RV Vacation Day Two and Three

I have so much to share and so little time. Where to start? I guess I should share some of the basic housekeeping issues brought about by living on an RV. Our first night here I had decided to fix spaghetti for dinner since it is the first food you think of when camping. Right? What I didn't think about was a 2 and 3 year old eating spaghetti in the space you know you're going to be living in for the next 7 days. Since the central vac is not working, luckily, Mark had the foresight to bring along his shop vac. I also didn't give much thought to getting the girls a Color Wonder Messfree glitter coloring book for the ride down. Wouldn't you think messfree would mean glitter wouldn't have gotten all over the place, including the kitchen area. I feel like after each meal I need to check my teeth for glitter. Too bad the shop vac doesn't work so hot on glitter.

One reservation Mary Grace and I had before coming here was the shower situation. Mark had warned us that they (must be the MAN who invented this thing) suggested that because of the size of the hot water heater you should get wet in the shower, turn the water off, lather up, turn the water back on, rinse. Our first night here, Mary Grace and I packed up all our shower supplies (question: how many bottles of stuff does it take for an 11 year old girl to shower? answer: way too many) and headed to the "bath house." I have to admit this gave me the hebbie jeebies as there was no lock on the "bath house" door. Mary Grace quickly decided she was a germaphobic and was a bit creeped out. Later that night Mark took a shower in the RV and reported that it worked fine to keep the water running at all times. Water pressure was good. Temperature was good. (Sidenote on the water temperature: There are 2 temperatures for the water on this thing, cold and scalding. Not sure if there's a dial on the water heater but haven't wanted to bring it up for fear I"ll be forced to take cold showers. Just learning to adjust.) At any rate, Mary Grace and I have chosen the RV shower over the "bath house" shower.

The next major living factor is sleeping arrangements. The manual says it sleeps 8. So far at least one of our kids have been spending the night with friends so the most we've slept in one night is 7. It's probably a good thing as the manual must be counting on at least 4 being really small people or people who like to sleep in the fetal position. Our current setup is we put the little girls to bed in the queen size sleep number bed in the bedroom so that the rest of us don't have to go to bed at 8:00. When everyone else is ready to go to bed we fold out the queen sofa sleeper for Mary Grace, fold out the smaller kind of like a day bed sofa for the girls, and then we convert the dinette to a bed for whichever boy is not sleeping at a friends place. I haven't mentioned to them the glitter issue since I'm sure any sparkles they may have picked up during their sleep will be easily washed away by the ocean the next day. Besides, they are being such good sports sleeping on the diagonal position too. Then we proceed to transfer the girls from the big bed to the fold out bed without waking them up. I have to admit, even though the power seems to be out on my side of the sleep number bed, I have had no trouble falling right to sleep and staying that way until the first peep from Elizabeth in the morning. One nice feature of sleeping on the RV is when Elizabeth wakes up everyone, including all teenagers, are up for the day.

The last thing I want to talk about to be caught up through day 3 is our adventure today, Monday. Since it was rather chilly out this morning Mark and I decided to take the little ones to look at another RV campground just in case we decided to do this RV thing again (which I imagine we will since we own it.) I had heard wonderful things about this state park just down the road. Upon entering the gate and paying a $4 park admission fee we were given a 15 minute (yes, no typo, 15 minute) pass to drive through the rv campground. This is how I learned the difference between an RV park and an RV resort. In the RV park your site is nicely raked gravel surrounded by thick naturally grown landscape. Water and electricity hook ups are provided at each site but you have to drive your RV to a dump site to dispose of your waste (and not the kind that comes from a trash can). They are very private as you can't see your next door camping neighbor. In the RV resort your site is nicely laid pavers surrounded by nicely laid pinestraw with a palm tree and a row of azalas. There is water, electric and sewer hook ups so you never have to move the RV. You're also close enough to your neighbor that you can sit inside your RV and watch your neighbor's kids playing their wii on their outdoor TV. You're able to walk just a short distance to the beach where some very tanned young guys will set up an umbrella and a couple of chairs for you. Now, I hope I'm not coming across as a camping "snob." For those who know me, you know this whole "camping" experience is totally out of my comfort zone. I have the upmost respect for my camping friends who know how to really enjoy the outdoors. I think I just need to ease into my camping. Let me keep abreast of the latest crisis while watching Fox News on the dish, cook and eat my meals in the comfort (and glitter) of A/C, and poop without worrying about where I have to dispose of it.

That's probably enough for tonight. I've got to go take a load out of the onboard washer/dryer combo unit. Life on the RV's not so....