Last year we launched this “Favorite Things” series as a way to highlight some of the fun things going on behind the scenes here at The Touring Camper. We try to post daily over on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, but a lot of what we post on social media we never get a chance to share on the blog. So here are some of our favorite moments from May:
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Kids to Parks Day
We were thrilled to serve as ambassadors this year for the National Park Trust’s Kids to Parks Day, a national movement to get kids and their families outside together. This year more than 960,000 people made the pledge to spend time outside with their kids. We also had fun partnering with official event sponsor Northside USA to try out their great outdoor shoes—plus then we got to have a little fun by giving away a pair to one of our readers.
If you missed taking the pledge for the Kids to Parks Day this year, you can watch for updates from the National Park Trust about next year’s event in May 2018.
Quick visit to Dayton
We made an impromptu trip to Dayton, Ohio, to see my (Kristin’s) parents and help them with a bunch of projects they needed to finish. In between the tree trimming, power washing, deck staining, flowerbed planting, wall painting, and box packing (whew!) we made two (I’m not ashamed to admit it was indeed two!) trips over to Ohio’s legendary Graeter’s for some “energy”-sustaining ice cream. 🙂 If you’ve ever had any of Graeter’s chocolate chunk ice creams, you know the temptation is real.
A New gadget!
One of our new website goals is to start creating and posting more rich media, including video segments from our camping adventures. Since we are not very techie, nor do we have any videography experience, we are pretty excited about our new Osmo Mobile that is helping us film and then create fun little videos.
We’ve started putting up a few short videos on social media and in a few posts, but watch for more this summer as we continue to play around with this new-to-us gadget. And if you haven’t followed us on YouTube, you can subscribe to our channel to make sure you don’t miss any of our video updates.
A New RV Flagpole
Jarrett is pretty proud of his latest camper modification that will allow him to fly Old Glory on our camping adventures. He had been eyeing several retail options, but he thought he could make one for less money. So after wandering Lowe’s looking for parts and pieces, he crafted this lightweight and affordable option.
Pittsburgh National Aviary
We have wanted to visit Pittsburgh’s National Aviary for years now, but never found the time to go for this reason or that. But we finally had the chance to go explore over Memorial Day weekend and the kiddos—who are Wild Kratts aficionados—were in their glory identifying birds and describing their unique traits to their grandma and great-grandma.
Several of the exhibits are “immersive” in that the birds are free to fly around you throughout the display. This makes for a neat experience, but of course it means you must be watching out for bird bombs! Thankfully we emerged unscathed. 🙂
As part of our visit we attended the live bird show and watched several live feedings, including for the penguins and sloth. The highlight, though, was getting to feed the lorikeets their special nectar.
A trip to Pittsburgh’s L.L. Bean store
This is a dangerous place to let Jarrett loose in given it is his most favorite store … but at least they have good taste in mug designs. 🙂
How about you: What were your favorite things of May? You can share in the comment section below.
Did you enjoy this peek into our month at home and on the road? To get more weekly updates like these, be sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter where we share glimpses into our everyday life.
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