La Conner Thousand Trails
We pulled into the resort and checked in. The ranger was extremely friendly and helpful and pointed us toward a site that was adjacent to a grassy field with a play area for the kiddos. There was a little putt-putt golf course, playground, and pickle ball courts.
At Thousand Trails, it's first come, first serve so many of the premium sites were already taken when we pulled through on Saturday. Not a huge deal because we're not extremely picky (or so I thought). We pulled through the loop and almost got into a jam with a Canadian camper who was attempting to back his huge fifth-wheel into a spot for the first time. When I tried to explain to him that we couldn't squeeze by him because our rig would swing wide, he didn't understand. I literally had to show him with arm motions the angles necessary to turn our rig to the left around his... And mention our previous incident with swinging wide and a certain lamppost that will never be the same. He pulled up and we scooted by.
We discovered a site that looked okay and backed in (our first attempt!). Vince did really well at following my hand signals and we didn't even come close to filing for a divorce (a situation I've heard is common when it comes to backing in large trailers).
A few lessons we learned.
Make sure the site is wide enough to pull the awning out before you walk back to the ranger station to hand in the paperwork. We got back to the site (after a 1/3 mile walk) and realized that we couldn't pull it out more than a few feet. But, heck, we were just happy we could pull the awning out at all since we didn't even try during our first trip out.
We were thrilled to have water and electricity. I cannot begin to tell you how convenient both of these made my life as camp mom. We grilled hamburgers and the OreIda grillers on our small Weber BBQ and had dinner outside on the picnic table that we moved under the awning. Everything was simple and easy and fast!
We decided to walk to the lodge. It was full of people and there was food set out. It felt like we had walked into someone's party and it was a little awkward, so we left. But while inside, we noticed there was a giant flat screen TV, couches, fireplace and more. It would be quite the relaxing atmosphere if there wasn't a party going on that you weren't invited to!
Around back was a hot tub full of women along with a group of teenage boys headed there. Soon the women left and the boys took the place over. I wish there was a pool here so the adults could enjoy the tub while the kids played in the pool.
We walked down to the beach and noticed signs saying that no shells could be removed because the beach was shared with one of the local Native American tribes. It was still pretty cool, even though my 5-year-old was disappointed she couldn't keep her treasures.
Someone had constructed a pretty cool shelter made out of driftwood and there was a gross couch in it as well. All the comforts of home on the beach if you were a kid who didn't wonder where the couch had been.
The weather was pretty good for late April and we were able to walk all around the resort. We brought the map with us and circled other campsites that looked a little better than the one we selected. Next time, we will be a little more picky with selecting the perfect site...
After our walk, we headed back to our campsite to find blaring music and screaming children across the grassy field from us. Definitely not the peaceful outdoor camping experience I was looking forward to. We retired for the night after making peep s'mores (http://eclecticrecipes.com/peeps-smores-for-easter) and could hear the music even inside the RV until 11 p.m. (http://alittlecampy.com/camping-etiquette-the-unspoken-rules-of-campground-camping/).
Thankfully I had a good book and was able to just read until it quieted down enough to sleep. I kept thinking a ranger would tell them to be quiet, but alas, no one came around. Another friend who camps often said recently that camping etiquette is dead. I would disagree most of the time, but this outing was pretty ridiculously loud.
After the music died down, we got a pretty good night of sleep. Got up early and had the worst experience of my cooking career. We hadn't leveled the RV because it seemed to be pretty level. That's a big mistake when it comes to using a flat griddle. You see, the butter I was melting shot off the back of the griddle, under the stove plates. Oh, and did I mention the back two burners of the stove only have a "high" option so the butter that's on the griddle scorches almost instantly setting off a fire alarm at 7 a.m. My only thought in retrospect is that this my own little revenge on the campers across the way that were surely awakened by the alarm's screeching noise and the screeching camp mom who was trying to get the noise to stop while trying to also retrieve the butter... Needless to say, the griddle will not be making another appearance in the RV... So far, I feel as though there has been many errors resulting in what would make for great sitcom fodder if you were writing about a family trek across the country in an RV. Good grief, it's like I am 10 years old and learning how to make a semi-complicated recipe for the first time. I hope the cooking experiences improve or my family may be relegated to eating sub sandwiches picked up along the way and cold cereal each morning.
We really liked the campground and will be going back there in May for another overnight stay. We're looking forward to picking a better site and not setting off the fire alarm.
-30-
No comments:
Post a Comment