Caravan World
83This is a short story of what happens on a camping site (sometimes).
In the beginning
The outside temperature at the beginning of the week on the boarders of Germany and Holland was between -10 and -15 degrees Celsius. So living on a camping site 52 weeks a year you know that there are certain times when everything has to be ship shape. As in a house you have the spring cleaning which means getting all the moss washed off the caravan and awning that has formed over the winter months. Late spring and early summer it's getting all the plant pots cleaned and ready for the new plants. The B-B-Q has to be rubbed down and a new coat of paint ready for those wonderful gatherings, not forgetting the steaks and the beers.
Warm weather campers
Most of the campers are summer or warm weather campers, but on our site we have about 50 caravans where the owners live the whole year.
My wife and myself are the so called warm weather campers and we spend as much time as we can from Easter till the end of October, even November when it's warm enough. If it starts raining or is cold for any length of time we jump in the car and in half an hour we are back inside our four walls warm and dry.
Looking at the Beauty of your work
We don't need to fly off anywhere for sun, sea, and sand. We have all we need at our caravan, garden, small pond with a family of frogs that have been there for the last six years. At least I think they are the same as the two adult frogs seem to have the same markings. They have children each year but they fly the nest, so to say, to make their own families. In fact just before the cold weather sets in each winter they all hop off to the woods and bury themselves under the mulch, leaves, and long grass that builds up over the year where they stay in a long sleep over the winter until the warm weather comes around again.
With 140 sq meters you have a lot of work to do to keep it in good order. As we all know the weeds come through every nook and cranny.
Home of family Frog
Keeping it cool
As you get on in years all the bending in the garden doesn't help the old bones. So two years ago I took all the shrubs and all year round plants out and then got all the weeds out. I had a small fountain at one side that I wanted to move to the centre of the garden. My small garden is 3 meters by 5 meters not big but for camping standards is fine. I then laid a so called weed mat down that comes in a roll about a meter wide. This mat lets the rain water through but stops the weeds coming up. I needed enough for about 15 sq meters.
Life is alot easier
After that I ordered one and a half cubic meters of gravel stone or small pebbles over the mat to a depth of 10 cm or 4 inches. Now I have square marble tiles with plant pots sat on them. Looks beautiful with the flowers blooming.
Then comes the autumn with all the dead leaves and I can tell you they get everywhere. That takes up a lot of time as they don't all fall at once. When it comes to the end of October it's time to be thinking about the winter and the cold weather, which won't be very far away. We generally stay as long as we can, but in the end we have to start to make everything winter tight. That's water tight and tide down or stowed away.
Home from home
At the moment it's very cold, in fact it's been as low as -15 degrees. My friend that lives on site was sat watching sport on the TV when there was this almighty bang/boom. He thought the awning was falling apart and ran for the door only to find that he'd forgotten to bring the plastic fresh water bottles that he had bought into the caravan. He had left them in the entry where it had frozen and then exploded. The entry looked like the fire-brigade had empted a truck full of water every where. Thinking that he'd better bring the others in and let them thaw out sat them in the sink to get warm. After a few minutes there was another almighty boom and the cat which was sat on his wife's lap jumped up and at the same time shit it's self all over her and flew through the door while the dog shot under the bed and Michael almost had a heart attack and getting half drowned in drinking water at the same time. When everything settled down there he was like a fish out of water, and his wife looking like she'd spent to long under on a sun bed was brown from top to toe, the dog wouldn't come out from under the bed and the cat went missing for three hours.
Always somthing to do
Had to keep that little story as a conclusion. You've always got something to do in the summer months on our site. That's when I'm not in a darts competition, but that's another hub you can pop across and have a read.
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With US gasoline predicted to hit $5 per gallon this summer, we won't be going far!
Nice Hub.
Sounds as though you weve having a good time camping in a little luxory. I tried camping in England in tents and morning dew sorry that's not my idea of a weekend away. Vote up and interesting. Joyce.
Beautiful! Tried camping only several times and would love to do more of that) Thanks for inspiration!
Hi PC.
We have two small trailers/caravans and I've gone to work on them and now have one van with an awning which we use as our living room and the van for sleeping in. The second van I've converted into our work van. That is to say I've built or installed a toilet that is connected to the main waste canal and a proper shower. I've put a sliding door for privacy. In the middle I've made the kitchen bigger, then a dining area for when it's cooler, windy or raining.
It's not upmarket but it's our little paradise.
The reason for having two vans is my wife doesn't like having cooking smells floating around when in the evening we sit watching TV or sleeping.
Take care PC.
LOL Ghaelach
Morning Will.
The gas prices are going up in Europe to. But fortunately with our site only being 30 minutes away from home it doesn't eat a big hole in our pockets.
LOL Ghaelach
Morning Writer20.
Camped in the lake district when in my early twenties and that was fun.
These days I need a bit more of the luxuries of home. We have toiletries in our caravan with a proper shower, and we have our own fresh water from ten meters down in the earth pumped up with a special motor and tested in a lab in Holland with the results saying it was drinking water.
So it's a little bit like home away from home.
Take care.
LOL Ghaelach
Morning gotseo.
Glad you enjoyed a look into my hobby.
When anyone said to me lets go camping, I used to ask them if they where ill in the head or something.
These days camping at least in Europe has a different meaning for us.
I'm pleased I managed to give you the inspiration.
Take care Gotseo and have an inspirational day.
LOL Ghaelach
Such a beautiful world you have captured. I love the way you wrote each season's transition.
Hi Jenubouka.
It's OK writing about it but the best part is being there. Hopefully, come the end of March it will be warm enough to do are spring clean-up after the winter break.
Can't wait to get back. It's like having a 7 or 8 month rehabilitation health break, so relaxing and a great place to get rid of that winter fat that we've obtained.
Thanks for stopping by.
Take care.
LOL Ghaelach
To be honest apart from living in a caravan for about a year I have not had much to do with them; but this hub could certainly change that.
We go camping every summer;sometimes in a mini bus from Dai's work when we take the kids and grandkids or just us two on the Honda!!
Either way I love it all but maybe one day the tent will be swopped for a Caravan.
We have been looking at Camper Vans but are still hanging on to the tent.
I loved this hub my friend as it was a taste of the great outdoors.
All the great features that you have added are beautiful. Great work!!
A home from home without a doubt.
So yes an up up and away here .
Take care and have a great day.
Eddy.
Hi Eddy.
My wife doesn't drive so it would mean doing the towing all the time.
What we have found is a site a few miles from the German/Dutch boarder. Plenty of walks for wanderers, a lake about half the size of Windermere, and lots of woodland. The vans are static and are not allowed on the road (no MOT). We are just down the road from Roermond in Holland which is a beautiful town to wander around.
We are there most of the summer and only pop home to check the Post/Mail or doctors appointments and things like that.
I invested in a good laptop and that goes everywhere with me, must have my contact with my HP friends.
Take care Eddy and carry on camping (remember the carry on films?).
LOL Ghaelach
Oh yes I do remember those Carry On films with Barbara Windsor doing her exercises and Sid James close by.Ha ha !!
Take care and have a great day.
Eddy.
What a beautiful spot you have to spend the warmer weather in. I really like the way you've done the gardens. It's always been my dream to retire, buy a motor home and travel, but with the gas prices I don't think that will happen. Unless we win a lottery. Enjoyed your hub.
Hi Susan.
Our two vans will never go on the roads again.
As you say about the gas price, I think they are much the same all over but the good thing with our little paradies is that it's only 50 kilometers away, takes me 30 min's to drive on the motorway/freeway and costs about 12,30euros about 17$. So if we stop for a couple of weeks without having doctors appointment it works out fairly cheap on gas.
As they say about the Lottery, you've gotta be in it to win it.
Take care Susan and I hope the leg is holding up. Have you seen the specialist yet?
LOL Ghaelach
Ghaelach, sounds like fun, can I come along?
We love going - nice hub - too funny with the water bottles - soon as it gets too warm here in the Valley of the Sun, we will be heading off to the North to enjoy the sights and sounds
thanks
q
Morning Credence.
We've planned for things to get underway at the end of March so book a ticket and hop a flight for Germany and you'll receive a big European welcome. Bring your laughing bag with you cos we are gonna have lots of fun.
Take care.
LOL Ghaelach
Morning Questre.ltd
Thanks for dropping by.
We can't wait for things to warm up around here, get the car packed and take that half hour drive to another world. It's like being on your very own wellness farm.
Only about six weeks to go.
Take care.
LOL Ghaelach
...your writing my friend deserves to be put into a daily column of a newspaper or magazine (online or off) as you have such an engaging, playful, witty and charming style - pure Ghaelach I say and that's enough for me and the entire human race - lol - sending you warm wishes and good energy along with an invite to my new group at FACEBOOK called LET'S JUST TALK MUSIC OR CINEMA - and I would love to have you join - it would be such a thrill to have you there - this excellent hub will be posted to my Facebook page so if you can get there yourself you will also see a group link and name for you to click - hope to see you there my friend - lake erie time 6:29am
I really enjoyed your hub & photos ! We are in our caravan by a lake in Kununurra Western Australia where it is very hot . We love camping & I have camped across France & Germany as well as Scotland & Australia.
We hope to travel across Europe this year !
Morning freecampingaussie.
Thanks for stopping off here.
If I/we where a lot younger I could imagine my wife and I doing something similar to yourselves. But what we have we love. I'm always in work, in fact I've more work now than when I was actually working.
If you do make Europe/Germany this year (or any year) stop by our site for a couple of days, just send me an email and don't worry about the language, I'm a Brit and I've lasted 20 odd years over here.
Take care and keep on camping.
LOL Ghaelach
At my old house I had a butterfly garden, so I know how much work it takes to keep it looking beautiful and well-maintained. I can tell this is truly your little piece of paradise. I can see why... the pictures are absolutely gorgeous, too.
Morning Klarawieck.
First, the smile on your profile foto is beautiful and secondly, thanks for dropping by.
You are quite right it is my little paradise. This year the summer and the warmer weather are taking their time getting here. I like to spend as much of the summer months over there as I can.
Take care Klara and have a nice day.
LOL Ghaelach
What a lovely spot to spend your summer months, love your little garden. I quite enjoyed travelling in a motorhome, a little bit of luxury is preferable to tent camping.
I enjoyed reading your hub.
Morning Rosemay.
We love it.
The weather has got to play it's part. The rain isn't to bad but it's got to be warm where I can sit under the pavilion.
In fact we've only came home for a doctors appointment and are heading back this evening when the traffic is not so busy. We are fortunate in that we can choose when we come and go.
Thanks for stopping by. Take care and have a nice day.
LOL Ghaelach
Pcunix Level 7 Commenter 3 months ago
Ayup. We used to spend most of May through September at our "summer place", a somewhat upscale camping resort in the Massachusetts Berkshires. We started with a small trailer and ended up with a 37 foot "park model" and I wish my wife were healthy enough for us to still be there..