Adventures with “Betty”

An Original Series – #1

 

A few years ago, my life changed dramatically. A small motorhome arrived at RV City and it was to be mine!

My childhood vacations are fondly remembered for tenting through Southern Ontario. In the later years, we graduated to a basic tent trailer pulled by a station wagon as more kids arrived. I enjoyed those road trips and wanted to be someone who couldn’t easily give up tenting.

You know the tenting experiences: the thrill of wrestling awkwardly heavy shaped bundles from a vehicle. Methodically unrolling ground sheet, then tent, then fly and battling rocky ground or sandy surfaces to anchor these essential components of a temporary home for a good night sleep with tent pegs that are either too narrow or too wide.

 

 

There is the pushing of required sleeping bag and pillows into the narrow tent opening after inflating air mattresses or rolling out insufficient memory foam on the hard and rocky ground. Throughout the camping stay, multiple trips are needed to take stuff in and out of the vehicle to be sure to keep the campsite safe for wildlife while having everything needed for night time inside a tear resistant nylon A-frame.

The goal of tenting is to ensure everything is holding tight and angled properly to keep water from collecting. Each camping trip required constant review of weather forecasts so we wouldn’t end with waking up on the day of departure to the sound of rain gently or vigorously hitting the top of the fly. Despite the best planning and preparations, there was no way to happily greet those grey mornings, stepping out into pouring rain and needing to pack everything up wet to unpack at home and dry out.

 

 

 

 

Please don’t misunderstand. When everything is said and done with the tent and the tarping (preferably by other people), there is something magical about being under

warm bedding while quiet of the night lulls me to sleep. Even the sound of gentle rain on the tent roof, as long as there is still a day to dry out at the site, is pretty amazing. Tenting, though, had started to feel like it was all setup, maintaining, taking down and drying out in someone’s backyard. Camping trips had to be longer than a weekend to make it worth the effort.

 

I am a single mid-life woman and I don’t much like accommodations less than 3 stars. I love being outdoors and road trips, as do my friends, but most of us also like comfort. As we’ve aged, our inventory of required camping gear has grown to the point we must have at least 2 vehicles now for four of us on a weekend getaway.

 

It was time to turn my back on tenting and find an alternative. But how, what, who?
That’s where RV City came in.
Until next time….