Gunter Hill (Outside Montgomery) 12/1/12

First of all, let me say that the photos you see will not do justice to this campground.  Kelly is a really good photographer so that's saying a lot.  I cannot imagine a better place to take a trip.  Gunter Hill has everything we look for in a site and we couldn't say enough positive about it. 

Now for the trip...

We have officially learned that getting setup and settled before Carter's bedtime is an absolute must.  He sleeps so much better if as much as possible is normal for him. In this case, we did not get set up until close to 9:00 Friday night and we missed the 20-30 minute window before he became delirious. Once he gets to this stage, getting him to go down peacefully is a task!  He finally went to sleep but proceeded to wake up several times throughout the night.  We even had to take him for two night-time drives to get him to go back to sleep, and one of those didn't really work.   All in all, I think we slept about three hours on the first night.  Ugh.
 
The first morning began with oh-so-fond memories of the night before. Once we vented about the lack of sleep and eventually stopped feeling sorry for ourselves, we stepped outside the camper and realized we were in a really nice campground. One quick stroll made us wish we had taken a water-front site. So ... Kelly naturally said let's move the camper ... and I naturally said that's way too much work ... and in the end we naturally switched sites. :) The site we moved to was incredible. It only bordered one other site and backed up to the Alabama River. There was even a path to a waterfront pier that was a short distance away. It was a nice move for sure.

 



A look inside one side of the camper

 

Wasn't as dangerous as it looks

We had plans for Cory and Gina to visit us at lunch and then Grandmother and Grandaddy Clayton for dinner, so the first task was to tire Carter out in order to have time to prepare during his nap.  Carter loves playgrounds and fortunately there was one nearby.  It had all of the musts for a 19-month-old: slides, climbing, and of course dirt/rocks to throw.  We were successful in tiring him (or was it the fact he barely slept the night before?) because he took about a three-hour nap!! 

Cory and Gina joined us about 12:30 and we grilled hot dogs, ate too many chips, and talked about college football.  Is there anything better to do on a Saturday afternoon??!!  And since I haven't mentioned this yet and it goes perfectly with good eats and good conversation ... the weather was absolutely perfect.  I'm talking low 70s and not a cloud in the sky.  It caught a lot of people off-guard for December because there were not many campers around this weekend, which worked in our favor since we like privacy.

Cory and Gina left to go watch the SEC Championship game, and about 45 minutes later Grandmother and Grandaddy Clayton showed up with a new ball for Carter to play with.  We all hung out, walked down to the pier, took some pictures, showed off the camper, and then began preparing for dinner.  This time we decided to grill some hamburgers.  Unfortunately we are still having problems with the gas line to the grill on the camper, so we had to employ the campsite's grill and some charcoal from home.  It didn't turn out so great, and by that I mean the burgers were so charred they looked like we had painted them black.  It was an adventure trying to navigate the grill, but I must say that the burgers didn't taste that poorly.  Grandmother and Grandaddy Clayton played a little longer and then they departed for civilization. 

Peek-a-boo!

The Tether Ball is a must have!  So much enertainment without having to run off!

Laid back playing with his ear

MERRY CHRISTMAS! Apparently it's a rule that you have to "tacky-up" your camper

The burgers:)

Fortunately for us, Carter went to sleep easily and slept wonderfully through the night!!!  It was so great to sleep well and wake up in nature on one of the most beautiful mornings of the year!!  As I was lying in the bed I wondered what the view behind me was like, and when I unzipped the  window I was stunned.  It was an incredible view of the Alabama River with the perfect amount of morning light shining down.  One heck of a way to start your morning.  Kelly worked her "camp chef magic" once again and whipped us up some hearty breakfast, which Carter devoured.  We then relaxed a good bit in the camper, read some magazines and kid's books, and played catch with Carter.  All in all, it was a great morning!




Smiles for a great night sleep!











 

Checkout was not until 3:00, but we decided to pack up and head home in the daylight.  That way the evening wouldn't be so stressful.  We played on the playground one more time, walked down to the pier again, and then started the process of cleaning up!

Site Ranking: We would give Gunter Hill 9.0. Our location in the park and privacy put this high up for us.  It could have been the right time of year so it will be interesting if we go back at a busier time.  Facilities were good, Kelly hated the showers.  We did have a fire ring and picnic table which was helpful.  The playground was also HUGE for us!  .

Lessons to take away from this trip:
1.) Get the camper registered!  0-2 on getting pulled over on camping trips! 
2.) Make sure the break lights work before you leave- could have gotten two tickets!  The policeman was very nice to us.   
3.) This time we brought lanterns, but still need more light!  Christmas is coming up!:)
4.) Try to get there early enough to keep Carter on his schedule- may help us all to have a better night?
5.) The first week of December is an excellent wekeend to go camping!
 

Trial-run at Oak Mountain State Park 11/2/12

We just completed our trial run with the camper at Oak Mountain State Park. After checking in and getting settled Friday night we headed to the  Oak Mountain High School football game. It didn't take long for us to realize we may be a little crazy as we started getting many weird looks when we would tell people that we were sort of in the middle of camping (or were those weird looks because no one ever pegged us to be pop-up camper owners). But after a good weekend, we are still happy with our purchase. 

 

Fall in Alabama... can't beat it!  There goes our independent little 18 month old.  See ya buddy!

Here is our lovely camper that Donald has decided to name Jack.  He heard some people discussing why pop-up campers were not as popular as some of the other campers/RVs, and one of the men said because a pop-up camper is like a Jack in the Box ... you crank it until you get a surpise.  Hence the name, "Jack".  I'll go with it...

 

 

We had perfect weather this weekend, and even got to wake up to rain this morning which was so wonderful.  Carter's first night didn't go as well as we, or anyone on the campground, were hoping.  We didn't get settled until about 10:30 and he was very upset at 4am.  Fortunately "Curious George goes Recycling" (thanks Aunt Blair) came to the rescue and soon enough his cries turned in to laughs (only 18-month olds laugh at 5:00 in the morning).  Luckily we were able to relax during naptime and since we were able to catch-up on missed sleep, I don't think any of us moved the last night.

We had a very fun visit and dinner with the Kennedys. We were talking about life and mentioned how our conversations certainly have changed to our kiddos (poop, discipline, etc). Carter and Taylor had a blast together!




Carter and Miss Taylor

I think I got a little too excited for our first trip by cooking a little too much- but it was fun even if Donald doesn't fully agree.  I think he would have preferred pbj for the first trip to simplify things a little.  Anyway- my menu consisted of muffins (made ahead, worked perfectly), hashbrowns, quesadillas (however since I forgot the tortillas these turned into nachos- even better!), BBQ ribs, corn, loaded baked potatoes and to top it all off cherry cobbler from the crockpot.  For all the garbage Donald gave me for packing the crockpot along with everything else, it was actually pretty tasty! We had a few snafus along the way with the cooking... first I just about blew up the little camper setting the gas stove for the first time.  Did you know you shouldn't put it on high when lighting it?  ;) The grill wasn't working, and we had a little drain leakage, but burning the ribs and corn straight on the fire worked just fine- We even had the leftovers just a bit ago:) I did pick up a tip on cooking potatoes by wrapping them in foil and literally putting them under the wood in the fire.  If you don't mind black potatoes, the insides were wonderful, no work required, and took about 45 minutes.  Topped off with some garden chives, cheese, and butter!




Caught Donald snoozin

We were a little worn out from the big meal so I can't say that our night life was all that exciting.  In fact, we put Carter to bed and then sat around for about 30 minutes until we both realized we were just as tired!

We had to head out early this morning for an appointment, so I gave the shower facilities a shot.  They weren't that bad and I figured I could just embrace the camping world and walked back in my robe, hair in towel, and umbrella, and all was good!  We had a great walk in the woods before our departure... Carter was fully engrossed in throwing leaves and chasing a daddy long leg we found.  And he loves when we hold his hands and swing him when we are walking, which really just melts my heart.  We had to put on the charm to our neighbors since we knew they hated us from the other night.  I think he made up for it;) 

Site Ranking:  We would give OM State Park (Pelham Southside campgrounds) a 6.  Facilities all worked and were not dirty, but pretty run down.  The RVs and campers were close together.  We did have a fire ring and picnic table which was helpful.  We know this park very well and there are plenty of different options for things to do. 

Lessons to take away from this trip:
1.) Have NO expectations for any camping trip.  Just go with it.  We both had ideas of how it would go, and though it was a great trip, it is always hard to let go of your expectations. 
2.) Thought we could do without a lantern, would have been quite helpful:)
3.) Make sure the grill works before you get hungry
4.) Most importantly, DO NOT go 49 in a 35.  Donald got pulled over and luckily the officer just wanted him to slow down so he would not have "to do the paperwork" when we hit a deer!
5.) Make sure the heated mattresses are plugged in before the first cold night.


Until next time ... camp on!