Too Many Awning Choices

My Camper Mom has an addiction…she admits it and all her camping friends know it.  She has an awning addiction.  I'm not going to tell you how many awnings she actually has…it's more than five, but less than ten…tee hee.

Our awning dilemma is simple.  What do we take to the Blue Ridge Rally? There's our favorite portable awning called the Visor.  It goes up in a matter of minutes and looked like the bill of a ball cap. It allows us to keep the window open during rain and it's steady even in wind.

Then there's the Cottonwood with its big footprint.  It takes a bit more time and effort to put up, but Mom and Aunt Becky work as a team on this one.  It attaches to my keder rail and then extends out 10 feet from there!  We found out on Tybee Island during wind gusts of 40 mph, that it's sturdy and very reliable.  With the new sidewall panels and rainfly that Momma Sharon got for her birthday, it gives us great protection from the elements.

And lastly, there's the often overlooked Therma-Rest.  It's pretty hard for one person to put up, but the sloped sides allow good breezes to flow underneath.  That yellow color doesn't really match me, but rather is a nice compliment.  I gotta tell you that we have actually thought about selling it, but just haven't gotten up the nerve yet to make that announcement.  I bet someone coming to the Blue Ridge Rally might be interested …. hmmmmm.

What's your prediction?  I think I know which one will get packed into Splish, but I guess you'll just have to wait on our first Postcard on Saturday, May 14th to see!  Until then, always remember . . . 

"Peace, Love, & Too Many Choices"

A Dark & Stormy Night

It was a dark and stormy night.  Opps, wrong Story.  No.  On second thought, it WAS a dark and stormy night on Tybee Island!  So dark and stormy with wind gusts up to 50 mph, all our Camper Moms and Dads were battening down the hatches.  Awning flaps were rolled up, outdoor gear secured, and extra guy lines added to tent and screen rooms.

That's where this Story begins.

While setting up camp on Sunday afternoon, the pole to my Visor broke.  I reminded Momma Sharon that she had packed the 10x10 PahaQue Cottonwood and our site would be the perfect place to set it up under the big live oak tree.

One of the neatest features of the Cottonwood is that it attaches to my keder rail and gives us a little "foyer" from the door to the tent. Not knowing that an outer band of Hurricane Patricia would be blowing through on Monday, Aunt Becky and my Camper Mom put up the Cottonwood, but left the guy lines at the front, dangling.

On Monday afternoon, the winds started whipping through camp, so out came the stakes and hammer, and out went all eight guy lines.  In fact, you could hear hammers hitting stakes all over the campground! We took the picnic cloth off, folded the chairs, and secured everything.  We were ready!

Our Monday night plan was to have supper, games, and watch "Forrest Gump" in the community room.  Momma Sharon brought a big armful of stuff safely back to me, but she forgot all about my front guy lines on the return trip.  Those black lines completely disappeared in the dark and as she was walking past one, she hooked her foot and fell face first in the gravel.  OUCH OWIE!!

To make a long story short, Aunt Becky, Rich, and Sue took her to Urgent Care and got her all patched up.  We had a long, restless night because the wind was rocking me pretty badly, the Cottonwood was making scary noises, and Momma Sharon was dealing with skinned places on her knee, palm, shoulder, and face.

Morning dawned, the wind died down, and my Cottonwood had held steady as a rock!  The first thing Momma Sharon did was to go to the office and buy some end-of-the-season pool noodles on sale to put on those nasty guy lines so no one else would trip and fall.  She cut them in half, made a slit down the side, and slid them into place.  VOILA…noodle protection for her noodle!!

I'm happy to report that all her bruises have disappeared, we now have a security plan for the next dark and stormy night, and all is well.

Tomorrow I have a BIG Story to share with you.  Come to think of it, I will have TWO big Stories for you this week.  So if you have time, drop back by to hear them and until then, always remember . . .

"Peace, Love & Pool Noodles To The Rescue For Dark & Stormy Nights"