Packing Suggestions

[Sally]

Absolutely thrilled about our trip to the Fort in October, but unsure what to pack.
We will be there October 28 - November 2. We will be tent camping, we are experienced tent campers in a well waterproofed tent and separate screen room for cooking and such.
I have been looking at the Bay Lake fishing report for the weather history for the week we will be there.
I have already put lights and timer for dark trips back to camp from the late nights at the park, bug spray, extra tarps, sand tent spikes and extra rope and a fan on the packing list. All those items I have come up with from the Dis camping board threads.
Anything else that would make this journey to the Fort even more magical?

 

[WalkingintheFog]

Hey Sally!
I'll be a few weeks ahead of you, also tenting at the Fort! I'll be watching this thread in case there's idea's I need to borrow!
(I'm flying down, will bring some gear down , borrow some there, and buy some things there (the biggest cheapest stuff)).

 

[luckycharm19335]

If you use the search option at the top of the page, there are a few posters that have posted a packing list.

 

[minniebeth]

Haven't looked at the list, but definitely a broom and dustpan for the sand. and something to put in front of your tent to wipe the sand off of your feet with so no sandy feet in the tent. You don't want to leave your shoes outside of the tent though.

 

[Sally]

Haven't looked at the list, but definitely a broom and dustpan for the sand. and something to put in front of your tent to wipe the sand off of your feet with so no sandy feet in the tent. You don't want to leave your shoes outside of the tent though.

The list is a great resource. I looked through all of the suggestions, and came up with multiple items I would have forgotten.
I did not even think about a doormat suitable for sand, the one I have is great for dirt, but will track more sand in than keep out.
Would you suggest a rug or two for inside the tent, like in front of the beds? Now I am thinking of sand in bed with me each night.

 

[pgumiela]

The list is a great resource. I looked through all of the suggestions, and came up with multiple items I would have forgotten.
I did not even think about a doormat suitable for sand, the one I have is great for dirt, but will track more sand in than keep out.
Would you suggest a rug or two for inside the tent, like in front of the beds? Now I am thinking of sand in bed with me each night.

We camped at the Fort in May and we took several small rugs that we got at Walmart. They had a bin full if small rugs for 3-5$ each. There were kind of like remnant pieces, but they were bound on the edges so they weren't rough on the sides, but they were nice soft carpet. It worked out great! They were 3 feet by 5 feet, I think. We have a cabin style tent, and had a "bedroom" on each end, so we put one in between each set of air matresses and then two side by side in the middle living space. It worked great! The kids had somewhere softer to sit than on the tent floor, and it helped knock the sand off of feet since you know kids don't remember to take their shoes off before they come into the tent, or they just walk around everywhere barefoot and still bring in the sand .


Something else that I'm glad I brought was a heavy duty splitter for the power pole since there are only 2 regular plugs. We had one drop cord on a day/night timer for the xmas lights on the screen house, one drop cord for the mini fridge, and then one drop cord going to the tent.

Have fun camping, we loved the Fort so much that we are looking at campers now I think the fort may be our new favorite place to stay.

 

[minniebeth]

We camped at the Fort in May and we took several small rugs that we got at Walmart. They had a bin full if small rugs for 3-5$ each. There were kind of like remnant pieces, but they were bound on the edges so they weren't rough on the sides, but they were nice soft carpet. It worked out great! They were 3 feet by 5 feet, I think. We have a cabin style tent, and had a "bedroom" on each end, so we put one in between each set of air matresses and then two side by side in the middle living space. It worked great! The kids had somewhere softer to sit than on the tent floor, and it helped knock the sand off of feet since you know kids don't remember to take their shoes off before they come into the tent, or they just walk around everywhere barefoot and still bring in the sand .


Something else that I'm glad I brought was a heavy duty splitter for the power pole since there are only 2 regular plugs. We had one drop cord on a day/night timer for the xmas lights on the screen house, one drop cord for the mini fridge, and then one drop cord going to the tent.

Have fun camping, we loved the Fort so much that we are looking at campers now I think the fort may be our new favorite place to stay.

The rugs are a really great idea...sand was definitely as issue for us..and it wasn't my kids that were the culprits, it was my DH

 

[Sally]

We camped at the Fort in May and we took several small rugs that we got at Walmart. They had a bin full if small rugs for 3-5$ each. There were kind of like remnant pieces, but they were bound on the edges so they weren't rough on the sides, but they were nice soft carpet. It worked out great! They were 3 feet by 5 feet, I think. We have a cabin style tent, and had a "bedroom" on each end, so we put one in between each set of air matresses and then two side by side in the middle living space. It worked great! The kids had somewhere softer to sit than on the tent floor, and it helped knock the sand off of feet since you know kids don't remember to take their shoes off before they come into the tent, or they just walk around everywhere barefoot and still bring in the sand .


Something else that I'm glad I brought was a heavy duty splitter for the power pole since there are only 2 regular plugs. We had one drop cord on a day/night timer for the xmas lights on the screen house, one drop cord for the mini fridge, and then one drop cord going to the tent.

Have fun camping, we loved the Fort so much that we are looking at campers now I think the fort may be our new favorite place to stay.

I found 2 really large bath type rugs, that should work great in front of mine and hubby's cots. We have a 16x10 lodge type tent, we use one end as the living room and the other as the bedroom, so the rugs will help keep the sand at bay in one end at least.
I will grab another extension cord, usually I just use one, but hubby will want the fan on him all the time, even when I need coffee So I will need a dedicated tent cord for sure.
I did stick the timer in my camping box Saturday for the screen room lights.

I do have another question??????
I bought the yellow tent pegs, will they be okay for the sand/shell tent pad? I looked through the pictures on the " Show us your tent site" thread and couldn't really get a great look at the pegs. Some did look like the yellow tent pegs I have, but I really couldn't tell.
Thank you and everyone else for the help so far.

 

[AuntBJ]

Sally, we will be there at the same time in the motorhome so if you find you have forgotten something, we may have it.

If you are driving and have room, you can throw in some Halloween decorations.

 

[Sally]

Sally, we will be there at the same time in the motorhome so if you find you have forgotten something, we may have it.

If you are driving and have room, you can throw in some Halloween decorations.

I did not think about halloween decorations. We arrive on my birthday, so I was for sure going to decorate for that, but forgot about halloween too.
Thank you so much for the offer, AuntBJ, I am hoping to just stop by to say Hi! and not to borrow

 

[AuntBJ]

Have you been for Halloween before? It is great! We will be handing out candy at our site.

I try to carry everything I might need but somehow managed to end up without a screwdriver one trip. Thankfully our next door neighbor had one to loan.

You mentioned on the other thread, your husband wanting a/c in the tent. Do you mean portable or window unit? I just loaned a small window unit to a friend to cool her daughter's tent last weekend and she said it really helped them sleep better. I want to try tent camping at the Fort one time & I will definitely need to cool the tent even if it is winter.

 

[Sally]

Have you been for Halloween before? It is great! We will be handing out candy at our site.

I try to carry everything I might need but somehow managed to end up without a screwdriver one trip. Thankfully our next door neighbor had one to loan.

You mentioned on the other thread, your husband wanting a/c in the tent. Do you mean portable or window unit? I just loaned a small window unit to a friend to cool her daughter's tent last weekend and she said it really helped them sleep better. I want to try tent camping at the Fort one time & I will definitely need to cool the tent even if it is winter.

That sounds like fun, giving out candy to the trick or treaters!
Our tent has been to State Parks and KOAs in VA, this is its first trip out of state. The last few times at the KOA we like, the only tent sites available were ones with electric and hubby got hooked on having the fan on him all night. I have been adapting with him and take my toaster oven and a few strings of lights. I figure if its there I will use it and enjoy having more of the comforts of home.
When we talked about camping at the Fort all he could worry about was the heat. He looked through the tent thread and saw an ac setup So he is determined to take an ac with us now. I need to set the tent up this weekend and really look how the ac unit is going work inside the tent. I am so not ready to cut a hole in my tent, for him to have ac.
I am quite happy with taking limited things with us, but this is going to be a week in another state and I have been determined to not forget things.. even though I am sure I will overpack or forget essentials.