Stripping and Camping

All I can say about the Chiclet -- I'm STILL stripping the exterior paint. Haven't done anything else. Just stripping paint. Good thing I don't have a deadline to meet!

And as for the RR, I'm so glad to have it 99% completed! I brought it home last week to get a few things finished up and prepare for my September camp trip. The original tongue jack was broken and needed to be replaced. Off to one of my new favorite stores - Harbor Freight Tools. I picked up a decent replacement jack for about $30. Within an hour, I had the old one removed and a nice, new jack mounted in its place.

I also needed to put a final coat of color on the exposed parts of the frame. I masked off any nearby areas to avoid over spray. For once, the winds were calm and I was able to do the touch ups in record time. At some point, I'll need to repaint the roof ... maybe next month!

A little work and then a little camp time! I invited my son Ben and his friend Heather to join me for 4 days of camping at Bodega Dunes State Park. They would get to sleep in a tent with sleeping bags while I am in the RR with a futon and 3" of memory foam! Age has its privileges!! I picked up the kids Friday morning and we headed out to the coast. We arrived at the campground in less than an hour. We got all set up and went for a nice long walk around the bay.

About 2am Saturday, we were awakened by thunder and lightening. A bit of a surprise as it was almost 100 degrees 2 days prior! A lot of noise, but luckily only a small amount of rain. It was cloudy and drizzled most of the day. Thank God for a trailer - we could sit inside, drink cocoa and play board games.

Sunday was more of the same ... it was getting a little old. Note to self: camping in wet sand is a drag. The stuff gets everywhere. We did manage to have a lot of fun despite the weather. Its all about the good quality family time, right??

By Monday morning, the kid's sleeping bags were pretty wet. Seems the old tent isn't very water resistant anymore. We loaded up our gear, including about 50 pounds of sand, and drove home. Of course, then the sun came out. Argh! I had wet camp gear hung over every section of fence at my place. Everything needed to be dried and shook out. Overall, it was a really nice camp out. And the cool part is - Ben and I are still speaking!!!