Big Red’s First Trip- Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park in Tabor City, NC

It has been a rough few weeks. Remote learning has been tough, both as a parent and a school employee. To say I was ready for a break is an understatement! It has been a big adjustment for the kids, too. We were all ready to get away for a few days.

Adam had been working hard to get Big Red ready for the trip. As you probably know (if you don’t, start reading here), we still have a huge amount of work to do on our cargo trailer conversion. But we were antsy to hit the road, and we had planned our annual Yogi Bear trip with some good friends months ago. So Adam pushed hard to get the air conditioning installed and the walls back up. We figured if we had air conditioning and electricity we could at least get by for a weekend.

Adam’s sister generously gave us a futon she wasn’t using anymore, and we had an extra mattress in storage. We loaded them up into Big Red (that big door in the back really comes in handy!) and packed all our necessities into plastic tubs. Getting packed up was a lot more work than we were used to; usually everything is already nicely stored in the camper. It reminded me of old times when we would go tent camping, and something about that just made me happy.

When I finally got off work that Friday afternoon I was so excited to leave! Everyone else was at home waiting for me, so we hit the road immediately. We were a little nervous about how Big Red would do on the two hour drive, but thankfully, the trip was uneventful.

As soon as we pulled into Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park in Tabor City, North Carolina, the kids went wild! This is their second favorite place to visit, followed only by Fort Wilderness at Walt Disney World. There are all kinds of things for them to do, and the place is full of kids and families.

We got set up quickly, and we spent the evening riding the golf cart we rented from the park and spending time with our friends who had come down, too. Since Big Red isn’t really set up very well for cooking quite yet, we ordered pizza from the on-site café. It was delicious and satisfying, and I was grateful for the break from cooking for the night.

We had designated Saturday as water day for all the kids. The campground has an outdoor pool, indoor pool with a water play area, and the most amazing Aqua Play area I’ve ever seen. Because of COVID-19 restrictions, we had to sign up for hour time slots at each water location, but we still had plenty of time for swimming. It was actually kind of nice because the pools were not as crowded as they would usually be.

After we tired out the kids at the pools, we went and got ice cream at The Creamery. They make their own homemade ice cream on site in all kinds of creative flavors, and it’s delicious! No trip to Yogi Bear is complete without a scoop of ice cream, and the kids never let us forget.

Usually they have a “Hey! Ride” through the campground for all the guests on a retired fire truck, but again, due to COVID-19 restrictions, this was a little different. Instead, Boo Boo rode on the fire truck through the campground, blowing his horns and waving at all the kids. I was a little sad that we couldn’t take our usual ride, but it was kind of exciting to see Boo Boo riding through, and kids started following the fire truck on their bikes and it turned into a kind of parade through the campground.

On Sunday morning, Boo Boo delivered breakfast to the kids at their campsites. This was also new for us. It was a great way for the kids to see the characters up close without the usual lines and crowds. Each child got an individual bowl of cereal and carton of milk, and a souvenir color-changing bowl that my kids were super-excited about.

We packed up shortly after breakfast and headed home, tired but refreshed and excited to continue our work on Big Red. Everything went so well with the trailer and we didn’t run into any problems. However, we all agreed that the next step is the bathroom. We are not big fans of bath houses! So I guess we know what’s next…