T-Minus 4 Days and Counting

4 days until launch and we are scrambling like ants at a picnic. Commitments are ending. People have been visited. Joy and happiness has been spread wherever we go.

The Hobbit House is on the launch pad and we are getting it prepped.

My snarky navigator threatening to spray me. I will have to keep an eye on her.

We started the day off by washing the Hobbit House. It is a lot quicker and easier than our fifthwheel that's for sure. Guess what Gladys wanted to do next? De-Oxidize the Hobbit House. Noooooo.....

What's wrong with this woman?

So we de-oxidized it and we didn't stop there. You have to wax over that to maintain the shine, so we waxed it also.  I was going to add a photo of me working but just could not find one I liked. There were just too many to choose from. Next time.

"Gladys, is everything packed?'

Downsizing

When we started this lifestyle of living fulltime in an RV, we went from a 1900 square foot house to an RV that was around 300 square feet. We really had to get rid of mostly everything to be able to live inside of that tiny space. But we did it and have lived in that fifthwheel for almost 5 years.

Now we have a new challenge ahead of us. Going from 300 square feet to around 80 square feet. That is approximately the square footage of our Hobbit House that we are taking to Disney via Alaska. Now those that remember, we did take the Hobbit House to Colorado for a month last year to see how well we could live in it in preparation for our Disney/Alaska trip. It was doable for a month. This will test us because this Disney/Alaska trip will be at least 3 months. Now if that goes well we plan on continuing to live in the Hobbit House all winter somewhere in Arizona. That would mean at least a 10-11 months inside the Hobbit House. So this is downsizing to the extreme.

This is our dining room with the bathroom just to the right.

Lisa found time to remodel our kitchen. She added that backsplash.

This is our bedroom. Lisa is worried about creepers. I don't know why.

We are up to the challenge and are a little giddy at the prospects of what lie ahead. In a matter of just a few days we will be on our way to one of the biggest adventures of our lives. I am not talking about an adventure like me trying to fit into a pair of skinny jeans either.

This trip will be amazing and to be honest a little scary. Scary of the unknown and the amount of miles we will be putting on Gandalf. We are over 13 thousand on him in a matter of months. Like the saying goes though, "Suck it up buttercup!"

"Gladys! Get the hose, that creepy guy is looking in our window again!"

Why Robin, Why?

Old man winter is really having a tough time letting go this year. As we sat in the Florida warmth and sunshine this last winter watching the weather up north, we felt sorry for what our kids, mother-in-law and friends had to endure. It was really a long, cold and snowy winter.

Now we sit in the middle of May and the average high temps should be in the 70's. But they are not, they are in the 40's. So we sit in our fifthwheel looking out the window dreaming of warmer weather. As I look out I notice a robin. I have seen it before. Actually I have noticed it for days around our rig. Always carrying dry grass in its beak.

I first noticed it days ago when we had a rental car when our truck was getting fixed. It would hop under the car with the grass and then leave. Only to come back later with more. I said to Lisa that robin was building a nest on the underside of that car. Even if we would drive away for awhile, when we would come back, it would return and start building the nest again.

I then looked under the corner of the fifthwheel and noticed some grass hanging out the bottom of that. It was trying to build a nest there also when the car was gone.

Then we got the truck back from the body shop and I was watching that dang robin go underneath the truck also with a beak full of grass. Lisa went and found a nest that it was building on the leaf spring.

So everyday we do walk arounds to find and remove any nests that they are building. They are very determined to find someplace dry for their nests. I found the start of another nest in our kingpin.

Some might think it cruel to pull down the nests everyday. It's not. The cruel part would be to let them build the nest and lay their eggs in it. Then we would have to leave with the fifthwheel and a nest full of eggs. 

So the nest battle will go on until they find a new location or until we put the fifthwheel into storage, which is happening tomorrow.

"Gladys! Are there bears at Disney?"

It's All coming Together

We are busy getting all of our ducks in a row for the giant Disney trip. The trip that will challenge us and push our boundaries. The trip that will separate the boys from the girls.

All of our medical appointments are coming to an end. We are happy to say that Lisa is in good health. Me on the other hand. Well that is another story for another time. The cats have had their appointments and they have their paperwork for the great journey that lies ahead.

Gandalf has been busy getting ready also. Oil change and a recall finished. Camper tie downs.

I look like Mini Me in this picture.

Wiring harness installed. Lance campers have a special plug that is unique to them.

Paint chips fixed. It looks brand new again.

We also got the last coat of wax on the fifthwheel so that will be ready to put into storage next week. We will get our pickup camper out of storage one day and then take a couple of days to swap them out and then we will be ready to go.

I needed a couple extra pair of jeans for the trip. Who knows what the weather will be like on the way to Disney. So we headed to the big city of Fargo to go to Old Navy. I grab a couple of pairs of jeans and head to the dressing rooms. I don't know if this has happened to other people but it happened to me. I take my pants off and start to try on the new ones. One leg goes in fine. No problem there. I stand on one leg and start to put the other leg into the other leg hole and my foot gets stuck on something. It won't go in and it won't come out. I start to panic. I start to hop around to maintain my balance.

I'm thinking to myself, "What the H*ll?" Thoughts are going through my mind. Thoughts like this. What if I fall on the concrete floor and break a hip? I am not signed up with Life Alert yet. "Help! I've fallen and can't get up!" Worse yet, what if I fall against the door and it opens and then I hit the concrete floor in front of a bunch of women in my underpants? Crisis averted, my brain finally tells my hand to let go of the pants, so I did. 

Lesson learned. I now sit down on the bench to put my pants on.

Is that what they call growing old with dignity? Anyways, I got 2 new pair of jeans and walked out of there with my head held high because no one knows about "The Incident" until now. I only share it with you as a learning experience to others that are balanced challenged.

"Gladys! Are you ready for the Disney trip? There's only 2 weeks left till we leave."

Re-Inventing the Wheel

We have arrived at our super secret undisclosed location. The weather is not co-operating for us however. It is cool most days without sun and lots of rain still. This summer is about a month behind. We are in May and it feels like April here.

We are only here a month this summer which is so unlike us. We have our big Disney adventure taking place this summer so while we are here, there are a ton of things to get done in a short amount of time. Things like working on our land project when we can. Medical and dental appointments for us and the cats. Gandalf is having several appointments also. Routine service work, fixing the dings caused by a runaway screen room and also getting fitted for pickup camper tie downs. We also want to spend enough time with friends and family while we are here also. Grandbaby one turned 1 year old while we were gone so we have catching up to do with him. It only gives us a month to spoil him.

Watching Little Baby Bum, Virgo's favorite.

As we listen to the pitter patter of rain drops on our camper, our minds start to think about our Disney trip, The logistics involved of swapping out campers. The amount of time we will spend in a pickup camper. The sights we will see along the way. Where will we be next winter? It's a wonder we get any sleep at all with so much going through our minds. (I'm speaking for Lisa only. I sleep like a baby.)

We lived in our pickup camper for a month last year when we took it to Colorado. It was fun and we liked it alot. So our Disney trip will test those boundaries because that trip will last at least 3 months. Now the "what ifs" come into play. What if we can tolerate living in the pickup camper for those 3 months? What if we decided to take the pickup camper for our winter destinations? What if we could bring our ATV's with us? What if we can't stay in the pickup camper for that length of time?

There is so much to work through at the moment. This will be a big year for us travelwise. Gandalf already has over twelve thousand miles on him. And we just bought him in December.

"Glady's, don't forget to pack the bear spray! I don't want those Pirates of the Caribbean sneaking up on us."