PLEASE NOTE: We did not do everything on this list. What I did was research others blogs, internet etc and copied comments, suggestions etc. While we were on our trip, THAT is when we would decide what we were wanting to do but I had everything at my fingertips to make the decision and have ideas.
What to Bring: Water shoes See if we can borrow snorkeling equipment (Karen) Flip Flops Beach Towels Birthday hat/glasses J Hats Go Pro Sunscreen Seasick medicine (mom) Collapsible cooler? Night bag, beach bag, suitcase we leave in the car (recommended a cloth bag) Beach Chairs (order) Scarf Sun Dress Headband Hair clips – big and small White long sleeve shirt in case of burn Selfie Stick Sun Glasses and tshirt Call on fishing to confirm – snacks, lunch Call on bikes..what if we aren’t quite there at 9:00 Activities: Wednesday- Get car and look around Key Largo (Make reservations for Snorkeling Monday once we know if we want more time in Key Largo or more time in Miami…earlier or later) Thursday – Fishing Trip on our way to Marathon $1000 (8:00 a.m.) Friday – Go early to Key West - Sunset Sail in Key West (5:30 show up ½ hour early) – Call to double check time 800-507-9955 Sunday – Parasail in the morning on our way to Marathon (12:00) – Stay most of the day in Key West? Monday – Snorkeling in Key Largo on our way to Miami Tuesday Night: 2/21/17
Five islands: Between Key Largo and Islamorado Between Islamorado and Marathon (37 minutes)
Miami
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We finally finished the RV other than small jobs here and there which I think will always be waiting for us. I decided to do one last post of "before" and "after" of the whole motorhome. We just took it on a long trip and have LOVED it. It is exactly how we want it, fits all our needs and the best part is it is paid for! Can't get any better than that. The specifics of what we did are in older posts. This is just a summary of "before" and "after". The journey of making it was sooo much fun. Now we are going to enjoy the journey of using it! BEFORE...AFTER...BEFORE...AFTER...BEFORE...AFTER...BEFORE...AFTER...BEFORE...AFTER... (TV screen moves)BEFORE...AFTER...BEFORE...AFTER...Other Things I Love That We Added...Dog Kennel Under Our BedWine Addict (or Attic) With Storage BehindWork Desk and VanityPowered Recliners That Almost Lay FlatPantry in the CupboardLast, but not Least...A reminder that we are never traveling alone! Well, we had nothing else to do in the middle of selling our house....so we (the royal we, Gil) finished the floor in the motor home! We know, sometimes we are crazy but we thought we should probably get it done while Gil still had all his tools handy and at his fingertips. Now we just have the kitchen to finish..that could be a challenge once we sell the house but I'm sure we'll get it figured out.
The floor turned out perfect and it is so beautiful. It really tied in all the areas of the motor home. The floor we used is vinyl. It floats while the motor home is moving but most importantly it won't bubble if it gets wet. The store actually had a piece sitting in a fish bowl demonstrating that water does not ruin the material. I'm thinking we will really like it. Well, as soon as we get an inspector and appraisal on the house, we will start packing up. Otherwise, we just might keep working on the motor home next weekend! Earlier in my blog you might remember when I bought the wine rack from Bed, Bath and Beyond that I wanted placed above the door that was too long, not wide enough and needed to be at a 45 degree angle. Gil just looked at me and said "...And how do you propose I do that?" and my reply "I don't know, but I know it will look great when it's done. And, once again, I was right. He figured it out! Not only does it hold important contents :-) He made it even better than I asked. If you look at the pictures below, he made it so it can open and we can put things behind it (always finding ways to utilize space!). He put latches at the top and he made it very secure so our motorhome does not turn a mysterious red as we travel down the road from exploded wine. I need to still paint the wood inside the door though.
Well, from the first day we took our motorhome on the road, back in 2002, we've hated the seats. They were uncomfortable and rubbed your arms raw on the arm rests. We decided to break down and get new captains chairs and they arrived! We are looking forward to trying them out on our Thanksgiving break to California. BEFORE...AFTER...Well, we are crossing our fingers that when they REALLY have to get in here, they will. Bella is pretty good about doing whatever we tell her. Braska is another story but luckily, whatever Bella does, Braska will do. So we made headway with Bella to get in so I'm hopeful. Now we will see how they like it when we really lock them up in it. The bed is lifted in this picture. I was hoping it wouldn't be so "scary" for them to check it out. We also have three vents, besides the door, to help ventilate it for them. We still need to paint them brown so you can see them.
Well, the desk area is done and it turned out, not only functional, but beautiful! We (meaning Gil with my ideas) did a lot of little things that I love. So the top of the desk was hand painted with a stencil. I would not recommend it. I tried to paint it with a brush, that didn't work so well so I went to spray paint. That did work better but the stencil is only 12 X 12 and it has an edge around it so you can't just put the stencil next to the other area painted or it overlaps the newly painted area. Hard to explain...and hard to paint. Overall, it turned out pretty good...but of course, I'm a perfectionist. We framed the desk in with a dark brown boarder. This not only allowed us to have a shelf on the desk but there is space behind the desk to hide odd shaped items like our doggy gate. Well, it's not a very "clean" picture but below is the small door behind the desk to hide stuff behind it. We also have a door on the other side of the desk in case something gets pushed all the way to the end. As you can tell, my smart husband put an electrical outlet here so we can plug in our computers. We also have a place right by the door to hang our keys and other items (sloppy dog leashes haha). I'd like to get a corkboard to put below it for camp receipts etc. ![]() So you say "How do you use your computer if you don't electricity...well I have a clever husband. On the other side of the desk we have an inverter so we can charge things without having power. Smart eh? Below, I love the photo hanger. I love pictures and this way I can post different pictures through the year. I just picked a few of my favorites to put up for now. Also below, are desk organizers. I got them on clearance and I had Gil screw them into the wood border so we don't have to worry about putting them away while traveling. Lastly, I love that I can use this desk as a vanity. Gil can be showering and getting ready and I can still do my makeup and hair. The view ain't bad out the window either :-) Well, the desk area is done. On to another section....
We are having a great time in the RV. The girls (aka the two dogs) are actually pretty good travelers. We worried a little since Bella got car sick as a puppy and Braska would shake the entire time. I still give Bella medicine because I'm nervous if she does get car sick, then I have to deal with her AND Gil. Gil does not have the strongest stomach so some day I will get brave but for now Bella does great on the couch and Braska is usually trying to weasel her way on to one of our laps during the ride. One of the best parts about being in the motorhome...is the walks. We love to walk and we have found some of the greatest areas to walk. This is part of the Greenbelt in Boise. There are a few houses on the river that I would definitely enjoy living in. What a beautiful view. On to our next adventure....
Slideout - BeforeSlideout - AfterWe really like how the slideout turned out. It is sooo comfortable. I think the pictures are deceiving because the before pictures look like the slideout is bigger (it went wall to wall with no space). Plus the other side isn't done yet so the pictures are a bit closer too. It actually feels like there is more room now that we only have the couch and table. Plus we like the table better than the bench seating. The couch is really nice and has battery recliner :-) It's nice because you can put it into any position where you like. Not just up or down. And...yes we thought through "What if we don't have electricity?" We bought a battery for it that charges when you are plugged in...so there! Good thing I didn't start here to paint or the RV would have NEVER gotten painted. This section of the motorhome gave me so much troubles. One of the issues is there are so many cross wood grains and indented areas which creates problems when you do the staining part. If you stain the sections going vertical and overlap the hortizontal areas, then it makes it too dark on those cross sections. I had to repaint some sections three times and be very careful when I got to the staining part. Then the brown section (border around the slideout) was not cooperating because the painting seal kept leaving streaks. So I'd have to repaint with brown and then reseal again...carefully. Finally got it done, thank God! It turned out nice but I'm glad I didn't start here or I would have been in tears wondering what I got myself into. And the infamous valences....the first one Gil did, he had to redo three times because of me. Well, we got it right and they turned out amazing. They match the couch perfectly and we really didn't plan it. Things I love about the slideout.....THIS BEAUTIFUL TABLE: My husband made this amazing table! It's not 100% done yet. Not only is it beautiful but if we want, the table can actually collapse against the wall. He still needs to finish the end. We (he) are going to put a small compartment on the end of the table for paper plates, salt and pepper etc so they are right there next to the table! Smart, huh? My mom helped me with those ideas. CUPHOLDER: Gil gets sick of hearing me say how much I love these cup holders. The first picture is it closed. I like how it is out of the way. The second picture is how you can use it with a fountain drink (it is adjustable for the width and size of the cup) and then the last picture is my favorite...a coffee cup! It has a lip around the edge to hold it on and then a little opening on the front so the cup handle will fit. We will be putting these by our captain chairs too. COUCH: Well I've already told you how much I love the couch but I also like it because it "almost" lays flat so if the boys or my mom want to go with us, they could sleep on the couch. The sheets and blankets fit perfectly! BEACH PICTURE: What we are hoping to do more of in a couple of years...only the chairs will have us in it :-)
We were itching to use the motorhome. We finally got it to a place where we could use it so we decided to do a quick trip up to Eden and camp. We were close enough in case something was wrong but we could still enjoy the summer weather. We went to Anderson Cove in Eden. While using it, we came up with some other things we would love to do to it (our to-do list keeps getting longer instead of shorter). Everything worked great and we really enjoyed the feel of the motorhome. Below is a picture of Pineview Dam. Below is the entertainment center that Gil made from scratch. I didn't have to miss the final show of the Bachelorette :-) The cord hanging from the TV is the TV plugged into a DC charger (I have no idea...I think that is what it is) so we can watch TV without power and without starting the generator. It was sweet! That was one of the ideas that we came up with while there so we (that would be Gil) is going to wire it so it is automatically like that and we won't have the cord hanging. The desk that I finished will be secured under the TV when we install it. The electrical outlets are hanging because they are going to be mounted on my desk once it is installed. Notice my beautiful cabinets. I'm really proud of how they turned out. You can see the shelf above the door that hasn't been painted yet. That is what it use to look like. It was a nice short trip. The dogs did really well and they loved the hiking that we did. The picture of Gil grilling just makes me laugh. We were so excited to get up in the mountains that we finished our projects, cleaned everything up and hit the road. Gil looked at me and asked what I brought for dinner and I just looked at him stupid. I thought he packed the food for dinner. Nope...had a fun RV to camp in but no food. Luckily there was a grocery store close by.
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AuthorIf you want to see the entire remodel, you will need to look back at past posts. It took us several months. Archives
May 2017
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