Every day is Thanksgiving around here …

What?! Two posts on the same day?? That’s an awful lot of Betties. But I have a story to share.

Once upon a time, way back in November of aught-6, Matthew and I were in Australia. On the day of American Thanksgiving, we bought ourselves some special items at the grocery store (kangaroo steak!) and went back to our camper van, which was parked in a beautiful beach trailer park. This particular park was primarily occupied by retirees who had built impressive compounds and were living their golden years in community, sharing morning exercise classes and evening game nights. We needed a key for the “barbie” in order to grill our steaks, so Matthew went to the park office to get one. While our host was looking for the key, Matthew told him we were gonna grill our Thanksgiving dinner, and the guy said, “Every day is Thanksgiving around here, mate!”

We repeat that quote frequently, and I’ve definitely been thinking of it A LOT these last few weeks. I’m happy to report that my sister’s surgery went very well: the post-surgery pathology reports show that all residual cancer was successfully removed from her abdomen/pelvis, and the surgeon said her chances of living a normal life span are very good! Oh my goodness, so much relief and gratitude for that news! She’ll have 3 more rounds of chemo to further address the tumors in her lungs, and then likely be put on an anti-hormonal therapy for life to keep those guys in line. I’m heading back to Grand Rapids next week to be with her for the first of these last three chemo rounds; I’m looking forward to spending more time with her and hopefully joining her in some Advent observations and a little Christmas decorating.

But even in addition to that great news, there’s so much to be thankful for. I love my job; this crazy camper dream of ours might actually be coming together (knock on wood!); there’s a lot of laughter and music around here; and our families are in good health and doing well. And boy oh boy am I grateful for all our amazing friends. I feel like I haven’t been very good at being in touch with you lately, but I have been thinking a lot about all you lovely people, and feeling so truly blessed to have you in my life.

So THANK YOU!! I’m sending out lots of love and looking forward to whenever I get to give you a big hug again!

And because no post is complete without some photos, here are a few more:

  • Getting trailer advice at the bar from some experts.
  • Jim and Tammy inspect our progress …
  • … but then it was time for them to pack up the bus and head back to Florida.
  • Buster does NOT like riding in the bus. Poor Buster.
  • Beautiful fall day here on Cobbs Creek.
  • Hooray for Thanksgiving dinner! And for Matthew!

Galley Hatch Redux

This frame is square, stiff, streamlined, and fits the galley perfectly – so far.

I’ve been taking the second build of the galley hatch very slowly and deliberately. Where the last time I tried to glue a lot of wood at the same time, with things slipping a sliding all the while, this time I would place just a few pieces at a time, make sure they set true, let the glue cure, then move to the next. Also key this time was doing most of the gluing in-place.

  • I guess I wasn’t in a picture taking mood for the first step. I routed new ribs and did the first round of gluing in the shop.
  • The frame went back on the trailer.
  • Detail of the frame corner. II only used four screws to secure the initial square. Everything else is held with wood glue.
  • I used wooden spacers to make allow for the spaces needed for hardware. Here you can see the even 3/8″ space around the trailer edge that will allow for the hatch to rest against the rubber seal that will go on the trailer edge.
  • Carefully fitting the first of the support struts.
  • I kept a portion of the old hatch handy to remind me of what worked and what didn’t as I built the new one.
  • A quick test to make sure that the hatch lifts were in the right place.
  • One quick visit to the shop to add the supporting ribs that work around the gas lifts.
  • Getting close to completion.

In between bouts of gluing we put layers of varnish on the interior. This required multiple coats with sanding in-between. Watching varnish dry is slightly less interesting than watching paint dry.

  • A little Magic Rub to erase pencil marks I had used for aligning screws.
  • We had a day warm enough to work outside, which was nice for all the varnish fumes we were making.
  • The finished interior ceiling.

We also had time to wire up the running lights.

We are getting really close to completion. The galley hatch still has plenty of steps to go, but that’s pretty much the main focus at this point. There’s some final exterior finishing to do, and some galley cabinetry puzzles to solve. But mostly it is crossing steps off the galley hatch list!

Cabinetry Done, and Other Updates

The doors have a hidden latch and are braced to allow for sitting up in bed. I wanted to allow for plenty of airflow to keep contents from getting funky.

  • I made a jig to try to get the hinges aligned. It kind of worked.
  • 12 doors, 23 hinges, 92 screws.
  • Here’s a view of the latch.
  • I had to make a blind mark with the door closed to get my latch location. Here’s how used the pencil.
  • The cabinets at the foot of the cabin.
Meanwhile, I did a lot of sanding on the storage door to get a good fit. One of the challenges with using plywood here is that the depth of the rout exposes some really low-grade wood, which is wavy and hard to get smooth.
And, yes, I’ve begun work on the galley hatch v2. Here I’m outlining the form I’ll use for a template for the ribs. This time, instead of the inside curve being the same radius as the side walls, they are 3/8 inch larger, which will allow for the rubber gasket that will seal it water tight. At the top of the photo you can see the fancy tool I made to draw the 5/8 radius.

Paint, Sand, Repeat

Running lights wired and storage hatch dry-fit!

Not a lot of “action” photos to share for the past week’s work. Most of my time has been spent painting and sanding. Three coats of poly paint on sides and top, each time with a sanding (first with 220, then 400, and 600 grit paper) a thorough scuffing to get a “mechanical” (my new favorite term) bond, then a wipe down with alcohol and again with tack cloth. It has really led to a beautiful finish.

The wood grain will get some more coats of epoxy and varnish, but that will come a little later.

Meanwhile, all the wiring at the front of the trailer is complete.

  • Electric will be accessed from a secret hatch.
  • Here’s the innards.

Next steps are getting those storage hatches on the side to seal water tight, and get the cabinet doors installed inside. There is also the small matter of rebuilding the galley hatch, but I guess I am still waiting for the bruises from my first attempt to heal?

The past weeks have been lovely for working outdoors.

  • I like this shot with the flowers framing the Bettie Mobile.
  • There is a situation with falling leaves, though…

On a train, somewhere in PA …

Yep, I’m writing to you today from an Amtrak dining car as we rattle through southern Pennsylvania. Beautiful! We’ve traveled through hours of scenes like this one along the Youghiogheny River, near Ohiopyle:

I’m on my way back to Virginia, after spending three weeks in Michigan and a week in Iowa. Matthew drove back to VA about 10 days ago. It’s been an eventful couple of weeks since our last update! 

First of all, THANK YOU for all the kind words and prayers for Iris. Her scan results showed partial response to the chemo; all of her tumors shrank, and she has the green light for surgery this Thursday (11/10). There were a couple of disappointments in the results, however: her hysterectomy will be an open surgery (as opposed to laparoscopic), and will require a longer recovery period. And, approximately five weeks after her surgery, she’ll start three more rounds of chemo. Your continued prayers for healing, peace, and strength would be much appreciated as she navigates these next hurdles and my family stands by to support her. I have to share one awesome example of healing therapy with you — Iris’ friends made a pinata of a Cancer “face” and Iris beat the s#*t out of it! It was full of Hersey’s hugs & kisses, lavender candles, and mini bottles of gin. And then we had Iris’ favorite: German chocolate (cup)cakes with coconut pecan frosting!

Oh yeah, then – a couple of days later – we set Cancer on fire!

In the meantime, a very special family birthday was coming up: our dad was born on Halloween and his 91st birthday was last Monday! After we got Iris’ scan results and knew what the next steps were going to be in her treatment, we decided it would be good for us to make the trip to Iowa, so Iris and Dad could spend some time together and we could celebrate another year of his life! Our other sister, Ione, was already planning to come down from MN for Dad’s birthday; so we also asked our brother Kevin if maybe he’d like to join us?? Indeed! He bought a last-minute plane ticket from Philadelphia!  

Matthew was eager to get back to work on our camper (and I was eager for that project to continue, also!), so he drove back to VA and Iris and I drove to Storm Lake, where Ione and Kevin joined us for a couple of joyful evenings together. 

In the midst of all this, fate provided me the opportunity to be present for the mournful celebration of my dear high school friend Sarah. After a long journey of navigating life with cancer and treatment trial after treatment trial, she finally found peace the night that Iris and I arrived in Storm Lake. We were able to stay a couple extra days so I could attend the services and mourn with our community of classmates and friends. She really was one of The Best, and I am angry and brokenhearted about losing this wonderful friend of over 30 years. And I’m unbelievably sad for her husband and three amazing sons (ages 16-21). But, if this had to happen, I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity to be part of those memorials. 

After all the intensity of this month, I decided to take the train back to VA and spend an entire day just sitting and watching the world go by. Iris and I drove back to Michigan on Friday; Saturday morning I took a train from Benton Harbor to Chicago, and I had 8 hours to kick around Chi-town before boarding the Capitol Limited to DC. I get a couple hours in DC today, then a 2-hour train to Richmond, where Matthew and Twyla will be ready to take me that last leg to Cobbs Creek. I’m looking forward to reuniting with Matthew and helping to get this camper project finished!! 

Here are a few more photos of the last couple of weeks:

  • We stopped at the World’s Largest Truck Stop on I-80 near Walcott IA.
  • It’s decorative gourd season!
  • I had an awesome 8 hours in Chicago, despite winds gusting to 60 mph and occasional downpours.
  • I ducked into the Art Institute, and – lucky day – I got in free because I have a Bank of America credit card!
  • The impressionists were very popular. (I couldn’t look at this painting without getting that Morrissey song in my head…)
  • I love this! It’s like a giant seashell craft you’d find in a beach house!
  • Sunday crossword, cup of coffee, and a placid countryside. Pretty nice way to start the day.

Meanwhile, in Michigan: Plan M

Before I dive into today’s update, I just want to take a minute to say THANK YOU for following along, and especially for your comments!! We’re not that great about replying to them (sorry!), but we really appreciate them and definitely feel your encouragement and support. That’s pretty neat-o.

It’s been 13.5 months since we left Sitka, and we’ve had at least a dozen “plans” since then, with variations on what type of trailer we would get, whether or not we would buy or make or remodel it, when we’d be able to hit the road, and where we’d go when we finally have something to pull behind the car and sleep in. Yes, we’re a little disappointed that an entire year has passed and we’re still not living the grand nomadic dream, but you know what? It’s truly fine. This is definitely one of those “it’s about the journey, not the destination” kind of stories. In a lot of ways, we’re still living Plan A: take a break from high-stress jobs, live each day as it comes, and spend meaningful time with family and friends.

That’s exactly what brings us back to Michigan, and “Plan M” going forward. As you may recall, my dear sister Iris is navigating a journey with cancer right now, starting with six rounds of intense chemo which began back in late June. Our family has been taking turns being with her during those chemo rounds, and I feel fortunate that I was able to be with her in mid-Sept for Round 5, and that Matthew and I are back here again for Round 6. Matthew mentioned some deadlines for the trailer in earlier posts: “Plans” K and L were to finish the trailer in time to bring it on one of these journeys to Michigan, and then continue west from here after spending time with Iris. But to the point of goals 1 and 2 above (no high-stress jobs and living each day as it comes) — we realized we didn’t HAVE TO meet that deadline; we can re-route our path in whatever way we need to! Awesome! So, on October 6 we decided to hit “pause” on the trailer. On Oct 7 we cleaned up the trailer work areas, cleared out of the Turners’ basement apartment (in order to accommodate other house guests while we’re away), and stored all of our stuff in the trailer. And on Oct 8, we pointed Twyla toward Grand Rapids, Michigan, taking two days to get here and enjoying an overnight rest in Uniontown, PA.

Most of our recent “Plans” have been oriented around launching our grand adventure from Michigan and heading west from here, hopefully having a visit in the midwest but also making it across the Rockies before winter sets in, and spending Sept-Jan in Colorado, California, and the Southwest. But “Plan” M shakes that up quite a bit. Now we’re thinking we’ll get back to Virginia for the last few days of October, spend a couple/few weeks finishing up the trailer, and then head south before pointing west. We have a date in San Diego in mid-January, so that’s the next real deadline.

If any of you have any tips or advice on traveling across the Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona in Nov-Dec (or “must-dos”) please share!

Also, if you could please beam some prayers of strength, courage, and light toward Grand Rapids this week, we’d all appreciate it … we have a big week of truth ahead as Iris gets post-chemo scans this Tuesday and a consult on the 25th to see the effect of the chemo and determine next steps. Also, it’s her birthday next weekend. 🙂

In the meantime, here are a few photos of time in Michigan: from my visit back in September as well as this last week.

  • It’s harvest season! Peppers did VERY well in Michigan this year … any suggestions for what to do with this many habaneros?
  • Heirloom tomatoes make great homes for chrysalises.
  • Tomato processing station.
  • Three big pots on the stove! I canned 20.25 qt of picante sauce and 5.25 qt of habanero sauce! (which only used 1/4 of that pile of peppers)
  • Guess who came to visit?!
  • Dear Sitka friend Ed, who now lives in Michigan! This is on the bluff of Lake Michigan, across from Iris’ lake cottage.
  • Watching sunsets is a favorite activity at the lake.
  • Plus I had a nice little sunset cruise back to VA.
  • This week in Michigan: helping with house projects! A long over-due rearrangement of the study …
  • …. and the bookshelves.
  • But also taking time to enjoy the beautiful fall colors along the Grand River.

The Galley Hatch Just Might Not Work

Sad tidings on the galley hatch. But before we go there, let’s take a look at some more of the build steps for the hatch. One thing I wanted to share was this fantastic resource from a web page and great resource called Teardrops and Tiny Trailers. It helps take a lot of guessing out of getting gas struts to work. The strut design for the Wyoming Woody (from which the Bettie Mobile borrows from) used a different strut design – shorter struts anchored higher up in the frame – which we could never get to work. The TNTT design required us getting longer struts, but worked great. You saw that in a previous post.

So the next steps were to get the interior skins on and start doing some wiring and whatnot.

  • First we glued on the middle.
  • Then the outside skins.
  • It took every clamp that we and our neighbors had to hold it in.

Once the glue dried and everything was trimmed to size, I wanted to give the hatch another dry fit to to the camper. This was a good idea since now the roof was on the camper, so everything would be much closer to how the hatch would finally fit.

And that’s when things took a turn for the worse. The hatch contours just didn’t align with the contours of the camper. This is critical for ensuring that there is a water-tight seal back there.

What a disappointment! It didn’t make me feel like documenting the moment, apparently.

There could be a bunch of reasons why things didn’t fit. The interior skins had a really tight radius to fit, and that might have put enough pressure on the ribs to change the curve. When I did the initial dry fit, many of the components of the roof were not glued in yet, and so dimensions may have shifted. Mostly, the hatch is designed with a compound curve – which means that even 1/8″ of variance in one place can mean a full inch of variance somewhere else. Things just didn’t line up.

The timing of the Great Galley Hatch Disaster came just as it was time for us to leave town for a while. A little distance both in time and space is probably a good thing right now. In a couple of weeks, we’ll be back at the camper build and have a plan for moving forward.

The Roof and More Color!

The exterior of the camper got a lot more fun once we were able to start the painting and epoxy stages. We are using polymer boat paint for the roof and lower third of the sides. The part where you can see the wood grain got three coats of epoxy. The roof only has the primer so far. It will get a sand-tone for its final coat. The sides will eventually get a layer of varnish to give it a little more of an “antique” look, and to provide UV protection.

But first we needed to trim the sides with the flush cut router.

  • Primer on the bottom.
  • Wet towels and a heat gun helped get the Okoume to bend to shape.
  • Meanwhile dad did some electrical work in the galley.
  • Roof is glued on, with ratchet straps to hold it in place.
  • The roof and fan opening were flush routed.
  • The first coat of sea-foam green!
  • The epoxy on the wood really made the grain details pop.
  • The current state of affairs.

Side Skins On!

  • The sides of the camper have looked like this for a month.
  • Getting the styrofoam on the curved roof was challenging.
  • Then we added a layer of bubble wrap insulation.
  • The first side panel installed and clamped.
  • Dyeing the top-side panels.
  • And up they go!
  • This step took a lot of glue.
  • The center roof panel is dry-fit. We will show you how we got the curve in the next post.
  • This is what the trailer looked like last night at quitting time.