And we're off - - well almost......

This weekend Charlie and I decided to take the RV ( Bessie) out for our first overnight trip. We needed to figure out what we didn't know, so we packed up and drove the short 16 miles to Claytor Lake State Park where we found a wonderful camping site and proceeded to set up the RV.

Luckily, Bessie did not disappoint --as soon as we arrived, she decided to throw us a curve - there was no electricity in the RV. So began the Easter egg hunt to find the key to turning it back on.  Charlie did not disappoint either and before long he had figured out that the cable connections had jiggled loose on the drive out to the park, and with a flick of a wrench, he had us up and running.

Next, we learned that it is a good idea to turn the fridge on 12 or so hours in advance, but again, we were prepared, and had plenty of ice in the cooler to keep the food cold until the fridge cooled off.

That night we decided to cook steaks over
the fire pit and I got to do one of my favorite things in the world - gather kindling!  I know, but I am serious, I love finding wood to start a fire, there is something quite satisfying about it.

The next morning Charlie made a wonderful breakfast with steaming hot coffee and as I was stacking the dishes to carry them down to the bath area and wash them, Charlie casually asked why I "didn't just do the dishes in the RV?" All I could do was laugh, it had NEVER occurred to me that I could run the water in the kitchen sink - even the night before I had set the plates aside to wash with the breakfast dishes..... I guess I keep thinking we are camping, and forget that we have the luxury of running water!  Needless to say, the dishes were done in no time at all.

 Later that afternoon there were severe thunderstorms warnings all around us, and we discovered that we did not exactly know how to retract the awning, but we decided to figure it out later since the rain had begun to come down in sheets.


Soon the weather passed and Meghan and the kids were able to come out and roast hotdogs and marshmallows with us.  The boys gathered the wood for the fire, and even though the rain drove us inside on several occasions, over all Charlie and I had a blast, and I think everyone else did too.  

Before they left, Nico presented Charlie with a coffee mug, trivet and hot pad that had his original art work on it.  We plan to take them on the trip with us.  : )

All in all it was a very good weekend, even with the torrential rain Bessie kept us dry and comfy and in the end  we figured out everything we needed to. Also, once we got back to Charlie's house we were parked and unloaded in less than 30 minutes - much easier than any other camping trip I have ever been on. : )

So I declare our experiment a success and think we are ready to go a bit further than 32 miles round trip on our next outing.....
                                                             ...... so stay tuned,
                                                                              C