Painting the Camper and Other Woes

One of the best things about the camper has been the countless inspiration for projects. And what better way to experiment than with a beat up camper?

Like this penny tile floor. I've probably spent hours drooling over Pinterest boards with these kinds of things, and then decided I should spend hours making one of my own in the camper bathroom- I thought it would look kind of fun with the white paint and yellow toilet and sink. I decided to make a diamond herringbone inspired sort of look with alternating pennies of shiny/very new to old/dark. I also built in a game for my kids using some green pennies and ones with special backs, otherwise, they are mostly heads-up facing the same direction for the most part. This is a great project if you're an OCD type, like me, or if you just enjoy gluing things.

Hours later .....

I used a basic Elmer's glue to tack them down, then a box of clear epoxy to seal it in and creat the grout. If you do this project, be sure to do lots of research on using the epoxy. I'm glad I went to great lengths to make sure the camper was warm enough inside so it wouldn't create a cloudy finish.

Since husband and I tried to save as much original touches as we could, we took down the rolled screens, spray painted them white, but kept the ochre trim.

 Another great learning opportunity and bucket list project was wallpaper. This cool tile looks great on the ceiling to make the space feel bigger and lighter. (It's also paintable.) I need a lot more practice with my wallpapering skills, Y'all!

I'm obsessed with beadboard because I think it looks so classy and is less time and expense than when using plywood or drywall and texturizer and paint. We had to cut it twice, though. Call me old-fashioned, but those "beads" must be vertical!

Right about the time we went all in into this, somewhere between building a custom dinette and installing cedar in the closet, we found that the seals on all the windows were cracked and leaking. When the steering column went out simultaneously with one of the gas tanks, we made the difficult decision to finish the interior and sell our sweet little bumble bee to someone who wants to use it as a parked guest or live in unit. My heart broke over this, but we really want something for our family to cruise around in, a beach camper at the very least, and our DIY skills can't improve the safety of this baby. I'm determined to finish it out, though!

These wall lamps may not have been worth saving, but they had cute little shades with the delightful yellow/ochre 70s color scheme, so I couldn't resist and spray painted it white, too. I may have to stop with rewiring. You can see how this little "fixer upper" camper project kind of turned into a monster...

It's been bittersweet to see all the challenges of this mobile money pit, and also so gratifying to push our skills!

Will have a future post with all the unveiled, completed projects! 

See post 1 here.

See post 2 here.

The Campervan of Inspiration

Welcome to our photo album chronicling our adventure fixing up a '77 Dodge Robinhood. It's been burly, but boy, have we had fun rolling our sleeves up and making improvements.

When we purchased the camper in the spring of 2017, the bones seemed pretty good, but we knew we wanted to basically give the whole thing a facelift. It's been a little more than cosmetic, but here's a basic list.

- reseal roof
-reseal damaged corner of cab over
-wallpaper ceiling
-paint entire indoors white (to make it feel more spacious!) This was by far, the biggest job because there is so much detail
-install cedar closet (this has been on my bucket list, and I need a practice run before attempting on my bedroom closet)
-tile bathroom floor (see next post!)
-custom built dinette/bed, including refinishing existing table top
-install beadboard paneling on walls
-new curtains
-repurpose existing twin bed to couch
-new interior light switches and A/C unit
-exterior turn signal plates
-new steering panel
-new insulation/replace rotten wood and finish paneling on cab over bed

... So just a few things to keep us busy! Here's a tour of all the works in progress. With a 24 foot camper, pretty much any project takes over the entire space, so you'll see lots happening simultaneously.

Above is the living room area where the beadboard will be added and the existing twin bed will be converted to a bench/bed with storage.

The kitchen has all its appliances in working order. You can see the vinyl wallpaper and existing paint need to go!

We actually like the mustard yellow bathroom color scheme, and plan to bring it out with clean, white paint. And a fancy tiled floor!

The living room is primed for paint. We used the Kilz brand for our tough-to-paint laminated surfaces.

The custom built dinette is starting to come together. I am refinishing the table top with a removable marine stand so we can go from table to bed when needed.

The beadboard starts to clean things up dramatically! Bye-bye horrible, dark, 70s fake wood!

And leaks are getting sealed (like the one that mysteriously appeared days after we brought the camper home, even when we inspected on a rainy day)!

See more progress in the next post!

Crossing State Lines

I'm on the road exploring the Pacific Northwest with my dad for the next week or so. Road trip! Adventure! I look forward to all this fall has to bring.

My first photographic specimen is of Roosevelt elk as we entered Redwood National Park. Around this time of year, a bull will gather with his own personal harem of a dozen or more lady elks. Here they gathered right off the roadside and didn't seem particularly camera shy.

But they are quick. Or my camera is slow. I just barely got the tips of this bull's antlers as he ducked behind the brush.

And this one got his head chopped off completely. I guess I'm not ready for National Geographic just yet.

At Redwood National Park, not to be confused with Humboldt Redwood State Park, trees grow under the most unusual conditions (or should I say, around?).

A short stroll left us feeling dwarfed- and we're not easy to impress with redwoods. Even with visits to Avenue of the Giants and Sequoia National Park, and Muir and Armstrong Woods in my backyard, this is easily the highest concentration of huge trees altogether.

Big Tree didn't seem that much bigger than all the other ones we passed.

Redwoods love sharing the same roots- this one base has grown three different trees.

We continued heading north and came to this funny tourist trap, "Trees of Mystery" just before we hit Oregon. My dad remembered seeing it as a kid, so I voted we pull over.

Hey, I thought this guy was from Wisconsin.

By evening, we arrived safely in Oregon and had a lovely seafood dinner at Gold Coast. Tomorrow, Portland and beyond!

Red Tide at Dawn

 

I went to the coast earlier this week and finally saw the thing I've heard so many talk about. Do you ever think you know something because you hear it so much until you actually see it for yourself and realize you had no idea what you were talking about?

 For me, that was a red tide. This algae bloom was the first I'd seen, and you can see for yourself how it gets its name.

And fishing just a week before showed no trace of it. Even a mass as infinite as the ocean can change quickly.

 The algae blooms are part of the season and provide food for lots of species- just harmful to us if we eat shellfish from the water during a red tide.

 

During my hike with Chuck on a glorious sunny day, we looked out at seal rock to see whales feeding and seals barking their heads off. Here's a little video I shot so you'd get a picture of just how loud those cute little flippery fur-balls really are.

Cleaning Fish- Gird Your Loins!

Okay, we're going to walk through cleaning fish on the deck, but look out! It's a little messy.

After you let the fish bleed out, cut around the gills and pull them out.

 

Cut down the belly to the anus.

Open the belly and pull out the entrails.

If there's an egg sac, try to keep it intact.

Scrape out the excess intestines and rinse well before storing in the fish box or on ice. And make sure to cut open the stomach to see what the fish last ate- it makes nice dinner conversation when your guests want to know everything about the critter they're eating.

 

We had a female and tried some of the eggs. They were ... eggy. And not the greatest texture. I guess it needs a little treatment with brine or chilling down over right out of the ocean. I'll let the sushi chefs keep in charge of that.

 

 

Here's a little video showing some of the internal plumbing mysteries of a fish. And vegetarians out there (the real kind that don't eat fish), I respect that you eat only what you're willing to harvest. It's a great reminder of why I would venture out in search of my own food than go to the fishmonger.