The Mothership Has Arrived

My daughter has affectionately referred to my new home as "the mothership". I've been an RV owner for just over a week now. Meet Green Gertie, or just Gertie. I bought her in Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. She is a 1989 Ford Elite Class C RV. She has about 130,000kms on her, and is in great shape. Everything onboard works well, and the old girl has weathered well. I bought it on a Wednesday afternoon, and by Friday morning I was on my way to Alberta to see my girl. And what an adventure it's been!

I was a bit nervous at first, thinking about handling an RV on the Rocky Mountains, but she handled it like a champ. I was also a bit nervous about driving her onto the BC ferry to reach the mainland, but alas, it was just as easy. It took a bit to get used to the space I take up, and how the RV moves - the sway and how not to hit shit. So far, so good (knock on wood). 

It's been a whirlwind week, stocking up the RV and moving in. I spent a bit more than I had planned, but feel comfortable that I need nothing else for life in the RV. I have a bit of work still to do, but I have all that I need to do it. Here is a glimpse into Gertie in progress.

This is the couch. It usually folds up into a regular couch, but I wanted the extra room, so have it down flat and still have enough room to get around. I slept in the top bunk the first night but it was too claustrophobic, especially with my sleeping foam on top. So I slept on this bottom bunk as the backbedroom  did not yet have a mattress. Once I bought a mattress, I was wondering what to use the foam topper for now that I had my bed. I decided to cut it to fit the top of the couch, making it one heck of a comfy place to hang out for these aging bones of mine. I had thought about putting shelves up on either side of the window but I think I would just hit my head on it. The jury is out on that. I have lots of room left in the cabinets to store things. 

This is my bedroom. It is a single bunk, not a double, nor big enough for a 48inch bed, and there was only support built in for a single. I hummed and hawed about it but in the end went with the single 8inch foam mattress from Foam King and it is AWESOME to sleep on. The bed is also very cozy which I like, and I can stil sit up, swing my legs over the side (that printer won't be there long, nor the sewing machine). I love the light in the room as well, with two big windows. 

There is a privacy curtain to the bed chamber as well. The mirrored door is to the bathroom. I plan to paint the cabinet doors, hopefully today, depending on how my hands are doing.

I use the shower as a closet when not being used for those 5 minutes as a shower. Plenty of space for all my clothes. 

There is lots of light in the bathroom with a window and a skylight. 

I'm using the overhead bunk for storage, which works well. There is plenty of space and I am only using about a third of it. I'm building a shelf to go over the window by the table, with part of the shelf in front of the window in order to show off some blue glass, and give me a bit of privacy with the drapes remaining open. I've cooked in the kitchen and the space is actually just fine to cook in. I can fit all of my dishes, pots, pans, food, and cleaning supplies in the cabinets with room to spare. 

The fridge and stove are propane, which is so nice to cook with and what a chilly fridge. I'm fully stocked and still have room to spare in the fridge and freezer. I plan to mount a television up over the cabinet by Tom Petty. I bought a 24' LED television so can't wait to hook that up today. 

My daughter gave me the Home Sweet Home and put it up for me. The weather glass on the wall used to belong to my grandfather in Newfoundland. 

So that's Gertie. The drive up over the Rockies was stunning the first day, but then the clouds rolled in and it rained the rest of the time and for several days after I arrived in Edmonton. It gave me time to get to know her from the inside, move stuff around, sort through what needed to go where, and maximizing the space. My daughter also took me shopping for two days to stock up on everything I had on my list. I sewed all of the curtains, sewing away in her apartment while she and the roomie were at work. I parked for the first nights in Gertie in front of my friend's house in Victoria. Then I hit the road, took the ferry and drove as far as Kamloops the first night, camping in Walmart for the night. The following night I finally arrived at my daughter's apartment building and parked on the street for the rest of the week. The bylaw for Edmonton is that RV's can be parked for 72 hours in one space, and then has to move, so I moved it once at my daughter's. Now I'm parked in front of my nephew's place and I'm able to plug in for the first time, which is nice. I need to fill my water tank and likely empty my holding tanks this weekend before heading back over to my daughter's. My pack-up to drive is very quick, just about 10 minutes and I'm ready to hit the road again, which is nice. I plan to camp all over the place once I get back to Victoria until probably December when I hope to park the RV for a few months at the marina RV park. For $400 I can get power, water, sewage, wifi, and cable tv, and park legally in the city during the rainy winter. Or I can head south to escape the rain and park in the National Forest for free in America. 

And now to meet the newest member of the family - Nash. I adopted him from a farm just outside Edmonton. 

He is about 10-12 weeks old and such a cutie. He is very playful, snuggly, purrs all the time and loves to hang out with me. He is so much fun to watch as he explores the space and tests his boundaries. It has also helped my mood in oh so many ways. Cats are good therapy, and kittens are miracle workers!

I have to set up the solar charging system this weekend so I can have continuous power and not have to rely on being plugged in - so I'll be off the grid - yahoo! 

So now I must get on with the day. I would love to just hang out and play with Nash all day...but there is still a bit of work to be done. Meow.