Exercises in patience

I have still not managed to get Ruby out on her maiden voyage.

Scheduling issues, family obligations, and now a repair has left her free for day trips, which have been nice, but I still have to test all systems.

The pop top will always be a challenge until I get hydraulic assists installed - I don't think my arthritis-riddled upper body will ever be strong enough to do it myself. And I have yet to test my 'maiden in distress' pout on other unsuspecting campers. For some reason I am unreasonably nervous of propane and butane, in fact anything with a flame (all those years of smoking?) so have yet to test out the stove. I still have to fill the water tank, which I will be doing tomorrow night. But I have managed to download the YouTube video demonstrating how to put the Eazy awning together, which should be helpful if I remember to take along my laptop.

Today the van goes in to get the main sliding door repaired.

But all being well, I will get out for a group camp this weekend at Elk Falls campground near Campbell River. I have been to the falls before, and ignoring the Keep Out signs even managed to find myself a lovely place above the falls to bask and watch everyone else crossing the little suspension bridge. 



Which I'm looking forward to doing again.

Wish me luck.

It's a dubz thing

My dad and uncle drove four or five VW Beetles between them over the years. My Dad's last car was an old Polo with the alarm disabled as it freaked him out each time it went off... which was often. (My mom preferred Minis, until a collision...  the metal-edged under-dash shelf on her navy blue one just about amputated her leg.) 

Driving around the streets of Cornwall, Sussex or Hampshire my dad or uncle would wave at every passing VW. I'd forgotten all about it until I passed another VW camper this afternoon, and the driver waved at me. 

Little did I know that there is an official VW wave. Which I will be sure to use next time.

And a logo.

It feels like I've joined a cult!

(Now, if only I could find out where to get one of those logos for Ruby!)

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Undercover work

Voila!

Needing to expand covered outdoor space, I went in search of an awning. Quoted $2,000 from the local RV place, I moved on to check out Dr. Bjorn's Auto in Cobble Hill. 

Bjorn was able to provide me with an EZY Awning, at less than half the price, and this included installing a gutter to which the awning needs to be attached.  

(While I was there, I also learned a little about his primary preoccupation, converting diesel engines to use cooking oil).

Last night, with the help of my daughter and son-in-law and a good Youtube video, I did a test run of erecting the awning. (My first fear was unfounded... that there might be a part missing from the kit. Too many IKEA moments?)

First time around it took about 1/2 an hour to erect. Probably the first time I do it alone it will take me twice as long. But I expect to shorten the time once I get the knack.

Putting it together

Attaches to the roof

I've been too busy for anything more than few day trips so far. But with some individual camping trips planned, and a couple of group campouts with friends in the works, I'm hoping to really put Ruby - and the new awning - to the test over the next couple of months.

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Inaugural Camper Picnic

Cooper and I had our first official camper picnic yesterday. 

After a visit to the Qualicum First Nation Campground, where we picked out our favourite spots for future visits (#6,7, 18 0r 19), we headed to Qualicum Beach. We were too late for the weekly farmer's market which is over by noon, so we picked up lunch at Quality foods and headed back down to the beach. Found the perfect parking spot (an empty spot on our right side meant we could comfortably sit with the side door open) and enjoyed lunch with a view.

Then a wander along the beach checking out all the tiny crabs scurrying about - "Zillions of them" - and sand dollars... the first time I'd seen them in situ, although I have always loved the dried white ornamental ones. 

Qualicum Beach

One of the things I love about life on Vancouver Island is that it can be mid-day on the weekend in mid-summer and there's always lots of room on the beach for everyone.

Introducing Ruby Twosday

On Tuesday, July 2 we 'brought Ruby home'.

She's a 1993 VW Eurovan, equipped with pop top, two-burner stove, sink, sleeps 4 (if two are willing to sleep in the bunk in the pop top). 

     No awning - yet. This is a priority for me to provide covered outdoor space. But very expensive ($2,000) to buy an installed one. A post on the Vancouver Island VW Camper Facebook Page led me to Dr. Bjorn's Auto, a Cobble Hill company that is a dealer for the US company Bus Depot. They have what's called an EZY Awning, that I will be checking next week. II had thought a free-standing awning from Walmart might do in a pinch. The wheels attached to the carrying case gave it away - I'd be hard-pressed to move the thing, let alone put it up myself. And the EZY Awning promises that you can store it under a seat, which the Walmart option would not.

     Another priority is to figure out how to lift the van's pop top. It looked easy when the seller - a late-30sh woman - showed me how. Me, I near broke my back on my first try. I need a stool to give me a few extra inches, a couple of more demos, and some upper back strengthening exercises before I will be able to manage it, I fear. 

    But my grandson, and fearless traveling companion, won't wait long. He can't wait to test out that upper bunk. But until I get it figured out he will have to stay home. I've slept with him before and it's like sharing a bed with sack of coal - hard to shift and taking up more than his share of the space.

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