Well, it's more of a dry run, just heading to Token Creek County Park about 5 miles north of Madison, but it's a lot of firsts to test things out kinda trip.
The forecast called for rain and perhaps severe storms for most of the weekend, so I didn't make a lot of plans other than to do some cleaning and organizing in CMAR, plus spend some time with guests.....and give Scally some time to get used to living in her new home. Until I move in, I'm parking it about a mile and a half away, so I put Scally in her backpack and we walked (through light rain I might add - she was a trooper) to the RV. She'd only been inside once before, so she was exploring while I got us ready to leave.
The drive was uneventful - only about 15 minutes. The registration didn't seem very alive, so I just went to my site. Parking went surprisingly well, but I'm sure it helped that there wasn't anyone else around to get in my way, make me feel pressured into hurrying, etc. I really didn't even need to go back and forth much, just got out (into the rain) a few times to check that I wasn't going to hit anything. Of course, as soon as I finished parking I realized I never filled up water. I debated with myself for a moment and decided I'm close enough to the bathrooms with running water that getting water in the RV wasn't worth undoing my parking and having to redo that.
Site 30 was nice and close to the bathrooms/showers, but not adjacent. It was adjacent to the hiking trail. In the future, site 31 might be a little nicer so that I'm not adjacent to the hiking trail. It also doesn't have anyone across the road, so that might be helpful when backing in (I used the lot across the way a little to make things easier, which I wouldn't want to do if it was occupied). Cell coverage was also fine, so working from here could be an option.
I had electric hookups, so I set that up (again, in the rain and mud). That's nice for a first outing so I wouldn't need to worry about conserving electricity at all. My second dry run won't have electrical hookups, nor can I run my generator, so I'll have to be careful to conserve, and also make note of how quickly I go through electricity. I'll probably rely on solar for charging devices too, but CMAR doesn't have any solar built in (yet....it's something I'd like to add on eventually).
Since it was raining I just spent most of the night organizing and cleaning inside. My two crowning acheivements were putting my pint glasses and shot glasses on a lazy susan. The drawback is I can't cram them in quite as much, but the huge advantage is I can easily see and access any of them. The other thing I'm really proud of figuring out was a location for the the shotski. It was a hand-made very nice gift from some friends from Tennessee, so I really did want to fit it and also make sure it's safe, but it's fragile and not the easiest shape/size for storing. I was able to use some hooks to hang it over some cabinets - out of the way and I think it's pretty safely secured!
It seems Scally took my phone and set up her own Facebook page while I was asleep. Make sure to follow her for her updates as we travel!
The next morning I met up with some dear friends for the area for a late breakfast. Then another friend stopped by and we took Scally on a quick hike; she was not amused. Our plans were to have a campfire for dinner and smores. Unfortunately, the rain returned, along with threats of severe storms, so only Scally and I stayed, and it was another evening cleaning and organizing. We did manage to make some brats on my Coleman camp grill.
More rain in the morning, so I decided to just head back early. I did make breakfast. What's the first breakfast I should have in my Winnebago? Winnebagels!
After tear down, it was a quick and uneventful trip home. Parking at storage went smoothly. Scally decided the safest spot for the ride would be to wedge herself between a few items next to the bed. I was confident she was in the RV I left, so I skipped my rule of visually checking that I saw her. Needless to say, I had a brief scare that she got left behind before I found her next to the bed. So, I'll be more disciplined about always doing a visual confirmation she's inside (even if I'm very sure she is) once I lock the doors and before I pull out of the campsite. Once I found her, she went right into her backpack without fussing - I guess she was ready for the excursion to be done.
Overall, a fun, successful, and educational weekend.
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