RV Supershow in Tampa

On Saturday, my hubby and I actually had a "date day." And, like two nerds, we chose to spend it at the RV Show! Hey, having a 350 Diesel opens up a huge realm of new towing possibilities.

We fell in love with four that I am going to link here along w/ pros and cons:

Mesa Ridge 325B by Open Range

Pros:

Grey outside

Wider doors

Nice upgrades, no maintenance roof, all the outside valves, etc are tucked away in one location

Remote for stabilizers, awning, etc.

Nice stabilizers

Nice tube for the black water hoses to keep from touching.

Nice kitchen cabinets, can hold a lot of weight

Aluminum siding

Came with 4 televisions

Nice outdoor kitchen

Nice interior colors

Cons:

No fireplace

Everlite 35RBS-DSby Evergreen

Pros:

Fireplace!!!!

Cons:

Wasn't in love with the interior

Long....a bit longer than our Passport - which could present a problem at certain campgrounds.

Sunset Trail ST32FR by Crossroads

Pros:

Rotating fireplace! Loved loved loved loved that!

Incredible bunkhouse - two slides, a massive TV mounted from the ceiling

Stainless steel appliances

Cons:

Looked "cheesy" for a lack of a better word. While it had nice upgrades, it still came across as cheap.

Komfort 3050QB by Dutchman

Pros:

Front bunkhouse

Slide in the master room, really nice!

Beautiful on the inside, real nice upgrades and extra touches

Nice insulation package

Cons:

No outdoor kitchen

No fireplace

So, if we do ever decide to trade the Passport, here is our "dream" list:

Fireplace

Outdoor kitchen

Better Insulation

Bigger TV

Bigger Fridge

Second door to the bathroom

"Real" doors to the bunkhouse and the master room

Deeper slides

Slide in either the master or the bunkhouse

Funny thing, I didn't even know a fireplace in a travel trailer was an option!

Anyway, it was fun to dream. Right now, we simply are not in a position to trade up the Passport but maybe in a couple of years. We still love our Passport, she has brought us such fun and wonderful memories. It would be so hard to let her go!! I know its crazy, I tend to get attached to that kind of stuff - thus why we don't trade cars too often. And why I still have my 1996 Convertible Mustang (my baby). Makes me think about when we bought our Suburban. I had always wanted one. We traded our Avalanche for it after I got pregnant with kid #3 (Taya). I was so excited to finally have a Suburban, but the next day after the trade, I walked out in the garage to see the Suburban sitting there and not the Avalanche and I had a good cry.

I imagine that is what it will be like when/if we trade the Passport. Every time I see one going down the road, I'll remember the awesome times we had......so maybe we will never trade but I still love dreaming.

We had a wonderful day at the RV Show. And we didn't even get into big dreams, like Class "A's" -- we only looked at Travel Trailers and a few fifth wheels. A fifth wheel just doesn't seem to be a good option because of needing the bed of the truck to tow our bikes, canoes, kayaks (just got Delena a kayak for her 11th birthday), fire pits and the "dump tank."

New Years 2011

Back to the fort...the "other" fort - DeSoto.

This time we had site 150. It was small and had lots of trees, which made for a very interesting set up! But we had a nice opening in the back of the site for fishing and canoeing.

This time we added a new mix to our camping trip...our new Aussie puppy - Pepper! It was his first camping trip at not even 4 months old and he loved it! Australian Shepherds must be somewhat popular dogs because we saw several of them this weekend! Pepper had so much fun at the dog park and dog beach! He has been an great Christmas gift!

Saturday and Sunday were gorgeous. Monday, it cooled off a bit and the winds picked up. Overnight Monday, the winds were horrible - almost to the point of not leaving as planned Tuesday! Our site was a mess Tuesday morning and it was bitterly cold in the wind! But otherwise, we had a nice trip. Our friends camped too for the weekend and spent some time with them New Years Eve.

Visiting the historic fort with the dogs

Our little Pepper at the dog park.

More pictures from the fort.

Playing with Pepper at the campsite.

Fog rolling in on New Years Eve. It came quick!

Sunrise over the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.

More pictures at the fort.

This is on top of the fort with the Gulf of Mexico in the background.

Caleb waiting for the evening campfire!

Late afternoon canoe ride with the kids and dogs.

Way Behind....Again! Ft. Desoto October 2011

I have to do better at keeping this blog up to date!

In October, 2011, we stayed in site 135 at Ft. Desoto. What a beautiful site! We had beautiful weather, a little warm but still very nice. The fish were biting like crazy....Caleb and I both caught our first fish! It was very exciting.

We spent a lot of time in the canoe and took our Scotty dog to the dog beach.

Site 135 has been our favorite so far! It was big and very private and had a nice opening into the water. Here are some pictures from that trip!

McKenzie on the dog beach with a couple of Vizslas!

Front view of our campsite.

Caught my first fish! Not big enough to keep, but still!!!

View from our campsite at sunset!

Mark with all 3 kiddos and 1 scotty dog in the canoe.

Caleb caught his first fish!

Ft. Desoto is quickly becoming one of our favorite places to go. This trip was to celebrate 15 years of marriage....and a year and a half as happy campers! We made this a family trip and enjoyed every moment. On Sunday, Mark's brother and his wife came over to have lunch with us and watch the Bucs (loose) game.

Buying our Passport has been one of the best decisions we have ever made. We love our little trailer and enjoy all our camping trips!