Our first camping trip!

Since this blog is really supposed to be about camping, I will resume posts of our trip south later on.

We picked up our camper and took our first trip on Tuesday, May 1. We decided to go to Christies Campground. It was only 22 miles from where the camper was, and we wouldn't need to go through congested areas, or onto the interstate to get there. They technically don't open until May 15th, but when I called, they said to come on down anywyay! They didn't have the showers or bathrooms open yet, but that didn't matter since we have all those things in our camper anyway. We loved the campground, and it is right on Sebasticook Lake, in Newport, Maine. It's a small, family owned campground, and is very friendly and laid back. Just the way we like it!

In this photo, they are showing my husband how to hook up the Blue Ox WDH and sway control.

The other side of the Sonic and Sierra. It towed very well!

This is when we first unhooked the camper. My husband is checking out the outdoor kitchen.

This is a view with things partially set up inside. It's looking a lot more homey now! I used command hooks to hang the small cutting board on the side of the entertainment cabinet. It is within easy reach, and if the command hook lets go, it won't fall into the stove! The pot holders are on another command hook on the outside of the cupboard in front of the sink, and add a spot of color there. You can see one scenic calendar hanging on command hooks over one side of the slide. I have another one on the other side. I'll probably replace one of them with photos of us with the kids and grandkids later on, but for now, these add pretty pictures!

This is taken looking toward the bathroom. You can see where I am hanging a flashight, umbrella and a narrow basket. It worked great, because it was easy to reach from the doorway. The clock is hanging above the entertainment cabinet, and I hung a dish wiping cloth on a command hook there as well, because I still haven't bought an over the door towel rack for it.

This is our couch with a pretty throw my sister-in-law bought for me over the back. It matches my rug! The three drawer Sterlite cabinet things work really well on either side of the couch. They make great storage areas, plus they work well as end tables. I'm really glad I bought them. They also come in a wicker look, rather than white and clear, but when I bought the first one to try it, our Walmart was out of the "wicker" ones.

This is my first photo of our Murphy bed, all made up and ready for the night. You don't have to make and unmake the bed morning and night, but it works better if I put the pillows into the wardrobes when I fold it up. I'm really glad our camper came with the Murphy option! A lot of people put foam mattress toppers on their Murphy beds, but we were perfectly comfortable in ours without one.

This shows what I did under the kitchen sink. It is command hooks, with Dollar Tree baskets. They work great for storing sponges and things. I'm using hospital pans for dish pans, because that sink is really tiny. The hospital pans just fit. I can see why so many people have changed to a single bowl stainless steel sink, because as much as I love my camper, the sink is ridiculous!!!

Inside the end cabinet next to the door, is where I have hung the dustpan and little broom, plus the fly swatter.It's a great place for them, and they are easy to grab from outside. You can see the cover that goes over the sink in that cabinet as well. The Sonic 220 VRB actually has a decent amount of counter space for such a small camper, and I found it much easier to just leave the sink open, rather than having to move the cover every time I use a faucet.

The second day was really warm there, and we got a chance to have a campfire, and use the grill. There was a lot of really gusty strong wind, so we didn't leave the awning up.

All in all, it was a great trip. The camper towed well, the weather wasn't too cold the first day, and it was quite warm the second day. The third day, even though it rained, we were cozy and comfortable in the camper. We learned how to use a lot of the features, and I got to make it more homey.

For dinners, I had made a big baked spaghetti thing at home the night before we left, because I wasn't sure what time we would get to the campground, and how long it would take us to set it up. This way, all I had to do was heat it up in the microwave. For the second night, we made foil packets over the grill. We used chicken, onions, potatoes and carrots. My husband wanted his marinated in Italian dressing, and I marinated mine in BBQ sauce. They were yummy! The third night was a bonus. We hadn't planned on staying for three nights, but we weren't ready to come home yet. Fortunately, we had lots of leftovers!

Getting ready for our trip!

Yesterday we went to Dollar Tree and Walmart to pick up the rest of what we needed. I didn't take photos of the tools, black tank stuff, slide conditioner, a few plastic dishes and glasses, fly swatter, zip lock bags, toilet paper and stuff like that, just the more interesting things. Today I will have to go downtown and register the camper. That's going to be scary, because we live on an island, and registrations and taxes are terrible here.

We have a cap on our truck, so I am leaving the things in the first photo in the truck, and will be loading everything else in during the week. Our camper has a Murphy bed that raises up and there is a couch there when it's up. Those three drawer things at Walmart fit on either side of the bed/couch, and will provide storage, as well as acting like night stands/side tables. They have to be pulled out a bit to open the cupboard, but that won't be a big deal. Our Walmart only had the white ones, and not the "wicker" ones, but I figured I'd buy one white one, just to see how we like it. If we do, we will get two "wicker" ones, (one for each side of the bed), and I'll use the white one at home for crafts.

Next is my pretty outdoor plastic rug. I am really happy to get that, since it will keep my floor much cleaner. (I know my husband will try to sneak in and out without taking his shoes off)!!! I really like the blue one, since there is already so much brown in and on the camper, even though the brown ones probably would have looked new longer.

Then there is my water hose. Not much choice there, only drinkable ones, and different lengths, so I got the longest one. We will be carrying bottled water to drink, at least on our first trip.

Then there is charcoal for our el-cheapo BBQ grill!

You can see part of two bathroom towel bars in the picture. I'm still not sure whether or not I will use these. For one thing, there were only four towel holders for sale in the whole of Ellsworth, Maine, and they only sell one style at Walmart, so there wasn't much choice. It seems like most people don't like putting screws in their camper walls, but I got some really pretty turquoise towels, and I want to display them. I just don't want to be without towel bars, and there is a great big blank wall for them, so I will be using at least some kind of towel bars!

You can also see part of two folding chairs. We've had those forever, and leave them in the truck all the time so we can have tail gate picnics whenever we want!

This is my clearance sale at Walmart BBQ grill. We may like it and we may not. We do have an outdoor kitchen, and most camp sites have either a fireplace or a fire ring, so I'm not worried about it. There were more important things to spend money on at the beginning, like the observation camera, WDH/sway bars, and things like that. I can always upgrade the grill later, if this one doesn't work out.

All of these came from Dollar Tree. The basket on the top left looks like it will be handy for plastic silverware and paper plates. I can carry it in and out easily using the handle!

My four Dollar Tree coffee mugs will make our morning coffee taste much better than plastic, and if I break a cup, it won't be a big deal!

The over the door rack is about 17" long. I think it will work well on the bathroom door, and will be a great place to hang our clothes quickly while in the shower or changing.

Here is my pretty Walmart rug. It is about 20" x 30", and it will be in front of our couch, as you come in the door. It will help make the camper more cozy, and will be easy to shake outside when it needs it.

The big clock came from Walmart too.

The two racks will work in the cupboards over the sink. We want to put adjustable shelves in there eventually, but these will work for our first trip.

The little turquoise oval is my plastic Dollar Tree soap dish. It matches my bathroom towels!

Keep your fingers crossed for us that the weather is okay for us to leave on Friday. Now it looks like we may get a storm with lots of snow through Thursday night, and the weather doesn't look wonderful for the weekend further south of us.

Organizing our camper

It's difficult to get things for organizing the camper when you can't go in and measure everything, so I'm mostly buying things I know will work, and things I know will fit. I'll do more custom fitting when we can get into the camper to measure the cupdoards and things.

Almost everything here came from the Dollar Tree. With so much to buy at once, this seemed like the way to go. Later on we can replace things one at a time if we find out we want something different.

The first things pictured are command hooks. Most people like these, as long as you follow the instructions, and clean the area where you will apply them well, and let them sit for 24 hours before hanging something on them. There are a few people in humid climates who have had problems with them sticking though. I got most of mine at a salvage store, but picked up two packages of Dollar Tree brand just to see if they would work. I'm not going to hang anything breakable or heavy on them, so if they fall off, I'm only out a few cents each for the hooks.

For the Command ones, I got two packages with metal hooks, rated for half a pound, to hold light kitchen utensils. Then I got a package of three pound rated hooks, and one rated for five pounds. I hope they work!

I don't know whether I will like this Dollar Tree silverware organizer or not. It's quite small, but I'm not going to have a ton of real silverware in the camper anyway. Four sets of metal silverware should be fine for two people, at least for a while, and I'll have plastic with us as well. At least I know it won't be too big for the drawer, and I can always upgrade later if I want.

I know I will like these little basket drawer organizers a lot. I wish I had bought more of the blue ones at the salvage store when I saw them, They were six for $1.49, and the white dollar store ones were no where near as heavy, and were three for a dollar. Oh well, three for a dollar is a really good price!

I think I may get more of these. I'm planning on hanging at least one at the top of both the bathroom undersink cabinet, and one under the kitchen sink. It will be a great place to keep things like dish scrubbies and sponges. I can see these as being good on other cupboard doors for storage of spice jars, toothpaste, and other small things as well. I plan on hanging them with command hooks.

The thing I originally bought them for was for organizing things in drawers, but every time I look at them, I think of more things to use them for!

I have seen these baskets with handles used in refrigerators, and in cupboards. They keep things from falling down and rolling around while traveling. I also have read that refrigerators need good air circulation, so baskets are better than boxes. I will probably put all the condiments for hamburgers and hotdogs in one basket in the refrigerator, then it will be easy to use the handle to carry everything outside to eat!

I will also probably put plastic glasses in another one in the cupboard. It will keep them from rolling around, and will be easy to carry them outdoors. I can see many uses for these, but I think they will be best for organizing the refrigerator!

They do sell these in different sizes for a lot more money, so try to get them at Dollar Tree. Our Dollar tree didn't have white ones. They were either lime green or blue the first time I bought them, or lime green and red the second time. I now have four blue ones, and two red ones.

I got four of these baskets at Dollar Tree too, and will probably buy more. They look like they will be a good size for the pantry, and hopefully, will fit into the overhead cupboards over the bed. They would be great for socks and underwear! They also might be good for T-shirts and things when we get shelves built into the closets beside the bed.

Everyone knows about shoe boxes, (although my phone made these look like a weird shape when I took the picture). Anyway, as you know, these will be useful for all sorts of things. So far I have four of them from Dollar Tree.

The only things I bought special in this photo are the two clear plastic jars. Those came from Dollar Tree. I had the other containers around the house. One is Sterlite, one is a Ziplock one, and the one with the red top came from the grocery store with deli ham inside.

When you stay at a hotel, you automatically pay for the coffee supplies, and soaps and shampoos and things. I always take whatever is left home with me. These will be great in the camper. Even though the coffee usually only makes one or two servings at a time, I will be bringing my French Press with me, and will just make my coffee in that, using the prefilled filters from the hotels.

My husband only likes instant coffee. The Hannaford brand still has glass jars, and we buy the largest size. They used to have better jars, they were a pretty shape, and had a wider mouth on them, but the new ones work as well. I will use some of these for storing sugar and other things. They are glass, so I will be sure to put them into baskets so they won't roll out while on the road!

I got two of these collapsible hampers at Dollar Tree. If I feel there is room, I'll leave both of them up so we can separate our clothes as we throw them in. I really think, though, that we will use one, and I will sort them when I get ready to wash. At any rate, they will be really easy to carry the laundry in, and don't take up much space.