It has been a busy 2011 with our T@B.  Our Trips have been so jam packed with adventure that I never sat down for a few minutes to Blog..plus the iPad wasn't too Blogger friendly :(   I will be posting about our 2011 trips with lots of pics within the next 2 days.  Why now, finally, you ask?  Well our 2012 season starts Tuesday!!  I really need to get this thing up to date for all of you before we take off on another year of adventures. (plus it gives me an excuse to sit down and re-live all the great times again)  This time I have my iPad equipped with a good Blogging app and a bluetooth keyboard making it sooo much easier to blog from the road.  Stay tuned.....Updates are coming!

Some Sneak Peaks.....

Gifts for T@Bbaby!

Well, we haven't been able to travel since May, but are looking forward to our adventure in Mid-July!  Traveling in our T@B is a great getaway from the everyday hustle and bustle of NY life, but since that wasn't an option in the month of June (nor the beginning of July), I figured Shopping was almost as good!  :)   Not only is Shopping therapy but a little R&R  (Repurposing and Reconfiguring of already had or found objects) is also great  therapy. We have been doing a good deal of both this past month and I am going to share some of the things we've gotten for T@Bbaby to spruce her up and keep her (actually TG and I ;) ) happy. While reading some posts on the T@B Facebook Page I came across someone mentioning they had a Portable Hot Tub for their Add-a-Room.  OMG! This sounded awesome.  We have one Add-a-Room that we use as an extension of our living space

and the Spa would be a bit crowded in there.   Well..on the same facebook page someone was selling their never used Add-a-Room.  Hmmm, my brain went into luxury mode and thought...get the second room for the other side of the T@B and use it as our Spa/Media Room :)  (Remember, this is for camping!)  but why not live it up - that's why we got the T@B!  So my little fingers went to work on the computer and before I knew it I had emails confirming my purchases of the 2nd Room AND the Portable Hot Tub. ;) .   We already have a movie projector and a homemade screen..this will complete our Spa/Media Room! 

TG was being a little smarter with the spending than I was, and surprised me with some pretty cool presents for the T@bbaby.  First one was a PotHolder/Hot Plate that looked like a vinyl 45..colors of red and orange matched too! 

Another was this puzzle where you had to move the car from New York across the country - Perfect! This is our mission!

Rand McNally TripMaker RVND 5510

The next thing  we got was a GPS specifically designed for RV Travel.  Even though our T@Bbaby is small, we are still restricted as to what roads we can and cannot take.  This is the first of its kind made by Rand McNally and me being the geek that I am HAD to have it! (Plus the fact that we will be driving over 2000 miles and the GPS in the car was broken).    Previously we had planned on taking our regular bicycles with us on a bike rack.  The extension we had purchased to add to my existing rack made us nervous having it between the car and the trailer on the same hitch. Sooo we HAD to make a trip to TG's favorite place (it had been awhile since we visited our friend Wilson) and we exchanged it for a a necessity - a gray water tank!  Sometimes the purchases aren't all fun and games :)   

I quickly made up for that by getting in on a Camping World Special - Foldable Bikes - 22" Tires and 12 speeds!  It was meant to be - the bikes were a combo color - Grey and Orange - TG's Fave is Gray and mine is Orange! Click (x2), Done!

OH..and How can I forget! Everyone knows I Love MY Mugs!  Add this one to the (overflowing) cabinet :)

There are a bunch more things that I shopped for and TG made for her but we will leave those to show off in pictures during our trip next week! 

Crossraods of America 2011 TearJerkers Rally Here we come!

 CRA2011

Next Up...Our 2100+Mile Journey! Stay Tuned....

Finally some inside pics!

Finally got some pics of the inside, so I figured I'd post them between my writings.

What we have been doing for T@B Therapy since we haven't been able to Travel

I cannot believe it has been almost a month since I last posted. Yes, it's that four letter word again (I know it's been almost 4 weeks so if you've forgotten and you don't know which one I'm referring to..see earlier post)! My fingers just can't seem to get the letters typed ;) Phew..enough of that....That's what our T@B is for..Therapy - to help us escape.. and even when we are not traveling and the poor T@Bbaby is couped up in the driveway..we make sure to give her the attention she deserves! So what have we done during this time for our T@BTherapy? We bought her pretty (and not so pretty) things and booked her a few vacations! Let's talk about the vacations first. The first trip we booked was through our yahoo T@B group, It is named Halloween 2011 in St.Augustine. That's right, we are going down to Florida just about when it's going to be getting a bit chilly here in good ol' NY ;) We arrive on Thursday Oct 27th and Depart Wed Nov 2nd. One full week with our fellow T@bbers. There are 21 T@Bs (Approx 45 crazies like us) booked so far. This will be our first T@B Rally and are really looking forward to it. Although our babies all came from the same mold, each one has been modified and decorated to give them their own unique little personalities. (Just wait till I tell you the presents we got for ours!) OK, back to the rally..besides relaxing on our own, we will be doing some fun things as a group. There is a Ghost and Graveyards Tour, a Moonlight Lighthouse Tour and not to forget our little Lexi - a Dog Parade! I'm assuming in costume since it is Halloween after all. Now we just need to decide what to dress him in so that he is totally embarrassed in front of all his new friends! Of course we will have to leave prior to the 27th - it is a 21 hour drive after all. Hmmm, which reminds me I need to book a place to stop along the way..and on the way back ;) ..more places to see..Yay! Below are some Pictures taken from the Park Website at

St. Anastasia State Park

Campsites at St.Anastasia State Park

Endangered Beach Mouse Hiding in Tall Grass

Heron

Lighthouse

Beach View

Our next trip I planned for the T@B was through a group called The Tearjerkers, a group of people who own Teardrop Trailers. They have Chapters from all over the US. We, obviously, are in the New York Chapter. This rally called "Crossroads of America 2011" CRA 2011 is for ALL chapters to participate and is July 14th - July 17th..

Life Moves a Little Slower on Teardrop Time

It takes place at McCormick's Creek State Park~ McCormicks Creek State Park ~in Spencer Indiana, just a bit south of Indianapolis. I am really looking forward to this one! For a few reasons: 1) It is sooooon! 2) We will meet some interesting new people (130 and counting) and see all kinds of teardrop trailers, from homemade ones to ones like ours. 3) That map on the bottom of the page, yes the one that looks so empty, will be filling up before you know it! They are having a cash contest who guesses the number of attendees closest without going over. I guessed 132 and TG guessed 142, I believe the pot is at approx $150. That would be some nice spending money along the way! There will be some teardrop visiting and 'nosey-bodying', breakfast gatherings, workshops, Geo-caching, a Dutch Oven cooking contest (don't think I am entering :) ), Movie night, and other things that escape me now. We plan to stop once on the way over to Indiana (not sure where just yet) but I know all the places I want to go to on the way back. We are going to head south a bit to Gatlinburg Tennessee located on the border of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. After that we may go down a bit further south to Blue Ridge, Georgia. Still need to see how much time we have. From there we would start heading East on the Infamous Blue Ridge Parkway to Asheville North Carolina for a stop.

After getting our fill of mountains, river tubing and arts we will continue east to travel back up north along the shoreline of the Atlantic. we'll stay at a beachy town probably in Virginia then head up through the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, one of the Seven Engineering Wonders of the Modern World.

Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel

Gatlinburg TN

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There's a cable car I think we may need to ride

The Bridge is 20 miles long and consists of two tunnels where the ships travel over. Besides being Scenic it cuts off 95 miles from the trip between Virginia Beach and points north of Wilmington Delaware. From there we will travel through Delaware than take the Cape May-Lewes Ferry 17 miles over to NJ to continue our trip back home. We plan to spend about 10 days on this trip. There are so many places to decide where to stop and book in the coming weeks to prepare for it. I better get to it!



Blue Ridge Parkway

Next Up - What we got for our T@Bbaby to spruce her up a bit...Stay Tuned

What to do with our Blank Canvas Contest

As mentioned in our previous post, TG and I had similiar thoughts in asking friends for ideas..TG joked about having a contest!  So I ran wih it ;)   If you can think of anything you'd like us to put on the T@BBaby..leave a comment here!  Prizes will be announced soon :)

So far we have: Wrap her in ATTITUDE ~Flames or a Snake ~ A Peace sign w/ Make Love Not War ~ a Picture of my Sisters Family (lol) ~ keep 'em coming with your ideas by clicking on comments below (or on our FB page) and tell us what you'd like to see.

ps..the Prize will depend on the idea ;))

While we are deciding where (and when) to go next...

Since our trip last week, I've been dying to book another trip ASAP.  But work does happen, and we need to schedule around this four letter word.  So...in the meantime, I have been thinking about what we learned on our first trip that we know to do differently next time.

1) Clean up before taking any pictures :)   ~   What a mess..and I thought we were being so neat and orderly.
2) If possible, leave ample distance between the trailer (with the outdoor room attached) and the firepit....and....take note of which way the winds are blowing.   ~   I got tired of watching where the embers were flying.
3) Only use metal utensils, especially when cooking!   ~   I burned the evidence :)
4) Do not travel with the screens and shades closed   ~   They WILL open while cruising down I-95.
5) Don't pack so many clothes ;)   ~   We wore the same 2 things over and over.....Just Kidding - Eeewww
6) Always bring sunscreen....even if it's winter!   ~   Lobsters R Us
7) Don't worry about the four letter word it will always be there when we get home!   ~   Not that we did.

I am sure there is more I can add to the list..and I will as I think of them!

She's Naked - We Stripped Her! 

Another thing we decided we wanted to do was to personalize our T@B.  The previous owner was in the graphics business and put two awesome images on the sides of the trailer.  As cool as it was, it was lifting in some areas and well..what can I say, it was like picking a scab! Yes we are both OCD and within 2 hours they were off! 

Before   

After

  

She's looking so clean..but a bit plain right now 'cause we were so used to the bold graphics on both sides.  We plan to personalize it with some painting/decals of our own but we haven't decided what yet..It has only been 24 hours since she has been stripped!

TG and I had similiar thoughts in asking friends for ideas..TG thought we could have a contest!  So, If you can think of anything you'd like us to put on the T@BBaby..leave a comment here!  Prizes will be announced soon :)

Next Up - Hopefully where we are headed next..or What we decide to do with our Blank Slate. Whatever happens first. (Or something totally random :) ) Stay Tuned....

Last Day of our Maiden Voyage

Thursday:  Woke up and had our usual ham, egg and cheese sandwich for breakfast.  Need that energy to pack up :(  The first thing we decided to do was take down the outdoor room.  That went smoothly!  It took longer to clean out the room than it did to take it down!  Next on the list: take down the portable bathroom.  Since there was a bathroom/shower at the campground we didn't need to use the shower bag.  TG decided to use that water (no wasting here) to wash the dishes.  The water was warm....So the bag does work! My hot water heater has not been shipped yet, so we may just need this bag for the next trip.  We worked very efficiently getting everything packed up and stowed away so there is no chance of shifting and breakage during the ride home. We enjoyed the morning/afternoon while we prepared to depart.  At 2:00 we hitched up and left the site of our very first trip in our new T@B. The ride home was smooth sailing, oh wait..except for that place in DE that I mentioned in an earlier post that was off the maps. No need to worry this time..we didn't stop and ask directions..I relied on my Verizon's wireless navigation system to get us through.  I really need to get the car nav fixed before our next trip! 
Home - I backed it into the driveway with no casualties..unpacked and ate leftovers from our trip for dinner!  Cannot wait to do it all over again :)

Thank you to Meagan and Fred of Bayshore Campgrounds who have created an amazing place in their 7 years owning the grounds.  We will return!

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Next Up...Deciding where to go next! Stay Tuned....