[gwenapark]

Something we did to cut back on some vacation costs.

We have 2 kids with a 7 year gap in age. So, we find it hard to do something all of us can enjoy. Until we bought a camper.

We find several spots that we can have quick weekend get aways to refuel the bio-cells (if you know what I mean). They typically have lots of space for the 9 yr old to ride her bike, swim, fish and meet new friends.

The 2 year old just loves the parks and walks we go on.

As for Dad & I, we love to grill and just get away from the normal house stuff.

We use the groceries we save on during my shopping trips. All the electricity at home is off for the weekend (Saving). and it is usually only $25 per night to stay at most places. So in all with gas we only spend about $75-100 for a nice weekend getaway for the family.

You can find an inexpensive camper on ebay, craigslist, or other sites. We bought a used pop-up camper with a kingsize bed, fullsize, dining table that makes into a bed, couch that makes into a bed, with an awning, front storage, fridge, stove, sink & water heater for $5000 cash out the door. We opted for the pop-up camper because we can store it in the garage and not pay a storage fee.

The kids love it and we get away about 8-10 times a year, as opposed to the couple times a year without it!

Hope that helps. Happy Camping to all of you.

(One more thing, we have a couple of close friends that bought them too, so we have big group camping trips too!!! We have an annual "Camp-a-palooza" that we organize too! Let me know if any of you are in SE Texas and would like to join!)