First Camp of 2023 On the Books

If I had not mentioned it before, which I most likely have not, my wife and I finally took the plunge last year and bought a travel trailer. We enjoyed a couple of camps last year just as sort of trial runs since we bought it late in the year before we had to get it winterized.

I had been talking about getting one for 20 years and finally decided it was time. I will be 50 in June and I not going to get any younger. Might as well just give it a go and see what happens.

So far, we're having a great time with it, although I think I may need to upgrade my truck. What I bought was a 38' Keystone Passport Elite MB34 and I am currently pulling it with a Ford F-150 V8. It appeared rated for the weight and all, but so far, I do notice the truck struggles just a bit on inclines and despite having a sway bar hitch installed, even in 20mph winds we get a bit more sway than we'd prefer.

Maybe next year. By the end of this camping season, I should know for sure what I want to do. We've been taking trips a couple of hours away, but we have a longer trip planned for August about 6 hours away. That should tell us quite a lot.

Like how the truck will handle on an extended trip, how easy it will be to find gas stations we can maneuver in and so on and so forth.

But our first camp of 2023 is on the books, and I have to say we had a blast. Had the whole gang there practically. My dad and his wife. My sister and brother-in-law and their two younger kids. Her oldest daughter, my niece, was also there with her boyfriend and kid.

My wife was there too, but since she was the one who took all the pictures, she doesn't make an appearance.

The extended fam didn't stay the night. My dad and his wife live in Portageville, MO and stayed with us for the entire camp. We stayed at Cape Camping & RV Park on North Kingshighway in Cape Girardeau, MO. A nice spot in the middle of town close to amenities and not terribly priced at $55 per night with full-service hookups and all pull-through sites.

Our only complaint was that we were close to the entrance which was close to a car wash at the top of the hill, and so we had some noise from the constant air dryer running. But other than that it was a pleasant experience with friendly staff that were very helpful during our stay.

On Friday night it was just the four of us; my wife and I and my dad and his wife. We cooked up some brats on the grill and got some deviled egg potato salad from Walmart—which is delicious potato salad by the way.

On Saturday night, with the whole gang there, we had T-bone steaks with lots of goodies on the side. And of course, as is essential for any camping adventure, there was plenty of beer to be had. Although the ladies stuck to wine and flavored malt beverages.

We also had a campfire both nights.

As I mentioned, heading back home on Sunday morning we did run into a bit of wind conditions. Nothing terrible, but it was hitting us at about 20 miles per hour. I have no idea what the occasional gusts were, but each time they let me know they meant business.

It was a bit interesting that I went through a half a tank of gas on the way to Cape and burned through a whole tank on the way home. I presume the wind was giving the truck a bit more of a run for its money and that's why we went through more. It got a bit close, but we didn't have to be forced to try getting into a gas station which I was happy about, although eventually we are going to have to do it.

The only hiccups I ran into were that our Keurig went kaput, and we had to throw away 2 folding chairs. But all of them were old things and so it was probably time anyway. Luckily, we did not have to spring for two new chairs right away, but the Keurig had to be replaced immediately.

Our next camp is planned for the end of the month in Springfield, Illinois, again a couple of hours away, with my wife's cousin and his wife who will come down from Waukesha, Wisconsin to spend some time with us.

It should be a great time.

Explore the quirky side of Jim Bauer with his recent song release on Spotify, Sunny Days—if nothing else the spins might help to pay for that new truck he wants to get (lol); https://open.spotify.com/track/4zPdalYp0coAwcJndN2Nnc?si=16429bd63fc24bba