Vacation Time (?!)

Starting tomorrow, we (me, hubby and our 3 dogs) will be at Florala State Park in a RV and will return home on Tuesday, 7/17.  At least that’s the plan. 

I have my reservations …

• Will my back be able to handle it? (Ibuprofen and aspirin packed)
• Will the dogs be able to handle it? (Calmplex, doggie Xanax & Benadryl packed)
• Will I be able to handle it? (Stuff to do packed)
• Will hubby drives me bonkers because he’s not handling it? (Nothing to help with this!)

This is our first RV trip.  It’s something hubby’s wanted to do his entire life (so he says).  As we all know, the reality often does not match the fantasy.  Last month, he dragged me to a local RV dealer to look at the different types of RVs and talk about a trip.  I told him about my reservations/doubts.  We talked about a possible trip in September.  He settled on a date in mid-July and made reservations for an RV.  What happened to going in September?  This is a mini, trial trip to see how we all handle it and if a longer trip (like 2 or 3 weeks) will be do-able. 

So for the past few weeks, I’ve been looking at where to go and making the reservation; creating lists of things we need to take; packing things as I can and checking them off the list; and all the other stuff that goes with preparing for a trip.

The worst part is the food.  Dogs are taken care of.  Food for us is still up in the air.  Having changed how and what I cook over the past couple of years, this is a challenge.  It’s supposed to rain tomorrow (50%), so no grilling, and rain is possible (30 – 50%) for the remaining days of the trip.  I’ve never cooked on a limited range and mini oven, never mind cooking in a RV.  I no longer cook from boxes and cans – preferring fresh, frozen veggies when necessary, and limited canned goods (mostly tomatoes and beans).

So here I am, the day before we leave, and I still have no idea what to cook so I can buy the food we’ll need.  I have no idea which pots/pans and ‘accessories’ to bring, although I know which utensils (I have a basic few that I use on a regular basis).

Another biggie is whether or not we’ll have internet access.  The state park only has internet in their office.  It’s a small park (only 28 spots), so maybe our modern and up-to-date technology will be able to pick up a signal.  If not, the backup plan is to use hubby’s phone to connect (assuming cell coverage is decent). 

I do plan on doing my regular postings in the morning and evening.  Tomorrow morning is not an issue since the cats insist on waking Angel at o’dark thirty, which means I’ll do my morning posts as usual.  After that, if you do not see any posts from me by Sunday morning, you can safely assume that we cannot access the internet.

In this event, I hope that one of my friends/fans will post the nightly lists from Pets on Death Row – Urgent Death Row Cats and Urgent Part 2 – Urgent Death Row Dogs on my wall. 

I also hope that my friends/fans will post items of interest (news stories, blog posts, pics, etc) on my wall to fill in for me while I’m away.  I urge everyone who reads my page to switch the page over to “Posts by Others” (the default viewing is “Highlights”, which are posts by me).  This way you can see what’s been posted by those who regularly post to my wall as well as those who are filling in for me while I fume about a lack of internet access. J

Hopefully all will go as planned, the dogs will behave themselves, hubby won’t be bored, I won’t be bored, and my back won’t bother me too much. 

Once we arrive at the park and get all set up, the remainder of the day (aside from cooking) is for chill-axation.  I’ll need it after my panic attack today (yeah, pretty much all day) and probably tomorrow morning as I frantically try to make sure all the last minute stuff gets packed and on the RV (not to mention all the other stuff on my lists).

I hope everyone has a great weekend.  I will be back to regular postings by the morning of Wednesday, 7/18.