Thursday, May 11, 2006

Our Maiden Voyage

Last week we took our maiden voyage in our new little camper. We stayed just one night up at a campground on Lake Lanier in an effort to learn all we need to know in order to use our Aliner. Aliner's are folding campers, much like pop ups, except they have no canvas and are hard sided. We visited a number of camper/RV dealers before buying. We viewed several types of camper that were small enough to be towed by our van. It was essential that we buy something that I can operate totally by myself. We needed to 'try on' a camper for size, fortunately, camper dealers are good about allowing you to set up and close up campers to show you how easy it is to do. We also needed something that would be easy for Paul to get in and out of, and to move safely inside , so we had to test this out as well. Paul is quite happy with the camper. I enjoyed how easy it is to set up. I'm sure we will both enjoy it more as we become more familiar and therefore more adept and comfortable using it.
At this time of year the campgrounds are still half empty during the week, so things are quiet and private. Except for the occassional light or the aroma of a campfire, we could have been alone on the lake. Well, almost alone....There were a few boaters and a jetski and water skier zooming past a few times. They provided us with some entertainment and caused small waves to lap the shore, creating a much more pleasant sound than their boat motors!
We had wonderful weather, a beautiful and peaceful site right on the water, and a great camping companion. Nick was a great camper. He never barked the whole time we were gone. He was constantly observing all that went on around us, and was especially interested in the fish that occassionally would jump out of the water. He did indicate that he would have preferred sleeping in one of the beds instead of on the floor, but then one of us would have had to take the floor-and that was NOT going to happen! We appeased him by making a very cushy bed for him to ride in for our return trip. He is nothing if not magnanimous and has accepted our apology. Now that we are home, he is back on duty. He needed his little vacation from his job of alerting us of all the UPS/FedEx trucks that drive past each day. I'm not sure if he is trying to scare them away or is miffed that they haven't brought something for him!

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