Final Details on Extreme Makeover

Late yesterday TJC placed it's final RV for the Extreme Makeover:Home Edition Fayetteville. This motorhome was last in as it will be used by the special guest star arriving today to assist with the final build details. Activity was fast and furious yesterday evening working on the final details of the build in preparation for today's unveiling.

Watching the volunteers and workers this past week has been enlightening. It is very impressive to see what can be accomplished when everyone sets aside their differences and agendas and works together towards a common goal. People of very different stations in life worked and sweated in extreme weather conditions, side by side, doing whatever needed to be done to reach the goal of building this new home.

The Jubilee House is a great and deserving resource but it is just a start. There are thousands of homeless veterans in this country. The last best estimate numbered somewhere above 106,000. These were all people who set aside their everyday lives to join the military and serve our country.

As has been widely reported, First Lady Michelle Obama will be making an appearance to lend support to the efforts and also highlighting the Joining Forces initiative. Local VA offices are also a great resource for homeless vets. Many RV owners are former military members and are always ready to lend a hand to fellow vets. Lets all look around us and see if there is anything we can do to help. Its been an honor for Tom Johnson Camping Center to be involved in this effort and see so many individuals give so much of their time to this project.

Look, its a Motorhome Dad!!

As I was driving to the store the other day with Alex his voice suddenly rang out from the back seat, “motorhome, daddy, look a motorhome…”  Two weeks ago in Alex’s world the word motorhome meant a recreational vehicle as in a jungle gym that you could climb around in when you visited Dad at work.  Or in an abstract form as in Dad’s job is to sell motorhomes. That is all completely different and now motorhome means recreational opportunities.

When I asked him if he wanted to go in an RV again he said, “Yeah, let’s go, I love motorhomes. You get to swim and hike and fish and picnic and play and have fires and marshmallows.”  Really, is there anything in the world more important than sharing that feeling with your kids or loved ones?  At 4 Alex is pretty adventurous but you also never know what he will or won’t enjoy.  The beauty about traveling that way is learning all the things that are out there and discovering them together as a family.  I have more memories than I can count of camping with my family growing up.   

Write to us and tell us where you love to go camping and the things you love to do with loved ones while you are camping.  tomjohnsoncampfireclub@tomjohnsoncamping.com 

Camping Club Day 2

Day 2

There is something very comforting about being wrapped up in a comfortable bed while it’s dark outside and hearing the birds start to wake up and announce a new day. Enjoying a cup of fresh made coffee I was treated to another stunning light display as the sun rose over the trees in the campground washing the thin clouds with colors. The neighboring RVs and lawns are damp with dew and it reminds me that when you are camping, even in an RV, you just feel connected to nature. 

Today we will be working to capture the excitement and togetherness of camping in video and pictures to use in our advertising.  Trying to convey that feeling and showing people all that Tom Johnson Camping Center has to offer will be a challenge.  Our neighbors in the campground just picked up their 4^th new fifth wheel from Tom Johnson Camping Center and in talking with them you could see the excitement in their eyes.  It’s like the grown up version of waking up on Christmas morning when you were a child.   This morning they were up early, grabbed some coffee from the on-site restaurant, TJ’s Café, and now they are poking around checking out all the features of their new fifth wheel and getting better acquainted with it on their own pace. 

It was a great day of filming around Tom Johnson Camping Center in Marion.  Spending time around the dealership you are filled with a sense of pride to be a part of this organization.  What has been built over the years and the sense of place connected to this company is something that is great to be part of.  As you walk the grounds and talk to customers you consistently hear the same theme of customers continuing to return because they know they will be well taken care of.

This afternoon Tina and the boys spent a bunch of time playing in the river at the back of the campground which is where I found them after the commercial work.  The boys were wading around, skipping rocks and exploring the banks of the river.  There were tadpoles everywhere in the water and little itty bitty frogs hopping on the rocks on the edge of the river.  It was such a peaceful time and one of those moments when you can feel yourself just finally start to relax from everything going on in the world.   We even found a rock that looked like it had a fossil of some animals vertebrae in it.  This hidden gem of a campground is minutes from so much of Western North Carolina’s major tourist destinations like Asheville, Biltmore House, the Blue Ridge Parkway and Black Mountain to name a few. Tomorrow will be more exploration and if Tina has her way, a trip to a waterfall somewhere. For  now, the boys are finally worn out and snoring in their bunks which allows Tina and I some time to reconnect around “campfire.”

Splashing and skipping stones.

Alex makes friends with a baby frog

Inaugural Tom Johnson Campfire Club Trip

We having often talked about starting a camping club for Tom Johnson Camping Center.  It is in idea to be an informal club of RV owners who like to meet and enjoy the RV lifestyle exploring different campgrounds.  Most of our trips will be used to explore the hundreds of campgrounds that are available to us in the course of a weekend but you never know where your travels will take you and someday we may do some more extensive traveling. 

RV travel enriches lives connecting families and friends to each other and nature.  So this weekend we decided to test the waters with a trip that will take us to the Tom Johnson Campground in Marion, NC and then Rutledge Lake RV Resort by Asheville, NC. 

Day 1

I am not sure who was more excited for the RV to get home, the kids or the parents.  For Nic (7) and Alex (4), it was a new adventure, a vacation to a new place in a traveling home and the first trip for the family in a couple years.  For the Tina and me, it was a return to a favorite lifestyle and an opportunity to expose the kids to something we love.  It was the kind of excitement that made me glad to be at work and not at home with the constant “Is it time to go yet? When is Dad getting home with the RV?” Of course, it then became 2 hours of non-stop excited chatter as we drove to the campground but you can learn a lot about your kids when they are chattering away like that.

Arriving at the Tom Johnson Campground in Marion, NC the sun was starting to hang low over the mountains and the contrast of the manicured lawns around the campsites was like a welcome home picture for Tina and I.  It has been 6 years since we have been out in an RV but arriving in a campground as beautiful as this is like seeing a well wrapped present that you were not expecting. You want to savor the excitement of wondering what’s inside but you also can not wait to tear it open and explore. 

Backing into our site surrounded by trees with a stream in the back we could barely contain ourselves and hooked up the RV as quick as we could.  The trees behind the site were ablaze with fireflies which triggered a firefly catching expedition.  It felt almost like being dropped into a magical place being surrounded by so many glowing objects floating around the air and was a great start to a camping weekend.  While there was still some light left we decided to go for a walk and were treated to a stunning display of the sun setting behind the mountains in a fiery display of orange, pinks and purples.  And while you would think that all that excitement and anticipation during the day would have been enough to tire everyone out, no one wanted to go to sleep on time this evening.  Maybe we all just wanted to continue to share more fun and togetherness; the kind that seems to be unique to the camping lifestyle.

Catching fireflies at the Tom Johnson Campground in Marion, NC