April 21, 2010 by Rae

Securing the Cloth Dresser

I’m not enamoured with the cloth dresser, but I do believe it is a good solution for the space. Today’s project was to finish securing it for travel.

The Gorilla Glue I used on the dresser frame did the trick so the next step was to secure the frame to the wall. Since I don’t expect the cloth dresser to have a very long lifespan, I wanted to make as little damage to Miranda as possible. I therefore used eye-bolts and tie-wraps to keep the dresser from tipping over:

I used one eye-bolt each for the the bottom and top part of the frame.

Once the bottom dresser was secured to the wall it was time to insert the body portion. How it works is that the top has stiff cardboard that theoretically keeps the body from slipping through the top of the frame. Once you add any weight to the drawers, however, the body slips through most annoyingly. So, I decided to secure the body to the frame using tie-wraps after strengthening the holes with grommets:

I used one grommet and one tie-wrap in each corner.

Once the bottom dresser was installed, I secured the top one in the same way:

I’m not worried about the drawers shooting out since they do not slide easily, so I’m considering this project done pending a travel test. I may cave and secure the bottom to the floor with a couple of eye-bolts, but I’m optimistic that this will do.

April 20, 2010 by Rae

Thirty-Three Hours

I have four shifts left at the gas station, for a total of thirty-three hours. I am beyond excited to get out of there, but grateful that the job turned out much better than I would have thought.

While I am off the next four days, I aim to be just about ready to go by Thursday night. This means that I have a minimum amount of stuff left to pack and only exterior things, like flushing the fresh water system, left to do, and that the workshop and house are ready for Croft and Norma’s imminent return!

Friday, I am taking a road trip north Island with a friend from work. We’re not going to the northernmost community, Port Hardy, but almost since we will be going to the ferry terminal in Port McNeill. I’ll have managed to see a lot more of Vancouver Island this winter than I would have expected!

Departure is still slated for May 1st, next Saturday! I had thought it would be nice to sneak out a day earlier than that, but don’t want to get ensnared in Friday night Vancouver rush hour, even if Saturday afternoon probably won’t be much better. I’d like to catch the 10:30 ferry from Nanaimo, meaning that I will need to leave Campbell River no later than 7:30 after dumping. It’ll be an early morning! That would put me in Vancouver around 12:30 and in Chilliwack by mid-afternoon after running an errand for a friend in Coquitlam. By the time I take on gas and propane in Chilliwack, it’ll be a reasonable time to hunker down and crash at the Walmart!

Last night, I planned my trip to Dawson to see what is the minimum number of days I’d need to get there safely and enjoyably: nine. That would give me six days flex time in case of weather issues. I do plan to spend two days in Prince George but would otherwise be thrilled to get to Whitehorse on schedule since that would give me extra time to putter around the Yukon before shooting up to Dawson. It’ll really depend on the weather.

April 18, 2010 by Rae

RVing Movies

Mrs. H made me aware of a movie I had never heard of called ‘The Long, Long Trailer‘ staring Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. I managed to get my hands on a copy and eagerly watched it. I was in tears by the end of it, it is so funny. It deals with almost every single RVing disaster or problem you can imagine, except for waste tank issues, including the compromises couples make when choosing to full-time. I was surprised to discover that there aren’t many differences in full-timing, or RVing in general, between the 1950’s and 2010!

The movie came out on DVD in 2006. I found it at Walmart and it is also on sale at some Camping Worlds.

Here’s the trailer:

Since I began RVing I’ve noticed RVs in movies more than I did in the past. Many movies have great scenes featuring RVs and these are just the ones I can think of off the top of my head:

-‘About Schmidt‘ starring Jack Nicholson. His character goes on a cross-country RV journey and parks his 40’ class A like it’s a sub-compact.

-‘Two Weeks Notice‘ starring Sandra Bullock and Hugh Grant. Bullock’s character eats a chili dog that doesn’t agree with her. She needs a bathroom NOW. She is stuck in traffic. Grant’s character notices an RV parked a couple of cars away…

-‘2012‘ starring John Cusack. The highlight of the RV scenes is the one where his character takes a cue from me and barrels down a steep hill in an RV with no brakes. Only he does it on purpose.

-‘Camping Sauvage‘ (Happy Camper) starring Guy Lepage. A police informant hides out in an RV park where he has to stay in the most unlevel rig imaginable.

-‘RV‘ starring Robin Williams. A black tank thinks it’s Old Faithful, and that’s the least of his misadventures.

Do you have any other favourite movies or movie scenes featuring RVs?

April 16, 2010 by Rae

Victoria to Campbell River

The drive home this evening was interminable. It was almost entirely stop and go from downtown Victoria to Parksville, north of Nanaimo, and then I caught every single red light between Nanaimo and home. It took four hours to get home (with a five minute stop in Nanaimo) and my clutch foot was actually swollen by the time I got here!

I made one photo-worthy stop on the way home, at the Malahat lookout, which offers great views of the San Juan Island and other American locales.

the long narrow cloud really looks like a leaf

close up of the leaf cloud; it had a middle rib and lines that looked like veins

This was definitely a drive that was more fun with a companion and several planned stops. 🙂

April 16, 2010 by Rae

The Pacific Undersea Gardens

Reviews of the Pacific Undersea Gardens are very negative and justified, but I still wanted to experience it for myself and am glad I did, having an experience that made my $10 entry fee worthwhile. The ‘gardens’ are actually an under sea aquarium. You board a ship and descend 15′ below the surface to view fish and other marine life in a relatively natural habitat. At first glance, the whole thing screams Tourist Trap. The windows are scratched, dirty, and covered in algae and the information plaques aren’t that informational. But if you take the time to stop and really look, like I did, you might make a memory that will stick with you.

I attempted to take photographs of a large crab located at the far end of a tank, when it started to move. At first, it seemed to move randomly, but I soon realised that it was coming straight at me! Even though I didn’t have a flash on the camera, it must have been projecting a bit of light. The crab came right up to the window and started to wave its claws at me. It then began to climb the inner frame of the window and continued to tap on the window, making quite a racket. I moved the camera from pane to pane and the crab followed my movements. I was not photographing by this point, so I wonder if it could actually see the camera itself, a flash of silver in the green. Whatever it was, I am now convinced that crabs are a lot more intelligent and aware than we give them credit for. This guy was without question interacting with me.

Once Bob (I had to give him a name!) lost interest with me, it was time for a nine minute show where a diver interacts with some of animals. He showed us a large starfish, a wolf eel, a crab, and an octopus.

There are surely better ways to spend $10 in Victoria, but I’m truly glad I visited the Undersea Gardens. It just goes to show that sometimes the most hyped and slickest attractions aren’t necessarily the most memorable.