Roughing it is...

We have acquired a 17' Travel Trailer. It belonged to my mother and father and I had been talking to them about borrowing the trailer for a trip or two and after awhile we wound up making a deal so that we could just acquire the trailer and make it our own.

So now we have the option of camping in the RV or the tent. I have been asked the question (more than once and by more than one person) "what happened to your idea that roughing it was black and white TV at the Holiday Inn"? Well, it's kind of a long story...

When I was a kid our family tent camped. Well, we started out using the back of the cattle truck as our camper. I wish I had a picture of that because we were our own version of the Clampets with a quilt for the door over the back of the truck and an old green, canvas tarp for the roof. On one of our trips it started to rain. Daddy stopped and came out of a little gas station with a sack full of bubble gum - now that was a vacation - Daddy never bought us bubble gum. He told us to chew it all but not to throw it away. Later we found out why - Daddy took two pieces of the chewed gum and put one piece on the bottom of the tarp and one of the top - to stop the leaks! We started out this way because Daddy wanted to see if he would like camping. He didn't think he would - he said he had enough camping during the war. As it turned out, he enjoyed camping and we eventually graduated to a tent and all the fixings. We had many memorable trips and we all seem to remember the same ones and pretty much in the same way, so I figure those were the true highlight trips. One was a trip to Apalachicola's State Park. The road to the park was loooooooooooooooong and when we arrived discovered we were the only ones in this huge park. Most people used it during hunting season. After we set up camp we went down to the lake and prepared our supper at the picnic area. While there, a car drove in and Daddy admonished us not to say anything to anyone about our camping there just in case they were up to mischief. Well that scared me! That night, wild hogs rooted around our tent almost all night long. I lay awake asking over and over - Susan, are you awake (no answer), Marty, are you awake (no answer). I guess I finally went to sleep. What I didn't find out until much later in my life was that Daddy was awake listening to me but didn't answer because he knew if he did I would wind up in the bed with him and Mama and that wouldn't have been comfortable at all. (Of course much later in my life I understood that Daddy was always watching out for us whether we knew it or not.) But we all agree the best camping trip was in our own back pasture. That year Daddy had several young cows penned he was feeding for market. They had to be fed morning and night and so we couldn't go away. We took all the camping paraphernalia down behind the house to the edge of the swamp and set up camp. No one could see us from the house and it became a real game to sneak up to the house, feed the animals, and return to camp without being seen by anyone. Even though we lived on a dead end road with our closest neighbor being about 1/4 mile away, people were always coming and going at our house so we really did have to be careful. We had the campfire every night, roasted marshmallows, hot dogs, all the usual camp fair. Mama had two special dishes for the camp: campfire stew (none of us can remember the recipe) and she always made a jelly cake to take on the camp. So I really enjoyed camping as a kid. Then I got married and started camping with my first husband. I'm not sure what about that experience turned me off to camping but the pleasure sure got sucked out it somehow. That's when I developed my famous saying "roughing it is black and white TV at the Holiday Inn." As time progressed my first husband really got into the primitive camp scene and ultimately went Mountain Man. That was way too much for me - especially when I found out I would have to eat grasshoppers! After the divorce he would take Tiffany camping and I believe she enjoyed that and several times Tiffany and I were invited on camp trips with some special friends. Those were fun also. And every year Mama and Daddy would take the grandchildren camping and sometimes I would go with them, which was always fun too. But it was never anything I set out as my first choice. After Jim and I married he tried to get me to go camping with him and I really didn't want to and he didn't force the issue, but he did keep asking and talking to me about what my objections really were. As it turns out my objection was all the work to prepare to go, all the work while in the camp, the cooking, the cleaning, and then all the work to pack to come home, unpack and clean up at home. That's just way too much work for a "vacation." After we had worked for months anticipating a vacation, I wanted something a little more on the "do nothing at all - have someone wait on me" - side of things and camping just didn't seem to fit that description. Well Jim convinced me it didn't have to be all work and no relaxation so when the opportunity came to observe our first Sukkot, which meant tent camping, I agreed to try. What a blast! Jim was right, there is work involved in camping, but if you plan it just right there is a good mix of work and relaxation AND to be back outside was the bonus. I love to be outside, I love to see the stars at night, I love to see whatever wildlife I can spot during the day, I love the fresh air, I love the freedom of outside! I rediscovered camping can provide all those things.

So that's what happened to "roughing it is..." I am enjoying camping and the great outdoors!

Virginia Trip November 2008

Marge, Jim and I set off for Viriginia during the middle of November. The purpose of this trip was a vacation for Marge, another trip for the retirees, and a special visit with our friends Ginger and Frank Bell. While we were there IT SNOWED! Marge kept saying "It never snows until after the 1st of the year..." and the second day we were there she kept saying "That sure looks like a rain cloud, I didn't know it was going to rain..." and then it snowed instead! We of course were very excited and the residents weren't. We say it snowed - the locals say it was a "dusting." The snow didn't stay unless it fell in a shadow so it really wasn't much where we were located. However, up the mountain the snow stayed and we got to see a lot of that. Deer everywhere, just feeding along side of the road or out in the pastures or on the mountain side. They were beautiful. Of course, I never had my camera with me and so no pictures on this trip. We dined at the Peaks of Otter resort for breakfast (thanks Marge!), we visited an apple orchard, Jim and I had a date to a local steak house, Marge and I shopped at local stores (never even made it to Wal Mart), visited Ginger's business (Ginger Bell's House of Mini Shops), Marge, Ginger, and Frank enjoyed their church's annual Thanksgiving dinner, we stayed up half the night talking almost every night, and we were treated to dinner at Pete and Donna's house. Pete and Donna are friends of Ginger and Frank and now our friends as well. Donna prepared a fabulous home cooked turkey, dressing, fresh cranberry salad, green beans, stewed tomatoes, dinner with coffee, pound cake and blueberry cheesecake ice cream for dessert. (Ginger provided the ice cream).


It was a great trip. Of course! - Marge and I rode in the back seat with our personal chauffeur (James) or our medical transport (Jim), depending on circumstances, doing all the driving.

Cooking and Birthday

"When I retire I can cook." One of my famous statements about retirement. So since I have retired, I have cooked. The key to the first sentence is you need to know how to cook before you retire in order to have much success after you retire. Cooking has never been one of my strong suites and as Jim is experiencing....it still isn't. Mama always said I had too much fun outside to want to spend much time inside trying to learn all the "domestic" duties of a good wife. And now, I have too much fun doing everything else to spend much time trying to learn all the "domestic" duties.

During September I ordered Jim a shofar for his birthday. Wanted to give it plenty of time to arrive since it was coming from Israel. Seven days later it arrived forcing me to keep a secret far longer than I wanted. I had been contemplating giving it to him early because all the Fall observances would be over by his birthday and besides I was itching to give it to him but needed a really good excuse not to wait until his birthday. Then he asked if I could borrow Merle's shofar and I had my excuse. About a week later he asked if I had talked to Debbie about borrowing the shofar and I told him I had it covered and the day before Feast of Trumpets (Yom Teruah) I gave it to him. So he had it for the trip to Kentucky, too.

At various times during the year Jim will start a campaign trying to get me to make a "home made" coconut cake. I usually do the cooking by purchasing a Pepperidge Farm coconut cake. (They are very good by the way.) And when that is gone he renews his campaign for "home made." Now I have time - I can cook and so......I tried my hand at "home made" coconut cake. I bought cake flour, coconut milk and flavoring, and even shred coconut for the icing. When the big day arrived I spent the morning preparing the cake:

It looked just like I made it. A Charlie Brown cake. It tasted pretty good but still not Pepperridge Farm quality.

We returned from our Kentucky trip the Friday before Jim's birthday and with the cold he had contracted he didn't feel like celebrating so we put it off for a week. He then requested COOKED (not instant-doesn't he ever learn?), chocolate pudding for his birthday celebration. Now one week later I am back in the kitchen...cooking pudding this time. I learned a very valuable lesson this day.....you can boil milk on a medium stove setting. Who knew? My motto has always been...Only cowards cook on low....but pudding calls for medium and low temperatures (of course it seemed to take all day). But I was determined to follow the manufacturers directions. Surprisingly the pudding turned out quite nice.

Since then I have made a couple of main course dishes, cooking low, that have been quite tasty. I'm getting it - the secret is low and slow and now that I have time maybe I can cook... (Jim says don't be hasty or too excited yet!)