I’m a little behind in writing, but this first part of our trip is a lot of one night setups and tear downs until we get out west, to the main attractions. And GEEZ, campground Wi-Fi is pretty darn crappy!
So we have a mystery on our hands. We picked up a strange hitchhiker, the bumper sticker kind, somewhere between Ocala, FL and Chattahoochee, FL. We didn’t even notice it until we were packing up in Chattahoochee. Is this a typical practice? We’re newbies and don’t know much of anything about the camping world rituals, but maybe we’re supposed to have a stack of funny bumper stickers handy to spread around? Not sure. Is it like the rubber duck exchange that Jeep owners do? Interesting ritual if so, but I’ll have to be on the lookout for some funny bumper stickers to keep on hand, just in case.
So, we left Chattahoochee Sunday morning and pulled into the Hattiesburg, MS KOA for the final night of the Labor Day weekend. We definitely got to experience the true party atmosphere of a campground in full holiday swing. I’ve never seen so many camping families, who actually bring ALL the comforts of home along with them. I’m starting to think these people aren’t really into camping, but just enjoy doing the same things they do at home, just with a change of scenery.
I guess Ben and I must look like ghetto campers because we lack a 70” television on the outside of our camper, an extra party tent, equipped with real living room furniture, complete with a shag area rug, an extra full-sized fridge and freezer on the outside of the camper, by a full sized bar, under a fully decorated canopy AND we don’t have 50 house plants surrounding our campground “yard.” I wish I had the time to watch these people pack up when they leave, but I’m too busy bungee strapping the coffee maker into the sink to ensure it doesn’t hit the ceiling and break. Hey, it’s important that we’re properly caffeinated at our next destination, but I suspect there’s a full sized moving truck, tucked away somewhere in a back lot, that moves all this extra stuff for them. 😳
We’re going to have to make it a habit to do a walking lap of each campground, just to keep an inventory of all the incredible crap people bring from home, when they “rough” it.
Ben and I are truly happy keeping it simple. Even without all the extra luxuries, this particular campground made us feel pretty fancy with our own “private” patio, fire pit and a flock of ducks and geese, who visited frequently. Still a little too hot and humid for the fire pit experience, but turns out geese are pretty entertaining and will eat anything. They must be related to Pepper.
I thought I was in decent shape for an old lady, but these ducks and geese hauled ass after me, when they figured out I had a trash bag and was running their potential snack to the dumpster. I made it to the dumpster and threw the trash in with seconds to spare before the fattest goose made it to my heels. Those suckers are FAST waddlers!
The cooling down of the camper fridge is still another mystery we haven’t figured out quite yet. I feel like it shouldn’t take 6 hours to get the fridge acceptably cold enough to cool a beverage but I’m sure we’re doing something really wrong. So until we watch enough YouTube videos to find the solution, we’re existing on beef jerky and string cheese out of the old-fashioned cooler, kept cold with old-fashioned ice.
We’re off next to Hot Springs Village, Arkansas where we’ll be out of camp mode for a couple of days while we stay with Ben’s parents and get organized for the push out west. Charlie and Bailey love the lake and “Noni and Pop-pop,” so we’ll be leaving two of the three fur babies with them.
Pepper gets to come along on the Wild West adventure. Not because we love her most but because she gets herself into trouble by eating things that aren’t food. That bad habit then requires $9,000 worth of surgery to get her straightened out. The second reason is actually strangely funny, but she has this weird “mommy separation” anxiety issue where her butt hair turns completely white two days after she’s away from me and then falls completely out after the fifth day. So unless we want a funny looking dog that requires another expensive surgery, she stays with me. Gotta love a quirky dog .😩
As long as we’re telling Pepper stories, I’m not sure what she got into on this trip but her poo is perfectly round balls, almost like she ate ping pong balls and are attached to each other with hair or string. I didn’t inspect too closely but took a pic in case anyone wants to report back on the situation. As you can see from the pic, Ben has expertly picked up multiple connected poop balls, which are already bagged and left the last one dangling by its hair, or string, or possibly dental floss, for everyone to inspect.
On that poopy note, I’ll sign off but not before I mention that we barely make it out of Florida and there’s already another potential hurricane steam barreling towards Florida. Hurricane Lee looks like it could be a doozy. We’ll be keeping an eye on that because who knows, the Airstream might be the only home we have left by the end of September. 🙈
We’ll hit the road again Thursday for another adventure!
TaterTotTales 