Thompson/Grand River KOA

Wow! This campground was glamorous! Yes, I said campground and glamorous in the same sentence.

I even put our name on their waiting list to have a permanent camping site on their grounds… there is a 5 year waiting list!

Check out these pictures of this place!

The bathhouses, laundry facilities and the dog washing station (yes, you read that correctly) were all newly renovated and well kept. The campground was busy, friendly and clean. The location can not be beat. The surrounding area offers so much.

One of my favorite things about camping is just letting the boys be boys. Watching them from a distance, just playing, interacting, and exploring. Everyone was just playing together, no matter the age, laughing and getting along. The GaGa ball pit was a huge favorite and my boys were hooked. Brian and I even joined in on the fun.

https://www.gagaballpit.com/gaga-ball-game-rules.html

Our weather this trip out wasn’t perfect for the pool, but great for walking and exploring our surroundings.

Saturday was pretty cloudy and had scattered rain, so we decided to take an adventure. Our first stop was to The Holden Arboretum (http://www.holdenarb.org). This one was actually on my Summer Bucket List (see full list below). The grounds here were breathtaking. I honestly could of spent an entire day here exploring. We are members at Stan Hywet (https://www.stanhywet.org) and they offered reciprocity. We did spend the extra money for admission to the canopy tour and tower walk, definity worth it!

Our next stop was Debonne Winery. We had lunch, the kids played Bocci, and of course enjoy some local wine and beer.

The area where this campground is located is right outside Geneva-on-the-lake (GOTL), known in these parts as Ohio’s Wine Country. Beautiful area, with a ton of different wineries as well as a distillery, different local tours of its history, and fun adventure-like activities.

We headed back to the campgrounds to “enjoy” a dip in the pool (the weather was a little chilly for my liking to truly enjoy the pool, BUT the pool was heated, so as long as you were fully emerged in the water it was tolerable). The campgrounds were offering a concert on their grounds that evening. They had three line-ups of entertainers playing music on their outside field (Checked off another box on my Summer Bucket List). They had a beer tent and food truck set up as well.

The next morning we headed into Geneva-on-the-lake (GOTL). We stopped for breakfast at a local diner, enjoyed donuts from Madsen Donuts and looked out over Lake Erie.

The strip on GOTL is a little run down but that doesn’t stop all the tourists and visitors. It was 9 in the morning and people were walking the strip, enjoying breakfast at some of the local diners and definitely lining up to devour homemade donuts from Madsens!

Absolutely loved this campground! We are all excited to go back again.

Food this time around was AGAIN simple and quick. Breakfast Burritos are ALWAYS a success and so easy! Grilled veggies in butter, add eggs, salt, pepper, sprinkle with cheese, bacon and avocados, serve on a warmed tortilla… perfection.

PS: The absolute best part of this trip is finding out my sister was about to deliver my nephew. He arrived July 21. He is perfect!

Summer Bucket List

Squaw Rock https://clevelandmetroparks.com/parks/visit/parks/south-chagrin-reservation – Complete

Outdoor Concert – Complete 

The Holden Arboretum – Complete 

Farmers Market – Complete 

More pool days than not – Complete 

Squire’s Castle https://clevelandmetroparks.com/parks/visit/parks/north-chagrin-reservation **Still need to complete, but will soon!

This has been an amazing summer!