Cold Weather Camping
Thursday, December 1, 2016
It’s time to start the winter camping adventures &, although 37 – 40 degrees is not “cold” to some, it is to the pups. They were sporting their cute little sweaters for the first time of the season.
We didn’t venture far from home – back to Fort Yargo which is not 15 miles away. But it allows us to have Lily Bug come spend a night. She has been anxious to do so for several months. So, after a very hectic morning of loading the camper & then getting a boatload of mail orders out for our Sweet Tea’s Soaps & Stuff business, we hit the road. The park was pretty sparsely attended so nabbing one of the prime lakefront lots was a breeze. Perry backed the camper into place like he knew what he was doing & we set about making it our home away from home for a few days. We did discover we had left the Barton sign behind & a couple other little things – this happens after not being in the regular swing of camping for a few months. No worries though – a couple deliveries of supplies are expected that would need to be taken in off the porch so we planned to return home briefly the following day & gather the rest of our accruements.
I spent a little time researching the possibility of Camp Hosting at Georgia State Parks in 2017 while Perry caught up with friends on his computer. Sugar & Spice had the best time running in & out of the open camper door to visit the abundance of geese right at the shoreline & to bark at the beautiful dog in the next campsite. No bugs so no worries of them getting inside. It was relaxing to NOT have our heads focused on business for a change.
For dinner Perry grilled Chipotle Chicken while I made some noodles & green beans & a big salad with all the goodies we love. Perry is in charge of the cleanup which is pretty quick & then we watched a little TV (our antenna on top of the camper does pretty good) & read for a bit. Life is good & we appreciate every moment of it.
Friday, December 2. 2016
I had broiled bacon at home a few days prior to our trip & then froze it in a ziplock bag. This makes it easy to pull out a couple slices & heat them in the microwave without the mess it would have created in Wilbur. I also had sausage patties in the freezer & cooked those in the fry pan. However, that set the ever so sensitive fire alarm to screeching which in turn caused Spice to nearly have a heart attack. The noise doesn’t affect Sugar at all – funny how two sister dogs are so different. After taking the battery out of the fire alarm & holding Spice until her shaking subsided, I finished getting breakfast ready. Food on a camping trip seems to taste so much better than home – a good strange.
We then went home for a short while to take showers & get more mail orders out that came in overnight – it IS Christmas Season shopping time. Second Hand Rose Antiques, one of the many stores that carry Sweet Tea’s Soaps & Stuff, called while we were home & I boxed up a BIG order for them that Perry delivered. They were preparing for lots of shoppers during the Christmas in Statham event the following day. I also wanted to make some Cloud Bread which is a camping treat for us. AWESOME stuff – as light as a cloud & delish! We made four batches & froze two for a future trip. The eggs we used were from our friend Tracie Pollock & they were perfect!
Then it was back to camp to get dinner started. Robby, Lisa & Lily arrived at 6ish & we had steaks, onion bombs, broccoli & a big salad. And lots of chatter & laughter. Robby & Lisa left for home & Lily Bug spent the night. She has told us her two favorite things to do is talk a little before falling asleep & when waking up. So, she & Perry watched a movie & then we got ready for bed. Lily & I spent some time talking about “stuff” like family & school & the fun of being a kid. Sweet dreams followed.
Saturday, December 3, 2016
7am arrived entirely too early. A text message came in from yet another customer wanting to pick up an order at Second Hand Rose so I promised to get it over there around noon. But first I had to have the requisite morning whispered conversation & giggles with Lily before getting out of bed. Perry could hear us from the other end of Wilbur but we girls like to “pretend” he can’t. The dogs were walked & then we all three piled back into bed for cuddles & a little TV watching before we started the day.
Lily doesn’t particularly like eggs but she loves bacon. She tried a little sausage & said it was good even though she didn’t want any more. She has been taught good manners by her parents in that you try at least a bite of everything. If you don’t like it, don’t say it’s bad, just say “no thank you” to any more. She did, however, like the Cloud Bread – a lot. She surprises us with her preferences.
We quickly got things tidied up & hopped in the truck for the quick ride to our house. The Christmas in Statham Festival was in full swing as we entered town. We live right on Broad Street so the Parade came right past our house & we watched it with friends from our big front porch. Robby & Lisa came to enjoy it with Lily but they stood by the street so Lily could collect candy being showered from the various vehicles. This year’s parade was lengthy with a BUNCH of Jeeps from a local club joining the lineup. Lily came away with a bag of goodies that surpassed what she had collected at Halloween! Perry, who is a Statham City Councilman, actually rode on the City of Statham float & Lily was so happy to wave at her “Pops” as he went by.
I got the order over to Second Hand Rose that was sent by text earlier & took care of a couple more mail orders. Then we went over to Fajita’s Mexican Grill in downtown & enjoyed lunch with Lily & her parents. Robby & Lisa took The Princess home after that & Perry & I loaded up the pups to return to the campsite.
A QUIET afternoon just listening to the Canada geese at the shoreline was so needed. However …
A friend was driving through Statham & saw a commotion in the street in front of our house just after dusk. She called my cell & we hopped in the truck & went home. I called Chris Humble on our way & he immediately went to our house to check the situation. We saw him in the video cameras while in route but nothing was detected prior to that. When we got home, Perry asked the neighbor across the street if they had seen anything. He was told there was most definitely a domestic situation, just as the caller had described, but the people didn’t enter our property. We are so very grateful for the caller who looked out for us, the neighbor for being observant & willing to call 911 if need be & for our VERY good friends, The Humbles, for dashing over to handle whatever situation presented itself. We are truly blessed!
So, instead of a quiet camp dinner, we went to Carabba’s with Chris & Suzi & Tommy Williams, another of our awesome neighbors! We love spontaneous events! That put us back at the campsite at 9:30ish & our pups were ready for a walk & bed. So were we!
Sunday, December 4th, 2016
The rain came down most of the night & continued for the majority of the day. We stayed in PJs for much of the time, me blogging & Perry watching movies. We had a wonderful lunch of corn chowder I had made for Thanksgiving dinner & then frozen the leftovers. It was just as good the second time around. Dinner was the grilled Lemon Chicken I had taken out to cook the evening before, accompanied with cheese squash casserole & a salad. YUMMMM!
I have attempted to create a blog over the last year of our MANY camping adventures but have only been successful in getting it on my FaceBook page. So my friend Christy Bender, who is a web guru & has hosted my website for Sweet Tea’s Soaps & Stuff for a few years now, graciously set up an actual blog website for me. I have put ALL the various adventures on it. Coddiwomple Capers is born! It still has tweaks to be made but the main body – the blog stories – is done. It’s on this site I will be creating my camping cookbook! Stay tuned for that project.
My eyes were so tired after organizing & posting all the stories, we literally dropped into bed!
Monday, December 5, 2016
The rain stopped at some point during the night leaving a SOGGY campground. No matter, we had a leisurely breakfast & were entertained by the neighboring camper as he prepared to depart. He actually climbed the ladder to the top of his big motor home with a leaf blower in hand. He was trying to blow off the tree debris – no matter it was WET. Also, I’m thinking those leaves would naturally blow off as he drove down the road, wouldn’t they? Whatever floats your boat!
The rain stayed away the entire time we packed up & all the way home. We got Wilbur safely into the backyard & set up to rest for a few weeks – or longer. A freeze is expected soon so Perry took the time to blow out any water left in the pipes. Wilbur is worth the extra love.
So we are back, rested & happy. Life is good!
