Happily Wander Upon: Kiptopeke State Park
If you know me then you know that camping is not my thing. If you know my husband Jon, then you know it’s totally his thing! What can I say! Opposites attract! We have been together 18 years and we finally went camping Memorial Day weekend 2016 and surprisingly I liked it! So, when Jon mentioned going camping again for this Memorial Day weekend I said sure, but honestly I said it in passing and never thought it was happening until a weekend before Memorial Day weekend when Jon started pulling out all of the camping gear! Oh no! It was happening. I wasn’t afraid of being outside and sleeping in tents, but this trip was going to be in Kiptopeke State Park in Virginia and I was nervous about the long car trip with the boys. Well we lived to tell the tale and fun was had by all. Except for the oppressive heat it was a great trip and didn’t have me running to the closest hotel.
We left early Saturday morning at 4am in the hopes that the boys would continue to sleep in the car. Ah. They woke up right away and Asher did not shut his eyes the entire 6 plus hours of the drive. Hudson slept around 30 mins. We kept the busy with books, snacks, Crayola Stow and Go plus a movie and then some Ipad time.
The best part of this campground was that it was so close to the beach! I assumed it was so close that you could see the water from the campsite, but that was not the case. It was close enough though so it didn’t really matter. The only downside to not being close to the water was not having a breeze from the water. It was super hot in Virginia and unloading the car and having to set up the camp site was not fun. I may or may not have locked myself in the tent with a fan and eat a cosmic brownie to wallow in the heat and have a woe is me moment. Don’t worry I only let it last for a couple of mins and then got my act together on board!
Once we were set up and got some food supplies we hit the beach!
The beach was amazing. Even though it was Memorial Day weekend it was pretty empty at least empty for us, because here on Long Island the beaches can get jam packed. The beach was on the Chesapeake Bay which made it super calm and it was so warm! I never go into the water, but I couldn’t help it here!
One of my fun purchases at the supermarket was this popsicle float! On Long Island you can’t bring floats into the ocean, but here at Kiptopeke you can have floats in the water and it was quite the draw. The kids loved playing on it. Random side note, but my new Birkenstocks were amazing for camping. I wore them the entire time even in the camping showers! The best $39 find!
We bought our DIY screen and projector and it made an appearance on the first night. Without us even saying a word the kids quietly moved over their chairs and enjoyed Turbo!
On Sunday we were up bright and early and made it to the beach where the mom and kids hung out at the beach and the dads went out on kayaks to go fishing by the concrete ships.
The concrete ships were actually from WWII and once they were no longer in use they got moved to Kiptopeke in 1948 to become a breakfront. It’s a really popular spot for fish to hang out which is why Jon picked this location.
I took my amazon find bathing suit for a swing and it was perfect!
Kiptopeke State Park is in Cape Charles, VA so after being at the beach all day we headed to the historic district to have dinner out! If Cape Charles sounds familiar to you it might be because John and Sherry from Young House Love have two beach houses there that they are renovating! I actually was parked on their street and was able to see the two houses. They are in the perfect location close to the main street with restaurants and shops and a hop, skip and jump from the water and this adorable LOVE sign.
We had originally planned to stay a little longer on Monday, but the heat was so bad and we were so tired that when we woke up at 6:30 am we decided to pack up and beat the traffic and head home. Did you have any fun adventures this past weekend? We are slowly getting back to reality and into work mode. Tuesday was rough, but it’s a short week!! We can do it!
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ON THE BLOG
My living room is one of the rooms that evolved drastically from when we first moved one. Originally I painted the walls chocolate brown and did accents of white, blue and orange. That lasted maybe 2 years.
Our dining room sat empty for months. Okay maybe it was empty for just a handful of weeks and then we couldn’t take it anymore and put in a folding table and plastic outdoor chairs, but in my mind that was still empty.
On the main floor of our house we have a Florida room. Being that it’s a Florida room it is a considered a 3 season room, because there is no heat in the room. The previous owners used it as an indoor patio with outdoor furniture and it looked like this when we moved in.
Hey! We are planning a trip to Kiptopeke and I have a question. Is there a bathhouse for every campground (we’re looking at campgound E) or just one for the all in the middle? I’m having trouble finding a detailed map.
Thank you!