sites. Upon arrival, there was a sign that said electric hookups were full. I walked down the street and found one where someone had just left and gabbed it fast. We made friends with Helen and Ken (both in their 80's). They were from rural Maine and had lots of stories for us. Before leaving, Sherrian noticed a small puddle of hydraulic fluid on the pad of the rear jack. Having no experience with a leaking jack. I had nightmares that my jacks and slides wouldn't retract. The older fellas in the campground helped ease my fears by telling me a small leak should not be a problem. The leak was at the top of the jack and I could fit in the tight space to see where it was coming from. At any rate, the old guys were right. Everything worked fine and we were able to hit the road. Our third stop is the Salt Springs Recreation Area, about 30 miles from Ocala. It's in the Ocala National Forest. We will be here for one month (over the Christmas and New Year Holidays). So far, we are having a great time! We visited Juniper Springs, had a great breakfast buffet at Bass Champions and visited two flea markets. We also did a short bike ride to the springs in the campground and hiked to the canal that connects to Lake George.The canal is abundant with herons, egrets and turtles. We have yet to see the resident alligator or any manatees. Oh yeah! I almost forgot, Sherrian saw a bald eagle! I am keeping my eye out for a bear, wild hogs and turkeys. This is our second visit to Salt Springs and have met many friends from last winter and made some new ones. By the way, we put the jacks down and our leak disappeared! We are looking forward to more hikes and bike rides in the forest. We are enjoying our stay here at R. Shaefer Heard Campground on West Point Lake. The leaves are turning and the park is practically empty except on the weekends. In October the Corps of Engineers lowers the lake level and the shoreline becomes red clay. This is done so homeowners can work on their docks.
Everyone here has decorated for Halloween and last nite we enjoyed sitting by our fire pit with neighbors and being entertained by the little trick or treater’s. Every Halloween there is a group that camps together to celebrate Halloween and play music. Be prepared with plenty of candy. We have met a few people from other parts of the country but this campground is very much a local favorite. The little town of West Point is only 3 miles away and we enjoyed walking around and having lunch at Johnny’s Pizza. Columbus is just 40 minutes away and we drove in to experience the River Walk and have lunch. Columbus also has a well-known boat museum and infantry museum. It is also home to one of the largest army bases, Fort Benning. We have enjoyed all the hiking trails around the lake and plan to bicycle before we have to leave on Wednesday. Check out the trails on Hike and Bike Trails. Arrowhead Park is a county maintained park on Lake Tobesofkee. We had a gorgeous site on the water and had the park to ourselves most of the time. Check out the camp review page for more details. We were lucky enough to be there during the GA National Fair in Perry, GA. We loved walking around and especially viewing the animals. The Draft Horse competition was very exciting and beautiful. Of course, we had to have a corn dog and this was Sherrian’s first one. Classic fair food for sure. We drove down to Cochran, GA to support our nieces in the GA State Cross Country meet. It was fun to visit with family and have lunch at the famous Scott’s BBQ. Delicious.
Macon has a great historic district and check out the Music Hall of Fame. We enjoyed our stay in Macon and loved visiting family and friends close by. I always enjoy visiting my best high school friend and having lunch with her. It’s time to move on though and we are heading to West Point Lake near Columbus GA for another adventure. Many RV'ers are faced with the dilemma of how to keep fit when on the road. If you are staying at a resort with a fitness room, no problem, but if you are boondocking or staying at a national forest, state or COE park, one must be creative.
Of course there is always running, walking, hiking and biking. Also there are the exercises that do not require any equipment such as push ups, sit ups calisthenics etc. These are all great ways to stay in shape, but some of us need a little more. I used to carry two 25 lb. dumbbells. This proved to be cumbersome and added unnecessary weight to the RV. We have come up with several lightweight items to carry on the motorhome that don't add any weight and take up very little room. Resistance tubes (or bands), Pilate bands, and a yoga mat have served us very well. We use resistance bands from Black Mountain Products purchased through Amazon for $35. The set came with a variety of accessories and several bands of different degrees of resistance. Our yoga mat and Pilate bands were purchased, very inexpensively at Wal-mart. These items, along with some You Tube videos have greatly enhanced our workout routine. We have found, during our travels, the word resort is used very loosely. Not so at Goose Creek. They have almost everything one would expect at a resort community.They sit next to Bogue Sound with a long pier, fish cleaning stations, and boat landing. A large swimming pool with a slide, a game room, playground, snack bar (Perky's), basketball courts, man made pond (fed from the sound) and store are available.
Goose Creek also has organized activities. During our stay, they had one full day of activities which included a home made boat contest, a DJ playing oldies culminating with an impressive display of fireworks over the water and dancing. Just a few miles away is Emerald Isle with beautiful beaches and a very nice bike path that runs for many miles. On the same island is Atlantic Beach and Indian Beach. At the end of the island is the historic Fort Macon (free tours). Beaufort, a nearby town, is where you will find the Rachel Carson Reserve, several protected islands, some occupied by wild horses. There are ferry tours and boats that will take you to the islands. With the Croatan National Forest nearby there is plenty of hiking in the area. We did some hiking at Patsy Pond. There is also hiking on Emerald Isle. We especially enjoyed the hike on Coast Guard Road. Permanent residents and vacation homes make up most of the campground. The park has strict rules regarding these homes, so instead of looking rundown ,these homes are an enhancement and fun to look at. There are only two things that could make this park better. First, the pond could be aerated much more. The water was a little stagnate. Second, they should require a doughnut at the sewer connection. The connections are not the screw type so a doughnut would prevent the escaping gases from occasionally wafting through the campgrounds. All in all we had a great time at Goose Creek RV Resort and if in the area again, we would surly consider staying here! We started our trip in June 2015 to New Jersey from Buford, GA on I-85 north heading to Spartanburg SC and stayed a few days at Croft State Park. There were hiking and equestrian trails and a large lake for fishing. The park was nice and quiet but we couldn’t stay on the sites by the water because they were not level and small. The other side was wooded and we enjoyed the quiet. Read more at our Croft State Park page. From Spartanburg we traveled to Greensboro NC and stayed a few days in a private campground called Greensboro Campground. Most all of the sites were not level and we had to move and still found it hard to level. We were right by the expressway and the noise made it hard to sleep at night. We cannot recommend this campground except for a quick overnight stay. It was pricey with very few amenities and many were full time in the park. Moving on through North Carolina our next stop was Kerr Lake SRA-Henderson Point for three days. This is a North Carolina state park and the sites were well spaced and level. Our spot was on the water with a small beach area. In Virginia we stopped for one nite at Aquia Pines Camp Resort in Stafford near Fredericksurg. The site was level but the roads were steep and narrow. We found $58 a little pricey. They did have a bar and made 10 different beers onsite. This was ok for an overnite stop. We left Fredricksburg early on June 19th to tackle the DC and Baltimore traffic. We drove I-95 to 495 West around DC and back on I-95 to 695 west around Baltimore. We would not recommend this route to anyone as the traffic was horrendous. We made it to Maryland and decided to give the Walmart Parking lot a try. We were in North East Maryland. Overnite was fine but the trucks were noisy although you can’t beat free. From North East Maryland we had a short drive to our destination at Pine Cone Resort in Freehold, New Jersey. |
AuthorWe love to travel in our 2021 Coachmen Beyond van about half of the year. Join us, if you will, to see where our adventures take us. Archives
April 2021
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