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I’m glad I made a reservation early for camping at Green Mountain Park on Memorial Weekend because the place was packed this weekend. We didn’t get to camp near the creek this time, which gave us the opportunity to camp in different sections of the campground.
They had a spot open when we checked in and it was on the hill. We traded our camper for an RV recently and it is a lot nicer than our old one.
The RV has one slide out, which makes it more roomy.
I like this section of the park, I think it has a better view from up here.
My GI Joe sister came to visit on Sunday and she made Tum Mak Houng (Spicy papaya salad) for lunch.
My sister Bee also came up to visit.
This beats backyard camping.
Bo likes the RV much better since he didn’t have to do the hookup and a lot easier to park.
It’s nice to be able to spend time outdoor, most campers have golf carts to ride around but we walked everywhere and it’s a great exercise.
We spotted a huge dead fish by the rock, I didn’t think they have one this big up here.
The American rhododendrons are in bloom along the foot of the mountain near the creek.
My dad and Lee by the lily pond.
The frogs are huge, and the tadpoles look like fish with legs.
We spotted a black and a brown snakes by the lily pond.
The swimming pools are open and the sign in the background read ‘Warning No Lifeguard on Duty’.
The 3 day weekend was too short, but I’m not complaining.
Photos were taken with Canon T2i, EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens, and EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens.
If you are wondering, it is New Year’s Eve cookout at my dad’s house. My oldest sister got in at the beginning of last week and my GI Joe sister got in right before the cookout. My sisters came to visit and also tum boun (merit making) for my mom on New Year’s Day.
Lao style barbecue, which has no barbecue sauce but seasoned with salt, sugar, garlic, and lemongrass.
My GI Joe sister makes good tum mak houng (spicy papaya salad), I will post her recipe in my next food post.
It is served with sticky rice this time. We only eat sticky rice on special occasion and this was definitely a special occasion for us.
My GI Joe sister and my younger sister Bee in the picture below. We built a campfire and roasted marshmallows that night, I have to say that it was more festive than our real camping trip last week.
We travel every year to Bo’s parents for Thanksgiving.This year Lee dressed her part as the Native American, but in reality we were like the Pilgrims that traveled the Mayflower journey to settle in North America. We just came many moons later.
As Laotians and Laotian Americans living in the US, we are thankful to be here. I was Lee’s age when I came to America.
We all brought in a dish or two and I made 2 trays of spring rolls.
Stuffing is one of Bo’s favorite dish on Thanksgiving, and his mom learned how to make this American dish from her sponsor.
I called this dish Goi Gai, but I’m sure some Laotians called it Larb Gai. It is a Lao spicy chicken salad.
Tum mak houng (spicy papaya salad)
som phak kad (pickled green vegetables)
All homemade desserts.
The pumpkin cupcakes were delicious. Lee and I have to give this a try, and we could probably find a good deal on pumpkin this time of the year.
This was brought in by our German guest, and very popular among the kids.
I didn’t have much luck photographing the kids, I had to chase them down.
Then I finally caught up with them in the garage, here is a group photo.
As for the chickens they were glad that it’s a turkey day and not a chicken day. As for Laotians we get confused sometimes and have chicken occasionally on Thanksgiving so it worries this Americana hen til she turned grey.
He is thinking that I’m way too young to be eaten. Actually I couldn’t tell if it were a hen or rooster.
They are safe this year since grandma had 2 turkey cooking in her ovens. I hope you all had a good Thanksgiving feast.
Technical note: I didn’t use flash taking the food photos and had to compensate by shooting in high ISO 6400. I think it is not the best choice on my part, some of the pictures are grainy.
We’ve been doing some research on the Internet prior to going to an RV place. I like something a little retro. The Airstream Sport 16′ Bambi looks real nice but very pricey and I don’t think we have any dealer nearby that sell this.
Photo from www.colonialairstream.com
It was a beautiful day and we all packed in Bo’s SUV to a dealer that is less than 10 miles from my dad’s house. My dad visited this place earlier in the week, I guess they were serious about buying.
Click here to view this video on YouTube
We started out looking for a 16 feet camper.
The inside is very small. It would be perfect for a family of 3 or 4 but it is too small for us since we have 5 people. There’s me, Bo, Lee, my dad, and sister that will go camping together.
We ended up with the 2012 Travel Trailer Keystone Summerland 1890.
It is a 24 feet camper, a lot more roomier and can sleeps up to 6-8 people.
I didn’t have that much time to take picture since everyone were waiting. The door opens to the living room and kitchen. The sofa is the sofa bed.
The dining room table turns into a bed.
The kitchen has all that we would need for camping.
The bathroom has a separate shower stall.
And sink outside.
The bedroom has 2 beds, Lee already picked the top bunk bed. The bottom bed is a full size and can sleep 2 people comfortably.
My sister Bee also came along. Bo and my dad will pickup the camper on Monday. We went in with my dad and sister to purchase this camper and looking forward to our future camping trips together.
Right now we plan to tow with my sister’s truck, and perhaps someday we might be able to get something a little bit bigger when we have a better towing vehicle. I saw one camper in the showroom that is real nice, I can actually live in this RV. The most expensive thing about traveling are boarding and meal expenses and with our own traveling trailer we can afford to go places more often.
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