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I'm doing a little catching up first since we actually started RV'ing a couple of months ago, so here goes.
We set sail for our first trip in the "new" RV. (new for us but actually an antique) We had done some test camping in our yard in preparation and had most of the kinks worked out. Our first trip, July 2006, was to Bama Bikefest in Forkland, Alabama. Some friends (fellow Bikers) had highly recommended the event and we were excited about the chance to try out Bernice. (The RV is named after the hearse in the movie "Grand Theft Parsons", one of our favorites!) We decided to go mostly backroads rather than interstate/Highway which might be the first lesson we learned in travelling in Bernice. She didn't much care for the sweeping hills and narrow roads, especially pulling a trailer with the Bike and generator in it! The scenery was nice, however. *GRIN*
(Rick Note: Somehow, the bike (1998 Harley Davidson Sportster) leaned over against the generator and rubbed some of the paint off the bike's oil tank. Grr.)
We arrived at the Festival a bit frazzled from the trip (and loaded down with everything we could think of we might need) but otherwise excited about the adventure. Rick did a great job of driving and parking and setting up Bernice. Unfortunately the water pressure was horrible and the Electricity was fairly intermittant. We made do and Bernice did great!
The Bike Fest was a blast! Lots of drinking/music/crazy people/Bikers and last but not least Biker Chicks! Rick and i had a great time and made friends with our neighbors, spent a good bit of money on leather stuff...i got new chaps among other things! YAY!
Boudreaux was really good for his first camping experience! The trip home was pretty uneventful and Bernice ran like a champ.
Our next trip was to Perk Beach Campground in Perkinston, MS. It was close to home and somewhere we could go without quite as much driving to test out Bernice again. (Rick Note: Perk Beach is right on Red Creek and has a nice white sand "beach" - really more of a sandbar on the bank. Unfortunately, it's just as close to US Hwy. 49 - some of the sites are 25-30 feet from 70+ mph traffic.) We arrived there just before dark and set up our "camp" fairly quickly and painlessly. The campground had quite a few semi-permanant residents, Katrina victims or workers. The first night we were located close to the beach but our neighbors we a bit...hmmm....questionable and the noise from Hwy 49 was awful! The next morning we walked the campground and inquired about moving to the larger pull-through sites which seemed a bit less....hectic. The manager was very nice and we quickly got settled into our new (quieter) spot. Once we got settled in there the weekend went smoothly and we enjoyed just hanging out, bbq'ing etc. Boudreaux and Bernice both did great again! YAY!
Now we are almost caught up to the present, which was camping this past weekend at Mimosa Landing in Columbia, MS on the Pearl River. i highly recommend this Campground! The scenery is beautiful, the campsites were spacious, clean and most were shady. We picked #41 which was on a bluff overlooking the river with a beautiful view and fairly private as it was on one end of the sites on the river, with no other site on one side and a vacant site on the other side.
Mimosa Landing has a very nice little store, a good size swimming pool, a playground for the kids and beside the pool a nice sized covered area with picnic tables, TV and karaoke capabilities...ohh and old fashioned wood swings! The restroom/shower facilites were clean and roomy. The staff was very friendly and helpful.
Bernice docked without any disasters (i think Rick is getting to be a Pro at this lol) Boudreaux explored our area (marking every tree and pretty much anything that stood still for more than 2 minutes! LOL) and we settled in to a really great weekend. The pool was refreshing and it was wonderful to float and have fun with each other. Rick playing with the floaty noodles was a rare treat! (i'll try and post some pics later of "Noodle Boy" ROFL!)
We did have some excitement....Friday night we realized there was an alligator in the gully below us. It was kind of interesting to actually hear one growl (or whatever they call what alligators do) and splash into the water. Rick says that in South Mississippi anytime you have water and a food source you have alligators. i'm sure as long as you leave them alone (which we did) they will leave you alone....but we were definitely more cautious! We didn't leave Boudreaux tied up outside without supervision and we didn't walk him close to the woods. If the grandkids had been with us we would have been cautious with them also! Alligators and other wildlife is one of the great things about camping, as far as i'm concerned, and it won't stop us from returning there soon!
We packed up this morning fairly easily (gee i think we are getting good at this! *GRIN*) The trip home was nice and Bernice sailed beautifully!
AAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGG until the next time we set sail in Bernice!
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