The buildings on the Sandwich Fairgrounds that burst with rabbits, pies, quilts and oxen in October spend the winter harboring an array of boats, campers, and travel trailers, packed in like puzzle pieces. Sandwich residents tuck away their summer toys and joyfully reclaim them when the snow recedes.
It may seem odd that we who already live in the country are so eager to strike out into, well, the country, but most of us, I dare say, choose to live in Sandwich because we love the beauty and the quiet here. When the town swells with summer visitors, traffic gets busy, and there are long lines at the grocery store, it seems like a good time to strike out and explore.
Todd and I never thought we’d own a travel trailer. Inveterate backpackers and campers that we are, we figured that maybe sometime in the distant future in our dotage (whatever that is), we might possibly succumb to the lure of a pop-up tent trailer. Then, one day when we were travelling a highway in the West, we came across a travel trailer that made us both do a double take and exclaim, “What is that? It’s so cute!” (Okay, those were probably my exact words, not Todd’s, but he, too, was smitten.) And Casita means “little house” in Spanish, so naturally it is perfect for us.
Long story short, we purchased a used Casita travel trailer and have had no regrets. The company is located in Richmond, Texas, where all the trailers are built and sold, which made locating one closer to home a challenge (bonus!). No Casita is longer than 17 feet. We almost went for the tiny 13-foot model, but the ceiling height is 5’10”, which means that neither Todd nor I could stand upright inside it. Even the 17-foot model, though, is dwarfed by most other trailers, campers, and RVs, and is cute as a bug. (Looks like a loaf of bread, right?)
Here are some photos of the interior. At night we convert the dining nook to a cot where the dogs sleep. There seems to be an inverse correlation between the size of a camping trailer or RV and the size of the dog in it. The tiniest dogs tend to pop out of the most monstrous RVs, and I’m sure that people are bug-eyed when they see our two 70-pounders, Gracie and Beau, emerge from our little unit!
Bed!
dining area
kitchen~ tea anyone?
We’ve been on many trips with our trailer following happily behind our Toyota Highlander, and while we still think it’s silly to call it “camping,” we love that we can bring our little house-away-from-home pretty much everywhere we want to go. It even trailed behind our Penske truck on our DYI move from Denver to Sandwich. We slept in it every night with our two dogs, all of us happy to be “home,” be it in Kansas, Illinois, Ohio, or upstate New York.
In this “Casita Adventures” category of the blog, I’ll share with you some highlights and stories from our trips, beginning with our North Carolina adventure in May. It will be a repeat, pretty much, of a trip that we took during May last year. We enjoyed the beaches of the Outer Banks and Ocracoke Island, a visit in Chapel Hill with our dear friends Vicky and John, and the lush mountains of Asheville, all the while avoiding black fly season at home in New Hampshire. Accidental good timing? Nope – entirely on purpose!
Bar Harbor, Maine ~ on the way to Canada
We’ve also been on a foray to Canada – New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. We camped in Fundy National Park, and Todd thought thta while Hurricane Arthur was moving through it would be a good time to go to Cape Enrage on the Bay of Fundy to gather beach rocks. I’ve posted a short video of him on my You Tube channel. Click here to go to it; it’s entertaining! I opted to stay in the cozy Casita, enjoy a cup of tea and a cookie, and read. Lovely.
While we were living in Denver, we took our Casita to many gorgeous places in the “four corners” states – Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah. Below are photos from those marvelous adventures.
Vail Pass, Colorado, in March (Jane & Gracie)
Maroon Bells, Aspen, Colorado
Muley Point, overlooking Monument Valley, Arizona
Monument Valley from our camp sight
If you ever need a back seat co pilot…in between Beau and Gracie…..i’m available. What a sweet way to travel. I come with my own pop up tent. :0)