July Fourth (2023)

 We went to Riverbend County Park for Fourth of July this year. The campground was packed full of people and where we were was surrounded by trees and bushes, so it was private. We set up and enjoyed a quiet night tucked away from other people and off the main road entrance. People walked by, and kids rode bikes past us, but everything was really quiet, and at one point we saw some rabbits playing along the edge of the woods.

At the entrance of the park is a Little Free Library, so of course we had to check it out. 

It was Fourth of July, so of course we had to put out our American flags around the camp spot and on the bus.

Skylar immediately set up the hammock and fell asleep shortly after. I had to take Hardy from him, because Hardy wanted to run around a little. We have a travel run that we bring on trips, so that Hardy feels like he has freedom, but can't leave a certain parameter of area that we are able to control depending on where we are.

After we ate dinner we went and explored the surroundings. Every campground spot was taken up by a camper, RV, or tent and it was neat seeing how everyone set their spots up to make it "theirs." We always like walking the areas where we camp, and get and idea of where we are and what's around us. We also like to see things that other people use and get some ideas on what we can get for our bus, too.

Once the sun went down we set up our Fourth of July lights along the outside of the bus and closed all of the curtains. We are still in the process of putting permanent curtains up on each window, so for now we have loose curtains that we use to block out prying eyes.

The following day was actually Fourth of July, so we ate breakfast, did a last walk through the park and checked out. We are hoping to create a kitchen area on the side of the bus eventually, so that we don't have to use the picnic table. We have so many ideas for our bus still to come. 

Once we got back to home base and unloaded what we needed to unload, we climbed on top of the roof of the bus and watched the city's firework show and shot off a few of our own.

It was such a great Fourth of July and we are definitely going to be repeating this trip again next year!

End of June 2023 (1 Second Every Day)

 

Five Simple Things (June 30)

 Hello.

Here are five things this week.

1. This honeybee.

Honeybees are always welcome in my garden. I love watching them work so hard to put on their pollen pants for their hive. Such hard workers and they respect each other, and they even respect other pollinators that are busy working near them, too. I just love them so much.

2. This view.

I love photography, but what I love to see more is Jeff or Skylar taking pictures of something. I have taught them a lot about photography and have gotten them to love taking pictures just as much as me. It warms my heart that I passed on a passion to them, as well.

3. This message.

This message was written on the sidewalk in Corvallis near the river. Hear! Hear! My friend. Hear! Hear! Love People, Use Things: Because the Opposite Never Works.

4. This crow.

Clearly this crow is a hot Cheeto fan. Crows are scavengers, so anything to them is a buffet. Honestly though, this crow ate a couple of these and then flew off. Even animals are tired of Monsanto crap being in our food system. Remember, make better food choices for yourself, animals, and out planet.

5. This car.

Get it? "Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right. Here I am, stuck in the middle with you." -Stealers Wheel

One more thing:

Did you know this? Surfers taught up years ago and we have been using it a lot lately. Sometimes you're out surfing and it is so easy to lose track of time. The only time we actually stop is when we notice the sun is going down and other surfers start shuffling out. This time-telling method with your hands comes in handy a lot. (diagram credit: tanglewood hollow)

Positive affirmations this week:

Do what makes you the happiest. Don't let other people try to take away your happiness, because they haven't found their own. Listen to your supporters, not your critics. You can do this! 🌈

Have a nice weekend.

Surf Trip to Beverly Beach

 With all the work on the walls lately we decided to take an overnight surf trip to the coast to take a bit of a break. It's been hot working in the bus and with only a shop fan, it gets a bit overwhelming some days, but we pushed along and finished the walls completely this week. We definitely were in for a small celebration for our accomplishment. 

Our temporary "dinning" area is perfect for Skylar to do some homework on the way over to the coast. His setup helped him get a lot of work done before we spent the rest of the time on the waves.

Hardy loves riding up front and watching where we are going. I took his pad from our house and shoved it down through the handrail so that he had a nice place to lay or sit and watch where we were headed. He loved going to the coast with us and he loves riding in the bus even more. Where ever we are, he always wants to be.

We drove into the campground and checked in. It was nice to see so many other campers around us that were enjoying the weekend, as well.

The camp spot we had was right on the turn to leave the campground, so we had a lot of other campers that were curious about the bus. We met a lot of nice people that were fascinated with our bus setup and wanted to look inside. We love when people want to know more and it gives us a chance to meet new people. There have been a lot of connections this way and we end up seeing a lot of them again later. It's kind of like a small, unspoken community that enjoy camping and friendships.

We got to try out our solar bus lights on this camping trip and we just love how great they look once the sun goes down.

We brought the boards out and got them ready to hit the waves. A lot of people took pictures of our boards and bus setup, so we did the same and we just love how cool it all looks.

 

As we were setting up to eat dinner I found the Devil's pitchfork. I ended up keeping this cool branch, because it's not often you see the Devil's tools laying around. ☺

The bus looks like this almost 90% of the time. What you see online is always after a cleaning, but in reality, the bus is being lived in for days, so it's not always going to be 100%. No shame, though, because we have a blast either way.

We store out boards in the under storage of the bus and we are currently in the process of creating a rack on the side of the bus to hold the boards. We are looking at welders to help us create a metal rack that holds them, locks them when not in use, but keeps them out of the way of other things in the under storage area. The area under the bus is going to be used strictly for water tanks, and other necessary items that are needed to help keep the bus running efficiently.

After leaving Beverly Beach we headed to Agate Beach, Ernest Bloch Wayside to hit a few more waves before we headed home.

The board next to the bus will always been a fun thing to see with me. I love how awesome our life is right now. It's such a great way to spend a weekend and we all had a great time.