Observation Knob Park - Sisters on the Fly event - July 13-16, 2017

I attended the Sisters Afloat event with Sisters on the Fly this weekend at Observation Knob Park in Bristol, TN. It was SUPER laid back and a nice, relaxing weekend.

Thursday, July 13, 2017

Thursday was arrival day. We left home around 10:30 and arrived at about 4pm. It was about 91 degrees when we got there & we needed to set up. Mom & I unpacked the car & got to setting up. This was the first time using my CINCH! tent and I was super excited to finally have it and get to use it.

After setting up, we went to the host's site and hung out for a bit. When everyone decided they were getting into the lake, we decided to make dinner & eat facing the lake at our picnic table. Perfect ending to the day!

The marina across the lake was pretty loud & didn't stop making music until about 11pm. Not a huge issue, but definitely something I forgot about tent camping!

Friday, July 14, 2017

We woke up at some ungodly hour on Friday after not getting a lot of sleep. Between the heat, being in a tent (less noise masking), and the sun coming up, it just wasn't going to happen. We both got dressed, cleaned up ourselves a bit, and then made breakfast.

After breakfast, the other ladies were up and moving around, so we went over to the hostess' site and hung out for a bit. We all decided to get in the water and swim, paddle, or float around. Mom brought her blow up kayak, so we had a bit of fun with that.

We walked around and looked at all of the campers & tents the SoTF group had. Some of them were really cool!

We got out & reheated dinner leftovers for lunch. After a while, it started to rain - and POUR. Thankfully, they were just a few quick-passing afternoon showers. The Cinch! did really well. Only one of the poles for the little awning collapsed during the wind/rain. I didn't have it pegged out very well, so that was on me. It stayed dry in the tent, which was a win for sure!

Once the rain cleared up, everyone got started on their offerings for the potluck dinner. I've forgotten what cooking for a potluck is like on a little Coleman stove. Ah well, it was a learning experience!

The potluck was good fun. It was nice getting to know people a bit more. Mom went to bed a little earlier than I did so that she could read and wind down a bit. I woke her up at one point because she was face down in her pillow & I couldn't tell that she was breathing. Gotta make sure she's ok!

I ended the night with the other ladies at the campfire.

Saturday, July 15, 2017

Another early-ish morning for us! The music from the night before went until about 11pm again, so there was no use for me trying to sleep before then. I think I got a couple of hours of sleep each night. #tentlife

We had breakfast and got ready for the pontoon boat ride that we were going on with the group. Mom and I decided to drive over so that we could go grab lunch after. We were air conditioning seeking missiles! But before lunch - pontoon!

After boat, we pulled up the "Find me Gluten Free" app and decided on Mellow Mushroom for lunch. It was wonderfully air conditioned and with cold drinks! It was everything we wanted it to be. We also stopped & gassed up the car so that we didn't have to worry about it the next day.

After lunch, we went back to the campground & relaxed a bit. We also packed up a few things that we didn't need to use between then and when we left. We were headed out to a local marina for dinner with the group. It was interesting, to say the least. The company was good - the music was just ok... and LOUD. We left after about two hours (and multiple others did too).

We got to bed & finally figured out the temperature thing a bit more and got a bit more sleep.

Sunday, July 16, 2017

Our original plan was to leave by 9am. We were both up around 6am, so we started packing up. We were ready to get on the road right around 7am, so we started out. We got home just after noon. Jon's sister & her kids were there getting ready to head to the pool & mom headed out not too long after.

Following the Trip

I forgot one other thing about tent camping... airing everything back out! I popped the tent back up on the screened in porch & let it air out. Then, I laid everything else out over the next few days. Not a big deal, but definitely something I don't have to do with the RV!

We Bought a House!

Our greatest adventure in the past couple of years has been trying to figure out where we were going to live. We really weren't happy with where we were. We're blessed to be able to both work from home and be very "portable", so we just wanted to find somewhere we both could be happy. And somewhere we could afford a single family home.

This took us on a three year search for just the place. We traveled to Denver, CO; Dover, NH; Portland, ME; Cary, NC (where I had such a bad allergic reaction to whatever pollen was high that day, that it immediately ruled the area out); Harrisonburg, VA; and a few other places.

In addition to our "where do we want to land?" search, we were looking for a single story house. We knew that 1) eventually my mom will be moving in with us and 2) we really don't want to sell this house for a LONG time - so we needed it to be "grow old" friendly.

We decided that we really love the Shenandoah Valley area & started to concentrate our search there. We finally found not just an area that we loved, but a floor plan that we just knew was right for us.

So, we signed the contract in Sept 2016 and our build started in Feb 2017. We just signed allllllll of the paperwork today and got the keys! We're excited to be in a single family home of our own (the last time either of us lived in a single family home was when we lived with our parents).

Because of the new house purchase, there are very few trips planned for this year. We'll be using our seasonal space for most "getaways", but mostly, we'll be getting settled in the new place.

Gettysburg Campground - Rebs vs Yanks 2 - Sisters on the Fly Event - May 4-5, 2017

I almost feel bad writing this trip report. It was the trip that I should've just bailed out of before I went. This event was supposed to be May 4-7. And then it rained. And I got sick. And it just wasn't meant to be. Also, we had just moved into the Winnebago Brave at our seasonal. And Jon had just returned from business travel (just in time for the move). Needless to say, it just wasn't the best time for a trip.

The week of the trip, the weather was just looking bad. I was seriously contemplating canceling since I'd be in the tent, but decided to check to see if there was a cabin instead. They had one last primitive cabin, so I sucked it up & switched my reservation.

On Thursday, I drove from our seasonal spot to Gettysburg Campground. It was about a 2ish hour drive, so not too bad. I stopped on my way and picked up a Thetford Porta Potti 550P. Friends of ours raved about their porta potti for dry camping & it seemed like the perfect addition to this trip. I also completely forgot my camping chair, so I picked up one of those too.

Once at the campground, I got everything into the cabin, got the bed made, set up a few things, and wandered over to the other sisters campsites. There was a dinner that evening, so we all went & got to know each other a bit. There was also a campfire at one of the sites. It started raining during the campfire, so we all packed it up and headed back to our sites.

Best last minute purchase EVER!

I had a rough night. Between the bed not being incredibly comfortable and my body not being thrilled about dinner (thank goodness for that last minute porta potti purchase!), I was up a LOT.

Friday morning, I woke up, got showered, had breakfast, and then walked over to where the other sisters sites were. Most people were up and trying to dry things off. Many of the tents were soaking wet, some people had lost their easy-ups near their trailers, and the creek waters were racing by. At this point (around 10am), the water was still inside the creek bed.

Just a bit of standing water around the cabin

We were supposed to do a tour of Gettysburg National Park on Friday and then have lunch at a local restaurant once we were done. Because of the rain, we decided to push the tour back to Saturday.

A few of us decided to go into Gettysburg and walk around town a bit. It was still sprinkling off and on, but nothing major. I drove over & got a call from the campground around 11:30. The water was rising and they needed everyone to come back to the campground. They weren't sure if they were going to end up closing the campground or not. So, we got back to the car as quickly as we could & got back to the campground around noon.

By the time we returned, I was driving through water I probably shouldn't have been just to get into the campground and then drop the ladies off near their trailers. I packed up the cabin as quickly as I could (thankfully, there wasn't much I had unpacked) and got to a place where it was dry. I stayed long enough to figure out where we were all meeting up to decide what the plan for the rest of the weekend was.

At this point, I was starting to feel the effects of the little sleep from the night before, the head cold my husband so kindly brought home and shared, and the "excitement" of this trip.

I went to the nearby parking lot that the business let us "borrow" for a bit and joined the ongoing discussion of "what's next?". Several of the ladies were on their phones with nearby campgrounds trying to find space for the group. We had close to 50 units with us, so that was causing some issues. There were several campgrounds in the area that aren't that big to begin with (or we would've been renting out the entire campground) OR they just didn't have the availability. Little Drummer Boy ended up coming through & saving the day. At this point, I wasn't going to worry about trying to get a cabin. Given how I was feeling, I was going to do lunch (we had decided to push back the time but still go) and then head out.

As soon as we figured out the campground, one of the ladies got a call from a sister who went down a road that crossed the creek. She found herself in a situation where she couldn't back out (because she wasn't confident enough to do it), alone, and with rising water in front of her. I was the only one not attached to a trailer, so I drove & had another sister with me who could back the sister out. We literally had a road name and that was it. It was quite the time trying to find her. We eventually did find her and I figured out why she was on the road (she put the restaurant name into her GPS and blindly followed it - something so many of us do!).

After she was rescued, we all headed to the restaurant and had lunch. Several sisters offered their extra spaces in their trailers or motorhomes, but since I had started coughing quite a bit the night before (but was fine during the day), I declined and headed home. I felt bad about declining since they were just trying to be nice and I wasn't giving them all of the details of why I was bailing on my first sister trip.

I headed home & was outrunning rain storms all of the way home. I was happy to be "home" at the Brave and back with Jon, doggie David, and kitty Wendy.

Notes:
* The campground refunded all nights that we weren't there since they were closing. They really didn't have to do that, but I was happy they did.
* I felt HORRIBLE about leaving, but I would've felt worse if someone else got sick because I took them up on their offer. As it was, the cough that came with that cold lasted me a good 8 weeks.
* The Sisters on the Fly are serious about helping each other out!

MD RV Show - MD State Fairgrounds - February 19, 2017

In stark contrast to our trip to Tampa for the RV Supershow, for this trip, we were looking for a smaller trailer. My mom is dabbling with the idea of getting something she could potentially full time in, but isn't really sure where to start. So, she asked us to come with her. It's an RV show & my momma - how could we say no?!

The Maryland RV Show is held at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium, MD. Since it's in February, pretty much everything is inside.

When you get to the fairgrounds, you'll park in their parking lot. Pretty ample parking. Then, you walk down to the building where the show is held. You can buy your tickets online or at the show. If you buy them online, it'll save you some time getting in.

Having been to the Hershey RV Show & the Tampa RV Show (the month before this!), we were a bit disappointed with the selection of RVs. That being said, for an indoor show, they had a wide variety of units.

We were specifically looking for smaller RVs under the $20k mark. That really narrows down the field! We did find units that fit the bill, but several of the ones that were advertised they'd be there weren't (like, we never did find the Airstreams - out of budget, but just wanted to wander through).

We chatted with several of the campground people at the booths, which was nice. At some of the larger shows, they don't always have the time to talk.

We headed to Famous Dave's for lunch and then returned to the show to do "one last loop" before heading home. Overall, we found a few units that we thought may work for the situation we were looking for - but not everything we wanted to look at was there.

Tampa RV SuperShow - January 2017

Sometime in September 2016, we decided to head to Tampa for the RV SuperShow. It fell over a weekend we were preferring to be out of our area, so it was perfect timing.

We decided to drive - as we were considering taking the Brave down. Instead, we ended up needing to get the Brave into the dealership to service it, so we kept our driving idea and just booked a hotel.

We told a couple of friends that we were headed down & asked if they wanted to go with us. They ultimately decided to fly down & meet us there - with an agenda. We were officially helping them shop for a rig that would fit their family of five. They love their Airstream, but have outgrown it for the time being.

On Monday, we took the Brave to the dealership. We had them looking at the small slide, roof for caulking, seals/caulk everywhere on the rig, and a couple of other small things.

We made it a 2-day trip down, starting on Tuesday. On Wednesday, we arrived in Tampa and checked into the Residence Inn Tampa Sabal Park/Brandon. It was the perfect location for our stay. Just about 2 miles from the fairgrounds & about 2 miles from Brandon. There are a couple of traffic issues right around there, but it's nothing we haven't experienced close to home.

Thursday, we got to the show at 9:30. It was crazy to get in, but we managed. We met up with Renee & Tim - fellow Brave owners - after we got into the show. It was great to meet them in person! After meeting them, we headed out to start looking at rigs. The show was so busy!

Around noon, we met up with RH & Jessica and started looking at toy haulers. This is a world we haven't really ever dove into. We spent the day looking at toy haulers & enjoyed learning more about them.

Thursday night, we went to Outback to have dinner & review our notes from the day.

Show Map

Friday, we set about to look over the top two toy hauler choices and then to look at smaller trailers. It was great to see the different things that the industry is working on. Jon & I helped some friends look after their kids while they did a live video from the show (they're podcasters that are pretty awesome). We went out with the podcasting friends and a BUNCH of other people to Columbia Restaurant in Ybor City Historic District.

Airstream Basecamp all decked out

Hymer Touring 550 - Hopefully they'll get it to the US soon!

On Saturday, we went with our friends back to the toy hauler that they had selected & when the boys started talking $$, the girls ran around and looked at a bunch of rigs that there were no way we were buying. Different things - everything from travel trailers to Class A, B, and Cs.

After finding that they could get a better price closer to home, we decided to head over to LazyDays in Tampa to visit. We couldn't skip a visit since we were so close (only a few miles from the show). It was definitely worth the visit! If we were ever in the area again, we might consider staying at their campground, if we couldn't get into one of the state parks in the area.

LazyDays Tampa

We were pretty tired after all of the running around for three days, so we left on Sunday (instead of Monday). It turned out to be a good decision, as the weather was pretty crappy all day. We drove until NC & stopped for the night and then finished up the drive Monday.

All in all, it was a great trip! I'd definitely recommend visiting the Tampa RV Super Show!