Back to Boston

Ironically, it wasn't until arriving for #moochdocking with family in Boston that we could pick up the schwag we ordered from our favorite site for finding campgrounds. Thanks @campendium (and thanks to Ann's brother for the cold home brew awaiting our arrival to park in his yard!). #airstream #liveriveted #myrivetedlife #campendium #koozie

Wait, where are our kids? Oh yeah, with Grammie and their aunt and uncle! That meant we could walk all the way out the spit of sand only accessible at low tide to see the lighthouse and watch the boats coming in and out of the channel into Gloucester Harbor. #wingaersheek #wingaersheekbeach #gloucester #dateminutes

Here's the map for 2016, what we've done so far in red and the next 6 weeks in blue. Yeah, we're gonna be covered some ground. We've got a few things planned - a drive up Mt. Washington, friends in Vermont, honeymooning (with kids) in Niagara, a speedy 4 days on the UP and a northern blast across to see @backroadbennetts in Bozeman before turning towards Petaluma, CA. Let us know if you've got unmissable spots or if we're gonna be passing by your home (or mobile home!) along our route. #airstream #liveriveted #myrivetedlife #roadtrip #map #googlemaps

Drove down to Trinity College this afternoon to watch one of @advodna_ann's sisters play soccer and to visit with family. We also took the opportunity to take the girls by the admissions office for preliminary interviews and to pick up some pamphlets on topics of interest (they love pamphlets and these are the ones they chose!). Definitely reminded us of our East Coast "Little Ivy" experiences at Wesleyan and Wheaton, though we're still thinking we'd like to #homecollege the girls. When Ann's dad asked her sister the soccer player what shape the soccer field was in and Wynne chimed in "Square!" we knew we were on the right track. #wellcloseanyway #homeschool #roadschool #trinitycollege

An update on the remote remodel of the #advodnasmallhouse which is still on schedule to be completed for our arrival in California in late October. It will become our half-time homebase between Tahoe skiing this winter, exploring the Sierra foothills this spring (I really wanna build out an off-road adventure trailer 😜) and, of course, more extended Airstream adventures while keeping us closer to West Coast family and friends and the cool little town of Petaluma.
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As of now, the house has been reframed for a more open floorplan including vaulted ceilings with skylights, big raked windows added over a fully retractable glass door out to the deck, re-wired and plumbed, insulated and drywalled. This week, the original fir subfloor will be sanded and refinished and the knotty pine T&G ceiling will go up. Hard to believe we won't set foot in it until it's done! #smallhouse #halftimefamiles 😉

Beautiful misty sunset tonight after a rainy day. We got the truck serviced, did enough of a resupply at Whole Foods to trigger our requisite fraud alert, got more eye drops for Gorilla and even snuck in a date lunch as our kids-are-with-Grammie errands crossed paths. A couple more days of #moochdocking before we start our westward migration. #airstream #liveriveted #myrivetedlife #sunset

"Bath Patrol, Bath Patrol, be there on the double."
"Bath Patrol, Bath Patrol, whenever there are bubbles."
"No kid too big, no bath too small!"
--- the current extent of my musical pursuits

#thebathisactuallygettingabittoosmall #airstreamwithkids #sisterhoodofthetravelingparents

About a week ago, I happened to lift the lid on our battery compartment and found the terminals and connectors lathered in rainbow-colored frosting-like corrosion. Nasty, and possibly a factor in our batteries seeming to show lower voltages than I'd expected.
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Today, I finally got around to disconnecting everything, cleaning the connections and terminals off with 1 tbsp baking soda dissolved in a cup of hot water to neutralize the acid, topping off the batteries with distilled water and connecting everything back up with a coating of dielectric grease.
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Now I just have to figure out how to set the clock on the radio.
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#herecometheswitchtolithiumcomments 😜 #airstream #batteries #airstreammaintenance

Ugh. Trying to get all these little maintenance things done before we start heading west tomorrow. This belt trim popped a rivet sometime last week. Could have to do with some of my gravity defying leveling stunts.😜 Anyway, I was able to push the old rivet through the hole and add a new one. A little Parbond on the top edge will keep water out tho this is not a leak point.
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As for the peeling fake chrome trim? I figure we'll replace that the week before we sell it (if we ever do!). Unless I can find some pink camo that will fit the channel, that is.
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#airstreammaintenance #airstream #expandingbeltline

Final mission for the day was trying to lighten our load a bit since we're packing up the #moochdocking setup (two 100' hoses, a 100' 10 gauge extension cord and the macerator pump) we've been using with family on the East Coast and bringing it with us out West. One big box for Goodwill and another 65 pounder full of books sent to CA via the discounted USPS "Media Mail" rate should make the room we need. #itwas*mostly*booksanyway 😉 #airstream #airstreamwithkids #liveriveted #myrivetedlife #thinkinginsidethebox #headingwest