Woo hoo! I did 100% of the hitching up today and I’m pretty sure I did it right because Dory is still here.
This morning Richard went out for a bike ride up to Lake Placid and I decided I wanted to try doing all the set up myself. This is in preparation for when it will be on me by necessity. I’ve been “helping” all along, but really, I’ve mostly been in charge of interior set up/take down, while I’ve offered moral support and a checklist app while Richard does the hard stuff. There’s a lot to do! It couldn’t have taken me twelve hours because that wouldn’t jive with real time, but it did feel like it took me a long time. For every step there were things I discovered, like that Richard’s version of “finger tight” on the water hose is ridiculous. Thankfully, I brought wrenches in many sizes. It was tiring, but very satisfying to have done it all by myself.
His bike ride timed perfectly because shortly after he got back and we hit the road, it started to rain. It was really coming down there for a while, which I hope washed the bird poop off the solar panel.
Here are some shots from Richard’s bike trip:
After we got to Lake Sacandaga Campground, we had a couple of hours before we were expecting to meet up with some friends who live in New York. It is crazy hot here, despite the humidity and rain, so we turned on the AC. Man, we love that. A cozy little nap while staring out the huge windows at the lake is pretty darn nice.
Our friends from ages past arrived at the site and it was wonderful catching up and hanging out in Dory. Richard made a 12v cappuccino and we glowed about the trailer life. The theme we all talked about a lot was not waiting for fun, doing the things you want to do while you are able to still enjoy them. It’s all good.
We found a great little place on our way in to the lake so we drove back and had dinner together. It’s called the Up River Cafe and it has a glorious view of the river from their back porch. As soon as my friend pointed out there was something called Lobster Mac & Cheese on the menu, I felt compelled to have that. Richard had ribs and it was all delicious.
The rain really started coming down while we were there and we suddenly remembered we had left the ceiling fan running in Dory. Definitely felt relieved that we had gotten talked into springing for the optional automatic rain sensor fan that closes the vent when it detects rain. Then just like that, it let up and cleared. We Californians are easily impressed by weather.
We had such a nice time. The great thing about long time friends is how you can just jump right in to the “real stuff” without any pretense or facade. You already know all the dirt and love each other anyway. More so. That’s pretty cool.
We loved coming back home and finding Dory nice and dry with her little automatic roof all automatically closed. Her windows are starting to get a little grungy so I’ll have to find a time to do some serious window washing.
Right now I’m looking out onto the lake as darkness slowly takes hold and clouds of mist quietly form. There’s a pitter patter of rain on the roof and we are cool and cozy inside.
A nice glass of wine in a plastic wine glass and I’d say that’s another perfect day right there.
Total miles: 111.2, Engine Time: 3 hours 11 minutes, 17.6 mpg
