Every time we take a trip in Scoopy, we learn something, either by necessity, or simply by honing our process. On this trip, our seventh since adopting Scoopy last May, we changed things up a bit and it made a huge difference in our planning and process of getting underway. And, it solved an issue we were not happy with.
Being foodies, we typically pack way too much food. Nonetheless, we love to cook while we’re camping and we like to have options. On prior trips, we would shop a day or two before our trip, then pack it up the night before in coolers and cooling bags so that we could get an early start. This was quite time-consuming and since Scoopy’s refrigerator needs time to get cold, our food sat in these containers for longer than we wanted. By the time we got it all in the fridge, everything was usually damp from the ice and anything frozen was nearly thawed.
It dawned on us that there is a very nice Safeway just down the road from Scoopy’s storage facility. Duh. So this time, as we prepared to spend four days at Cape Disappointment near Ilwaco, WA, we did not pack up a single food item. We brought an empty cooler and bags and found everything we needed at Safeway.
We also have found the best time for us to exercise Scoopy’s’ generator is right when we get underway. We can run it under a full load as the fridge starts to cool and we can heat or cool Scoopy as we are on our way. Perfect!
The learning by necessity part came when our Pressure Pro alerted us to the fact that the outside rear passenger side tire was low. Steven got right on it and put some air in until the Pressure Pro was satisfied. Next, he had a latch to a bay give him some trouble, so he fixed that, too.
We also noticed a very, very minor leak, which he also fixed. I have to give him credit, he’s really working hard to learn and he’s not afraid to dive in and give his all. He’s doing a great job!
We had an uneventful trip to Cape Disappointment and that’s a good thing. We started out in cloudy weather, but as soon as we hit Highway 101, it was blue skies all the way. We got a great site, number 56, which is in my favorite kind of arrangement, a spoke. I backed right in and before long we were hooked up and heading to the beach. It was just a spectacular day.
We settled in and did some food prep. Our friends Kris and Glenn were due to arrive early on Friday morning, so we wanted to get stuff done so that we had plenty of time to to be out and about.
Friend and barista Jennie started us off right and Steven learned to quiet the screaming Pressure Pro
We headed to the beach soon after arriving Tons of jellyfish were washed up on the beach
We expressed our feelings in the sand Without this visual “art”, finding our way would be difficult
Thankfully, this dude stayed outside! Our wonderful campsite at Cape Disappointment
Signs said “Don’t Pick the Mushrooms!” Beach art at sunset
Many were the size of our heads!
Lighthouse at sunset
UP NEXT: Born to be wild.
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Wow, you guys are becoming the poster examples for how to get into RVing in 3 easy steps, Way to go!!
Don't you love filling your tires from you own onboard compressor?? Steven looks totally pro.
Hi Linda & Steven – I happened onto your "old" blog a few weeks ago and have since read every entry. Very entertaining. We are from Selah, so we feel like neighbors. 🙂 Moving from your old blog to your new one was quite surprising, and left me with a couple of questions, that you can answer or not, of course: 1) What made you decide on a motor home rather than a fifth wheel? and 2) What happened to the plan to move to Boise? Unrelated to your blog jump: Which Bed-in-a-Bag did you get? We are thinking about purchasing one and would love to know which model it is that you're so happy with.
We are planning on going fulltime in July of 2014. Really hoping we run into you on the road somewhere (figuratively speaking, of course), so we can meet. Looking forward to reading more about your grand adventures.
God bless you with safe and happy travels. –Terie
Hi Terie – Thanks for your kind words about our blogs. I can't believe you managed to slog through them all. That said, I've done the same with many others, so I get it. 🙂 Somehow I knew that question about Boise would come up someday, because it was just kind of left hanging. But really there is no definitive answer. The kids weren't on board with the idea. It gets hot there. (I left Texas for a reason, after all.) We just continued living our lives in the BAH and it just never happened. By the time we sold the BAH, we already had another plan in place.
As for choosing a Motorhome over a 5th wheel, that was all about opportunity. We weren't looking, but a great opportunity presented itself with a great rig from folks we like and trust, so it was just a perfect match. We always had Motorhome in the back of our minds, but thought the 5th wheel was the direction we'd go. Ha. I honestly don't know what we would have ended up with if we had waited until we were ready to full time.
As for the Bed-In-A-Box, we just got the original. Nothing fancy, no cooling gizmos, just plain. And we love it.
Hope to meet you on the road. Do you have a blog?
Linda
Nice photos as always..this past summer we purchased an electric cooler..plug it in the day before and load it up just before leaving..
it plugs into the outlet in the vehicle..seems to solve our problem with a fridge that takes a bit of time to get cool! sure makes life a whole lot easier, although I was a big apprehensive to spend the money on it but we have found a few uses for it other than for camping..we take it with us on day trips and also when we go grocery shopping in the US..
no need to buy ice anymore!!
so happy for the two of you..nice that you are enjoying the new freedom of life with a motorhome!!
No blog yet, but we did buy our fifth wheel last month, so I need to start thinking about the blog, which I am defintely going to have just because it's such an easy way to keep loved ones informed of the goings-on. There's just so many options out there to get one started, I'm just really confused right now. 🙂
thnaks so much for taking the time to respond. I'm sure will meet up some day, and in the meantime, I'll keep following you on your journey. –Terie
Once again I'm impressed with your ability to slide into RVing. Learning without catastrophe is always the preferred way to go. 🙂