Then And Now

I'll be going to the RV show tomorrow night after my visit with the doctor.  I am hoping that my shoulder will prove to be something relatively simple.  Then I will come home and pack for Gold Bar.  Mia and I are going to go up for the weekend leaving right after work.    Who would have thought we could take this

and turn it into this....

We bought this place in 2009 and have not regretted a single moment.  We both look forward to going up to spend time at the trailer, walking through the park or up to Wallace Falls.  Now I just need to learn how to get all the stuff done that needs the weekend to do before I leave to go to the trailer.

Thanks for stopping by.

Did I Mention RV Show?

Somehow I managed to mention RV show in the title of yesterdays blog but forgot to carry the idea down into the body of the blog.
It was a year ago this month that we went from this

To this

And I have to say I could not be more satisfied with a purchase.  The Nash trailer is great and fits us well. We bought our Silverado a year earlier and yesterday Mia sent me a text that read, 22.5 MPG.  She had just filled it up.  The Trailblazer with the unpowered six cylinder didn't get mileage like that.  So I am very happy with both the Nash and the Silverado.

So why go to an RV show, especially the same one I went to last year.  Guess I am just interested in looking to see what is new and what kinds of storage ideas the manufacturers have come up with.  There are usually some accessory vendors around with stuff that looks too good to be true and most of it is.  The Puyallup RV Show is one of the bigger local annual shows.  Of course, I could look to see if there is a park model that would fit on one of the empty lots at Gold Bar.  But unless I win the Lotto or want to work another ten years, I am thinking it isn't happening.

Nice to dream.  Hope everyone is well and thanks for dropping by.

More On Gazebo, Shoulder and RV Show

As I said yesterday, Mia and I spent a lot of time walking around our 240 acre camping complex this past weekend.  As we walked, we talked and admired some of the great Gazebo's that our neighbors had built and of course we took picture with my new smart phone.  So nice to not lug around my Rebel SLR.

Looks like a bar

I suspect there must be a bartender involved with this one or perhaps it is a roadside hamburger place.

 The one above isn't quite up to the standard of half wall solid, half glass or screen.

 This one doesn't meet the standard either and it is very small.

 This one is huge with what looks like a loft area.  It is closer to the standard but still lacks removable panels.

 The one above is a normal barn shed that someone has cut doors into.  Each door drops opening the inside to the outside.  I assume there are screens inside to keep the bugs out.  An ingenious way to do it.

 The one above is the one I like the best.  Large sliding windows with screens, yet enclosed.

As you can see Mia and Honey are constantly waiting for the old guy to catch up.  I swear we must have walked 70% of the park this past weekend.

It is a neat place and somewhat drab as you can see, when the weather isn't nice.  As I said before the park allows people to stay for 270 days as long as you leave 1 day every 30 days.  So we have some folks who have chosen to live in the park.  Considering the dues and propane are the only overhead, it can be a very economical way to live.  We have had some older folks who have lost their life partner and been stranded in the park because they can't drive and their kids don't care to visit.  Others try to help but isn't the same when you stuck with no transportation and this isn't exactly downtown Seattle.

There are several lots with park model trailers for sale.  And I suspect some of them are very nice and Mia and I could easily adjust to living in one and having the travel trailer to hit the road those three or four months we would need to be out of the park.  But the question arises regarding what to do when one or both of us can no longer drive or go on trips.  Then there is the question of medical.  The closest hospital is Monroe and they aren't exactly getting the cream of the crop in a relatively rural area.  I think I could handle it but it is a long ways for the kids to come to help us if something should happen.  We are just thinking.  But take a look at these.

 A 2000 Casa Villa 40' with two tip outs, a shed, gazebo for $18,500.

A 1995 Snowbird 33' with two slide outs, furniture and a shed for $14,500

Or this nice 1996 Prowler 39' with two tip outs, sheds, gazebo, and furniture for $30,000

There are more but you get the idea.  An look at those pictures.  The sun is out in all but one of them and doesn't it look pleasant?  Then consider the two swimming pools, Family center and activities.

The winter time would likely be the pits but look what you have to look forward to in the summer.

Like I said yesterday, it is all talk.

Enjoy yourselves and thanks for dropping by.

Talk About A Short Weekend

Mia picked me up at 4:00 o'clock Saturday afternoon and we headed up to Gold Bar with hopes of getting a few things done.  The list included washing the trailer and the weather forecast was looking good.  Since I don't have Monday off I had to get everything done in the short time we had.  Well mother nature saved me again.  It rained most of Saturday night and it was misty, damp, soggy, cloudy and just ugly on Sunday.  While it was okay weather to walk throughout the campground, working wasn't at the top of the list.

As we walked through the park we were looking at and taking pictures of gazebos that other folks have built.  I think I like the square design from a builders standpoint (not so many combine miter cuts) and I like the standard four-sided hip roof with a weather vane or something on the top at the peak.  I'll have to work up a design, materials list and I suspect I can talk my grandson into helping me build it.

We also discussed the possibility of living the RV life permanently in the park.  Several people do it but they are limited to 270 days in a calendar year.  That would be perfect for us cause we plan to travel.  One of the issues that comes up is when we can't or don't want to continue the traveling, what do we do for the remaining days.  I doubt we could afford to move back to a house or condo.  We are talking, just talking.

Took some pictures of our site all set up and being lived in.  Looks pretty good to me.

Really Short Driveway

Honey wonders what Dad is doing

We love this place

 As we are walking through the park we saw this. It is what is left of a trailer that the owner tried to move after it had been sitting for decades.

Whoops

I told you I was having issues with my shoulder and the doctor suspects a compressed vertabea may be the culprit.  I can tell you that the pain is getting worse and at times is unbearable.  Usually at night or whenever I am laying down.  I have got to get to the doctor and get resolve to this.

I hope everyone is enjoying themselves....I know we are.

Golf Cart Out, Gazebo In

As I said yesterday I went out looking at golf carts yesterday.  The object was to find something inexpensive that Zach and I could fix up and us in the park at Gold Bar.  With 1200 sites in 273 acres our private little campground can be a daunting task to commute thus the thought, as many of our neighbors have done, a golf cart to move around the park.  Well I looked at used golf carts at a couple of different dealers yesterday and you can spend a lot of money on something that runs.  Sure, you could buy one of the $300. heaps out back covered with mildew, in need of new batteries and charger, upholstery, a roof, seats and tires or you could sink your fortune into something a little more practical.  At $1495.00 it runs, with 2010 Trojan batteries and comes with a charger.  The tires are iffy.

Okay, okay it does look okay

Then you see the inside

Don't forget to step to the rear

Yes paint spilled on it

My problem with this is the cost. If you could get something like this for six or seven hundred and drop another five hundred into it to fix it up I might be willing to go along but then you start researching the cost of motors and parts for these. And don't forget those batteries. We RV's know about batteries and golf carts use the same deep cycle batteries that we use and they ain't cheap.

My lovely wife would rather have a Gazebo on the site at the back of our trailer for those days when the sun is really hot, the bugs are really nasty and you want your food without extra protein.  We are allowed to build a 120 square foot Gazebo that can be 12' high and have solid walls halfway up the structure and screen mesh for the remainder of the wall.  Of course you are allowed to install solid panels during the winter but it is not supposed to be used as a storage shed or sleeping area.

I am thinking something like this.  And I am sure I would enjoy this more than a golf cart.

A Fun Weekend

Since I had to work Saturday, Zach and Mia waited until closing time to come and pick me up.  We set out for Gold Bar at about 4:10 pm and the weather was beautiful.  We arrived at the park with plenty of light and Mia went off to fix dinner and Zach and I started to put things back together and get the trailer ready.  Turned on the gas, attached to water hose, turned off the hot water heater bypass and got ready to bleed the antifreeze out of the water system.  I turned on the water and the initial pressure blew my water filter completely apart.  Since we use and outside filter it was no big deal.  Just disconnected it and went on with the preparations.  We filled and drained the fresh water tank, but we didn't take any bleach with us thinking we had some up there.  So I guess we'll need to take some this next weekend.  Pulled open the awning and got my customary shower.  That tube sure holds a lot of water.

Dinner was ready so we sat down and ate.  Zach wanted to go see if any of his friends were in the park so  we let him off the hook for the night.  We cleaned up a little and proceeded to watch an old mystery movie.  We purchased a CD boxed set this past winter and it has around 50 old (30's and 40's) mystery movies.  We watched Bulldog Drummond Comes Back, with John Barrymore from 1937.  It was fun because you knew who the bad guy was the whole time and the jokes and comments had you laughing while watching the mystery plot unfold.  I love old movies like this and we have around 49 more to watch.

Zach enjoys the peace, though still connected

We slept well our first night back (10 hours for me).  That is unheard of when it comes to me.  We had a hearty breakfast and proceeded to take Honey for her first long distance walk in the park.  She had a ball. We tied her outside while we worked cleaning the lot.  Zach cut back all of the ferns and we help him clean them up.  I messed around with the trailer, burned some clumps of grass in the gravel and discovered that we have lake front property behind our shed.  Seems that there is a beaver family on the creek that runs alongside the park and the greenbelt between us and the lots behind us has turned into a small lake.  We let the park manager know about it and he came down and took a look.  I suspect they will be filling it in sometime in the future and building a berm to keep the water out of the park.

Zach helps Honey

Once we finished our chores, we made a list of things we need, ate lunch and generally sat around enjoying the early part of Sunday, knowing we would soon have to go home.  We left in mid afternoon and Mia dropped me off at work so I could pickup the car.  I drove Zach home and came home exhausted.  Neither Mia or I did much Sunday evening.

This morning I went to Camping World to collect some needed supplies, Auburn to look at golf carts (story for a different day), grocery shopping, Harbor Tools for some needed items, home to wash the truck, oil those chairs that I have been waiting for warm weather to get done and then I fixed spaghetti dinner so Mia could relax tonight.  All in all, a wonderful weekend.  Back to work tomorrow.

Monday's Dinner

My chairs are done

Be safe out there.

Where Is That Guy?

My daughter scanned a picture of me standing next to my 1967 Cobalt Blue Volkswagen Beetle when I was in my early 20's.  I put the picture on the blog so you to could wonder, "Where is that Guy?"