organization – Canned Comfort

My Turn To Drive The New Rig!

We are planning a trip that will take us from Henderson, Nevada to Ft. Lupton, Colorado via Spokane, Washington through Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and Colorado! All using old highways, limited exposure to major highways. Our 2 Australian Shepherds, are also new to this smaller rig. Wish us luck.

Our plan is to utilize as many Harvest Hosts, Cabella’s and mooch docking as much as possible. Our goal is no more than 4 hours on the road per day. Pre planned meals and at least 3 – 30 minute walks with the dogs per day. They are going to be so stressed not to have their regular trip hammock. Do any of you have safety ideas for dogs in a class B+ van? We are used to pulling a rig not driving it.

Many RVs use the same brand of refrigerators, Air Conditioners, Microwave/Conduction Ovens, wiring and plumbing. We have never had or utilized an onboard generator or slide out.

Previously I would pack our Airstream and not fill it with our equipment, clothing etc. This new rig is so much smaller it takes a lot of reorganization to prepare for the trip. This was really not that much of challenge but the murphy bed is daunting. It is really heavier than we realized and the living space is impacted. We really are like newbies in many ways, especially space use with our pups too.

I was proud of myself that I did do some minor decorating in our rig to make it feel more ours.

Galley, added peel and stick tile and command strip shelf. Oh yes and paper towel holder!

Packing the galley was easier than I thought it would be. It is small but the large window and burner cover make it look larger and comfy. It makes me smile to see it and use it. When the Murphy Bed is open. The doggies can easily place their paws on the counter. Another training moment. Goodies are to be placed as far away as possible after dinner.

I do like that we do not have to go outside in the in the cold dark, rain or snow to utilize the interior for our comfort. The automatic steps are a death trap for short people with knee problems. The doggies are small and the smallest one takes a minute to prepare to hop into the rig. Once the battery had dropped and the steps did not come out. My hubby did not notice, jammed his right knee and even the doggies were challenged to go out of the rig.

All new learning experiences. In my next blog I will review what we did as far as planning and you can shake your head and laugh.

Until the next time.

I Did It —– All by Myself!

A work trip doesn’t need to be hotels, no pets and no privacy. My new adventure was to drive the silver coach all by myself. We have a small 2007 Sportrac that is only 4.5 liter engine. We have a twenty-foot Flying Cloud Airstream. I really had to convince my hubby that I can and will take out the rig all by myself.

I bet lots of women wonder why the guys have all the fun. They get to drive all over the place. I am not Miss Daisy! hmpf!!!! Women are great drivers and we all need to share the fun. Enough said.

At the time of this adventure my hubby was stationed at an Army base three hours from our home and I was given temporary orders to an Air Base for my reserve duty. This is also three hours from our home. So different orders and different locations! Great reason for me to take the rig out by myself and be able to take the doggie too.

Hmm winter weather with rain. The challenge was Hwy 17 in wet weather or an alternate route Hwy 129, flat, a little curvy and two lanes. Safer in silly wet road driving. Not a bad choice, Gunny and I were cozy and ready for any contingency! Well Prepared.

I took us approximately 3 hours from door to door. Not bad as we traversed a commute mess, toll bridge and the main gate to Travis, AFB. We checked in, drove to our space and had personal, very experienced ground guides help us slide right into our home. Took us less than 30 minutes to set-up and be cozy.

Very easy way to report for duty, then relax at a “home” not full of noise and lots of door noises! Our little doggie was very comfortable too. However, I found that our oven knob was a problem. I couldn’t turn on the blasted oven pilot light! So gave up and used my trusty old cast iron dutch oven. Yummy! I do feel like the pudgy little squirrel a little “squirrel” house! Full tummy, warm and toasty listening to the stormy Delta breezes outside.

I did entertain a fellow officer and it worked wonderfully, She was surprised at the clean, bright and roomy interior. We can do it again! I did notice however I needed to revamp my decor, reorganize the cabinets and re-think staples in the pantry.

As we readied ourselves for the return trip home I felt a sense of accomplishment! I can do this on my own. Not scary and I can take care of business too. Onward we go. Gunny and I did do this again many times on multiple duty requirements with a big old grin on my face!

It is after spending time on a Family Camp site that I really admire and respect all our retirees. We are a great bunch of people and to see the active duty, reservists, retirees and families utilizing a place that they can commiserate about the times they spent defending our country is invaluable.

Very Proud To Have Served!

Turkeys and Scones!

Hidden Valley Lake, California was our adventurous goal. What a wonderful place. It was a four-hour drive from our home up to Napa and the Silverado Trail. Beautiful scenery and lots of places to stop and sip the vino. We arrived at our destination, a little dusty, thirsty and ready to relax. It only takes us 30 minutes to set up, open the vino and put out salami, cheese and french bread. We were the only ones there our first night and only two other RVs arrived the next night. Very quiet. It is a small, oak filled canyon with a bubbly running creek. It feels like you are out on the ranch but you are in the middle of a gated community with a golf course and market!

The deer and wild turkeys rule. The early mornings have a little fog hanging onto the branches, deer grazing, turkeys waddling and flying and the feral cats are fed by a mysterious cat lady. The quiet is amazing. We take our little pooch out for a short stroll. The air was crisp and cool with just a hint of damp. We started our morning with a short walk. The water for our french press coffee is heating and the luscious lemony scones are baking. As we return to our rig the water is poured over our Peet’s coffee and the aroma of the scones cooling on the counter just add to the simple pleasures of life. With our curtains opened to view nature, classical music playing quietly in background, we enjoy our cozy cave. (Our doggie pokes his head between the curtains so he can keep an eye on the wildlife.)

We found this little place thanks to our friends Anne and Dan who live at Hidden Valley Estates. This trip we had dinner at their house, went wine tasting all Saturday and cooked our dinner for the night in our rolling French bistro. Sunday was home-made scones and coffee. This little kitchen really works and there is plenty of prep space. Prior planning helped. I prepared the dry ingredients for the scones at home, packed them in a zip lock bag and only added butter and milk in the coach. Fifteen minutes later, we had warm, buttered lemon scones with our own French press coffee. Now that is traveling!

Unfortunately, we also had our first encounter with a frozen water hose too. Luckily, as always, fellow travelers helped us with a lesson on all-weather camping. We now wrap our hoses in cold weather.

We shall do this again! Even, Gunny, our doggie liked it. He travels well. We love to see our friends and the Napa/Lake county wine regions too. If you go to Lake County wine area there is a great little restaurant in Kelseyville called the Saw Shop and a repeat visit is a must. We are getting used to our little home. It is relaxing to just have a lazy morning with goodies you made while still in your jammies! The dog is not so sure, but goes along for the adventure.

Our Gunny! He now loves his little rolling home. See what he did to the curtains!

It Took Awhile!

Twelve months had passed since our maiden voyage! We wanted to really travel with our new rolling home (20 ft Flying Cloud) but life gets in the way. Wait, I thought escape was the reason behind our investment! hmmmm

Our choice of our “rig” was guided by the capability of our little Sportrac’s tow power. We really did not know what we were looking for or how we would really utilize this trailer. It had not occurred to us what trailer travel was all about. We saw commercials and we thought wow what an adventure. We would use our own linens, our doggies could go too, we could dine and relax in our own “home” while on the road. Sounds great! We’re in!

We visited many dealerships around not only in California but also Nevada . It surprised me in the feel, decor and sneezes we encountered. Yep, I am allergic to the world! Of course the price ranges were wild! We had not even considered previously owned trailers either! We compared the RV to the trailers to the vans, C class, A Class etc, etc. A whole new world.

I really did not want a trailer after all the looking until my hubby took me to an Airstream dealership! I did not sneeze, it was well thought out, clean lines inside and out and it did not have a formaldehyde odor! It also had a light, bright kitchen area that had enough room for me to cook. The really crowning touch was the FULL bathroom! Yep the bathroom and kitchen sold the silver toaster for us! So we took the very expensive plunge.

In December 2009 we went to Moro Bay and stayed at the Moro Bay Dunes RV park. We were fully packed for any contingency and then some. We only had one little doggie then and he is a traveler! We had heard nothing but great things about this park and location. Funny we live by Monterey Bay and now we are traveling to Morro Bay! We plan our trips like we planned mission movement in the military! We flunked the civilian side this time we were late by 30 minutes of our departure time. We also learned how to properly stabilize our hitch.

Off we go! We stop in Soledad, California 2 hours into our adventure for coffee and doggie piddle. We arrive at 2:00 pm at the park and are guided to our site. We were relieved to see we are in a quiet spot with few campers on our court. Did I say quiet!? As the weekenders began to arrive the noise level kept rising and children on bikes and trikes began roaming the area. We realized our court had one of the few gates to the beach across a paved road! Too many people but the view from the kitchen is a wow! Outer Banks Trip 110

The first night is almost completely dark, small slice of the moon, we take a short walk on the dunes and listened to the beauty of the surf and sounds! We did not stay around the camp ground like photos in articles show but we did get a quiet spot to enhance our learning curve. We do know now that we should do a little more homework about where we want to stay and what our style of travel is.

This is a great base camp point for short drives to Pismo Beach and San Lluis Obispo. There is also a lot of surf fishing too! The camp hosts were great and we shall return.

The Silver Suite