trish321

I need a golf cart because when I try to ride my bike to the pool, my margarita spills all over me and is pretty much empty by the time I get there.

I need a golf cart because when I try to ride my bike to the pool, my margarita spills all over me and is pretty much empty by the time I get there.

Arrival and Day 1
DD and I cut school and work on Friday so we could get an early start. DH was going to come after work with everyone’s bikes. The plan was for DD and I to set up our site, and be chilling by the pool with a cold one waiting for DH when he got there around 4:00. Ahhh…what is the saying…”the best laid plans…”…ya unfortunately that was us.
We were packed up and left the house at 10:30, we stopped by our camping buddies house since they had never been there and wanted to follow us.
Now DD and I are totally new to camping but we had practiced, plus the family that came with us has been camping tons of times (so we were lead to believe), so we felt pretty good. We checked in with no line by 11:30. I did the online check in and requested something close to a comfort station, thinking it would be good with the 3 kids. It only took a couple of minutes and we were off to site 64 in the 2000 loop. It was located directly across the street from the comfort station. I started to have second thoughts about that location…but really it was perfect. There wasn’t too much noise or too much foot traffic.
The comfort station itself was impressive. Very clean. DD loved the acoustics (sorry for any of you who had to endure her shower singing!). The ice machine was out of order so I called the front desk and demanded an upgrade to the Grand Floridian…that wasn’t happening so instead I made it up to myself and parked 2 cars instead of the allowed 1 at our site. I felt better.
We all started unloading and setting up. Things were going as planned! DD set up our tent, fixed it all up inside, set up the easy up canopy…then started making a small list of all the things we forgot. We do this no matter what. Luckily DH always comes later so we can text our list to him and he can bring all the stuff we forgot. Let’s see…forgot pillows, forgot DD’s stuffed animal, forgot the 2nd fan, forgot DD’s Disney gift card, and most importantly forgot the container of margaritas that I made up before we left!
So we have all of our stuff set and I turn around and our camping buddies have what appears to be a large sheet of yellow tarp splayed all over and various flimsy sticks they are trying to feed through guides…”trying” is the key word. They tell me that this is their tent. DD look at each other and laugh. Turns out that they REALLY have only been camping once with this tent and she didn’t even put it up herself, someone else did. So much for my grand plan. There were no instructions and it was it was around 2:30 when we realized she was missing parts of that tent. Then she pulled out the air mattress she brought for her kids and there was a gaping hole in it. I guess she didn't think to try this stuff out before we left...sigh. So she borrowed my duct tape (she forgot that too) and tried to patch it...and using my extension cord (oops, forgot that too) it semi-inflated.
Now don't get me wrong, I know I forgot a bunch of stuff too...but I have DH to fall back on...I can count on him...every time! Right?
I was pretty annoyed and sat down to take a break and to text DH the “forgotten list” when his truck pulls up in front of our camp site. What?! He NEVER gets there early! My margaritas! The horror! After being revived, I realized it was good he was there because he is really good at jury rigging and he would be able to get her dumb tent up…while I went to the liquor store. Two crises averted.
The kids learned the lay of the land on their bikes while the adults did the important stuff (tent building and liquor buying). All the kids really loved being able to ride everywhere…apparently they found one of the stores as was apparent by the Mickey bar ring around the 5yo’s mouth.
We were ready to hit the pool. We didn’t plan on going to any of the parks this weekend, just wanted to hang out at the campground. The kids showed us a nifty little shortcut between the 2000 loop and the 900 loop that came out pretty close to the main pool. We were able to walk or ride to the pool in just a few minutes. Wow is that a crowded pool! It was even sort of a rainy day and still the pool was packed. I’ve heard that the locals like to crash this pool and apparently it’s true…but I don’t get why…it’s a hassle to get to the pool, they’d have to take a bus and all that.
Tonight is the night we planned to cook at the campsite so when I heard thunder rumbling in the distance I decided I better go ahead and get the grill going before the deluge. The grill was pretty clean but I had brought some disposable grill liners so our meat wouldn’t touch our camping buddies’ veggies since the mom is a vegetarian. Thoughtful, huh? Anyway the grill was just right for what we needed and the food was good. I set up the easy up canopy over the picnic table and we sat there and ate while it poured rain…hoping the new tent wouldn’t flood like some of the reviews said it would.
The rain stopped and I checked the tent. Dry as a bone…whoopee!
Things were good. We went to the campfire and movie, watched a little of “Finding Nemo” and the kids were on a smores sugar high. Went back to the campsite and played some dominos before going to bed.
Now you have to remember, this is the first time DH or me have ever slept in a tent. We had a queen air mattress for us and a twin for DD. We used sheets and blankets from home and the pillows I bought at Wal-mart when I made my liquor run. I was afraid that it would rain and I wanted to leave the tent windows open for air so we moved the canopy over the tent and it fit just right. There was a light rain that night but everything stayed dry. It was pretty humid, and we were COLD. I ended up turning the oscillation off on the fan and aiming it at the ceiling…that made it tolerable for me and DD, but DH was still cold so he went and slept in the truck!
I read on one of the boards that someone suggested a portable heater for a tent…in Florida…in August. People thought that poster was nuts. But now I can totally see how it could cut down on the humidity a little and also keep people like us warm. I’m just wondering if we will ever be able to comfortably camp in other seasons and be warm.