Campground cooking, camper storage and our third trip out

I had some hospital appointments in Portland at the end of June. Since it was just before the 4th of July, I was afraid we would end up parked at Cabela's. I was so happy to see that they still had three nights open at Wild Duck, in Scarborough, Maine. That is where we stayed at the beginning of June, and we really liked the peacefulness there, so we reserved a campsite for all three nights. The last time, we were in #27, and it was a really nice site, but this time, we had #28, and it was even larger better! We were also right across from some friends we had made there on our previous trip.

We had our friends over for shish kabob on the first night. I had originally planned on three different kinds of shish kabobs. One with lemon and shrimp, another with shrimp, kielbasa, veggies and cajun marinade, and a third with veggies and lemon. As I was par boiling the potatoes, I decided that it would be more fun to have a shish kabob buffet, and let everyone customize their own. I put the shrimp into one bowl, chunked up the kielbasa into another one, and cut up potatoes, summer squash, zucchini, mushrooms and vidalia onions, and put all of these into their own bowls. Then I made up the marinades in separate bowls. The shish kabobs were great, and we had so much fun talking and cooking! You can't see the grill in this photo, because it was behind the picnic table.

The next day was the day of my appointments, and it was rainy, so we decided to go to a local fishing co-op, and have dinner there after we got back from Portland.

On the third day, we were planning on sauteeing up the leftovers from the first night. I was going to grill some chicken to go with it, but our friends came over and said they had lots of leftovers too, so we did a leftover buffet with them instead. I had put all the leftover veggies and things into a bowl along with the marinades, after we ate on the first night, so I fried up some bacon and added all the leftovers to that and sauteed them up in my outside kitchen. (There are two skillets, because one of them doesn't eat meat). Then we brought them over to our friend's camper, and stuck them on the warming shelf inside their smoker/grill while their leftovers were cooking. There was a nice smokey taste to everything, and we had another great meal!

The worst part about camping, is having to leave. I have always been envious whenever we stopped anywhere and saw a camper on the back of a vehicle, so when we stopped for gas on our way home, I had to get out and take a picture of my Sonic behind my Sierra! Yeah, those are dents on the side of my Sierra. We went for years without ever getting a scratch on our vehicles, but Portland Maine parking lots, including the one at the hospital are like meat grinders. Someone is always running into your vehicle while it's parked, and not leaving a note. I think next time, my husband will listen to me about taking Uber. This happened to us twice.

We were storing our camper at the dealership, two hours away. I hated not being able to go in and do things in there when we were at home, and it was a pain to have to drive al the way to Glenburn, Maine, and make an appointment to pick her up every time we wanted to use her. We finally found a spot in Stonington, right across the street from were my mother and I have our gift shops. I sure wish we had hookups, because it would be a beautiful camping spot! I love being able to go into it whenever I want.

On the various camper groups I belong to, people who don't have covers for their slides are always asking if it's worth it. I would definitely say it is. When you are packing up in the rain, you don't have to get up there with a ladder and sweep it off. All I have to do is to stand on the tailgate of the truck, and look to make sure there isn't anything big or sharp up there. Just open your slide when you get home to dry the cover off. It's also great when the trees above you are "raining" down seed pods and things. Remember, anything on top of your slide is going to fall down into your camper on the way home, if you don't have a cover. The angle of this photo makes the cover look a little weird, but it doesn't look that way in person.

This is the view out the door where we are storing our camper.

This is the view out the kitchen window. You can see part of the old clam factory where we have our shops, as well as some of the beach and cove.

Camper Orientation Today

Today we went for our orientation. We loaded up the truck with all the things we have bought for the camper so far, plus our clothes and things for our trip to Savannah and St. Augustine.

My husband has never towed anything, and we are supposed to get another storm this weekend, so he is really nervous about taking the camper on such a long journey. At the last minute, we decided not to take the camper, but to make it a road trip by truck instead. I have cancer, and have an appointment at the hospital on April 5. We don't know what we will find out, and we keep putting off our trip for various reasons. (Last year, I spent all summer and fall in the hospital). It just seemed like if we don't do it now, camper or not, we may not get the chance. Plus, in April, we will owe the IRS lots of money because I didn't qualify for Obama Care, and I decided to see the doctor instead of sending money we didn't have to rich insurance companies. (Last year, I missed four months of drs appointments because of not being able to afford Obama Care, and I might have been better off if I had seen the doctors instead of sending the money to the IRS). We still can keep making hospital payments and camper payments, but we really shouldn't be spending money on taking a trip. Anyway, This may be our last trip together, and IRS or not, and camper or not, we are going to do this. We just hope we will be able to use the camper together at some point this summer.

Anyway, this photo is our camper together with our Sierra. It's the first time they have met each other! You can see the Furrion Observation Camera installed up there next to the lights!

Here are the Sonic and the Sierra from the other side. Today I found out the dealership has upgraded us to a Blue Ox WDH for no extra money!

After the orientation, we put all our new things into the camper. I didn't get everything organized the way I wanted to, because it was pretty cold in there, but at least I got to spend time in the camper, and I loved it. I hated leaving her!

This is the first time I got to take a picture of our outdoor kitchen. It's small by most standards, but it actually was much larger than I remembered it as being!

Towing Mirrors for the Truck

We are hoping to take our camper to Savannah and St Augustine in a week or a week and a half, so yesterday, we took the truck in for an oil change, tire rotation, and multi point inspection. The truck is ready, and the guys at Varneys were excited for us!

I sent for mirror extensions from Amazon on Tuesday, and when we got home from the truck dealership on Thursday, the mirrors were sitting on the back doorstep! We ordered these rather than buying expensive towing mirrors, because they had excellent reviews, and quite a few people on one of the online groups I belong to love them. We also will have the Furrion observation camera as well, and that will act like a rear view mirror. Now we have almost all the big things we need! It's scary, but exciting to think that we may be heading out on our maiden voyage in a week or so! Keep your fingers crossed for us!

Took more pictures in the camper today!

Today we went and got more things we needed for the camper. I had originally planned on bringing most of the things I had bought, and putting them inside. Unfortunately, there is a lot more snow in Bangor, (where the camper is), than there is here on the island, so I only put the things I bought at the dealership today inside.

I had also planned on measuring the cupboards and closets, so I would have a better idea of what to buy for organizing. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring the pen to the camper with me so I couldn't write down measurements. To get from the truck to the camper, you had to wade through a maze of RVs being stored, and I was knee deep in snow, with no boots. Our snow on the island is gone, because we had a couple of days of rain, but apparently, Bangor got more snow instead.

Anyway, I was amazed at how big the cupboards were. I remembered them as being much smaller!

The other thing was, of course we couldn't open the slide. You actually can get to the bathroom and kitchen with the slide closed, but it isn't exactly roomy! The guy from the dealership took the table off the dinette for me, so I would have more room to get around in there.

This is my photograph of the linen closet and clothes closet in the bathroom. I'll update my post about the bathroom with my new pictures.

This is my photograph of the insides of the closets. I love them! It's one of the biggest reasons I decided on this camper.

This is my photo of the sink. Between the storage under the sink, the little box thing on the counter, and the medicine cabinet, there is really quite a lot of storage for a camper of this size!

This is my photo of the shower closed. A dry bath was on my list of things a camper had to have in order for me to buy it! If these photos look a little weird and distorted, it's because even though there is a lot of room for a camper of this size, it's still pretty small, so it's not easy to take pictures of some parts of it.

This is my photo of the inside of the shower. Not too bad for a small camper!

This is my photo of one of the closets on either side of the bed. Nothing surprising here. I do want to add shelves inside of it though. You can't tell from this picture, but I also see that there is enough of a ledge in front of the door so we can set coffee cups there when we are reading in bed at night, as long as we don't open the closet doors!

I didn't see this when we looked at our camper, because it isn't an obvious door. I noticed it in a picture on the internet. The end of the kitchen cupboards near the outside door opens, and there are two narrow shelves with an outlet and two USB ports inside. What a wonderful place to store and charge our phones safely! Since this is not an obvious cupboard, it will also be a wonderful place to hang things like the truck keys, inside, and put our wallets when we are on a beach or at a pool.

This is the bottom cupboard next to the outside door. To the right of that, is that nice big area, protected by the ledge of the countertop. Here, I'm going to put some command hooks, and hang at least one of those narrow baskets, so we can keep a few things, like sunglasses, within easy reach of the outdoors. I may hang two there, depending on how much room I have. I also want to hang a collapsible umbrella and a flashlight or two there.

The cupboard over the sink is kind of a disappointment to me. It is pretty wide, and quite deep, but there is only one shelf in it. Once we start using the camper, I will decide whether to have my husband build a second shelf, or whether I want to buy one of those wire shelf things at Walmart.

This is the microwave/convection oven. I hope I like it. I will probably be cooking outdoors more than inside, anyway

This is the pantry. It's pretty typical, but I like how deep it is. I'll have baskets in there to make it easier to use. There is shallower storage in the entertainment center, right in front of it, but you can't see that when the slide isn't out.

Here is the refrigerator/freezer. It's pretty big for a camper of this size!

This is a shot of the counter top, with the sink and stove. I like that they both have covers on them.

The last photo is a bad one of the front of the cabinets. I don't know what that is in the upper left, it's not supposed to be there. :-D Anyway, you can sort of see the lower cupboards and drawers in this photo.

I'll update my earlier posts of the interior with these photos, that way all the photos can be together.

Miscellaneous things I have

Here are a few things that don't really belong with the other things.

First are Camco leveling blocks. I may buy a set of the orange half round ones too. Those look easier to use. I got these at the dealership. I also got the surge protector. Those are really important. The only problem with this one is, that I asked for one (an EMS), that protects against low voltage, as well as high, and this is what they gave me. I was stupid, and didn't know the difference at the time. At least this is a very good brand. We still need chocks, a backup/observation camera, (it will be a Furion, because our unit is already wired for it), a level, a good sewer hose thing, (stinky slinky) with a clear elbow thing, a water regulator, a rug for outside the door, and a few other things. Our salesman said a weight distribution hitch and sway bars are included in the price. Now that I know more, I've got it on the list of things to ask him about, to make sure it is a good one, and really does have sway bars. I don't want it to be like the surge protector, when I wanted an EMS. I also need an awning thing to go over the slide, so things won't be falling on it. I need the gasket sealer stuff too. More things I need are roof vent covers, maybe an extension cord, water hoses, a 50 amp adapter, truck mirrors, a tire gauge, a tool box, and a ceramic heater. I need other things as well, and have a list in a notebook that I add to whenever I think of something.

I should have put that dish drying thing that goes into the sink in with the kitchen stuff, but I forgot about it until now. As I was checking out at Dollar Tree, I saw collapsible umbrellas on the end of the checkout counter, so I decided one of those would be handy hanging near the door. Then there is the LED flashlight I found for a dollar at Walmart. I should have bought more than one for that price, especially since it came with batteries. The Dollar Tree ones don't.

Linens I have so far

I didn't photograph the bed pillows I got, those don't look very interesting. I also have two throws at home, that I will probably put into the camper. I use them in the house in the winter, but won't need them here during the summer.

I should have bought the blankets at Walmart, they were the same blankets, at about the same price as the salvage store, but they had more colors at Walmart. I only got one, but may get another if they still have them next time I go in. The grey thing in the middle is a fleece sleeping bag. We have two of those, and have had them for years. If we have a rainy day, those might be really nice to wrap up in on the couch, with a good book! They also are part of the reason I didn't worry about another blanket. Those will work as extra blankets, since they open flat when unzipped. On the right, is a 400 count queen sized sheet set, that I got for a steal at the salvage store. Yeah, I know, our bed is a short queen, but the price on these was unbeatable!

I also got four really beautiful fluffy turquoise bath towels at the salvage store for $2.39 each. I love those! I got two ordinary blue bath towels for $1.39 each at the salvage store too. The ordinary towels will go to the pool or beach with us for drying off. The fluffy nice ones are for showers! I also got a set of those cheap wash cloths at Walmart. My husband grabs wash cloths for everything, including washing the truck. He grabs the nicest ones first, before the cheap ones, because he says they do a better job. In 47 years of marriage, I still can't get him to stop doing that, so I gave up on nice wash cloths years ago.

I have a train case with duplicates of all of my shower stuff that I take with me whenever I go anywhere. I just replenish the stuff in there as needed. My husband does the same with his personal stuff, so we don't have to buy those. It will be easy to keep our separate cases in the linen closet. We still need first aid supplies for the camper though.

Cleaning and bathroom things I have so far

So far, these are the cleaning and bathroom supplies I have.

I don't really like this toilet paper holder, but it was only a dollar at Dollar Tree. I'll mount it with Command strips, and change it out if I decide I want a different one later. I just know that if I had tried to buy all of the things I have bought so far, it would have costed a fortune at regular prices. Buying at Dollar Tree and places like that have given me a good start on outfitting my camper for very little money. That way, I can more easily afford the things that will keep us safe, but cost a lot of money, like observation/backup cameras and weight distribution hitch/sway bars, and things like that. Those are the things that really matter as far as buying quality items goes.

Now that I have the toilet paper holder, I need to decide whether I want towel bars, or am going to hang them some other way. I haven't decided that yet. I did buy those bar soap saver things at Dollar Tree, and need to buy a soap dish. (My husband prefers bar soap to liquid soap). I also bought those red cleaning cloths there. When I went to the Salvage Store, I found a huge box of microfiber cleaning cloths for $5.00, so I bought a box of those for the house and camper. I love them! I grabbed 10 of them to start us out in the camper. Those are the yellow ones.

I didn't take pictures of the mop and broom I got at Dollar Tree, they are pretty ordinary, but did photograph the dustpan and brush. I also got a toilet brush, paper towels, and two small waste baskets at Dollar Tree.

The dishwashing liquid came from the salvage store, but the window cleaner, all purpose cleaner, laundry detergent, liquid hand soap, and bar soap all came from Dollar Tree.

Kitchen Things

On this page, I'm showing what I bought for the kitchen so far. I don't know how useful this will be, but maybe someone who is outfitting their new camper will see something they never thought to buy. Anyway, I'm excited, and can't wait until I get a chance to put it all into the camper!

When I was in the Salvage store, I saw this set of pans for something like $5. They are very lightweight, and I didn't have any pans for the camper yet, so I snatched them up!

I knew I needed at least two cast iron skillets, and I wanted a cast iron Dutch Oven. Originally, I was planning on bringing my own cast iron, which had been passed down through the family for generations. Then I found out what those Eries, Very early Griswolds, Iron Mountains, WAPAK Indian Logos, and early Wagners, and others I have are worth. I guess they will be staying safely at home, so I can pass them on to my grandchildren!

I was planning on buying a Lodge combo cooker, and a Lodge Dutch oven, but apparently the Walmart suppliers don't think people in Maine want those things, so they don't send them to our Walmart. Anyway, they did happen to have this five piece set there for $39.00, which is a very good price! I would rather have Lodge, because it is made in the US, but shipping would be so high on them, and I do know that there is actually nothing wrong with cast iron from Taiwan. It doesn't contain lead, or any other bad metals, that is an internet rumor. It also is of a decent quality, and cooks very nicely. If something happens to these on a camping trip, they are at least easily replaceable!

The other day, I realized I don't have anything to use in the camper's microwave. I rummaged through the cupboards, and found this Corning Ware I've had since around 1970. I need to find the covers, I haven't used it for years! I probably shouldn't bring all of those sizes, but I'll thin it out when I figure out which ones we like best.

At Dollar Tree, I saw this cutting board, a set of measuring cups, measuring spoons, and a silicone basting brush. If you go to Dollar Tree, don't buy that small red vegetable grater with the "catcher box" attached, it's so fine, that the vegetables won't go down into the "catcher", they just turn to mush and get stuck in the holes. Everything else I bought works fine. Needless to say, that particular vegetable grater won't be going with us. I'll get a better one!

At the same time as I bought the stainless steel pans in the salvage store, I saw this set of stainless mixing bowls with plastic covers for $3.00. That was a great deal, they are light weight, and the covers will be great!

I got four forks, knives, spoons, and soup spoons at Dollar Tree, as well as a set of four steak knives, and a set of four paring knives. I also got a large cutting knife, which appears quite cheap and flimsy, a set of kitchen shears, and a can opener. At the salvage store, I got a vegetable parer, because they didn't have any of those at our Dollar Tree.

In the party section, I got two sets of plastic silverware. Those will be really good for when we don't have full hookups, and to take on side trips for picnics.

At Dollar Tree, I got a strainer, aluminum foil, a long lighter thing, and a big spoon, fork, and spatula. I've had that Stanley cup and water boiling thing for quite a few years. I'll put that in the camper too.

Our salvage store had a ton of MLB plastic cups they were almost giving away because we are in New England, and they aren't Red Sox ones. I'm not into baseball, so I bought a set anyway. I'll just have to keep them sort of hidden from all the Red Sox fans!!! :-)

At Dollar Tree, I got oven mitts, kitchen towels, dish cloths and dish scrubby things. I thought the oven mitts and kitchen towels were quite pretty!

Here are more assorted things I picked up. Dollar Tree had the sink drain strainers. I didn't need the big one, just the little one, but they came in two packs for less than a single one at other stores, and I can always use the larger one at home. I also grabbed the salt and pepper shaker, so I wouldn't forget to get a set later. (I never add salt and pepper to my food, so I tend to forget about it). I got the grease spatter thing for the microwave at Walmart.

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.