Wednesday, June 23, 2010

"Big Ol' Rolling Turd"...

Bet that title got your attention, huh? So, have you seen the movie RV? If you have seen the movie, let me just assure you that we do not have a toilet of any kind in our pop-up camper, so at least we didn't have that to deal with last weekend! Yeah, I'm talking about our camping trip.

So Friday came and due to the craziness of our week that is referred to as life, we were not packed. We did it all. Friday. Lesson learned there.

We finally hit the road around 6 pm, only to discover that our electric brake hookup (that was just installed Thursday) does not work. We call the garage from the road, but the service dept is closed. So, we figure we'll just have it checked when we get back. Pressing onward.

Previously in the week, I called to prepay the campsite so we could take advantage of express check-in and avoid having to go into the registration building, wait in line, and get instructions and paperwork. This way, we could drive right through the gate and head to our lot. (Keep in mind that I'm trying desperately to avoid setting up in the dark.) We pull in at 8:04 pm. No express check-in. Evidently, it ends at 8 pm. Okay. I put on my smile and head in to registration.

After waiting in line for our paperwork and info, we drive around the campground a few times (with a captive audience sitting around campfires everywhere we look) and finally find our lot and hubby backs in. We set up the camper, trying to act like we are completely confident in our camping know-how, still with a captive audience watching our every move.
{our pad for the weekend}

The next 15 minutes are kind of fuzzy and include the following:
~empty propane tanks
~leaking spraying water pump in the camper
~refrigerator that doesn't refrigerate
~drain line that doesn't drain
~fire that doesn't burn (for crying out loud!)

During the 90 degree weather, one of us musters up the courage to turn the AC dial...Hallelujah! The AC works. It's Heaven. We relax for a little while...
 {Okay, so the kids were ready to jump into everything, but we needed a quick recharge.}
and then we head out to the arcade, play area, gift shop, carousel, ice cream shop, and start to really enjoy our camping experience.


{my breakfast}

{trouble really does find this boy}



{this was by far her favorite thing to do!}

{Dutch even did the dishes! I love camping!}

BTW...just to keep us humble...when we were ready to leave...feeling like we conquered this camping thing...our van wouldn't start. 

Still, I'm looking forward to our next camping trip. Bring it on!

3 comments:

Marianne said...

Looks like you had a lot of fun even though you had a lot of problems. It is good that you still want to go camping again because I know it is easy to get discouraged. My parents took me camping once and that was it.
I am taking both girls with me camping for a week me my church. Tent life here we come. That will be later in July though.
Hope your shin spint is getting better. I finally got air in my stroller tires and are planning on walking a lot on Sunday.

Marie @ Chocolate-Covered Chaos said...

Marianne~ We did have fun. Some of those simple things make the strongest memories and best laughs later on:) I look forward to hearing all about your camping trip with the girls! (And I'll gladly accept any wisdom you'll offer on the subject.)
My shins feel better when I'm not working out. Yesterday, though, I tried another workout and heard and felt something pull when I jumped. I took today off. I have to figure out how to "take it easy" while still progressing. Thanks for thinking of me:)
Hey...the air in your tires was on your 10 in 10 list, right? Good job!

Heather said...

I laughed out loud when I read the title. Well played, my friend!;)

Sounds fun in that "we're parents now and this is the newly defined meaning of fun" kind of way. Great job for surviving with a smile.

Hubs has delusions that we'll camp our way across the US like his family did when he was 3 years old. There are no words.

The pictures are great!

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