Add This To Your Camping Cookbook!

Mornin' everyone . . . SplashT@B here at the end of May and I'm looking at those wonderful camping months of June, July, and August in front of us with adventures just waiting to happen.  Woohoo . . . I feel like summer has really arrived and I'm itching to hit the road again with Momma Sharon.

From time to time, my Camper Mom has an epiphany (big word of the day) and this one happened the other night in the kitchen.  Uncle Rob (Pod's camper Dad)  makes some yummalicious roasted onions when we go camping and Momma Sharon stole that recipe from him last summer.  Well, the other night she had some fresh corn on the cob and that's when she hatched this brainy recipe.

Take one fresh ear of corn, place it on a sheet of tin foil, and smear on some butter . . . 

Grab the container of Old Bay Seasoning and sprinkle it liberally on top of the corn . . .

Wrap it in tin foil, put it on a baking sheet along with some of Rob's famous onions, preheat the oven to 450 degrees and then roast it all for 45 minutes . . .

Open the foil packets carefully because it will be hot, hot, hot . . .

Now doesn't this look great?!  And wouldn't it taste so good cooked outdoors?  If you want to add my Mom's roasted corn recipe to your camping cookbook, go right ahead!  Put it right there with Uncle Rob's roasted onions (which by the way, you cook the same way) and you'll have all your neighbors wishing they were eating supper with you!!

"Peace, Love & Campground Cooking"

Two Cool Camping Books

Happy Memorial Day Weekend to all my camping peeps and friends!!  I know a lot of you will be out there in the woods, near the beach, beside a lake, and in the mountains celebrating and having fun this long holiday weekend.  I'm sticking close to home, because I have an adventure planned for early June.

This past week a couple packages arrived for Momma Sharon in the mail and I just wanted to tell you about them.  My Camper Mom takes hundred of photos when we are out on the road together.  When she gets home, she'll go through all those pictures and edit them before burning them onto a CD.  The bad thing about that is, those CDs get filed and no one gets to see all the photos on them.

But Momma Sharon will open her Shutterfly software, pull out the best of the best photos, and create a book about the trip we just took!  One of those packages that I mentioned contained a book called "James Island Spring Break" and it's a show and tell of all the fun we had down in Charleston in April.

She deviated from her normal earthy colors and went with something tropical and bold.  It's a fun, fun book full of pictures of me . . . tee hee . . . and all my friends!

The second book that arrived is all about my Blue Ridge Rally and Kentucky Bourbon Trail Caravan.  It has page after page after page of memories and I love it too.

I know Momma Sharon would love to show them to you, so I'll tell her to be sure to take them camping with us just in case you are there too and might want to look at them.

Have a great Memorial Day Weekend everyone and always remember . . . 

"Peace, Love & Camping!"

I've Got New Tire Covers!

Well hey there everyone...SplashT@B here with a special Sunday Short Story for you!!

This afternoon Momma Sharon drove down to Becky's to visit me.  That was kinda sweet of her because I haven't seen her all week.  Not only did she pay me a visit, she brought me a present - - new tire covers!

My old tire covers were shot!  They were cracked and nasty dirty.  That's to be expected though given their age.  Aunt Becky bought them for my birthday many years ago and they have held up well to be so old.  On my Camper Mom's 2013 To-Do List was to get a new set and she did that right after the Blue Ridge Rally.  They are so pretty and white and they fit like a glove!!

Something else I need to tell you this afternoon.  On Cousin Pod's way home from camping at Blue Bear Mountain Campground this weekend, he saw a T@B that looked just like me!  Can you believe that?  I told him that that Techno T@B should just keep on truckin' north on I-77 because this is MY territory!

I've had folks tell me in the past they have seen SplashT@B, and bless their hearts, they didn't know that in the brochures, my color style was called "Techno T@B".  SplashT@B is the name that Momma Sharon gave me way back when we first met in March of 2007.  From time to time, I gotta make sure that everyone knows that...tee hee.

Something else I wanted to tell you was that it has rained every single weekend since our Blue Ridge Rally.  What's up with that?!?!  I don't have any plans to hit the road until early June, so I'm hoping that all these wet weekends are finished by then.

I hope you've have a good weekend yourselves and I'm really tickled that you popped in today.  Happy trails and remember . . . 

"Peace, Love & Camping!"

Even After Seven Seasons...

Even after seven seasons of camping with my Momma Sharon, she always has surprises for me when it comes to getting me all dolled up!  Sometimes we camp very simply with only my Visor and a few decorations inside.  But if we are going to be somewhere for several days or if we are expecting visitors, she goes all out!

Well I'm here to tell you that she was a decorating madwoman at the recent Blue Ridge Rally!  Not only did she buy a new Paha Que Side Tent for me, she pulled out items that she found while junkin' this past winter that I didn't even know about!!

See that peace sign tablecloth?  Her buddy Lorraine gave that to her at the 2012 BRR.  See that pretty plant?  Aunt Becky always brings along flowers.  See that little lime green table?  That is one of a pair that Diane gave my Mom on last year's Natchez Trace Caravan.  See those colorful oilcloth pennants hanging on the tent lines?  Momma Sharon bought those at the Country Living Fair in Atlanta.

See what I mean?  I think it's an illness or an addiction . . . she definitely has some sort of affliction!!

Check out what's inside my tent room.  Our little kitchen has everything you could ever want or need.  There's a microwave and Keurig coffee machine sitting on a vintage yellow and green tablecloth she found last month while junkin' with Aunty Bec.  That lime green and blue striped beach towel is one of the very first things she ever bought way back in the spring of 2007.  Underneath it is a hanging canvas storage unit where she keeps groceries and stuff.  Out of sight is a toaster over and two-burner hot plate.

She scored that little table lamp at the Salvation Army store on James Island last month and it sits on top of a tie-tyed tablecloth she made from four bandanas.  Resting on my window is one of three sets of awnings she designed and sewed.  I know, I know . . . 

Over on the other side of the tent room is an aqua metal stand that she found while out junkin' in Pittsboro with her T@Bbin' sisters.  It's the perfect place to hold a vintage Campfire Marshmallow tin and bread box.  It's also a good place for my camping notebook, plates and bowls, and lime green tray she found on sale at Hobby Lobby for a coupe bucks.  Did you notice those lime green and blue sneakers?  Those belong to the Aunt!

That decorating doesn't stop on the outside . . . oh no, no, no. no, no!  She has my walls and countertop all duded up with tin signs and felt pennants and pictures and funky do-dads.  It was just a matter of time after Highway Bob installed shelves over my windows that I knew they would be full of traveling and camping stuff too!

Tomorrow is Saturday and that means junkin' with Aunty Becky.  What in the world could my Camper Mom be looking for now?  She told me we need a felt pennant from The Smokies.  The obsession continues . . . heavy sigh . . . 

Thanks so much for visiting with me this week to listen to my SplashT@B Stories.  I hope you all have a great weekend and always remember . . . 

"Peace, Love & Camping!"

A Snitched Idea

Hey everyone!  I'm having so much fun this week sharing SplashT@B Stories with you while Momma Sharon takes a wee break from sending out Postcards.

One thing that our moms and dads like to do when they get together at rallies like the Blue Ridge, is to stroll around the campground looking at everyone's trailers.  My Camper Mom is always on the lookout for a good idea to snitch!  When she was teaching, she always said "a good teacher is a thief", meaning it was a common practice to borrow a cool idea from a colleague.  I'm here to tell you that she has applied this to camping too . . . LOL!

Today I want to share one of those ideas that she snitched from her buddy Ella.  Inside Ella's Airstream Bambi, named the "Silvermine and His", hangs a nylon strap that holds all of her camping buttons.  The minute that Momma Sharon saw that I knew it would be one of my little mods one day.

On Saturday of the Blue Ridge Rally when it was pouring down rain, she and Aunt Becky joined Judy for a day of junkin'.  In the first store they went into, they saw belts everywhere and that's when Momma Sharon had a brainstorm . . . find the perfect belt to attach all her buttons to.  Here's the one she found for a dollar . . . 

It doesn't have a big ole clunky buckle, it's about three feet long, it's a nice beige color, and the material makes it easy to slide the pin into . . . PERFECT. She had to wait until we got back from the rally and caravan to make it.  The first step was to round up all the buttons from previous rallies.

The next step was to position the button and get the spacing just right. Look how great it turned out!  

She has already put a 3-M hook to the right of my door inside, up high. Those black loops at the top allow the belt to hang flat against the wall in between my door and window.  I gotta tell you . . . it looks SHARP!  The next time we are out on the road together, I'll show you a photo.

So thanks for coming by today to listen to my Story about my Momma the Thief!  Have a great Thursday and remember . . . 

"Peace, Love & Camping!" 

Camp Craft At The BRR

On Thursday morning at the Blue Ridge Rally, our folks gathered in the Pavilion to make personalized signs just for us!  Momma Sharon had the really cool idea that we might like to have our names displayed for people to see as they strolled around the campground.  We always draw a bunch of Looky-Loos wherever we travel, but they really are curious when we are parked in our campsites.

Here's the inspiration for Momma's fun activity, but she let everyone choose their own colors, beads, decorations, lettering, and have a great time creating their Camp Craft.

She took lots and lots of photos of everyone and I told her just to make a Smilebox video featuring the whole process.  So here it is...ENJOY!!

My Rally & Caravan Collages

It's a sunny day in my neighborhood and I hope that's the case where you are too!  I'm kinda tired of all this weekend rain we've been having.

Today's Story will feature the two collages that Momma Sharon made last night.  The first one is from my Blue Ridge Rally and the second one from my Kentucky Bourbon Trail Caravan.

My Camping Mom likes to tell everyone that "we have so much fun it should be illegal" and I would have to agree with her!  I hope you enjoyed my two collages and always remember . . . 

"Peace, Love & Camping!"

My BRR Family Photo Album

Greetings everyone!  Today I thought I'd tell you a SplashT@B Story by pulling some pics from my BRR family photo album.  

Our T@B family comes in different colors, but pretty much the same shape.  My Dutchman brothers and sisters date from 2004 to 2009.  My new Little Guy relatives are only a couple of years old.  I love to see how they are decorated and the variety of tents, awnings, and screen rooms that get attached to them when we camp together.

So without further ado, check out some of the photographs from SplashT@B's BRR Family Album!!

Thanks so much for visiting today.  I hope you enjoyed your Story and always remember . . . 

"Peace, Love & Camping!"

Back Home From The Road

Hey everyone!  I am back home snug and dry and warm under my T@Bport from almost two weeks on the road with Momma Sharon.  Boy oh boy do I have some SplashT@B Stories to share with you over the next week or so.  My Camper Mom does a little blog called Postcards From The Road, but I give you a behind-the-scenes look at our camping adventures.

Momma Sharon doesn't always tell you everything we did or the things we saw or share all her photos with you.  But never fail, I'll share some of my favorite Stories to fill in some of those blanks.

She spent several hours on the day before we left for the Blue Ridge Rally getting me all clean and shiny so that when my buddies met me at the Walmart parking lot in Conover, they would say "WOW!"

When my buddies parked beside me, folks in the parking started looking our way!  We even had trouble leaving for the rally because they wanted to stop and ask questions and peep in our windows.  It happens every single time we're out on the road!  All our folks are really good natured about it and they don't hesitate to show us off.

We got a late start to our mini-caravan north to Townsend, TN and I was itching to hit the road and get there!  I convinced Momma Sharon that we needed to drive up through the Smokies to get to the rally and that's exactly what we did.

When I pulled up to the campground office at Big Meadow Family Campground, all my relatives kept asking me where I had been.  That made me feel good that they were waiting for me to arrive.  Here's a photo that I really like showing us lined up and ready to check in.

I told my Mom to hurry up and get me unhitched and pull out all my decorations . . . I was ready for the party to begin!  With Aunt Becky's help, they attached my new Paha Que Side Tent and decorated me to the hilt.  I was struttin' my stuff for sure . . . tee hee.

I sure am glad that you stopped by this evening to let me tell you a little SplashT@B Story.  I promise I'll have them here for you all week if you'll just come on back.  Until then, just remember . . . 

"Peace, Love & Camping 

At The 2013 Blue Ridge Rally!"