Wow…what an autumn this has been! As the official start of winter bears down upon us (but with weather that is saying winter is here NOW), I decided to relate our continued camping adventures in our new T@B trailer.

We had so much fun during our first trip at Summit Lake State Park, with other TABbers (despite the very chilly weekend), we immediately decided that if the weather was nice the following weekend, we would again go camping. Well, we did; again…and again…and again…and again! We managed to squeeze in 5 camping weekends since October 16th, only missing Halloween weekend (we were warned that camping the weekend closest to Halloween is not advisable for “normal” people as the loonies come out in full force, no offense to any loonies reading this). I also had an unexpected minor but urgent medical condition necessitating surgery, which kept me homebound for two extremely unseasonal and VERY gorgeous weekends. Needless to say, during that time I was a very unhappy (not) camper. I’m not sure how many times I grumbled and whined about my situation…kudos to Pat for his patience. Love you!

But for the five weekends we did camp, they were also gorgeous and we were blessed to have that weather for so long (the two notwithstanding). Here’s a short synopsis of the highlights of each weekend, and some photos from each.

October 23-25, 2009: Versailles State Park, Versailles, Indiana

We only had plans for the previous weekend, to join the other TAB owners at Summit Lake. Having no prior camping experience whatsoever, we faced the daunting task (well, daunting to us) of finding a place to camp. Private, public, electric, water, distance to bathhouse, level or sloped pad, gravel or asphalt pad, pull-through or back in…all decisions we noobs needed to face. Then, there’s availability! Far less of an issue than at peak season, but with the nice weather, it was a consideration.

After speaking to two coworkers who would be at Versailles State Park that weekend, we decided to try that. We found available sites in the same campground and made our reservation. The Indiana State Parks reservation system requires a two-night minium stay, so we decided to leave a little early Friday and stay through Sunday.

When we arrived, we decided to unhitch and push the TAB into the site, so as to avoid the typical “everybody in the campground staring at you to see if you can back your rig” ritual. Take that, kids! Yes, the TAB is so lightweight and with the four corner handles and jockey wheel, two people (even one!!), can easily maneuver the TAB into a camping spot. The plastic jockey wheel we have makes grass or gravel a little more challenging, but fellow TAB owner Alan has kindly counseled us that replacing the hard plastic wheel with a pneumatic one will help with that.

Once we dropped the stabilizers and got generally situated, we ventured to one of the park’s shelters, where my coworkers and their friends were gathered for their annual chili cookoff, to which they invited us. With an array of fine chili to select, I chose one of my new found enjoyable regional delights, 3-way Cincinnati chili with spaghetti, cheese and onions. Yummm. After a while of conversation, we headed back to our campsite, and soon enough, time to get some shuteye.

The next day my workers brought by some of their family and friends to see the TAB…how many of them said how suprisingly roomy inside it really is. A recurrent theme with the TAB, as we’re learning. After they left, Pat and I decided to head out for a while. We took a ride to nearby Madison, Indiana, home to the wonderful Madison Fudge Factory and, as readers of my site may know (not that I have many regular readers LOL), that Madison was also the primary filming location for the 1950’s movie “Some Came Running,” starring two of my favorite performers, the great Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. After procuring some decadent fudge and checking out the local municipal campground by the Ohio River, we headed back to Versailles SP.

I used our new Safari Chef grill to make some chicken fried rice (probably a joke compared to the real thing, but it tasted good to me!).

On Sunday, we had breakfast, then I got some veggie chili going for lunch (using the exceptional Bob Waldmire Route 66 Cozy Chili seasoning). We went for a walk along one of the trails and by the time we came back, lunch was all ready. After filling ourselves with chili, we packed up and headed for home…until next time!

Slideshow of Jennifer’s Photos

For more details about a particular photo, click on it in the slideshow and it will open in my Flickr site.

[flickrslideshow acct_name=”roadtripmemories” id=”72157622666943700″ width=”600″]

For more details about a particular photo, click on it in the slideshow and it will open in my Flickr site.

[flickrslideshow acct_name=”11019355@N03″ id=”72157622785875690″ width=”600″]

November 14-15, 2009: Little Farm on the River, Rising Sun, Indiana

Starting to feel better, recovering from unwelcome, unexpected surgery, I felt well enough to go camping. After all, it’s not exactly a rough-amd-tumble experience, like hiking 3 miles into the wilderness with 100 lbs of camping equipment strapped to your back and having to set up and breakdown camp, forage for food, etc.  LOL  Just throw some food in the fridge, some games, books, whatever…and go. Simple!

This weekend’s quest for a campground led us to a private campground. Now that we are into November, we are VERY off-season. Many seasonal campgrounds are now closed, or else have no facilities available. So, we found a private campground that is open all year, and has bathroom facilities available. We do have a porta-potty with the TAB, but haven’t used it yet. Little Farm on the River is in Rising Sun, Indiana, right along the Ohio River. That is one part of the campground is, the other portion is about 1/2 mile back from the river.  The person Pat spoke with said there would be no problems with availability now, and we needn’t worry about checkin or checkout times.

We took a nice, winding route down to Rising Sun and checked in. They have a nice camp store available, though at this time of year, their supplies are understandably low. We took advantage of their 50% discount on food to pick up a couple of candy bars! They said to pick any spot in any area we like, that there are none reserved now. The camping area away from the river where the camp store/office was seemed fairly well attended, actually. We ventured down to the riverside camping section, which was far less crowded…a few big rigs, motor home, fifth wheel and a larger trailer, but not much. We found a nice spot down by the river and again, set up the TAB with relative ease…had to use a little strength, as the pad was gravel, but Pat took most of the effort, due to my post-surgical condition.

Once we got set up, Pat built a campfire and we had dinner. Wow…dark by 6:00!! We laughed, thinking how it felt later than it was, but yet it was only 6. But between making dinner, sitting and talking by the campfire, before you know it it was 9-ish and we retreated to the TAB.

Breakfast the next morning, another campfire…warm day! We went up to the camp store to check out the merchandise they had. T-shirts, hats, etc. I bought a T-shirt and Pat bought a hat. We also spotted a small trailer parked in the campground called an iCamp. The iCamp is very similar to the TAB in many respects, but yet in other respects, very different. From what I understand (and this is only from what I readon on the Internet , so obviously, I would not say this is fact!), the iCamp is a Chinese variation of the TAB. It is evidently made with American-made parts that are shipped to China and assembled there. The final product is then shipped to the United States. I guess the Chinese labor is so inexpensive that it nullifies the shipping costs, making this an affordable trailer that the company can still generate a profit?  LOL

The exterior is similar to a TAB as far as its general look of the skin and trim. Shape is different, since the TAB has a teardrop shape and the iCamp is rounded in front and has a straight back. Not sure of the construction material, but the iCamp does have a shower and toilet. We walked over and met the owners, a couple from the area who were camping with their son (who was in his large motorhome). They just bought the iCamp that week and picked it up from Florida…and they had the first ever production model number 1! Hopefully all the kinks had been worked out prior to their purchase.  LOL  They came down to the riverside camping area to take a look at our TAB and we chatted a while.

Pat and I then had lunch, packed up and headed for home. Until next time!!

Slideshow of Jennifer’s Photos

For more details about a particular photo, click on it in the slideshow and it will open in my Flickr site.

[flickrslideshow acct_name=”roadtripmemories” id=”72157622812260124″ width=”600″]

For more details about a particular photo, click on it in the slideshow and it will open in my Flickr site.

[flickrslideshow acct_name=”11019355@N03″ id=”72157622687800961″ width=”600″]

November 21-22, 2009: Lieber State Recreation Area

Slideshow of Jennifer’s Photos

For more details about a particular photo, click on it in the slideshow and it will open in my Flickr site.

[flickrslideshow acct_name=”roadtripmemories” id=”72157622733869915″ width=”600″]

For more details about a particular photo, click on it in the slideshow and it will open in my Flickr site.

[flickrslideshow acct_name=”11019355@N03″ id=”72157622857353566″ width=”600″]

November 28-29, 2009: Caesar Creek State Park, Waynesville, Ohio

For more details about a particular photo, click on it in the slideshow and it will open in my Flickr site.

[flickrslideshow acct_name=”11019355@N03″ id=”72157622903181112″ width=”600″]