This story originally appeared on Palm Beach Moms.
Recently, we borrowed a friend’s RV—after I begged my husband to try the RV life. Hubby likes nice things and prefers a five star hotel with excellent room service to an Airbnb DIY situation, so it was a hard sell. Plus, he would obviously have to drive since I can barely operate a regular car, ha!
Less than 3 hours into our inaugural trip….a flat tire. Luckily, it was close to a highway rest stop. The kids and I waited in the shade snapping photos between surges of uncontrollable laughter.
The RV people are wonderful people, in case you didn’t know. Nice people with knowledge to share took time out of their day and tools out of their trucks to help. Hubby, despite being drenched in sweat and doing manual labor, did not call the closest resort. He got back in the repaired rig SMILING.
And that’s just part of the magic. The other part is hugging your little humans smelling of “pool shower” hair mixed with campfire smoke, and kissing their cheeks and saying yes you can have another s’mores.
It’s the peaceful meditative space granted when you are outdoors more than in. 
The making friends with people from all over and all walks of life who also enjoy unplugging.
It’s seeing new places.
It’s not hurrying. Here are the details of that first magical trip:
Jellystone in Tabor City, NC is 35 minutes from Myrtle Beach, SC. The owners family had a tobacco farm on the land for years before. Therefore, they had a blank canvas to plan the ideal park, and it shows. Indoor and outdoor pools, mini golf, splash park, laser tag, crafts, bike trail, hiking trail, themed activities, fishing pond, food service, lakeside walking trail, ice cream shop, free wifi, drive in theater, dog park, gem mining, a store (with everything you forgot!), indoor recreation center with lending library, puzzles and more.
Jellystone understands details that turn family TRIPS into VACATIONS: concise online booking, clean bathhouse, efficient laundry, great staff, variety of parking and accommodations so you can travel with friends, well thought out sites with generous room to park, daily programming with activities all day so you will never hear “I’m bored.”
If you aren’t the RV type, there are also Yurts with AC and heat, cabins with bathrooms, kitchens and TVs (CABIN VIDEO HERE – note 8 person max), or tent camping sites. When choosing which site number to book, I can honestly say there isn’t a bad one. The RV sites are all spacious and easy to park in. The amenities are centrally located so you’re never that far.
Jellystone has an app – and you’re going to want it. Great for finding a park and for seeing all of the activities while you are there.
Join the rewards club! Free stuff? Yes, please! And the points add up fast! 5 points per dollar you spend towards free nights PLUS birthday surprise for the kiddos, discounts and more.
They rent golf carts which are nice to have but not a must. If you do want one, book it with your site because they go fast! Bringing bikes is a good idea, too.
After having visited other RV parks, I can say that as a family – being amongst other families was really a nice fit. All the kids found playmates, everyone is looking after each other and on the same page. We had a quad site (4 RVs parked in a square) with three friends. So we all opened into a big grass area with two trees for shade and it was perfection.
Click here for our packing list.
We hope you have as much fun as we did!