When we called Mid-America RV to get an update on our trailer repairs, we learned that the dealership was waiting on parts. With the Covid-19 pandemic, RV parts were delayed considerably because the manufacturers were not running at full capacity. Since we needed a place to sleep at night, the dealer agreed to install a temporary strap to secure the kitchen. They added the strap. We picked up the trailer and we finally were off on our initial camping experience.
Just to clarify, we are not campers, nor have we ever been campers. The most camping experience we had was a week at Nationwide Youth Round-up in Colorado in 2006. Our friend and then-youth minister, Matt, needed adult chaperones for the church’s annual trip to NYR. We agreed to go. We spent a week in a tent on a mountainside, worshiping in rain and mud, showering with water drawn from the pond, and using port-a-potties. We survived, but that week solidified that we prefer the comfort of Comfort Suites over the naturalness of nature. For both of us to have peace about living for a season in a glorified tent could only come from the Lord, demonstrating His sense of humor.
For our first trip, we stayed close to ‘home’ at Watkins Mill State Park. The park is five miles from our former home and, more importantly, close by our storage units. We loaded the trailer and truck with everything we thought we might need: Pyrex dishes, cast iron skillets, pantry staples, cleaning supplies, bedding, and our clothes and toiletries. Our free standing tent became an extra room for sorting and storing overflow items. And we had a lot of overflow items! As we thinned and organized our belongings, our new living space started to come together. We made almost daily trips to Home Depot, Walmart, and our storage units. By the end of our week long stay, we were satisfied, more or less, with our new home.
To celebrate our first night in the trailer, we ordered dinner from our favorite Mexican restaurant, LaFuente. Our meal was delicious (as always) and it must have smelled delicious too as the empty take-out containers in our trailer’s garbage attracted a steady stream of nighttime visitors. Raccoons! When we arrived at Watkins Mill, the camp host warned us not to leave any food items or coolers outside of our vehicle or trailer. He didn’t warn us not to leave food scraps inside our trailer! During the night, we were awakened multiple times by the hungry creatures scratching on our window screen. The flashlight’s beam and our shouts frightened them away but the persistent animals were undeterred. They returned again and again and continued their unwanted visits until dawn. We kept them out of our trailer that first night, but the raccoons weren’t willing to go away empty-handed.
Lesson Learned:Â Everyone, including raccoons, loves LaFuente! Â Â Â Â Â
