Campsgiving: Wednesday and Thursday

It’s now day 3 of our Campsgiving excusion and so far we’re having a great time. We rolled in at around 2 in the afternoon on Wednesday and got set up pretty quick. The campgrounds are very nice; clean, well-kept and lots of nice amenities including wi-fi, a playground, a pool (a bit too cold for that though), a workout room and they say a mini golf course though none of us have found it yet.

My only complaint about the facilities is that the campsites are clustered a bit closely together. But otherwise, it’s really nice.

On Wednesday afternoon, we checked out the town of Pine Mountain which was pretty small; we walked the whole thing in about 15 minutes. Then we got back in the car and drove into Calloway Gardens for a few minutes and then into FDR State Park which was very nice. We had dinner at Calloway’s Country Kitchen Restaurant and then went back to the RV for a fire and some good old-fashioned sitting around. We were exhausted and went to bed crazy early.

On Thursday, we put on the parade for Izzy. Her eyes popped out of her head when the Dora balloon hit the TV. My adventure Thursday morning was my realization that I had forgotten my meat thermometer at home. The only grocery store in Pine Mountain was closed for Thanksgiving and the second nearest grocery store was a Wal-Mart about 20 miles away in La Grange. So I checked out every convenience store but no luck. I would have to rely on my Extra-Poultry Perception (EPP) to determine when my chicken was done.

That’s right, we had chicken instead of turkey for Thanksgiving. I was going to fry a turkey, but it started sounding like an expensive (the fryer I wanted was over $100 + $20 for oil) and dangerous proposition so I decided to give up on that this year and smoke a chicken instead. I had never done that before, so it was an adventure but I have to say it turned out great. And I made my stuffing to go with it, loaded with bacon, andouille sausage, mushrooms and apples. We stuffed ourselves and then roasted marshmellows on the campfire. Really nice day, perfect Thanksgiving. Adults had fun, Izzy had fun, Ari made trouble, good times for all.

Today we’re going to Calloway Gardens to check out the butterfly exhibit (Izzy is psyched). Tomorrow it may rain, so not exaclty sure what we’re going to be able to do, but we’re not worried. Sunday we’re outta here. More updates and photos to come