Champagne in Champaign

[Author: Drew]

You never really know what you’re getting yourself into when renting an RV and driving it across the country, which we soon discovered as we disengaged the parking brake and headed for greener pastures. Funny thing though, it seemed that all of the so-called green pastures are invariably occupied with corn and nothing else. Before we could really hit the road for a long, grueling first leg, we had to stop for rations and provisions, and Wal-Mart is a one stop shop for all of your no-frills essentials. Highlights include: pita chips and hummus, marshmallows, decorative plant, camping lantern, beef jerky (Teriyaki of course, we haven’t lost all of our sensibilities), bathroom scent spray (don’t ask…).

Once we were all stocked and ready, we drove to what Yelp determined was the best grocery store in the immediate area, which turned out to be a Latin Supermercado. Crema fresca, postres (desserts), and significantly fresher fruit than the WalMart were more than adequate substitutions.

The drive to our campground was largely uneventful, though Captain Bubba learned how to tame our beast of a motorhome. He deftly flicked it in and out of the right hand lane to pass semi-trucks for about three and a half hours until we arrived at our campground. Getting into D&W Lake Resort turned out to be less cumbersome than we originally anticipated, and our new friend Dennis (the manager at the campground) hopped in his golfcart and guided us to our parking slip. Considering our novice level of RV experience, he graciously helped us attach the water, electricity, and (less glamorously) sewage hookups for the first time. After settling in at the campground, we all fell asleep unceremoniously after a long day of travelling.