WINDSOR, N.C. (WNCT) – Camping on the ground is something of the past for one community. Treehouses are the new vacation spot in Bertie County.

There is a new view of the Cashie River.

Only 420 feet on a boardwalk stands between you and treehouse living. They call themselves the Treehouse Team and their motto is, “Be a kid again. Sleep in a tree.”

All it took was four years and $300,000 to make Billy Smithwick’s childhood dream come true.

“When I was a kid I always wanted a treehouse and I could never have one,” he said.

Now, he has two. They sit right on the Cashie River in Windsor help up by only the trees. The job isn’t done since Smithwick sees a bigger picture.

“We are now to where we are planning to put a village back here. We gone put two more along the river. Then a couple years later, we are going to come back and put three behind these, so we’ll end up with seven tree houses,” he added.

Jeremy Maxik, Windsor recreation director, joined in on the way to get back to nature. He used this as his intern project while at East Carolina University. He said it put him a step ahead of others.

“The other students didn’t quite have good projects they would come up with dreams that obviously weren’t going to happen. They were things that weren’t practical, but this was something that’s practical and good for the community,” Maxik said.

He expects big things to come and Smithwick is proud of his dream and the community shares that pride.

The treehouse will open for rentals later this upcoming fall. You can catch them on the DIY Network airing July 5.