Our More Efficient Camping Buddy

Gary took some pictures of Dodge's interior renovation this morning, so now I can show you what he looks like with all the added storage. For the past few weeks, Gary has been modifying Dodge to make him a more efficient hauler for our camping gear, antiques, and all the other things we carry or pick up on our trips. Dodge's floor was double decked with 1x12 planks, shelves were added, storage bins were added, and now it looks like there will be places for anything and everything. All of the new wood will remain unpainted until we have some down time during the cooler weather. Gary wants to see if anything needs additional modifying before painting, and also, we are getting close to the beginning of our camping season to start, and he has a million things to get done that are more important. I think the work on Dodge looks pretty darn good, but I will let the pictures speak for themselves. The only thing I see that scares me is that Gary made a platform for a bed in Dodge. I hope that doesn't mean that he plans to go camping in Dodge instead instead of me. I need some serious cleaning and polishing before we go away, and I was going to start whining about it. But after seeing that bed, I think I'd better keep my mouth shut. I surely don't want to spend the camping season at home in the garage while Gary and Dodge are out having fun without me. Bye for now.

Big Step, Little Step

The ridiculously hot summer is still going full steam (literally), and I am counting the days until we hit the highway for our latest camping season. If I've counted correctly, there are 29 days to go. Gary is working hard and sweating off the pounds on a lot of both new and ongoing projects. None of them have had anything to do with me directly, other than re-working my entry step from it's original large size, down to a more manageable compact size. When he started, it measured 36 inches wide, and 21 inches deep. Now it's a mere 19 inches wide, and 13 inches deep. There was no point in it being as big as it was. After all, it's just a step to make it a little easier for Gary and our occasional guests to get in and out of me. The smaller size will be better in a number of ways. From the pictures I've posted, you can see what the step looked like originally, then a size comparison between the original (shown in blue tape) and the smaller step, and then a pic of the smaller step with it's astroturf mat cut to fit in front of my door. I think it looks pretty cool, Gary is happy with it, and Dodge will be happier carrying a step that weighs a whole lot less. It's a winner! Speaking of Dodge, there's been some interesting things going on with him lately. As soon as I get some pictures, I will post them so everyone can see. That's about it for now. I'll talk to you soon.

Bernadette

Well, just when I thought that Gary was not going to buy any more trailers, he brought home a rare Serro Scotty that we have lovingly named Bernadette. One of our favorite TV shows is "The Big Bang Theory", and Bernadette is one of our favorite characters on that show. Unfortunately, our Bernadette is not nearly as cute as the one on the TV show. She's rough to say the least, but she's got potential. After some research, it appears that "Bernie" was built in 1961. She's a rare front kitchen/side dinette model. Her skin, underneath all that mildew and mold, is surprisingly nice. Her original Irwin Pennsylvania Serro Scotty emblems are still intact, as is her complete and unbroken Bargman L-66 door lock. Her wheel wells have been modified from the original "swoosh" that Scottys are known for, to a nicely rounded radius. This modification actually looks pretty good, and Gary tells me that changing tires on her was SO much easier because of it. Speaking of tires and wheels, do you recognize those beautiful red wheels that Bernadette is sporting? You should. They belong to ME!!! One is my spare, and the other is my left side tire. I was wondering why my tire was being removed, but I was thinking I was going to get my brakes adjusted. That's what I get for thinking! I should have known that Gary was up to something. Poor old Bernadette has a really shabby interior, what is left of it that is. The kitchen area is mostly there, but everything else has been removed. A few pieces are laying on the floor, but there's not enough left to use as patterns. Gary will have to "wing it" whenever he gets around to rebuilding her, but he shouldn't have any trouble with that. After all, he "winged it" with me, and look how I turned out. Bernadette will probably get a bath so she will look better. I need to get my wheels and tires back too, so Gary will have to come up with some replacements for her. Other than that, I don't think anything else will get done to her for a long time, but at least she's here with her Scotty relatives instead of being all alone. She's adapting to her new surroundings very well. Our garage was once an all-boys residence, but the girls are beginning to take over. We now have the trailer girls, Bernadette, Poppy, Jackie, and Caroline, and the riding lawn mower, Helen the Husqvarna. As far as the boys, we have Gary and me, Scotty, Chip, and Henry. It's five and five at the moment. The balance of power will never change though, since everybody knows (including Gary) that I rule the roost. You can't argue with the truth! On that note, I'll leave you today with some pictures of our sweet little Bernadette. She's a diamond in the rough, but she's our diamond and we're VERY happy about that.

Happy Birthday, Buddy (Better Late Than Never!)

I don't think I've ever mentioned it, but Gary gives me a weekly allowance. It fluctuates in value, but it's always a decent amount. Heck, since I just sit here and don't do much, I really don't deserve anything. But Gary is a generous guy, and he knows I like to shop on eBay or amazon, or occasionally book a campsite for us. It's great to have the money to do those things. I had a couple of hundred bucks saved up, so I thought I would get Gary a late 60th birthday present. We were camping back in February when his birthday (and actually my birthday too) happened. There wasn't time to do anything special. Since summer is here and I've got plenty of spare time, I've been thinking about what I could get for Gary that he would really like. Recently, he's been looking at bicycles online. His old bike is a JC Penney model that he bought in 1980. He likes to ride on the beach, and those skinny little tires on his old bike were NOT sand friendly. He was looking at bikes that had nice fat tires, something that could basically float over soft or hard packed sand without digging in. A few days ago, he was drooling over a Mongoose bike called "The Beast". Wal-Mart sells them. They have 4" wide tires that are PERFECT for the beach. He bookmarked the page, so it was easy for me to find it when he was not around. I thought I would have to order the bike, but the local Wal-Mart just happened to have a couple of them in stock. So, I called the store, paid for the bike with Gary's credit card, and told them that he would pick it up. This morning, I told Gary that I had ordered something pre-paid under his name, and asked him to get it for me. He didn't ask what it was, but assumed that it was a DVD set that I had conveniently mentioned a couple of times. I can just imagine how surprised he must have been, when he got to the store with the order number, and the sales associate rolled that cool bike out of the back room. Gary is pretty hard to fool, but I got him GOOD this time! I couldn't wait for him to get home with the bike so I could see it in person. It's more awesome than it looks online. The bike comes in several colors, all of them in "flat" hues. I thought the black one was kind of neat. It looks like the "rat rod" custom cars that Gary likes so much. He REALLY likes it, and was TOTALLY surprised that I did this for him. I told him I used his credit card, but have already paid him back for the bike with my allowance money. We both agree that the name stickers on the bike look kind of cheesy. Gary plans to remove them. It would be really cool to get it pinstriped. He also said that the seat isn't comfortable, so I'm sure he will change that to one that's more "cushy". Other than that, the bike will be just perfect for his purposes. You can see in the pictures how different the old and new bikes are. The old one has served it's purpose, but after 35 years, it was time for something different. The new bike is about as different as it gets. My dog Serra likes the smell of the new tires. She's had her nose up against them ever since the bike got here. Gary does SO much for me. I'm very glad that I could do something for him. It really is better to give than to receive. This was FUN!!!

Summer's Here, And We're Not Happy

Hey, remember me? It's been six whole weeks since I last created a blog post. It isn't that I've been busy or lazy, it's just that there hasn't been anything going on around here that involves me. I've just been sitting here watching TV, or sitting here watching Gary work. I'm a GREAT watcher, but not too handy in the help department. My main job, (as it always is), is to provide a comfortable place for Gary to hang out when he wants to, and I think I do a pretty good job of that. I'm cool inside in the summer, and warm inside in the winter. Who could ask for more, right? Luckily, Gary seems to be pretty darn happy with me. It seems like years since our camping season ended. It will feel like years until our new camping season begins in the fall. Summers are extremely long in Florida. The other seasons flash by in a heartbeat. As the days have gone by, it has continued to get hotter and hotter. As you can see by the photo of the thermometer that is hanging on my stone shield, it was 101 degrees this afternoon inside the garage. It's been 98 and 99 degrees every day for a week or so, but today is the first day that's it's reached triple digits. Sadly, this is just the beginning of triple digit days. July and August are especially brutal, and those dreaded months are just around the corner. We HATE the summer months. On the opposite end of the spectrum, it's a cool 64 degrees inside of me. My air conditioner has been on 24/7 since the second week of March. Yes, it was hot even then, but nothing like we are experiencing now. Gary's been taking more and more breaks to cool off. My air conditioner is much more efficient and cheaper to run than the one in the house, so he's been doing the planning for his projects in me. Some of those projects are upcoming ones that involve some work on me, so I seriously doubt if it will be six weeks before you hear from me again. When something exciting happens, I'll be telling you all about it right here on my blog. Until next time, stay cool!

Green Acres Shuffle 2015

At least once a year (and sometimes more), Gary spends a considerable amount of time cleaning and rearranging my home here in the Green Acres Garage. That has been his primary project since we got home from our trip to St.Petersburg a couple of weeks ago. He threw out a bunch of stuff this time, and that's very surprising because Gary doesn't throw out much of anything. He still has a long way to go to get the garage the way he wants it, but this was a step in the right direction. The main purpose in doing all this was to make enough room in the garage so Casper (the white cargo van) could live inside with me and the other vehicles. Unfortunately, somebody had to leave the garage to make room for Casper, and that somebody was my brother Scotty. He is now outside in the back yard with a tarp over him. He should be fine out there, but I really do miss him. I guess it does make more sense to keep the much more valuable Casper in the garage instead of a 44 year old trailer frame. It's just sad there isn't enough room for everybody. As far as who went where, here's the scoop. The old Dodge Dart and the A100 van remained where they were in the back of the garage. The space underneath the loft where Scotty used to be is now filled with clutter from other parts of the garage. Poppy is still where she was too, but got moved just a little bit closer to the roll-up garage door on the side of the garage. Dodge (who probably won't get used much this summer because his A/C doesn't work) is now alarmingly close to Poppy, and I got moved between Dodge and the workbench. There is a path on both sides of me big enough for Gary to walk through. Casper is closest to the front roll-up garage door so that he can go in and out easily. He will be Gary's primary transportation for the summer. Helen the Husqvarna got moved too. She was on the opposite side of the garage in a cramped little spot. Now she's in a wide open space near the rest of the lawn and garden equipment. Although tight, there's enough space to move her in and out of the garage without having to move Casper. Even though the garage is still a mess (obviously not MY fault!), it is definitely more organized and space efficient than it was. Gary should be happy with it, at least for awhile, and if he's happy, then I'm happy.

Our 2014/2015 Camping Season In Review, Vol. 5 of 5

This is the last volume of the review of our recent camping season. I promised Gary that I'd get this done ASAP, and I think I've done a pretty good job. I don't think I will have to worry about getting my TV privileges revoked anytime soon, and I am VERY happy about that. Here's where we went to on our last two rounds of camping. Round #10 (March 22nd thru March 29th, 2015) As I mentioned previously, our air conditioner was a "must have" accessory to take along with us as we headed to central Florida. The temperatures were climbing quickly, and we knew we would need it. Our first stop (of two) was Wekiwa Springs State Park in Apopka, FL. That's in the Orlando area. We spent four nights there. At most of the places we went to during our camping season, Gary went antique shopping a lot while I hung out at the campground. Wekiwa was no different. There are several antique stores in the Orlando area that Gary really likes, so he was gone every day. I had a nice shady campsite to enjoy, lots of squirrels to watch, and great TV reception, so I was fine with him being gone. Our next stop was Tomoka State Park in Ormond Beach. This was our second visit to Tomoka this season, both visits taking place while car shows were going on at the Daytona International Speedway. It rained heavily right after we arrived, and Tomoka turns into a mud pit when it rains. We are sick of the muddy conditions there, and we won't be going back. We spent four nights there. A total of 629 miles was traveled, and I was along for 222 of those miles. Gary and Dodge logged 407 miles without me. This was our last leisurely camping trip of the season. We had one more trip to go on, but it was a working trip for Gary. For me, camping is ALWAYS leisurely. For Round #11 (April 12th thru April 22nd, 2015), we headed back to where our camping season actually began back in October. The destination was St. Petersburg, FL. Just like our previous trip to St. Petersburg, the purpose of going there was for Gary to work on his rental house. We were supposed to head over there at the beginning of April, but there were several delays. We arrived on April 12th, and camped on the driveway of our friends Bill and Sandy, just like we did in October. Gary had no idea how long it was going to take to complete the repairs on the house. As usual, it took longer than he thought. We were there for eleven nights, all of them spent with Bill and Sandy. We headed back to St. Augustine on April 23rd. Our lengthy (and fun for the most part) camping season was over. Gary had no time to antique shop in St. Petersburg, so there wasn't much additional mileage racked up by him and Dodge by themselves. A total of 527 miles was traveled. During 403 of them, I was along for the ride. Only 124 miles was traveled without me. So here are the grand totals after our eleven rounds of camping: We traveled a total of 11,018 miles in 3 states. I tagged along for 5676 of those miles, and Gary and Dodge traveled 5342 miles without me. We spent 4 nights with family in Georgia, and 17 nights with friends in Florida. A whopping 104 nights were spent at state parks, including 71 in Florida, 31 in Georgia, and 2 in Alabama. Gary knows exactly how much money he spent, but I won't get into that because I don't want to depress my best buddy. But he agrees with me that it was worth every penny. Looking over our camping reservations for next season, I can tell already that we are going to have a TON of fun. Going to all new places that we haven't been to before will be REALLY exciting. I can't wait to get started. But first things first, and we have a hot Florida summer to get through. I'm sure there will be some interesting things going on around here, and I will keep you in the loop when they do. Until next time, this is Toaster. Over and OUT!!!