Wed. 9/8/10 Blythe Island Regional Park, Bwk., GA
Packing was a beast! It took EONS longer than we’d planned. And we’d had a late gig out of town the night before, which meant we were already tired and moving slower than usual. So by the time we finished packing it was almost too late to leave. But we were determined to get the tour started, so we opted to have our first night very close to home. We arrived at the campground late, but found out that late check in was not a problem.
Our first meal on the road was leftovers, which was good because we had to eat in the dark and the leftovers required little effort. But we were all tired and hungry and happy for whatever we’d get. We’d taken a lot of food with us, for two reasons: one, we weren’t sure if we’d have the money to buy more food on the road, and two, we weren’t sure about how accessible grocery stores would be on our path. On the first point, our church’s love offering took care of us (thank God!). On the second point, welcome to the US, home of the ubiquitous Wal-Mart. We needn’t have worried; they really are everywhere (and we visited a lot of them).
That night was hot, so we ran the air conditioner, which felt like a luxury (Annie’s used to tent camping). The only down side to the A/C was that the next day, it produced tons of condensation that leaked all over the sink (and into one of our speakers. Luckily, the speaker seemed to dry with no discernable damage).
Things we learned:
- Set up and tear down your gear twice before you go! And really use it all at least once.
- Packing takes longer than you think, so start packing (at least) one day before you go
- Get a good night’s sleep the night before you leave
- Find out campground office hours and if they allow late check in
- A tablecloth is kind of a luxury, but it doesn’t take up much space so it’s a nice touch.
- Be prepared for a dripping A/C unit! Have extra towels or bowls underneath, or a tarp, even.
Thu. 9/9/10 Little Ocmulgee State Park, Helena, GA
During the night, we discovered that we didn’t set up the pop-up properly. We figured that out when we heard a huge cracking sound (never a good sound when you’re camping) come from underneath our bed. We were too tired and cranky to check it out, and since the bed didn’t fall (just leaned a little bit), we ignored it as best we could and figured we’d survey the damage in the morning.
It was a depressing way to begin our first full day on the road. Once we saw what had happened, we were afraid we’d done irreparable damage to the pop-up. And even if the damage could be repaired, we were afraid the cost of the repair would break the bank. The final straw came when we contacted the pop-up repairman, and he said he wouldn’t even be able to look at the camper until late Friday afternoon. This would delay our trip significantly. But we knew that if we didn’t have the pop-up, there was no way we could do the tour. We were despondent.
But God smiled on us (again). In a last ditch attempt, we called the RV place that’s about 2 miles from our home. They told us to bring the camper in and they’d take a look at it right then. Not only could they fix it right away, it would only cost $230! And, amazingly, in that day’s mail (which we wouldn’t have gotten if we hadn’t come home), we got a check for $198 for a returned housing deposit we’d made. It was like getting one of those “Bank error in your favor” Monopoly cards and made it seem as if we’d gotten the repair for free. We were ecstatic, and were soon on our way again.
But before we left, we did some serious repacking. We’d packed the car and the camper to the gills. We had to pack 2 sets of clothes – one for summer, one for fall (and that included fall in the north), plus sound gear, CDs (to sell), food, and books/paperwork/etc. One great result that came from us having to go back home was the chance to jettison about a third of the books/paperwork, etc. We lowered our expectations of what we would be able to read/study/listen to, and took what we considered to be a more reasonable amount (we discovered later we could have taken even less, but we did read quite a lot).
We left home about 4pm, and drove to Little Ocmulgee State Park. This lovely campground is about 2 hours from our home, but it felt like a million miles away. We made it to the camp about dusk, and had to set up in the dark again. We set up while the kids investigated the playground. Then we ate and went to bed, pooped, but excited to truly be on the road.
Things we learned:
- Take less stuff than you think you need
- Get to your campground early enough so you don’t have to set up in the dark.
- When scouting a campsite, look for one that’s level. Also, keep in mind the distance you want to travel in the night – in the dark - to the bath house!
- Backing up a trailer is a skill that requires a boatload of patience. The rule is to turn your steering wheel in the OPPOSITE direction of where you want the trailer to go, in very small increments (Annie never mastered this; Tim is the Jedi Knight of Reverse).
- If you’re directing the person who is backing up, make sure you can be seen and heard. If you’re in the dark, shining the flashlight in your face will not show the driver where your hands are pointing (but it will give you a chance to make some cool funny faces)!
