Trip #2

Perry Lake, Slough Creek Campground, Locust Loop, Site #17

Great campground - right on the lake! (I promise the camper is level - the picture is crooked!)

The kids did a lot of swimming - even Finn!

His favorite pastime was throwing rocks into the water.

Aidan helps Finn get used to the water and find rocks for throwing.

We had a fire on Saturday night. Perfect for roasting marshmallows and staying warm.

RANDOM THOUGHTS:

The campground has water and electricity. We love having water! We could use the outside shower to rinse down muddy feet. We still had to be careful with our gray water tank, but we went the entire weekend and only got it up to 2/3 full. Oh, and we discovered that our faucets are switched on the outside shower. Cold is hot. Hot is cold.

The campground was not as secluded or as treed as Longview. We definitely miss those aspects. However, having water and the lake RIGHT there made up for it. We could pull the boat right up to the shore and probably leave it there for the weekend.

The toilet wand is a genius invention. Super easy to clean out the black tank. I'm pleasantly surprised with how easy it is to take care of the camper. And apparently we use a LOT of toilet paper.

We thought we were done buying for the camper. Then we realized that we need lots of little things during this trip - hooks to hang the keys, another bottle of hand sanitizer, another blanket or two, a mixing bowl, etc. We think we're done now. We'll see after the next trip. :)

The grill that attaches to the camper is awesome. As is the little table next to it. The propane hook-up is super easy. We have determined that we need an extra table, though. The electric skillet (which is also awesome) just takes up too much room on our little table. We used that electric skillet for every meal! I also used the indoor stove, and it works wonderfully. I could cook indoors while Shan used the skillet to cook outside.

We had a playground right beside us. The kids spent many hours climbing trees and playing in the dirt. They made friends with all the campground kids. Finn spent a lot of time getting rides in a Barbie Power Wheel truck from the little girl next door to us. (BTW, her name was Hayden and they also had a Grant - Hayden sounds a lot like Aidan.) Finn was a hit with the girls. He could always be found at the playground with three or four little girls surrounding him. Aidan and Aine spent a lot of time climbing trees and playing tag with a girl from across the campground. Kavi would just play with whomever was around. He had the best of both worlds - tagged along with the older kids but could also take rides in the little Power Wheel truck.

First aid kit. Used it 6 times in 2 days! Finn fell down the stairs and scraped his leg pretty good. Minor cuts and punctures to the rest of the kids.

Ahhhh, nap time. Nap time on Saturday was delicious. Finn was getting a little cranky (surprise, surprise). I took him back to the camper while Shan stayed with the other kids down at the lake. Closed up the windows. Turned on the A/C. Tuned into the Texas A&M game. Stretched out on the couch with a blanket. Finn went right to sleep. Oh boy. There is nothing like sleeping in a cool, dark camper in the middle of the day.

And speaking of relaxing. I really thought we'd do a lot of hiking. We did none at all. Saturday morning after breakfast, Shan and I were just so content to lounge around the campsite watching the kids play. It probably didn't help that I forgot the coffee pot. Oops. We didn't really start going for the day until Shan returned a little later with caffeinated soda pops for us.

Again, Kavi was upset that we had to leave. Saturday night he started crying big crocodile tears when he realized that we'd be leaving the next morning. He wants to go camping 24/7. In his mind, there is no reason to even own a home. We could just live in the camper all the time. Sometimes I agree with him.

We decided to pack up early on Sunday because rain was due at 12:00. It didn't even wait until noon to start raining. We had off and on rain while packing up. Thankfully, no rain while we dumped the tanks. We winged the tear down, but we really need to get a good checklist made as a back-up. Also, Shan is in charge of the final walk-through. I can't see things right in front of my face sometimes. :) Good news on the storage - a new 12x16 foot door has been ordered. We should have indoor storage sometime next month!

Thank you Shan for buying our family this camper! The kids and I love it!