Over time, I continued to research more details about this travel trailer. For instance, I was careful to always have more than enough gas for each trip when towing because I didn’t know how tall the trailer was or how much height clearance I needed in gas stations. A few days ago, I finally got out the tape measure, drove to the trailer at the storage yard, and then stood around wondering how to measure something that I couldn’t reach … the topmost part of the trailer being the A/C unit WAY up there in the very center of the trailer roof.
I measured from the ground straight up to the top edge of the roof … 8′ 6″ (the usual ceiling height inside most homes is only 8′). That was a good start, but I didn’t have a ladder that could get me up on the roof, and then over to the center of the roof. Hmmm, now what? Well, of course! The former owner left me all of those systems manuals and surely there was one with specifications for the A/C unit. A little sleuthing in that packet of owner’s manuals produced the appropriate document and voilà, the external height of the A/C unit was 1′ 4″, so the overall height of the trailer and A/C unit was 9′ 10″. I now allow at least a full 10 feet of clearance just to be on the safe side.
I also started paying attention to photos online showing how other people stored dishes and food and such in their trailers or motorhomes. Many people used plastic containers or even baskets that would perfectly hold a stack of plates, or cookware and frying pans, or the spices, or the wine glasses which would first be wrapped in dish towels which you needed to have on hand anyway … and then those containers would be snugly stored inside the cupboards. If the containers moved around a wee bit while the RV was jangling down the road, no damage was likely to happen to the contents.
So I started measuring and collecting boxes and other containers and began to get some of that stuff out of the back seat of my truck and into cupboards inside the trailer. The rest of the stuff in the back seat at least got packed in cardboard boxes and stowed in the trailer where it wouldn’t slide around much. Finally the back seat of the truck was empty again and the stuff inside the trailer was now stowed and manageable, if still a bit disorganized.
After a few days of work on/in the trailer, I decided to spend some time tidying up the plants on and around my back patio. And after that I decided to spend some time just sitting on the patio and enjoying the plants and the birds and the sunshine. I do love doing what some people think of as “nothing” … to me it’s an important part of living.
Campfire Coleus
I sure can spend time thinking about life and such. This blog is intended to be about RV-ing, but so much of that is all about enjoying life. How can you enjoy life if you don’t think about it? Maybe some people can but I seem to need to spend some amount of time thinking about what it is that I want out of life. If I get too thoughty in these posts, just skip on ahead … I’ll catch up with you when I get my head back around to the physical aspects of RV-ing. 🙂
Now, some folks think that a more serious practice of ruminating about life happens in concert with becoming a “senior citizen”, but I disagree. I think it’s mostly a matter of having time on your hands without a great deal of distraction. For me, I became more dedicated to the practice of thinking about “things” the day after I retired, when I knew I didn’t need to go to work, get chores done by any specific time of day, or answer to anyone about anything (for the most part). Friends told me it could take many months before I got used to being retired and footloose. Ha! It took me about 30 seconds! As soon as I knew I had relatively full control of what I did with my own time, I started being more thoughtful about things and more purposeful.
Retirement was several years ago. I have very thoughtfully and thoroughly enjoyed boating for a few years after retirement and for many years before retirement, too. Now with this delightful new hobby of RV-ing and all of the possibilities that it opens up, I’ve been thinking lately about how blessed I am and how lucky I am to have skated by so very well in this lifetime. Like lots of folks, my younger days weren’t all that smooth. Some significantly major bumps in that road led me to assume early on that my life wouldn’t be very happy, or very long, or both. But with some spectacular help early-ish in life, I managed to turn all that around and become very happy with every intention of living a very long life. And so I now make sure that I’m focusing on what makes me happy … friends and loved ones, gardening, animals and birds, photography, music, trees, watching the sky go by, reading, learning, and being conscious of appreciating and feeling grateful for it all. This RV-ing stuff ties right in. What a blessing!
Ok, enough of that. 🙂 Here are more photos of my back patio and birds. Remember that the photos will enlarge if you click on them.
The birdbath … also known as an upside-down 5-gallon white plastic bucket with a plant pot saucer on top.
The birds didn’t seem to care what construction materials were used for their birdbath.
See the Hummingbird in the photo above?
See it now? Look closely.
Sometimes you just have to find the right spot.
Well, I typed a long comment and lost it when I decided to scroll back up and enlarge the picture. Hit “done” by mistake and it took me back to the email notice of the post.
I enjoyed reading this post. It’s good to read that you are enjoying life and your retirement. I like your patio, with the pretty plants and flowers. Especially love your bird bath. Pretty clever.
Ginger…from the cold desert of Las Vegas
Hi Ginger D,
Computers can be a real pain, can’t they? I guess they are simply doing what we tell them too, tho. Glad you went back in and re-wrote your comment. I sure appreciate your words and that you like this post. That makes me feel good. 🙂 Stay warm!
You might consider plastic dishes and bowls. Less likely to break and lighter to keep the trailer weight down. I like melamine and sometimes you can find good deals at yard sales or thrift stores.
Thanks for your posts.
Hi Carol,
That’s a great thought. I’ve always had “real” dishes and glassware in the boats I’ve owned, but weight and breakage wasn’t much of an issue there. I think I’ll re-think! I like shopping at thrift stores so this will give me yet another reason to go there. Thanks for the suggestion.