rainbowkinect

Last summer, I’ve shared with you my previous escapade as a first time RV’er in the camper my husband suddenly “sprung” on me.  To say, at the time, I was under enthused was an understatement but as we know, the universe has a sense of humor.

 
For some unearthly reason, I find myself suddenly surrounded by friends who love to go camping. First and foremost, there is my husband who thinks he is the outdoorsman extraordinaire, closely followed by two friends and their partners who have varying ideas on the best way to go camping.  I, on the other hand, am at the opposite end of the spectrum, traditionally speaking, my idea of camping consists of a stay at the Hilton or quite possibly the Marriott.

 
Spending the weekend in my husband’s RV last summer was an exercise in futility.  My sister and I started out in the upper and lower bunks of the RVs standard twin sized beds. As I bolted straight upward during the middle of the night, I envisioned I was trapped in a closed MRI machine. The opened bathroom door which closed in the side of the bunk bed in conjunction with the ceiling tiles six inches from my face proved absolutely claustrophobic. I couldn’t climb out of that bed fast enough.  My sister, on the other hand, had already escaped into the midnight air, seeking the solace of my husband’s truck.

 

Chivalry is not dead. My husband, hearing all of the commotion, eased out of the queen sized bed, offering to switch places and of course we greedily accepted after all he had slept in the bunk beds quite comfortably on a previous occasion.  Off to sweet slumber we all went, finally crowding out thoughts of closed spaces and heart palpitating anxiety.

 
As the morning dew settled on all things outdoors, sunlight streamed across the camper interrupting our dreams. As I shuffled out of bed, I casted a glance sideways in anticipation of my husband deep in slumber on the top berth of the bunk bed but he was nowhere to be found. Now this RV was on the small size so I doubted he was lost somewhere in the west wing.

 

As the door to the camper swung open, there he was.  Sensing the perplexed look on my face,  his explanation came tumbling out.  The bunk bed swallowed him. For some unbeknownst reason, the claustrophobic monster reared its ugly head for him too.  As he tried to go to sleep, the side walls and ceiling started to close in on him. He shut the bathroom door to open up the space, he climbed down from the top bunk to the bottom bunk, hoping the increased head space would compensate for the closed in feeling. Nothing worked. As he dragged his blanket and pillow through the night to the safety of his truck, thoughts of a trade-in started percolating in his mind.

 
The next day, as we headed home to the comfort of our queen sized bed with its pillow top mattress,  we started thinking about upgrading the RV to a camper minus the bunk beds and one with a slide out. What a difference a slide out makes!

 
As the winter months morphed into spring, my husband began looking on-line for our wish list items within our pre-determined budget. We actually went RV shopping. The options were limited as we agreed to stay within budget. The RV we both loved was clearly out of our ball park. No matter how the salesman tried, he couldn’t make the numbers work.  We decided to go back to the place my husband bought the first camper and voila, we saw THE camper, not too big, with one slide out, sleeps 5, within budget, and NO bunk beds. Before we knew it, we were now owners of an upgraded camper!!

 
In a couple of weeks we are going to make our virgin voyage with our new camper. We will be camping/glamping with four sets of couples. This new camper is 6 feet longer and at least 12 inches taller than our previous one.  Hauling the RV with the “Griswold’s”, as we are affectionately called by our kids, should be fun or at the very minimum interesting.

 

Depending on the outcome of our maiden voyage I am looking forward to a summer full of adventures in our new RV.  If not, Hilton, here I come! Keeping hope alive, I’ll keep you posted!!