Happy Happy Day!!!!!!

Guess what showed up today?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

Yes, that's right............it's my new King Pine Dome Tent from LL Bean!!!!!!  I know....it doesn't look like much in the box, but boy with it serve me well!  I can't wait to be able to open the box and set the tent up!  However, since it's January, and I'm in New England, there is the ever-present threat of snow.  And if it's not snowing, it's flippin cold!  It might actually kill me to wait until Spring to open it. 

The footprint arrived also, but it's not in the picture, lol.

Upgrading Equipment

At times, it's necessary to upgrade camping equipment.  Sometimes the stove, lantern, etc.... other times it's the tent, cooler, screenhouse, etc....

My current tent was purchased from Building 19 (I think local to Massachusetts) for $60 because it was missing it's rainfly (which I didn't realize it was supposed to have until I saw one set up in a campground, lol).  I purchased a clear painter's tarp thingy from Walmart for $3 to use as a rainfly.  I figured if I got one season out of it, it was worth it.  I managed to get 4 or 5 out of it!  As you read in a previous post, my last trip of the summer had some tough rain.  I ended up with water in the tent, a full pasta pot full of water!  That was the last straw and I decided I was getting a new tent, somehow, before next summer.

My entire camping life, I've dreamed of owning an LL Bean tent.  They are well-constructed and more importantly - all their products are guaranteed!  I have issues with tents leaking.  It is, admittedly, my own fault.  I never remember to seal the seams on the tent until I'm sleeping in it and it's raining!  I know....nice time to remember, huh?

My solution, albiet not a cheap one, is to get an LL Bean tent.  Their tent seams are factory taped and sealed, and guaranteed not to leak or need sealing again.  I read this and was in heaven!  In my search for the perfect Bean tent for me, I wanted one with a bathtub floor, and a rain fly that came down to the ground.  As anyone who has camped before knows, this significantly increases the usable space in a tent!  No more freaking out about the sides (yeah!).  So, I ended up finding the tent I wanted, the King Pine Dome Tent.  Supposedly sleeps six, but realistically 3 or 4.  That's fine with me, I typically have 1-3 people sleeping in it at one time.  It also has an attached screen room which is fabulous for putting shoes on/off, jackets, etc... and keeping the majority of dirt out of the tent!

Here is a picture from the LLBean website!

The cost of the tent and the matching footprint is $400.  The tent alone is $360, and really, if I'm spending that on a Bean tent, I can shell out the $40 for the footprint!  Since I had no visible means of affording this tent before the next camping season, I asked my friends and family for Bean gift cards for my birthday and Christmas, rather than presents to unwrap.  I was polite about it....when asked what I wanted, I replied with a Bean tent :)    Anyway, I ended up with $300 in gift cards, only $100 short....that made the tent a lot more affordable!  My most recent gift card came in the mail yesterday, and of course there was a Bean catalog included with it.  While flipping through, I noticed my tent was on sale!  It was only $300 instead of $360.  Hmmmmmmm   So, I went online and sure enough, the footprint was on sale too ($30 instead of $40).  With tax, it was only going to be $350 for both.  So, I jumped on it and ordered both.  They had free shipping on orders over $75, which was nice since the tent weighs almost 34 lbs!!   It should be at my house by the end of the week :D

I also decided that I was tired of the ice in my cooler needing to be replaced every day.  It gets expensive!  I was looking at different coolers, and happened upon the 5 day ice coolers.  Yes, they don't fit as much as the one I have now, but I'd rather go out to the store to buy more food than to buy ice that's gonna be gone tomorrow!  I decided I liked the Coleman ones.  Just have to find a size I like in a price I like, lol!

I am also in the market for a tote to replace my big blue one, I found some cracked holes in the bottom at the end of the last trip.  I am looking at the Rubber Maid Action Packers.  I think I'm going to have to order it, because my local Walmart does not carry it.  They, and Target, only carry the smaller one. 



Are you planning on upgrading any of your equipment?  If so, what are your plans?

Cedar Point - THE Awesomest Coaster Park!

This is what greeted us the next morning as we walked from the parking lot into the park!  Funny enough, we parked next to another vehicle from Mass!

I'm going to apologize ahead of time, but there are a LOT of pictures in this post! 

Gotta love the Tilt-aWhirl!

WildCat - packs more of a punch that it looks!

TopThrill Dragster!

HAD to check out the waterpark!

We ended up finishing up all the coasters and other rides by lunchtime the second day, so decided to go check out the water park.  Had lunch, did the slides, and even played some mini-golf before returning to the park!  Rode some of our favorite coasters one last time, and headed out to get dinner and some sleep before our drive back the next morning!


Have you vacationed somewhere you never thought you'd go?

Road Trip to Cedar Point

As I have mentioned previous posts, my friend Jen and I are huge amusement park enthusiasts.  We have season passes to Six Flags and definitely use them!  I was at her house one night, and we were watching "10 Biggest Roller Coasters" or something like that on the tv.  Well....about half of them were from Cedar Point.  Now, we've heard of Cedar Point, but never actually considered going there...come on - it's in Ohio!  We jokingly said 'I wonder if it's feasible to go?'  Well, faced with a challenge like that, we both got on computers and started looking things up.  We found that two day pass for the park and water park was only $75 each.  The Cedar Point hotels were crazy expensive, so we found a Super 8 that had decent reviews and was much more wallet-friendly!  We picked tentative dates to go, and she checked at work to see what she could get off for vacation.  Within a few days we had our reservations made!  

We left Connecticut (where she lives) on Tuesday morning, August 3rd.  Our journey took us through Pennsylvania, and while stopped for lunch, we looked up where Punxsutawney was.  Turns out is was a short detour from the highway, so we decided 'what the heck' and stopped there on our way out to Ohio.  It was kitchy but it was fun!!!! 

The first place we stopped was the Groundhog Zoo, it's really just a room in the town library with windows so people can see in.  This is where Phil is kept when it's not February 2nd.  Did you know???  There's actually TWO Phil's!  We were surprised, lol!

Here is one of the two Phil's.  They were both sleeping, but we couldn't get a good picture of the second one.

A close up of the map on the wall near the Zoo, showing how to get to Gobbler's Knob.  We just had to go and check it out!

It was very exciting to see this sign as we turned off the road!  Honestly, it was more exciting that it probably should have been, lol!

 Strange to see it all deserted, rather than full of people and snow!

Yes, folks, we walked up onto the stage and looked at the tree stump!  We have no shame!!!!  There is a block of wood behind the stump, and we each took turns standing on it and leaning on the stump and having our picture taken.  Yes, that's me!  Did you know there's a 'trap door' on the back of the stump?  We think that's how they get Phil into the stump!







The rest of our road trip was uneventful, we stopped for dinner at Cracker Barrel (gotta love it!), and got to Sandusky around 10pm or so.  We decided to continue on to Cedar Point so we could get some maps of the park and plan our day.  We got back to the hotel and checked in around 11pm.  Looked at the maps and called it a night.  We wanted to be rested and refreshed for the next day!


Have you taken a side-trip while on a road trip to see something kooky, fun, or just plain strange?

Tents and Screenhouses

I know it's been a while since I posted anything, but with fall and winter, there really isn't much camping going on around here.

I realized I never posted about the camping trip I was getting ready for, way back in July!  The trip was fun.  I took my friend's two sons (11 and 13) for 5 days, and then was going to be camping alone and with a friend for the remaining 5 days.

Since I was picking them up early in the morning, I packed up my car the night before.

This is how the car looked after I cleaned it out and took one of the seats out.  Had to leave one in, because one of the boys had to  sit back there.  It may not look like a lot of space, but boy do I know how to fill it!!







This is behind the driver's seat.  Those two containers hold the non-perishable food and the supplies (batteries, sponges, etc....) that need to be replenished after a camping season.  You can also see my make-shift "wall" consisting of my camp kitchen (bottom) and coleman table.  The two coolers I have went on top of these containers, in the morning.

Here is the back of the car: tent, awning, screen house, tarps, stroller for water jug, and who knows what else!  Unseen, below the tent and screen house is a rubbermaid footlocker that holds all the dishes.  Our bags containing our clothes, towels, etc... all ended up filling the remaining space.

This is my platform that hooks into the receiver hitch that I have.  On top is the container the holds all the equipment that is needed (stove, lantern, dishpans, etc....).  It is strapped down pretty well so I don't lose it on the highway!

Last, but not least, is the carry bag I have for the top of the car.  It has our chairs in it, and a whole bunch of other stuff that I really don't remember right now!





The boys have not been camping all that much, but did help out as much as they could (sometimes they were a bit too eager to help).  The first day was spent mostly with setting up camp and obtaining perishables and such.  The state forest was low on rain, so campfires were banned until further notice (only cooking fires allowed).  Here are some pictures of camp site before and after it was set up:

Empty site, screenhouse ended up in the foreground of this picture

Same site, tent ended up in the top left, and the hammocks hung from the three trees you see

Overview of part of the site, taken from opposite angle as the first two pictures.

Front view of the tent.  The awning provides a place to get out of the rain or sun, and to put shoes on/off, etc.... without tracking tons of dirt into my tent!

Various towels and bathing suits hanging up to dry.  There are three clothes lines there :)

Campfire area.  No fires due to no rain, but we set our Weber grill on top and cooked some meals on that (even tried chocolate chip cookies!).

My glorious screen house that I love so much!

My camp kitchen from LL Bean.  They no longer sell it, so I'm glad I got it when I did!  It's full length is approx 8 feet (including the wire mesh 'wings').  I use it mostly for dishes, and store either the green Rubber Maid containers under the wings, or the coolers, or some combination of the two.  I love my hanging fruit basket - amazingly enough, critters do not bother it!

My coleman table and stove, coleman lantern, stroller with water jug, and picnic table.  The dishes get stored on the shelf of the coleman table.  The lantern is screwed onto a propane tree which is screwed onto a 20lb propane tank.  The tank is in a milk crate, so that it does not get tipped over.

The equipment tub and food tub are stored under the eave of the table.  The small cooler (for drinks only) is under the bench of the table.  The other green tub is under one of the wings of the kitchen, because I don't go in there as much during a trip as I do for the food! 

Closeups of under the wings of the kitchen.  I have an emergency blanket over the cooler to keep the sun off of it.  The dishes are also stored next to the kitchen.














As the first night came about, it was time for showers.  I packed the boys a bag with their clean, dry clothes and towels and sent them off.  The restroom at the campground has mens and ladies next to each other, in the same building with separate entrances.  I showered while they were also showering.  I finished before them and waited outside (they were instructed to wait for me if they were done first).  Of all the issues I thought they'd have in the shower (this was the first time without dad with them), I was totally unprepared for what walked out of the bathroom!  Both of their towels were sopping wet (like they dunked them in the lake), and their clothes were quite literally stuck to each of them.  I did not get mad, but instead calmly asked what happened?  Apparently the towels and dirty clothes fell off of the bench and into the puddle of water that collects under it (yeah, bad design, but that's how it is).  After a few more questions, I realized they had always showered with mom or dad when camping.  This was their first solo-shower while camping.  So, we walked back to the site, I got them dry towels (I brought plenty!) and dry clothes, and they walked back and dried up and changed while I hung the wet stuff on the line.  The next night I instructed them on how to shower while camping, and it went much better!

We hung up some hammocks I had (the ones without the spreader bars in them) and I taught them how to safely get in and out of the hammock.  They thought this was great!  The oldest spent much of the week in his hammock, lol.  We had some friend's come visit for the day one day.  We went swimming, hiking, relaxed, etc..  We had a good time on the trip.

The day came that they were going home, and as a little treat, their parents (and younger, autistic, brother) came for the day.  I had to move campsites (just next door) because I added the extra days after the original reservation.  So, the boys, their friends and their dad helped me move my entire campsite next door.  Have you ever seen a screen house being walked down the road?  We did it!  lol!  It was way easier than taking it apart and it wouldn't fit between the bushes separating the sites.  We got the site all moved, and headed off to the beach for the day.

Afterwards they headed home, and I headed out to get some much needed laundry done, and to find some dinner.  I brought clothes for half the trip, and planned on doing laundry part way through the week.  So, I had dinner at Panera, did some much needed websurfing, and had a very unsatisfying lobster roll.  Part of the lobster meat was still frozen!!  Much prefer fresh lobster meat!

Headed off to the laundry mat (no a/c!) and got some laundry done.  Then headed off to the store to get some more supplies so that I could do nothing but relax and read the next day.  Got back to camp, put everything away and decided to shower and hit the hay.

It started raining.  and raining and raining.  It didn't stop alllll night long.  I am one of those anal types that has a tarp under the tent, and inside the tent.  I was sleeping on an air mattress with my sleeping bag.  I woke up at about 6am, still raining, and as I rolled over I heard "squish squish".  Oye....water in the tent.  I should have expected it.  I never remember to seal the seams on my tent until it's too late.  So...I psyched myself up for having to dry out the tent, and got up to go to the bathroom.  What I encountered when I unzipped the tent door was not even on the radar of possibilities in my mind..............my screenhouse looked like a twisted mess!!!!!!

As seen from the door of my tent!

I totally freaked out and started crying uncontrollably.  I should probably mention that when plans I have get changed at the last minute, I don't always handle it well.  It looked like every pole was broken, etc.....


I calmed down enough to go the bathroom and came back to the site.  I decided I couldn't deal with the screenhouse yet, so decided to dry out the tent.  I took the sleeping bag and air mattress and shoved them into the car (Honda Element, back seats folded up).  I used chamois' to get the water out and ended up filling my pasta pot to the top with water!  Once that was finished (an hour later), I had decided to go home to get another screen house (I had a few, lol), and come back and take the broken one down and put the other one up.

I couldn't emotionally handle it alone, so I called my brother and a friend's husband who both were able to come back with me to the campground.  They went in my brother's vehicle and followed me.  We got to the site, and within 30 minutes we had one screen house down and a different one put up.  It was determined that only 1 pole and 3 corner connectors were damaged beyond use.  By this time it had started raining in earnest again.  They headed off home and I headed off to find myself some clams for dinner (I deserved them after all that!).  In the process of searching for steamed clams, I remembered there was a restaurant near home that had a clam boil buffet.  So, I turned around and headed home.  Got my mom, and we went to dinner.  I then decided I needed to sleep in my bed that night and return to the campground the next morning.

I did return, cleaned up the dishes in the screenhouse, set up the back of my car to sleep in it, set it up, and took down the tent.  I brought the tent home, but did not expect to ever use it again.  While I was at home, I found a website that sold replacement parts for the screenhouse and ordered them.  I think they arrived before I was done with my trip!  I was much happier knowing I was going to sleep in the dry car after that.  I spent the day in a hammock, napping and reading just about all day.  Did pretty much the same thing the next day too.  Then met my aunt and uncle for dinner and hung out at their camper (they were camping down the road from where I was).  I ended up staying over in their camper and heading out the next day on their boat with them.

It was so much fun!  We sailed from West Island (Fairhaven, MA) over to New Bedfard harbor and back.  We had breakfast before setting off, and then went for dinner afterwards.  We brought snacks on the boat, but no one was hungry during the day.  After dinner I headed back to the campground to start packing things up since I was leaving the next day.  All in all it was a fun trip, despite the near emotional breakdown I had!

What have been some of the more trying times you've had while vacationing/camping?