I had been planning on driving all the way to Pensacola with Robbie to pick up the girls, and a few days before we got them it turned out his parents could bring the girls in the RV and meet in the middle to shorten the trip. Our destination was Eufaulah, Alabama (featured in the movie Sweet Home Alabama).
Sounded good to me...until I found out we were all going to be spending the night in the RV. I was somewhat apprehensive. I've never been much of a camper, and 6 people in an RV sounded a bit extreme. However, I figured you can survive anything for a night.
When we got near the campground Robbie talked to his step-dad to get directions and was warned that the place was a bit more "rustic" than they usually camp at. It was the only place they could find at the last minute without a reservation. An alarm went off in my brain at this point--especially considering we had just passed a GAS STATION with an ALLIGATOR PIT--but we kept driving. We got to the point where the GPS was telling us to turn, and it looked like a road to nowhere. There was an old rusted out factory, the road went over long-unused railroad tracks, and a hand-painted sign pointed toward the "campgrounds". We continued down the road and turned into the campground, looking for his parents' RV. We were somewhat horrified to see that although this was a campground for RV's, it appeared most of them had long since become permanent denizens of the site with more rust than paint, and mostly flat tires. We decided they couldn't possibly be here and kept going down the road to an even more ramshackle site before we got a phone call saying we drove right past them. Oh god...
We turned around, found the RV and got out to hug the girls. I had brought Kaya because this was a last-minute trip, and Robbie promised me there was no way his mom would bring their three dogs on a one-night trip. It turned out he was wrong and all three of them were there to greet us as well.
When we walked into the RV I nearly had to turn around and leave. There were suitcases EVERYWHERE full of stuff the girls had brought for their three weeks with dad. There was no way it was all going to fit in the back of my Fiesta so we got to spend the first hour there unpacking things and repacking what we would be able to fit. I was completely overwhelmed by the number of people, dogs, and amount of stuff in the space. It was all I could do to just sit quietly and not run out screaming. After that was done the girls went swimming in the "pool" at the campground. This was only after the locals who had rented it for a pool party cleared out... I'll be surprised if they don't get giardia.
That night while the girls were showering we ran to the local Piggly Wiggly:
and got ice cream and wine for me since there was just beer at the RV. Once I got some ice cream and chocolate in me the night suddenly seemed a little better.
After the girls were settled in to bed for the night I started drinking my moscato and Robbie and his step-dad cracked open some beers. I don't know if I was trying to escape my stress that day, or the odor from the cesspool under the neighboring RV (you could actually SEE when someone used the bathroom in it because it drained right out...they also had a little dog tied up out front), but either way there were suddenly two empty bottles of wine. I, of course, was by then in a fantastic mood and not at all concerned about 6 people and 4 dogs sleeping in the RV and had a pretty great time until I made it inside. Robbie seems to find the whole thing funny but I am a little mortified (particularly when I think of how it led to the Great Chigger Incident).
The next morning my stomach was suitably reproachful, and once we were again in the light of day the horror of our surroundings was back in full force. After a breakfast of Cookie Crisp (delicious!) we quickly packed up, helped get the RV read to go, and left Eufaulah in our dust. I am not against meeting halfway and staying in the RV for a night in the future, but there is absolutely no way I could ever stay at that place again. Good luck to the "young couple" that recently bought it to fix it up. They pretty much need a biblical flood to clear out the current residents and start anew.
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