I can't wait! Tomorrow starts our longest camping trip since I was probably 14 or 15 (back when Pluto was a planet). We have food, of course, and lots of extra blankets as it's a wee chilly right now. Possibly there will be 50 degree weather which, in an all alumnium Covered Wagon, feels like 48! (gasp) ;)
We leave on Wednesday in the morning and return Sunday afternoon. One can only imagine the stress poor Mama has been through prepping for this. Of course, it's the end of the month so I've been putting in hours at work to hit my numbers. That means that other than setting the menu I've done diddly squat. My sister organized the gear in her one car garage which has enough camping stuff to outshine a small outpost. Mama's been getting herself, the dog and the food ready- and she thought retirement was going to be easy!!
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
the throne room
This is the two room throne room. The first section is a changing room and a divider drops between it and the shower section where the potty currently sits. It has venting in the bottom for water to drain out if using it as a shower (it's original intent). After just one trip with it I've decided I won't go camping without it!!
Part of the reason is the space- we can actually change in there instead of the Covered Wagon so the windows don't have to be temporarily zipped up for privacy. The one drawback- if you turn on a flashlight while in either of the two rooms you're basically a peep show in silhouette!
Sunday, November 9, 2008
big plans for this month
Mama and my sister spent today organizing our kitchen bins for Thanksgiving week. We'll be spending five days and four nights about 2 1/2 hours from home in a park we like. It's the longest I'll have been camping at one stretch since the early 1980's! I can only imagine the dog will be bored beyond tears as he hates being tied to a tree all day. He'll have to take some naps to fill time.
We're not giving up our Thanksgiving dinner, either. Mama was an expert at cooking entire Thanksgiving meals (including turkeys) and taking them camping when we were kids. We're skipping the turkey (my sister's vegetarian, anyway) and Mama and I will bring along some sliced turkey from our favorite barbeque joint! We did that one year when we rented a beach house for Thanksgiving a few years back- took the whole meal and turkey from Bubbalou's (yes, that's the name: Bubbalou's Bodacious Barbeque!).
Of course, the menu planning gets taken very seriously with us. If you've read anything else in this blog you know it's really about the food and the naps with us. The Covered Wagon excels at nap time. The windows unzip from the top so you can get fresh air with limited light, if needed. My bunk always faces the road so we don't open the end window all the way. My sister's bunk always faces the back end of the site so she can open it all the way. When every available window is open (including the one in the door) there's only about a 6 ft stretch which is a picture window but not screened. Otherwise- the whole thing opens up like a giant screen room. It's the best for snoozes! Even the dog sleeps well in there.
So, countdown to Thanksgiving has begun! (I'm so excited!!) !!!!!!!
We're not giving up our Thanksgiving dinner, either. Mama was an expert at cooking entire Thanksgiving meals (including turkeys) and taking them camping when we were kids. We're skipping the turkey (my sister's vegetarian, anyway) and Mama and I will bring along some sliced turkey from our favorite barbeque joint! We did that one year when we rented a beach house for Thanksgiving a few years back- took the whole meal and turkey from Bubbalou's (yes, that's the name: Bubbalou's Bodacious Barbeque!).
Of course, the menu planning gets taken very seriously with us. If you've read anything else in this blog you know it's really about the food and the naps with us. The Covered Wagon excels at nap time. The windows unzip from the top so you can get fresh air with limited light, if needed. My bunk always faces the road so we don't open the end window all the way. My sister's bunk always faces the back end of the site so she can open it all the way. When every available window is open (including the one in the door) there's only about a 6 ft stretch which is a picture window but not screened. Otherwise- the whole thing opens up like a giant screen room. It's the best for snoozes! Even the dog sleeps well in there.
So, countdown to Thanksgiving has begun! (I'm so excited!!) !!!!!!!
Sunday, November 2, 2008
We're Baaaack!
End of trip one- season two.
I'd refused to sleep out on Friday, Halloween, since last spring. As it came closer to time I was reconsidering but I had a few very rough weeks at work and home so I decided one extra night of sleep in my bed was called for instead. I towed the Covered Wagon out to the campground by my sister's house on Friday evening, we ate the dinner Mama had prepared at home and brought along and then Tug and I went home. Mama and my sister got to sleep all by themselves and had a peaceful evening...what that says about Tug and me isn't something I want to delve into too deeply...
Saturday morning, those two did a lot of "editing" in the camper (aka clutter removal). Anything we hadn't used last year was schlepped back to my sister's house late in the morning (it's maybe 5 miles). They kept emergency supplies, of course, but it opened up some good room for storage in the C.W. They showered and brought their lunch back to the campsite. Meanwhile, Tug and I got up early, baked muffins and made dinner. Then we arrived out at the campsite around 1pm. Mama and my sister arrived back shortly after that and ate their lunch. Then I took a nap- I'm happiest taking naps. My aunt stopped by to visit and I slept throughout the first part of it! When I came out to join the conversation my sister finally couldn't fight sleep and went in to nap. Tug remained in the screen room with me, Mama and my aunt. He adores her so this was a win-win day for him: outdoor smells, dirt to root in and good company.
We put up our new "throne room" after my aunt left. It's a two room shower tent, actually, and I'd gotten a portable commode online which is used for people who are mostly bedridden. It's got a "pot to pee in" and arms to hold onto when you get up. I have bad knee arthritis and cannot hover over a bucket anymore much less squat behind a tree. It makes nighttime potty runs much less stressful. My sister used to go behind a tree out back of our site but Mama and I would hoof it to the bath house. Like most experienced with campgrounds we never reserve a site near the bath house as those are full of families with children. Now, we just all parade out to the formerly named "poo pavilion" in an orderly fashion. My sister goes first and while Mama goes my sister takes Tug out, if needed. He can last overnight at home but somehow on camping trips he doesn't like to be left out of the hullabaloo. Then I go and get to police the potty. (Fair's fair- we have to have it for me, after all.) Last season we'd had a small one room poo pavilion with a small portable potty which was way too low for me. We put it on bed risers and I still had trouble with it! (sad, I know)
Saturday night Mama finished fixing the dinner I'd started at home and then we ate the muffins. We were all tired enough to go to bed early. We had a parade or two to the throne room in the night and one really early in the morning- the birds weren't even up. Then, Mama made breakfast. Thank goodness for the time change and our getting to set the clocks back one hour. Check out time was 1pm and we left at 12pm- or, really, 1pm without the change. So we were right on schedule with eating and packing up. We went back to my sister's house to unload (her garage looks like a camping store) and Mama, Tug and I headed home towing the C.W. It rained cats & dogs on the ride home (about 8 miles). Mama braved the heavy drizzle it became by the time we got home and guided me into backing the Covered Wagon into it's spot (between a bike rack and a boat normally but another trailer was in the boat's spot). I'm getting better. It takes about 10 minutes for me either at the campsite or at home and I'm good with that- I'll get better during the season, I'm sure.
It's a relief to have the first trip over- we always call it our "shakedown cruise" and we've made some plans for our next big one: 4 nights & 5 days over Thanksgiving! (Not all the plans were about food, either!)
The menu this trip:
Friday night (Mama's dinner)- onion and cheese casserole (OOOHHH YUM), coleslaw and twice baked potatoes. All home made, of course, as Mama's no slouch!
Saturday breakfast for Mama and my sister was little crunchy toast things and cream cheese. Lunch was on our own. Saturday dinner (started by me at home and finished by Mama at camp)- yellow rice with soy sausages, green peas, fresh carrots/onions/red pepper and dessert was pumpkin spice muffins.
Sunday breakfast- croissants, butter and cheese plus Mama made cinnamon apples in a cast iron skillet on a propane burner.
It wasn't ALL about the food this trip and we did limited cooking but it was restful and left us eager for Thanksgiving. Mama will be making a full dinner (minus turkey) and we'll transport it there and eat off it for two days. Then, there'll be other meals to enjoy!
Note: my sister's pronouncement this trip was that we've almost got being rednecks "down." We have my pick'em up truck, a tent trailer, a screen room with camp chairs and now a "throne room" with a bona fide potty in it. We even have a dog tied to the picnic table! (He was put into the bed of the pickup truck as we packed so he couldn't get in the way- talk about bored!)
I'd refused to sleep out on Friday, Halloween, since last spring. As it came closer to time I was reconsidering but I had a few very rough weeks at work and home so I decided one extra night of sleep in my bed was called for instead. I towed the Covered Wagon out to the campground by my sister's house on Friday evening, we ate the dinner Mama had prepared at home and brought along and then Tug and I went home. Mama and my sister got to sleep all by themselves and had a peaceful evening...what that says about Tug and me isn't something I want to delve into too deeply...
Saturday morning, those two did a lot of "editing" in the camper (aka clutter removal). Anything we hadn't used last year was schlepped back to my sister's house late in the morning (it's maybe 5 miles). They kept emergency supplies, of course, but it opened up some good room for storage in the C.W. They showered and brought their lunch back to the campsite. Meanwhile, Tug and I got up early, baked muffins and made dinner. Then we arrived out at the campsite around 1pm. Mama and my sister arrived back shortly after that and ate their lunch. Then I took a nap- I'm happiest taking naps. My aunt stopped by to visit and I slept throughout the first part of it! When I came out to join the conversation my sister finally couldn't fight sleep and went in to nap. Tug remained in the screen room with me, Mama and my aunt. He adores her so this was a win-win day for him: outdoor smells, dirt to root in and good company.
We put up our new "throne room" after my aunt left. It's a two room shower tent, actually, and I'd gotten a portable commode online which is used for people who are mostly bedridden. It's got a "pot to pee in" and arms to hold onto when you get up. I have bad knee arthritis and cannot hover over a bucket anymore much less squat behind a tree. It makes nighttime potty runs much less stressful. My sister used to go behind a tree out back of our site but Mama and I would hoof it to the bath house. Like most experienced with campgrounds we never reserve a site near the bath house as those are full of families with children. Now, we just all parade out to the formerly named "poo pavilion" in an orderly fashion. My sister goes first and while Mama goes my sister takes Tug out, if needed. He can last overnight at home but somehow on camping trips he doesn't like to be left out of the hullabaloo. Then I go and get to police the potty. (Fair's fair- we have to have it for me, after all.) Last season we'd had a small one room poo pavilion with a small portable potty which was way too low for me. We put it on bed risers and I still had trouble with it! (sad, I know)
Saturday night Mama finished fixing the dinner I'd started at home and then we ate the muffins. We were all tired enough to go to bed early. We had a parade or two to the throne room in the night and one really early in the morning- the birds weren't even up. Then, Mama made breakfast. Thank goodness for the time change and our getting to set the clocks back one hour. Check out time was 1pm and we left at 12pm- or, really, 1pm without the change. So we were right on schedule with eating and packing up. We went back to my sister's house to unload (her garage looks like a camping store) and Mama, Tug and I headed home towing the C.W. It rained cats & dogs on the ride home (about 8 miles). Mama braved the heavy drizzle it became by the time we got home and guided me into backing the Covered Wagon into it's spot (between a bike rack and a boat normally but another trailer was in the boat's spot). I'm getting better. It takes about 10 minutes for me either at the campsite or at home and I'm good with that- I'll get better during the season, I'm sure.
It's a relief to have the first trip over- we always call it our "shakedown cruise" and we've made some plans for our next big one: 4 nights & 5 days over Thanksgiving! (Not all the plans were about food, either!)
The menu this trip:
Friday night (Mama's dinner)- onion and cheese casserole (OOOHHH YUM), coleslaw and twice baked potatoes. All home made, of course, as Mama's no slouch!
Saturday breakfast for Mama and my sister was little crunchy toast things and cream cheese. Lunch was on our own. Saturday dinner (started by me at home and finished by Mama at camp)- yellow rice with soy sausages, green peas, fresh carrots/onions/red pepper and dessert was pumpkin spice muffins.
Sunday breakfast- croissants, butter and cheese plus Mama made cinnamon apples in a cast iron skillet on a propane burner.
It wasn't ALL about the food this trip and we did limited cooking but it was restful and left us eager for Thanksgiving. Mama will be making a full dinner (minus turkey) and we'll transport it there and eat off it for two days. Then, there'll be other meals to enjoy!
Note: my sister's pronouncement this trip was that we've almost got being rednecks "down." We have my pick'em up truck, a tent trailer, a screen room with camp chairs and now a "throne room" with a bona fide potty in it. We even have a dog tied to the picnic table! (He was put into the bed of the pickup truck as we packed so he couldn't get in the way- talk about bored!)
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