Sunday, February 26, 2012

Pictures!

I’m sure you are all dying to see it, so here are all the pictures I have…

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In the campground – looks nice and compact & smaller than the B+ I rented!

The sliding door is very nice – opens up the interior, and with the counter being right there you have a place to put stuff as you come in.

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The kitchen counter – with a view out looking at “my” campsite.

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The bathroom.  I think the vanity is a little odd, especially since it’s wood, but it might just be great!

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Kitchen counter and drawers.

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The round thing on top is the awning.

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The hook-ups.  I’m honestly not sure why there are 3 plugged in here! One is the electrical hook up, the yellow one I’m guessing. It looks like the one on the left is a water hose, but I don’t think it sounds safe to have your city water hook up right next to the electrical one…gonna have to ask my parents.  One could be a cable TV hook up.

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Both the driver and the passenger seats turn around giving you a place to sit when you are camped.  Since the “tall stuff” – bathroom, storage, fridge, are on the driver side you can see out from these seats!  You can also open the sliding door and basically be sitting outside.  I’m going to look into getting a screen to go over the door opening to keep some of the bugs out.

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The driver seat!  The one issue with this coach is that it has a basic AM/FM/CD radio – no satellite, no MP3 jack.  At some point I’m going to have it replaced but in the meantime Mom got me some little speakers for my iPod that I can put on the dash.

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Spot for a table in the back.  The couch above the hole in the floor folds into a bed, I wish there was a hole in the front for the table, but I don’t think there’s room up there.  I may not use the table much as I’m pretty sure I’ll leave the bed as a bed most of the time.  I’m going to get a lap desk or something to have a “table” in the front seats.  I also think I’ll eat and do other “table” tasks at the picnic table in my campsite.

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Under bed storage.

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The kitchen, bedroom/dining room, fridge, microwave/convection, and storage wardrobe.  One huge advantage of this coach over other Class B’s is that it has dual rear tires meaning it can carry more weight and I can have a larger fridge and a separate freezer!

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TV and radio – oddly enough this radio has an MP3 jack but it’s not connected to the cab speakers and I don’t think you can hear it in the front (even though it’s not that far).  The difference here is that the in dash radio is part of the chassis and this one is part of the house.

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Cabinets all around the top to store stuff in.

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Looking back toward the door from the bed/table

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Window by the bed.

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Another great campground shot – look how cute it is tucked in there! 

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The aisle – the bathroom is the door with the mirror on it, then the wardrobe, then the fridge/microwave.

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That’s all folks!  I’m sure there will be more when I get it, although there’s not much more to show!

An “African” for my RV

My great-grandmother crocheted a lot of afghans, or rather Africans, as we sometimes called them.  Everyone had one in their car and my mom used to tease that she had to “sit in the back seat with the African”.  I’m really not sure how we started calling them “Africans” but it does sounds funny! Whenever someone got a new car my great grandma would start a afghan for the car that matched the color of the car.  

Around Christmas I finished a blanket I was working on and didn’t have a new project in mind so I started messing around with some nice cotton/acrylic yarn I’d bought.  I found a square that looked easy in one of my books and soon a plan for a new afghan was born!  It had a lot of earth tones, which aren’t my usual color palette, but I liked it.   I wasn’t sure where it was going to go but I was excited about my plan and found the yarns I needed online cheaper than at AC Moore or Michaels so I bought what I hope is enough and got started.   It soon occurred to me that my afghan would be great in my RV!  At the time I realized that I hadn’t found “my” RV yet so I was getting ready!  Now it’s great because I have all the yarn I need (hopefully) and it’s the perfect free activity to keep me busy until April!

 

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My plan is to make 9 big squares – each square is going to be 4 small squares with a border – after I join all 9 big squares I’ll put a border around that.  Each square is going to be both a “color” and a “neutral”.   I’m going to make 2 of each color combo – one with the “color” in the center and the “neutral” on the border and then the reverse.  The middle square is going to be purple in the center and almond on the edge.  I’d planned to use the almond for the border of the whole afghan, however I realized that the couch in my RV is Almond color (at least it looks that way in the picture) so since I have 2 skeins of a brown that is too similar to another brown to use in the body and 2 skeins of pink that I couldn’t work in I’m going to expand the border to include those 2 colors as well.    I can’t decide it it’s going to truly look good when I’m done or not…I LOVE the yarn so I really hope it does!  It will keep me warm on chilly nights in the RV regardless of if it looks good or not!

Blog Name

When I was in Maine I was camped by a lake and it occurred to that I was in fact "Livin' in a van, down by the river" as Matt Foely had threatened in the classic SNL skit. What struck me as extra funny is that not only do I desire to "live in a van down by the river" but the only reason it's possible is because I've worked hard & been responsible with money. My getting the privilege to "live in a van down by the river" is not punishment for bad choices but a consequence of good ones! I love the irony, which is why I decided to name the blog after the skit!

In case you've never seen the SNL skit, if it's been awhile:

How it All Began

Admittedly, RV ownership isn’t something that most thirty-somethings dream of, and actually follow through on so how did this dream come to be? 

Ten years ago my dad retired and my parents decided that they would buy an RV, this was something they had dreamed about when they were younger and they were getting to act on their dreams.   In December of 2001 they brought home their 36 ft Country Coach Class A (like the Barbie Dream Camper) Diesel Pusher.  It was just before Christmas when we set out on our “Maiden Voyage”.    I was in graduate school at the time and had a very long winter break so I came home to Cincinnati and helped them pack and organize and went along for the 1st trip.  At first I really though the RV was going to push my parents marriage over the edge, it was quite a transition, with a lot to learn, but 10 years later I think the RV has only served to bring us all together.

My plan had been to bring my tent and sleep there while my parents slept in the coach.  I even got a nice Kelty Backpacking Sleeping bag  and a new Thermarest for Christmas that year.  Our first night out we were in Lexington, VA (I think), heading 1st to Williamsburg with plans to get all the way to the Everglades (overly ambitious plans I might add), and it was mid-December.  It wasn’t the cold the got me, it was the wind.  The tent kept moving and the noise of the wind in the trees was deafening.  Within an hour I was in the coach sleeping on the foldout couch.

A similar scenario played out in Charleston, SC when the wind was blowing so hard one of the tent stakes blew out of the ground.  That night it was already so late when I decided to abandon the tent I decided to sleep in the Jeep.  My parents had given me a key, in case of emergency, so I let myself in and put the seat down, then snuggled up next to the tow bar my dad had removed from the front of the car and went to sleep. 

Over the years we tried a few more times for me to sleep in my tent while my parents slept in the coach but it never lasted more than a night or two before I migrated in to the foldout couch in the Coach.  I really wanted to like camping, sleeping in the tent just didn’t do it for me.  I didn’t like that I couldn’t see out and no matter what I tried I couldn’t find a comfortable bed solution. 

In 2007 my parents were planning to drive to Alaska and wanted me to come along.  I decided that it would better if I rented a small RV so I’d have my own place.  They set out from Virginia in May and got to Anchorage a few days before my flight arrived mid-July!  I had a 21ft Class C (cab over – your typical “Camper”) and it seemed to be just perfect for me!  I’d never driven anything like it before so my parents decided that I would go in front so they could “help” via walkie talkie.   We set out from the rental agency and headed down Turnagin Arm, a narrow two lane road with mountains on one side and water on the other.  It was beautiful, but stressful for your 1st time driving in an RV, especially when your mom is behind you yelling at you through the walkie talkie, talk about a backseat driver!  The next day I managed to get behind Mom and Dad and finally started getting more comfortable behind the wheel. 

The second night of our Alaska trip we were in Homer and we camped right on the beach!  Of course Alaska beaches are different from say Florida beaches, this one was all rocky and the water was too cold for swimming, but it was surrounded by mountains!  We just pulled into a spot and put it in park!  The view out the windshield was outstanding and we got to watch Bald Eagles and seals right from our RVs.   The sales pitch was working. 

Later in the trip my dad and I hiked to the Harding Ice Field in Kenai Fjords National Park.  It was raining as it did the whole time we were in Seward.   It was also cold.  There were no views of the Ice Field, yet we climbed all the way up there anyway (7.5 miles with 4,000 ft of elevation gain/loss).  When we got back to the parking area we were soaked – inside (from sweat) and outside (from the rain) and cold.  Lucky for me we had driven my little RV and all my stuff was right there.  I quickly changed into warm dry fuzzy pajamas!  Yep, I needed to have one these! :-)

A few years later in July 2009 I went on a solo RV trip to Maine.  I rented a Phoenix Cruiser, which is basically an overgrown camper van.  I liked it enough but it was very big, especially for trying to navigate small towns and such in Maine. Also, because I was solo it was my only car so if I wanted to go somewhere I had to drive it.  Luckily I spent a week in Bar Harbor at Acadia NP and they have a bus system that provided me with all the transportation I needed for the week! 

My two weeks, mostly on my own (there were a few phone calls to Mom & Dad in Williamsburg) in Maine further solidified my desire to own my RV!

I still wasn’t ready to make a purchase though and in July 2010 we went to Washington State.  OMG.  I thought Alaska was my favorite state but now I’m pretty sure it’s Washington!  We saw all the big stuff: North Cascades, Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Rainier, Olympic.  I again rented a small RV – a “compact” from Cruise America.  This was the smallest unit I’d had and I definitely liked it best.  I could see myself driving it in towns or to remote areas in the mountains.  I navigated Seattle traffic in it.  I even drove it to a remote trailhead.   It was still very much an RV though, boxy and I found it exceptionally hard to back into campsites.  

By the time we started planning our trip to California last summer I knew that Class B Camper Vans were what I was interested in.  Mom stumbled upon a rental company that rented 19 ft Vans!  There was no thinking about it, that was what I was going to rent to see if it was too small.   From the 1st moment I set foot in my Apollo RV “Cheapa Camper” I knew a van was for me!  It was easy to drive and maneuver in traffic, I had no trouble parking in a crowded parking lot to grab a In and Out Burger for lunch.  When I arrived at my campsite in Sequoia NP and found it to more closely resemble a parking spot at Wal-Mart than a campsite, I was able to easily back it in!  Space was at a premium, but it was just me and I had all that I needed: a bed, a 12 volt plug to charge my technology, a bathroom, and propane stove to make my coffee! The ease in driving, parking, and overall maneuverability made up for the lack of space. 

I knew that once I’d gone to a van I couldn’t go back so started seriously thinking about buying one.  I started frequently checking RVTrader for good deals.  In January I went to an RV show and saw the whole line of Roadtreks in person for the 1st time.  It was love!  I’d seen them all plenty of times online but seeing them in person was so much better! 

The one I’m buying is a Pleasure-Way, which isn’t what I originally had my heart set on, but the more I read, the more research I do, the more I realize that it’s better.  WAY better.  So many little things make it better, we’ll explore those in future posts!  The one thing I’m worrying about though is it’s length – it’s 23 ft long, which is closer to the length of the Phoenix I rented rather than the van.   I just can’t wait until April 1st when I get to pick it up and drive it for the 1st time and start learning all of it’s quirks!

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Canadian Places I’ve Visited

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My RV is Canadian and there are some pretty great places to go in Canada, so exploring Canada is also high on the to do list! I definitely want to make it back to Alberta and all it’s wonderful Canadian National Parks: Banff, Jasper, and Yoho.  I’ve heard there’s some pretty awesome stuff in Newfoundland too. I’m also planning to take my Pleasure-Way “home” to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (which is super fun to say!) and tour the factory!

 

 

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For right now I’m simply going to list the Provinces in alphabetical order and as I visit them I’ll add links to the blog post and the names of any Canadian National Parks and Provincial Parks I visit or camp in. 

 

Alberta:

British Columbia: 

Manitoba:

Northwest Territories:

New Brunswick:

Newfoundland & Labrador:

Nova Scotia:

Nunavut:

Ontario:

Prince Edward Island:

Quebec:

Yukon Territories:

State Parks I’ve Visited

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I’m also hoping to visit plenty of State Parks!   As I visit parks in each state, I’ll link the blog post for that park and put the name by the name of the state here. 

Alabama:

Alaska:

Arizona:

Arkansas:

California:

Colorado:

Connecticut:

Delaware:

Florida:

Georgia:

Hawaii: I’m listing this one because it is a state, however I’ll never get my RV there!

Idaho:

Illinois:

Indiana:

Iowa:

Kansas:

Kentucky:

Louisiana:

Maine:

Maryland:

Massachusetts:

Michigan:

Minnesota:

Mississippi:

Missouri:

Montana:

Nebraska:

Nevada:

New Mexico:

New Hampshire:

New Jersey:

New York:

North Carolina:

North Dakota:

Ohio:

Oklahoma:

Oregon:

Pennsylvania:

Rhode Island:

South Carolina:

South Dakota:

Tennessee:

Texas:

Utah:

Vermont:

Virginia:

Washington:

Wisconsin:

West Virginia:

Wyoming:

National Forests I’ve Visited

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In addition to visiting National Parks I also want to visit a lot of the National Forests, it’s yet another reason for buying a small camper van.  When we were in CA we discovered that there were tons of great National Forest Service Campgrounds in very remote, less crowded areas.  Many of the NFS campgrounds were in a nicer setting than the more crowded National Park areas! I’m hoping to take advantage of these quiet, off the beaten path campgrounds!  Just like the National Parks there are a ton of National Forests so I’m not going to  list each one here until I’ve camped or hiked there. 

Check out all of our National Forests here.

 

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I’ve also decided to add National Wildlife Refuges here.  They are are more similar to National Forests than other public lands, even though they are different.  Learn more about Refuges here.

Virginia

George Washington National Forest:

Jefferson National Forest

West Virginia

Monongahela National Forest

Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge

Colorado

Arapaho-Roosevelt National Forest

White River National Forest

Gunnison National Forest

San Isabel National Forest

Uncompahgre National Forest

Florida

Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge

National Parks I’ve Visited

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One of the reasons I want to own an RV, and a small one at that is to visit as many National Parks as I can.  On this page I’m going to list the parks I’ve visited and link back to the blog post about that park.  Due to the large number of parks I’m not going to list the parks now, I’m simply going to add them as I visit and then include links when I revisit a park. 

If you are interested in checking out the National Parks go here.

 

Shenandoah National Park:

Acadia National Park:

Colonial National Historic Park:

Rocky Mountain National Park:

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park

Colorado National Monument

Jefferson National Expansion Memorial (St. Louis Arch)

New River Gorge National River

Biscyane National Park

Dry Tortugas National Park

Everglades National Park

Canaveral National Seashore 

Big Cypress Preserve

States I’ve Visited

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RVers frequently keep track of the states they have visited in their RV with a neat sticker system seen here:

http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/states-sticker/17694.   Usually you stick the outline of the US to the outside of your RV – like a bumper sticker and then as you travel you apply the stickers for the states you have visited.   The exterior of my RV is so pretty with it’s full body paint, I don’t want to put any stickers on it.  I also realized that if I kept track of this here I could share my adventures with all of you!   I’m planning to make this post interactive and after I stay in (or drive through) a state I’ll put the date and link it to the blog post about that state!  I’ve also decided to list the states in alphabetical order, since that seems like an easy way to organize rather than by region, we’ll see, I may change things up as we go!

Alabama:

Alaska:

Arizona:

Arkansas:

California:

Colorado:

Connecticut:

Delaware: 7.16.12 – Drive by, no blog

Florida:

Georgia:

Hawaii: I’m listing this one because it is a state, however I’ll never get my RV there!

Idaho:

Illinois:

Indiana:

Iowa:

Kansas:

Kentucky:

Louisiana:

Maine:

Maryland:

Massachusetts:

Michigan:

Minnesota:

Mississippi:

Missouri:

Montana:

Nebraska:

Nevada:

New Mexico:

New Hampshire:

New Jersey:

New York:

North Carolina:

North Dakota:

Ohio:

Oklahoma:

Oregon:

Pennsylvania:

Rhode Island:

South Carolina:

South Dakota:

Tennessee:

Texas: 

Utah:

Vermont:

Virginia:

Washington:

Wisconsin:

West Virginia:

Wyoming: