Camping Retrograde

We're going to need some more of this - toilet paper formulated for mobile toilets. Our next trip will have a full hookup (water supply and sewage). The trip out to Jane's took 5 hours due to traffic. The trip back home was just under 4 hours. The only other trick we learned was to shower one last time after all the work to pack up (so you don't leave all sweaty) - Thanks Joe N for that one! We got most of the things we brought stowed away in the trailer cabinets. Our next trip we will continue to do the same so our departure from the Northern Virginia area will be easier. Jane's Island in SE Maryland is a really cool place - reserve your time slot there!!!

Camping 6/21/2014, Part 2

Fruits of the day!!!

Fishing Report 6/21/2014, Part 4

We got back from the paddle and started crabbing shoreside again. The "not getting pinched" luck ran out. La even got into the crabbing action. Total score - 15 legal sized crabs landed; Noe got pinched once on her foot and twice on her hands (and the last one pissed her off so much she ended up pulling off the claw from the crab); I got pinched twice (this last picture was me getting pinched by the same crab that got Noe); and Marlon got pinched once.

Fishing Report 6/21/2014, Part 3

Noe saw a dead blue crab floating while we paddled by. She asked if we could double back so she could catch it with the net. During the rest of the paddle, "Crabby" was a part of the adventure. Crabby did dry out and slowly started losing limbs (which contributed to what happens next...).

Fishing Report 6/21/2014, Part 2

After a while, we jumped on our boards and paddled out to the barrier islands further into the Chesapeake. Of course I had tackle onboard and Noe and I caught a few crabs along the way. When we beached, I was hoping to catch a flounder, but there were very few fish around. I did see tons of Stripped Killifish, but none of the bigger predatory fish. Marlon and La paddled their boards really efficiently - the narrower boards definitely paddled faster than the aircraft carrier that had two people on deck. Fun paddle regardless!!!

Camping Trip Day 2, Fishing Report 6/21/2014 Part 1

Everything is better with bacon... We went crabbing in the early morning using two methods - first was the standard crab trap. Put the chicken at the bottom of the net and chuck it out there for the crabs to munch on. After a few minutes, pull the trap up and pick out the correct sized crabs. The second method was using our spinning rods with a weighted jighead hook and place the piece of chicken on the hook. Cast out and wait for a tug, then slowly reel the crab in and bring it up with a landing net. The kids had a great time because most of the crabs in the morning were really small and feisty - giving them a chance to perfect their crab handling technique.

Camping Trip Day One

We went camping again last Friday - this time to Jane's Island in SE Maryland. I got new tires for the trailer - lots of tread on them still but the old ones had some delamination in the tread area from age. I also used a 2" drop hitch this time and minus the squat on the rear suspension of the truck, the towing configuration looks better. The kids caught some toads around the camp site. I personally don't like touching toads myself - but they didn't mind at all. The fire burned until 10pm when we all were pretty tired. Next time I light a fire, I see which way the wind is blowing first - with the traffic in and out, enough smoke got in that we had the smell inside for a while. The more we use the camper, the better it'll get! This trip we still did not have a sewage hookup.