Well, it finally happened. We are no longer camping virgins!

July 29, 2017

     Our friends, Ted and Kathy, have been our friends from our early days of teaching, the mid 1970s. We value their friendship beyond belief and it is because of their camping spirit that Doug and I decided to explore the possibilities of joining them on occasion. So, with the promise of fun times, we made our first RV purchase and struck out on this adventure called camping.
     Saturday the 25th and Saturday the 26th we trudged a whole 2 miles to the Des Moines West KOA campground in Adel for our first camping experience. It only took weeks of planning, days of lugging things to the RV, hours of cooking, an hour to hook up, and checking numerous lists to get out the door but we made it to our destination. It only took us about 10 minutes to get there from our house, in fact, if the trees hadn't been in full splendor we could have seen it. Good thing because Doug had to run home to grab a few forgotten items which I still don't know how it was possible to forget anything, I had lists, I mean lots of lists!
     Tuesday started out a nice cool 80 something degrees but by the time we parked the trailer at 1:00 PM it had turned hellishly hot! Poor Doug had to do all the physical labor but with the help of Mike, a nice KOA employee, he got our water, electricity, and sewer hooked up, the RV leveled and the awning down. I put out the rug, set out the chairs and organized things that had shifted in the move, and tried to put away food from the cooler. The plan was to transfer food to the fridge once we were parked. First newcomer mistake: the fridge takes at least 24 hours to get cold and we had just hooked it up. Oh well, it wasn't too bad walking around a giant cooler in the middle of the floor and drinking hot pop. Luckily, by about 8 that evening I was able to get food into the fridge. I guess we didn't die from food poisoning so all is good. Second newcomer mistake: it takes hours for the hot water to get hot. However, it never did. So much for having the camper checked and fixed before hand, it only cost us $500+ to have it checked for nothing. I guess I should call them about that.
     I soon discovered I brought way too much food, I didn't bring enough t-towels, cups, mugs, plastic silverware or something to put dirty clothes in. I've started a giant list of things for next time and have since been to town to purchase things like a drying rack, teapot, and dog dishes. Speaking of dog, Gunar did okay for his first time as a campground dog. He has a wonderful talent of tangling up all four feet within 2 seconds of being tied up. If this camping thing is going to be "a thing we do" I am going to invest in some type of fencing for him.
     Dominic spent the first night and the first whole day with us, he was very good and enjoyed the peddle cars and sleeping in the RV. On Wednesday, two of Ted and Kathy's grandsons spent the day as well. The three boys had a wonderful time playing because the KOA has a lot of things to keep kids entertained. The pool was a big hit but they spent most of their time riding the cute peddle cars up and down the roads.
     The third day was check-out by 1:00 day. So we spent the morning visiting and sitting by the pool watching 2 kids swim and then ate lunch. There was no feeling of urgency but maybe there should have been. Third major newcomer mistake: it takes longer to tear down than you think it will. However, we made it with 5 minutes to spare, pulling out of the campground by 12:55. We were home and parked by 1:15. We spent more time dragging stuff (food, dirty clothes, etc.) to the house than it took to get home. The RV is now swept, wiped down, re-stocked with a few things from that long list. It was a fun time and I think it was worth ever drop of sweat but give me a few weeks and cooler weather before suggesting it again.
     Things I learned from camping: it is more fun when you go with other people, food tastes better eaten outside, lawn chairs are wet in the morning when left out overnight, going a few feet to take a shower really isn't that bad, it is good to get away from home and the worries that stare you in the face each day, camping is a time to reflect and remember, and it takes a few days to recover from all the fun. But like Doug said, "When was the last time you did something for the first time?" It is getting harder to come up with items for that list. Give me a few minutes and I'll let you know what our next adventure will be.