2/28/21
We are going to begin a makeover in the bath house soon! We will be painting the ceiling, walls, toilet stalls and putting tile on the floor. It will be a great addition and improvement for our campers to enjoy.
2/8/21
We have a birdhouse behind our house that I can see when I sit on our back porch. Every day, I am thrilled with the sights and sounds of the birds that visit….cardinals, blue jays, woodpeckers, and tiny warblers, and even tinier hummingbirds. We even have doves sending out their coo for all to hear and the joy it gives me each morning starts my day off on a peaceful note. With February here upon us and seeing many of the birds together with their mates makes me think of all the couples who will be romancing this Valentine’s Day, so I thought I would write a little about Nick and I, and how we met and how we arrived here as husband/wife owners of the Dan River Campground.
Before becoming co-owner of the Dan River Campground, Nick spent 34 years in mobile electronics; 14 years designing / installing car audio systems and 20 years in product development / project management for a global consumer electronics corporation. Nick grew up in northern Florida (Jacksonville) and then moved to central Florida (Orlando) in 1993. While growing up, Nick enjoyed camping trips at the lake with his friends. He loves being outdoors, running, hiking, biking and fixing things! When Nick has some free-time, he likes to design and build vacuum tube & solid state amplifiers, home loudspeakers, etc. Nick was also enlisted in the Army Reserve for 10 years.
I grew up camping with my family in an Airstream trailer. It was a big part of my life because my father believed that seeing the U.S. By traveling around the States was an education in itself. After marrying and having two boys, I continued the tradition by tent camping with my husband and family, as well as being involved in the Scouts and hosting camp-outs with the troop. Before I married, I had worked to get my pilot’s license and had various small jobs flying, so after a divorce, and my kids graduating high school, I went back to flying commercially, which took me to all parts of the world.
While living in Hong Kong in 2013, I met Nick at a lunch with friends, while Nick was in Hong Kong for product development business. We became close through Skype calls, and would see each other whenever I was in the U.S. or Nick was in Hong Kong. I finally decided to go home to the U.S. in 2017 when Nick proposed. We got married and I got a new job flying back in the U.S.
While on vacation in 2018, we rented a Class C camper and traveled around the West with Nick’s father and his dog, Nina. While in Wyoming, we met a couple who had given up their corporate jobs and bought the campground where we were staying. After having a lovely evening talking with them over a campfire, it sparked a fire in us. Nick’s company had licensed the brand name he was developing to an Asian company and he was prematurely retired. It was the perfect opportunity! We started looking for a campground to buy and found the Dan River Campground. We instantly fell in love with western/central North Carolina and now are the proud owners of the campground.
Our biggest love of being here is our campers. We have made some wonderful friendships in the short time we have been here, and hope to continue to do so. We also love the peace and serenity of our campground and try to keep it as beautiful as we can so our campers can enjoy being here with us.
We try to look at the campground through our campers’ eyes and plan to continue to add improvements to make camping here with us a truly enjoyable time. Check back next month to read about what we are working on for this season!
It’s been a long winter and we are looking forward to spring, but while we still have full days ahead, and Valentine’s Day approaching, I found a great recipe to make for your significant other and warm things up – Marry Me Chicken. I tried it and not only was it easy to make, but it was delicious.
Valentine’s Day wouldn’t be the same without a Marry Me dessert – I Want To Marry You Cookies. (These recipes and their related links are courtesy of Melissa Stadler, Modern Honey)
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Anne and Nick – Dan River Campground and River Adventures