KOA Camping

Jesse and I wanted to get away for a weekend.  The weather was good so we thought, to do something outside would be nice.  We would have liked to camp, but I didn't really have the energy for all the set up and break down.  We decided a compromise was in order.  We would go to a KOA and rent a cabin for a couple of nights.  I was thrilled with that idea.

We packed the Toyota with what we would need and drove to the nearest KOA, only about half an hour from home.  This was a perfect get away, especially since we didn't tell anyone how close we were.  We pulled up to the cabin, left some things in the truck and only unpacked what we needed.  

Before we set anything up we built a fire in the fire ring.  While the fire was burning down, we  unpacked what we wanted to bring into the cabin and set up our home for the next two nights.  We made sure Cooper understood that his limits were the cabin and it's porch, no wandering.  He was good, but needed reminders a couple of times.

Cooper on the little porch on at the cabin.

Once we were done unpacking and all ready to relax we pulled out the potatoes, wrapped them in foil and put them in the fire ring.  Then we put the rack of ribs on the fire. Dinner was going to be delicious!  I cut up squash and zucchini and made an aluminum foil pouch with spices and butter in the pouch to get ready to steam when the meat was near done.  Then I but apples in half and cut the cores out and filled the cores with sugar and cinnamon.  When dinner came off the fire, I put the apples in the fire ring to cook while we ate.  Hot apple dessert.  Mmmmmmmmm!!!

Cooper enjoys the cooking scene when we cook outside.  He seems to love to watch the process.  I wonder what he thinks when he sees a huge rack of ribs like that.  When we were done, he got his portion of what we were eating, including vegetables, mixed into his dog food while Jesse and I enjoyed our hot apples. He was a happy boy.

There was a swing on the porch of the little one room cabin.  Cooper enjoyed relaxing on that swing.  Jesse had found a 17 year locust on the swing.  We showed it to Cooper.  He smelled it then was content in leaving it alone on the arm of the swing as they both relaxed. 

In this picture, you can see the locust but it is VERY close to the camera.
Look at Coopers nose and find the object that is blurred and too close to the camera.
See it?  It's facing left with it's long wings looking kind of green.

Cooper went for walks with Jesse, who has a difficult time sitting still.  I, on the other hand, could lay on my back on the grass for hours looking at the sky and when I'm bored with the sky I can roll onto my stomach to look at the grass for another few hours.  Cooper would rather investigate with Daddy.

Nights were quiet.  Meals were huge and delicious.  We would eat a brunch and a dinner, both cooked over the fire.  Jesse may eat more, but I was happy with that.  Coffee was by means of electric coffee pot so we could make fresh coffee when ever we wanted it.  It was one of the spoils of comfort.  Yes this was a very comfortable weekend for us indeed.

As I had mentioned, Cooper was expected to stay on the porch when he was off leash.  He did great most of the time, but  he did take it upon himself, one time, to go for a visit when Jesse and I weren't looking.  I think we were packing the truck to leave on our last day.  When I noticed he wasn't on the porch or in the cabin we went looking.  Within three minutes we found him just a couple of cabins away with a group of happy, smiling people all gathered around him.  How can you scold such a celebrity right in front of his fans?  You can't!  All I could do was bring him back to the porch and try again.  He did better the second time.

Yeah, this was just what we need from time to time.

 After packing the truck to get ready to leave, we ate our last meal of left overs from previous meals along with a few odds and ends that we hadn't eaten yet.  It was a strange meal, but it was cooked over the fire and tasted great.  Cooper got a couple treats after we ate.  He knew we were leaving because the truck was ready to go.  We washed the dishes and put the fire out.  It had been a great weekend.  Who says you have to go a long way from home to get away from it all?  The secret is, just let everyone THINK you've gone a long ways from home and keep it a secret.  Cooper didn't tell a soul!