Road Trips

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Hi, winterize already? Or does this just mean that you are done traveling for the year? I most likely will have to do mine when we get home. I also have a list of things that need to be redone, fixed, and improved. Trailers take a beating on long trips like mine. My truck will need servicing and a major detail job. I think I'm just going to blow out the lines, drains, and fixtures this year and do without the pink stuff.

[Gene]

Bob, we are finished with travels for this year although we have discussed one more short trip. But we have to finish the house painting, the great room and visit Pueblo for Barb's parents 90th birthday celebration (they are the same age, but 5 months apart). Lots to do and I hope to finish the great room by mid-October. I keep thinking of going to the hot springs 90 miles away, but will have to forgo that one or stay in a motel.

Since you've moved to a colder climate, there is some irony in not using the pink stuff this year. So long as you have the water pump bypass, feeding it antifreeze is the easiest part of the process. Looks like the drought and warm weather is supposed to continue in the northwest for a while though and you could travel well into December.

Our maintenance/improvement list has 20 items of which one has been done (park it on wood, not gravel) and that was very easy. I'm sure other things will come to us as well. I think most of it will be deferred until spring. It looks like we may get a lot of snow here this winter—El Niño usually brings lots of snow to southwest Colorado, maybe not so much elsewhere. It depends where the polar jet stream settles.

I've been wondering how your new F-150 is doing. Consumer Reports had a mixed review on it and especially didn't like the "infotainment" system. Did not like handling either, but CR always trashes truck's on that. Are you taking the middle route (I-70 or US 50) back?

Presently avoiding making a shelf. I saw an article last year about how to mount shelves without any brackets or anything else showing, so that's what I'm doing. The steel L brackets are on the wall, under paneling, but sticking out. I will cut (dado) a groove in the bottom of the top piece of shelving so the completed shelf can slide onto it. The complete shelf will have another piece of wood identical to the dadoed one, glued and screwed to it, then edge banding applied with stainless screws and washers (little bit of industrial look we used on the other side of the room too). The shelf assembly will slide onto the brackets and I will run a few screws from the top (unless you are more than 7' tall, you can't see the top) to hold it in place. One sconce on the wall is already installed and another on the other side of the shelf will go up soon, so we will have much better lighting in the room. Any lamps we use a lot are being converted to LED's as we go along. We are looking at new lighting for the kitchen where we can use LED's too. I have to get a lot done before friends come at the end of the month so the great room doesn't look like a construction zone.

Gene

[Gene]

The trailer has been winterized and thoughts of Newfoundland crowd my brain. I thought it was 3,500 miles to the ferry at N. Sydney, NS, but it is closer to 3,100. I have to promise to go to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (hard to want to go to Cleveland, but I am helpless) and FDR's home at Hyde Park. But I also promised 11 years ago to go to Alexander Graham Bell's house on Cape Breton Is. next time we were in NS, but maybe I don't. I'm still on the hook for Hawaii, but the causeway is not finished, so I can delay that promise for a while and it is in the wrong direction.

But there are more photos—

1. The Columbia R. is really wide and this is part of the bridge at Astoria, Ore. As we crossed, there were scores of boats fishing in a one small area about an acre in size—I guess that's where the fish are. We didn't take any other photos in Wash., but I can tell you there were a lot of trees.

2. The only rainy weather we had on the whole trip was for two days along the Oregon coast mainly. This beach had real surf.

3. And lots of places to park along the ocean in Oregon. Maybe it is time to adjust the hitch—trailer looks lower in the front than it used to.

4. This may be Mt. Lassen in N. Cal. If it isn't, it is next to it. This NP has some hot springs and a trail to walk, lots of trees, some mountains sticking up through the trees and some lakes. Pleasant place, not too crowded.

Gene

[Gene]

More:

1. A lake with a mountain that is not Mt. Lassen, but near it.

2. After we left the NP, about 10 miles down the road was this old resort with restaurant, cabins and RV sites. All very rustic and owned by a very talkative man who claimed to have done many interesting and perhaps illegal things. This remote area was the right place for him and although he seemed kind of self centered, it was fun to talk with him and tell each other stories (i.e., "lies" or embellished stories as Brian Williams would tell). These are some of the cabins and it appeared that there was a very slow project to paint and update them.

3. Across the road was this fixer-upper.

4. The print we bought in Tofino—3 drum heads. There is a series of one for each month and this print has April, May and July if I recall correctly. Some of the window behind me reflected in the glass.

This weekend we plan to finish painting the house exterior. We are looking at catalogs, stores and online for light fixtures for the kitchen. We like the Art Deco styled fixtures there now, but they are cheap Chinese ones from 12 years ago and one has failed and more will. Besides bad ballasts, the tubes self-rotate in the sockets and the lights flash on and off from time to time. We get up on ladders, re-adjust them, and a month later, there we are again. Besides, I'd rather have LED lights and can't convert fluorescent tube type lamps. Since the tubes there now give off a lot of light, it is hard to find comparable ones for general lighting, but I may have found some at $180 each. What it tells me online may not be enough lumens when installed, so I'm being very careful with this. But there are the same fixtures next to the kitchen and if I change them all, that is seven, not four as in the kitchen proper, and more money than I want to spend on this. If we keep looking long enough, I may find a sale—there are lots of fixtures we like—all about the same from many different companies. More LED fixtures are now available. We have changed to LED bulbs in the fixtures we use the most and I may never have to change a bulb again unless I live to 98.

Proper lighting is something most people never paid much attention to in the past, but since I've been reading up on it, it looks like the difference between an OK house and a great one is, among other things, lighting. Our great room now has four sconces that light the room well along with a hanging light over the dining room table, one floor lamp and one table lamp. Probably the first time this room has ever been well lit. Aside from the mission style sconces, the other three have mica shades that have been handmade by a friend and colored with his secret process. All but one have been converted to LED.

And tomorrow I take out the skylight shade in the trailer—it got water stained and it can only be ordered through an RV store. I'll see if it is worth it when I can get a price from a store (I'd rather dye it, but not sure how to). Trailer items will get done over time. Great room should be done by the end of the month. Then some kitchen work (paint more cabinets, add hardware, perhaps wainscoting, maybe new lighting; countertops, new stove top, later), and then onto the master bathroom. In the past two houses, within 18 months after I remodel the master bath, we put the house on the market—I'm trying to avoid that this time.

And, of course, dreams of travel cross country and as close to Europe as I can get with a trailer.

Gene

[ROBERT CROSS]

Gene....Go here.

Bob

[Gene]

Originally Posted by ROBERT CROSS

Gene....Go here.

Bob

I did. The road trip in the link includes a little bit about Colo. NM.

If you have any fear of heights, Rim Rock Rd. through Colo. NM will test you, especially if you go east to west—then you are on the outside for many miles. The road was built in the '30's by the CCC. Many bikes on the road at times and rangers have been known to ticket anyone who passes a bike over the yellow line even when going a few miles per hour uphill. Impressive canyons seen from below and views from above. Although development below the Monument is creeping toward it, there are many trails into the canyons from below.

We are a hundred or more feet above the Monument and about 1/4 mile east of it, so we look down on the Monument. There is public (BLM) land just north of us and next to the Monument that has many trails—bike, foot and a few 4WD ones. Sometimes there are bike races there and at the Monument. Every time we go to Grand Jct. we get to drive through the public lands—a beautiful drive with great scenery and views across the Grand Valley and mountains to the north and east. Only 20 minutes into town. It is a steep road and moderately well maintained (county has been doing not so good on paving lately) and in winter well plowed. Flatlanders would freak out on the road, but we think of it as normal.

The County Commissioners want to take over public lands here and I hope they don't. They oppose changing the Monument to a National Park because they think it would increase federal involvement even though that is untrue (monuments and parks are managed exactly alike). The county or the state couldn't afford to manage public lands and would close them except for those who paid high fees to use them or sell them to develop. They are also opposed to wilderness and conservation easements to preserve agricultural land. One reason people come here is to recreate or to retire. The public lands are a big reason for that and the local pols don't seem to get that.

Gene

[Gene]

I've been following three other travel threads and they are over or winding down. We are home, guy who went to Newfoundland is home (I should remember his name, but I'm just too old), Brian ands SuEllyn are close to home and Bob is going home.

Today feels like fall. It has been unseasonably hot and is only starting to cool off a bit. When we lived in the mountains west of Denver it could be snowing feet in Sept., so we had no fall—just several Indian Summers. Snow one day, warm beautiful day the next. Pre-winter perhaps, but not real fall.

My season sense has been lost. From now on my birthday will be the beginning of fall.

So, it feels like fall is finally here, road trips are ending, planning for next year is beginning.

How to spend one month in NF, 2 weeks going, 2 weeks coming back, stop at certain places (Bob Cross, you may see us next spring/summer), get some rest from driving too many miles too many days and come back happy are the parameters.

Gene

[ROBERT CROSS]

Ahhh yes 10/8 is coming...

Looking on the bright side...I'm going to the DMV tomorrow to get my "Enhanced" NYS driver license, P-port expired and we are planning a Toronto Concert trip the end of Oct. The EDL has a temporary extension that should be here in time.
Remembering the old daze when it was...."Where were you born?, "anything to declare?", "enjoy your stay."

Colors are starting to change in the Adirondacks, but Lake Erie got real warm this year so it's likely we won't see the change for awhile.

I tagged along on your journeys....hope you don't mind.
We've stayed pretty close to home again this Season, daily boat outings on the weekends have been a big moral booster, been a great year for that.

Only two AS trips this Season, both to the "Dacks" for Family get togethers, first time we've gone in a year so it was nice to see everyone.....'tis unwind time now, well, at least until the Holidaze that is.

Have a great Birthday!!

Bob

[Gene]

And a Happy one to you Bob. And to Lewster—9th I think maybe.

Gene

[Gene]

Barb is relenting on her doubts about long trips after our trip to the northwest. Sore bodies heal and memories fade. I will find our DVD of The Shipping News and play it every week. Maybe I can convince some of the women in her book club to suggest they read the book too (book is quite close to the ways of NF in many regards, movie not quite so much).

But it is a long trip and we are older and tire more easily. No way around that. Even an aggressive exercise program can only go so far, and we haven't been all that aggressive about our exercising. So I build in extra days to rest and hope it is enough, but that doesn't work as well as it used to either. Ibuprofen works a bit, but not good for stomach or liver, so limited usefulness. But the alternative is (1) stay home and watch the Travel channel all the time, (2) stay close to home, and (3) just go and deal with it. I choose the latter and eventually she does too. Somewhere about 2,500 miles down the road in a traffic jam with a sore butt and stiff back I will wonder: "whose idea was this anyway?" The answer is usually: me.

I have many other trips floating around in my mind—more northern Canada, a 4th trip to Alaska, the southern border desert trip, the River Road trip, NY and New England during fall colors and of course, Tierra del Fuego. Every time I mention the last one, I get a look that seems to say "you're crazy" (there are usually a few civil wars to avoid on that trip). That will take me to 80 (or more) and then maybe staying close to home will be ok.

Gene

[Ag&Au]

This whole subject (the above post) is interesting and certainly varies widely between individuals. My "travels in the military" and to some extent my career, satisfied my desire for exploration. The travelling part of travel, has always been a pain in the behind for me. The fun was (and still is) in the destination.

I finally solved the problem by moving to somewhere I didn't really want to live for 20+ years and then moving back "HOME". (Drastic, I will admit). Most of what is now on my want-to-do list is a within a day's drive from home. Now the question is how to justify having this much money tied up in a trailer that gets used very little. I have proven to myself many times, both on paper and in reality that it is much less expensive to travel by plane or auto and rent accommodations, than it is to travel in the Airstream. This is especially true when the yearly costs of having the trailer are factored in. What I can't get over is the need (or desire) to be surrounded by my own stuff when I do travel.

Ken

[Bill M.]

I hurt and get tired on the road too. But really no worse than if I stay home and do little. And watching the scenery roll buy certainly beats heck out of watching television.

[Ag&Au]

After searching and finding "The Shipping News", it seems to have some relation to my "solution" (returning to one's root's).

If I remember correctly, I believe Barb's roots are in Colorado. If so that may have a bearing on her level of wanderlust. However, my weak memory can't remember where you grew up, therefor have I reached an impasse in my analysis. That probably is for the better as my fees are quite hefty.

Ken

[Gene]

Ken,

Yes, Barb is from Colorado and I am from NYC. I had the good sense to move to Colorado and find a native girl. Analysis not necessary (I never moved to Longmont and thus it may be you who need analysis). No need to go "home" as it never felt like home anyway. NYC is an exciting place with a lot to see and experience, but it is a better place to visit than to live for me. I last went for my 50th high school reunion (yes, they are as weird as everyone says) and may go back for my 100th.

We like to see things, meet interesting people and learn about the US and Canada (museums are cool!). Traveling via trailer is expensive, but it means we have our own bed and our own food. After a few days eating in restaurants with all the added sugar and salt, I don't feel well. Our own bed means the sheets fit and the mattress is comfortable (and no bed bugs). Sometimes we camp in remote places where no one would build a motel. So, like you, we like our own stuff surrounding us. And we just like to drive and see what is down the road.

But because I am concerned about your costs, you could simply turn over your trailer to us (please pay off anything you may owe on it first). Having suffered in our underclass, little bargain Safari, we would be honored to travel in a deluxe model like yours. We'll need your truck too as ours won't be enough to pull the gold plated Classic. When we were in your trailer, I knew it was the right one for a distinguished gentleman such as myself. And since your trailer is five feet longer than ours, some excavation work here would help for parking. I'm sure you can include that in the deal.

In other news, exterior painting is going slowly. I think we are just tired of it and can't get moving very fast. We hope to finish on Wed. Then, done for at least 10 years. Barb (patient zero) has a mild cold and now has infected me. In August, I had a mild case of salmonella, possibly picked up in Ken's Pt. Orchard. Last winter we had something like a cold that lasted a month. Since we've moved from the boonies, we are getting sick. Being sick enough to feel lousy and not sick enough to do nothing is quite a conflict of desires.

Barb is quite content with going to Newfoundland as the pain of traveling has been forgotten. We just picked up regional maps all the way from here to there at AAA and I can figure out how to hit the required stops and get there in less than a couple of months. She even looked up a log she made of our trip there in 2004 sans trailer. We only gave ourselves 10 days on The Rock that time. I was more interested in the culture of NF than of The Shipping News going home story, but you are right Ken, the story is about that—and more. But, it is also about removing the curse of your past and ending up in the arms of a hot redhead (Julianne Moore). The redhead also had to remove the curse of her past. To me the star of the movie and book was Newfoundland and Julianne was a bonus.

Gene

[DMT]

I never cared much for The Shipping News. Would suggest you try Rare Birds or The Grand Seduction.

Don


Sent from my iPhone using Airstream Forums

[Gene]

Don,

I know The Shipping News is not all that popular there. I'd leave out all the Petal* parts and get to the NF part. I'll look up those two other books. Right now I'm reading two books about how the American lower class ("working man") is getting screwed by Joe Bageant. They were sent to me by our friends in Victoria.

The last little bit of exterior painting was finished yesterday—we painted the steps to the ground and cleaned up paint spots on the deck tile. Our two decks were done with porcelain tile over a decoupler over OSB. A decoupler (Ditra in this case) is a material that isolates the tile from the movement of the surface below so the tile doesn't crack. The tile is cracking and the grout is failing. OSB should never be used outside because if water does get to it, it swells and deteriorates. Grout doesn't stop much water, but the mortar (thinset probably) should and the Ditra should too. But if the thinset cracks and the seal between pieces of Ditra fails, then water gets through to the OSB. In the two years the house was empty, snow collected on the deck all winter and managed to either seep through all that or wick in from the edges. I sealed the edges two years ago, but the deck continues to act badly. There were water stains on the structure holding all this up when we bought the house, but that is no worse since we;ve been clearing the snow off. I'm thinking the only solution (besides building a new deck—big bucks) is to put in another decoupler and new tile. I can level the low spots and make sure the deck slopes properly and then seal it better with better grout. That's got to cost more than a grand, but a new deck would be a lot more. Not this year as indoor projects loom and tiling is not for cool or cold weather. The wind pattern from the hill to one side of the deck is such that snow collects in big piles on the deck, so I'm looking for snow fence to put on the hill. Pretty soon the state will start putting it along highways and I guess it is free for the public since they just leave it outside.

Rained a bit—we've had little rain since we came home. El Niño usually brings us more rain and snow, but so far we haven't seen that although this is supposed to be a super-El Niño year.

Back to the "great" room carpentry today. The local Sutherlands (better prices than Lowe's and Home Depot on many items plus we get a 5% discount) had some tile we've admired for years—Ragno's Boardwalk (GR color). They had a display, but none in stock (special order, no discount). They also cut the price a little. We saw that Friday and decided that was what we wanted for the master bath countertop and the shower entry. Yesterday I calculated how much we'd need and we went back and bought it. When we got to the SUV to load it, one box had been damaged on the corner and crackled several tiles. We went back and exchanged it for another box with the help of a store employee (easy since she knows us and we didn't have to got through a formal return with much paperwork). When I got to the SUV, I saw the top tile was cracked, so we brought it back, went through the same thing and got another box. This time we opened it and could find no cracks, shrink wrapped it and brought it home. The first time we rolled right past the cashier and she never noticed we took a box of tile in a shopping cart out; the second time she did notice, but Barb explained what had happened. I wanted to tell her we weren't stealing tile, just shopping carts, but I refrained. So it is time to unload the SUV, a few tiles at a time and make sure there are no more cracks. I hope this tile is not really brittle—it is class 4 porcelain and shouldn't crack so easily (class 5 is hardest). I assume shipping was brutal or unloading at the store was. This project should happen in mid-winter, but we keep our eyes out for sales. We're also looking for new kitchen LED lighting. Haven't found the right sale or lamps yet.

Gene

*Petal is one of the most awful characters you can imagine and sets the stage for character studies in the book and movie, but we are more interested in the Newfoundland parts than showing what a wimp the male lead is in the beginning.

[slowmover]

Joe Bageant was always a good read.

The early 2000s Morris Berman trilogy is good companion to him if not with the same type of voice.

[Gene]

Our 3rd snow of the winter last night and we got a couple of inches. Each storm has been a little more and we await the heavy snows of El Niño. It was like a warm Sept. until the end of October, no transition, and then freezing temps and below for the past week.

Progress in finishing the paneling and moldings in the "great room" and though I said I'd be finished in October, I will be finished in a week. We ordered new lighting for the kitchen—found it cheapest on Amazon. One lamp came missing one decorative nut that holds the shade to the fixture. Amazon wouldn't send the nut (86¢ at a hardware store) and wanted me to send back the package and they would send me a replacement. I set that up, but then they told me I could buy the nut and they would take 20% off the price of one lamp. I got the nut and told them to stop the replacement from being shipped. They shipped it anyway and I told them they had made a mistake. Did they want me to send it back or keep it? They said to keep it. I have a place for it where I was not going to replace a fixture. This all lowered the price/fixture to about $120 each, really cheap for decent lighting. Just about all lighting comes from China now and even the best stuff is not as well done as US manufactured lighting is or maybe, was. But the other issues with the new ceiling lamps (uneven coating on a few places on the fixture) can't be seen from the floor. Chinese fixtures have improved a lot from 15 years ago when they started coming here.

Then a dishwasher started going bad. The soap compartment wouldn't open and the dishes had to be pre-washed. We have 2 dishwashers—previous owners must have entertained a lot. We were at Lowe's getting some paint mixed and Barb suggested we go look at dishwashers for a few minutes. I dutifully followed her (I am really easy to fool some days) and there was a Bosch for $539 marked down from $600. It looked like the one we bought for the last house. The good thing about Bosch is their dishwashers are all about the same except for more insulation and buttons (those added ones hardly anybody uses), so why buy a more expensive one?

A salesboy came over. He looked 15 and I said I wanted a bigger discount. He went over to the appliance manager and was told "no". The manager was busy talking to another couple and pretty much blew off the salesboy. When he returned I asked him if I could get a discount if I bought 2? He went back to the manager and I followed. The manager continued to talk to the other couple and eventually blew us both off. Then I went up front and asked for the store manager—he wasn't there, but I talked to an assistant manager and told him the appliance manager wasn't very receptive to questions and how much for 2? I got them for $500 each. They come Friday. There are no set prices anymore and you might as well ask. Now there will be 2 less white appliances (we went for stainless or it would have been less). And I will never have to replace a dishwasher again unless I make it to 100+.

A couple of days ago I removed the worst of the 2 Whirlpool dishwashers. The dishwasher shut off valve was mounted on a T and faced the back of the cabinet with about 1/8" clearance. It would not turn. The front one (for the sink) worked easily. I got a wrench and managed to turn it about 1/4 turn fearing it would break and either I'd have to turn the shaft with a vise grip or I'd have a hot water fountain in the sink cabinet. It didn't break, but the space was so tight (disposal, pipes, drain, valves) I had to keep changing wrenches because with every quarter turn, the channel locks, or a small visegrip or a very large channel locks, would not fit and I'd have to change wrenches. I turned that valve almost 2 revolutions before it moved freely. Someone must have opened it that much past the stop and somehow didn't break it. I checked the other valve for the slightly better dishwasher and it is just as stuck although it doesn't face the back of the cabinet. The trouble with buying a house where the previous homeowner did a lot of the work himself is that you run into some really strange problems.

To add to the challenges of everyday life, the "e" key on my laptop has to be hit "vry" hard. So hard that a piece of the top of plastic key broke—or maybe it broke, I didn't notice it and that little piece fell down and is obstructing it inside the keyboard. I just tried to fish it out and didn't. Maybe a vacuum will work. Apple makes great stuff, but the laptop keyboards suck—the letter paint wears off (happened on every laptop I've had) and now they break. Speaking of Apple, we saw the Steve Jobs movie—entertainment, but much is made up. I guess the point was to show Jobs was an awful person to work for, but why embellish? There's also a documentary that came out just before this about Jobs which I'd like to see if it ever comes here.

I ordered from Newfoundland tourism the 2015 map and tourist book a couple of weeks ago. Still waiting. I got the movie (The Grand Seduction—not that kind of seduction) that DMT recommended. It is about how a small town tries to keep a doctor who came there for a limited time. This storyline was part of the theme of Northern Exposure and Doc Martin, but I'm always interested in seeing something about the culture of a place I will visit.

I hope to get the kitchen lighting done before Xmas. We'll paint the ceiling while we are at it. Hard to get anything done around the holidays, but we'll try. Dishwashers this weekend. Master bathroom early next year. Also build a closet in the basement and paint kitchen cabinets. I'm sure we'll think of something else and there is trailer maintenance and improvements too. When do I get to retire?

Gene

[Lily&Me]

You've been very busy, Gene, and gone from here quite a long time.

Welcome back.


Maggie

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Hi, I'm hoping for my first white Christmas ever, or at least snow at my house for the first time ever. I think my chances of snow this year, in Salem, are pretty good.

My keyboard for my desk top was acting up, badly. I wanted another wireless key board, but all of the reviews were of new key boards doing what my old one is doing. I had an old wired keyboard in my trailer and that is what I'm using now.

Hey Gene; For $1,000.00, I'll wash your dishes and do a better job than any machine, or two.