Reality Check

 
I said I'd tell you about the one travel glitch, and this is a good day to do that.

We had allowed a day for getting organized and ready to hike, but were hoping to throw in a little hike, too. Ha. It took us until after 3 pm to do all the stupid errands- Tractor Supply, Lowes, library, drugstore, lunch, groceries. By then it was 90 degrees, and we just melted down, had ice tea, and played a game.

Anyway, When we got to the campsite last night, I discovered that the good news is the door did not fall off! Said a little prayer of thanks for that! This is the door I've tried unsuccessfully, three times, to remove. Guess my efforts, plus the vibration of the road finally broke the screws on the lower hinge. So we had to get new bolts, and get them on quickly so we could use the door! But it's also good news that the lower hinge is now removable.



Back up to Friday morning. I didn't get away nearly as soon as I had hoped because when I went to fasten the safety chains I discovered that the threaded chain links on my old chain would not fit over the clips on the new hitch. So... there was yet another trip to the store before I left town.



And, of course, all the cute interior set-up had to be stowed down flat and the weight distributed properly so it would tow well. I didn't manage the weight distribution correctly and had to re-arrange when I got to Ester's, but after that it was fine.

So, at least we played some games this afternoon, and took another walk around the campground, which is nicely deserted. We are trying Quixx. Took us three games before we got the rules just right, but now we have it!



And we think the Cumberland River is beautiful, but we can't see enough of it over the bridge sides from the car. Hoping to get better views of it tomorrow.



And, tomorrow... I think we have all our ducks lined up, these realities checked off, and we will be doing some hiking. Going to try to get out early because it's supposed to be 94 degrees in the afternoon.

We took our little walk around the campground again when it cooled down. I know... not too exciting, but all these things are part of the experience.

	See Almost Daniel Boone
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Almost Daniel Boone- Starting and Ending

 
So Ester and I went out to breakfast before I got on the road. Somehow it came up that I was on a road trip, and the waitress, Sarah, asked where I was going. When I said "Daniel Boone National Forest," she got all excited because she couldn't remember how many greats, but he is one of her ancestors. So we began with almost Daniel Boone.



Then I had to say goodbye to Ester, which is sad, but we'll see each other again, so I'm movin' on. She can't be serious when it comes to pictures.



Finally in Kentucky, and the hills of the Daniel Boone National Forest are ahead!



Marie beat me there, so she scoped out the places to eat. We had nice salads. She's tired. She'll look more perky tomorrow, but I wanted to prove I actually connected!



General Burnside State Park. Just outside the National Forest... so we almost made it to Daniel Boone on this end as well. We are paying for a site with electric for a couple of days so we can get organized. After that, we're going primitive. Here, I can charge things up and get internet. We took a little walk around the campsite at dusk. Very civilized. That's ok, we are here safely, Marie likes the trailer, we are together, and all is well!

	See Thrilling Prospect
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Thrilling Prospect

 
Today, Ester and I did some cleaning and sorting of her stuff. We actually found four fortunes, so we got to choose the one we liked best. We picked "There is a prospect of a thrilling time ahead of you."



Her life is pretty much still in chaos, but at least some of her stuff is coming home. She now has a weatherproof shipping container to store it all in. We spent the morning moving boxes in there.



Her camping home is nicely set up with a living tent and a kitchen tent.



But if she isn't in her house before it gets cold, she'll move into her little cabin. We spent the afternoon cleaning and sorting in there, and cutting brush so she can have vehicle access. They are telling her she'll be in her house by November, but given the speed things have happened so far, I'm not holding my breath.



Tomorrow morning, I continue on my way to Kentucky. Life is good! Life is better than I deserve.

Stay tuned for thrilling.

	See Camping with Ester
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Camping with Ester

 
Blogging will occur intermittently. I may not have power or access. It's even tricky here at Ester's, because she's still in camping mode while her house is being rebuilt.

Here's her temporary house.

I'm going to try to help her with some sorting today, and then I'll head south to meet Marie on Sunday.



Livin' the life! See you when I can.

	See Clouds and Ester
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Rollin' in the Sonshine- Intermediate Rollin'

 
OK, in the morning I only have to vacuum and stow the stuff I've spread around to show you the temporary cuteness.

Keep in mind that the walls are still just the bare single-thickness fiberglass. And the cushions have the scratchy plaid covers that are coming apart. Nothing I can do about that for this trip. And the rest is at some level of similarity to the final plan with as much functionality as I could make work right now. I have bought things that I think will work long-term over the course of the planning, and some of them are deployed for this trip.

Here's the view to the bed/table end.



And the view to the kitchen/closet end. You might think that all the effort I put into this front end, when it's all temporary, is extravagant, however, I don't think anything here is wasted. The kitchen counter is the rest of the piece of plywood I pulled out of the barn, and it will become the template for the final counter. OK, I did buy contact paper that won't have a future use, but it makes a decent short term counter top. The supports I fiberglassed in for the counter should be fine to stay where they are.

The bracing for the drawer units and shelves are almost certainly reusable, and most of that wood was scrap pulled out of the old trailer anyway. I fastened the drawer units to uprights with zip ties. They seem quite solid. Notice the bungies across the drawers- I'll find out if those will be enough to keep the drawers shut while driving. Again, a bunch of the loose stuff will need to be stowed while on the road, but that's no big deal.



Now for details of some of the temporary things I did. I put 3 Command hooks on the wall by the door. There will ultimately be hooks there, but I don't know what kind or exactly where I want them, so didn't want to make holes.

I covered the cut edges of the two supporting walls with masking tape. I've found an easy and nice looking edging I'll eventually get, but for now this will keep them from getting bumped too badly.



I drilled a hole through the support for the wires to run along the wall, re-connected them all, covered them with flexible conduit, and fastened them in place where I could. They were always in the way last time we camped, and I wanted to make it less likely we'd be snagging them. Incidentally, I learned that not all brands of 3/8 inch plastic conduit are the same size. Interesting. The cheaper one was too small and very stiff.



I found a cushion and some foam to lengthen the padding on the long bench, and I cut some of the old paneling to cover the gaps in the front so the storage wells are usable.



I fiberglassed in supports for the overhead lights. I know the one over the table is in the right place (temporary camping light on it, but it works great). Hopefully, the one over the kitchen is also in the right place, and after we use it for several weeks we'll have the answer for that!





The light fixtures on the supporting walls are permanently attached. They just slip on a bracket, so when I have to remove those walls again to finish the floor they can easily be removed so they won't be damaged. Just by the way, I love these two little lights. They are battery powered, and have a high and low setting. Strong enough to read by or for some gentle light. I think they look way classier than what I paid for them. In the second picture, I tried to show how it lights up the wall.

Also notice more hooks temporarily placed on the brace above the windows. We wanted HOOKS in the spring, and I didn't even have any nails we could pound in. These hooks actually are supposed to go with a project inside the house I haven't finished, but they will be great in the trailer for now.



And I filled the other bench with a game center and library. This drawer unit fit in the space perfectly, so that's how it's going to stay for this trip.

The curtains are just tacked in place. These aren't even the final curtains, but I bought this fabric early on because it was cheap and the right colors, and one needs curtains.

So, there's your tour!

I have a few more odds and ends to do in the morning, general get-ready-to-leave stuff. I checked the air in the tires and the lights today. I think I'm pretty much ready to go.

	See Closer to Ready
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