First Adventure in the Camper
As I mentioned in a recent blog, my husband and I recently became the proud owners of a small pop-up camper (or a PUP as most pop-up owners call them).
Well, I was so excited to plan our first camping trip. We decided to go to Blackwater Falls, which is about two-and-a-half to three hours away. I made lists for food, supplies, etc. I had everything we needed for a relaxing and fun camping trip -- or at least I thought I did.
We set out to Blackwater and had a beautiful drive to the campground. We talked, laughed and enjoyed the scenery. Because we left after work, it was starting to get dark when we arrived at the campsite. My husband had me holding a flashlight while he set up the camper. Then, after popping it up, he looked at me and asked for the key.
If only you could have seen the look on my face. It was priceless. I was literally sick to my stomach, as I just realized the key was still hanging on the hook in the house.
I stood there for what seemed like hours and then mumbled under my breath, “Uh, I don’t have the key.”
I tried to use the excuse that he hooked the camper up so he was responsible for bringing the key, but I knew that wasn’t going to work. He’d given me the key the day before.
All I knew was we had to figure something out because I was determined to go camping in our new camper. Thankfully, I have a wonderful and laid-back husband, one who found a way for us to get into the camper. The only problem was the bottom half of the door would not open, so we would have to climb over the door the entire weekend. Also, we could not get the door completely shut, so bugs were free to join us, if they liked. It was not ideal, but at least we didn’t have to go home.
I forgot to mention, we also brought our dog, Maggie. This meant we’d have to lift her over the door each time she wanted in or out. Unfortunately, she was super thirsty and hungry after the long car ride and had gulped down some water and food when we arrived. So, while we finished setting up the campsite, we put Maggie in the camper. Within seconds, she got sick all over the floor. At this point, all I could think about was this camping sure is an adventure.
After cleaning up the mess from our dog, I looked at my husband and said, “This is not how I envisioned our camping trip.” He replied, “This is EXACTLY how I envisioned a camping trip with you” and he laughed. He knows how I am (they don’t call me Squirrel for nothing) and still loves me.
We even met some nice camping neighbors and I was sure to explain to them why we kept climbing over the half door all weekend. They just laughed and said, “We wondered why you all were doing that and thought maybe it was some new type of camper.”
After all of this craziness and excitement -- believe it or not -- we did end up having a lovely weekend of camping, hiking and relaxing. We are now in the process of planning our next trip and the first thing on my list is to bring the KEY!
