Coach-Net Camping | The Gregory Family

07 Wednesday Sep 2022

Posted by Coach-Net in We Love It. We Live It.

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Coach Net RV, Coach-Net Camping, RV Camping, RV Life, RV travel, We Love It

Kim Gregory, our VP of Sales, has been a faithful member of the Coach-Net family for over 14 years. She, her husband, Jake, and their 5 children love to go RVing! They recently took an RV out west to see some family in California and had a blast along the way. The following blog is written by Jake Gregory, Kim’s Husband.

Living in Texas we don’t get to see family very often…usually once a year. At the beginning of July, we were on the road for two weeks, had 6 stops, and spent 4 of those stops with the people we love. Our kids were able to see their cousins from both sides of the family and even spent time with cousins they had never seen. Over 14 days we traveled about 3,500 miles and spent 6 total days driving across the country.

Day 1-2

We left Argyle at about 7:00 am and traveled through the Texas Panhandle to Angel Fire, NM. Stayed the night at a great RV Resort, got up early, and went through Taos, Farmington, Shiprock, Red Mesa, Kayenta, Page, Kanab, and Hurricane to get to St. George, UT.

Day 3-4

We spent a couple nights, which included the 4th of July with Carl and Lacy Newby Franke. The kids had a blast spending time getting spoiled with toys, treats, their backyard resort, some amazing Franke BBQ, and some great neighborhood fireworks. We love the time we get to spend with this family! We got up the morning of 7/5 and made our way down I-15 through Vegas, beautiful Barstow, Tehachapi, Bakersfield, Paso Robles, Cayucos, Morro Bay, and into the Valley of the Bear Los Osos, CA.

Day 5-7

We were able to spend some time at Grandma and Papa Gregory’s house in Los Osos. They are in a great location at the back of the bay and right next to Sea Pines Resort which has a 9-hole golf course. We were able to spend time at the beach in Cayucos, wine tasting at Baileyana, shopping in SLO, pottery class with grandma, and walking the Embarcadero in Morro Bay. The temp ranged between 50°-70° There was lots of fog and just enough sunshine! It had been 5 years since these cousins had all been in the same place together, and we recreated a picture taken in front of the beach house.

Day 8-9

One of the main reasons for this trip was to make sure to be there for the celebration of life for John and Diane. Growing up a Gregory meant you were going to be with your extended family multiple times a year. We all lived within 30 minutes of each other, so everyone was always there, you knew you were loved, and it was always a good time. It’s something I feel like my kids miss out on since we live so far away from any of our family. This was the first time all of our kids were able to spend some time with their second cousins. It was very bittersweet because of the reason everyone was together, but we were glad so many could be there. Lots of love to all of my cousins for all the tough times they’ve gone through with the loss of Uncle Bob, Uncle Verdo, Uncle John, and Aunt Diane. Thank you to my parents for opening their home to everyone.

Day 10-13

Havasu here we come. On our way, we stopped in Bakersfield for food and ended up going right past BHS, which is where I coached my first HS Football game. We rolled into Havasu around 11:00 pm and it was still 100°. The kids spent most of the week in the pool with Grandma, Makenna was at a volleyball camp at LHHS from 8-5 each day, and Logan hung out with Tyler and Trevor at the baseball field, HS weight room, and at the Thompson’s playing video games. We saw some beautiful sunsets and an unbelievably bright full moon over the desert! Big Mike was nice enough to not mess with the thermostat too much and didn’t set it to 82° while there. Joanne treated us like royalty, making everyone their favorite meals, and constantly checked the thermostat to make sure Mike hadn’t turned it up! Most importantly the kids got to spend some quality time with the Kupfer/Thompson side of the family!

Day 14-15

We left Havasu without Makenna (she was going to Vegas with her best friend’s family) and we headed to Phoenix to stay the night at The Foss Inn (Jake and Robin Fossen). After a quick stay with our amazing friends, we dropped Logan off at Sky Harbor (don’t ask) and the 5 of us +Willie started our way back home! We drove across the beautiful Mogollon Rim through Payson, Show Low, and Springerville in Northern AZ, into New Mexico, and stayed the last night of the trip in Ruidoso. The last day was a drive down into Texas and straight across the state all on Hwy 380…about the only thing that threw us off course was a large West Texas dirt devil that about knocked us off the road… (Kim still has the bruises to prove it). We returned home on Saturday and I think we are still trying to recover from the trip.

Adam H. ~“We had a tire blowout. I want to thank the staff at Coach-Net for their quick response in finding an excellent tire shop with the correct size and brand very quickly. Communication with Coach-Net, the tire shop, and us was excellent. A bad day turned out pretty well as we were back on the road very quickly thanks to your help!”

Coach-Net Camping: Christmas At Lake Murray

02 Wednesday Feb 2022

Posted by Coach-Net in We Love It. We Live It.

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Coach-Net Camping, RV Camping, RV Camping Blog, RV Stories, RV Tips

Melissa has been a part of our Coach-Net family for over 8 years. She started with us as a Dispatch Agent, was promoted to an Agent Manager, and now works with our Vendor department as a Vendor Network Specialist! Melissa and her family go camping several times a year. She’s down-to-earth and kind. She’s a “what you see is what you get” type of person and around here she’s known as “Momma Mel”.

We had the opportunity to take Rosie (the company Airstream) out over Christmas, so we packed up and took the whole family out to Lake Murray State Park in Oklahoma. We searched for a place that we could take our dirt bikes to ride, and out of everywhere we looked these trails looked the best. It was not a long drive, only 1hr 12mins from where we live in Krum, TX. The drive itself was a little boring – rather flat & it was winter time so the color theme was drab. Once we arrived at the park there were evergreens in abundance! It was beautiful! The campground attendants were very nice & the facilities were extremely clean.

Our trip began on Christmas Day and we stayed for two nights & three days! We had so much fun that our youngest daughter said we should go camping every year for Christmas! Perhaps we’ve started a new Christmas family tradition!

Although it was not our first RV experience, it was the first time we had camped in Rosie and the first time we’d been camping over Christmas. We had quite a large group come with us! It was my husband, myself, six of our 7 kids with their significant others, one grandbaby, future granddaughter (my oldest is 7 months pregnant), and several more! We also brought our “fur babies”: Bongo, Autumn, and Monster. No, we could not all fit in the Airstream Flying Cloud, so we brought several tents and used some of the primitive campsites.

My favorite memory was being able to spend Christmas with my family. Due to work schedules and extenuating family circumstances out of state this year I have not been able to personally attend any of the family camping trips in 2021. So, this was the perfect ending to a tough year!

The only challenge on the trip was that the campsite was under a burn ban so we couldn’t make use of the fire pits and could only use the smaller grills provided at each campsite. With the size of our group and the quantity of food that had to be prepared, I was super happy to have had the Airstream at my disposal. Lucky for us we could not have asked for better weather! It was a perfect low of 48 and high of 75 for the day! Ideal for camping.

One of these days we’d like to go again! I would really love to explore more of what Lake Murray has to offer…or maybe we’ll go further north. I hear the Arbuckle Mountains are beautiful. I’m originally from South Carolina and have not explored much outside of Texas.

My family and I love RVing and camping. It allows an open space where you can just turn off the electronics and just BE with each other enjoying the fresh air. 😇 The children worked on art and crafts. The older kids worked with spirit animal and ancestor oracle cards. Of course, they all tore up the many trails in their dirt bikes. I’m thinking that the next ATV toys we purchase will be dune buggies so the older folks can romp through the woods as well.

CAN’T WAIT UNTIL NEXT TIME 😍

R.B. ~ “I could not have asked for better service from Coach-Net and the tow driver. Very helpful, responsive and professional. Both helped take a lot of the trauma out of a tow.”

Coach-Net Camping: Halloween At Ray Roberts Lake State Park

01 Wednesday Dec 2021

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Camping In Texas, Coach-Net Camping, Coach-Net RVing, First Time Campers, Ray Roberts Lake State Park, Texas Camping, Texas State Park, Texas State Park Camping

Ever since Coach-Net purchased an RV for it’s employees to use, my parents have been asking me to take them on a camping trip. Both sets of my grandparents had RV’s at one point or another, so needless to say, they were excited when I let them know I’d take them out on the company Airstream over Halloween weekend!

However, they’re not too adventurous, so we stayed relatively close and booked a 2-night stay at Ray Roberts Lake State Park, which is only about a 45 min drive from us.

The drive wasn’t too bad. It’s not exactly scenic, but once we got off the highway, it was nice to drive through some of the winding roads surrounded by large ranches. It’s always great to get out of the city and into the country a bit. We did have some high winds and I could feel its effect on towing the trailer. This wasn’t too much of an issue, especially with the sway bars we had connected to the trailer, however, it did still make me a little nervous given that it was my 2nd time taking it out.

Once we arrived at camp, we got the Airstream backed onto the pad, leveled it out, and chocked up the wheels. As I went to hook up the water and electrical, I had a difficult time finding the 30 amp power chord. So, I called my friend and Coach-Net’s Learning Program Manager, Joseph Kaminski to see if he could help me locate the chord over the phone. Well, it turns out that as I was getting ready to leave, I unplugged the power chord and left it at the office assuming there was a second one in the back on the Airstream. What a bone-headed move. Thankfully, Joseph offered to bring it to me! This meant he drove all the way back to the office, picked up the chord, and drove through traffic to drop it off at my campsite. (Well over an hour and a half drive time) He’s the real MVP of our trip! Now that the biggest hiccup was over, we continued to enjoy our weekend! We spent the evening around the campfire, cooking hot dogs and burgers and listening to classic rock jams it was time to hit the hay.

The next day we spent an hour or so in the morning fishing. I didn’t have much luck that day but I did get 1 pretty aggressive bite, I just missed it. (Texas fishing for ya) After breakfast, we went on a hike/walk through some of the designated trails. My dad wasn’t a huge fan of the “taking a hike” idea but he pushed through like a champ after my mom nudged him a few times.

We spent most of the afternoon hanging outside of the Airstream watching college football on a TV we hooked up to the RV. This was accompanied by some brats my dad proudly cooked over the fire he paired with some kind of mustard dip concoction he came up with. Soon after the brats, when Texas Tech was losing to OU by 21, one of us took a big nap to rest up before dinner.

We spent the rest of the afternoon/evening around the campfire, cooking dinner in the Airstream, eventually roasting up some s’mores (which the wife was happy about) and busting out a bottle of the good stuff. A perfect way to end the night.

Sunday morning, we packed up our gear, cleaned up the campsite, and rolled out! To top a great weekend off, we stopped for lunch at a Babes Chicken Dinner House right down the street. We’ve done this several times after camping, at this point it’s becoming a tradition and I’m okay with that.

My parents are already thinking about renting an RV for their next adventure and heading to the same spot! Dad keeps telling mom that’s how they’re going to retire but she’s not having any of that. We’ll definitely be booking another RV trip with them (hopefully this time in separate RVs)! It was great to get away, spend time with family, and have nothing on the to-do list for the weekend. It very may well be the best way to vacation.

Lance C. ~ “My first experience with Coach-Net service, and wow was I ever pleased!”

Coach-Net Camping: Jake Fossen

03 Wednesday Nov 2021

Posted by Coach-Net in We Love It. We Live It.

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Coach-Net Camping, Coach-Net RVing, RV Stories, RV travel

Jake Fossen is our Regional Account Executive in the Coach-Net family. Recently, during the sales team’s yearly meeting where they discuss plans and goals for the year to come, Jake came down from Lake Havasu City, Arizona, and spent his evenings in Coach-Net’s Entegra RV at Lake Grapevine.

I just completed my first RV trip ever!! I was lucky enough to be able to stay in Coach-Net’s Entegra, while in town for meetings on 10/4 thru 10/6. I decided to come out early on the weekend and enjoy the RV lifestyle at The Vineyards Campground at Grapevine Lake.

The campground was beautiful, and although it was only 15 minutes from Downtown Dallas and Arlington, I had a waterfront spot that was surrounded by trees and felt completely “away from it all”.

It was my first time ever RVing, so I was unsure what to expect, but I was able to learn how to set up the RV, and break it down. I was even able to drive the RV back to its storage location, and felt like I got the full experience.

I loved my time in the RV. It was so much better than being in a hotel. My favorite part was sitting outside, and watching Monday Night Football on the outside television while enjoying a few beverages. The weather at night was perfect, and it was great to be outside.

Next time I go, I would love to have my family with me, and go somewhere like Lake Grapevine, where we can pull out boat up right next to camp, wake up early, and get the early morning butter for wakeboarding!! If we can’t work that out, anywhere with a campfire and a bottle of Pinot Noir will do the trick!

I’m so grateful to work in an industry where we sell memories, quality time with friends and family, and fun!

Dickie N. ~ “One phone call to Coach-Net and they took over to remedy the RV problem. Very impressive service!”

Coach-Net Camping: The Gregory’s Head To Disney

09 Thursday Sep 2021

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Coach-Net Camping, Disney Work RV Camping, Disney World, Florida Camping, RV Camping, RV Florida, RV Life, RV travel

Where’s the best place to celebrate the 4^th of July? According to our Vice President of Sales, Kim Gregory, it’s in your RV camping at The Most Magical Place on Earth. This summer Kim and her husband Jake loaded up their 5 kids, along with the family dog Willie, and hit the road for a 9 day road trip from Dallas to Orlando.

The Campsites at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort was home for Kim’s family for 5 incredible nights and they loved every second of it. The triplets especially enjoyed riding around in the golf-cart catching a cool breeze as they toured around the resort. Kim and her family spent their first day setting up their temporary home, enjoying the amazing amenities at Fort Wilderness Resort, playing corn-hole, and of course grilling some amazing food. The next day they began their assault on the parks beginning with Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Everyone had a great time seeing all the wild animals on Disney’s Kilimanjaro Safaris. I think the only thing the kids enjoyed more that day were the snacks. But who can blame them? Snacks are life.

The second day The Gregory Crew traveled the world at Epcot followed by a wild and wet third day at Blizzard Beach. Disney World is a truly magical place, but Florida was scorching hot so they were all relieved to spend an entire day cooling down at the water park. The triplets gave it 5 stars. They loved the cool water slides, the wave pool, and the yummy ice cream. Kim and her family saved the best for last by spending their final day at Disney’s Magic Kingdom. And they made sure to not miss a thing. Everyone loved the rush of Big Thunder Mountain, they were dizzy with joy spinning around in giant teacups at the Mad Tea Party, and they all squealed with delight as they plummeted down Splash Mountain.

Every day after spending all morning at the parks Kim and her family were able to spend their afternoons relaxing at the pet-friendly campsite and cooling off in the resort pool. It was the perfect way to recover from the crowds and spend quality time together. They played games, cooked dinner together, and of course chowed down on warm, gooey smores.

All 7 (plus Willie) lived in the Entegra for 9 days. They traveled through 5 states – Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. They spent 4 and ½ days driving for a total of 35 hours and over 2,500 miles. All to spend 5 nights camping at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort and 4 days at Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Epcot, and Blizzard Beach. And that all added up to countless memories that their family will cherish for years. Disney World is known as The Most Magical Place On Earth, but being able to camp in their RV definitely made it even more magical for The Gregorys.

Joshua M. ~ “Tori helped me out every step of the way. I couldn’t be more pleased. My experience was extremely professional and safe. I would highly recommend using Coach-Net!”

Coach-Net Camping: Haley In Caprock Canyon

04 Wednesday Aug 2021

Posted by Coach-Net in We Love It. We Live It.

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Caprock Canyon, Coach-Net Blog, Coach-Net Camping, RV Camping, RV travel, Texas State Parks

Haley is back at it and hitting the road again! If you’re up to date on our blogs or follow us on social, you know that Haley is our fun-loving, funny & spunky office manager here at Coach-Net who LOVES to camp. This time around she makes her way out to Caprock Canyon State Park, where she saw some big Texas sunsets and said “hello” to some Texas-sized buffalo.

My fiancé and I headed out west to Caprock Canyon State Park in Quitaque, TX. One of my closest friends was getting married in Lubbock and it’s only an hour away so we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to go camping. We’ll almost always choose camping over staying in a hotel.

We got there just when the sun was setting over the canyon. It was absolutely gorgeous! The west Texas sky is so big and there were buffalo roaming around. It was like a dream. That was just the park entrance. We found our site and set up camp. Setting up went pretty smoothly despite the plague sized grasshoppers jumping on the jacks and directly into our faces. Once we were settled, we went for a little drive. We took in the beautiful sky and stars. The town of Quitaque has just a little over 400 people so, everything was very quiet and peaceful.

The next day we woke up around 6 to see the sunrise. We made coffee and breakfast over a campfire and started our day.

We drove through the canyon and went hiking and swimming. I know I’ve mentioned this in the past but, I really love terracotta. I kept stopping on the trail to look at the dirt and rocks. It was all so beautiful. We read about how everything used to be under water. We found gypsum, terracotta, flint, obsidian, and so many seashells.

This was my first time to take the RV on a long trip. I was nervous at first but, it was actually a lot easier out west. The roads are long and there aren’t many people. Even in DFW I was pretty comfortable on the road. I’ve learned to stop worrying about taking wider turns and going a little slower than everyone else. Most people in Texas are pretty cool about trailers though. Especially when you get out of the city.

We’re already talking about going back to Caprock Canyon in October. Our next trip will be to New Orleans for OUR HONEYMOON! We can’t wait to see good live music and eat so much food! We will stop in San Antonio on the way. We aren’t taking the RV but, we will be staying in some historic homes.

Jay K. ~ “Very happy with our experience with Coach-Net and the follow up on what could have been a real nightmare 400 miles from home at the start of a 2 1/2 Week family vacation. Coach-Net’s team really made the very stressful process of an “on the road repair” seem safe, competent, and easy and saved our family vacation.”

Coach-Net Camping: Lake O.H. Ivie

07 Wednesday Jul 2021

Posted by Coach-Net in We Love It. We Live It.

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Camping Stories, Coach-Net Blog, Coach-Net Camping, Coach-Net RV, Coach-Net RVing, Texas Camping

Mark has been working as our Sr. Business Data Analyst since August 2020. While he’s relatively new to our team, he’s no noob when it comes to RVing. He and his wife spent 2019 through late 2020 traveling around the U.S. in there travel trailer. They recently took Coach-Net’s Airstream for a quick weekend trip.

Where did you go?

We went to Lake O.H. Ivie in Voss, TX for the Memorial holiday weekend. It’s about a 3 hour drive from our home in Granbury. It’s a very secluded and beautiful Texas lake where I used to go all the time as a child. It was my first time to visit the lake in over 20 years.

How long was your trip?

We only stayed in the lakeside RV park for 2 nights. We didn’t want to stay for too long as it was our 6 month old’s first time camping and we were not quite sure how it would go. As it turns out, she loved it and we could have stayed much longer.

Was this your 1st time RVing?

Actually, from 2019 through late 2020 we traveled around the U.S. and lived in an RV. We are very experienced RVers and love every minute of it.

What’s the fondest memory of your trip?

This whole trip will be special because it was our daughter’s first camping trip. She absolutely loved looking out the big windows of the Airstream!

Did you find anything challenging about your RV trip?

With the location being remote, we didn’t have any cell reception so that was challenging at times, especially when trying to meet up with family and plan things. It was also an unmarked RV spot on dirt paths with some very tight turns and close obstacles. We had to do a 180 and some fancy maneuvering but were able to get it there without a scratch or problem. These types of challenges are also a big part of the fun for me; maybe not so much for my wife.

Would you go again?

Yes, we love to get on any lake we can and Ivie is so clear and blue which is a rare find in TX. The fishing is really really good there right now and never fails (but keep that on the down-low.)

Where would you like to go next?

We would like to visit more of the great state parks in TX. In our experience state parks, all across the US, is the best RV camping experience.

Why do you love RVing?

The best thing about RVing is that you can right into the attraction or scene you are visiting. You don’t have to travel back and forth between a hotel, you have everything you need right there with you.

Thomas L. ~ “Your reps were on top of everything! They were able to get me a tow faster than I expected!”

Coach-Net Camping: An Easter Weekend Adventure

03 Thursday Jun 2021

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Coach-Net, Coach-Net Blog, Coach-Net Camping, Coach-Net RVing, RV Blog

Kristen is the Director of Accounting here at Coach-Net and has been an invaluable member of the Coach-Net family for over 20 years now! She, her husband, and her two boys go on camping trips every year, but they have now been able to take Coach-Net’s Airstream out 3 times! Most recently, they went camping over Easter Weekend in Brownwood State Park! Check out their RV experience!

Where did you go?

We traveled to Brownwood State Park for a camping trip this past April. This was a relaxing 3-hour drive out in west Texas. The state park was very nice, with some good hiking trails, biking areas, and a lake for fishing.

How long was your trip?

We camped for 3 nights over Easter weekend. This is an annual event that we enjoy with 2 other families. The kids look forward to the Easter Egg hunt Sunday morning.

Was this your 1st time RVing?

No, we have been able to go RVing about a handful of times now. We have been camping for years and have recently switched from a tent to a camper. My whole family really looks forward to each camping trip. It’s great to see my boys out exploring, throwing the football or frisbee, and playing with their friends instead of staring at their tablets.

What’s the fondest memory of your trip?

Watching all the kids go exploring. We have 5 kids in our group of 3 families. They gathered up the walkie-talkies and their backpacks for their explorations around the campground. They were having so much fun together figuring out where to go and they drew up maps of their explorations when they got back to our campsites. I love seeing all the kids disconnect from their screens and have fun outdoors. We also enjoyed a family movie night under the stars this year. We put up a movie screen and made some popcorn. It was something new and fun for everyone!

Did you find anything challenging about your RV trip?

We have gotten pretty familiar with the RV by now. We are able to get everything connected and set up pretty quickly. This trip went very smoothly and we didn’t have any issues with the camper or campsite.

Would you go again? (& Why)

Definitely we will be going camping again. We have a trip scheduled in Huntsville State Park in October.

Where would you like to go next?

We have a trip scheduled to go to Huntsville State Park. Another one possibly in Pedernales State Park in November. We go with the same group of family friends in the spring and fall every year. We have been able to camp with this same group for over 10 years. Now that a couple of us have campers, we plan to go more often than just 2 times per year.

Why do you love RVing?

RVing is such a great time. We have been camping for years and our family really enjoys the outdoors and hanging out together. Our boys (years 11 & 8) look forward to our RV trips weeks before we head out. I would say the best part of RVing/camping are these special memories we are making as a family.

James W. ~ “Kris did a GREAT JOB!!! I was happy to have a knowledgeable & professional person on the other end of the line!! She was very helpful & helped me with all of my issues! She’s a real asset to your customer service department! Thanks for all of your help!”

Coach-Net Camping: Weekend At Texas Motorplex

05 Wednesday May 2021

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Coach-Net Blog, Coach-Net Camping, RV Blog, RV Camping Blog, RV life blog, RV travel, RVing Texas

Leonard, one of our RV-certified technicians, has been with Coach-Net for over 6 years and has been RVing for over 30 years! He and his family had the opportunity to take Rosie, the Coach-Net Airstream, out to the Texas Motorplex for the weekend! They had a blast! Here’s a look into his trip!