We've finally discovered how to stay warm in the trailer. This may seem to be a little late to the game but at least we figured it out. We have a little electric IR heater that will keep the trailer warm down to about 40 degrees. After that it struggles and the inside temperature begins to drop. Since you can only wear so much clothing before you have problems moving around our tiny house it becomes necessary to introduce some additional heat to the situation. That's where the gas fired furnace comes in. We set that at about 65 degrees and then turn on the IR heater. When the IR heater can't keep up the furnace kicks in and brings the temp back up to a point where the IR heater can keep it warm for a while. Running the furnace alone burns through a lot of gas in a really short time. It's not a very efficient furnace. When you're outside and the furnace is running it sounds like a jet engine and it is spewing hot exhaust. But we've figured it out and things are nice and toasty in Mable Rubain.
It's cold out tonight. Our local weather station says it's 34 and the "feels like" temperature is 26 but it feels a lot colder here in the park. The furnace has been cycling on and off most of the evening and our heat strategy seems to be working! Matt just came in after taking Gracie out and said he thinks it may be snowing. I love that. It snowed just before Thanksgiving and we had about half an inch that hung around until the next day. I loved that and hope that we'll get a little more snow. Nothing dramatic that will have the furnace on day and night but enough to make the Festival of Lights here at the park even more beautiful.
I work in the woodpile this week. Yes, again. I seem to get it more often that anyone else. Maybe if I screw it up they'll let me slide until January when we head down south. One of the splitters froze up because someone ran it without oil in it (not me, I had other duties that week) but whoever it was didn't say anything. I was the one who discovered it and I got the stink-eye from maintenance but no one actually said anything. Hey––it wasn't me. I promise. This week Santa's Village is open and one of the events there is to make s'mores and drink hot chocolate. That means that I have to haul split wood up to Santa's Village several times per day on Wednesday through Sunday. I don't mind splitting the wood. I just don't like moving it around.
The good thing about working in the wood pit is that those weeks are weeks where I lose a lot of weight. Since arriving here in September I've lost about 2 lbs. per week. Not bad for not really trying. Walking the dogs, walking around to my jobs and not eating like a horse seems to be the magical combination. It's the simplest formula, total calories in need to be less than total calories out. Lesson learned here is that you'll lose with that combination (and working in the woodpile).
We do have one luxury that we just have to have––wash and fold service for our laundry. If we do it ourselves at the laundromat we spend about $18 and it takes about 2 hours from wash to dry and then fold. We found a nice little laundry over in Manassas that will do a weeks worth of laundry for between $20 and $25. Even better they'll get it back to us the same day. Another lesson learned.
I managed to burst a tire on the truck. I think it was a defect in the tire. I pulled up onto the road and there was a bit of a gap between the road and the ground I was on. When I pulled up the tire burst. It was about 10:00 PM so I pulled it over to the side of the road and left it until morning when there was more light. I called Good Sam roadside service and was very surprised when the guy showed up in about 30 minutes. He even knew how to get the tire from under the truck, where the jack was in the back of the truck and he put everything back in place after changing the tire in very short order. This was a dramatic departure from my experience with AAA. They routinely quote at least an hour and then show up anywhere from an hour and a half to 2 hours later. Other than having a busted tire the whole experience was quite refreshing.
We head south on January 4th. We'll stop in Charlotte to see my mother and then head to Charleston for doctor's appointments and to see friends. After that we'll go to Dade City to stay out of he cold and visit Matt's mother. After that who knows. We, by in large, worked out all of the kinks in working while on the road so where we go is up to us. I'd like a trip to Key West at some point so I can go snorkeling. Sitting here in the cold make that sound so warm and inviting. That means we'll be here for Christmas and New Years baring any emergencies that call us back south sooner.
Time to take a look outside and see if it's snowing yet. Let's hope.
Monday, December 8, 2014
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
Baby It's Cold Outside
As I write this it is 25 degrees outside and falling. The low in the park is predicted to be about 23. So much for easing into fall. Our little space heater is struggling to keep the temperature at 68 degrees and I am sure it will struggle even more when it hits 23 outside. We're dressed for the cold and already sitting in bed which for now is the warmest place around. I've got the heating pad on my ankle so I'm relatively warm. The heater we have is rated to 1200 square feet. We're only 308 (by my calculation) so the heater should be able to handle this weather with no problem. It's not. Matt says it's probably because we have no insulation in the walls. Could be. He's been putting shrink wrap on the windows and ceiling vents which seems to help. You can feel the cold radiating from the windows when you get close. Not good. We'll have to supplement the space heater with the gas furnace. That will keep us warmer.
Showering at this temperature can be tricky. There are 5 shower rooms that open directly to the outside of the bath house. They aren't heated so when you first go into the shower it's freezing. You can heat it up a little by running the hot water for a while before you get undressed. Once you're done you have to put on a lot of clothes for the walk back to the trailer. Not going to be fun doing that each day when it's 25 outside. It's all part of the adventure.
Things here at the campground are pretty quiet. The cold weather has eliminated most of the tent campers and the only campers left are in RVs. Our water hose is frozen so we're using water in the fresh water tank. It's located inside the trailer's shell so it doesn't freeze. We have about 3 days worth of water left so we need the temperatures to go up for a while. I'm not sure that's going to be the case. The weather reports are calling for possible show showers on Thursday. That will be fun.
My job last week was to clean the bath house. On Sundays one of the tasks is to disinfect the bath house with a spray on disinfectant/cleaner. You basically spray down everything, scrub, and then rinse with water. It takes about three hours to do the entire bath house. Sunday night when I was just about to start on the ladies room (which as usual was a total and complete mess) someone stepped out of the dark and asked if it was ok to use the rest room. In the dark, and not being able to hear well, I thought it was a man and I said the men's room was done but to be careful that the floor was wet. It turns out it was a woman. I was so embarrassed. In my defense she was dressed like a man, her voice gravelly from smoking, and it was dark. It reminded me of my time in the laboratory when I would assume big women were going to have babies and ask them if they knew what they were having. After making several mistakes I learned to keep my mouth shut and just draw the blood.
The Festival of Lights is scheduled to start on Thursday night. We've only seen parts of the display so on Thursday we'll get to see the entire show. I worked on some of the displays so I'm curious to see how they turned out. The festival runs to January 4th. One of our challenges is getting in and out of the park during the light show. Hosts who have been here through the light show tell us it's almost impossible to get in and out during the show since the roads all become one-way. To get out of the park you have to follow the light show crowd though the park and out the back entrance. To get back in the park you have to cut through the soccer fields and down a dirt road to get to the campground and miss the line of cars. This is going to be inconvenient to say the least. Driving up to the soccer fields in the snow will require 4WD which would be kind of fun, so there's that.
I'm taking Aunt Dee to see the lights on Friday. She is very excited. She had me write it on her calendar and has called me at least once to make sure we were still going. We're going to see the lights and go to dinner. A big outing for her.
Today was an interesting day for the state of South Carolina. The Fourth District Court of Appeals denied the state's request for an emergency stay to prevent marriage equality in the state. The court also said the state had to recognize marriages performed in other states. This is a very bad day for Nicki Haley and our buffoonish Attorney General Alan Wilson. Both of them essentially wasted the states money fighting a losing battle. I have a hard time believing that their fight was anything but a show to ingratiate themselves to the conservative evangelical right and to further their political careers. In this they have won. This wasn't about the right to marry, this was about politics. I'm happy for my friends who are in SC. They can get married now and those that are married are officially recognized. I'm also proud of my church, the Unitarian Church in Charleston, for actively participating in the fight and for openly welcoming those in search of a wedding venue in a place where they can make that forever commitment.
My friend Sarah Familar-Ragsdale is planning on marrying people on Friday, November 21st 2014 at Washington Square Park. If you'd like her to officiate your wedding you can contact her at Sarah@LiveTheElements.com, or 843-729-3635. If you like to keep up with her in real-time like Elemental Weddings - Wedding Officiant on Facebook or on Twitter at Live The Elements. If something happens and they have to move they'll update Facebook and tweet their location. When you get to the park you'll see their sign. Best of all they are doing this as a give-back to our community so it's free!
Time to snuggle under the covers and watch a movie. Baby It's Cold Outside!
Todd
Showering at this temperature can be tricky. There are 5 shower rooms that open directly to the outside of the bath house. They aren't heated so when you first go into the shower it's freezing. You can heat it up a little by running the hot water for a while before you get undressed. Once you're done you have to put on a lot of clothes for the walk back to the trailer. Not going to be fun doing that each day when it's 25 outside. It's all part of the adventure.
Things here at the campground are pretty quiet. The cold weather has eliminated most of the tent campers and the only campers left are in RVs. Our water hose is frozen so we're using water in the fresh water tank. It's located inside the trailer's shell so it doesn't freeze. We have about 3 days worth of water left so we need the temperatures to go up for a while. I'm not sure that's going to be the case. The weather reports are calling for possible show showers on Thursday. That will be fun.
My job last week was to clean the bath house. On Sundays one of the tasks is to disinfect the bath house with a spray on disinfectant/cleaner. You basically spray down everything, scrub, and then rinse with water. It takes about three hours to do the entire bath house. Sunday night when I was just about to start on the ladies room (which as usual was a total and complete mess) someone stepped out of the dark and asked if it was ok to use the rest room. In the dark, and not being able to hear well, I thought it was a man and I said the men's room was done but to be careful that the floor was wet. It turns out it was a woman. I was so embarrassed. In my defense she was dressed like a man, her voice gravelly from smoking, and it was dark. It reminded me of my time in the laboratory when I would assume big women were going to have babies and ask them if they knew what they were having. After making several mistakes I learned to keep my mouth shut and just draw the blood.
The Festival of Lights is scheduled to start on Thursday night. We've only seen parts of the display so on Thursday we'll get to see the entire show. I worked on some of the displays so I'm curious to see how they turned out. The festival runs to January 4th. One of our challenges is getting in and out of the park during the light show. Hosts who have been here through the light show tell us it's almost impossible to get in and out during the show since the roads all become one-way. To get out of the park you have to follow the light show crowd though the park and out the back entrance. To get back in the park you have to cut through the soccer fields and down a dirt road to get to the campground and miss the line of cars. This is going to be inconvenient to say the least. Driving up to the soccer fields in the snow will require 4WD which would be kind of fun, so there's that.
I'm taking Aunt Dee to see the lights on Friday. She is very excited. She had me write it on her calendar and has called me at least once to make sure we were still going. We're going to see the lights and go to dinner. A big outing for her.
Today was an interesting day for the state of South Carolina. The Fourth District Court of Appeals denied the state's request for an emergency stay to prevent marriage equality in the state. The court also said the state had to recognize marriages performed in other states. This is a very bad day for Nicki Haley and our buffoonish Attorney General Alan Wilson. Both of them essentially wasted the states money fighting a losing battle. I have a hard time believing that their fight was anything but a show to ingratiate themselves to the conservative evangelical right and to further their political careers. In this they have won. This wasn't about the right to marry, this was about politics. I'm happy for my friends who are in SC. They can get married now and those that are married are officially recognized. I'm also proud of my church, the Unitarian Church in Charleston, for actively participating in the fight and for openly welcoming those in search of a wedding venue in a place where they can make that forever commitment.
My friend Sarah Familar-Ragsdale is planning on marrying people on Friday, November 21st 2014 at Washington Square Park. If you'd like her to officiate your wedding you can contact her at Sarah@LiveTheElements.com, or 843-729-3635. If you like to keep up with her in real-time like Elemental Weddings - Wedding Officiant on Facebook or on Twitter at Live The Elements. If something happens and they have to move they'll update Facebook and tweet their location. When you get to the park you'll see their sign. Best of all they are doing this as a give-back to our community so it's free!
Time to snuggle under the covers and watch a movie. Baby It's Cold Outside!
Todd
Friday, November 7, 2014
Seventeen Years and Counting
Matt and I have been together now for 17 years (actually 17 years in February, 2015.) It's been so long I have a hard time sometimes remembering what it was like when we weren't together. We've weathered a lot of storms together some that would have torn a lot of couples apart. This is not to say we're the perfect couple. We both have quirks that drive the other nuts but these things are quickly put aside and harmony returns. Matt has been decorating the trailer with pictures. One of them is a graphic that says "Home is wherever I am with you." My sentiments exactly.
Matt has an agent interested in his book (The Wide Night Sky) and she's requested some changes. This is a major step in getting his book published. We're both excited but cautiously so. He's working on the changes and hopefully the agent will be happy and they'll go onto the next step. I tease that when he's writing I become a writers widower. He likes to be alone when he writes. I can understand that. Peace and quiet—except for the fact he likes to work in places like Barnes & Noble or Panera. Hardly solitude. I seems to work for him so what can I say?
One of the camp hosts here has been on the road with her husband for the past 7 months in a big diesel pusher (think of it as a big bus.) I got to got to know her when we were making smores with the children at the campground's Halloween festival. She commented on how she was looking for ways to get away from her husband and have a little alone time. She couldn't imagine that Matt and I could be together in a 28 foot travel trailer (along with two dogs) for any length of time. We've been on the road for 5 months and so far we're good. It is a little crowded in the trailer and I think a bigger rig would make things easier but right now we're happy with what we have. We do perform the getting dressed ballet that each day when both of us are trying to get ready. The bedroom is pretty much all bed (no slide out there) so getting to our closets takes a little bit of taking turns and getting out of the way. But we manage. Sometimes the best thing to do is go sit on the couch and wait for the other to get done. Same goes for the kitchen. Only one person at a time in there. I see an upgrade in our future but for now we're here in Mabel Rubain and are happy. The semi plan right now is to get a new truck and maybe, after a while, invest in a 5th wheel trailer. There are several in the park here that look like they're set up for full-timing.
Matt has an obsession with small boxes which is good. Everything now has a nice neat place and the trailer is finally well organized. We're set up so well that hitting the road will be really simple. Not much packing (or unpacking for that matter). That is a full-timers dream. Get up, hook up and go.
We're planning on staying until the first week in January. I've been talking to the other camp hosts who have been here over the winter and they said it can get cold in the rig if you don't have a good heater. We have a nice infrared heater that keeps the trailer nice and warm as well as a gas fired furnace. My concern is the sewer and water pipes freezing. That would be pretty bad. The park has been out installing heating wrappers on all of the fresh water faucets in the campground. We'll need to add those to our bag of full-timer tricks. We'll have to wrap our hoses with heater wraps or we'll run into problems.
My job this week has been to clean the camp store at night when the store is closed and the only other person there is the night ranger. It's a pretty simple job. Dusting, sweeping, and mopping. It does't take long and I can do it at night which is really when I want to work.
My Friday night pizza and a movie with my Aunt Dee continues. We get a pizza and watch old movies together. We love to try and identify the actors that we see. She's pretty good with it. Some of the actors are a mystery to me so I end up looking them up on IMDB (Internet Movie DataBase) when we can't figure them out. It's a fun way to hang out with her for a couple of hours. We usually watch Turner Classic Movies. She really likes that.
We still haven't had our inaugural Hamburger-Helper Lasagna yet. Maybe this weekend I'll get around to doing that. Love some hamburger helper! I don't know why. I've had a hankering for some good chili in the crock pot too. Looks like we're going to finally fire up the stove. Hamburger-Helper here we come!
Matt has an agent interested in his book (The Wide Night Sky) and she's requested some changes. This is a major step in getting his book published. We're both excited but cautiously so. He's working on the changes and hopefully the agent will be happy and they'll go onto the next step. I tease that when he's writing I become a writers widower. He likes to be alone when he writes. I can understand that. Peace and quiet—except for the fact he likes to work in places like Barnes & Noble or Panera. Hardly solitude. I seems to work for him so what can I say?
One of the camp hosts here has been on the road with her husband for the past 7 months in a big diesel pusher (think of it as a big bus.) I got to got to know her when we were making smores with the children at the campground's Halloween festival. She commented on how she was looking for ways to get away from her husband and have a little alone time. She couldn't imagine that Matt and I could be together in a 28 foot travel trailer (along with two dogs) for any length of time. We've been on the road for 5 months and so far we're good. It is a little crowded in the trailer and I think a bigger rig would make things easier but right now we're happy with what we have. We do perform the getting dressed ballet that each day when both of us are trying to get ready. The bedroom is pretty much all bed (no slide out there) so getting to our closets takes a little bit of taking turns and getting out of the way. But we manage. Sometimes the best thing to do is go sit on the couch and wait for the other to get done. Same goes for the kitchen. Only one person at a time in there. I see an upgrade in our future but for now we're here in Mabel Rubain and are happy. The semi plan right now is to get a new truck and maybe, after a while, invest in a 5th wheel trailer. There are several in the park here that look like they're set up for full-timing.
Matt has an obsession with small boxes which is good. Everything now has a nice neat place and the trailer is finally well organized. We're set up so well that hitting the road will be really simple. Not much packing (or unpacking for that matter). That is a full-timers dream. Get up, hook up and go.
We're planning on staying until the first week in January. I've been talking to the other camp hosts who have been here over the winter and they said it can get cold in the rig if you don't have a good heater. We have a nice infrared heater that keeps the trailer nice and warm as well as a gas fired furnace. My concern is the sewer and water pipes freezing. That would be pretty bad. The park has been out installing heating wrappers on all of the fresh water faucets in the campground. We'll need to add those to our bag of full-timer tricks. We'll have to wrap our hoses with heater wraps or we'll run into problems.
My job this week has been to clean the camp store at night when the store is closed and the only other person there is the night ranger. It's a pretty simple job. Dusting, sweeping, and mopping. It does't take long and I can do it at night which is really when I want to work.
My Friday night pizza and a movie with my Aunt Dee continues. We get a pizza and watch old movies together. We love to try and identify the actors that we see. She's pretty good with it. Some of the actors are a mystery to me so I end up looking them up on IMDB (Internet Movie DataBase) when we can't figure them out. It's a fun way to hang out with her for a couple of hours. We usually watch Turner Classic Movies. She really likes that.
We still haven't had our inaugural Hamburger-Helper Lasagna yet. Maybe this weekend I'll get around to doing that. Love some hamburger helper! I don't know why. I've had a hankering for some good chili in the crock pot too. Looks like we're going to finally fire up the stove. Hamburger-Helper here we come!
Friday, October 24, 2014
Come On Get Happy
I just heard that song on iTunes and thought it described my feelings about the house closing. Yes! We closed on October 15th and we are now officially houseless and are loving it. No longer dealing with a monthly mortgage, crazy insurance people, pest exterminators, constant maintenance, and the task of mowing 5 acres every week throughout the spring, summer, and fall. We never really grew attached to this house the way we did the house in Los Gatos but we did have some great memories. My favorite were when Mom and Dad lived with us and when we had the big family reunions. We could sleep 10 people and during the reunions we had every bed filled. It was nice to have family together like that.
I've been working pretty hard in the park these last couple of weeks. I helped a host cut, split and stack wood. For those of you counting that was my 4th week working in the wood pit. I think next week I'm going to gracefully bow out of the wood pit for a while. Even in the cool weather you'll break a sweat stacking and hauling wood over to the wood shed. The good news is that it's great exercise and I imagine has been partly the reason for my recent weight loss.
The park has a Festival of Lights every year a week before Thanksgiving to the weekend after New Years. Starting in October crews put up light displays all over the park. Some are animated and others are just static lights. It looks like it's going to be beautiful. I hope we get some snow during the event. It will make everything that much more beautiful. The only downside is that we are pretty much stuck in the park the entire time the lights are on (4:30 PM or so until 10:30 PM) because the lines to get into the park and see the show are long. There is a secret entrance from the back of the park, through the soccer fields and down a dirt road that we can use -- if we can figure it out. I'm going to put the truck into 4WD and see what I can find. Should be some fun off roading at the very least.
I went over to stay with my favorite aunt last weekend. Her son and daugher-in-law needed to be out of town and didn't want her to be alone at night. We always have a great time together. It breaks my heart to see her losing her ability to get around. The body may be failing but she's sharp as a tack. She entertained me with stories about being a model in New York, being one of the women who smashed though the glass ceiling in her profession and how she did all of that while being a single mother raising two boys. She is an amazing woman. She also can't cook. While I was there she made a little snack for us before we had dinner. The snack was spinach ravioli that was microwaved so much the edges were hard and cold tomato soup to go on it. For all of her talents and know-how she has never been able to master cooking. I cooked dinner for us that night in self defense. I've always described her as a cross between Lucille Ball and Auntie Mame. That is not totally fair since I think she's a lot smarter than either of those characters but sometimes she is just like them. She really makes me laugh.
I've made good friends with the other hosts. We're a tight knit bunch - always ready to lend a hand to another host (that's how I end up in the wood pit so often). Since getting married I mostly refer to Matt as my husband and I have done so here with the other hosts. There is a lesbian couple here too who are also married. Even though most of the hosts are my age or older our acceptance has been complete. They refer to Matt as my husband too. The lesbian couple had an anniversary a couple of weeks ago and some the hosts decorated their campsite for the occasion. That's what I call acceptance. These are totally cool people.
The trees here are turning colors at an rapid pace. When it's sunny (like today) the forest we live in is full of colors. Due to my color blindness I can mostly see the yellows and sometimes the reds if they are solidly red and not too close to being brown. Every now and then I'l see an orange but I don't know if I'm really seeing orange or it's some other color that appears orange to me. In any case I have my own little world of colors that I am quite happy with. As an aside, most people with brown hair appear to have forest green hair to me. I know that people don't have forest green hair in the world of normal color vision so I call it brown. But it's forest green to me.
People have been asking what exactly do I do here at the camp to get our free site in the forest. I do a lot of things. As you all know I cut and stack wood, I keep the bathhouses clean, I police the campground and clean the cabins. It's a lot of manual labor and rather mindless. It keeps me outside a lot and I like that. Most of the time I put in my ear buds and listen to some good music while I work.
You may be wondering why would I give up my consulting practice and resort to being a camp host. To be clear I haven't given up my consulting practice. I have time during the day between my daily responsibilities when I work on Ocius business. I've written an article and have another I'm working that I hope will be published. I have an international client whose working time is about 8:00 PM my time so I can work with them in the evening and not interfere with my day job. Mostly I do this so we can be here in Northern Virginia close to my aunt for three months with a housing cost of zero. If I wasn't a camp host the fee for this wonderful spot in the forest with free electric would be $50/night. In addition to that I like the idea of being unplugged from the rat race for a bit. At the end of the day I walk back to the trailer, have dinner and don't think or worry about work for the most part. I have a lot of friends here who are doing the same thing -- unplugging for a bit. Taking a break. Reflecting on what comes next. I'm 56, my life is more than half over. Time to look at priorities.
Friday, October 10, 2014
Almost There
We got the notice yesterday that the closing on the sale our house would be today at 2:00 PM. We were ecstatic since we really thought the house would be taken before we could sell it but we prevailed with the expert assistance of our real estate agent Joseph Herrera. He really kept us motivated and confident that we could sell regardless of the issues we had in the house. If you need a real estate agent then you can't do better than Joseph. We owe him a debt of gratitude. If you are looking to buy or sell in the Charleston metro area call him. He's professional, hard working and knowledgeable. Unfortunately we woke up to an email delaying the closing until next week due to a paperwork snafu by Wells Fargo Bank. Hurry up and wait.
Life here at Bull Run has turned into a nice routine for my dear husband and me. We're parked in a forest which, when the shooting range (the park has a shooting range) isn't active, is very quiet and peaceful. We are under the flight path to Dulles so we do hear jets but if you know me you'll know that I don't mind that at all. When I'm out in the park working I love to see the variety of jets that are headed into Dulles. It's one of my things.
This has been my week cutting, stacking and transporting wood. Not my favorite thing to do, especially in the rain. At the end of the day we usually run some errands, grab a bite to eat, come home, and walk the dogs. Then it's an evening of reading and music or sometimes a movie on iTunes. I also have time to write -- like now. I'm just now finishing an article that I'm writing about a very esoteric process in healthcare information technology. It's off to my editor soon (Matt) and then hopefully to a trade journal or industry magazine.
We haven't had a TV since starting this adventure. We initially thought we'd have DirecTV in the trailer but we procrastinated and found out that we really weren't missing much so it never materialized. We were watching a lot of TV when we had it home. Now I get my news online from several different news sources so I scratch that news itch every day. I have to admit that I'm not missing TV for the most part. The shows that I do want to see are available on iTunes or streaming on PBS.org so I'm not missing much.
Our plan for using cellular modems for our Internet service hasn't worked out as well as we would have liked. We learned early on that streaming a TV show or two really ate up our allotment of gigabytes. We have two accounts now that we try and balance throughout the month. We need a better solution than what AT&T and Verizon offer. That's a work in progress.
Fall is bringing us cooler weather and rain and I'm loving it (as is Matt). We've already had a night were we had to fire up the furnace--which thankfully ran right off the bat without any need for adjustments. When it's running it sounds like a jet engine outside at the outlet port. We use propane fuel and the heater goes through it pretty quickly. I have a feeling we're going to be wearing warmer clothes in side to preserve our fuel. Nothing to drastic though.
As you know I work here at the park to pay for our site. I have to work 60 hours per month. We have rotating assignments each week. Last week I was on bath house duty. This week I'm working in the wood pile. It's a dramatic departure from what my career has been in the last 30 years. I'm joined by other senior executives and successful business people that are here in a variety of mobile-home based vehicles. We all live on the same street in the campground and I've made some friends who like me have escaped the 9-5 grind and are slowing down to enjoy their lives a little more. It's funny to be working alongside a former CEO cleaning the bath house or working in the wood pile with someone who ran a successful real estate business for 20 years. It's interesting that we don't introduce ourselves as a former CEO or real estate broker. We talk more about our lives outside of work, what brought us to this lifestyle and certainly little tips on how to made our jobs more efficient. It's fun and on top of it all I'm losing weight from all of the physical labor involved with my jobs. I guess the best part is interacting with the park visitors. I miss those customer service days that I had so much of early in my career.
Charlotte and Gracie are also into the grove. Charlotte is barking less at anyone or any vehicle that passes our trailer. That is a good thing. Gracie sleeps, eats and randomly barks. Last night she was standing at the food bowls barking because one of them was empty. She'll bark at the water bowl if it isn't full enough for her tastes. They are happiest when we're all here in the trailer and they can sleep next to us while we do our work.
The food here in Northern VA has been amazing. It's like an international smorgasbord. We've had Latin American food, Korean barbecue, Mexican food, good old American diner food and Indian food. We're planning on finding a Dim Sum restaurant soon. I'd also like to try some Spanish food too. The world is represented here and the restaurants reflect that. The only problem we have is deciding what cuisine we are going to try next.
I've managed to see my favorite aunt in the world several times since we've parked here in Northern VA. She was a very important person to me when I was a kid and has remained important to me all my life. Her health is failing but she's hanging in there. I'm glad we're close and can see her often. I've promised her that I'd make chicken and dumplings for her while I was here. It's my mother's recipe which I think was handed down to her by her mother. The dumplings are the size of an egg. Now that's what I call a dumpling--none of those noodled type of dumplings for me. I want those soft light big dumplings cooked in chicken broth.
I hope by the time I write again the sale of our house will have closed. Keep your fingers crossed for us.
Life here at Bull Run has turned into a nice routine for my dear husband and me. We're parked in a forest which, when the shooting range (the park has a shooting range) isn't active, is very quiet and peaceful. We are under the flight path to Dulles so we do hear jets but if you know me you'll know that I don't mind that at all. When I'm out in the park working I love to see the variety of jets that are headed into Dulles. It's one of my things.
This has been my week cutting, stacking and transporting wood. Not my favorite thing to do, especially in the rain. At the end of the day we usually run some errands, grab a bite to eat, come home, and walk the dogs. Then it's an evening of reading and music or sometimes a movie on iTunes. I also have time to write -- like now. I'm just now finishing an article that I'm writing about a very esoteric process in healthcare information technology. It's off to my editor soon (Matt) and then hopefully to a trade journal or industry magazine.
We haven't had a TV since starting this adventure. We initially thought we'd have DirecTV in the trailer but we procrastinated and found out that we really weren't missing much so it never materialized. We were watching a lot of TV when we had it home. Now I get my news online from several different news sources so I scratch that news itch every day. I have to admit that I'm not missing TV for the most part. The shows that I do want to see are available on iTunes or streaming on PBS.org so I'm not missing much.
Our plan for using cellular modems for our Internet service hasn't worked out as well as we would have liked. We learned early on that streaming a TV show or two really ate up our allotment of gigabytes. We have two accounts now that we try and balance throughout the month. We need a better solution than what AT&T and Verizon offer. That's a work in progress.
Fall is bringing us cooler weather and rain and I'm loving it (as is Matt). We've already had a night were we had to fire up the furnace--which thankfully ran right off the bat without any need for adjustments. When it's running it sounds like a jet engine outside at the outlet port. We use propane fuel and the heater goes through it pretty quickly. I have a feeling we're going to be wearing warmer clothes in side to preserve our fuel. Nothing to drastic though.
As you know I work here at the park to pay for our site. I have to work 60 hours per month. We have rotating assignments each week. Last week I was on bath house duty. This week I'm working in the wood pile. It's a dramatic departure from what my career has been in the last 30 years. I'm joined by other senior executives and successful business people that are here in a variety of mobile-home based vehicles. We all live on the same street in the campground and I've made some friends who like me have escaped the 9-5 grind and are slowing down to enjoy their lives a little more. It's funny to be working alongside a former CEO cleaning the bath house or working in the wood pile with someone who ran a successful real estate business for 20 years. It's interesting that we don't introduce ourselves as a former CEO or real estate broker. We talk more about our lives outside of work, what brought us to this lifestyle and certainly little tips on how to made our jobs more efficient. It's fun and on top of it all I'm losing weight from all of the physical labor involved with my jobs. I guess the best part is interacting with the park visitors. I miss those customer service days that I had so much of early in my career.
Charlotte and Gracie are also into the grove. Charlotte is barking less at anyone or any vehicle that passes our trailer. That is a good thing. Gracie sleeps, eats and randomly barks. Last night she was standing at the food bowls barking because one of them was empty. She'll bark at the water bowl if it isn't full enough for her tastes. They are happiest when we're all here in the trailer and they can sleep next to us while we do our work.
The food here in Northern VA has been amazing. It's like an international smorgasbord. We've had Latin American food, Korean barbecue, Mexican food, good old American diner food and Indian food. We're planning on finding a Dim Sum restaurant soon. I'd also like to try some Spanish food too. The world is represented here and the restaurants reflect that. The only problem we have is deciding what cuisine we are going to try next.
I've managed to see my favorite aunt in the world several times since we've parked here in Northern VA. She was a very important person to me when I was a kid and has remained important to me all my life. Her health is failing but she's hanging in there. I'm glad we're close and can see her often. I've promised her that I'd make chicken and dumplings for her while I was here. It's my mother's recipe which I think was handed down to her by her mother. The dumplings are the size of an egg. Now that's what I call a dumpling--none of those noodled type of dumplings for me. I want those soft light big dumplings cooked in chicken broth.
I hope by the time I write again the sale of our house will have closed. Keep your fingers crossed for us.
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
Up North
We're at Bull Run Regional Park just outside of Washington, DC. We got here on Monday and we'll be calling this home for the next three months. I'm working as a camp host part time so our stay here is in exchange for my work. While here Matt will continue with working from "home" and I'll continue to handle my informatics business. All in all it feels good to be settled for a little while. We've had a chance to look around some and I think we're going to like it here.
We left the 95 degree days behind at the Sawmill. We also left the noise, drag shows, disco lights, pool parties and the occasional half clothed man behind too. Our time at the Sawmill was certainly interesting. We love the area. It's close enough to Matt's parents (who thankfully never wanted to visit the trailer) so that we don't feel obligated to see them every day but close enough that we saw them quite often. I think that has actually been good for Matt.
The trip from the Sawmill to Charleston took about 9 hours. This is interesting: Every park we stay in the check out time is 11:00 AM the day of departure except the Sawmill. Its departure time is noon, with a very generous late check out policy if you need it. In fact, if you are so inclined, they'll let you stay until 7:00 PM for a mere $10. They certainly are meeting the needs of their clientele and know the party boys aren't going to get up to get packed up and out of there before noon so they go with the flow and usually make an extra $10 bucks from their customers for not a lot of work.
After lifting Gracie into the truck we were off. Gracie does two things really well. She eats and sleeps. Sometimes she'll play but most of the time she's snacking or has made herself a bed and is asleep. She's on phenobarbital for a seizure disorder and I think that is partially why she is so much like a slug. If possible she has also gotten fatter. We try and limit her food and take her on multiple walks per day but it just doesn't seem to matter with Gracie. The good thing is she isn't seizing anymore. Gracie has this annoying habit of jumping at the cars she sees driving down the opposite side of the road and snapping at the air. I am sure she sees the motion and is just trying to catch whatever it is that she can't see but it is incredibly distracting when she is right behind you smacking against the window. I am afraid her little brain will fall out if she doesn't stop doing that.
Nine hours is about all we can handle in one day. When we got to Charleston we were all tired and ready to stop for the night. We didn't arrive during normal park hours so we had to contact the night ranger to be let in. This apparently is not supposed to be a problem according to the campground reservationists but when we talked to the ranger he seemed to be amazed that anyone would be checking in that late. When he finally opened the gate for us and met us at the campground he apparently miraculously remembered that people do in fact some in late and found our paperwork. We did a quick detach put down the stabilizers, hooked up the power and water and called it a night.
We had a nice visit with some friends, visited one of our favorite restaurants and got our winter clothing out of storage. We hit the road on Sunday headed to a KOA (Kampgrounds of America) in Enfield, NC which is just outside of Rocky Mount, NC. It took almost 10 hours go get to Enfield and by the time we arrived we were bushed. Just as an aside Gracie slept through the entire trip. At one point I got worried about her and asked Matt to make sure she was breathing. I guess Gracie has discovered the best way to while away the time on a long trip.
Charlotte, on the other hand, stays awake the entire trip. She lays on Matt's lap the entire time. When it's really hot that can be an unpleasant place for her to be but she needs to be right up there in the middle of the action in case anyone needs a Jack Russell Terrier. If they do, she's ready. I hate to tell her that almost no one needs a Jack Russell Terrier on a moments notice.
We don't feed them on travel days until we get to the campground. That has, to this point, eliminated car sickness. This also means that Gracie is not in the mood for doing a lot of walking around. She's ready for dinner when we stop.
We noticed that the campground was for sale as soon as we arrived. The place was spotless, well groomed but our guess not in a place where a lot of people go for vacations. The staff were efficient but not at all friendly or unfriendly. We did a rapid unhook (unlock the hitch and pull it of the truck), hooked up the power and took the dogs our for a much needed walk. We got the feeling that the owners were desperate to get out of this campground business. Part of this came from the signs all over the park about what you can and can't do. The notice about the Internet connection was the best of them all. They use a satellite Internet service so there are bandwidth limits, problems with weather and apparently periodic problems with the hardware. The notice on the park's log in screen listed all of these problems and ended with a curt we aren't responsible for the operation of the Internet notice. We weren't there long enough to really need to do anything we couldn't do with our phones so it didn't bother us at all. Quiet desperation was the feeling I got there.
The park at Bull Run is nice and quiet. Matt likes that. It's getting to be the off season so the park isn't very full. On Tuesday we took the Metro down to DC for some time at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. It's one of my favorites. It wasn't very crowded and we got to go into the butterfly room. It's a heat and humidity controlled room filled with grow lights and tons of butterflies. It is quite beautiful and we had a great time watching them fly about. I'm looking forward to spending a lot of time at the museums over the next three months.
On Tuesday we found a place called Wegman's Grocery Store. Think of it as a Whole Foods combined with a Costco and a couple of restaurants thrown in for a good mix. This place is amazing. They have 4 long steam tables with all kinds of prepared food, a long salad bar, a huge cheese bar (Matt loved that) and all of the stuff you'd find in a regular grocery store too. The place was massive and has become our destination for all food shopping now.
Today (Wednesday) was laundry day - my most hated day. We can go about two weeks if we're good before we must do laundry. We were at that point today when I packed it all up and drive over to a local laundromat called Hailey's. It isn't owned by Hailey anymore. It belongs to Aleia who bought it from Hailey. Aleia is from Mexico and speaks some english. She likes to talk to customers so she can improve her english so she is very outgoing and friendly. While I washed my clothes I found out all kinds of good stuff about the laundromat and the people who come in. Aleia is also quite a gossip. I loved it. The only down fall of the whole thing is that they have Telemundo soap operas playing really loudly. Aleia told me she thinks they are stupid but watches them anyway. I like Hailey's because they have big washers and big dryers. One load of dark/colors, one load of whites, one big ass dryer and I'm done with laundry in an hour. It was funny to see what people were wearing to get their laundry done. You could tell who was actually desperate and who was just getting a chore done. The guy next to me was dressed in his biking gear and had 4 washers going. He was desperate.
It's raining tonight and I love it. I've got the window next to my side of the bed open and I can hear the rain. When it rains a little harder you can hear it on the trailer too. Very relaxing and cozy. Gracie has scrunched up a little rug that we keep at the front door into a little pile and is sleeping on it. It doesn't look comfortable but she is really out of it. Charlie is asleep on my pillow (and growls every time I move) and Mattie is playing solitaire. All in all a nice relaxing night.
We left the 95 degree days behind at the Sawmill. We also left the noise, drag shows, disco lights, pool parties and the occasional half clothed man behind too. Our time at the Sawmill was certainly interesting. We love the area. It's close enough to Matt's parents (who thankfully never wanted to visit the trailer) so that we don't feel obligated to see them every day but close enough that we saw them quite often. I think that has actually been good for Matt.
The trip from the Sawmill to Charleston took about 9 hours. This is interesting: Every park we stay in the check out time is 11:00 AM the day of departure except the Sawmill. Its departure time is noon, with a very generous late check out policy if you need it. In fact, if you are so inclined, they'll let you stay until 7:00 PM for a mere $10. They certainly are meeting the needs of their clientele and know the party boys aren't going to get up to get packed up and out of there before noon so they go with the flow and usually make an extra $10 bucks from their customers for not a lot of work.
After lifting Gracie into the truck we were off. Gracie does two things really well. She eats and sleeps. Sometimes she'll play but most of the time she's snacking or has made herself a bed and is asleep. She's on phenobarbital for a seizure disorder and I think that is partially why she is so much like a slug. If possible she has also gotten fatter. We try and limit her food and take her on multiple walks per day but it just doesn't seem to matter with Gracie. The good thing is she isn't seizing anymore. Gracie has this annoying habit of jumping at the cars she sees driving down the opposite side of the road and snapping at the air. I am sure she sees the motion and is just trying to catch whatever it is that she can't see but it is incredibly distracting when she is right behind you smacking against the window. I am afraid her little brain will fall out if she doesn't stop doing that.
Nine hours is about all we can handle in one day. When we got to Charleston we were all tired and ready to stop for the night. We didn't arrive during normal park hours so we had to contact the night ranger to be let in. This apparently is not supposed to be a problem according to the campground reservationists but when we talked to the ranger he seemed to be amazed that anyone would be checking in that late. When he finally opened the gate for us and met us at the campground he apparently miraculously remembered that people do in fact some in late and found our paperwork. We did a quick detach put down the stabilizers, hooked up the power and water and called it a night.
We had a nice visit with some friends, visited one of our favorite restaurants and got our winter clothing out of storage. We hit the road on Sunday headed to a KOA (Kampgrounds of America) in Enfield, NC which is just outside of Rocky Mount, NC. It took almost 10 hours go get to Enfield and by the time we arrived we were bushed. Just as an aside Gracie slept through the entire trip. At one point I got worried about her and asked Matt to make sure she was breathing. I guess Gracie has discovered the best way to while away the time on a long trip.
Charlotte, on the other hand, stays awake the entire trip. She lays on Matt's lap the entire time. When it's really hot that can be an unpleasant place for her to be but she needs to be right up there in the middle of the action in case anyone needs a Jack Russell Terrier. If they do, she's ready. I hate to tell her that almost no one needs a Jack Russell Terrier on a moments notice.
We don't feed them on travel days until we get to the campground. That has, to this point, eliminated car sickness. This also means that Gracie is not in the mood for doing a lot of walking around. She's ready for dinner when we stop.
We noticed that the campground was for sale as soon as we arrived. The place was spotless, well groomed but our guess not in a place where a lot of people go for vacations. The staff were efficient but not at all friendly or unfriendly. We did a rapid unhook (unlock the hitch and pull it of the truck), hooked up the power and took the dogs our for a much needed walk. We got the feeling that the owners were desperate to get out of this campground business. Part of this came from the signs all over the park about what you can and can't do. The notice about the Internet connection was the best of them all. They use a satellite Internet service so there are bandwidth limits, problems with weather and apparently periodic problems with the hardware. The notice on the park's log in screen listed all of these problems and ended with a curt we aren't responsible for the operation of the Internet notice. We weren't there long enough to really need to do anything we couldn't do with our phones so it didn't bother us at all. Quiet desperation was the feeling I got there.
The park at Bull Run is nice and quiet. Matt likes that. It's getting to be the off season so the park isn't very full. On Tuesday we took the Metro down to DC for some time at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. It's one of my favorites. It wasn't very crowded and we got to go into the butterfly room. It's a heat and humidity controlled room filled with grow lights and tons of butterflies. It is quite beautiful and we had a great time watching them fly about. I'm looking forward to spending a lot of time at the museums over the next three months.
On Tuesday we found a place called Wegman's Grocery Store. Think of it as a Whole Foods combined with a Costco and a couple of restaurants thrown in for a good mix. This place is amazing. They have 4 long steam tables with all kinds of prepared food, a long salad bar, a huge cheese bar (Matt loved that) and all of the stuff you'd find in a regular grocery store too. The place was massive and has become our destination for all food shopping now.
Today (Wednesday) was laundry day - my most hated day. We can go about two weeks if we're good before we must do laundry. We were at that point today when I packed it all up and drive over to a local laundromat called Hailey's. It isn't owned by Hailey anymore. It belongs to Aleia who bought it from Hailey. Aleia is from Mexico and speaks some english. She likes to talk to customers so she can improve her english so she is very outgoing and friendly. While I washed my clothes I found out all kinds of good stuff about the laundromat and the people who come in. Aleia is also quite a gossip. I loved it. The only down fall of the whole thing is that they have Telemundo soap operas playing really loudly. Aleia told me she thinks they are stupid but watches them anyway. I like Hailey's because they have big washers and big dryers. One load of dark/colors, one load of whites, one big ass dryer and I'm done with laundry in an hour. It was funny to see what people were wearing to get their laundry done. You could tell who was actually desperate and who was just getting a chore done. The guy next to me was dressed in his biking gear and had 4 washers going. He was desperate.
It's raining tonight and I love it. I've got the window next to my side of the bed open and I can hear the rain. When it rains a little harder you can hear it on the trailer too. Very relaxing and cozy. Gracie has scrunched up a little rug that we keep at the front door into a little pile and is sleeping on it. It doesn't look comfortable but she is really out of it. Charlie is asleep on my pillow (and growls every time I move) and Mattie is playing solitaire. All in all a nice relaxing night.
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Trailer Life
Several of you have wanted to see pictures of our long-long trailer and how we live our day-to-day lives in a very small space. Let me first say that Matt and I rarely argue. We may become snippy but we're both somewhat laid back and respectful of each other that we can live in close proximity and not drive each other nuts. I have to admit that would not have been the case with any previous relationship I've had. The biggest space challenge is when we're both getting dressed to go out. Since our clothes are at opposite ends of our sleeping space we have to take turns getting dressed. Not a big deal but a little different than what most people go through on a daily basis with their spouse. Our biggest challenge so far has been where to store all of our stuff. It's amazing how many "junk drawers" you actually have until you move. We currently have a bin of junk drawer stuff without a home here on Mabel Rubain. We're working on a solution but it will take some time.
This is a picture of our little kitchen. It's small and we haven't really cooked in it yet but it's workable. We usually have an inaugural dinner of Hamburger Helper Lasagna when we are camping but we haven't done that yet. I really ramped down the kitchen stuff when we moved into the trailer. I have the basics but some of the things I didn't use often, like my stock pot, didn't make the transition. We do have a neat device that is like a slow cooker without electricity. You fill up the pot with whatever crockpot meal you want and bring it up to a boil on the stove. Then you put the metal pot into a plastic liner that insulates. It cooks throughout the day and by the time you get home it's dinner. When we get to VA next week I'm going to try some making some crock pot chili (yes, with beans).
This is the trailer looking aft from the kitchen. What you can't see is Gracie's crate. It's next to the couch. Most trailers would have a dinette where Gracie's crate is located but there wasn't one in the trailer when we bought it and it's turned out really well. Gracie and Charlotte both ride in the truck with us when we're traveling. Gracie isn't trustworthy when we're not around. Even though she's over a year old being in the kennel so long before we got her has stunted her level of maturity so we are still dealing with puppy behavior. We're here most of the time so she's out playing with her toys, chewing on our rugs and basically laying right where you need to be. She is a very, very, vary lazy dog. We take them both out for a walk each night and Gracie will just stop walking when she gets tired which is about 100 feet away from the trailer. We make her go for a walk anyway. She doesn't like it.
Here is our bedroom/office. We have a couch in the trailer (previous picture) that we can use to work on but we seem to migrate to the bedroom and work there. The cellular modems we use are not very good so when we have things to do that require we have a better connection we head out to a Starbucks, grab some coffee and go to work. That doesn't happen too much but on occasion we've had to resort to the kindness of Starbucks. Charlotte is in her usual place, on top of all the pillows. Her job is to bark at dogs and cats that are outside during conference calls. She does that very well.
The trailer has a fold out awning that keeps the sun out of the windows and allows us an outside spot for grilling and hanging out neither of which we've done yet. Matt has a bug phobia and hates to be outside. I'm looking forward to sitting outside on a cool evening in the VA woods with a fire burning in the fire pit. I have a feeling I'm going to be alone in that. Notice the stars on the awning. We're in a gay campground and everyone decorates their trailer. We were here for almost 2 weeks before we got with the program. We were looking a little poor there for a while. Now we are all set. We have LED star lights that change colors. I think their the best lights in the park now except for the couple with the disco-ball (yes, seriously they have a disco-ball).
We're a month into our adventure and having a blast. We've experienced some technology issues but for the most part we're working. Still no TV but that's not been a problem. We've learned the lesson of a place for everything and everything in its place. That is key to living in a small space.
Thanks for the emails and comments. Keep them coming.
Todd
This is a picture of our little kitchen. It's small and we haven't really cooked in it yet but it's workable. We usually have an inaugural dinner of Hamburger Helper Lasagna when we are camping but we haven't done that yet. I really ramped down the kitchen stuff when we moved into the trailer. I have the basics but some of the things I didn't use often, like my stock pot, didn't make the transition. We do have a neat device that is like a slow cooker without electricity. You fill up the pot with whatever crockpot meal you want and bring it up to a boil on the stove. Then you put the metal pot into a plastic liner that insulates. It cooks throughout the day and by the time you get home it's dinner. When we get to VA next week I'm going to try some making some crock pot chili (yes, with beans).
This is the trailer looking aft from the kitchen. What you can't see is Gracie's crate. It's next to the couch. Most trailers would have a dinette where Gracie's crate is located but there wasn't one in the trailer when we bought it and it's turned out really well. Gracie and Charlotte both ride in the truck with us when we're traveling. Gracie isn't trustworthy when we're not around. Even though she's over a year old being in the kennel so long before we got her has stunted her level of maturity so we are still dealing with puppy behavior. We're here most of the time so she's out playing with her toys, chewing on our rugs and basically laying right where you need to be. She is a very, very, vary lazy dog. We take them both out for a walk each night and Gracie will just stop walking when she gets tired which is about 100 feet away from the trailer. We make her go for a walk anyway. She doesn't like it.
Here is our bedroom/office. We have a couch in the trailer (previous picture) that we can use to work on but we seem to migrate to the bedroom and work there. The cellular modems we use are not very good so when we have things to do that require we have a better connection we head out to a Starbucks, grab some coffee and go to work. That doesn't happen too much but on occasion we've had to resort to the kindness of Starbucks. Charlotte is in her usual place, on top of all the pillows. Her job is to bark at dogs and cats that are outside during conference calls. She does that very well.
Here's the trailer from outside. It's a MaxLite but the name is a misnomer. This trailer is anything but light. It's very well equipped which means that it is on the heavier side of what our truck can pull. It's made of an aluminum frame with fiberglass panels so it's sturdy. Not like the newer models made with 2x2s and corrugated aluminum. I'll deal with the weight and mileage hit for a more sturdy trailer. Since we'll be camping where it's cold the extra insulation and central heat will be welcome. Those aren't generally available in travel trailers.
We're a month into our adventure and having a blast. We've experienced some technology issues but for the most part we're working. Still no TV but that's not been a problem. We've learned the lesson of a place for everything and everything in its place. That is key to living in a small space.
Thanks for the emails and comments. Keep them coming.
Todd
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