Practice trip 2: continued

From Georgia we headed south to Florida. We had reservations at Blackwater River State Park for three nights. We loved the area so much we extended our stay twice and moved the trailer to different available campsites just so we wouldn't have to leave. The park is small; only 30 sites and we would have been happy in any of them. There was an amazing nature trail by the river and oxbow lake with a resident alligator a fellow camper spotted. We discovered an incredible single track mountain bike trail (Red Rocks) just 8 miles from our Campground. We also loved lounging on the pristine white sand beaches.

We have two dog beds in the trailer but Pip prefers the dining table when we leave her alone. Mark calls her our "Table Top Terrier"!

Practice trip #2

The emphasis for our second practice trip: water. Now that we have two new Lifeline batteries, and feel pretty confident managing our electrical/propane systems, we decided it's time to figure out how to fill the water heater, work the water pump and hook up to city water. I'm happy to say we have mastered all of the above and now have indoor plumbing and hot water on demand. We also figured out the multi step process of opening and closing our awning! We traveled to Pine Mountain Georgia to begin our trip and stayed in Franklin Delano Roosevelt State Park: loop 5, site 520. We loved this park "in the pines" and the wonderful hiking trails. We chose this particular park because of our interest in the area after watching Ken Burn's documentary "The Roosevelts ". We made a side trip to the nearby town of Warm Springs for lunch and to tour the Little White House FDR built to stay in when he visited the healing springs after contracting polio. He actually died in GA, in the Little White House, in the spring of 1945.

  

First Practice Part 2

Another goal of our first practice adventure was to test our propane, battery and electrical systems. We discovered that our 10 year old batteries struggled to hold a charge (thank goodness there were electrical hookups) so they will need to be replaced. Our propane furnace worked like a dream as did the fridge and stove/oven. We did a pretty good job managing condensation which can be a problem "winter camping". With the potential for temps to drop below freezing we decided to put off testing our plumbing and water systems until our next adventure. Things I already appreciate about the trailer's layout: counter space, lighting and the comfort of the couch that converts to a bed. We used the Big Agnes Sleeping Giant memory foam kit which kept us warm and comfortable and easily rolled up to stow away each morning.

Practice trip # 1

With our first practice trip Mark and I had a number of goals so we decided to keep things as simple as possible. We chose Fall Creek Falls as our destination for a two night, three day adventure. A mere 70 miles from Chattanooga, the short travel time allowed us to test our Seasucker bike rack that attaches to the tonneau cover of our truck with suction cups. What a cool concept/design that really worked and allowed us to load the truck bed with all our camping supplies and effortlessly bring our mountain bikes along without taking up space. We stayed in Campground B (site # 86) and had the whole area to ourselves....perfect for practicing hitching/unhitching, backing and leveling. We were blown away by the beauty of the Falls and this incredible park we haven't visited in decades.

And so it begins....

In October, 2016, Mark and I traveled to Ottawa, Canada to pick up our new/used 2007, 75th Anniversary Limited Edition Airstream travel trailer. This particular Bambi was designed by David Winick who was able to create an interior space that is modern but at the same time retrospective. Only 75 of these numbered unit's were produced. We are so excited that the timing has worked out for us to purchase this particular travel trailer. The purpose of this blog is to document the journey (figuratively and literally) that my husband and I embark on with our dog "Starbaby."