Tuesday, Sept. 25

Camping trip, day one:

Tuesday, Sept. 25: no hurry to get up this morning, since we didn’t expect Sis to arrive until later in the morning, and we had almost everything packed and ready in the camper. We continued with last-minute preparations before noon, and after Sis arrived, we joined her and Mother for lunch.

Left home around noon. Trip uneventful, and we arrived at the KOA campground around 3 p.m. Finding the entrance was a trick. We took the exit ramp advised by the KOA guidebook, and went over the overpass and down the road to the campground. Ended up on the back side of the facility, though, where a large sign advised that this was for permanent campers only. A chain across the entrance prevented us from entering.

Hubbie walked into the campground and talked with a resident, who said we should go to the next road, turn right, then turn right again to get to the campground entrance. Success this time. Hubbie got us registered, and then some guy named “Sparky” led us by golf cart to our graveled drive-through space. In fact, there is no pavement in the entire park…all the roads are gravel, though there are patches of “lawn” near each campsite. The space is adequate, under some shade trees, with a view overlooking a lovely soybean field. And it’s full service, which we like.

But, wow, was it windy today, which is pretty typical of the delta area of our state. As a veterinary friend once said of flatlands like this, “there’s nothing between you and the wind but a barbed wire fence.”

The campground has WiFi access, though after I accessed it, it threw a window up saying the service wasn’t available, even though it said I was connected and the signal was strong. But it finally came on. Guess the computer had to think about it for a while.

Despite Hubbie’s declaration to the contrary, the campground does have cable service, though we were told it has only been available this past year. Hubbie was misinformed by the 2011-2012 KOA guidebook, so he decided to leave the TV at home.

Once we had set up the camper, we explored the gift shop, where Hubbie commented about our experience finding the entrance. The lady there said there was a large sign directing campers. I saw the sign, but it seemed to point to a highway ramp. I guess, though, that it swung folks around to the access road leading to the entrance. It’s pretty confusing, and according to the lady Hubbie talked to at the permanent camper area, lots of folks make the same mistake that we did.

We also explored the recreation/pancake breakfast room, which is equipped with a pool table, a TV, and books and puzzles, as well as a kitchen. In the past KOA campgrounds served free pancake breakfasts. Not anymore. Prices range anywhere from $1.10 for a pastry, all the way up to $6 for all-you-can-eat pancakes, with two sausages or three slices of bacon. We’ll pass, thank you.

At the registration office, we were given a park information page that includes campground guidelines, including: all leashes must be accompanied by a dog; your neighbors should be quiet between the hours of 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. so that you can get a good night’s sleep; all kids under 18 should take an adult to the pool…parents like to feel needed; and, no clotheslines…this isn’t the place to air your clean or dirty laundry.

Later, for supper, we had bowls of chili, with slices of cheese, dollops of sour cream, and oyster crackers. This is when we discovered that the refrigerator is freezing the food. The container of chili, and the container of sour cream, were both frozen solid. Items we put in there today were still okay. But Hubbie decided to shut the fridge off in hopes it would re-set itself.

After supper, we went to a casino, where we knew we could get $20 free-play cards as first-time players. The only thing was, we had to have our driver’s licenses, and I didn’t bring mine. So Hubbie got his card, and I’ll get mine tomorrow.

I’m not fond of this casino, because all but one of the penny slot machines we checked out required a minimum of five dollars. Also, we had trouble figuring out how to get Hubbie’s $20 card to work. A staff member finally had to help him. It required a pin number, and some other information, to get it started. He played five dollars of it, and I spent $3 at the penny machine. No winnings, of course, but we were entertained for a couple of hours.

Decided to leave around 7:30. If it was difficult maneuvering into a parking space with our long truck when we arrived, it was darn near impossible by the time we left the packed parking lot. Hubbie ended up backing into the vehicle in the row behind us. He got out to check it, but found no damage, since he had hit a truck with a large front bumper. Glad it wasn’t a car, which these days seem to be made of tin-foil, or we’d have been paying for damages!

Back at camp, we each engaged in our own activities…Hubbie reading a John Grisham novel, and I playing on my laptop, until bedtime.