Friday, August 31, 2018

Necessity is the Mother of Invention!

We have an area to the right of the door that originally came with a bookshelf.  The bookshelf has been long removed by the previous owners.  We like to put our shoes on the wheel box but they fall off and look so messy.  The space is only 7" deep and 21" wide.  We tried a basket but the shoes just got each other dirty, then we tried a shoe rack but it kept falling over.  We also tried setting a small ice chest there, nope, it turned over during our travels.

After searching Pinterest I found the perfect solution and Girl M and myself hacked a new shoe storage box with two crates, zip ties, some 1x2 pieces of wood and a rope.

Shoe storage idea

Shoe storage hack

6+ pairs of shoes
We added a piece of rope on the top for a handle so we can put the shoe storage outside when we need to.

Until next time.........................

Bonnie

Friday, August 24, 2018

Product Rave: Over the Tub Drying Rack

While on vacation at Stone Mountain, GA, we stopped into Wal-Mart looking for a trailer tire for the Eagle 5th wheel.  I was in need of a clothes drying rack and I found this over the tub drying rack and thought it might work in the camper.

This is one of my favorite purchases we've made.  We use it every trip.  It usually is in our bathtub in the upright position and leans against the back wall.  We also use it outside to dry swimsuits and towels.



Over the Tub Drying Rack
 The drying rack is made of plastic and Girl M. assembled it in a few minutes.  There are knobs to tighten  at the center sides and it adjust to many different angles.

Over the Tub Drying Rack

Over the Tub Drying Rack

The drying rack folds flat and I store it under the bed when we travel.

I've looked online at Wal-Mart.com for it to add a link but I am unable to find the same one.  I think we paid less than $10 for it and we located it by the irons and clotheslines at the store.

If I ever find another one I may just pick it up for the Puma at Hunt Camp or even for here at the house.

Until next time..............

Bonnie

Monday, August 20, 2018

Jetty Park, Port Canaveral, FL

We started camping about 15 years ago with a Class C.  A FourWinds 5000.  We loved that RV.  But with three kids, two dogs it got really tightl quickly.  We went everywhere in that Class C, the beach, Washington DC, South of the Border, SC, and the mountains, we would just hop in it and go.

About 14 years ago we went to Beverly Beach, FL.  I remember I wasn't happy staying there but I don't remember why.  The campground is located North of Daytona Beach and all I remember was that the entire campground was crushed shell.  So of course with small kids the shells were everywhere in our camper, the beds, the carpet, the sinks.  After dark, Dear Hubby kept trying to get me to come outside to see something at the horizon.  Well, we first thought it was a ship far off but after watching for a few minutes a full moon rose from the water to the most beautiful sight I had ever seen.

Fast forward 14 years of us saying we needed to go back to Beverly Beach for a full moon.  Upon trying to make reservations for 3 days the cost was $425!  OMG in my own camper!  Now I remember why I wasn't happy staying at Beverly Beach.

We decided to try Jetty Park Campground at Port Canaveral.  Same side of the state, same Atlantic Ocean, way cheaper price!  Three nights were only $117!  And of course we were able to be there during the full moon.  I'm so excited but I wish ALL the kids were with us.  As usual it's just Girl M and the dogs.

The drive across the state was uneventful except for $23 in tolls one way!  The truck did great and the trailer pulled wonderfully.  Traffic wasn't bad for mid-afternoon on the turnpike and we made it in our 2 hour time frame.

The gatekeepers at the front of the park were very friendly and directed us to the campground, told us to find our site hook up, then register at the office.  Easy enough!

We had site #234 and what I remember when I reserved our site a few months prior was I had a choice of two available sites, one with a concrete slab in the sun or one without a slab in the shade.  I chose the shaded site because I worry about our A/C and the summer heat with our dogs.

The site was nice and very shaded by a huge tree and Dear Hubby was able to back in pretty easily.  I think he could have done it in one try if the campers across the street didn't have their truck parked along the road.  But he did great!  We had just enough time to level the camper and hook up the electric when a typical Florida thunderstorm came.  We jumped into the camper and played a few hands of cards, set up inside, and watched a little news.

The water pooled into our campsite and we were sitting in the middle of a pond, held hostage for over an hour.  Then all the water soaked in and we were free to leave the camper!

Held hostage by a Thunderstorm!
The thunderstorm moved on and the rest of the evening was beautiful.  We were able to finish setting up and take the dogs for a walk around the park.  One of my favorite things to do is look at everyone's camper and see their pets.

After dinner we walked to the beach and over to the pier and enjoyed the sunset.

Cape Canaveral Air Force Station

Girl M acting sassy

Dear Hubby & I at Jetty Park Beach

Girl M Jetty Park Pier

Sunset from Pier

Selfie Practice

Colorful sunset

Girl M

The next day after breakfast we headed to the beach.  It wasn't too crowded, probably because it was a weekday.

Girl M at the beach
Dear Hubby is very fair skinned and has had several skin cancers removed hence the sun-shirt, glasses and a hat.  We try to be careful and I do remind him many times during the day to put on sunscreen.
Dear Hubby
I'm not as fair skinned as Dear Hubby but I do NOT liked to be sunburned.  We have an umbrella, hats and sunglasses.  I did not go into the water at all, it kinda creeps me out!  But I love having my toes in the sand!

Selfie

Beach View
We usually pick one night to dine out.  Being the one to choose the restaurant I am always afraid I'll pick a dud.  I chose Florida's Seafood Bar & Grill in Cocoa Beach, FL for our dinner out and it did not disappoint!

We arrived about 5:30pm and it was pretty busy.  It looked like the wait was going to be about 30 minutes.  But the hostess grabbed us and sat us right away.  A+ for wait time!  Our server was great and the food flowed from the kitchen pretty fast.

Dressing for dinner has always been something we've done.  I feel the staff treats you a little better and it has always been one of my biggest pet peeves to go out and spend $100 for dinner and see others in their swim trunks or flip flops.  It's just one meal, make it a great experience!


Dinner out!

Girl M all dressed up for Dinner
Dear Hubby ordered us the Chef sampler to start out with.  It came with Ceviche, Pico de Gallo, Mozzarella sticks, Dynamite Shrimp, Crab & Shrimp Dip, Bacon wrapped shrimp & Lobster seafood fritters.  Everything was delicious!

Chef Sampler
Their menu had so many choices but we all picked the same Canaveral Combo.  Girl M & Hubby got theirs fried and I had my scampied.  Everything was delicious!

Canaveral Combo-Fried
Everything was cooked perfect and I really liked the Rock Shrimp.  They were large in size, tender and very tasty.  I would have liked more than two scallops but my meal filled me up and I was very happy overall.
Canaveral Combo-Scampied
We were stuffed! So after getting back to the camper, we decided to watch the sunset again.

Sunset over Port Canaveral

Sunset
Poor Dear Hubby, I think he got sunscreen and salt in his eyes earlier in the day and his eyes have been on fire for hours.  On the way home from dinner, I ran into CVS and got him some eye drops.  They helped but his eyes were very bloodshot.

Practicing our Selfies

Girl M showing me how to hold the camera for a selfie
You don't realize how large these tanker ships are until they sail by you.  This one is empty because the red lower portion is above the water as Girl M learned from our trip to Savannah, Ga earlier.

Tanker Ship at Port Canaveral

Golden Energy tanker ship
Another day at the beach.....I'm really liking the three nights staying at the same location.  It feel a little more relaxed and not so hurried.  Or it could be just the feeling of relaxing at the beach?  Anyways, next year's vacation we are thinking of doing three nights per stay in place of two.

Another beautiful day at the beach

More selfie practice

With my beach bum

Girl M
This cargo ship left port empty and it made the pier look miniature in size.

A cargo Ship
After dinner we headed over to the pier to watch the cruise ships leave port.

Dear Hubby has the camera!

He snapped a crazy one!
The first cruise ship to leave was a Carnival.  It was huge.  It sounded like they were having a party!

Carnival Cruise Ship
A little while later a Norwegian Sun Cruise ship left.  It was even bigger than the Carnival one.  We've never been on a cruise but this one looked nicer compared to the Carnival.

Norwegian Cruise Ship 
Then a little while later a Disney Cruise ship left.  OMG it could have ate the other two ships and had room for dessert!  Now that is one massive Cruise Ship!  It played a Disney tune on their horn and lots of Disney themed music.  Pretty cool!

Disney Cruise Ship

What a ship!
We had hoped for clear skies for the full moon but it was pretty cloudy and very windy.  We stayed out past moonrise but no luck.  We're going to have to try again one day!

Waiting for a moonrise

Girl M
Since we didn't have to check out until noon we were able to spend the morning at the beach.  We have packing up to a pretty quick 10-15 minutes so we stayed until 11:00am at the beach.

Last selfie at the beach
Girl M was pretty good with the boogie boards and she got her Dad to go into the water with her most of the time.

Boogie buddies
Girl M found a shell and had her Dad put it in his pocket while they were boogie boarding.  When they got to shore he felt his pocket moving and there was a crab in the shell!  After a quick photo, he was returned back to the water.

Crab in your pocket?
Dear Hubby liked the way the clouds looked over the water. 

Last day at the Beach
Overall we really enjoyed our trip to Jetty Park.  We give the park an A.  There is plenty to keep you busy and we will try to come again.

We have a few updates we want to do on the Jayco Eagle 5th wheel but I don't think we have another trip planned with it for about two months.  We are planning on going back to Hunt camp for Labor Day weekend and do some upgrades there.

Until next time...................

Bonnie

Friday, August 17, 2018

A Little Camper Updating

There isn't much of our Eagle 5th wheel that I would change.  I LOVE the layout and it is almost 99% perfect.

But there were a few minor things I wanted to do.  Remove the wall border, try to fix the soft wall in the corner of the kitchen and make it feel a little more like home.

Removing the wall border was pretty easy.  But getting the sticky glue residue off was a bit harder.  I didn't worry removing the glue one the walls that the wallpaper was going up on.  A little more sticky to hold it together!  I tried GooGone to remove the glue, it didn't work, just made the walls oily.  I will just have to keep trying DIY stuff.


Before
 Girl M. and I like paper towels in the bathroom.  We had the hardest time finding a cheap plastic towel holder.  I tried Dollar Tree, Family Dollar, and finally found one at our local Wal-Mart.

After

$6 sign

This saying makes me chuckle!


There was a little water damage in the corner of the kitchen  behind the sink and it was bugging me.  I love everyone's idea of the peel & stick glass tile look but we had such a large area that I couldn't justify spending over $200.  So Girl M and I got a roll of peel & stick wallpaper from Home Depot for $39 and it turned out great!

Kitchen Before

Kitchen After

Kitchen After
We purchased these cute sign sayings from Etsy and downloaded them, printed them on cardstock and bought a cheap frame from the Dollar Tree.  I used double sided tape to hang them.  $6.00 framed print to help it feel like home.
Cute sign from Etsy


I had hoped to have enough of the wallpaper left over to to the area above the bed but no luck.  I think I'm going to order a vinyl decal wall saying.  

Our camping motto has always been "Making Memories". I think that would be a great saying for above the bed too.  

Bed Before
I saw a tip on a Facebook camping group that used a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser mop for cleaning the awning.  Of course no one local carried the mop but I finally found one at Target about 50 miles away.  (Luckily it was a halfway point of meeting my Mom for Lunch!).

These before and after photos are hard to see the difference but let me say the mop worked GREAT!  The long handle made cleaning the awning easier and the Magic Eraser cleaned the awning in just a few swipes.

Awning before

It was very hot when we were cleaning the awning and we were trying to get it done before a thunderstorm popped up.  I try my best to be vigilant with leaving the awning out at all.  Lesson learned from past mistakes!

Awning After
The mop was an perfect tool and for only $13 and I got to have Lunch with my Mom!


Mr.Clean Magic Eraser Mop
We have a Coleman Mach Airconditioner that adjust b the thermostat.  Inside is just a square are return in the ceiling.  It didn't have a filter in it when we purchased the camper.  After looking around online I found the RV type and it was $25.00!  No way for a cheap foam filter, so after doing some research I found that I could use the same filter that goes into window type air conditioners and cut it to fit.  Ebay for $2.36!  Yeah me!

Frost King Window Air Conditioner Filter 15" x 24" x 1/4" Foam Room A/C
Our next outing is planned for Jetty Park campground at Port Canaveral, FL for three nights.  We've never been and are very excited about going.

Until next time....................

Bonnie