We're Back from NC

[melissab]

Hi All! Hope E'body had a wonderful Thanksgiving with friends and family. We made the 600 mile trek from Central Florida to Ft. Bragg North Carolina to be with my nephew and his family before he goes back to Afghanistan. All the in-laws were there. We set up our popup in my nephew's yard. It was awesome having our own "guest house" on wheels. Wouldn't have survived otherwise with 18 people and a dog in the house, lol. One thing it did do was re-enforce how much we want an egg. We stopped half way up since we got such a late start. We pulled into a KOA at 3am in Savannah, GA and then had to set up the popup as quietly as possible. Got up 5 hrs later and tore it all down to continue on. Coming home I didnt want to mess with the setup so I drove straight through 11 hrs. If we'd had an egg we would have dry camped someplace free on the way up and probably would have stopped on the way back too. I just couldnt stand the thought of setting up again for just a few hours of sleep.
South Carolina had the worst concrete interstate I've driven on in years. My ears were sore by the time we got off it! The "buh-bump, buh-bump, buh-bump" and constant wine drove us insane! There was construction from Jacksonville to Savannah but clear otherwise. Saw lots of police going up and zero coming back. The '05 Toyota Sienna pulled the camper flawlessly though it was almost completely flat all the way. Our next trip was gonna be over Christmas somewhere but now the inlaws are talking of coming here (Florida) for Christmas so we may have to wait for Spring Break or maybe a quick 3 day weekend in Jan or Feb. We all brought back colds thanks to e'body being sick up there and dang it was cold! 31 degrees one night but at least our propane heater kept us snug as a bug at night. We kept a ceramic electric heater running during the day to keep the chill down for whenever one of us needed an escape or the kids wanted to watch a movie in the camper but it wasnt able to keep popup warm at night.

I kept my eyes peeled but didnt see one egg :-(

Well, hope e'body else had a good long weekend. Can't believe it's over already and time to get the kids back to school tomorrow. Hubby has to go back to work tonight.

Time for a turkey sandwich!

Melissa

[theresa p]

melissa...i have gone thru the whole angst of the setting up of the tent trailer (pop up). we had tent camped for years and then switched to a very old tent trailer..and it was a huge improvement from tenting but it was the setting up and taking down that was such a drag...and i didn't even do the bulk of it!!!
after years of this, and once our boys had grown and no longer were camping with us, we decided to step up to a "permanent trailer"...and the hunt began. we had seen many older trilliums in ontario (we were both raised in the hometown of the original trilliums) but now that we live on the east coast, they were not nearly as available. after hunting for months, we were very lucky to be put on to a local source---well. 2 hour drive away, but close enough to be deemed local!!---and woohoo!! we bought our 2004 outback by trillium ...
..it was SUCH a relief not to have to do the setting up and taking down anymore that now i find i want to camp all the time!!
i will never go back to another tent trailer. you are 100% correct when you said you would have stopped somewhere and dry camped, keeping yourself refreshed and so much more safe on the roads.
friends of ours purchased a new tent trailer this summer and we were camping with 3 other couples one weekend this summer, with them being the only ones with a tent trailer of the group. it was absolutely pouring rain the day they arrived and they had no choice but to stand out there and get totally drenched while they set up. we only had to put down the back feet and open the door. when we were leaving, it again was pouring rain...and again, they got drenched. the rest of us ----watching from under the cover of a large tarp, all said almost in unison---THIS IS EXACTLY WHY WE LOVE OUR TRAILERS!!! and the worst was still to come...because they had to go home, and the next day they had to set the darn thing up again so it would dry out!!!

gotta get an egg...gotta get an egg...gotta get an egg!!!!!

[Raya]

I hear you on that stretch of I-95. I can't remember now whether it was in NC or SC but there is a stretch of about 20 miles that makes the rig just saw up and down to the point where you can't keep your speed up. Even at 40mph it was hideous (and I was waiting to be mowed down). It was like driving over a piece of ribbon candy!

On the way down I thought it might be just the dimensions of my particular rig, but on the way back I saw a full-sized pickup towing a long boat trailer and I could see it was doing the same "dance." Ugh.

Raya

[melissab]

Well, the "plan" was to get a trailer that we didnt have to set up each time. My kids started getting car sick in my full size Nissan Titan Crew Cab pickup so it was either drug them on dramamine every time we got in it or trade vehicles. It wasnt just long trips, my then 7th grader would get a headache and be dizzy and nauseous every time I drove her the 2 miles to school. It would take her till lunch to recover so the poor thing was miserable and feeling sick the first half of every school day. We test drove every SUV, wagon, truck and car we could and nothing helped. Then one day we noticed she didnt get sick in my best friend's minivan so that is how we came to own our Toyota Sienna. With the truck gone we had to sell our Large, high sided fully loaded (we're talking oven, bath/shower, built in microwave, slide-out, the works) popup. I looked everywhere for a lightweight trailer I felt comfortable towing with the minivan. I knew nothing of molded fiberglass trailers at the time. Unfortunately, before I found out about FG trailers we figured our only option was another popup so we took delivery this past summer of a really light one with just the basics. It does have it's place, like on long camping trips where the four of us could be inside due to inclimate weather etc. Also, Hubby isnt really an outdoors type of guy so when me and the girls are out hiking, biking, swimming etc he is inside with the A/C playing his Sony Playstation on the little TV or surfing the internet on the laptop. He does come out for night time campfires and we do play cards/games in the evenings so even though he brings the electronics it's better than him not coming and he is getting more involved. He is also 6 ft and 290 so being couped up in a little egg for a week would probably drive him nuts. The egg is more for me and the girls #1 for the security and #2 for the ease of set up. Since our camper was mainly used as a bedroom for sleeping over T'giving we probably would have taken it instead of the popup even though Hubby went too. Our Popup will probably always have a place in our stable depending on the camping situation at least till the kids are grown, we can sell the minivan and get a truck and then maybe a 5th wheel egg for the two of us. For now, I want a 13-15 footer for me and the girls or when we drive from Florida to Wyoming to visit my folks for overnights along the way and a bedroom when visiting the in-laws in TX/NC as they dont have sleeping accomodations for everybody when we all come.

Wow, that was long, hopefully I didnt bore anybody, lol but that is how we came to be tent trailer owners b/4 learning of this wonderful forum.

Raya, that was SC on I-95 where we played (see-saw) LOL. At times I was afraid it would bend my hitch. I dont have a clue how much force it would take to do that. Some of those bridge transitions were awful! And no warning either.

Melissa

[Raya]

Raya, that was SC on I-95 where we played (see-saw) LOL.

Must be the same place. Now that you mention it, I think it was south of "South of the Border" (Anyone who has driven that stretch will know those billboards - I always have to laugh at the one with the big graphic of a hot dog and the caption "You're always a weiner [sic] at Pedro's" And then I have to think "Always a whiner" for the next 20 miles and wonder who would make a billboard without proofreading it? .)

Edit: Oh, ha ha, that billboard is even on Wikipedia (although they didn't catch the misspelling):





http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_of_the_...28attraction%29


Thank goodness that sort of pavement buckling is the exception rather than the rule!

[Joe Z]

Must be the same place. Now that you mention it, I think it was south of "South of the Border" (Anyone who has driven that stretch will know those billboards - I always have to laugh at the one with the big graphic of a hot dog and the caption "You're always a weiner [sic] at Pedro's" And then I have to think "Always a whiner" for the next 20 miles and wonder who would make a billboard without proofreading it? .)

Edit: Oh, ha ha, that billboard is even on Wikipedia (although they didn't catch the misspelling):


Attachment 25291


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_of_the_...28attraction%29


Thank goodness that sort of pavement buckling is the exception rather than the rule!

I haven't seen those billboards i bet in at least 30 years when we used to as kids in the back seat of the car always look for the south of the border sign...... before 95 was built my parents used to take 301 down to florida and "Sourh of the Border" was much smaller but still their with their signs on 301

Weiner is another name for a hot dog and I think the sign was saying you are a "Winner"/"Weiner" get it LOL
Joe

[Raya]

Weiner is another name for a hot dog and I think the sign was saying you are a "Winner"/"Weiner" get it LOL
Joe

Right, but it's properly spelled "wiener"* and pronounced "weener," which would be funny because that's how a spanish-speaking person would say "winner." Hence the pun.

"weiner" is not a word, and if it were, it would be pronounced "whiner," which is why it makes me laugh and roll my eyes at the lack of proofreading. Hee.

Raya

*("i before e, except after c..."; also German "wie..." is correct)

PS: Fun to hear your memories of that same place in the old days. They have all of the billboards (in photographs) on that Wikipedia site I linked to (who knew?)

[Donna D.]

The spelling of weiner is a variant according to Merriam-Webster, which makes it correct to use:
Main Entry: wie·ner
Variant(s): also wei·ner \ˈwē-nər, ˈwē-nē also ˈwi-nē\
Function: noun
Etymology: short for wienerwurst
Date: 1900

Check out the discussion on on this direct link WordReference.com (Language Forums) - Wiener / Weiner

[Raya]

I agree with the folks on your Word Reference link, that "weiner" is a mistake.

Wiener has german language origins, which is consistent with the pronunciation of "weener." (Weiner would be pronounced "whiner.) The city Vienna is "Wien" in German, which I think is where the word/product comes from.

I think the variation "weiner" is just a mistake having become a variation. Merriam does show that being pronounced "whiner." That kind of ruins the pun they were trying for.

But I'll bet you dollars to doughnuts the billboard folks were making a mistake, not a variation. Oh well, one needs a good laugh on that horrible section of road. Honestly, it is terrible when you're towing!

Raya

[Joe Z]

Wow.... I stand corrected "I" before "E" or vice versa..... I even missed that and i am pretty good in spelling... see you can teach an old dog new tricks LOL
Joe

[Raya]

...see you can teach an old dog new tricks LOL

An old... dog? Good one

[Joe Z]

[Donna D.]

*("i before e, except after c...";

Budweiser ??
Height??
and 1765 more: More words..... No wonder English is a difficult language.

Poor Melissa, sorry for trashing your topic.

[SherryNPaul]

Melissa,
We camped near Ft. Bragg last month, visiting my "almost" nephew (son of my college roommate) and his wonderful wife. We camped in their driveway.
As in your visit, our trailer afforded us a bedroom, and more importantly, some privacy for this great young couple. Time is short between tours of duty.
I hope you find the egg of your dreams!
Sherry

Ps. You say tomato, I say to mah to.... You say wiener, I say hot dog!!!! Preferably over a hardwood campfire!

edited to correct spelling....

[Raya]

Well the full ditty is as follows:

"I before E
except after C,
and in words with an "A"
such as neighbor and weigh."

But course there are exceptions, like weird and caffeine. And "height" looks like neighbor and weigh, but doesn't really follow the rule. Most linguistic rules like this do have exceptions.

Budweiser is of German origin, so it follows the second "rule" I mentioned in my earlier post, which is that in German "ie" is pronounced "eeeee" and "ei" is pronounced "eye."

Germanic origins are also why "wiener" is pronounced the way it is in English, and like a Mexican person would say "Winner" (loosely). That was the origin of the pun on the aforementioned billboard (which, doesn't quite work with the misspelling). Because they were trying to imply that you are "always a winner" at their establishment. But with kids in the car on a long trip, "whiner" is probably more appropriate, which is part of what makes me laugh about it. I mean, it's a mistake that's almost funnier because it's a mistake

Sorry if anyone's rolling their eyes at me "over-explaining," but... questions arose so I felt I should clarify where I hadn't been clear. The English teacher in me can't help herself

I hope Melissa doesn't mind, since this is more of a chatty thread than anything.



Raya

[SherryNPaul]

Raya,
I think we were typing at the same time....
I suspect Melissa has a good sense of humor (most of us do!).
FWIW, decades ago I taught ESL in college... and English is a lot tougher than most languages, because of all the many, many irregularities in spelling, pronunciation, and verb conjugations. Ours is an inherited, mixed language from so many sources.... fascinating for linguists, and possibly, just a pain in the bu** for new learners....

The billboard was hilarious. Thanks for sharing.

[melissab]

No, I dont mind at all. It's made the thread quite funny and entertaining. One could even say educational, lol. I never knew the rest of the "I before E" ryhme. I can use that with my 1st grader. Now that I know there is an English Teacher among us I must proofread a little better, lol. I just caught a mistake in my orginal post where I said something about Hubby being "couped" up instead of "cooped" up. Although being the car head he is the "mistake" actually fits better. Now if I could just get the hang of commas. My 8th grader struggles with that too. Has anybody else noticed that on camping forums most of the posters use proper grammar, spelling, larger words etc? Yet folks I meet in every day life cant spell to save their lives. At first I thought maybe it was b/c most of the posters were from the previous generation where such things were stressed and considered important but even the younger folks on the boards seem to be pretty proficient in these areas. In today's world (OMG, did I just say that?) where so many teens and young adults are texting, emailing, instant messaging you would think grammar and spelling would be improved but it seems to be quite the opposite. I know there is a "shortcut" language but when reading comments on Blogs etc. where they are trying to express complete thoughts most are nearly incomprehendable due to grammar and spelling errors. Gee, I think I just hijacked my own thread, LOL!!

Melissa