Do You Remember Me?

Oh my it's been such a long time since I've written a Story for you!  Do you remember me, Splash the Camper and Storyteller?  

The number one excuse has been pure laziness on my part.  I suppose some of you may have wondered what happened to me, where I've been, and what's going on.  Would you believe I have been on a whirlwind adventure around the States?  I wish that were true, but it's not.  Would you believe I have quietly traveled up to Maryland and down along the Carolina coast with Momma Sharon and Aunt Becky?  That would be accurate.

2019 was a fine little camping year for all of us.  While the number of trips, nights, and miles were down a bit from previous years, the fun was definitely off the charts!  Here's the proof . . . 

5 camping trips

- Sisters on the Fly Frolic @ Santee SP  in March

- SC State Parks (Oconee & Sadlers Creek) in April

- Blue Ridge Rally @ Raccoon Holler Campground in May

- MD DOG @ Cunningham Falls SP in August

- Coastal Caravan VI in SC (Huntington Beach SP) & GA (Tybee Island) in October & November

Total Nights

41

Total Miles

2,385

Camping Peeps

Sisters, Blue Ridgers, Beach Peeps, and Chefs by the dozens!

Mom spent a lot of time up in The Holler with Mollie and the Cousins, so she actually did a whole bunch more camping in 2019 than I did. 

2020 is going to be an interesting camping season for all of us.  First of all, Miss Anne will be our next door neighbor in The Holler, so I predict Mom will be there many, many days once the season opens up in April. Secondly, there's a new pup in our household that's gotta learn the camping ropes like Miss Gracie and Murphy the Camping Dog before her.  Yep, it's going to interesting for sure!!

So that gets you back up to speed with me and my camping family.  I'll do my best to crank out more Stories this year.  Until then, always remember . . . 

"Peace, Love, & Camping!"

Another Incredible Blue Ridge Rally

Hello friends near and far!  I am here with a Short Story to get you ready for a whole series of Postcards from our 12th Annual Blue Ridge Rally.  

Mom took me up the mountain to Raccoon Holler Campground in Glendale Springs on Friday the 10th to meet, greet, and hang out with 60 of the most incredible trailers on the face of the earth.  While I was doing that, she was entertaining 100 of her camping buddies.  We both had an incredible week with them all and we have a boatload of Stories to tell, Postcards to send, and snapshots to share!

Get ready to see and hear why "we have so much fun it should be illegal".

"Peace, Love, & The Blue Ridge Rally"

Two Awesome SC State Parks

Well happy Saturday everyone!  I am home from a most excellent camping trip in South Carolina.  In fact, it's become an annual trip thanks to the Black Friday special offered by South Carolina State Parks each November.  Momma Sharon studies the list of available campgrounds, chooses two new-to-us parks, and picks a camping date. And that is how our 2019 version played out in Oconee State Park near Mountain Rest and Sadlers Creek State Park near Anderson.

Our little camping entourage included Mom and Gracie, Aunt Becky and Sophie, and our T@Bbin' buddies Lois and Pepper.  Both parks featured lakeside camping, so we enjoyed two awesome water front campsites for our week!  Perfect weather, good eats, sightseeing, junkin', and chillin' in camp filled our week.

I'll let my Camper Mom take over from here and write some Postcards to you to tell you all about our fun week in South Carolina.  My next outing will be our big Blue Ridge Rally, but until I have some Stories to share about that, always remember . . . 

"Peace, Love, & Black Friday Specials"

My Loo Gets A Re-doo

Well happy Hump Day everyone.  I hope you are having a good week and not turning yellow from all the pollen in the air!  I told Momma Sharon that I am DEFINITELY going to need a bath before we head out on Easter Sunday for a week in a couple of South Carolina State Parks. It's an annual tradition we started a few years ago with Aunt Becky and the Schnauzer Herd.

I've got plenty of time to compose a Story about that upcoming campout, but today, I wanted to tell you about our Loo Re-doo.  Our Luggable Loo is an indispensable piece of camping gear, but its once-upon-a-time splashy duct tape decor had faded pretty badly.  Momma Sharon noticed this before we pulled out for Santee SP.

So she snagged a couple rolls of Duck Tape at Walmart before we left, with the intention of finding some time for an upgrade.  I'm not sure why she got a roll of neon yellow rather than lime green though. ??

Out came the Loo, scissors, and tape on Friday and in less than 30 minutes, the transformation was complete!

To be perfectly honest with you, neither of us were wild about the outcome.  The yellow color wasn't a good match for me and we didn't like both narrow strips at the top being blue.  I knew what was going to happen when we got home . . . a re-doo of the re-doo . . . 

Now we are both happy and ready for the rest of our camping season to commence!  Thanks a bunch for dropping by for my Story and until it's time to tell you all about our next trip, always remember . . . 

"Peace, Love, & A Loo-Re-doo"

Stylin' With A New Sunshade at Santee

Howdy camper friends near and far!  I am back from a fabulous weekend camping trip with Momma Sharon - the first of the 2019 season.  We had safe travels, good weather, and a boatload of fun with about 75 Sisters on the Fly.  We attended the annual Frolic, hosted by the South Carolina gals.  They called it "Changes in Latitude, Changes in Attitude" because we had a new venue this year.  We gathered at Santee State Park outside of Elloree, SC in the Midlands.

Mom's writing a series of Postcards chronicling our four days of fun, but I have a few Back Stories to share with you.  Y'all might know that once upon a time, my Camper Mom was accused of having an awning addiction.  Seems like she was buying a new one every year or when Cousin Rob would tell her about a new one, LOL.  But over the last four years, she has actually sold several of them!

Last year, our favorite little awning called The Visor, fell apart.  The poles split and the awning leaked . . . not good things to happen when camping. For about three years, Mom has had her eye on an awning very similar to our Visor.  Made by Jean of Doty Hill Designs, we were just waiting for the perfect fabric to be added to her inventory.  And guess what?  This winter, a fabric called Halwell/Caribbean showed up in the shop!  Check out those green, blue, and white stripes.  Kinda perfect, huh!  So we ordered the Sunshade in January.

Mom got me all situated in site #36 and it was time for my awning!

The poles went into the sleeve like butter, and in a matter of minutes, we were in business.  As soon as Mom slid it into my upper keder rail, we both realized it was BIG!  

Instead of attaching the two guy lines to the lower keder rail, we decided to try using the two stakes with nifty rings for the nylon cord. It was really simple to run the guy line from the stake up to the grommet behind the pole sleeve.

Miss Jean included a nice letter for us and also a whole bunch of business cards to share.  We are sold on the quality, craftsmanship, ease of installation, and construction of this Sunshade for T@Bs.  If you'd like some additional information, check out the business card at the bottom of my page.

Thanks so much for dropping by for a Sunshade Story, and until I'm back with another Camping Tale, always remember . . . 

"Peace, Love, & Doty Hill Sunshades"

It Only Took 13 Seasons

Happy Monday everyone!  I have a Short, Short Story for you today that has been thirteen years in the making.  Lots of my trailer buddies have asked me why I don't have a license plate with my name of it.  My Camper Mom has my name plastered on lots of things, so I never understood why I didn't have something special.

Little did I know that last month when it was time to get my sticker renewed, she pulled the trigger on my very own license plate!! Her first choice of "SPLASH" was already taken, so with an uber cool substitution, here's what arrived in the mail today . . . 

Our first choice of colors would have been the standard NC (and splashy) blue, but I'm so excited, it could have been pink for all I cared.

March is our anniversary month and our first outing is on Thursday, so this gift is totally appropriate. I love my Momma Sharon to death, but jeepers, 13 seasons??  LOL . Until I am parked at Santee State Park on Thursday, always remember . . . 

"Peace, Love, & My Very Own Plate!"

How You Know It's Time To Camp

Howdy everyone!  Happy first day of Spring.  For many folks, that means camping season is right around the corner.  But I have another way to tell that it's time to camp . . . the number of packages in Momma Sharon's foyer and the stuff piled high on her living room table, LOL.

Now I will go ahead and tell you that not everything in those boxes is for me.  Some of it is for Mollie too.  Here's the breakdown:

• A new surge protector for me from Progressive Industries.  Mine went all kinds of wonky at the end of last year's season and we can't be having 'lectrical problems when camping!
• A Froli sleep system for Mollie.  Mom wants to get some ventilation under her 2 mattresses and since this is used in all our T@Gs, she is going to give it a try.
• A Hypervent fabric also for Mollie.  It gets awfully damp and humid in The Holler so my Camper Mom wants to avoid mold and mildew problems from day one.  This will provide even more ventilation when placed on top of the Froli squares.
• Soap bases from Soaper's Choice so we will have plenty of oil when it's time to make more camping soap.
• A gorgeous green and blue striped Doty Hill awning to replace my old Visor that was worn out from years and years of use.
• Vinyl sheets from Silhouette America to make some coolio decals for me, Mollie, The Coffee Cup,  Gigi the golf cart, and maybe even Splish.

The dining room table is the staging area for all our camping gear!  It looks like a tornado blew through, but it will look better soon. You might spy some Luci Lights, Thermos jugs, vintage picnic tins, camp Dutch oven supplies, a Keurig, tool kit and a variety of totes full of stuff ready to be packed for the 7 trips on the calendar and Mollie's second season in The Holler.

One day soon, Momma Sharon will be with me in the T@Bport to get us ready to roll out on March 28th to join some crazy Sisters On The Fly at the annual Frolic at Santee State Park in SC.

So how do you know it's time to camp?  Look for boxes and gear! Until it's time for another Story about our pre-season preparations, always remember . . . 

"Peace, Love, & Getting Ready To Camp"