An old fashioned Fourth of July

Growing up in Erie, many Fourth of July events were cancelled due to rain....and one time, snow!
That certainly was not the case in Bellevue, Ohio, this year. The weather was perfect and the stage was set for a day filled with fun for young and old alike.

At the campground, sack races were held........... and

........the horseshoe competition drew a big crowd.

It seemed like everything was red,

white,

or blue!

Paulette and Mom dressed for the celebration.

The sunset was spectacular. It was quite a good show.

The fireworks were great (shhh. Don't tell on us) Our evening ended around the campfire, and the coolest sight floated into view.

It was a sky, or Chinese, lantern. It floated silently up, up, up, past our campers and then disappeared into the night.  I'm a bit sad to think how long it is until the next fourth of July. Maybe we should start celebrating the anniversaries of other countries, too, and thus, expand our holidays! Sweden, Canada, Serbia, Colombia,  and more!

GottaGetaway proved to be a great second home!

Finally! Time to relax a bit after several weekends of work around the house. First there was getting the attic squared away for the a/c install of our second floor.

This might seem like no big deal to a minimalist. However, to a keeper of gargantuan  proportions, it was a monumental effort, requiring 3 weekends of pitching, hauling, reorganizing, and so on. I packed, and Ron hauled big bags down to either be tossed, given to charity, or stored elsewhere.

Next on the agenda was a fall and spring cleanup of the yard. Both being non-gardeners by choice, it was a sobering effort to prune, rake, rejuvenate grass, weed and mulch garden beds, clean porches, and finally place our porch furniture, front and back!

In between these two projects, I announced my retirement plans after 37 years as director of Sandusky Library. Harder than you can possibly imagine, I decided it was time to take a big risk and let my passion go. This, is, of course, where the rv camping comes into play.

Already, in just 4 short weeks, we've observed the family maturing at the campground pond, and it reminds us that time is fleeting. Time to move on, grow, explore, and take some adventures before it's too late to do so.

This week is our 26th anniversary and my 60th birthday. We're getting ready to learn how to hit the road with a tow vehicle, getting some excellent advice from campers we met this weekend, Janet Ritchey and her husband, Dave.  Currently on their second cross country, 4 month adventure, we learned as much as we could about how to hit the road for a coast to coast trip. Jane and Dave live on the Olympia peninsula outside of Seattle. Both retired, they scaled back to a 900 sq foot abode, have a sailboat and a camper and travel in their Class C SunSeeker with their 3 lb. toy poodle, Mack.

They wisely suggested we try a few mini trips before attempting a cross country trip! We also  learned it's not all sweetness and light out there on the open road. Everything from bears to modern bandits are common encounters. gulp.  Guess we'll keep enjoying our GottaGetaway home away from home for another summer before we head for the open road.

BFF, Paulette and husband Bob are game companions in our joint adventures. With 4 poodles, a golden retriever, and a Miniature Schnauzer, we will be noticed wherever we roam!

Mending fences

It has been quite awhile between posts. I'm writing from Nina's first camp site away from home base. You could say it has taken us some time to leave the nest and Columbus might be disappointed in our lack of adventure thus far. But, finally, we've launched our ship and headed out. We're in Lisbon, Ohio this weekend, at Lock 30 Woodlands, a private campground at the southeast corner of Ohio. And, we have all three pups with us!

We left the comforts of Gotta Getaway, asking Paul to give us his cell phone in case we needed his help, as we have so many times thus far! With trepidation and some hesitant excitement, we headed east on the turnpike. Ron asked if we would soon be in Wyoming, and I replied to my beloved geographically challenged husband that we'd have to circle the world before we'd find Wyoming by heading east from Ohio!

Jack wisely helped navigate. Marilyn, ever the calmest of the pack, settled in for a 3 hour nap.

Kate slept in her cage and so all went well as we drove down  Interstate 80. We stopped for gas along the way, slipping into a space between two huge semi trucks. Then we narrowly missed being smashed by one of them as we pulled out without looking carefully as one of them moved out, gaining speed as he went forward. oops, bad big rig protocol.

We set up camp in a rain shower, then managed to make a chicken and rice dish with the dutch oven. In the morning, I used pie molds with peanut butter and jelly between bread, toasted over a fire and Ron made scrambled eggs and bacon!

Ron rolls his eyes at my camping anxiety.  I sit by the fire, and start asking if the sparks are too high and if the awning or overhang of pine trees might be in danger.  I notice a chicken wire fence along the cliff and see that there is a gap that Kate might discover....so, I bend the fence and remold it around a tree log to make it escape proof...Ron comments that I am mending fences.  We walk through the forest and I ask whether we might be walking through poison ivy. I fret about the dog's security, and, I admit, I oh so casually cast the shadow of the lantern near the chicken to be sure it was cooked enough before I had my first bite. 

 I can't help it. I even was true to my "alter my environment" mode, as Ron calls it, when we first arrived.  I noticed that our "slide" was in the way of the green electric box. So, I marched back down to the check in cabin and asked if we could relocate to the space beside us....sure, enough, we could even move over another one....so, we did. Ron just shakes his head. I noticed a movement in his neck muscles, perhaps gripping his teeth, as I make my adjustments.

 Oh, yes, camping doesn't come easy to one as careful as I.   But, I did fix the louver blind, finds a band aid, take apart the DVD player, finding two extra discs that had blocked the player from working,  located the  ideal campground after hours of google searches, bring enough blankets and towels, and carefully refrains from rolling my eyes when "we" discover that we should have brought the extra levelers.  

We are, actually, having a blast. The air is cold and clear, the silence is staggering, and Nina is a joy. 

I don't think it can change my personality, and I think that's ok.  She's not going to improve Ron's lack of direction either. We are, however, both happy learning the nuances of camping and can't wait for our next adventure.

Camping obsession

It all started with a conversation at breakfast a few weeks ago. I mentioned to Ron that I'd like to go someplace to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. We discussed Key West, our favorite vacation destination, UP of Michigan, a place we've never been before, or Seattle. Then I suggested we consider renting an RV. I'd already investigated renting a vintage camper and discovered that just doesn't happen. I can see why no one would want to share their vintage gems. I thought we could find a vintage camper rally and just chat with various owners about their tiny rigs. In any event, we googled renting an RV and discovered a rental place just 20 minutes away.

Thomas Wolfe's writing muse draws upon his life in Asheville, N.C.

 We hopped in the car and headed over to inquire about renting a for a week in June. (I learned that we were looking at Class C rv's. Their calendar was already filling up, but an early June booking was open! The 2014 campers had not yet arrived from the Forest River factory, so we had to wait a few weeks before we could see what we had rented.

I found a dealer that sells the same model and convinced Bob and Paulette to go with us to see a variety of models. The salesman was very informative and commended our choice of rental. We suggested that if all goes well,  we'd be back next spring to talk about purchasing a new one. After we arrange for a second house mortgage...these rigs are not inexpensive! You can get a 20 year loan and if it has a toilet, shower, and kitchen, it is a tax deductible purchase. Oh yeah! I was already California dreaming, and headed for the Rockies.....fiber festivals here and there, and early retirement was calling my name!

Kate wants to go with us. And most campgrounds accept petso n a leash. At this point we hadn't determine where to take our first adventure, but, we picked up some campground directories and learned about the various amenities of RV camping. 50 amp/sewer/city water hookups, camp stores, swimming pools, game rooms, golf cart rentals and so on.

Allie wants to go, too. She hasn't ventured outside since the day we brought her home, but, she looks out the windows of the house and reproachfully notices the dogs go in and out and in and out and....

 

Jack is already in the cab! and Marilyn want to be wherever I am. Always and forever.

Having NEVER driven with Ron longer than 4 hours, and that was for a 3 hour drive, I knew it would be a challenge for him to take a real road trip. In the spirit of wedded bliss, he cheerfully gave me free reign to select our location. I first considered Charlottesville, Va. where Paulie and I traveled last fall. Then I remembered some of the white knuckle winding roads through the mountains and thought that might not be such a great idea for our first ever 31 foot truck camper drive. I looked at the coast of Virginia, eager to see the wild horses of Chincoteague and decided it was too restrictive for camping with pets.

 

I researched the Smokies, the Poconos, the UP, and we poured over atlases and maps together. I eliminated most campgrounds as being too citified, which I was beginning to learn is the nature of RV "camping". Others were naturally geared to family activities, some were too close to Interstate highways, or other conveniences that I doggedly (get it) wanted to avoid on our first time out.

 

Ron's only request was to have access to a campfire for cooking (this, when we have a microwave, 3 burner stove, oven and full refrigerator/freezer on board) and at the top of my wish list was a VIEW from the campsite and enough space not to hear camping neighbors snoring, watching TV, and /or other activities. Ahem.

 

I finally found the perfect (I hope) location near Ashville, N.C. And so it begins. My obsession with camping. I started a list, read the RVer's Bible (twice), the Idiot's Guide to RV Camping, and guidebooks on North Carolina, and have begun a staging area in our dining room! Here's the plan. Pick up camper at 1:00, get a one hour instruction on......hookups, flushing, running the A/C, chemicals needed in the commode, how to back up and level a camper, use the automatic awning, slides, and generator, ....and, head back home to load 'er up, hit the road by 5, and drive at least 3 hours south (no sense in breaking our driving distance record) yet.  Stay tuned for blogs on the road, I think the campsite has free WIFI. Oh, we haven't decided yet about taking the rest of the family. I'm not sure we're ready to add that to our camping learning curve yet.