Plan ahead

Saturday night was great.  Although smitten with the new Visa 19RBS, we spent time as we always do by the campfire. The first campfire of the season is special – in that sometimes we have a difficult time getting it started.  Here is my camping tip of the day: use presoaked charcoal.  Get those puppies hot and anything will burn.  Even wet firewood from the state park.  Slept like a rock that night.

Sunday was a bit of a wash out.  It rained on and off most of the day, and it was cloudy and not as warm.  We did get to test the Visa for leaks though – good news that there are none.  Although we did find that if you leave the roof vent open and move the hitch, water will flow from the roof into the bathroom. Oops.  Went shopping for a few things that we now find we need.  One was a ratcheting wrench for the weight distribution hitch.  Yeah, that makes things go a little quicker when hitching up.

Also spent some time getting stuff organized.  We’re both apparently a little OCD about everything having a place in the trailer so there’s not stuff everywhere.  And since we brought the old trailer down with us and basically swapped everything out as quickly as we could at the dealer, there was stuff all about.  We found that there is ample storage space in the new trailer, and we even have a few cabinets that are empty!  We were also able to remove a tote worth of stuff that we never use – it’s always nice to simplify where possible.

I think the worst part of the day was when we brought the camper home and tried to get it into its parking spot.  We apparently underestimated how much rain we got, and the yard was a bit like the tough mudder.  We turfed a few spots, and I think our blood pressure spiked for the day.  But all’s well – it’s in a temporary spot until we can move around in the yard again. Second tip of the day: plan ahead.

Review: Alum Creek State Park

I think this is the first time we stayed at Alum Creek State Park (in Ohio) so I thought I would just add my two cents for anyone who might be planning on visiting.

First is that it's in a great location.  It's just north of Polaris (which is a big retail area) so things you might need and stuff to do is close by.  Downtown Columbus is just a short drive down I71.  However, when you're at Alum Creek you certainly don't feel like you're in an urban area.  In fact, the park isn't really in an urban area.  It's nicely out of the way.

Keep in mind we stayed there in the very early camping season so the place was pretty quiet.  Although there was a camper nearby who seemed to think that everything said needed to be shouted, especially with their music turned up.  We seem to remember coming down here back in the tent camping days and were turned away because the park was full, so I think this one gets pretty busy during peak months. Facilities were functional and decent.  I would give them 2.5 stars out of 5 if I rated things like that.  Sites were nice sized and in the trees - didn't feel like I would be staring right at a neighbor.  It's a big campground with lots of trails right through it, and the lake is easily accessible.  Took a nice walk around one evening and watched the sun set at the lake.

Only downside I saw was when it rained and some of the campsites seemed to have some water issues.  Some were just muddy.  Others had standing water around the power post which I would find troublesome and/or shocking. Overall, I would recommend the park.  Great location, nice park and campsites.  Just be aware when it's raining to not play with electricity.

Gulf Stream Visa 19 RBS

Yesterday we started our 2013 camping season. We're excited because of course it's the first trip out, but we also picked up our new travel trailer yesterday. It's a Gulf Stream Visa 19RBS. We really liked our old TT because it was lightweight and only 14 feet long. The new one is about 800lbs heavier and 19ft long. But it also has a permanent bed and a dry bath. Goodbye shoilet... It towed great for the 12 mile drive from the dealer to Alum Creek State Park. And I slept like a rock last night even with the power going out in the campground.

We're still getting settled in so I'll post more observations later. But suffice it to say we're pretty thrilled with it. And now time has lost some hold over us. We woke up... Whenever. I haven't really paid much attention to what time it is up until this point - and that's because my iPad displays it for me and WordPress likes to post it. It's nice for life to slow down a little every so often. Next time I will bring my blood pressure monitor so I will have concrete proof of my reduced stress level. :)

Camping - the magical moment

Tomorrow starts the camping season - for me anyway.  I've been eagerly awaiting it since we starting planning the trip about 2 weeks ago.  Not venturing too far away this time - just down to Columbus for the weekend. I had to close the store tonight though so we're going Saturday and Sunday nights. Sunday night is a special day at the campground if you are staying the night.  It's the day when most folks pack up and head home from their camping weekend.  The campground empties out and is very quiet that night.  Although campgrounds generally aren't overly noisy, Sunday night is especially quiet.  It also makes it seem like you're getting an extra day off.  You watch everyone pack up knowing you have another 24 hours of serenity.

There's one moment though that I'm looking forward to.  It's the moment when you know you're there - when life slows down for awhile and you can start to catch your breath.  It's when the camper is all set up, the awning is out, and you put the camp chair under it and plop down.  There's nothing more to do, no schedule, and no demands.  I think that moment also includes a significant drop in my blood pressure.  It's one of those slightly magical moments. One should never take magical moments for granted.

Campground Review: Cedar Brook Campground

I try to review the campgrounds that we stay at for two reasons: one is so others know what to expect when they are heading to a specific campground. The other is so I remember! Most of my reviews are posted on other camping specific websites, but I thought I'd double post this one.

First of all, the campground has been very quiet. We arrived on Wednesday the 13th and have been here through the weekend. Granted the main camping season is over, but the weekend was pretty quiet. There were more campers on the other side of the park, but it was never noisy or rowdy. I've been told that the campground gets much more busy on themed weekends when there are events.

Campsites are generally level - ours slopes down a bit in the back, but is nothing the tongue jack won't fix. Sites are a decent amount of space apart. Even if I had neighbors on either side I wouldn't feel like I was up in their business. Electric, water, and sewer hookups all work well. Most sites appear to have a concrete pad which is very nice

One of the main things I noticed was that the area we are in looks like a park. Some nice mature trees and well maintained. Facilities - they work! I say this not with sarcasm, but because I've camped at so many this summer where it takes some doing to get a decent shower. Showers are normal - that is they have normal knobs that work, no push buttons, and consistent, hot water. The main shower house/restroom is fine. The one back by the maintenance barn is a bit cramped, but functional.

The staff have been very hospitable, friendly, and knowledgeable about the area. On our first night in they made some good suggestions about where to go to eat. They deliver firewood which is always nice. There's even a little concession stand such I haven't been to, but it's nice to know I won't starve if I can't light my fire. Overall, a very nice park that stands apart from others in the great location, great sites, and overall feel of the park. It feels like a campground instead of an RV park. I would definitely recommend it to others and look forward to returning.

Summer of Camping

Yet another long stretch of no posts.... It's been a busy summer, and I can't believe it's almost September already. So what have I been up to? Work mostly, but that's a boring blog post. Every other weekend we've been camping which is one of my favorite parts of summer. We've been all over the place, and I'm getting ready for next weekend that I'm off and we can get away.

We're thinking Sandusky, OH and a weekend at Cedar Point. There's a nice campground up there called Crystal Rock that we both like. We were there early in the year, and have been looking forward to going back. Last weekend was close to home at a local KOA. Nice park, but a little pricey. We tried out a new KOA in Mansfield over the extra-hot weekend from hell. I think it was 100 degrees that weekend, but we still had a good time. I don't think I've ever heard of a campground that has a wine tasting - that was pretty cool.

We also made our annual trip to Mosquito Lake State Park which is always nice. I was pretty tired that weekend, but we had a good time. I also have some vacation coming up in September that we are trying to plan a longer trip... Not sure where to go just yet. Cincinnati, Harrisburg, PA, Finger Lakes and even Columbus are all still on the list. Don't want to spend the whole trip driving, but it would be cool to do somewhere new. Any suggestions?

Cleveland RV Show 2012

On Saturday we went to the 2012 Cleveland RV show. It was fairly busy as each RV we went into already seemed to have folks hanging out inside. There were quite a few dealers, RVs, and some campgrounds there as well. A lot of it was stuff we've already seen before, but there were a few things of interest.

Something we've noticed is that once you walk into about 20 RVs they all start to look the same. A few were different. One started on the outside. I thought it looked like a shuttlecraft from Star Trek. The inside was pretty nice too - it looked modern and clean. I think that one was called an Element. We also liked the Visa by Gulf Stream. It was light weight and the layout was interesting. The bathroom was actually separated a little so that the bathtub/shower was on one side of the trailer and the toilet/sink was on the other. That might not sound like much, but in a sea of shiolets anything different is good.

The other one we liked was the V-cross Vibe. It had the shape of a horse trailer but definitely didn't look like one. It used the V shape in the front for extra space while still being more aerodynamic. Of course there were the usual gargantuan RVs - the fifth wheels and coaches that were huge. Some of them are gigantic as well as very expensive. Many of them look a lot alike. Overall we had a good time and saw a few campgrounds that we might try out next year. Of course it doesn't help with the camping bug that has struck already