I was fairly certain we pulled into my designated spot. The sign indicated “81.” But the question remained, was it 81 to the right of the sign or 81 to the left? I chose the right side and got the Touareg and Bambi into my spot. As I stepped out of the SUV, I felt the burn of experienced campers’ eyes.  I looked to my left and saw the group of campers nearby.

I waved. “Is this 81?”

“Yep, you’ve got it. Just get closer to the hookup.” Said the friendly woman with the tiny white dog.

Um, hookup? Oh yes, the hookups. Casa De Fruta is a full hookup site. No, not the kind of hookup you may be thinking.

Here is the thing about trailering…where does all of the stuff go? Remember, I have a full bathroom and shower in the 19′ foot Airstream. And there is no plumbing fairy who comes in the middle of the night to empty your tanks. The Bambi has a fresh water tank, grey tank (used water from the sink and shower) and the “black tank” (you can guess what this is.) The size of the grey water and black water tanks are 21 and 18 gallons respectively. The grey water tank fills up rapidly. Washing your hands, face, brushing your teeth, making coffee, washing dishes…it all adds up.

A full hookup campsite allows you to plug in your grey/black water hose, hook up to fresh water and you have constant water and drainage. The black water drainage occurs separately. When you’re ready to leave the site.

The woman with the tiny white dog came over to me. She had a name tag that read, “Evette.” She was one of many friendly RVers who were willing to help. Evette proceeded to explain how to get myself hooked up with the necessary hoses.  She knew exactly where the hoses needed to be. I was amazed. Within a few minutes she had hooked me up.

Evette asked, “Is this your first time?”

“Yep, I picked up my Airstream from LA last night and drove it up today.”

Evette’s face lit up, “You go girl! I wish you many years of camping joy and happiness.”  Evette told me she has been RV-ing since 1971 and loves it. She was full of life and energy and was willing to share decades of gained knowledge with me.

Evette had me follow her back to her pack of RV friends so she could show me the Woodalls guide to RV camps.

“This is Dawn, everyone!” Evette said.

“Hi, it’s actually Yon…I should really have a name tag like all of you.”

“Sorry, this is Yon. She’s an RV-virgin!” Evette declared my status to the group.  Everyone greeted me warmly.  They were sipping wine in front of Evette and her husband, Jim’s well appointed RV.

There was a flurry of activity with Evette’s friends asking me one question after another about my “rig.” I don’t recall the exact details of the conversation, but I remember they were surprised I towed the Airstream alone for the first time.

I thumbed through the heavy phonebook sized guide to RV Camps around the US, then said my thank you’s and good-byes and headed back to my own rig. As I was leaving, Jim asked me to join their friends for dinner at 6pm.  But I declined the invitation since I didn’t want to impose on their potluck. Given I had nothing to contribute to such a gathering, I would have felt awkward arriving empty handed. My dinner plan was checking out Casa de Fruta’s restaurant up the road or eating the rest of my cereal and fruit before it went bad.

Once I got Butters settled in after her walk and feeding, I shut the doors of the Airstream since it was getting cooler. Around 6:30, I heard my name called through the insulated aluminum walls. “Yon! Come join us!”

I opened the door and saw Evette and a friend. “Join us for dinner! We have plenty of food. Just bring your own plate and utensils.” I couldn’t resist her peppy, friendly face. I searched through my cabinet for a plate and utensils, left Butters in the Bambi and followed Evette to the camp’s recreation hall, eager to the see the potluck spread.

Bambi, parked at the full hookup site.