First Time Out

Here at Golden Shore RV Resort, I definitely would not call this 'camping.' Also, the word 'resort' is used rather loosely, in my opinion, regardless of how nice it seems here. In the future, I can only hope that most of the places we go to that can handle a rig the size of ours will be more camp-like. After all, one does not usually see high-rise buildings from their campground.

We drove to Long Beach yesterday towing our tent trailer and delivered it to Rob's brother, Chip. We traveled with one pet, our bird Ollie. He did really well with all the bumps, bounces, sways and jiggles, but that poor, little bird was so pooped by the end of the trip (which was eight hours and a couple rest stops), he could barely keep his eyes open. Hopefully Ollie will develop his travel legs or we might have to plan on driving fewer hours in a day. I just don't know for sure.

At one stop along the way, there was a drainage gutter that ran through the parking lot. I was driving the Beast at the time and even though I slowed to drive across it, the jack on the tent trailer bottomed out and, as we found out later, it bent the pipe for the wheel mount used to raise and lower the hitch on the tent trailer itself. It wasn't even a very deep gutter! Of course it just figures that I'd be the one driving at the time. My brother-in-law had to fix it today. Thank goodness it was a pretty easy fix, but just the fact that he had to deal with it at all was bothersome. The good that came from it was that Rob and Chip figured out they had to switch how the ball fitted on the metal bracket used in the hitch housing so that the trailer's hitch would ride higher. Otherwise, Chip might have suffered the same result in the future from having the ball mount too low, but I just don't know for sure. Live and learn - that's what I always say. I also say: All's well that ends well. Both apply in this case.

We entertained on our first night out RVing. My brother-in-law and his wife, Chris, our niece, Heather, and a dear friend of theirs from Phoenix, Jackie, graced us with their company. We served up margaritas and barbequed a tasty pork tenderloin with a jerk seasoning rub. With it I served a variety of steamed squashes from my sister's garden along with some brussel sprouts, all seasoned with butter, pepper, garlic salt and basil. I'd never seasoned my steamed veggies that way before but everyone remarked that they were delicious, and I agree. I also served a green salad and Chris brought a Claim Jumper Chocolate Silk Pie for dessert. A good time was had by all... in fact, we may have been a bit too noisy, but I just don't know for sure.

Our bed in the Beast is either very comfortable or we were so tired that it wouldn't have mattered if we'd slept on the ground. We awoke with no aches and pains, so it had to have been the bed, but I just don't know for sure. To the extent that we felt good, Ollie, on the other hand, was certainly bleary-eyed for a good, long while after we took the cover off his cage. He was not his usual talkative self this morning and he probably would have appreciated a couple hours more sleep.

Rob left to help teach Chip how to set up and break down the tent trailer, so I was left to my own devices here at the Beast for the better part of the day. I read magazines and talked with my neighbors, read the news on the internet, where I learned that Phyllis Diller and William Windon both had died, and let Ollie out of his cage for awhile. He commenced flying two or three laps around the lounge and kitchen area, then on through the bathroom into the bedroom where he landed on the floor in front of the closet door. The door is mirrored so he figured he had another bird to talk to. I left him there for just a couple of minutes, but he seemed grateful when I got him back into his cage. The neighbors I spoke with are really nice. They're from Hemet and they came to Long Beach simply for the cooler air. They are both elderly and she, Cleo, said this is probably their last trip. Her husband has COPD and he just can't do the things he used to. Cleo says she knows how, or is able, to do a lot of the things required for their travel trailer, but not everything. That time will come eventually for us, too. I think Cleo and her husband are in their late 70s, maybe early 80s. Rob is 8 years older than I, so I hope he can keep at this until his late 70s... if that's what we want. It's a lot more fun and exciting than sitting around our house trying to figure out what to do with ourselves. That much I know for sure.