Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Roughing It

By Annette Dashofy

Check out this photo.

Is this someplace you could live in? Be comfortable in?

Probably.

Here’s the catch. It’s a camper!

My hubby and I, suffering from cabin fever and longing for spring and a return to our little camper in Confluence, spent Sunday afternoon at the Pittsburgh RV Show. No, we’re not shopping. Drooling? A little. But not shopping.

I flat out refuse to own a camper that is nicer/bigger/more expensive than my house!

Here are some interior shots of some of the RVs we toured.





I should have taken some exterior shots, too. The outsides of some of these beasts are every bit as extravagant as the inside.

I used to poke fun at the folks in the campgrounds in their fancy RVs who went inside after dark and never came out. They watched TV. If I wanted to watch television, I’d stay home.

Someone must have overheard, because a great many of the campers at the show had TVs built into the OUTSIDE of the camper. Pull out your folding chairs and watch this week’s episode of Survivor. How about cooking in the great outdoors? No problem. Lift a compartment door in the exterior shell of the RV and find a marble counter, a sink (with a fancier faucet than I have in my home kitchen!), a gas stove, a refrigerator, AND a microwave!

Oh, don’t panic. There’s a fully equipped kitchen inside as well.

But my absolute favorite is this:


That's an electric  fireplace on the right side. In a camper.

Just in case you miss having a campfire. Maybe they need to set one of those into the outside wall of the RV, too.

Next year’s model.

11 comments:

Joyce Tremel said...

Now I could see having one of those if you sell your house and travel around the country. But just for camping? I think it's ridiculous.

I always thought the whole idea of camping was to enjoy the great outdoors. Silly me.

Word verification: reapo. I'm not kidding!

Annette said...

To be fair, some, like the one in the picture with the cathedral ceiling, are meant to be set up at permanent sites, not towed across the country. But the great majority were indeed travel trailers.

And in the spirit of full disclosure, I do have a microwave in my camper. A very old one. But it works.

Paula Matter said...

I am not a camper. My idea of roughing it is when the hotel room doesn't have a coffee maker. I'm serious.

Do you think some day you'll buy one, set it in a permanent spot? Can you do that in Confluence? Would it be cheaper?

Annette said...

Paula, we do have our camper set up permanently in Confluence. But our camper is only about 17 feet long and is just big enough for the two of us and Skye kitty. Plenty good enough for me.

Jenna said...

Those look wonderful! Yes, I'm with Paula: not a camper.

OF COURSE you would have a microwave in yours, Annette; why would you want to slave over a hot campfire while you're on vacation? Microwaves make life easier.

Annette said...

Mostly we use the microwave for popcorn and reheating coffee or tea. It's not very big.

Mason Canyon said...

That is taking your house with you camping to the extreme. I love the fireplace too. I guess that for the days you're camping and it's raining. Great photos. Now I'm drooling and I don't even camp. ;)

Annette said...

I will say it did put out some heat.

I confess I love going to these RV shows just to drool. I wouldn't mind having one of these beauties down in South Carolina or Florida or any place warm as a winter home. The cat could have her own room!

Jemi Fraser said...

Wow. I mean... wow!We have a camper that sits on the back of our truck. It doesn't look like this!!!

Wilfred Bereswill said...

My camper can fit in your backpack. It used to be called a puptent.

I remember going on a float trip where se brought a nice cabin tent, but left the poles in the car. It was hell finding trees to tie the damn tent to on that little island on the current river.

I like my house to be parked in the same place every night.

Annette said...

Will and Jemi, I've done tents (including a tipi) and truck campers, too. Sleeping on the ground has lost its appeal over the years.

I remember a girls' camping weekend in a truck camper that was a blast! Ah, the good ol' days.