And now? We wait.

There she is: beautiful, new, only had it for 17 days camper of ours.  RDB and I are still so beside ourselves on the fact that we specifically bought a new camper so that we could walk away from the mold issues in the Wildcat that we bought from PPL in February, and yet, here were are, again, dealing with mold issues.... in what should be a brand new, mold-free camper. 

We texted our sales guy, Rusty, Sunday afternoon as soon as we realized the problem, letting him know we were coming down to the dealership first thing Monday morning.  RDB asked him to let the GM know that we'd want to discuss this with him as well; we wanted everyone aware of the situation from the get go.

The service department gave us a call as we were on our way, wanting to make sure we knew they were aware of what was taking place, and to ask for Victor when we checked in.  In no time, they were up on the roof inspecting the damage and agreed with what we had puzzled together.

The hole in the roof membrane near the front AC unit was likely there from the time the unit was installed at the factory (Forest River). The unfortunate part to this meant that it was likely letting in water from the time the dealer (Ron Hoover) took delivery of the unit until we found it.  It's a new 2019 model, so we could figure that it's been on their lot, leaking every time it rains, since the beginning of last year (just shy of 52" at IAH last year, including Hurricane Imelda which hit in September, and another 21" in Houston so far this year).  We've heard others say the two things that will kill your camper are: water, and electricity.

And they weren't kidding:

Those were the photos we received from the service department, once they had taken down the ceiling in the bedroom.  RBD went back and took a few more, to give us better context on what was visible on that first day.

The roof was so soft, from all the rain damage over time, that the service techs were able to tear away portions of the plywood using their bare hands.  The dark black on the ceiling panels, and the white fuzz in between the rafters? Mold. Obviously, this damage had happened over a lengthy period of time - not just in the 17 days that we took possession of it. 

Ken, the GM, said that they'll work Forest River to determine a plan of action. He mentioned several times that "there are steps we have to take" and (in summation) if we were unhappy with the resolution that we could "take it up with Forest River." We understand that he has a process he has to follow, so we're doing our best to be patient.

RDB made sure to inform him, as we had told Rusty when we arrived that morning, that we have no intention of taking this specific unit back; Rusty knew our story: we came to Ron Hoover to buy a NEW camper, so that we wouldn't have to deal with mold issues.  Taking back the Palomino Columbus, even if it were repaired, doesn't change the fact that it now has a history of mold. It's not just a cosmetic issue (though the pictures of it torn apart are breaking my heart); it's a health issue; not one we ever wanted to deal with.

So now?
 

We wait. 

If it Weren't for Bad Luck....

...we'd have no luck at all.

So, with Hurricane Hanna upon us, and our camper parked in the driveway getting ready for a week long trip to Colorado with KD & the Vowels, we discovered the very thing we were trying to avoid when we Cut Bait only two weeks ago - we have water issues.

And not just water issues, but a HOLE in the roof - and who knows how long it's been there?!  Well, actually we know it's been there long enough, at least, for the water that was pooling inside the LED light over the bed to be GREEN - as in MOLD green.

M. O. L. D.  Again.

We'll take it back to Ron Hoover tomorrow morning, and see where we go from here.

Amazon Camp Prime

Just randomly ran across this tonight.... even Amazon wants to go camping!

Back to Brazos Bend

There are a few State Parks, within a short drive from home, that really just have so much to offer and we can't help but keep returning; Brazos Bend State Park is certainly one of them.

RDB and I packed up Friday afternoon, and with the new site specific reservation system, we knew exactly where we were heading to.  And this time? Our favorite "camping buddy" came along with us!

Maybe it's just me, but he sure looks like he's gonna be the king of the castle in this new camper! Diesel's 8 years old now, and he's calmed down a fair bit in his "middle" age.  We've stopped bringing his crate on camping trips - now he just hangs out in the bedroom when we go off on short adventures, and sleeps on his fuzzy bed at the foot of the bed at night.  Well, as long as I can get the fuzzy bed up there before he puts himself to sleep, that is!

Brazos Bend has plenty of adventures, and this weekend, especially, we were hoping to catch a glimpse of the NEOWISE comet; the observatory on campground is closed (due to the pandemic) but we brought our own telescope... too bad we didn't think to put it in the truck to "defrost" before we went off to stargaze; it just completely fogged up and we couldn't see anything! 

-Joseph Masiero, who serves as NEOWISE deputy principal investigator at NASA’s JPL

Even if we couldn't see the comet, we still really enjoyed the weekend in our new camper - finally getting "moved into" it and (for me) organized and decorated the way I've been dreaming about.  We enjoyed a new bottle of wine (in our whiskey glasses) and did a few improvement projects - changing out the lights in the bedroom for a nightlight/touch version, putting a backsplash up in the bathroom behind the dual sinks (did I tell you, we have DUAL SINKS!?). I'll keep an updated album on Flikr for the updates that we do over time. There's not a whole lot that really needs to be done in a new camper, but it's certainly nice to personalize it and make it truly our own.  

I still can't believe we own this camper!

The road from headquarters back to the campsite is long and windy, and at a max speed of 30 MPH, it's just the perfect spot to just relax and enjoy the ride.  Keep your eyes open for deer crossing, and the occasional alligator sunning himself, though, as the park is filled with wildlife and marshes for them to hide in. 

Perhaps the funniest thing that happened this weekend was on our evening walk around the camping loop. We were taking the trash over to the dumpster, and RDB stepped back and held Diesel off a ways, "Just in case a trash panda jumps out."  Sure enough, as I got closer to the dumpster to toss in our bag of trash, a raccoon lifted up the lid and jumped right out!  Like I said, _lots_ of wildlife here at Brazos Bend!

All too soon, we were packing up to head back home.  RDB set me up with a great "phone drop" station for charging in our bar area, and the external speakers on the TV in the living room are Bluetooth capable, so we were enjoying great music as we finished up breakfast and cleaned up to leave.  you can't help but smile and sing along with "Don't Worry, BE HAPPY!"  We really are Happy Campers again.

We were in site #126 of the Burr Oak Camping area.  We're still really impressed with how they keep the sites feeling private, even though you're tucked in with lots of neighbors (we were also kinda surprised by how long the grass was in our site - only mowed down around the fire pit, but then, it may be because the campground is minimally staffed due to Covid-19). 

We've been to Brazos Bend before: 

Rainbows, Stars, Bikes and Trains

Going Back for Seconds

Super "Brazos" Weekend

And you can find more camping photos from this trip here.

Camp Cooking #12: Way Easier Watermelon

A trip to Lockhart State Park wouldn't be complete without dropping by the Farmer's Market in Lulling and picking up one of their famous watermelons!

Now, you might be wondering: how on earth is a post about watermelon necessary? I mean, you jut cut it, and enjoy it. Simple, right?

Well, yes! But I'm about to make it even easier for you!

It was honestly the SMALLEST watermelon we could find!

First, grab your supplies:

Watermelon

Large Knife

Cheese Cutter

Screwdriver

Salt

So, yes, a cheese cutter.  I would never have thought about this had I not seen Alton Brown post his secret weapon for watermelon cutting on Facebook during our trip - but it's AWESOME! and totally worth repeating.  Here we go:

Slice your watermelon in half width wise.

Cut it into two inch slices.

Cut a small slit into the rind.

Use the screwdriver to unscrew and remove the bar under the wire that determines the thickness of a cheese slice (when used for it's actual intended purpose...) from your cheese slicer.

Hello, new watermelon cutter!

With your new watermelon cutter, insert the wire into the slit you cut in the rind.

And follow the rind all the way around back to your starting point.

Now, pop the center fruit out from the rind.

And there you have it! Repeat for the other slices of your watermelon!

Cut your slices into wedges....

... sprinkle some salt over the top (coarse, kosher, or flakes is best!)....

and enjoy your perfect summer treat!

All Is Calm

I can't help but smile - we went to Lockhart State Park for our first trip with the Castle, and it's right outside of the city of Lulling.  

See lull, think "calm."

And I am so much more calm and happy now that we're camping again.  The hat RBD bought me for this trip truly says it all:

It's always a bit of a mess when you're moving into a new camper - I think we made 4 (5?) trips to Wal-mart along the way regathering items (and food!).  We were so excited to head out after closing on the camper that we didn't have any of our gear from the old camper that we had in storage.  I can tell you, THAT makes for an interesting weekend - knowing you have the stuff, but you don't have the stuff.

I'll tell you though, the one thing we did have was ice! 

OMG, y'all our new camper has an in-freezer ICE MAKER!!!!

 I have nothing but coffee mugs, but we. have. an ICE MAKER!! 

*swoon*

Lockhart SP is a fun campground - its a loop of hookups right on a golf course.  So, of course, we spent the evenings taking walks and enjoying the stars.  (I'd forgotten how wonderful the dark skys are when you get out of town.)

Lulling also happens to be a really neat little town to visit (Check out the write up from the Day Tripper).  We greatly enjoyed the bar-b-que the last time we were here, and this time, we went down to the local farmer's market.

Y'all - support the locals. We enjoyed a little lunch at Mom's Front Porch  - the chicken salad salads were delicious, and the smell of fresh baked bread wafting out the front door was like a hug and a kiss on the cheek from Grandma.

The Farmer's Market just down main street was another great place to help support the locals - we bought fresh veggies for breakfast on Sunday, and the smallest watermelon they had - which was still big enough to fill the whole freezer! 

I'll have a whole post about a trick I learned to cut watermelons.. Look forward to that shortly!

We also made an appointment to visit the Lulling Lavender Fields (made an appointment, because Covid-19 is still rampant, and even more-so in Texas where we've "reopened the economy" before mandating mask wearing and because of the Memorial Day weekend, we're now seeing unprecedented outbreaks and the maxing out of our hospital systems....  but I'm not going to make this blog about Covid, and the 19 bazillion things that are being discussed elsewhere. Camping is about getting _away_ from all that, so that's where we're going to focus.) 

M-kay?  Okay.

Now, where was I? 

Oh, yeah - Lulling Lavender Fields.

Our visit was short, but we found several items to take back to our new home-on-wheels: CBD peppermint tea, a few bundles of dried lavender, and a CBD/lavender/frankincense balm for me.  RBD and I have both found CBD to be a wonderful addition to our daily lives - for me, it's been a huge aide in pain relief from the nerve pain that still lingers from a car accident five years ago.  So, it was nice to find another local place that we could support, and take home a few items we know we'd enjoy.

For dinner that evening, we used some of the jalapeños that we picked up at the farmer's market and made one of our camping favorites: bacon wrapped jalapeno poppers.  

New Camper, Tasty Dinner, Good Movie

I mentioned that Lockhart is on a golf course, right?  Well, we enjoyed walking the course and taking picture, but the park headquarters had a little bit of free fun around it, too. I always try to drop into the park HQ, because you never know what you'll find!

It was such a great weekend to be back camping again - though, RDB says we should start calling it "RV-ing" because we've definitely moved up a bit aways from where we started.  To-may-to, to-mah-to. I'm just glad we're back!

We were in Site #5 of the full hooks loop at Lockhart State Park.  I know I used to tell you if the sites were relatively level or not, but the Castle has auto leveling (something RDB really desired) so all we do is push a button and viola! We're leveled!  We've been to this park before: Really Good Bar-b-que, Really Bad Gas, and a Game of I-Spy.

For more camping photos, go here.