travel

Wisconsin’s Top Ten Campgrounds #9

Posted on by kdiederich1

It’s been awhile but I haven’t forgotten. So now that the snow has melted (and hopefully stays that way) and we can see the grass it’s time to get our Wisconsin camping minds ready. As if they haven’t been ready for a few cold months now.

Number 9 Diamond Lake Campground, Porterfield, WI

Located in Northeastern Wisconsin in Marinette County, just off highway 41.

We have only been here once. But we loved it and every year we try to go back. But we have so many places that we want to go and some places get pushed off. Especially when they are the ones that you need to book a year ahead.  Booking ahead is key for the prime summer weekends here. It’s not a huge campground but we were spoiled with a site across from the pond and really enjoyed that so we are now picky.

The sites at Diamond Lake are of varying size to accommodate all sorts of rigs and tents, well wooded and have ample separation from the next site. They have full hook up sites, water/ electric sites, pull-thru sites and back in sites. They even have cabins, a bunk house and a Yurt you can rent.

The pond is huge and located across from a handful of sites, the cabins and the Yurt. It has large inflatables and a slide down the hill to enjoy, as well as a small sand beach to hang out on. The playground is located next to the pond as is a large activity field/ grassy area and a group pavilion. There is also a group site that can be reserved at one end of the pond. If all of this is not enough to keep one busy there is a mini golf course to enjoy as well.

The campground does rent golf carts for you to use. We did not do this since we were so close to everything but it is always a great option to have.

They also have theme weekends all summer long. They utilize the pavilion and field near the pond to host things like karaoke, cook offs, and tournaments.

My mom did have to make a drive up here to deliver one of the kids who had a party of some sort on Friday night. No problem with her driving in and visiting for a short amount of time with everyone. I’m sure if she had stayed for an extended period there would have been a day fee but it was one of the easiest drop offs we have ever had.

Best of all the owners are friendly and know how to make a weekend enjoyable for a group of families with a ton of kids!

It’s hard not to have a good time when you are with several families that all get along well. Adults and kids alike meshing together in nature is always promising. But a great pond and playground led to a great afternoon. Which then led to an excellent group dinner while watching a Brewer game. All of this is possible due to a great well run family campground.

Wisconsin’s Top 10 Campgrounds. # 10

Posted on by kdiederich1

Not so long ago I posted a Top 10 Wisconsin Campgrounds on our IG. IG is a great way to get a quick snapshot of your thoughts. But it isn’t always enough to do it complete justice. So here is my attempt at a better description of my current favorite campgrounds as I posted on IG. This Top 10 is not perfect and it is not set in stone. They even each may have something I don’t love about them.

Everyone will not agree with my choices and that is OK. I know that we have so many wonderful campgrounds and RV parks in Wisconsin.  The variety of campgrounds and RV parks we have here is amazing especially because we don’t all look for or like the same things. Some things bother some of us more than others. We all have different wants and needs, likes and dislikes. That is great. Even better when it gets us to try new things, go new places and make new discoveries that we wouldn’t have done without openly listening to the opinions of friends, family and strangers. 

And yes my top 10 can change at anytime- honestly had I waited a month it would have been different  But we’ll get to that

(I will make this post a series giving each campground it’s own glory)

Number 10 Lake Dubay Shores Mosinee, WI

The best part about Lake Dubay Shores Campground is the location. It is located directly on Lake Dubay in Mosinee, WI. Lake Dubay is a full wake lake and the campground has its own boat landing for campers to use. 

The campground rents fishing boats, pontoons, canoes, and peddle boats. They also have slips you can rent if you bring your own. There is a swimming area and dog beach. The swimming area starts shallow if you have little kids and then gets deeper for the more adventurous ones. There is also a large park like area to enjoy near the swimming beach. This area has picnic tables and large swings if you prefer to watch while others swim.

The lake sites are my favorite(but there are not many that are rented over night.) They are located on a ledge overlooking the water and are a decent size. They are partially shaded but open for easy parking. There is stair access to the dock and they provide great morning and sunset views. It is an absolutely beautiful view to wake up to and enjoy morning coffee to.

Most sites have water and electric hook ups (20 and 30 amp.) There are also some full hook up sites closer to the office.

The campground has a playground, basketball court, horseshoe pits and game room. There is also a small store located at the office.

If you don’t have an RV and aren’t a tenter they do also have a couple rental units available

They do charge for visitors ($5 per person) and watch for parking passes in all the vehicles that drive through. If your pass is not showing they will stop you to make sure you are registered. They deliver wood if you buy it from the store and have basic groceries, beer, RV supplies and bait.

I have not used the bathroom and shower facilities but it has been a couple years since we have been here. Back then the kids considered themselves campground bathroom/ shower experts. This wasn’t the best one in their opinion. But it wasn’t the worst either.

Like I said we haven’t been here in a few years. Actually we haven’ t been here since the last time I posted about it. But it still ranks up there for me and I do look forward to going back one day- after we check out more of what Wisconsin has to offer.

Vista Royalle Campground, Bancroft WI

Posted on by kdiederich1

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Long weekends are the best for camping.  It’s always great to get an extra day. Even better when you can get there close to check in on arrival and there’s a late check out time. However they can be a little long with a broken leg. But broken legs don’t stop you from driving as long as you are able to caravan and your chair is ready for you once you are settled.

 

 

 

Vista Royalle is a fairly large, well groomed campground. It has just over 200 sites and a handful of cabins.  They offer both water and electric as well as full hook up sites and also have a group area. The trees perfectly outline the sites.  There are several sites that back up to the swimming pond.

 

 

 

There were two bathroom areas. One was located at the store and the other more centrally located in the campground.

The camp store is large with a variety of items you may have forgotten at home.   It also has a good selection of candy and 3 flavors of slushies. There is a snack shack near the pavilion.  It serves hand scooped and soft serve ice cream as well as a selection of hot food and snacks. They also sell wood- $6 a bundle, the bundles were decent size.

There is a swimming pond with a large sand beach and several inflatables for use.  It’s a great place to use the sand toys, catch some rays and cool off on a hot day. Next to the pond is a jumping pillow, large playground. Across from the store are mini golf, a gaga pit, horse shoe hits, shuffle board court, volleyball court.  There is also a fishing pond at the other end of the campground.

 

 

 

The campground offers scheduled activities.  The weekend we were there they had a Glow Run and silent auction with proceeds for charity, DJ’s, and a craft for the kids.  The DJ was great and played later than I expected on Saturday and Sunday night. And because he was loud no-one noticed how loud we can get!

Group dinner was fun as always.  We used the kabob grill and the dutch oven. We highly recommend fun ways to cook while camping.  The kabobs are a group effort, everyone brings the various food items and helps prep them. This year we had marinated chicken, steak, shrimp, hot dogs a variety of veggies, and Texas toast for garlic bread.  In the dutch oven we made French Onion Soup, topped with Muenster for lunch and apple croissants for dessert. It was the first time we have made soup in the dutch oven and won’t be the last! The soup was a last minute idea while we were at the grocery store in near by Plover, WI.  And it was a good one!

 

 

 

The free WIFI worked great. And yes, even though we are camping we still like to stay connected.

 

 

 

Camping with a broken leg is interesting.  Not much you can do but sit around, scoot to the lake and let others do all the hard work.  Sitting around is always a good time, especially when the kids join in. And when sitting around creates extra family bonding and memories it is even better.

 

 

 

Thankfully the RV is easy to level, we have an able teenage son- who is willing to help, and PBS came in very clear for the times that the leg needed to be elevated.  Found a great show to watch and a new way to make garlic bread over the fire!

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Overall another great weekend at a great campground.  Lots of laughs with friends over wine and in front of the fire.  Even poured my Sunday morning screwdriver into a stemmed glass so I could use my wine hook www.thewinehook.com

 

 

 

Want to see more of the campground?  Check out our 360 video here

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Adults Only

Posted on by kdiederich1

Food and Wine Festival is one of our favorite vacations. We are heading back in 70 days with some adult friends and I am getting really excited!  Here’s my story on our first trip to Food and Wine and why we keep going back.

 

An adult only vacation

So a few weeks ago I turned 40.  Since it was a milestone birthday my loving husband graciously planned a vacation for me and him.  Yes you heard that right just the two of us, no kids.  The kids didn’t get it.  Mom and dad don’t go on vacations with out us.  They were in denial for some time.  But the day came, my parents arrived to our house bright and early and we headed to the airport without them.

That’s right too, we flew.  Sounded like a great idea when booking.  Just the two of us and rates weren’t to bad.  Flight times were ok…  Then the times changed on our flight down. So I had to spend a Sat night on hold with Delta for a half hour to get a better time (this was a blessing in disguise since this time was way better than the first.)  Then a month or so later the time changed on our return trip so repeat process.  Again blessing since I decided at that point to pick seats and got Delta Comfort + which may have been the only way I was able to get back on the plane on the way home- more leg room and free wine and beer.  I typically don’t mind flying but with all the turmoil in the world my anxiety was up.

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So where did we go?, you ask.  Orlando, of course.  Specifically for the Epcot Food and Wine Festival.  We haven’t been to Epcot since our honeymoon in 2001.  Just hasn’t appealed to us with the kids.  The other parks seem to have more to offer our children.  But we have talked many times how we would love to tour the worlds when they are older.  Instead of waiting another 4-5 years until they would all be able to do their own thing this became the perfect time, a trip on our own and Food and Wine Festival- perfect!

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Epcot Food and Wine Festival was amazing.  The lines at all the booths moved faster than I would have ever guessed.  The food and drink was wonderful (seriously didn’t have anything I didn’t like.) The variety was great. The weather was perfect.   The prices were reasonable.  My favorite was the tenderloin and Malbec from Patagonia and Scott’s was the filet from Canada.

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Bonuses for getting to ride Test Track before the festival opened, a not so long line on the boat ride with the Three Caballeros in Mexico and the chance to see Captain EO before it closes later this year.

Plus we found Remy and Donald Duck.

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Highly recommend attending this event.  Really there is nothing better than food and wine tasting at a Disney Park.  Hoping to go back next year.

 

 

 

What else do you do in Orlando without the kids?  Lots!  Disney Springs is a ton of fun as an adult.  We got to go to the new tavern Jock Lindsay’s Hangar Bar.  It was awesome, really really awesome. They decor was amazing, the drinks were great and the bartenders, Launchpad and Scooter, were fantastic. They even have domestic beer in aluminium bottles if you want to take it to go.  And we got to eat at restaurants there that the kids would not have picked.  The first night we ate at The Boathouse, right on the water, and then later in the trip at The House of Blues (where we learned some new information- if you get on the water taxi behind The House of Blues you can take a ride to the other end and get dropped off near The Rainforest- then walk back towards where you parked- or vice versa.)  We were also able to make it all the way through and able to look at all the stores with out the kids.  Normally we only get about 2/3 of the way before we have to turn back.

We sat by the pool.  I read a book and didn’t have to watch any kids swimming.  Don’t get me wrong I love to watch my kids having fun in the pool, but I also love to read in the sun.  We had drinks and lunch delivered to us pool side as well.  There was also a man made beach at the resort that we relaxed on. (Huge plus the Marriott refillable mug!  Love it.  Have to get one every time we go)

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We took walks around the property.  We did not feed the alligators

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We went to the mall.

We had dinner at the fancy restaurant, The Grille, at the golf course at the resort. It was amazing- easily my best meal on the entire trip.

We, peacefully, enjoyed coffee and breakfast, each morning on the patio of our suite which overlooked the golf course. Our suite at Marriott’s Grande Vista  http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/mcogv-marriotts-grande-vista/ was a 1 bedroom with full kitchen and washer and dryer. We love having a kitchen to cook breakfast in and reheat leftovers for lunch.  Then we can eat dinner out and not feel like we are eating out all the time.

We did debate going to the Magic Kingdom.  I am still a little disappointed that we chose not to.  It would have been fun to take everything in as just the two of us.  To just do whatever rides we decided to do on a whim and not be super planned while there.  Not to mention to be able to see the park decorated for Christmas- but I guess that gives us a reason to go back during this time of year.

Adult only vacations are good every once in awhile.  They are a great time to reconnect and be together.  But family vacations are great too- and I can’t wait to go back with the kids

Lake Dubay Shores Campground, Mosinee WI

Posted on by kdiederich1

This weekend our travels took us to Central Wisconsin. We headed to Lake Dubay Shores Campground in Mosinee which is located right on the Wisconsin River.

The campground has a few lake side sites that can be rented overnight, but most of the lake sites are occupied by seasonals.  We did book early (just under a year ago) and were able to nab two in a prime location.  There are also several sites right across from these sites that friends were able to book.  The lake sites are not large.  They are outlined with trees and fairly easy to get into. The 40′ Class A and 32′ Class C fit perfectly.  We were able to park in an L shape maximizing our space and giving us a great view of the water.

Sites have water and electric hook up (20 and 30 amp.) There are also full hook up sites available closer to the office.  There are two small playgrounds and a game room. The camp store is a decent size with a nice selection of stuff.  They do sell wood by the gator full and deliver it to your site for you. The campground staff was friendly- just make sure to have your parking pass showing at all times or you will get stopped to make sure you have registered.

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The campground has a boat landing for registered campers to use as well as boat docks that can be rented.  They also rent small boats, peddle boats and pontoon boats. There is a small swimming area with a grassy park next to it.  There are a couple of picnic tables and large swings available if you are watching others swim or just enjoying the water.  The swim area has a lily pad and a shallow area for the little kids to play in and big kids to stand in.  .

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We also had stair access and a path down the hill to the boat docks that were closest to our sites

There was only only one bathroom with flush toilets and showers whic was next to the office.  They were clean and centrally located in the campground.  There were also some porta potties available near the lake.

We had a great time here. The kids all hung out together; swam, played games, kayaked, paddle boarded, watched movies, explored, climbed hills, played with their dogs, talked to each other and the teenagers were entertained by the little ones.

The adults sat around, hung out in the water, kayaked, told stories, played games, built big fires, ate and drank wine using our wine hook from http://www.thewinehook.com.  We love our camping family and the fun we have together. We cannot wait to do it all over again.

An adult only vacation

Posted on by kdiederich1

So a few weeks ago I turned 40.  Since it was a milestone birthday my loving husband graciously planned a vacation for me and him.  Yes you heard that right just the two of us, no kids.  The kids didn’t get it.  Mom and dad don’t go on vacations with out us.  They were in denial for some time.  But the day came, my parents arrived to our house bright and early and we headed to the airport without them.

That’s right too, we flew.  Sounded like a great idea when booking.  Just the two of us and rates weren’t to bad.  Flight times were ok…  Then the times changed on our flight down. So I had to spend a Sat night on hold with Delta for a half hour to get a better time (this was a blessing in disguise since this time was way better than the first.)  Then a month or so later the time changed on our return trip so repeat process.  Again blessing since I decided at that point to pick seats and got Delta Comfort + which may have been the only way I was able to get back on the plane on the way home- more leg room and free wine and beer.  I typically don’t mind flying but with all the turmoil in the world my anxiety was up.

Image-1

So where did we go?, you ask.  Orlando, of course.  Specifically for the Epcot Food and Wine Festival.  We haven’t been to Epcot since our honeymoon in 2001.  Just hasn’t appealed to us with the kids.  The other parks seem to have more to offer our children.  But we have talked many times how we would love to tour the worlds when they are older.  Instead of waiting another 4-5 years until they would all be able to do their own thing this became the perfect time, a trip on our own and Food and Wine Festival- perfect!

IMG_2707

Epcot Food and Wine Festival was amazing.  The lines at all the booths moved faster than I would have ever guessed.  The food and drink was wonderful (seriously didn’t have anything I didn’t like.) The variety was great. The weather was perfect.   The prices were reasonable.  My favorite was the tenderloin and Malbec from Patagonia and Scott’s was the filet from Canada.

IMG_2718

Bonuses for getting to ride Test Track before the festival opened, a not so long line on the boat ride with the Three Caballeros in Mexico and the chance to see Captain EO before it closes later this year.

Plus we found Remy and Donald Duck.

IMG_2714IMG_2710

 

 

Highly recommend attending this event.  Really there is nothing better than food and wine tasting at a Disney Park.  Hoping to go back next year.

 

What else do you do in Orlando without the kids?  Lots!  Disney Springs is a ton of fun as an adult.  We got to go to the new tavern Jock Lindsay’s Hangar Bar.  It was awesome, really really awesome. They decor was amazing, the drinks were great and the bartenders, Launchpad and Scooter, were fantastic. They even have domestic beer in aluminium bottles if you want to take it to go.  And we got to eat at restaurants there that the kids would not have picked.  The first night we ate at The Boathouse, right on the water, and then later in the trip at The House of Blues (where we learned some new information- if you get on the water taxi behind The House of Blues you can take a ride to the other end and get dropped off near The Rainforest- then walk back towards where you parked- or vice versa.)  We were also able to make it all the way through and able to look at all the stores with out the kids.  Normally we only get about 2/3 of the way before we have to turn back.

We sat by the pool.  I read a book and didn’t have to watch any kids swimming.  Don’t get me wrong I love to watch my kids having fun in the pool, but I also love to read in the sun.  We had drinks and lunch delivered to us pool side as well.  There was also a man made beach at the resort that we relaxed on. (Huge plus the Marriott refillable mug!  Love it.  Have to get one every time we go)

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We took walks around the property.  We did not feed the alligators

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We went to the mall.

We had dinner at the fancy restaurant, The Grille, at the golf course at the resort. It was amazing- easily my best meal on the entire trip.

We, peacefully, enjoyed coffee and breakfast, each morning on the patio of our suite which overlooked the golf course. Our suite at Marriott’s Grande Vista  http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/mcogv-marriotts-grande-vista/ was a 1 bedroom with full kitchen and washer and dryer. We love having a kitchen to cook breakfast in and reheat leftovers for lunch.  Then we can eat dinner out and not feel like we are eating out all the time.

We did debate going to the Magic Kingdom.  I am still a little disappointed that we chose not to.  It would have been fun to take everything in as just the two of us.  To just do whatever rides we decided to do on a whim and not be super planned while there.  Not to mention to be able to see the park decorated for Christmas- but I guess that gives us a reason to go back during this time of year.

Adult only vacations are good every once in awhile.  They are a great time to reconnect and be together.  But family vacations are great too- and I can’t wait to go back with the kids

Hello world!

Posted on by kdiederich1

I love to go on vacation.  I love to go with my family.  Yes not just with my husband but with our 3 kids as well.  It’s just not the same with out them.  There is nothing more satisfying than seeing the excitement and thrills of vacation thru the eyes of your children.  Beyond that I love to have others come to; family, friends, anyone- its more fun with more people.

I also like to go as much as possible.  If I have it my way there is always a countdown to some where on my countdown app.

One of the ways we are able to make that possible is by driving.

Overwhelming for some but we embrace it.  We look at as extending the vacation by a few days.  And we are able to see the country.  The kids have been doing it since they were little, there have been rough times, but they are pretty good at it now.

We leave for Panama City Beach, Fl tomorrow.  Dance Nationals for my oldest daughter.  Unfortunately she isn’t dancing- broke her leg in March and not quite ready to compete.  But we will have a ton of fun watching out dance family and spending time with them there.

So here I will share how we do it what we do, for what is worth.  I hope you can take something – even just a laugh- from it