Following a trip to Chicago, the weekend was very quickly approaching and there was quite a bit to complete. This trip, the girls would have the opportunity to go Trick-or-Treating at the campground and I still wasn't complete with making our costumes. As a family, we try to dress up in a theme for Halloween when ever we get the time to get the thought together and the design all worked out. One year we were all M&M's, but this year, we were going to try and be a LEGO Family. The plan was for the kids to be the LEGO bricks and Becky and I to be LEGO people. So, off to figure it out and get the paint, cardboard, and sonotube.
Finally, Friday was here and we decided to try and get a head start on the weekend by taking the kids out of school at lunchtime. This worked out great, as we were able to get to the campground by 2pm and get a good head start on setup. Many of the sites at Little Red Barn were previously tent sites, so they are a little smaller than some other places we have stayed. They do have some large pull thru sites which would be good for the big campers and some field sites with hookups if you are part of a group of campers/tenters. Our site, was of decent size, but did not allow us the room to have the canopy setup. Fortunately for us, the site on our one side was not going to be used this weekend, so we had some overflow space to place the picnic table and fire ring. The only challenge we had to address was the placement of the hookups. Electric was a 30 Amp plug on the left of the site, water was on a pedestal at the front right of the site. Generally, all campers and popups have hookups on the one side, so this required some thought. After a few attempts, we were able to jockey the camper in and set it cocked at and angle on the site, allowing us to barely reach the water and the electric at the same time. Others had this issue too. If during the summer and we wanted to run the AC, we would have to have a 30 Amp extension cord for some of these sites.
 |
| Our Site, 90% setup for the weekend. |
Still, all setup, we were looking good and ready to have a fun weekend. With a close eye on the weather, as Hurricane Sandy was making its way up the Eastern Coast, but that looked like it would hold off till later on Sunday.
 |
| Mild temperatures allowed a nice meal outside, BBQ Chicken+Corn+Rice |
Saturday was a fun day of hanging out and relaxing. The girls got to play at the playground a little in the morning and afternoon, separated by a Halloween craft time where they made their Trick-or-Treat bags. We also walked the campground and took a look at other sites to see the ones that we may like to return to and those that have adequate space or a good stable layout.
 |
| Madie loves doing puzzles on the iPad |
Ally loves dinosaurs and is usually off to the side of the camping area digging in the dirt, making a fort or home for the toys she brings along. This time, we had a treat for her, a Dino-Dig! There are pieces of skeleton encased in a hard clay mold. With a pick, paint brush, and patience, she was to excavate the parts out of the mold so she could make her dino model. Well, it was going slow, so I helped with a steel tent stake and the hammer to chisel things a little, but she eventually got it! If anyone ever sees these kits at a discount store, pick one up!
 |
| Ally got the backbone out of the clay |
 |
| The finished dinosaur after the excavation! |
 |
| Playing at the playground!! WWWEeeeee!!! |
|
|
So, after a full day of fun, it was time to get ready to Trick-or-Treat at the grandparents nearby, and then around the campground!! This was a ton of fun and I'm really looking forward to doing this every year with the kids. They had a blast and it is in such a fun atmosphere. Here's a few shots of our LEGO crew out and about!
 |
| Madie and Becky making the rounds! |
 |
| At the campground Halloween Costume Contest! |
At the campground Costume Contest,... guess who won?! WE DID!! Everyone loved the costumes and gave us lots of credit for not just making them, but doing out as a family. I do say we had a great time and looked good too!!
Hurricane Sandy started to make her presence known around 3am on Sunday morning. The wind had shifted and picked up a little. Then, around 6am, the drizzle started,..... UGGggg..... good thing we packed everything up we could inside and out. So, after some restless early morning hours, I ventured out to the bathhouse and found that the light drizzle was straight down, and just dampened our camper so far. Hopefully it holds off for a while.
Once the kids were up, I used some bargaining power to persuade them to get in the van after we loaded the bedding and got everyone dressed, and Becky and I would quickly take down the camper, then we could get donuts for breakfast! That seemed to work, so I pulled the van in under the awning and we loaded up in the rain. Once the kids were in, Becky and I got the towels ready and our ponchos on, and went to work with our gameplan. Unzipped, interior ready, we moved outside and collapsed the bunks and tried to dry them off as we went. Lowered the roof down, dried again,... lowered some more,... dried again,... finally closed! Rain was still a steady drizzle, but we were doing well and in a few more minutes we had the camper secured and hitched to the van. Bye to the neighbors, and off we went. Figures, by the time we hit the main road the rain had stopped,.... and guess what,... it didn't start raining again till after 3pm! Just our Luck!
So, after a few days of heavy wind and steady rains from the Hurricane moving inland, I went over on Thursday morning and opened up the camper. To my amazement, it was very dry,.... we did a good job! I had some moisture between the screens and the plastic windows / vented sides of the bunk ends, but that was a quick unzip and dry with a towel. I left the camper open to the breeze for the day while I was at work, and even left it up the next few days so I could prepare to winterize it.
Another great trip in the log book!
