Overnight Camp at Standing Indian

Last Saturday, we threw our jammies and some food in the camper and rolled off for a relaxing night camping at Standing Indian Campground in Nantahala National Forest. 

(Click image for source)

Now I've heard my sister and others question the fun of camping- what's there to love about  reeking of campfire smoke, cooking over a fire pit, getting dirty, fending off bugs, and sleeping in a little box? I'll tell ya. Some of us.....okay me, I have a really hard time slowing down. I am often doing a million things at once- entertaining a two year old, cleaning house, working on my Etsy shop, sewing, trying to maintain some personal hygiene (my nails used to be so beautiful!), etc. etc. When we go camping, the "house" I clean is only 10 feet by 7 feet, the cooking is often done in just one pot, the baby entertains herself by filling cups with gravel and dumping them over her head, and I can just forget about all of the "productive" stuff I could be doing if I were home. Of course, I did bring my embroidery and ukulele.... 

Here are some shots of our fun.

Turkey, rice, broth, garlic, onions, spices, and lemon. This cooked to perfection in about an hour. 

Putting rocks down her pants for fun

A quick set up

Setting a simple table

My man was a Boy Scout

S'mores!

Jiffy Pop! We like food. 

The little one was sooooo tired. She went right to sleep without any fuss. 

Standing Indian campground was great, and although we were only there for a night this time, I know that there is plenty to do and see out there, as we have hiked out to Big Laurel Falls as well as a couple others that are close by, and we always like to visit Albert Mountain on the A.T (check out this panoramic view from the tower! Yes, I live in this beautiful place! Yipeee!) We'll be headed back very soon. 

How about you? Do you like to camp out? Or do you prefer the great outdoors in smaller doses?

On the Road Again.....

We got on the road with our Shasta. It isn't finished, but we aren't too fancy (and we are very impatient), so we took it down to FL. We pulled it with our Subaru Forester, and it pulled well. It took us many more hours than usual, as we drove U.S. highways instead of interstates, but I prefer to drive the highways and admire the old houses, farmsteads, and towns along the way. We all slept surprisingly well considering I was in the bunk, the baby in her pack and play, and my hubby on the cot under the bunk.

We leave tomorrow, and I am hoping to do some rural thrifting on the way home- maybe pick up some fabulous, long forgotten sewing supplies for a pittance.

I griped about Florida the whole way here, and it has been miserably hot, but we have familial ties that bind us to the state (we still have a house here, but I don't see us ever living in it again). My family came from all the way up the east coast to be here for my younger sister's bridal shower. My elder sister and I were hostesses, and it went off without a hitch. This kind of party can be tricky, but I felt we managed a pretty good blend of camp and class. Here is the bride-to-be in the paper plate bow hat we tried to make her wear while she opened gifts. She wasn't having it, but I did manage to snap one photo. Even wearing a paper plate, my sister is beautiful!

We also had fun Saturday night when my husband got the chance to perform with the reggae band he played trumpet with for close to 10 years. They are excellent and have quite a following. Three of my sisters came along, and we got to catch up with a lot of people we haven't seen in a long while.

In fact, the catching up was for sure the best thing about our visit. That and the fact that the baby had so many family and friends to love and hug her. She met Great Grandma Rizzo for the first time, and I finished hemming and tacking on Great Grandma's blouse just in time to give it to her for her 88th birthday. I wish I had gotten a photo, but she says she will be wearing it to my sister's wedding in September, so I hope to snap some then.

Overall, this trip had me feeling really relaxed for the first time in forever. Who would have ever thought relaxation would come in the city! But it did, and although I am ready to head back to lovely western Carolina, I am already missing all of the excellent company. And the sunsets.....

Well, until next time Florida!

Rehabbing Our Home-On-Wheels

So, as I wrote about a month ago, my husband and I purchased a 1966 Shasta Compact trailer. This is why I have been totally MIA from my blog! I have been researching/obsessing over compact vintage campers for a while now, so when I saw the ad for this camper on Craigslist we decided to go check it out. The price was right for us, and this compact has stuff to work with- the original 3 burner stove, ice box, gas lantern, windows, and doors were all present, and no hole had been cut previously for an a/c unit. Also, the hitch, springs, wheels and tires are in good shape. There were (yaaaay! Past tense!) some major issues to contend with as well....the floor was rotted in three places, there was significant damage to half of the ceiling, which had been covered over, there was plenty of rotten framing wood, and the thing had been used as a hunting camper- picture unhemmed camoflauge curtains and a plastic cup holder screwed in where the table used to be. Nice. The guy we bought it from also threw in a propane tank, two boxes of laminate flooring, and a mini fridge. We hitched it up and drove away.

After that, we hatched a totally unrealistic two week and three day plan for renovation. I say renovation now and not restoration, as we will not actually be restoring this camper to original. It was just too far gone. In the first days we gutted it of cabinets, beds, etc., pulled out all of the wall paneling, and cut out half of the floor.

Gutting

You don't have to be able to see his mouth to know he is scowling :(

We have been working day and night for about three weeks. No, really. 

Day

Night 

See? We have now reframed the entire thing (it's so solid now, it will be a little tank when we are through!), we have replaced the sections of rotten flooring, we have sealed the entire exterior afresh, including all of the windows, we have insulated about 2/3 with new R-Max foam (woooh Lorraine! My MIL writes the building codes :)  Along the way we bought a very helpful tool that we learned about on some of the vintge camper forums- it's called a Kreg Jig and it is worth the money if you do any wood framing. 

So, finally we are in the rebuilding phase! We are contemplating what to put back in and how to make a practical set up for our family. I know I still want the vintage ice box and 3 burner stove/oven, so we have gotten new gas hoses.

The original Avocado Appliances in the original counter- pre gut

We'll likely just use a water cooler for our drinking water, so I don't think we will be replacing any built in water storage. We will probably just put in the hook ups for city water and the drain, so I can use the sink for light dishwashing, etc. My dream is to have a tin tile backsplash as well as new formica for the counter and table. I'm thinking we'll put in some sort of stand alone a/c unit too, but we may just end up using fans for now (like we have been at home! Love that $50 electric bill).  We will be putting the beds and table back similarly to the way they were- the original design is booth seating by day and two single beds at night. We're going to set it up so we have one large bed at night, but I do like the option of having a table, so we'll be sticking with the convertible. And, there was originally a fold down bunk above which we will be putting back in for when the baby gets a little bigger. I  LOVED our bunk beds when I was a kid, and I think she'll like having top bunk too!

We are confident it will all work out in the end, and I will keep posting photos and such as we get nearer the finish line. I hope to be painting the outside in another day or two ( please cast your vote in our poll in the right side bar!), and hubby is running all of the wiring for lights as we speak (It's 12 A.M. We are hard core!) If nothing else, we will have a nice box to put an air mattress in about a week from now, and then we will go camping come hell or high water! Who knows, we may even turn up in your driveway! :)

Sometimes You Just Need to Get Away- Our Camp-cation!

We spent Memorial Day Weekend at the Jekyll Island, GA campground with my younger sister and her soon to be husband. We got started on the wrong foot- it took us far longer to pack then we expected, and just when we finished the check engine light came on in the Subaru, and it started making funny noises. We looked at rentals, but we didn't want to pay very much, so we ended up taking our truck, and yours truly ended up riding nearly the entire way (it took us almost 10 hours) in the trundle seat of our pick up truck. In case you haven't had the good fortune to ride in one of these, it is a tiny little seat that faces sideways in the back of a king cab truck. And it is very hard on the derriere. I almost backed out, but luckily I had a moment of clarity and realized that once there, I would be without the constant nagging responsibilities that follow me around all day at home. So we went, and it was wonderful! 

Baby was asleep when we arrived, and she was soooooo
excited to wake up in the tent the next morning!

Baby in her Pope Mobile (as we like to call it, it's really a bike trailer).
This was great fun with the bikes! 

Grandma & Grandpa stopped for a visit on their way back to FL. 

The baby began her juice box addiction- she had never had one before, and she liked it a little too much!

Are you SURE you want to be my brother in law?

My little sissy has always been taller than me. When we were kids she always said that
she was supposed to be born first, but I pushed her out of the way! :)

Family shot

This was kinda weird- is that guy hugging a toilet bowl?

Father-Daughter Nap Time

Beautiful Driftwood Beach

Baby's first visit to the beach. The most amazing part of parenthood is
seeing everything for the first time again, through the eyes of your child. 

That is a sea turtle in the mirror in the background- we were at the
sea turtle rescue center- there was one that was 200 lbs!

Baby was an angel in the car

It was sweaty, and buggy, and a long drive, but for three days we ate out of one pot and one pan and lounged around doing a whole lot of nothing. Now we are on the look out for a neat, small, vintage camper to pull behind the car.

I hope everyone everywhere had a great weekend, and I hope those in the U.S. had a nice Memorial Day holiday. With my family and all of the good food and relaxation, I had plenty of time to think about those who made the ultimate sacrifice so that I could live in beauty, freedom, and peace with those I love. I thank all of our fallen heroes for their service.