DREAMIN'

Friday night was "grandson night".  Well, with all of them who can walk on their own anyway!  We went to the RV and Boat show close to home.  We started off with a turkey hunting class which really only made Grandpa and Payton happy.  Next up was a wild animal show which we all enjoyed.  The highlight was the HUGE snake that took three grown women to hold.  EWWW.  Finally, we got to go fishing in the little pond!  Nate and Cael each caught a trout which I got to carry around in a plastic bag the rest of the night!  After getting our balloon fishing pole and doggie on a leash, we finally got to look at the RVs and boats.  McDonalds was our next stop where we ate and handed them off to their mom.  We had a good time, and I didn't have my camera, so no pictures.  DARN!

Saturday morning we headed for Des Moines for the RV show.  We go each year to dream and get ideas.  They have everything from fold down campers to these:

See that SALE price on the side?  Yeah, $188,544, and that wasn't the most expensive one there!  But I sure liked it. Let's see....my birthday is coming up soon.  Maybe my family should pool their money.
But my realistic choice for camping is this one:

Not sure why those people are looking at MY fifth-wheel!  See the little sewing nook?  How nice that it is right next to the fireplace and TV with windows for me to look out!

Here's where Bud would be parked when he's not fishing.  See the nice big window out the back?  Perfect for looking at the water.

Here's the kitchen area.  

But it doesn't have one of these:

Yes, some of them have a dishwasher!  I can live without that since we are just camping, but when we retire and live in it while we travel, I want one!

Oh, look, Bud is choosing his bedroom!

After buying some accessories, but not a camper, we headed for the furniture store.

Homemaker's Furniture is my favorite furniture store!  It is HUGE.  It used to have a model home built in the middle of it, but they've remodeled so that's gone.  You'd better be a good decision maker or you could be there forever.  Even choosing a lamp can be overwhelming!

And there are more throughout the store!  We were looking at chairs, but we already knew what brand we wanted and what fabric we didn't want, so that made it easier.

After the furniture store we headed for lunch.  Bud chose the place although I know he had me in mind.  We at at the Cheesecake Factory, but we didn't eat cheesecake!  Next, we went to Bass Pro, which, if you read my blog regularly, you'll know I said I didn't need to visit again!  So, I stayed in the car and read my book while Bud shopped.  We had a great day.......just dreamin'.

Camping and a Tour

We spent yet another beautiful weekend of camping. Our weird summer weather may have some people upset, but I'm loving it! It's perfect for sitting around the campfire and hanging out in the outdoors. We were lucky enough to get our favorite spot on the river at Coralville Lake. We currently can't make reservations for "our" spot because they are supposed to be putting some rock in and working on the sites along the river because the flood really tore away at the bank. Here is a view of the overflow as we cross the dam. Our campground is in the upper right hand area of the photo.

We always see plenty of wildlife like the five deer munching on grass in this photo. (They're there, just look closer!) We sometimes have coon visiting us at night to scavenge through our trash or perhaps open Trilby's cooler and help themselves! Many birds are always around too.

Bud has about a 12 foot drop to water at the edge of the bank. Anyway, we can still camp there until they start working, so we made reservations for one spot and then moved to our spot when we saw it was open. The reason we like it so well is that it borders the timber area on one side which gives us privacy, and Bud has figured out how to catch some catfish there. This is where Bud spends most of his time. (Notice his Dish! Someone's spoiled!)

Here is the view out our back window.

I thought I would take you on a little tour of our camper today. It is a 2002 Yellowstone Fifth-Wheel trailer.

A view to the left as you walk into the camper. The blinds are usually up when we are at the res so we can see the view of the river.

A view to the right as you walk into the camper.

My kitchen area as seen from the couch.

This is taken from the steps to the bedroom. You can see the kitchen to the left, dining to the right, and living at the rear.

And our bedroom area is up two steps from the kitchen/living room. There is a pocket door for privacy. An accordion door can also be pulled to have bathroom and vanity area privacy separate from the bedroom.

The sink and vanity area are at the foot of the bed across from the toilet and tub/shower room.

These two spent Saturday night with us. They spent their time fishing, exploring the timber, and sitting around the campfire.

I would be remiss if I didn't show you the boys' favorite spot. The nearby dairy sweet is where Grandpa buys ice cream. Cael and Nate both got their first tastes of ice cream from Grandpa's cone at Funcrest. Yum, yum!

I hope you enjoyed the little tour of our camper. Come out and sit around the campfire with us sometime!