Ta-Da !!!!

I had never heard of this model of camper. Now we are surrounded by them. It seems that a T@DA owners group has descended upon our cul-de-sac for their T@DApalooza. As I understand it, our little slice of heaven was chosen, in part, for the way that their group could stay closer together instead of being scattered all over hells half acre.

Only 1,547 of these unique and practical campers were produced between 2007 and 2010. A dozen  T@DAs from around the U.S. and Canada are encamped here at Geneva State Park. 

If you do the math, that amounts to 0.776% of T@DAs ever manufactured!!! Here!!!

Leslie is the coordinator of this weeks festivities. She and her husband Tony made the journey from Indiana. That's their rig in the above photo. 

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Social media wiz Shelly created a Facebook group for T@DA owners, and it has resulted in a collection of members as unique as their homes on wheels. She and husband Steve headed down from Minnesota to be here.

It's pretty cool the way that the awning attaches to either side of the camper. An aluminum channel, called a keder rail, is mounted on the sides along the roofline. The awning slides into this rail much like a main sail travels up and down a mast. (There's an obscure analogy for ya!) It appears to be pretty stable, as I just watched a 100-year rain pound the hell out of it for over an hour.

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Most folks keep the appearance of their T@DA about the same as when it rolled off the factory floor.

International visitors Paul and Sue hail from Ontario, Canada...

Dawn and Ken North Carolina...

Kris and John came up from Florida..

Tom and Carolyn, from northern Indiana, went with a Grateful Dead themed wrap for their unit...

"Mable Lee" is shared by Deb and her dog Buddy. It showcases a seaside (or, in this case, lakeside) wrap motif...

I understand that Joann, from Michigan, bought her trailer already ready already, and stuck with it...

I was invited to take a look inside this 2-person unit...

"Dead Head" Tom told me about the heat pump-A/C unit in his camper. As to the power of the air, he said in thirty minutes you could hang meat in there.

As T@dapalooza drew to a close, everyone gathered together again to say goodbye...

...and claim their door prizes.

Simply a great bunch of people from all over that shared a common interest and bonded around our cul-de-sac at Geneva State Park Campground.

I, for one, enjoyed meeting y'all. And thanks again for the shirt. I love it.

And then, all of a sudden, they were all gone.....

Ta-Da....Prelude

 I don't know where the time goes. I started working on the following post the first week of June. Now we're a third of the way through July.

Some of the names and facts may be a little off, for which I apologize.

Blame it on the Winking Owl.

So, without further delay, read on for T@DApalooza !!!

60 Days In

 May 30, 2024, marked our 60th day living in Believeland amidst the wilds of Geneva State Park nestled along the shores of Lake Erie near Geneva-On-The-Lake. Personally, I'm happy that we are doing this. We appear to have adapted well, although I think that the night critters tend to startle Opal. That canine flinch, in turn, ignites Anna's offensive defense reflex, which, in turn, gets me out of bed at 3 am with a flashlight and a bad attitude. 

A few observations...

Geneva Rocks...

This is really true...

And solitude, as we know it, has ended...

The sun came out when it had to...

...then it rained...

 

..and rained...

...and rained.

The promise of new life...

...a promise broken by some damn varmint...

...and a renewed vow to create life by a brave pair of robins.

The duties of Camper Host have been greatly reduced by the return of veteran Camper Hosts Mary and Steve, along with Russ and Brenda. Warmer weather has helped move the wetlands back into the woods. There are millions of maple helicopters, and there must be some cottonwood around giving the impression of a light snowfall along the roadways.   

TV reception is pretty much limited to a couple of stations in Erie, PA. I kinda miss Fox8 in CLE, but I'm definitely getting more done earlier in the day.

I still haven't touched my guitar, but have a few ideas messing up my normal train of thought. I'll probably annoy you with my compositions in a later post. Lucky you.

By the way, if you subscribe to my nonsensical ramblings, you'll get an email advising you that I got either a wild hair or a magnum of wine and wrote something new. 

Yippie!!! A reason to get out of bed!!!

Keys To Being Stupid

 

I'll be the first to admit that I am not an expert in the fine art of camping, but I'm not a novice either. The other day, I made a stupid, rookie mistake, the consequences of which just kept on snowballing. 

Typically, when I make the weekly trip home to take care of biz, I'll grab a quick shower in the comfort of my own bathroom. Thanks to a talented and efficient dog groomer, I had to drop the shower from the itinerary.

Friday I grabbed the laundry and my shower stuff and drove up to the laundry/shower house. Laundry facility was basic, but did the job quite well. While the duds were in the dryer, I shed my jacket and sweatshirt in the van, grabbed the several bags that had fresh clothes, towel and my grooming goodies, and hit the shower. 

It wasn't until I was wet and naked that I realized I had left my soap and shampoo in the van. Damn. My only choices were to take a soapless shower or dry off, put on my pants and fetch the missing items. I desperately needed soap. As I went to put on pants, I came to the realization that the keys were not in my pocket. Damn. They were locked in the van in my jacket pocket. 

I had to go soapless. Eww!

Fortunately, I had a spare set of keys in the camper. On the walk back from the shower I recalled locking it up when I left. Damn. I was going to have to disturb Anna's nap and make her hobble to the front of the bus and unlock the door.

Moral---Don't lock anything unless you know exactly were the keys are.

So What Does A Camper Host Do?

 Good question. I'm glad that you asked. 

I would say that our job is to ensure that the sites are clean and ready for the next camper. We also answer questions and provide local information. 

For example, a typical day (so far) consists of...

Putting up site tags...

Cleaning ashes and garbage out of the fire rings...

And generally policing the site and picking up trash...

Most campers are pretty cool (so far) and leave a clean site when they depart. One ring this morning had nails and screws among the ashes. Personally, I would rather burn logs than 2x4's, but to each his own. You also have the melted gobs of aluminum that used to be Bud Light cans. 

I'll end this post with a riddle....

What do dog poop, cigarette butts and whitetail deer have in common?

Answer: If you see one, you'll likely find more. 

Our 2024 Summer Home

 Beginning April 1st, we began our adventure as volunteer camp hosts at Geneva State Park.

 

Normally, this position wouldn't begin until mid-May. Due to the large number of reservations for the eclipse, we pulled in and set up camp early. For the most part it has been cold, rainy and windy. 

As for the eclipse itself, it did not disappoint. The sky cleared just in time for the show. Most people watched from the amphitheater, beach or the marina. We opted to watch from our site, as did a family a few sites away. 

 

Apprehensions regarding birds falling from the sky, squirrels chasing bears out of the woods and our cell phones melting like chocolate in our hands did not materialize. 

All in all, pretty impressive.

And then everyone went home...

And then the rain resumed...

And I made some new friends...

Frost warning tonight, so protect your tender vegetation !!!