Happy Birthday, Dodge!!!

It's May 8th, 2019, and 27 years ago today in 1992, our best buddy Dodge was "born" at Chrysler's Pillette Road Truck Assembly Plant in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. All of the B-series Dodge vans from 1971 through 2003 originated in the now defunct factory. Dodge was shipped to Florida not long after his birth, and he has lived in Florida his whole life. Gary found a sales listing for Dodge on eBay on September 24th, 2006. At that time, they were living only about three miles away from each other, so Gary went to check him out. There was something noticeably special about Dodge from the first minute that Gary saw him. After paying the measly sum of only $1200 for him, Dodge became the most valuable member of Gary's vehicular family. He still holds that same status today. Not long after the purchase, Gary and Dodge spent a full week camping together at Anastasia State Park in St. Augustine. Gary never was a big fan of camping, but Dodge got him out there and made him see how much fun camping could be. That first camping trip was spent with Dodge's conversion van interior, consisting of a very uncomfortable couch that folded down into a bed. By the time the next camping trip happened a month or so later, Dodge's cargo space was turned into something more useful and camping friendly. Gone was the couch/bed, and gone was the faded shag carpeting. Gary installed a plywood floor and various storage bins. He bought an air mattress and some other amenities to make Dodge REALLY comfortable, and off they went. They camped together whenever time allowed for the next few years. In 2009, with the "camping bug" in full effect, Gary decided to buy a small vintage camping trailer. During his childhood years, a neighborhood friend of Gary's had a Serro Scotty trailer that they often played in. Those were good times, so the hunt was on for the brand of trailer that Gary remembered so fondly. After a want ad for a Serro Scotty turned up no leads in the Florida area, Gary bought my brother "Scotty" from an eBay seller in of all places, Missouri. Dodge took his longest trip to date, traveling over a thousand miles one way to pick up "Scotty". They traveled a few hundred miles of Route 66 before returning to Florida. Once home, it was obvious that poor old "Scotty" was going to need a total rebuild. He also needed a few replacement parts. Two months after purchasing "Scotty", an ad appeared on Craigslist for me. I was right here in Florida too, on the west coast near Largo. Gary and Dodge came to get me, and that was the beginning of our happy life together. Although Gary originally intended to use me for parts for "Scotty", I was actually in much better shape. So "Scotty" was relegated to future project status, and after LOTS of work, I became the third member of "The Three Camp-A-Teers". Dodge became the hauler instead of the camper. He was the perfect size for transporting all of our gear, and towed me with ease. And the rest, as they say, is history. Dodge is the brawn, I'm the beauty, and Gary is the brains that does everything else. We work VERY well together.  Besides being perhaps the most valuable member of our group, Dodge has been involved in most everything in Gary's life since that fateful day in 2006. Moving across the state from St. Petersburg to St. Augustine in 2007, Dodge hauled all of Gary's possessions except the larger furniture items. He's towed cars, he's towed the other seven Serro Scotty trailers that now live here with us, he's hauled building materials, antiques, and even groceries. The attached photos depict some of the highs and lows that Dodge has experienced. Other than the two accidents that poor old Dodge had in late 2017 and early 2018 (neither of which were Gary or Dodge's fault), he's had a happy life here. Even the accidents didn't stop Dodge. Both cars that hit him were undriveable afterwards, but Dodge rolled on. After many thousands of miles, the only thing that has ever stopped him in his tracks, was a dead electric fuel pump at 252,000 miles. He has 272,000 on his odometer now. He may be just an old, outdated, piece of junk to most people, but he means everything to Gary and I. Who knows how things would have turned out for any of us if Dodge had not gotten Gary to enjoy camping? I'm sure I wouldn't be here, and for that I am eternally grateful. No vehicle could ever replace our hero. Long live Dodge! Happy 27th Birthday, my dear friend.

Return Of The Long Lost Toaster

Where do I begin? It's been SO long since I posted on my blog, that my mind is about to explode with all the things I need to catch you up on. I could write for a week straight, but I'll try to keep it somewhat short, and hit just the highlights. Here goes. As you can see in the photos, I'm in my usual place in the Green Acres Garage. And with all the stuff surrounding me, it doesn't look like I'll be going anywhere in the near future. I've been right here in this same spot since February 12th. That was the day we returned from our last camping trip. Yes, there were other camping trips on the schedule for later in February, March, and even into April, but they all got cancelled. It wasn't that I was a bad boy or anything, and that Gary was punishing me by not taking me camping. It's something that Gary calls "priorities". I guess that's something you humans have to deal with from time to time. This time, those "priorities" effected our plans to camp, and that effected me as well. Needless to say, I was disappointed, but that's okay. After I thought about it for awhile, I finally understood. There will be other times we can go camping. So what were the "priorities" that got in the way of having fun? Well, there was basically only one priority, but it was a biggie. It was Gary's need to prepare his house in St. Petersburg to be sold. That involved repairs, painting, cleaning, yard work, and getting his tenant to move out of the house. It took time, and it took eight trips to and from St. Petersburg for Gary and Casper the cargo van. He came home on occasion to catch up on things here, but he was never here for more than a week, and that only happened once. Dodge and I REALLY missed having Gary here with us. We had each other, but it just wasn't the same without the most important member of The Three Camp-A-Teers. The days and nights were VERY long. While Gary worked on the house, the tenant hunted for a new place to live. He finally found one, and it took him about two weeks to be totally out of Gary's house. Having him gone made working on the house a lot easier for Gary, and he was able to work longer hours there. Also, before the tenant moved out, Gary was camping in Casper over at the home of Bill and Sandy, our bestest friends on the planet. After the tenant moved out, Gary was able to stay at his own house, hence the longer working hours. The house was shown to perspective buyers on multiple occasions, and on April 12th, an offer and signed contract was presented. Gary accepted the offer, and still continued to work on the house. He finally finished up on April 16th. April 30th was the closing on the house, and everything went smoothly. So that BIG priority has been handled,  and now there's money in the bank to buy a building in Georgia, if Gary finds one he really likes. He made a trip to Sylvania Georgia on April 26th to look at a building, but it just wasn't right. So, the search continues. I've gotten quite good at searching through the Georgia MLS listings, LoopNet, and several other websites for commercial buildings. My computer skills continue to improve. Now that May is here, the temperatures seem to rise a few degrees every day. We only camp in cooler temperatures, so I know we won't be going anywhere, even if I could escape from this pile of stuff I'm wedged in here with. But I've been told we will go on a very special trip next fall, to make up for the trips that were cancelled over the past few months. I hope it really happens. In the meantime, we have the LONG and HOT Florida summer to get through. And even though Gary may make an occasional trip to check out buildings in Georgia, for the most part he will be here with Dodge and I. That's the BEST!!! Hang in there, my friends, and I hope to have some interesting news for you soon. Bye!