Our First Camping Destination – Cracker Barrel!
Spending our first night in the RV.
It’s January 2022 in Pennsylvania. The wind is blowing, the snow is piling up, and anticipation is building. We are planning to leave for Florida early the next day. We watched and waited for the snow to stop, while visions of sunshine, ocean beaches, and warm temperatures danced in our heads.
We disappointedly realized that we’d have no choice but to postpone our trip for a day. Another storm was predicted on the heels of this one, so we would need to sandwich our first day of travel between the two storms to get far enough south to escape to warmer weather.
Walt shoveled us a path from the house to the RV through the eight or so inches of snow. That evening, we made what seemed to be a thousand trips back and forth. Bins and baskets of our clothes. Dry goods for the pantry area. Personal items for the bathroom. I saved the refrigerator items for the morning because I was concerned that we may have a power outage. We had no time to load up our RV in advance because it had been in the repair shop. It was now or never.
We had no idea what we’d actually need, so we brought all we could. Walt had every tool imaginable with us…just in case. We were leaving in frigid temperatures so we wore jeans and winter coats. In a few weeks, we planned to be in shorts and tank tops. We brought four season’s worth of clothes because we had no clue what type of weather we’d encounter in the six weeks that we’d be gone.
The next morning dawned cold, but sunny and clear. After loading up the refrigerator and more last minute “just in case” items, we were finally ready to roll!
Walt did his “walk around”, as we learned this should be done each time you leave a campground. He checked to make sure that the lights and turn signals worked, the hatches were locked, and that the electric cord from the house was disconnected. I checked the inside to make sure that the cabinets were shut tight and nothing was sitting around loose that could become a projectile in a sudden stop. Then we questioned each other to make sure the propane and water pump were turned off, the outside step was pulled up, and the refrigerator latch was secured.
We took a deep breath and put our destination in the GPS. We were on our way!
The first thing we noticed was the noise. Rattles and clanging with every bump. I later learned how to insulate the pots and pans in the drawer by putting something soft in between them to limit the clanging. I also learned to wedge something in the microwave so the glass tray wouldn’t jiggle. We eventually bought little bins for the refrigerator so everything wouldn’t fall over and rattle around. In our future travels, we learned many tips and tricks, but for this first trip, we were as green as the grass. (Under the snow)
Our reason for buying the RV was to have an affordable and convenient means of transportation to get from one amazing place to another. It’s intended to be part of our adventure journey.
Maybe someday we will be ready to park it in one place and stay for an extended length of time. But for now, it didn’t bother us one bit that we could only find available camping spots for a day or so at each campground. We anxiously looked forward to all the new things we would be seeing out those RV windows!
We had all of our campgrounds booked and had a schedule to keep. Some RVers like to just go with the flow and don’t know where they will stay each night. That sounds very freeing and exhilarating in its own way, but emotionally, we weren’t there yet. It would be very stressful for us not to know where we would be staying for the night. Maybe once we got our feet wet and understood more about camping, we would be able to do that. For now, we had our confirmation emails set in stone. However, we would be staying with family in Jacksonville for a few days before our first campground reservation. That at least gave us a little buffer on the day to depart, and some peace of mind when we saw all the snow in the forecast and realized that we’d be delayed.
That being said, and as much as our trip was planned out, the first night was not. We had no idea how far we would be traveling on the first day of our maiden voyage.
We had been correct in our assumption that the RV would be different than driving our SUV. Essentially, it was like driving a truck. In fact, the cab is a Ford E350 Super Duty. It’s comfortable, but definitely more of an effort to drive. Let me say here, that Walt does all the driving. I help to navigate and give moral support, so I don’t have first-hand knowledge of what it takes to motor our rig down the highway.
It was a learning curve for him. Especially to keep track of the side mirrors that stuck way out and to remember that there is a big box of an RV behind us, not just the bed of a truck. But he adapted quickly and handled it like a pro from the start!
We watched with joy as the landscape changed and we passed by each state’s welcome sign. West Virginia, Virginia, and by the time we made it to North Carolina, dusk was falling and we were ready to stop for the night. Something we learned as we’ve traveled more is that winter travel means less hours to drive, as we like to be at our “spot” before it gets dark.
Our first travel day had gone well. We were overjoyed with the fact that we could pull over anywhere and use our bathroom, or make lunch. Traveling in our home had all the benefits we were hoping for! We had heard that Cracker Barrel restaurants allow overnight RV parking, so we located one in Jonesville, North Carolina, and pulled in just before dark.
After a great dinner inside Cracker Barrel, we turned on the propane furnace in the RV and got ourselves tucked into the bunk. It was early, but it had been an eventful day.
It was our first night, ever, sleeping in the RV, and I suppose it was a little restless. We had planned to spend a weekend or at least a night in the RV before our big trip, just to practice. Because of the whole repair project, we had no time to do a shakedown trip. We had to jump in with both feet.
Everything was new – a strange bed, new sounds in the RV, highway noise. I mean, we were sleeping in a different state, in an unfamiliar city, in a parking lot. It wasn’t exactly the dream, but it was convenient, hopefully safe, and free. We were learning.
The next morning began early. Our first breakfast was instant oatmeal and leftover cornbread from dinner. We thought it was the best meal ever!
We set off just as the sun began to rise. Tonight, we’d be in Florida!
* A year later, it is now January 2023, and as I write this, we are well-seasoned Cracker Barrel campers. We have spent many nights on our travel days, in many cities and states, dry camping in a Cracker Barrel parking lot. I even bought a Road Atlas in their gift store that has a listing of all the Cracker Barrels in the U.S. – I absolutely love being old-school and visually tracking our journeys using the maps, and the Cracker Barrel locations always come in handy.
Their generosity in providing this designated RV space to spend the night has been so much appreciated. It’s a good idea to call ahead just to be sure the location you are planning to stop at does allow overnight stays, as local restrictions may apply to some. We always make sure to have a meal inside as our thank-you, and are respectful of our surroundings. I would encourage anyone to utilize Cracker Barrel if you are looking for a convenient place to spend the night in your travels, especially in the southern states where Cracker Barrels abound. And sometimes the view from the window is surprisingly spectacular!
