17 years ago I was a divorcee with two children. I met a wonderful man who was the father of one. We fell in love and got married and proceeded to have two more children together. One of our great loves (besides each other and our blended family!) was the outdoors! We have always hunted, hiked, fished, and camped. Until last year, we were die hard, hard core tent campers. And to be honest, we were tent camping snobs! We would pass RV's in the campground and say 'THAT is NOT camping! Why not just stay in a hotel?!". Yup, we were snobs!
We slept in sleeping bags on the hard ground of the tent floor, we reveled in every meal being cooked over an open flame or a coleman stove, we took pride in our 'extravagant' kitchen - we had a camp table with hooks for pots and a place for a sink - yup, we had it made! And we didn't wimp out in an RV for the love of God!
But as our family grew, so too did our pile of equipment. It became a huge job just gather up our equipment and food and pack it all into our vehicle. Going for a week long trip was a huge undertaking and a weekend trip? Just as much work for two measly days.
Then my hubby was assigned to a different command in the Navy (he is now a retired Submariner) that kept him away from home for very very very long stretches of time so camping was a no go. Then he retired from his 20 year career with and went to work for the Shipyard. Which meant that he was even busier than before and often weekend trips were all that we could take. So camping of any sort of length of time became non existent for many years and this just did not sit well with us. The solution? A very small rv. I am talking a mere 18 feet. It was 'just' enough to make us not quite THOSE kind of rv'ers.....but allowed us to go camping at a moments notice. We found we could still have campfires and make s'mores. We could still sit outside and listen to nature. Showers were in a tiny space with very limited hot water (just like campground showers!). No oven and a small cook top meant we still had meals cooked on a 'camp stove'. Our bed was the dining room table folded down at night and consisted of a very thin mattress so we still woke up with back aches. PERFECT! Camping without being THOSE people! YAY!
Then we had a three day trip with the kids and it rained the entire time. I subtlety hinted that at some point (in the far future) we may want to 'think' about a bigger rv. Now to know my husband is to know that once he gets a bee in his bonnet it is a done deal. He went to the RV sales site and picked out two rv's. He called me up at work and said to come and take a look and make the final choice.
The long and short of this whole story is we are now the proud owners of a 37 foot rv. Yup, we are now THOSE people. And guess what? We LOVE it! I keep the pantry stocked with all the basics. We have all the bedding/towels/toiletries needed. Pots and pans and cutlery. Soap, shampoo. It is all ready to go. And now, when we know we have but two days, we can CAMP! We have discovered the secret that THOSE people have known for years! You can camp in COMFORT!
SO.....I have started this blog at the behest of several friends who have read my posts on social networking sites about the trips we have taken thus far (12 camping trips in a year!!!!) and have said that I need to let the 'secret' out!
So here goes! Hang onto your seats and hats and butts! And join us as I extoll the virtues of rv life...all the tricks I have learned...all the fun we have.
I will thoroughly review each site we camp at, as well as share all my recipes - because yes, you CAN be a gourmand and still camp!
Welcome to the Elegant RV!
Fair winds,
Jaye
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