We had not been to the park before, but had read good reviews.  We had a pull through campsite which made it easy to bring in the Go without having to practice our limited backing up skills. Being so close to Seattle, we also arrived in plenty of time for our extended lesson in how to set up the Go. Our site was actually the very first site as you enter the park, which initially felt exposed to the road, but then we realized that we had no neighbors at all, just the park amphitheater. The amphitheater was just used once a day for the ranger programs, of which the first was rained out, and the second we attended. Didn’t have to walk far!

Even though the weather was wet, we stayed amazingly dry. With the Go set up with its rain canopy, we had a very nice area in front of the trailer where we could set up our color-coordinated Sounders chairs to relax and enjoy our efforts. We are appreciative as well that the Go is designed in Sounders colors. Go Sounders!

The Go includes one platform that can be set up inside as a large table, or a second platform can be used to create one large sleeping platform in the entire trailer. We opted for the table, which was very nice later in the evenings as the mosquitoes discovered us each evening.

Having picked a weekend for the Go’s maiden voyage, naturally the weather report worsened the closer we got to the big date.  We adapted by lowering our standards for what would constitute good enough weather to not call things off.  Finally the Friday came.  It wasn’t raining TOO bad, so we took off.

First, though, we had to load the Go with all our camping gear. We pulled the Go in front of the house and spent a ridiculous amount of time rearranging boxes and trying figure out how to use our limited number of bungee cords and ratchet cargo straps. After much head scratching and discussion with neighbors we determined that nothing was likely to blow off or shift around or disintegrate. We also took note of the beginnings of a shopping list of necessary items for the Go. NOW we were ready to take off.

We had never towed a trailer before, so we had picked a destination that wasn’t too far away – Dash Point State Park in Federal Way (between Seattle and Tacoma), around an hour away.  T drove (as always – she does NOT like being a passenger – control issues you know), and gained confidence as we went.  It bounced around a little, making odd noises when we hit a bump, but overall towed very easily, even with our little Mini Cooper towing it. As we discovered on the trip home, how we loaded the gear was a factor in how it rode– best to put some weight at the front where it helped steady the trailer tongue. With some weight on the front, there were little to no disconcerting rattles when we hit bumps.

Cranking up the top

We had planned to at least practice setting it up at home before we left.  Of course we never got around to it, so when we arrived at the park, out came the instruction booklet.  Unfortunately the instructions are as poor as the Go is great.  Significant time was spent head scratching, pointing out odd terms to each other, examining fuzzy diagrams, etc.

With the top fully extended, ready to drop the tent

Eventually we figured it out, though. When we finished, we stood back and admired the beauty of the engineering, but what should have taken us maybe 10 minutes took over an hour.  I think we can break our record next time.

Fully set up tent

The weather was rain and drizzle on and off all weekend, but we didn’t mind.  We had a zip on awning that gave us a protected area to sit and read under, and the trailer itself keeps the tent off the ground, so staying dry was no problem. In fact, there was a certain amount of delight in listening to the rain pouring down on the tent and realizing that we were staying perfectly dry and there was to be no insidious seeping of moisture under the tent and into our sleeping bags. And so our first adventure with the Go really began.

With the rain canopy- much needed!

A couple years ago we fell in love.  Not, not with each other, that happened eons ago.  This time we fell in love with a cute little tent trailer called a SylvanSport Go.  Their motto is “Coolest. Camper. Ever.”

For some years prior we had dreamed of getting back to some kind of camping.  When young we did a fair share of backpacking, but our aging hips, knees, etc. just aren’t up to that anymore.  And the whining…, well, let’s just say you don’t want to be around M & T dragging their sorry butts up a trail.

We have a tent, but don’t seem to handle sleeping on the ground as well as we used to either.  We had done the occasional looking at various kinds of small RV’s, trailers, etc. but never found anything we really liked, or anything really small enough (for us, the smaller the better – big means more gas and less maneuverability).  It also needed to be inexpensive (MT pockets and all that).

Then one day we ran across the Go.  I think it originally was in an article in the newspaper, but it could have been just web surfing.  As soon as we saw it, we knew that was what we were looking for.  A HUGE bonus was not having to go out and buy a tow vehicle.  It is so light and small that it does not require a big SUV to pull it.  The website actually showed one being towed by a Mini Cooper, so we crossed our fingers that our Mini would in fact be adequate.

It still took some time before we got to the point where we felt like we could afford the splurge.  Spring 2011 we finally put our order in.  Unfortunately there was a backlog and we didn’t take delivery until fall.  So it has been sitting in our driveway since then sulking, accusing, and even snarking at us once in a while, wanting so badly to get out CAMPING.

Naturally after we got back from our Europe cruise, the Seattle weather turned wet again, making it hard to plan a maiden voyage weekend.  Finally, however, we spotted a weekend that looked both marginal and free of other plans, so we put it on the calendar.  Oh, the joy!  And we were happy too.