Camping is a family bonding experience when six people are in a 500 square foot sleeping area. Oh don’t get me wrong, we’re blessed with a bathroom and shower in this Jayco hybrid.

We ventured  out to Pigeon Forge, TN over Spring break. Our plan was a two-day visit to Dollywood using our season passes. As a mom of four with two grade school kids and toddlers, I appreciated the toddler play areas in every adult ride section. The kiddos loved the water play.

Our camping always includes a discount and this one happened to be from our Passport America membership. This enables us to camp 50% off at select campgrounds. We had two close choices to Dollywood and since we camped at the other choice two years ago, we decided to stay at Creekside.

Most campgrounds within Passport America are clean, well-kept and provide a pool for recreation. As we approached Pigeon Forge we noticed some of the motel pools were open and we were hoping for the same at the campground. Unfortunately it wasn’t, but that’s okay because our plan was to eat and sleep at the campground.

Oh the memories we are creating! And the meals we are making…

I always plan a menu and this trip is no exception:

• grilled cheesy potato skins, make ahead seasoned hamburgers
• cheese pizza (made from home and reheated at the campground), carrot sticks
• scrambled eggs, turkey bacon, oranges, convenience cinnamon rolls (made from home and reheated)
• cereal and milk, bananas
• peanut butter and honey or turkey/provolone sandwiches, cheddar bunny snack mix (tailgate outside the park)
• 5-ingredient no-bake granola bars (doubled recipe to make them thick, snack for the park)
• homemade lemon lime gatorade
• Apple juice
• Soda (the real treat we don’t have at home)
• Shortcut smores