sfelber9
Member
Hey gang. Just got back from our first trip in the new camper!!! A few topics of discussion to touch on. I'm sure everyone will have something constructive to add that I may have or have not forgotten.. LOL.
The trip there. Loaded and hooked, ready to roll. Get on the highway and start heading North on I-81 out of Syracuse to Association Island KOA in Henderson NY. Paranoid me was staring out the mirrors checking for lane position, traffic condition, and equipment issues. Had the sensation of swaying, but think that might be a tire pressure adjustment in the TV. Will follow up on that. All in all, the ride up was uneventful. Just the way we want it.
Once we got to the campground the skies opened up. Set up in a downpour. Nothing like getting that "first" checked off the list. I called ahead to set the reservation and the Rep suggested getting an extra power cable and extra water line since the hookups were at the front of the site. The site's are nice and deep, but super narrow. If I wanted to park where I originally stopped, I would have needed 3 25' power cords and 3 25' water lines. They are set at an angle and the fire ring is behind the site, not next to in the sites we had reserved. Water front, on the West side of the island. If you wanted to hang out at the fire pit, you were staring directly at the 'business-side' of your neighbors camper. Nice if you have a group, not nice if you're alone. We walked the island while there and noticed on some of the loops they had 3 or 4 sites set up on a space that would normally accommodate 2 RV's. Hope your neighbors are nice.
The sites were designed originally for Class A, B, and C RV's. Drive-in style with the hook ups at the rear, which would be the road side of the site. Since being converted to Back-in style for all types, all they did was add a second sewer hook up. We had to re position the camper a few times to get it to where the hook ups would connect and be far enough back so as to not completely block the road way and we couldn't pull in. They have trash pick up in the morning as long as you put it out before 9am.
And it's still raining. Put out the rug. Put out the Pop-ups. Start getting "camp" ready for our first night. That we wound up spending inside playing domino's with the friends that are on the site next to us. Back outside to put everything away under the camper to keep as dry as possible.
Monday: It has stopped raining, but now the wind has changed direction and is coming off the lake. At least the May-Flies are gone. Not getting a fire going today. We hop in the truck with our friends and head out to find something to do. Hit a winery on the Thousand Island Wine trail and grab some supplies we forgot for the meals. Once we get back the wind has died down to a steady 15mph from a stiff 25mph. Might get that fire going after all. Oh, and it's about 55 degrees and everything is still wet.
Get a fire going, have dinner, stay warm. Is it camping if you're in 2 hoodies and wrapped in 2 blankets? The DW thinks so.
Tuesday: The weather is finally starting to cooperate. Wind is down to a steady 10mph coming off the lake and no rain in the forecast. Kicking around the camper to re-asses what we need, what we don't need. I guess the silver lining of being trapped inside for most of 2 days is that we were able to figure out what we need if we do get trapped again in the future. I have read a lot of posts saying folks plan for what to do outside to keep it fun, not for what to do inside when trapped. We can figure out enough to do when outside. We took a walk around an almost vacant campground. There are about 2 dozen seasonal site. Everyone was closed up since it was a Tuesday after all. It was calm on the lee-ward side of the island, too late to switch sites? There is a cool building in the middle of the island that was a "Town Hall" for GE and a few other companies that used it for meetings and company retreats. Google the history on Association Island, pretty cool. Secret groups and stuff.
Here is where things got interesting. The KOA at Association Island advertises cabins and rooms for people to rent and use. HOWEVER, They were all closed, locked, and unfinished. Why, you ask? Because the County came through and posted Stop Work Orders on all of them. I think someone forgot to get the necessary permits to do the construction they started. An entire building of about 20 "motel" like rooms closed up. This, along with the pool being on lock-down from Stop Work orders as well could make for a camp ground of angry visitors when the weather gets warm. You're not allowed to swim in the lake.
In the grand plan of it all, the first trip wasn't a complete disaster. We made up for the crap weather with having friends with us to help keep each other occupied and distracted. The camp ground it'self wasn't bad. If the weather was nice, I'm sure the scene would have been much more fun. But again, we were there Sunday through Wednesday. Not really peak days. Would I recommend it to others? Sure. Just be ready to be on top of your neighbor and bring extra electrical and water connections.
Thank you Association Island for being our "First".
The trip there. Loaded and hooked, ready to roll. Get on the highway and start heading North on I-81 out of Syracuse to Association Island KOA in Henderson NY. Paranoid me was staring out the mirrors checking for lane position, traffic condition, and equipment issues. Had the sensation of swaying, but think that might be a tire pressure adjustment in the TV. Will follow up on that. All in all, the ride up was uneventful. Just the way we want it.
Once we got to the campground the skies opened up. Set up in a downpour. Nothing like getting that "first" checked off the list. I called ahead to set the reservation and the Rep suggested getting an extra power cable and extra water line since the hookups were at the front of the site. The site's are nice and deep, but super narrow. If I wanted to park where I originally stopped, I would have needed 3 25' power cords and 3 25' water lines. They are set at an angle and the fire ring is behind the site, not next to in the sites we had reserved. Water front, on the West side of the island. If you wanted to hang out at the fire pit, you were staring directly at the 'business-side' of your neighbors camper. Nice if you have a group, not nice if you're alone. We walked the island while there and noticed on some of the loops they had 3 or 4 sites set up on a space that would normally accommodate 2 RV's. Hope your neighbors are nice.
The sites were designed originally for Class A, B, and C RV's. Drive-in style with the hook ups at the rear, which would be the road side of the site. Since being converted to Back-in style for all types, all they did was add a second sewer hook up. We had to re position the camper a few times to get it to where the hook ups would connect and be far enough back so as to not completely block the road way and we couldn't pull in. They have trash pick up in the morning as long as you put it out before 9am.
And it's still raining. Put out the rug. Put out the Pop-ups. Start getting "camp" ready for our first night. That we wound up spending inside playing domino's with the friends that are on the site next to us. Back outside to put everything away under the camper to keep as dry as possible.
Monday: It has stopped raining, but now the wind has changed direction and is coming off the lake. At least the May-Flies are gone. Not getting a fire going today. We hop in the truck with our friends and head out to find something to do. Hit a winery on the Thousand Island Wine trail and grab some supplies we forgot for the meals. Once we get back the wind has died down to a steady 15mph from a stiff 25mph. Might get that fire going after all. Oh, and it's about 55 degrees and everything is still wet.
Get a fire going, have dinner, stay warm. Is it camping if you're in 2 hoodies and wrapped in 2 blankets? The DW thinks so.
Tuesday: The weather is finally starting to cooperate. Wind is down to a steady 10mph coming off the lake and no rain in the forecast. Kicking around the camper to re-asses what we need, what we don't need. I guess the silver lining of being trapped inside for most of 2 days is that we were able to figure out what we need if we do get trapped again in the future. I have read a lot of posts saying folks plan for what to do outside to keep it fun, not for what to do inside when trapped. We can figure out enough to do when outside. We took a walk around an almost vacant campground. There are about 2 dozen seasonal site. Everyone was closed up since it was a Tuesday after all. It was calm on the lee-ward side of the island, too late to switch sites? There is a cool building in the middle of the island that was a "Town Hall" for GE and a few other companies that used it for meetings and company retreats. Google the history on Association Island, pretty cool. Secret groups and stuff.
Here is where things got interesting. The KOA at Association Island advertises cabins and rooms for people to rent and use. HOWEVER, They were all closed, locked, and unfinished. Why, you ask? Because the County came through and posted Stop Work Orders on all of them. I think someone forgot to get the necessary permits to do the construction they started. An entire building of about 20 "motel" like rooms closed up. This, along with the pool being on lock-down from Stop Work orders as well could make for a camp ground of angry visitors when the weather gets warm. You're not allowed to swim in the lake.
In the grand plan of it all, the first trip wasn't a complete disaster. We made up for the crap weather with having friends with us to help keep each other occupied and distracted. The camp ground it'self wasn't bad. If the weather was nice, I'm sure the scene would have been much more fun. But again, we were there Sunday through Wednesday. Not really peak days. Would I recommend it to others? Sure. Just be ready to be on top of your neighbor and bring extra electrical and water connections.
Thank you Association Island for being our "First".
