Traveling to a new place can be so much fun! New sights, smells, sounds, terrain, campground neighbors…
When you first arrive at a new place, what do you like to do first? Do you hop on your bike and go explore local biking trails? Do you head straight to the town museum? Do you go see the most popular tourist attractions or go eat at the most popular restaurant in town? Or do you set up your camp chair, bring over a good book and relax for a while?
You can select up to two answers in today’s poll. If you select “Other” please leave a comment below. Heck, leave a comment anyway and tell us your favorite thing(s) to do first. Thanks!
Second choice would be visit a museum or historical site, but favorite thing is to check out nearby mines, rockhounding sites, rock shops, and gem & mineral clubs.
Set up the camper and site, then sit down a rest.
I concur! This relaxation rv’ing is hard work.
That’s why I think many newbies who jumped into RV’s last year will drop out. There’s too much work in camping for most young people who grew up playing video games.
Plop down and relax, with our favorite beverages.
After set up, we usually walk around, get the kinks out, visit with others. We have a small supper then read our books and visit with others walking around.
Unhook the toad, ride around the area, find Walmart, get whatever I forgot,find a local ‘eats’ restuarant, get back to R/V, search local TV, have a drink, passout. Life is good.
We go to the Visitor’s Center or Welcome Center first so we won’t miss something unique. Most people working these places live in the area and know all the good places to eat and things to see.
Go To The Bathroom!!
If there is a lake then I like to get out on my kayak. If not a quick ride or hike to explore the area and see what the other kids are up to.
Talk to the park ranger about best activities, sites, and hikes with lots of notes on their map or brochure.
Visit the welcome station or visitor center..They have all the information on what’s happening. Canadian visitor centers have always been super helper.
Stop at the visitor center.
We find a golf course
Generally, we go find the rest rooms.
Jump on a Hop on Hop off bus tour, and ride the whole circuit before we decide where to get off and investigate.
Go for a walk with my cat.
And I’ll bet your cat really likes that too, Chris. Have a great day. 😀 –Diane at RVtravel.com
First thing I do at a new camp site is log the nearest geocache so I can mark my territory and add mileage to trackables!!
trustking
Generally, my wife and I will sit down under the awning and have a beer. If it’s early afternoon we’ll have a quick lunch, sandwich, and chips. During this time we’ll review our ideas of what we want to do while in this locale, or why did we choose to come here, to begin with, and plan an itinerary for our stay.
If arrival time is the late afternoon we usually Google restaurants or brew pubs close to the campground and head out to not only eat but also to get a little feel for the area. Returning to the campground will be a campfire and relaxing and enjoying each other’s company.
It all depends. Am I at a destination or a rest stop? I am not talking about the length of a stay, but about the intent when you parked.
If a rest stop, my interests might not extend beyond a few pleasant words with neighbors; or the chance to refit or resupply to continue the journey.
If I am at a destination, I want to know more about where I parked. And it’s like the layers of an onion from the inside out. First what’s happening in the park and people I might meet, second the area near the park, and third things to do and see while we are there – – maybe with people we have met in the park. How many layers we get through is mostly a matter of available time.
Our ‘other’ … check out the flyfishing shop and streams!
We boondock far from most of the choices listed. Setting up camp is the first order of business.
We hardly ever boondock but setting up camp is the first order of business for us too. Often that is followed up by preparing and consuming something simple to eat.
Other. First, connect power and water (if overnight temperatures are forecast to be 40° F or higher) to the RV while DW extends the slides and levels the RV (the order prescribed by Newmar). Second, vacuum the RV to remove the dog’s fur especially from the floor, sofa, and dash. Third, turn on the television antenna and let it find any available over-the-air stations (current RV lacks a satellite dish or turning it on and connecting to satellites would be 3A and the antenna adjustment 3B). Fourth, take dog for walk with DW, which doubles as a mini/partial exploration of the campground/RV park. Fifth, prepare dinner, eat, and relax. We rarely (never?) arrive at a campground/RV park earlier than 4 PM and usually it is 5 PM or later. An early morning for us is prior to 8 AM, so our departure on travel days rarely is before 10 AM.
We’re foodies so we’re always looking for local mom and pop restaurants or other unique places to eat. We stay away from the chain restaurants.
Go for a quick walk to stretch out the legs and shoulders, take a leak, set up the camp area, give thanks, crack a beer, kiss my wife and ask what she wants to do.
Agree, maybe not in the above order.
Set up and then take the dogs for a quick walk. Then nap time. Later jot down what needs to get done (shop/laundry, etc.) then time to explore and in no rhyme or reason it makes it more fun without a schedule. Done a schedule all my life, no more.
CG phone number and address for emergency
Law enforcement and ambulance numbers
Hospital number and location
Local RV service center
places to eat but not chain restruants but local ones. Check out any brochures in the office
things to do like fairs, festivals, other going-ons
grocery store or Walmart for restocking
Walk and scan to see if there is a quality bakery nearby.
We hit the local tourist information center to see what is in the area.
Turn the key off then see what is needed to level up.
Other than taking a nap after setting up, I read the rules and flyers posted at the info booth.
Look to see if there is a fabric shop or antique store in town. Hopefully we get done with that before dark so we can find a campground and set up.
I’ll see you there! lol
Most likely in the Gingham fabric aisle.
After getting our camp set up, we usually are looking for a good grocery store or farm market to check out the local food. Then we like to get in the car and drive around the area just to get a sense of what living there might be like. We love to look at established neighborhoods and retail areas – not the big malls and that type of thing, but small mom/pop businesses. We visit the known tourist areas, but I love exploring and finding little known, out-of-the-main hidden gems.
We like to go for a drive (in car) around the immediate area to see what is there. Then the 2nd day we like to drive around the country side n sight-see.
We relax and enjoy the campground. We like to explore the nearby town.
The first thing’s I do is orient myself with the the surrounding area and make sure my diesel tanks are topped off. I scope out my emergency evacuation route for that just in case unexpected event. Then I explore the area of things I might like to do and places to eat. In the down time I like to walk around the campground to get exercise and perhaps meet nice people along the way.