One Day More!

One day more and we will be on our way! Oh, joy! Rapture! I have gotten so much done over the past two days that my poor, old bones are crying out in shrill bursts of exhausted pain. Yesterday, I did the grocery shopping. It’s always cheaper to buy ahead of time, because it will cost more at the tiny convenience store or the big box store on the road (because of all the extra purchases).

Then I picked up the camper from the dealer. After a scrub, it was shining like new. We popped it up right in the driveway. Such a scandal, since the HOA will have cow if they spot it. I like to live on the edge, I guess. I installed the foam mats under the mattresses, which I hope will make a big difference. I had pre-cut them, so they slid in like butter. And I filled the water storage tank with disinfecting solution to soak overnight.

Today I drained and flushed the tank, which was every bit as glamorous as it sounds. We loaded everyone’s duffel bag, bedding, the ice cream maker, the 4th of July party box, the projector, the gaming system, the movie screen, a flag, the food box, and the dog crate on the floor of the camper. I took out my usual camping cookware and put in my two favorite regular cook pots. I will be cooking so much that I wanted my quality, regular cookware, knives, etc.

Batman had to go look at a train accident in Philadelphia, so part of my day involved getting him to the airport. We will pick him up at the airport in Gulfport (576 miles) tomorrow evening, after which we will visit Denise and Lily, two of our favorite people.j

I am up way, way too late, especially since we need such an early start. But the Funvee and the Death Star are loaded and ready to roll. Melanie packed up some of her knitted dolls. Don’t they look ready for adventure?!?

20130625-235023.jpg

Special thanks to Samuel and his entire family for agreeing to board the guinea pigs. They will have so much fun at your house!

Posted in Packing Up | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Four Days Left on the Countdown

Four Days Left on the Countdown

What have I cross-checked lately?

Assembled a car-schooling binder for Jack. “I’m homeschooled. I learn accidentally!”
Made this campworthy movie screen from Pinterest
Made a knock-off of this clothesline
Cut up the foam squares for the pop-up camper mattresses
“Refreshed” my haircolor
Made a lovely, full-bodied onion bacon quiche
Went to a minor league ballgame with the boys
Bought a new handbag to replace the suede one ruined by rain at said ballgame
Used compound words in all of the above sentences (huzzah for grammar!!)

And the Nerdfest question of the day is…

Should the geek designation for the Expedition be “the Fun-vee” or “the Humdrum-vee”? It can’t be the Batmobile because it is vanilla in color and tows a giant white tissue box behind it. We cannot call it the Argo because it makes Dale “think of the Ben Affleck movie.” Death Star is taken, being the name of the pop-up camper. Millennium Falcon is just too much name for a sport utility vehicle, and would have to to be shortened when giving loading and unloading instructions. “Hey, Mom, did I leave my sonic screwdriver in the MilFalc?” No. The Enterprise, of course, is the name given to my personal vehicle. And I am its captain. Warp speed, Mr. Sulu.

20130622-220444.jpg

Posted in Packing Up | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Multi-dimensional First Aid Kits

Checked off the list:

Sewed all Dale’s patches onto his uniform
Met with the family who will be boarding our guinea pigs
New clothes for class reunions
Called camper dealer again to find out when they’d be starting on my camper
Crafted a travel clothesline
Returned some borrowed items
Assembled doggie supply bag
Assembled comfort kit
Reassembled first aid kit

I struggled with the first aid kit, due to the new demands being placed upon it. Usually the kit’s purpose is to take care of day-to-day boo-boo’s or the hazards of a one-day adventure. But packing the kit for a month is a unique challenge. I ended up dividing the kit along the lines of “carry-on” and “checked” baggage.

When I travel alone, I have a tiny pillbox and some bandaids that I carry in my handbag, with a small ziploc of other medicines and first aid items in my suitcase. I expanded on this idea for the Trip’s first aid kit. I put a few doses of a few remedies (allergy meds, motion sickness meds, antacids, pain relievers) in the comfort kit which stays in the cockpit of the car. Then I loaded up the regular family first aid kit with some extras from the medicine cabinet: antacids, nasal spray, vapo-rub, etc. Not appearing in either of these kits are my personal medications, which will go in my handbag and duffel, just as they would if I were traveling alone.

And yes, I did check the expiration dates on everything. I hate opening up a first aid kit at a church or on a campout and everything is dried up, expired, and rotted away. Check and restock every six months at least! Must remember to get to the drugstore to get smaller packages of some things. I really don’t want to haul the jumbo aspirin and mega jumbo ibuprofen.

And now a word about the comfort kit. It’s basically a list of everything I have ever wished I had with me at church or other event when I was feeling awful and needed to take some kind of comfort measure. I also packed items to comfort small people. I added to this kit a ziploc with breathmints, mouthwash, and mini-toothbrushes. Traveling in close proximity has its own dire hazards.

20130620-221956.jpg

Posted in Packing Up | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Nine Days to Departure

In order to be considered an epic, a story must have a journey. It must also have preparations for the journey. Judging solely by the preparations required this week, I think we will safely qualify as epic.

Done today:

took the camper (the Death Star) to the dealer for safety check and minor repairs
took the tow vehicle (2009 Ford Expedition, geek designation TBD) in for safety check
cleaned DS3’s room in order to find various trip necessities
5 loads of laundry
called camper dealer twice more to add forgotten issues needing attention
practiced a camping recipe (ham & pineapple kabobs)
bought plane ticket for DS2 to break from vacation to attend Jamboree
touched base with some of the dear people we want to visit
chose a theme song for the trip, which took 4 rounds of voting over the course of a week

We have done these road trips a number of times, and each time we pick a song to play whenever we start out on the road, first thing every morning, and after every rest break. So it has to be a great song, something that makes you want to dance in your seat every time you hear it. It can’t be too long or too repetitive (I’m looking at you Carly Rae, Billy Ray, Bieber Ray). And in our family, it must have parts that we can all sing, so that if we accidentally break into song somewhere outside the car, we sound AMAZING! Past honorees have included “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” “Fun, Fun, Fun,” “Soak Up the Sun,” and “Life Is a Highway.” Oh, and it has to be clean, which really puts a crimp in the ol’ AC/DC.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Online Shopping and List of Lists

Things I checked off the To Do list today:
Ordered birthday present for DH (Saturday!)
Ordered toddler mat interlocking flooring to put under pop-up (pup) weak mattresses
Ordered solar USB charger for DS2 to take to Boy Scout Jamboree
Ordered flags and decorations for 4th of July bash at Challis Hot Springs
Had a 2 week post-op visit with my surgeon (ugh, more on that later)
And regular boring stuff.

So I am gathering all my lists. I make lists of impressive length and detail. There are those who also say that I overpack. Maybe. But these are the same folks who are coming to me 45 minutes into the trip asking for tylenol, duct tape, mallet, badger traps, what have you. And now I give you,

The List of Lists

Per Person
Work to be Done on the Camper
In Car Must Haves
Emergency Car Kit
Comfort Kit
Dog Needs
Would be Nice
Travel Budget
Itinerary Planning
Menu Plan
Stock Up On
Pre Trip To Do
Jamboree To Do
Homeschool Materials
People to Visit
Places of Interest on Route
Gifts and Event Needs

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

The Nerdlings at HRSP

20130609-224253.jpg

This was the first outing of 2013 with the pop-up camper. Presidents’ Day weekend at Hillsborough River State Park. We didn’t go far from home because we had church obligations on Saturday and Sunday. With all the driving back and forth, we should have set up the camper in the church parking lot!

Posted in Campsites, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment