New Hideout

It's new, and it's called a Hideout.  In a few days, it will be hiding out at the Lovestead, and maybe soon thereafter at other RV camping sites around the area.

Bill and I had a conversation the other day as he was wrapping up the electric cord leading from the barn to the R-pod.  The R-pod is the new travel trailer we bought in April, 2015. 

The cute, high quality trailer has never left the Lovestead since we brought it home. 

After sitting next to the house for most of the summer, the R-pod took its longest trip of the year-----from the front yard to a spot west of the barn.  

That was the second time it had moved this year, with the first trip from the shop to the front yard.

Considering that its total travel for 2016 hardly came close to one day's worth of steps on my Fitbit, we definitely needed to talk about its future and our future as potential RV travelers.

The conversation included such things as its impracticality for our taking overnight excursions with our dogs and the fact that the bathroom/shower would require anyone more than one person to leave the trailer and, of course, that almost unmakeable bed, which last year gave me the very first clue that we might have made a mistake.

R-pods are beautifully constructed, unique high-quality travel trailers, and for people who don't might tripping over each other in very tight surroundings, they're probably great.  

I'd add that they are downright perfect for one person. In fact, I rather enjoyed the nights spent sleeping in the perennially unmade bed this summer when the house was too hot at night. 

And, I know my friend Mow, who spent a few nights in the trailer last year, enjoyed her temporary quarters. 

Add a second person, though, and you've definitely got a crowd in an R-pod, especially when considering the minimal bathroom/shower space. 

Add three dogs for an overnighter, and I'm thinking we could count on sheer pandemonium. 

Earlier this year my sisters bought a new travel trailer, a 21-foot model.  Seeing it and sitting inside it convinced me that there can be ample space for dogs, storage and even taking a shower without asking everyone to leave the premises along with trying to figure out where to put the towels and clothes so they won't get wet. 

Throughout the summer and fall, I kept thinking about how nice their trailer had been for them and how often it actually left their farm in comparison to what we had NOT done with our R-pod.  

Those recurring thoughts along with the gnawing thoughts that we probably would never go anywhere in our R-pod convinced me that maybe we could go another route with a more practical trailer----and that route might even take us out the driveway.

So, Bill and I talked about it, and he seemed surprisingly agreeable to the idea of going and looking for something with a floor plan similar to Barbara and Laurie's. 

Well, I'm happy to report that after yesterday's trip to Post Falls, in a few days we'll taking the R-pod on its longest trip of 2016.

That will be back to the lot where we bought it last year and where we'll be picking up a trailer identical to my sisters'.  

It helps when someone else goes through all those possibilities on an RV lot, picks something out and finds it quite satisfactory.

So, we drove to Blue-Dog RV yesterday, knowing that this time we would not need to re-invent the wheel in shopping for an RV.  

We looked at other models but both agreed that the 21-foot Hideout, just like Barbara and Laurie's, would probably suit our needs and that of our doggies.  

Lots of storage, a bathroom with a tub and a sink, four beds and plenty of leg space throughout----I think we're all going to enjoy it.  And, we're anxious to get it home and give it a try. 

We may go through some trial and error with the dogs, but soon they'll realize it's their home away from home, and, maybe, just maybe we can take off for a couple of days every now and then. 

I'm betting this new trailer might even put in a few more miles than I do on my Fitbit each day and maybe even in 2016. 

For those who have followed our RV sagas over the years, most of which haven't involved any exotic trips, some of which involved wrecker bills, we did sell our funky new-old motor home a while back.  

It has gone to a new home in Bonners Ferry where the owners are really excited about its possibilities, even after reading Bill's extensive list of the "good, the bad and the ugly" of the 1976 Brougham.

We'll kinda miss having it around cuz even during the two years we tried to sell it some great stories emerged.  Still, I think we won't have any shortages of tales to tell once we spend time in our new Hideout!

Happy Sunday.