Visitors of the good and bad variety

At last, we had our first real visitors to the RV--Steve's parents and sister Michelle came down for the day. Although his mom and dad were the first to tour the RV on the day of purchase, they'd never actually seen what it looks like when people live, breathe, eat and sleep in it (and neither of us would win any awards for cleanliness). In preparation, I scrubbed the counters and table, dusted dog hair off the couch and dinette seats, scoured the toilet, sink and shower, and Swiffered the floor. All in about 15 minutes, tops! There's something to be said for the ease of cleaning an RV. I get bored cleaning at home very easily because it seems like it takes forever to see results. Here, the results are immediate.

We were all so excited (Lola too) to finally have visitors. And to top it off, they brought us lunch--hoagies from Wawa! Here we are (minus Steve's dad, the unofficial photographer for the day) relaxing in front of the RV:



Wow...Lola's actually looking at the camera!

Steve and I were fresh off our successful (and inexpensive) trip to Cape May the day before, so we suggested going there first for a bit of shopping. This time, Steve vowed to pick up a knickknack or two so we could finally start decorating. He even had looked up special RV hanging things to affix stuff to the walls. (Who is this person, and what have you done with my husband? He's certainly not into decorating at home. I'm *still* coaxing him into hanging some of our wedding pictures!)

It didn't take long for us to find the first two tchotchkes that will inhabit our humble abode. In keeping with our nautical theme, this is what we chose:

Can you tell somebody really wants a boat?

And I couldn't stick with my spending-free stint for long. One of the kitchen stores had the cutest set of casual dinnerware featuring word-and-picture pairs. I might have passed on them, but I *had* to get at least one of the cups (you'll see why). And because you can't just buy one cup, Steve picked out the other:



If you're as dimwitted as me, here's what they "say": Goof ball and happy camper (yes, it took me a minute to figure these out)

We also had some time to pose for pictures, of course:

Steve's sporting his new shades--pretty fancy for him

After we had our fill of Cape May, we went off to soak up the sunshine at the beaches of Wildwood. The water was actually a comfortable temperature, even though the wind had turned slightly chilly the closer we got to the shoreline. Steve and Michelle, polar bear cubs that they are, almost immediately submerged themselves in the water, but I followed not too long after. Man, those waves were fierce, but it was one of the most fun ocean-swimming experiences I've ever had. Almost nobody else was there, including lifeguards, which made it feel that much more freeing.

We were having such a fun day that upon our return to the boardwalk, I was dismayed to find my hives were back in full force. Always something, eh? (As Steve commented, "It's always an adventure with you.") I'd had some random hive breakouts earlier in the week but didn't think too much of it. Now, though, these little puffy splotches had set up camp pretty much all over every inch of bare skin.

Our theories as to the cause of this apparent allergy included:
1) sun
2) sunscreen
3) bug spray
4) the sheets in our bed (I've complained that they were itchy before)

My mother-in-law graciously picked me up a bottle of Benadryl spray. Unfortunately, this didn't really do much for me until a few hours later, and I'd already popped a Zyrtec by that time. A day later, they're showing no signs of dissipating, but definitely seem to get worse after I'm out in direct sunlight. I was all ready to chalk this malady up to the heat, but then my eyes alighted upon this sign in the RV:



WTF?

So...am I allergic to the RV? Interestingly enough, Steve Googled "RV allergy" and found out some people are filing a class action lawsuit after developing respiratory problems as a result of formaldehyde exposure in their RVs. That's not exactly the same as hives, but still. I've never developed any sort of reaction to the sun, sunscreen or any of the aforementioned things before. In fact, the only time I can remember having such a significant breakout is during a particularly grueling shopping trip a few years ago, and even then it wasn't this severe.

Wonder if there's a connection? Either way, whatever it is, it needs to go away, stat!