Wish Me Well...

I'm taking off in the bus today!  Me, the kids and 2 of their friends... Matt has to work but he'll be joining us on Friday.

The big kids and I had a lesson of the inner workings of the electrical system of the bus, I took meticulous notes and then subsequently lost them.  It's okay though, because, since then, most of the things changed.

The main inverter blew and Matt replaced it with a smaller one we had laying around.  (That always makes me chuckle... the things we have as "extra" that most people don't even have one of!)

I laid awake last night not being able to remember... When the generator is powering the bus, which plug goes where?  When I'm driving, do I leave the main inverter switch on?  This is important because we are camping in a field with no power, a fridge full of food, and a pregnant woman who's going to need a fan.  The forecast is for high to mid 80's, thunderstorms and high humidity for most of the 5 day event.  I got my answers this morning before Matt left for work.

Ahhhhh.  Lifest. Again.

Once I get there and get settled, all will be well.

In other news, the pregnancy is going... well?  I'm tired, but not sick anymore, which is HUGE.  The baby is growing ... well?  According to my latest ultrasound Baby B is HUGE. (Doctor's exact wording)  I'm slow moving and sleep a lot... quite like a sloth.  I'm pretty sure I failed my glucose test yesterday because when I got home from the grocery store there was a message on my machine to call the office this morning. 


Wish me well!

Day Two of the Quest For Tranquility

While I love the frugality of parking at truck stops to sleep, the activity level, even in the middle of the night, it high.  After a restless night for me, and luckily a restful night for Matt, we embarked on the second leg of our journey.

I've made it no secret that I find Indiana the most boring state to travel through.  I thank my facebook friends for humoring me through it yesterday. ( I can do that on my cell phone) You can follow along too, if you'd like via Twitter on my sidebar.  The kids, on the other hand, had a great time playing their Gameboys.  We keep them in the bus and the rule is that they only come out while the bus is moving.  

It was rainy and dreary but that enabled us to find the leak in our windshield that was causing our instrument panel to cut out!  

 We stuffed rags around the leak  and caught the drips before they could do more damage.  Eventually the wires dried and the speedometer started working again.

After Indianapolis (and a nap for me) things started to look a little better.  Green grass, budding trees... dare I say, it was pleasant!

At fuel stop the boys ran around outside and picked me some flowers.  They also asked if I would pay for these.

Kentucky and Tennessee passed by without incident and as we reached the Alabama border my fatigue was getting the better of me.  100 more miles I kept telling myself... I just wanted to lay down and go to sleep!

Birmingham arrival: 9:30pm

Miles traveled: 610

MPG: 9 (!)  Best yet!

Internet: Paid for 24 hour of WiFi

275 Miles to go!

Cya there!  

Journey to the Redneck Riviera - First leg

Friday

Packing took a little longer than usually due to my sickly state (and a 24 hour bug that plagued some of my most helpful workers) but all was accomplished by 6pm. 

We departed at 7:30, drove without incident through Milwaukee, Chicago and parked 18 miles south of Gary at our favorite truck stop, the Flying J.

Travel time 5 hours

Miles 268

MPG 8.26

State of the bus: still relatively orderly

State of mind: still sane

Now my least favorite part of the journey: INDIANA.  

New Road Trip In The Works

We just decided to take a trip in the bus this spring.

South. 9 days.

I'm so excited!

Things to complete before we roll.


1) Bike rack that doesn't look like this

2) Lettering. Remember my plan?


3) Functioning high power WiFi antennae.

4) Door for the current under bus storage area (next to the door on the above picture) and maybe some new complete storage boxes.

5) More inside lighting.

6) More small storage spaces in the bunk area for books, glasses, cell-phones, flashlights...

7) Utilize bathroom space for more than toilet. More storage.


Can there ever be too much storage? I don't think so.

3,776 Acres

Three thousand seven hundred seventy-six acres all to ourselves.

Yes, that's why we love camping on off peak season~weekdays.

When we arrived on Sunday afternoon there were a handful of other campers, but come Monday morning, they were gone, leaving the entire state park to us...and the work crew resurfacing the parking lot by the boat landing...but by 4 pm even they had gone home.

Three thousand seven hundred seventy-six acres to be our goofy selves.

Three thousand seven hundred seventy-six acres to explore...





We hiked,



we climbed.


We collected as many rocks as our pockets would hold then made angels on the beach.

I think the critters were happy to see us there. They posed for Hailey's camera. Stray Doritos, oyster crackers or peanuts were the only payment they requested. We were happy to oblige.
They took their payment straight from our hands.

and stole our seats by the fire if we dared to leave them open.This little guy didn't have a chance once Isaac spotted him. He didn't get a treat. I don't even know exactly where his mouth would be anyway.

It didn't really dawn on me until we were locked in the bus to sleep on that perfectly clear full-mooned night only 2 days from Halloween...we were the only ones there...the only ones on three thousand seven hundred seventy-six acres...legally. I doubted that there were any fugitives, but while I was entertaining that thought I decided, that if ever found myself running' from the law, this is where I would come. I recollected where we had trekked earlier in the day and thought of countless possibilities for undetectable hide-aways. In the summer, you could easily blend in during the day and by night you could slip away into hiding. The off season might be a little more difficult...tracks in the snow, heat and lighting issues.

I guess I'd seriously have to consider the time of year before I committed some heinous crime.

Just when I had sufficiently worked myself into a self contained tizzy the wind pick up, the awning flapped, and the chairs around the fire pit were blown into a pile. I craned my neck to look out the window and I said "I see sky".

Hailey, whom I had assumed was already sleeping, exclaimed "You see a guy?!" and jumped from her bunk.

"No, " I said "I see SKY"

Relieved, Hailey relaxed. She must have had the same thoughts running through her head as I did.

The problem with seeing the sky was that the awning was up, the sky shouldn't have been visible. We debated for about 2 seconds whether or not we should go out and take it down. None of us wanted to listen to it all night.

The middle support is not held tight with pins like the side ones. It "floats" inside the 18" pipe that is permanently cemented to the rim.

Matt designed it to lift out in gusty conditions instead of holding fast and tearing. (remember, it's just a standard size ~ replaceable ~ tarp)


Well, it functioned exactly as planned and the whole awning had lifted on its frame like a sail and then settled back down as the wind subsided.

In a short time the awning was disassembled and we were back inside, snug and comfortable in the bus on three thousand seven hundred seventy-six acres. Alone.

I should not have been surprised at all when a memory of Hayden entered my mind as I drifted off to sleep.

Early in his life, he announced to me that he'd like to be a criminal mastermind, without the criminal part.

For The Love Of Camping

I grew up camping. Matt had never been on an overnight vacation until our honeymoon. Camping fit perfectly into our life. It was a cheap, comparatively speaking, and easy way to go places we could not afford to visit otherwise.

The first summer of our marriage we camped every weekend. All of our supplies could fit into the trunk of our two-door '89 Pontiac Sunbird. As we acquired more and more supplies the cooler eventually had to move up to the backseat. Matt built a trailer to haul our bikes and the jet ski we purchased.

The next summer, much of the same except we added a camping mattress that made it more comfortable for the newly pregnant me. That had to be rolled and tied onto the luggage rack.

After Hailey arrived on Valentine's Day 1992, we camped once. Memorial Day weekend. I think by then we owned a station wagon and it was packed FULL. We sold the jet ski and decided to pack it all away, it was much easier to stay home.

Fast forward 10 years and 3 more children.

Matt and I wanted to take a major family vacation, something we hadn't attempted since growing to a family of 6. We unearthed our ancient camping gear, bought a new tent, updated to air mattresses, requested time off and started making arrangements to visit the Redneck Riviera. (AKA Gulf Shores State Park, Gulf Shores, Alabama)

Somewhere between Christmas and our spring furlough we managed to conceive another love child...My energy was non-existent, my planning abilities unavailable and what little time I spent awake I was focusing on not throwing up (at least not until I made it to the bathroom). Not an ideal backdrop for organizing and spending 10 days Far, Far Away.

We discovered a Coleman Outlet store in Alabama and visited it about as much as the beach! An ideal way for a frugal pregnant woman to be convinced that what she might have considered a luxury before was now a camping necessity. We really padded our outdoor paraphernalia! It was either that, or take me home. I was rather ornery.

I slept through much of that vacation and to be honest, I don't think I even took any pictures. If I did, I can't find them. And as long as I'm being honest, I'm pretty sure I slept through most of 2003 because there is a gap in photo albums from Christmas 2002 until Isaac's birth in November.

That vacation rekindled our love for camping and Gulf Shores (and 1 or 2 other camping excursions a year) became a reoccurring event. Why not? It was relatively inexpensive and we had all the camping gear we could possibly need.

As the years went by the only thing we lacked was enough space to get us there. Our full size hi-top conversion van was overflowing and had 2 car top carriers and a hitch hauler (purchased IN Gulf Shores to cart all our new stuff home) with 4 huge rubbermaid bins tethered on. Our clothes and blankets had to be packed into space saver bags. There was not much room for error or careless packing. Soon, a full day of our tightly packed schedule would be reserved for packing and unpacking.

It was again becoming easier to just stay home.

Instead of conceiving another love child, the idea of converting a school bus into an RV became the glimmer in Matt's eye.

Space for everything, minimal set up, and no possibility of collapse were intriguing. I would be remiss if I didn't mention the challenge and novelty of it all appealed to us as well.

And so, Errabundus Bus was born.

The Coast, the Awning, and the Shelves

A few cold weekends ago we hauled ourselves out camping. We put our heaters to the test. We're still using the electric heaters (we still need shore power to run them) but Matt is in the process of devising a way to heat the bus with a boiler and hot water heat fueled by propane. That way, we don't have to "fight" for the only electric site left in the campground.

The sun was shining, but it was frigid. Away from the fire it was too cold (for me anyway) to wander far. I've since purchased long underwear and have been much more comfortable on subsequent outings.


We hiked on the sunny road rather than wander onto the paths and explored the beach with our eyes instead of setting foot on the sand or near the water. Definitely a place to visit next summer.
Interestingly, while we were freezing our tushies off, a tent camper in the site next to us...a camping person in a tent, I just thought I'd clarify...was camping in a tent. Jokingly I commented when we pulled in, seeing the window flaps of the tent open, if it was too warm in there for him.
We set up camp. The boys did the outside work (awning, shelves, firewood...) while Hailey and I started supper (white chili in the crockpot) and transformed the bus from travel mode to we're-probably-going-to-be-spending-a-lot-of-time-inside mode. Making beds, turning seats, making sure everything was stowed where it belonged so not too much would be in the way. Once we fit 7 people in, milling about, it seems a little claustrophobic. Traveling or in our beds it seems roomy, but when neither of those are happening, there's a lot of bumping into each other, climbing over shoes, wondering where to hang your jackets, hats and mittens kinda stuff going on.


After our hike we settled around the fire, still speculating the purpose of the site next door with a vehicle, and a seemingly personless, opened windowed tent.

As the darkness fell we were able to see a light shining on the other side of the tent and occasionally, the shadow of a person wandering around, ever so briefly, inside. Surely as the night wore on and the temperatures dropped the owner would zip up and hunker down for the night.

Not so.

On one trip to the bathroom (unheated. YIKES) we discovered the light was a heat lamp anchored to a tree limb just outside the tent. This person was watching birds. The occasional shadows we witnessed must have been to restock the feed under the lamp. Dedicated, I must say. I don't know how she (we later found out she was a she and not a he) stayed warm or what she was doing inside the tent alone and out of site of the windows (which was just a tiny space) the entire weekend but I'm in awe of her ability to remain quiet (never a peep) and warm.

In the morning it was 33 degrees outside. Inside the bus, with both heaters blasting it was 66. Very nice. Our neighbor's tent was still open and the birds were having a feast.

After breakfast Matt and I sat outside, very close to the fire, while we let the kids play on their electronic gadgets inside. The birds were fantastic to watch. Cardinals, blue jays, chick a dees, and squirrels aplenty. It never rose above 38 degrees while we were there. We left when our firewood ran out.


I had mentioned previously that Matt and I were in a disagreement concerning the awning. He wanted one, I did not. He graciously agreed to make a prototype as cheaply as possible and we'd test it out. If it was too fussy or stress inducing, we'd can it...but if it proved successful, we'd keep it and talk of sturdier materials.

A tarp, PVC pipe, cables, bolts and pins make up this awning. It works well and I'm sure, when the time comes for us to need shade it will serve it's purpose. The pipes are connected to the bus with removable bolts and the tarp attaches to the top with pins. The cables running from the bus to the outer pole keep it from sagging (like it did on Labor Day weekend). Much nicer this way, don't you agree? The support in the middle is weighted down by a cement filled rim. Although it's not beautiful, it's the perfect size and weight. I've been trying to think of a way to make it look less utilitarian...but I'm at a loss.



The side and middle support poles consist of two poles, one slightly smaller than the other so that the one slides inside the other for storage and extra rigidity while in use. The "seams" of the side poles are secured with a pin while the middle support pole can "float". I'll tell you why when I post about our last camping trip.
The point at which the tarp attaches to the bus deserves some attention. Matt bolted angle iron right above the windows, but sandwiched between that and the bus is a piece of plastic gutter installed to keep the rain from dripping through the gap. I tell ya, that husband of mine thinks of everything. Sometimes I'm glad he's the one that does the designing and not me. There are other things that he does though, that totally baffle me. We are like night and day with our ideas 75% of the time. But it works for us...what more can I say.

Please excuse the typo in this next photograph, I caught it too late and there is no way I can fix it. It should read "constructed"

It was too cold on this trip to use the outside shelves for their normal functions...doing dishes, preparing food, and as a storage place for silverware, plates, tequila and margarita mix. I thought it would be the perfect time to get some close ups of it.

The awning poles, for now, are stowed in the hallway leading through the bunk room and the shelf is stored on the lower bunk for traveling. Eventually, we will have more storage under the bus for them.

But like everything, it takes (extra) time and (extra) money, both of which are a rarity these days.

Were I've Been

Twitter is just so easy. 140 characters. No long, strung together sentances that would require actual time and thought. So easy that I've been finding myself doing that instead of blogging.

But a quick synopsis will bring you all up to speed of what's been going on in our household lately.

It's not tan lines on my face from my sunglasses, it's my super hero mask

Laundry and organizing books today...2 things that are never done. One's the pits, the other's fun.

Funny things I find myself saying #1: Whose underwear is on the table?

http://twitpic.com/dqbq1 - Isaac's first lost tooth!

My calendar is filling up fast. Why does everyone think my summer should be over?

Finally going to finish school planning today...Or maybe the kids will just have a really short year.

Football, Oh how I've missed you.

I didn't finish planning the year, but I'm a whole lot closer than I was this morning.

Just ate some grapes off our grape vine.

Aaah Monday. Back to routine. I'm usually more productive on Monday than any other day of the week. Hope today's not the exception.

I just resorted to rewarding whoever finds our lost copy of Amelia Bedelia, our huge USA map and our "just as big" map of the world.

"Education is a weapon whose effects depend on who holds it in his hands and at whom it is aimed."- Josef Stalin.. Who's teaching your kids?

dons her helmet, inserts her mouthguard and reluctantly limps from the sidelines to face the day without a pat on the behind.

I'm enjoying the oodles tomatoes I harvested from my Mom and Dad's garden this morning!

Hand boys a sense of adventure and you won't see them in the house for hours...digging in the dirt, trying to light fires with only a flint.

Isaac's face vs. Playground equipment. Who will come out ahead? Looks like Isaac will be victorious! We told him black eyes are cool.

http://twitpic.com/fmhje - Looks kinda like a lopsided chipmunk.

http://twitpic.com/fp1in - Looks a little worse this morning, but feels better he says. And he's got a new wiggly tooth.

http://twitpic.com/fwrw9 - Today's look at Isaac's face..."Mom, it doesn't hurt" he says everytime I look at him with what must be a pai ...

(Oops over the limit!!!!!! *pained expression)

Back to reality...Thanks to everyone who helped make it a semi-kidless/KIDLESS/semi-kidless weekend.

Isaac's face is transforming...from the puffy dark purple orb that it was to the decreasing dark purple/greenish/yellowish color of healing.

I want to check into some vitamins/supplements for memory improvement, but I keep forgetting!

When everyone else seems to be packing up their camping gear, we start to dust our off for the season. It's a lot less crowded this way.

I've graduated from the can't-remember-my-locker-combination dream to the can't-text-my-tweet dream. Am I officially a grown up? or a geek?

Camping kidless is very different. Definately less food involved!

Camping with just Matt is going to have to be a annual event! Very relaxing. It is nice to be home though.

Hayden and I are arguing about whether or not a marathon runner with prosthetic legs has an unfair advantage over a runner with real legs.

I don't think we'll ever see eye to eye on this one.

I think I've become invisible. No one here can hear me asking questions and any direction I give goes unnoticed....

Just downloded Posthumus Zone to play tomorrow before we start school. Now for a plan to waylay the tackling of siblings during read-aloud.

Over the first hurdles of the day. Expectations and explanations for 6th, 11th and 12th graders. K & 2nd graders done except Language arts!

Isaac, who "hates school!" slept for 2 hours this afternoon. I think that might have been the problem.

School went much better today, even with a dentist appointment sandwiched in.

Settling down and realizing there are only 24 hours in a day and you can only do what you can do. One foot in front of the other. All day.

Finally on my way. Just Me, Sam, Isaac and the bus! (The rest of the crew will join us tomorrow)

Camp set up &supper "alone" only took an hour & 45 min not bad

"alone" = 5 yo, 8yo, and my dad (helped with awning)

Me and my margarita are watching boys + cousins start a bon fire with pine cones

Me- "isaac, grab your shoes" Isaac- "I didnt bring any"

Cold water, warm sand. Good company.

My little boys have no clean clothes and 1 more day of camping. Hmmm

Raise your hand if you love camp breakfast!

Camping x 2

Yay! Camping season!

Labor day weekend we took the bus onto 40 acres in the middle of nowhere with no water and no electricity.

With the refrigerator running the whole weekend we only had to start the bus to recharge the battery twice.

We weren't sure whether or not we'd fit, but Matt guided her in beautifully. In one particular bend we slipped through with just inches to spare on each side.



The awning has been under negotiation for several weeks. Matt wanted one, I did not.

The sound of tent material flapping wildly in the wind and rain drums up some pretty nasty memories for me. Because, eventually, all tents collapse on me and all awnings fail. I didn't want to hear "cha-ching" every time we encountered weather short of sunny

We compromised and built this cheaply frugally.
PVC pipe and a tarp of standard size. I'll detail the construction more closely next time we put it up.

It drooped a little on the ends and we have since remedied that with cables running from the bus to the corners.

Matt also built removable (obviously) shelves on the side of the bus that serve us well for our outdoor kitchen.


After that excursion we dropped the kids off at home (with plenty of food, instructions and emergency numbers) and headed out ALONE for 3 days 30 minutes from home to our long awaited dreamy tropical paradise vacation.

Disney - Day One

Monday, February 16th

So we awoke from our last night on the road, in the Denny's parking lot, dedicated to reaching our target...Fort Wilderness Campground.

After potty-ing and caffeinating at the McDonalds (where we found out there had been some sort of fire in the area which knocked out the power during the night) we headed out to Interstate 4 and were able to make our way without getting lost. (FYI- There's lots of signs...)

We got to see my sister's rear end for awhile. Even though this is not a really clear picture, you can see the evidence of our only driving mishap on her driver's side rear bumper/fender. She backed into a tree at the campground...with her nearly new truck...and put a hole in it...

We met my dad at the registration building and he gave us directions to their site. We were very happy to see another skoolie ahead of us in line! We had one pass us on the trip down, so that made the count at 2.
I wondered who's it was as I stood in line... I never did find out.

My parents had a grapefruit tree at their place!
We took a group shot before heading out to MGM. This is the mass we had to keep track of the entire trip. 13. I'd get a visual on my 3 littlest starting with Isaac (voted most likely to wander), then my sister's 3, the 2 TTU's (taller than us's) would be next (Hailey and Hayden), followed by finding my dad's bright green "vacation hat". Matt, Kris and my mom would constantly do the same thing and we'd verbally report our findings upon request.

Our formation for the week usually consisted of Grandpa in the lead with a few little navigators in tow and Hayden bringing up the rear making sure no one lagged behind. Everyone else was somewhere in the middle...and sometimes that "in the middle" was expansive.

Our first wait at the bus-stop. Grandpa and Grandma with the gang.
We rode the bus 8 times that day...
It was exhausting.
First and foremost for the day was the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular! Have I mentioned Isaac wants to be Indiana Jones when he grows up?
The rest of the day is a blur...really...there was a lot of walking, waiting, riding, snacking...

I'll leave you with a few of my favorite photos from Monday at MGM. Feel free to refer back to the labeled picture above to identify our cast of characters.