It's Curtains I Tell You, Curtains......

Hi everyone.  It's Pod here today taking over the blogging duties since I am sure my people are tired from the long Memorial Day weekend.  They tell me only eight more days of school after today!!  

Once they are through with school, it will be off the the 2013 NC r-Pod and Friends Rally in the North Carolina Mountains.  I am so excited because I am going to get to visit all my old camping buddies, and be sure to make some new ones!  

I would also like to pass along some sad news today.  One of furpod's dog friends passed away today.  Dakota was loved by everyone, and I know will be missed by all of us pods and our families.

I have been reading over on the Facebook about some of the pods getting new curtains.  So I started bugging Rob and Trisha for some new ones of my very own.  I told them I wanted bright and cheery colors.  I was so tired of the boring brown.  Well guess what??  I got new curtains this weekend!  Oh wow! 

Here's a couple of pictures for you to check them out......

Here's a view of my kitchen window.   Don't you just love my Blue Ridge Rally Button collection??

Finally, here's a picture of one of my two bedroom windows.

How's that for adding some color!  Anyway, my people have been busy getting everything ready for the upcoming rally.  I think we are leaving for it in 15 more days.  

OK, I have to go now, I think I hear Truck pulling in the driveway, so Rob must be home.  Thanks for checking by today.

Until next time, stay safe out there.....-Just Pod.

Happy Memorial Day.....

Happy Memorial Day everyone.  The weather is beautiful here in our part of the country.  We opted not to go camping, due to most places being full, and we had a few things to finish up for our Rally in June.  It is only 18 days away, and we are looking forward to seeing not only family, but camping friends.  We did manage to spend some time in Camp Driveway though.  

Today, Trisha did a few chores in the house while Rob did a few chores outside.  Rob did some yard work, washed Truck, Pod, and the CR-V.  Then while Trisha napped, Rob and his mom went to Lowes.

The reason for the Lowes trip was to get a few plants, but also so Rob could pick up supplies for mod he has been wanting to do for several years now.

We have seen several podders mod the screen door on the pod by putting a piece of clear acrylic sheeting in them.  This allows the main door to be open when your running the heat or A/C.  It also lets more light in the pod.  

Here are a few of the items we used for this mod.

 We did start out trying to cut the sheeting on the truck's tailgate, but soon moved to the shop to use the table saw.  Also, Rob determined pretty quickly a good case knife worked better than the cutting tool he bought.  Oh well!!

Here's a picture of Rob test fitting the lower piece in the door.  The sheeting still has it's protective film on so it looks like it isn't clear.   Rob removed the film before the final install.

Then it was time to start work on the upper part of the door.  This was going to be especially tricky due to the radius on the upper corners of the screen door.





So after cutting the upper piece to the correct dimensions.  Rob held the upper piece in place and marked where each radius cut was to intersect with the edges of the piece.  Then he found something round in the shop to use as a guide to make the two radius cuts.  Here you can see a gallon paint can was just the right size.

Then after scoring the cut, Rob use a pair of pliers to carefully break away the unwanted material.  Next it was time to do a test install.

   


Here you can see Rob carefully working the piece of sheeting into place. 

In case you are wondering, the screen door has a channel in it which looks like it was made with this mod in mind.  

Here's a picture with both the upper and lower pieces of clear sheeting in place.

Finally, here's a picture of where Rob added some of the crazy duct tape we used on the trash can mod to hold the pieces in place.

He trimmed the tape so it isn't visible from the outside when the door is closed.  The neat thing about this mod is if we want to take them out for a camping trip, it only takes a minute.  

Thanks for checking by today.  Enjoy your Memorial Day weekend wherever you may be.  

So from Camp Driveway......

Until next time, stay safe out there.....-R,T,&J.  

Blue Bear Mountain Campground Wrap-up.......

Happy Sunday everyone!!  We are back home from Blue Bear Mountain Campground where in spite of the wet weather, we did have a great time.   Just wrapping up a few odds and ends to get ready for this next week of school!!

Here are a few more pictures of our trip, hope you enjoy them!

Thanks for checking by today!  The next few weeks will be busy getting this school year wrapped up and getting everything ready for the 2013 NC r-Pod and Friends Rally at Raccoon Holler Campground in June.  It looks to be a fun group.

Until next time, stay safe out there......-R,T,&J.

A Tour of Todd, NC......

Happy Saturday evening everyone!  As we sit here debating what to eat/fix/go get for supper, Rob said he'd get a blog post sent off.  

Our day started with sausage gravy, hot biscuits, and scrambled eggs cooked outside at the "tailgate" kitchen.  It was really yummy.

The rain started again as we finished up breakfast and continued on until early afternoon.  After Trisha took a late morning nap, we took a trip to Todd, NC.  

This is a little community down a narrow gravel road, complete with general store, park, a few old train cars, Post Office, and a mercantile store.  

We did get a late lunch at the general store.  Trisha had a crab cake crossiant, and Rob had a cheddar burger.  Here are a few pictures Rob took while in Todd.

And yes, in the last picture that is a real live p-i-g hog walking around in the grass!

It not raining this evening, but at an elevation of over 3800 feet, we are right up there with the clouds it seems.  Thanks for checking by this evening.

Until next time, stay safe out there.....-R,T,&J.

Greetings from Blue Bear Mountain Campground......

Happy Friday evening to all from Blue Bear Mountain Campground in Todd, NC.  We got here about 6:30 this evening after a nice drive.   We are only about 120 miles from home, so this is a good weekend campground for us.

The weather for the weekend calls for evening showers, and true to form after getting camp set up, here came a nice shower.  It did include some thunder and lightening.  

At this point, we are only one of two RV's in the electric sites. (There are 10 electric sites total.)  Also, several tent camper types scattered about in the woods, and we hope they have a dry night's sleep!

The campground is quite, peaceful, and we know Jackson loves it!  Here he got to wander around the campsite (with leash attached) while we were sitting up camp, and he had a blast.   Many thanks to Steve for helping us get checked in and delivering firewood to our site!

Rob was able to snap a quick picture of our camp site.

Tomorrow Rob plans to fix biscuits and sausage gravy for breakfast, then it's off to explore and take more pictures.  Cousin Sharon may ride up for a visit after lunch tomorrow.  

Well that's about it for this evening.  The bed is calling!  Check back again tomorrow to see what we get into.  

Until next time, stay safe out there.....-R,T,&J.

Pod Checks In.....

Hey everyone, it's Pod here today.  I haven't posted in awhile, so I "borrowed" the camera to take some quick pictures of the goings-on around here.   

First though, we are off to Blue Bear Mountain Campground in Todd, NC for the weekend.  Be sure to check back to hear all about our trip.   Here'a a picture I "borrowed" from their website.  

Next I want to update you on the 2013 NC r-Pod and Friends Rally in June.  Rob and Trisha have been real busy getting stuff together. I did my best to take some spy pictures, but they didn't come out too good.   Take a look and see what you think......

Well, I guess this spy business isn't as easy as it looks.  I did hear Rob say right now they have 14 different campers (1 T@B, 1 Airstream Bambi, 1 Coffee Cup, and the rest r-Pods) signed up!  Sounds like it's going to be a fun trip! 

Anyway, have a great week.  I've got to run, I think I hear Rob pulling in the driveway right now.

Until next time, stay safe out there....-Just Pod Today!

Our Name's In Lights.......

Happy Saturday afternoon everyone.  We are happy to report after a long day yesterday, Rob got Trisha's mom home safely from the hospital after  her hip replacement surgery.  She's doing fine, and after not one but two stiff drinks after supper last night, so is Rob.  HAHA.

The title "Our Name's in Lights,"  refers to one of our pod mods Rob did before the first trip of the season.  We used it at both the Charleston Trip and this past weekend at the T@B rally.  Check it all out below.

Here's our camping name sign as it has grown to be.....

This really looks great, thanks mostly to Rob's cousin Sharon.  The name sign with our names on it was from last year's Blue Ridge Rally.  The name sign with Jackson's name she made after Jackson asked Rob where his name sign was?  The final sign for Pod was a craft project from this year's Blue Ridge Rally.

The only problem was you couldn't really see them after dark.  

So in the cold, non-camping season this past winter, Rob came up with a mod.  You'll notice the spot light the base of the sign in the picture above.  

This is a cheap, low voltage spot light from Rob's favorite store Lowes.  He says to make sure to get the 12 volt ones.   To that he attached a regular male plug like you would put on a lamp.




Rob got this idea while he was replacing a light bulb on the low-voltage system at the house.  He realized the Pod already had a low voltage DC system installed.

To connect the light to Pod's power, he then installed a cheap female outlet end to the battery.  He did put a small inline fuse for safety.





Then to route power to the light he used several cheap extension cords he bought.  Now you can use heavier duty cords, plugs, etc.  But these did work just fine in all the rain we had at Big Meadow this past weekend.


The advantage of using these type cords is the multiple outlets on the end.  This would let you add several low voltage lights as needed.  Just be sure to use low wattage lights.  

Here's a picture of the final result at night.  It's not the best picture, but gives you a good idea.  Rob attaches the light to the sign holder with a clip, but it could be put out in front of the sign, etc.  

This was a super easy, inexpensive mod.  We really like it because we can leave it one all night with minimal power draw.  Plus, it doesn't light up a large area so it's neighbor friendly.





Thanks for checking by today.  We now have 11 campers attending the 2013 North Carolina r-Pod and Friends Rally in June.  The list includes r-Pods, a T@B (maybe two), and an Airstream.   Plus, we may be making a quick weekend trip to the North Carolina mountains in a couple of weeks.  It really depends on the weather.

Until next time, stay safe out there....-R,T,&J.