Kincaid Park: Need an awning!!

I thought I was so smart. I had decided I didn’t need a $1000+ awning. I decided suction cup anchors and a tarp would be just fine. Well, no……that was definitely ill advised as Gina and I found out when we opened the sliding door during a big rain while in Texas. In case I had forgotten, the point was hammered in again during what was supposed to be a nice, fun van-cooked dinner with Jody & Lisa at Kincaid Park. The rains came as we were just preparing. Threw on our raincoats, scrounged around for the tarp and suction cups. Got them. Oh….but none of us are tall enough to reach the top of the very wet van to try to stick on the suction cups. We are getting drenched and so is the inside of the van. Jody has a ladder. Her camper is a trailer towed behind her truck where she can keep wonderful items like…a ladder. (I mentioned before how handy it is to have Jody around..)

OK. We got it up but then there is no way to stake out the poles on tarmac. Rethink the strategy. I’ve got parachute cord. We found places to tie it off on Jody’s rig parked right next to the van. But coverage is marginal at best. And the van is wet inside. It’s a mess. And I still need to cook.

Finally dinner is prepared and we eat with doors open slightly protected by a flimsy tarp spilling water. Jody had to leave early for an appointment so we untied from her camper and let the tarp just hang from the van roof to cover the sliding door.

However, when it was time to leave, we discovered that the use of the ladder had allowed us to put the suction cups up high on the van roof and now way out of reach!! After trying our best Cirque du Soleil gymnastics, with cupped hands Lisa was able to give me a boost up high enough to unstick the suction cups while hanging on to the door. Ahh….van adventures.

Note to self: order an awning on Monday!