For spring break this year we planned on renting a camper trailer and driving to Kentucky to the Land Between the Lakes and camp at a couple different sites. Randy spent weeks researching campers and different places we could stay down there. We spend an afternoon walking through a bunch of campers to see which one we wanted. Randy made multiple phone calls, emails and trips out to work with the camper owner to make sure he knew how to work ever aspect of the trailer. We made reservations at some camp sites and fishing adventures. I took the entire week off but we were not going to leave until Tuesday evening when Randy came home with the camper. The kids and I spend ALL day packing for this trip. Our living room was packed with what we needed for the trailer. Bedding, towels, dishes, pots, pan, food, etc. We were ready to go.
Around 6p Randy called. All he says is ... "Plan B." Since we had not discussed a plan B I was a bit confused. Turned out the electrical connection on our truck did not work when they plugged the trailer into it. That meant, no tail lights, no break lights, no turn signals, etc. Long story short .... no camper trailer. I still don't know what plan B is.
Randy came home and we loaded everything into the van and headed south. We could not contact the camps as they were either closed for the evening or still not even open for the season yet. Drove through the night and around 8a started making calls. We lost the deposit on the campsite ($90). They did not have any cabins so we had to find a different site. We tried calling to rent a camper down there (have them deliver it to the site) but they told us they did not have any to rent for the days we needed it. Finally found a place with the little cabins. It was 35-40 degrees in the day. The cabin was cleaned at the end of last season so it was pretty dusty, no battery in the smoke detector, no space heater. But, since we were the only folks there in a cabin we got a lot of attention. Even got two space heaters (even though plugging both into the electrical blew the circuit).
The place we ended up staying in was called Wranglers Campsite. True to the name, it was a horse camp. About 99% of the campers there had their own horses. You could rent horses to ride BUT, they did not open until the Saturday we were leaving. So we just walked around and visited with our neighbors and their horses.
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| It is not an illusion that the van appears to be about the same size as the cabin! |
We rode our bikes and did some hiking, we went on a fishing adventure (but did not catch a single fish). Our guild felt so bad he gave us all his fish from the day before! We saw some nature exhibits and visited a planetarium. We drove through a preserve and were able to see more buffalo and elk. We saw tons of deer and I was most excited to see actual growth (daffodils)!! Spring is really coming.
We ate out and cooked over our fire. Hot dogs, s'mores and fish. We planned on cooking our more but it rained quite a bit. That meant we had to find places to eat. There is nothing on the Land Between the Lakes. Literally. Only the camps. No gas stations, 7-11's, McDonald's .... nothing. And even crossing over the bridges did not guarantee finding food. But, when we did find places they were pretty cool. We had Mexican one night. Awesome, authentic and dined next to 3 police officers (one undercover ... all packing). Next we were literally escorted to the House of Spice. Turns out if you want authentic Indian food you should come here! As we were walking in, Acacia leading the way, the second of two doors opens and this dude who looked like a cross between one of the duck dynasty guys and the Call of the Wild Man guy come busting through the door, F bombing, screaming and caring on. We allowed the gentlemen to pass only to find out one was a State alcohol regulator or something. We don't really know what went down but there was quite a ruckus and delay before we were able to be waited on. But, the food was good.... The last notable place we ate was Patti's. This place was literally a maze of rooms, each one decorated with a different theme but each done full out. Really cool. The wait staff were all scripted and had to wear outfits from The Little House of the Prairie. They were known for their pies, so of course we had to have a few! As we were trying to leave our waiter escorted us through a few hallways into a small room where we saw this dude passed out in the bathtub!!
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| Quilts turned into stained glass windows |
Saturday came and we packed up our cabin and headed north. We stopped at the quilt museum. You laugh, but it really was pretty impressive. You are not allowed to take pictures so I don't have much to share from there but I certainly have a deeper appreciation for people who quilt. Back in the car, north to Champagne, IL. I called ahead to find a hotel but apparently there was a wrestling tournament going on so all hotels in the area were booked. But, I found one with one double queen room left. A few hours later we arrive only to find out they mistakenly gave our room away. Sooooo, they bumped us to a suite!! Whoo hooo!! The bathroom in the suite was bigger than our cabin was!! Everyone got their own bed. The kids got to swim, Acacia and I got in a little work out and Randy got to watch the Badgers win in OT from the comfort of our room!
Sunday we left leisurely and got home with no problems. So, it was not in a trailer, and it was not warm, and we did not catch any fish but we still had a really good time. Everyone had a positive attitude! Next year .... all inclusive cruise.
Click here to see a slideshow of all the photos from our trip to LBL '14.
