Been There, Done That: Unexpected transitions

This summer started out like every other — high hopes for good weather on the weekends for time spent at our camper. Well, so much for that. By the end of June, I was demanding a refund because of the weather: cold and rainy every single weekend. Little did I know that within a month’s time, the weather would be the least of our worries.

We got a letter from the owners of the campground we’ve been camping at for the past 21 years that the campground would be closing at the end of the season— for good. Closed forever. And, we had until such and such a date to gather our things and get out.

All of us who had become great friends over the years were now in a pretty dire predicament. Campgrounds have rules and regulations regarding the age and condition of campers allowed in. They also have capacity limits on the number of campers allowed in and a wide range of seasonal fees.

Some of our friends had newer campers and could pretty much go anywhere they wanted. Those of us with older campers had a much more limited choice. Some had the economic means to go out and buy newer campers and some, like us, were kind of in a tight spot.

I didn’t like our choices of campgrounds that would accept our 20-year-old camper. I knew we’d never have our beloved “Hill” again, but I wasn’t ready for “Deliverance” country either. So Dave and I went camper shopping. I don’t care for the new ones with their open floor plans. You open the door and the bed’s right there to your right. No, that should have its own room. And there’s nowhere near the storage space of the older ones. So we looked at pre-owned campers. The ones in our price range on the lots felt cramped. Our camper is our summer happy place, I don’t want to feel cramped.

I had heard that campgrounds sometimes have campers for sale (by the camper owners), so I made a list of all the campgrounds in our area, intending to call them all. I started with the one where we already know one couple camping there and that ended up being the only one I called.

They did have a camper for sale and it was allowed to stay right where it was (a big selling point). It was a very fair price and included the camper, a gazebo, two sheds, a gas grill and an electric golf cart with new batteries, new tires and chrome wheels (Dave was impressed with that).

I liked that the camper was pretty much set up just like our old one— only the bunks are bigger and Dave doesn’t have to put one foot in the tub to use the toilet. It was love at first sight.

For us, the bank, not so much. But I was determined to smash that square peg through that round hole regardless of the consequences. We literally got four loans to pull off the purchase of the camper et al and the cost of the move of our porch to the new campground. Our porch was in excellent shape and the move only cost about a third of what just the materials would have cost to build a new one.

Having camped for 21 years, we’re used to having “dual residency” during the summer months, but this was craziness for a few weeks with three. Is that here or at the camper or at the other camper? I didn’t know and probably still don’t know where a few things might be, although mercifully, we are back down to just two: home and summer home.
Now that the campground is closed for the season, we’re down to just one and are looking forward to our new adventure with new friends next year. We’ll always treasure the memories of the good times we had with good friends we met at Tucaway. We are transitioning.