We’ve made a lot of progress in Big Red over the last several weeks. The kitchen is coming along, and we put most of the wall panels up and painted them. It’s actually starting to look like a camper inside, and we’ve been itching to take it out of town for a few days. Our buddy Eric has been wanting Adam to detail his camper, and he happens to live just a few minutes from Jordan Lake- a perfect excuse for a camping trip!
We all took a day off from work and school so we could spend an extra day away. We loaded Big Red up with all our camping supplies AND all of Adam’s detailing equipment, and we headed towards Raleigh at rush hour! Thankfully, traffic wasn’t too bad, and we got to Jordan Lake- which is about 20 minutes outside of Raleigh, North Carolina- just before dark. It had been several years since we had camped there, going way back to our tent camping days! There are several campgrounds around the lake, all of them state-owned. We tried one we hadn’t been to before, but had been highly recommended, Poplar Point. We were not disappointed!
The campground felt huge. It is pretty densely wooded, and the winding road through the campground seems to go on forever. There are several different camping loops off of the main road. We stayed in Loop F, which has about 60 sites, 20 or so that are waterfront. Our site, F45, was not supposed to be a waterfront site, but the water levels were so high that the lake had crept out to about 50 feet from our site! It was an awesome site, probably 80 feet long, with a few little steps leading down to a separate picnic area. There were trees all around us, and especially that first night, we felt like we were alone on the lake.
Friday morning, we lounged around, enjoying making coffee INSIDE Big Red for the first time! We walked and biked for miles around the campground, enjoying the wonderful fall weather and the beautiful views of the lake and falling leaves. We left the campground and explored a bit that afternoon, forgetting just how close we were to civilization!
Adam’s sister and her family live only about 20 minutes from Jordan Lake, so they came to visit us Friday evening. I enjoyed cooking dinner for everyone on my new Blackstone that Adam got me as an early Christmas present, which I absolutely love! The boys got an awesome campfire going, and the adults spent the evening laughing and reminiscing by the fire while the kids ran and played. It was a great night.
Saturday morning, Adam left for his detailing job and the kids and I got caught up on some schoolwork we missed on Friday. We spent the afternoon with my sister-in-law and nephew, and when Adam got home we made an easy dinner on the Blackstone. We enjoyed one more relaxing evening, knowing we would have to pack up and head home in the morning.
When we left on Sunday, we promised ourselves that we would be back soon! It is a beautiful, serene area, on the water, close to friends and family, and only a few minutes from the big city. It was the perfect weekend, and we can’t wait until the next time!