Family camping notes from South Florida and the road
Make yourself at home.
Hi! I'm Travis.
Our first family camping trip was a borrowed tent at Long Pine Key, a raccoon that stole our bread and two kids who did not want to go home.
I teach PE, coach baseball in the spring and spend school breaks hauling my family to state parks and mountain campgrounds. Here I write down what worked, what it cost and what we'd do differently.
A family camping blog from Miami: Florida state parks, the Everglades and the Keys, summer road trips to the mountains, camping with two kids, the gear we actually use, campfire food and what every trip really cost.
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Florida Camping
17 posts so far. A good first read: “Day Trips While We Wait for Camping Weather in Miami”.
Take a lookRoad Trips
15 posts so far. A good first read: “Breaking Up the Drive From Miami to the Panhandle With a Camper”.
Take a lookCamping With Kids
15 posts so far. A good first read: “Teaching Maya to Fish Without Losing Our Patience”.
Take a lookStart with the basics
Hi, I'm Travis. I live in Miami, Florida, with my wife Dana, our kids Maya and Nico, and Pickles, an orange cat who has never once asked to come camping. I teach high-school PE and help coach our baseball team every spring. Dana is a respiratory therapist who …
Breaking Up the Drive From Miami to the Panhandle With a Camper
Nine hours of towing is too much for one day with kids. Where we stop, which leg we split and how we'll handle the Thanksgiving drive.
Day Trips While We Wait for Camping Weather in Miami
Highs near 90 and dew points in the mid-70s mean no tent yet. The early-morning day trips that fill our October weekends until the first front.
Eight Months With the Pop-Up: Every Cost, Including the Ones I Forgot
Purchase, sales tax, tires, insurance, a cover and a tow in Georgia. What the camper has cost us since February, and the per-night math.
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Sweet Plantains in Foil on the Coals
Maduros go with everything in Dana's family. How we pick ripe plantains, wrap them in foil and get them caramelized on campfire coals.
Teaching Maya to Fish Without Losing Our Patience
Knots, casting, a tangled reel and a lot of waiting. How a ten-year-old who hated touching bait ended up asking for her own tackle box.
The complete archive, sorted by topic
90+ posts and counting. Pick the topic that fits your week, or scroll through everything from the newest post back.
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