October 2009: Summit Lake State Park – Our first T@B camping trip!

Friday, October 16, 2009

It’s been exactly a month since we picked up our T@B from Tiara RV. We “camped out” (i.e., slept in and watched a DVD the first night we brought it home). We hadn’t had a chance to really camp in it, since we needed to get a tow vehicle first. Every other weekend I have been busy “fall cleaning” the house. To our delight, several members of the T@B / T@DA Yahoo Group were getting together this weekend. We definitely wanted to go and were excited about it. We made reservations at the campground and toward the end of this week, started getting more items, packing, etc.

We took Friday off, and in the morning we registered the T@B with the BMV. Of course, they have a new computer system, basically a “blank slate” and T@B was not in their new system. It took a few calls to the main BMV department but they got us added to their system and registered. *whew* We made a few last stops for needed items, then went home to pack.

Since this is our first trip, we sort of were “winging it.” Hopefully we had everything we needed, but it was also a learning experience on our part to see if we brought too much, forgot anything, etc. I’ll be writing up a complete checklist for us to work from, but I was too busy for now…

We arrived around 5:30 or so and was quickly greeted by Alan, followed by his wife Carie, then Tom & Ella. Alan immediately gave us advice and tips on our T@B – VERY much appreciated!!! We are clueless, after all!  LOL

Tom, the Archwing canopy expert, helped us put it up – big thanks there too. It was our intent to practice putting it up at home, but Pat got sick last weekend, which put the kibosh on those plans.

Next, Julia showed up with her white & yellow T@B.

It was cold and drizzling, but we hung out by the campfire for a while. My allergies and lungs held up very well, thanks to my new allergy medications! Pat and I went back to the T@B to watch a movie and head to bed, but didn’t watch much of the movie after all…

Saturday, October 17, 2009

I woke up around 6:00 and went to the nearby facilities. It was very dark and cold, but the weather cleared up and the sky was beautiful with a billion stars! Once we were more awake and coherent, I made breakfast (eggs and turkey sausage), then made some apple crisp for the potluck supper that afternoon. Ella gave us some Amish Friendship bread…it was awesome! Thanks to Ella for that. mmmmm..

Pat and I went for a walk around the nature trail and found a geocache in the park. Here are two photos from along the nature trail:

Summit Lake State Park - Indiana

Summit Lake State Park - Indiana

We came back to our campsite and Pat put together the new grill we bought, a Safari Chef. It’s a regular grill, nonstick grill, griddle, a wok, or a stove to boil water. The wok is also a cover. Pretty nifty! I made some grilled vegetables, in addition to the apples.

I also played around with our Route 66 throw, draping it over the back of the dinette. We also brought our Route 66 napkin holder, sugar and salt & pepper shakers.

 T@B Mini-rally at Summit Lake State Park - Indiana

We had a very nice get-together…dinner was great! We hung around the campfire for a while, then Pat and I went back to the T@B and played a few games of Yahtzee. We were pretty tired, then went to sleep.

T@B Mini-rally at Summit Lake State Park - Indiana

Sunday, October 18, 2009

It was late when we woke up today, about 8:10. We didn’t want to miss saying goodbye to anyone, so we cleaned up the trailer and ourselves, and had a quick breakfast. Tom and Ella left early, as Tom wasn’t feeling well. We talked to Alan & Carie for a while, then said our goodbyes to them and Julia. Pat and I were going to stick around for a while, go for another walk and take some photos, then have lunch. First, a photo of our campsite:

T@B Mini-rally at Summit Lake State Park - Indiana
So, we walked around the campground trail, but probably took an incorrect fork and ended up walking longer than .9 miles!  LOL It was really comfortable out. Today was the warmest and most beautiful day…very sunny and a few clouds. Just perfect!
Summit Lake State Park - Indiana

We were among the last in the campground to leave, there were only 3 others remaining. It was time for us to break down our campsite, pack up and head home (we didn’t want to!)….but this is only the first of many fun outings for us!

T@B Mini-rally at Summit Lake State Park - Indiana

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=”72157622614498742″ width=”600″]

Slideshow of Pat’s Photos

Below is a slideshow of all photos from today.
Click any photo to stop the slideshow and view the photos on my Flickr site.

[flickrslideshow acct_name=”11019355@N03″ id=”72157622489780843″ width=”600″]

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7 Responses to October 2009: Summit Lake State Park – Our first T@B camping trip!

  1. Sharon says:

    Jennifer…I really enjoyed your rally pictures. Congrats on your first official outing. I love the Route 66 theme you have going on. Happy T@Bbing!
    Sharon in NC…SplashT@B #2487

    • Jennifer says:

      Hi Sharon, thanks! We had a really nice time and are looking forward to future outings, and especially meeting other T@Bbers! We thought the Route 66 theme would be fun, since we love Route 66 so much!

  2. Bliss says:

    Really cool, guys! Looking forward to seeing your new rig somewhere on the road. Is the GMC also a new family member? Details please.

    • Jennifer says:

      Hi Kent, you definitely will see our rig sometime. I’m sure we’ll have a springtime American Road outing, and will probably bring it along! The GMC is new (to us…). It’s a 97 Sierra; we didn’t have anything to sufficient to tow the T@B, so it was necessary to acquire a new vehicle!

      • Bliss says:

        The truck looks really good……..and it’s made by Chevy. Should run forever. Where did you find it? How many miles? Auto or stick? 6 or 8? 4WD? Other?

        Just curious.

      • Pat says:

        We found it at a Chevy dealer in town. The previous owner bought it there in 2000 and traded it in last month. It’s got 207K miles, but runs like a champ! It’s got the good old GM 350, AT. It’s a basic 2WD with the short bed (because of the extended cab). Picked it up for $3995. Unfortunately had to sacrifice my trusty Honda Civic to pay for it, but that’s OK. We’re starting to car pool again, so it’ll all work out!

  3. Galaktik Travel says:

    really help me alot. Thanks.

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