Our Maiden Voyage

This story ends with my Birkenstocks covered in black tank water.  The lesson learned at that moment will never be forgotten!  Always close the valve before removing the hose!

Our maiden voyage with our new to us rpod went pretty well otherwise!  We have a seasonal site, which is not what we bought our lite weight camper for, but in the current state of COVID 19, we felt that was the best decision for us this year.  We are about two and a half hours from home, so we feel that we are “going away” when we head up there.  The jeep pulled it perfectly, which is good because we put a lot of time into researching and choosing the right camper for the jeep and us.  It was fairly cool at night this past weekend, and we got to try out the heater!  Everything was a bit of a lesson this weekend, and I am thankful for all the great YouTube videos out there that helped us!  We had a bit of a hick-up connecting the water, but solved that pretty darn quick, which you do naturally cause its water!

We had Rosco (our 70-pound golden doodle) with us.  Things worked out pretty well with him.  He had his dog bed, and we gave him a little alone time in the camper, with us still on site, so that he could learn to be in there alone and have some downtime.  Doodles have a tonne of energy like a little kid!  Rosco loved the water, he hasn’t swum yet but does play on the shore with the waves.  He and Sam spent a lot of time together exploring some local beached and shorelines as I did have a couple of hours each morning that was dedicated to a work commitment. 

The campground we chose is on a small lake.  We are super close to Lake Huron, about 10 minutes to Sauble Beach and about 10 minutes to Wiarton.  I am excited to get up to the Bruce Peninsula National Park and finally see the Grotto.  I am confident that we will take the kayaks and love every minute of that trip!  We also plan to explore the Spirit Rock Conservation Area and the many trails in the area. 

We are excited to get the kayaks and canoe up there.  Sam was able to find several locations for us to launch and explore along the inlets of Lake Huron and the Sauble River.  I am also itching for a paddleboard now because the small lake we were on and Lake Huron was like glass on Sunday morning.  I am curious about what the fishing is like on the lake we are on, but I am completely a catch and release girl, cause I can’t clean a fish!  That is Cole’s job!

The packing up to leave the camper for the week is when we ran into our biggest challenge.  Draining the holding tanks.  We have two drains, one for the black water and one for the grey.  Our black water tank is further from the sewer line than we would like and we have decided we are going to somehow incorporate a PVC pipe to assist us!  Needless to say, next weekend when I go to leave, I hope that it does not include a quick, but absolutely necessary shower!! I am now shopping for new birks as well!