MEMORIAL WEEK CAMPING TRIP WITH THE KIDS

As usual, it rained during Memorial week but it didn't matter because we were so excited to have the kids go on their first outing with us in the motorhome. We stayed at the Tall Pines campground which is located just 1/2 mile from Silver Dollar City and rented a camper cabin, located just a few steps away from our campsite. Sam suggested we rent a cabin for the times we all travel together and he was absolutely right. With 5 adults, 2 kids under the age of 5 plus 2 dogs AND the fact that it rained, his suggestion probably saved our sanity. Hannah was able to take her naps and go to bed at her usual bedtime because we had the "unibomber" cabin, as Jody nicknamed it. The picture of it on the slideshow says it all!

The kids enjoyed Silver Dollar City while David and I stayed at the campground with Hannah. We had fun one-on-one time with her and the others brought us back some kettlecorn, which was the only reason I wanted to go to SDC anyway, so everyone was happy. We enjoyed cooking out, visiting around the campfire, and just being together even though it was raining.

Our final day, we broke camp and drove into Branson for a day of shopping at the Tanger Outlet Mall. After finding a parking place, we left the dogs in the motorhome and started out on our shopping adventure. From time to time, we would check back in with each other and meet at the motorhome for lunch, to drop off packages, or Jacob's favorite thing in the whole world, going to the bathroom in the motorhome. That afternoon we laid Hannah down for a nap, tucked Papa David in on the couch with the dogs, and took off for another round of shopping. It was fantastic! Our parking lot "neighbors" marveled at our ingenuity...bringing a motorhome for a day of shopping. Thanks to all who have helped guide this new adventure, we are finding new ways everyday to use this "box on wheels" as David refers to it.

RAIN DIDN'T DAMPEN OUR ENTHUSIASM

Last Thursday afternoon we left around 4:30 for our Branson destination...an RV park called Cooper Creek on Lake Taneycomo. It was sunny and mild, but we knew that would be short lived because the weather forecast was for torrential rain all weekend. Luckily, we drove to Cooper Creek, got set up, took Sadie for a walk and cooked out before the rain came. We settled in for movie night with Sadie sleeping at our feet and finally took that first deep, cleansing breath we always take when realize we're on vacation. All is well....

Sadie didn't like the pitter patter of rain drops hitting the top of our motorhome so she whined, David's clue that she wants to go out. He took her outside, she did her thing, he came back in with just a few sprinkles on his shirt, but noted the temperature had dropped considerably. An hour or so later, the pitter patter had turned to a drenching downpour and Sadie was whining so David had to get up with her again. A caveat...the reason David gets up with her at night is because of my new health initiative, I am sleeping like a rock most nights and don't wake up at all for the first time in my life. Sadie and David come dripping back in, he puts her in her crate, and tells her, "That's it, if you need to go again just go in your crate!" That sounded pretty mild, didn't it. You're right, I censored his conversation with her a little bit. It must have worked, though, she didn't whine again all night.

The next morning found us trapped inside a 32 foot RV with a puppy, a Border Collie puppy :o as the rain continues. I'm sure you know, Border Collie's are not known for their docile and inactive demeanor so I had to use my ace in the hole...peanut butter rubbed inside a Kong toy. A Kong is a indestructible rubber toy she will chew on for hours IF there is peanut butter inside. For David, I set up the computer, and to my amazement, had internet service!!! With the two of them set, I get out my trusty Kindle and read for the next two or three hours.

Suddenly, we notice the quiet! It's stopped raining!!! We decide to take Sadie on a long walk then ride our bikes to town. OMG, I thought I was riding in the Tour de France with all those rain-slick hills. We actually had to walk our bikes up a few of them, but it was great exercise and fun, although a bit terrifying when the cars would whip around us. One guy made our day when he stopped his car at an intersection, rolled down his window and said, "Go ahead, bikers rock!" Laughing to myself because we had just gotten back on our bikes after walking them up a hill, I said, "We bikers appreciate that, sir!"

The rain waited until we got back, took Sadie on another walk, and cooked out before making another appearance. We decided to have another movie night, but this time with popcorn. Thanks once again to Cois and Orval for the gift of Yoder's gourmet popcorn several years ago. We are now hopelessly hooked on Tiny Tenders.

Saturday morning's forecast was for rain so we decided to break camp and go to Bass Pro Shop for a little redneck shopping on our way home. All went well, except Sadie escaped at one point and made a bee-line for Lake Taneycomo. So now, we're breaking camp AND dealing with a cold, wet puppy. David had another "talk" with her so I don't think she'll be pulling that again any time soon.

For my complete, pictorial review of Cooper Creek on Lake Taneycomo, go to http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g44160-r29255343-Branson_Missouri.html

OUR FIRST EXCURSION

The "Shake-Out Tour" commenced this past Thursday night at Honeycreek State Park, in Grove. At my mother's suggestion, we decided to stay close to home for our first outing in order to shake-out any problems and be able to fix them easier being just five miles from home. I'm happy to report no problems and nothing forgotten. Actually, things went so smoothly, we are now confident enought to start talking about our much anticipated dive trip to the Florida Keys in the motor home.

We've been spending the past few weeks gathering up stuff for the motor home, David working on all the outside requirements like sewer hose and water hose (eeeewwww, I hope he NEVER gets those mixed up) and me working on the important things like decorating, getting new dishes, food prep items, and groceries. I was telling Jack about getting ready for our first trip and he told me a funny story about some clients who do the following every season as they prepare to travel...they park their motor home in the drive way and after loading it, the wife periodically spends the night in it right there on their drive way...just to make sure she has everything they need for a trip. She told Jack, "That way when we get ready to leave, all I have to do is go buy milk and bread and I'm ready to travel!" Smart lady!!!

Thursday after work, we packed up the last of those "necessary" items, loaded Sadie, and headed down the road. Five minutes later, we arrived at our destination, Honeycreek State Park. After parking, we began unloading all those hoses and plugs and began getting hooked into Honeycreek's power and water. The slab was level so we didn't really have much to do. After taking Sadie for a walk around their lovely, tree filled acres we decided to fix dinner outside on our new grill to make sure it worked. The hamburgers were fabulous! As a surprise for David, I rented the Robin Williams movie, RV, so after dinner we watched that hilarious movie. Thank you Scott for the suggestion. We turned in early and slept peacefully. I was prepared to have to buy another mattress, but were pleasantly surprised this one was so comfortable after adding the memory foam on top.

Friday morning, I made coffee in the new Mr. Coffee maker, took Sadie on another walk, then made pancakes inside. The stove worked! After breakfast, we decided to go for a bicycle ride around Honeycreek. As a part of our new health initiative, we are determined to ride our bicycles whenever we can on our trips instead of taking a "toad"... another RV word for a tow car. We know there will be times when taking a car will be a necessity, but for now this is the plan. The ride was fabulous! We then rode to the office, WalMart, and Lowes then back to Honeycreek. Let me just say, we take walks and exercise every day, but in those 24 hours on our camping trip, we got more exercise than we usually get in a week. It was great! After lunch, another walk and bicycle ride and it was time to break camp. After unhooking everything, we decided to go to the dump station and go through that "fun" exercise. It wasn't too gross, although I did make David clean his hands with an anti-bacterial cloth afterwards. Five minutes later, we were pulling into our barn, happy with ourselves on our first successful RV trip : ) Read my full review of Honeycreek State Park, complete with pictures, on tripadvisor.com.

This week we are headed over to Lake Taneycomo for a couple of days. The place we are staying is about five minutes away from the strip in Branson so I'm sure our bicycles will get another good work-out. In addition, I think we're going to buy temporary fishing licenses and do a little fishing off the RV park dock. Originally, I wanted to go to the Okeene Rattlesnake Roundup, but upon further investigation, it seems they have let it go downhill a little. It seems the Rattlesnake Club bubbas want to run things instead of letting the Chamber of Commerce. After talking to a couple of them, I'm pretty sure they are distant cousins of mine AND were definitely related to the guys on Okie Noodling. So....I'm OK with going to Branson instead...although next year I have my heart set on going to the Big Spring Rattlesnake Round-Up in Big Spring, Texas....supposedly the new king of rattlesnake hunts...dethroning Okeene and the bubbas for that previously held title. Sorry, cousins...

NEW ADVENTURES

WELCOME to our travel blog, Ricochet. It is our attempt to stay in touch as we travel across America in our motorhome on long weekends and a couple of weeks during the year. Our new adventure will be fun, but we will always look forward to coming home to our family, friends and our fabulous, pocket-sized town on the lake.

WORDS ROCK!!
Some of my favorites include....trajectory, addendum, serendipity, and ricochet. I know it's weird, but there's something about the way certain words feel when I say them that has always been fascinating to me. I even keep a list of words I love on my computer notepad. Anyway, I've admitted that little secret to say this..when it came to naming my blog, I gave it lots of thought and did some research to come up with just the right title.

Ricochet is described in the dictionary as follows: A ricochet (pronounced RICK-uh-shay) is a rebound, bounce or skip off of a surface; the Thesaurus lists as one of the synonyms the word return. Returning is exactly what we have in mind as we begin our new, motorhome journey across America. David and I have always loved the return home as much as we've enjoyed our travels. So, don't worry, as we begin this new motorhome adventure. To borrow a catch phrase from Arnold Schwarzenegger's character from the film 'The Terminator', "I'll be back!"

THE MOTORHOME
In preparation for this new adventure, we've purchased, with a huge amount of input and help from Sam and Terry, a 2006, 32 ft. Gulfstream Ultra with a super slide-out. It has tons of storage, both inside and out, which is a must for David and me since we are both collectors...aka junkers. It is a class C mini motorhome which means it has an over-cab compartment. Some class C motorhomes have an entertainment center in that compartment. Ours, however, has a bunk over the cab instead. We figured it would be the perfect place for the the grandkids, Jacob and Hannah, when they travel with us, which we're planning on happening very soon. I'm having a privacy curtain made for the space so it will be like their very own hide-away!

Sam has been very helpful in educating us on all things motorhome. Wow, there's a lot to learn!! We consider this motorhome our starter unit to try out and make sure we really like it. If we do, we'll probably upgrade sometime in the future to a class A coach as Sam has suggested. This one is a plain vanilla variety, with shades of beige as the color palate, and linoleum throughout. Here is a link to one exactly like it that I found on Ebay.

http://my.autorevo.com/Revo/Templates/RV01.aspx?iid=666502&aid=578

Those are the before pictures.

Terry has helped me so much through the process of making it my own. I emailed pictures to her and she immediately gave me wonderful ideas. Amber called a few days ago and will be helping me decorate it next week sometime. We're going to use my own things plus a few items from Nuance Decor to take away some of the cold and bland look. Can't wait to get started! I'll post the after pictures in a couple of weeks.

THE JOURNEY BEGINS
Our first outing will be to Honeycreek State Park. We wanted to stay close to home the first weekend out. It was my mother's suggestion and I think it is a good one. Yesterday, I drove through the park, talking to Terrie on the phone, while scoping it out and think I've located the perfect, picturesque spot overlooking Grand Lake.

Our second outing will be to Branson. We're looking at staying in an RV park close to Lake Taneycomo. Our plan is to always find places to camp near water and that have bicycle trails nearby. We are purposely NOT towing a car, aka dinghy in RV speak, to force us to either walk or ride our bikes. I'll let you know about our new health initiative in another entry.

If both outings go well, we'll try venturing out a little more until we're comfortable traveling to the Florida Keys, a diving destination that's been on our bucket list for quite some time. Never in a million years did we ever dream we'd be heading there in a motorhome, though! That's the plan now. I just hope we don't add so much to our collection in the ample storage compartments that we no longer have room for our dive gear : )

Other destinations on our list include fall in the New England states and spring in California wine country. If anybody has suggestions of places you've been that you think we might be interested in, please let us know.

The main purpose of Ricochet is to keep our family and friends updated on our travels, but will add a few other musings along the way as the mood hits.