During a recent trip down the coast from Virginia Beach, VA to St. Augustine, FL most of the spots we stayed in were close to the beach and had a lot of sand that was hard to keep off our shoes and out of the van. We already owned a great 6 x 9 camping mat but we were missing something.
Our camping style takes us to numerous spots where using the larger mat is not allowed or desirable. Even in settings where using the larger mat made sense we found that it was often a real chore to put the mat away when the ground beneath it was wet. What we needed was a small mat that could be easily deployed and stored.
Upon our return I went on a mission to find a good solution to the problem. My searches found several mats, rugs and scrapers but none of them were an ideal solution. They either held water, were impermeable, had no grommets to secure them or were too bulky.
A few weeks ago I ran by Camping World to top off our propane tank and pick up a few supplies. While walking out I looked over at the bargain bin and saw the perfect solution.
The item is a 18” x 23” permeable astroturf mat with grommets that is designed to cover a retracting step. It quickly sheds water and is easy to secure with a few pegs. It does an excellent job of removing debris from our shoes and our interior is staying much cleaner. When it’s time to break camp the debris and water fall off it with a quick shake. We store the mat on the back of our kitchen pod by hanging it on a couple of 3M Command Strip hooks. If the mat is a still a little too wet or dirty when it’s time to leave we place it in a standard 8 gallon trash bag before hanging it.
Mat Stored on the Back of the Kitchen Pod.
Astroturf Surface of the Mat
Permeable Backing of the Mat
During our latest trip to visit the area around Middleburg, VA the mat was out at several Harvest Hosts and other stops along the way. It’s definitely a keeper!
https://www.campingworld.com/rv-step-mat-each-629949.html
https://smile.amazon.com/Command-Toggle-Hanging-Adhesive-Organizers/dp/B076ZTFGGC/
Here are a few images and comments from the trip. It’s a beautiful region that’s full of fun places to stay and visit.
On our first night we settled in at the local Walmart after picking up a terrific takeout dinner from It’s About Thyme in Culpepper.
The pathway to Pen Druid. Pen Druid got a recent shout out from Chef Jose Andrés so we made it a point to visit. It was worthy of his praise.
Pen Druid’s Board for the Day. We sat with two other couples who were there because of José Andrés shout out too.
We arrived at Cana Winery 15 minutes before closing to taste their Meritage that won the 2022 Virginia Governor’s Cup. It was worthy of the win and we ended up taking home two other medal winners too. Here they are in our “wine cellar”.
We spent the next night at Quattro Goombas with our Newmar neighbor. It’s a fun stop with great Sicilian pizza and good beer.
The brewery is very dog-friendly. Cappi got a lot of attention and enjoyed the stop as much as we did.
The next morning we headed over to Adroit Theory Brewery to get a good parking space for their 8th anniversary event that started at noon.
We had a fun time at the anniversary event. While there we met some folks from Alexandria, VA who invited us to join them for dinner and then overnight in their driveway. The following day we met them at the Potomac Mills Ikea for lunch and shopping before we headed home.
I forgot to take a picture while we were there but here’s the driveway!
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