Back from a summer of travel and we were gone again this weekend. Our poor dog, Jasmine, thinks SHE owns the house and we are just guests coming and going. Who knows what our cat, Babe, thinks. As far as that goes, who knows what ANY cat thinks.

This time we took the RV out of sleep mode and headed to Lake Okoboji, Iowa for a motorcycle rally. (Yes, we do have a few lakes in Iowa.)

Anyone who has done any kind of camping as a couple knows how challenging it can be. Communication is paramount anddddd it generally breaks down around five minutes into set up time. If you throw in darkness and rain, you can count on only one minute passing before one of you calls the other a derogatory name (generally that’s me because I am the one trudging around in the dark and rain making sure the jacks are down or the sewer hose will reach the receptacle). You campers out there admit it now…. you’ve watched when a couple does the Laurel and Hardy show (just like in the movie RV). You’re sitting back with your feet up, a nice cold drink in hand, forgetting that just an hour ago YOU were the “show”. I swear there could be a wife or husband swap at any camp site and the arguments would be the same! Hey, we could have a reality TV hit on our hands called Campground Survival. And just think, you get to do it all over again when you tear down :0

Why go RVing then? Well,

• Once the initial nesting period is over, it really is nice having your home away from home surrounding you.
• You can take your pets with you.
• You meet some really nice people.
• No worries about what clothes to pack, just throw them ALL in.
• It is a great way to relax and forget all those “to-do” lists waiting to be done.
• It is an excuse to make ‘smores (well, any camping is an excuse to make ‘smores.)
• You have your own bathroom. OK so it is 1/16^th the size of yours at home!
• For Joe and me, it will be our way of seeing the U.S.A. We will drive to a state, set up base camp and ride the roads on our motorcycle. I can just see us riding into the sunset with strains of “On the Road Again” running through our minds.

When doing anything for camping, K.I.S.S. it (Keep It Simple, Stupid). My cooking is reduced to popping a TV dinner in the microwave or rolling up deli meat and cheese into a tortilla. We probably use paper plates just as often as we use our “real” dishes.

I know there are many of you who primitive camp and to you I say, God bless you. We had a pop up camper we pulled behind the motorcycle (I called it “a bed on a box”) and the night I tripped over a tent tie-down making a midnight trip to the bathroom, I told Joe, “This ain’t for me!”. Oh and BTW whether you are RVing or tent camping, the husband/wife set-up arguments do sound just the same