American Brittany Rescue

   

     I have had Brittany Spaniels in my life for 40 years now.  From my first pup where I learned who is the trainer and who is the trainee to many quail, pheasant, and grouse shot over them to running a breeding and training kennel in Oklahoma City for 13 years they have always been a big part of my life.  We eventually disbanded the kennel operation when we moved to Michigan.  We brought our pup Britt with us who now enjoys a 'forever resting place' on our farm.  We also are the proud parents of 11 year old Dharma, who like all the other Britts I have known, has personality all her own.  Like so many others, our pets are our children, a part of the family. 
     I became familiar with the ABR a few years back and decided I wanted to be a volunteer part whenever and wherever I could upon retirement.  I wanted to help save as any abandoned, lost, or unwanted Britts as possible as well as help others enjoy the lifelong campanionship of a great friend.  I have volunteered for several transports and recently completed my first prospective adoption home inspection.  We intend to provide transport cross country as much as possible during our retirement as well.  The ABR has many great fundraisers and ways to help if anyone is interested.  The link is posted with their logo above. 

Retirement Remodeling

      Nearly every RV owner starts planning what they would change the day after they buy their unit.  Part of our master retirement plan the past 2-3 years has to do some minor remodeling inside our RV.  We never really used our couch, which was mounted in the slide out room, next to the dinette.  The majority of a time a blanket was spread out on it for Dharma the "Repuplican" and Bodhi the "Democat" to lay on. Only twice in 9 years has someone been camping with us that slept on it. 





     First of all we removed the couch from the RV, which was a chore in itself.  It would not fit through the door whole so it had to be disassembled.  This is due to the fact that most RV furniture is loaded into the RV before the slide out room is assembled and mounted.  We have two Laz E Boy type chairs on our back wall under the picture window.  We moved the one from the door to the vacancy left by the couch.  In it's place we added two floor mats for shoes when entering and an overhead coat hanger.  This did leave approximately 30+" in the slide out which we planned to use by adding a small desk to house our computer, printer, and assorted retiree bills, medical records, and other crap.  We decided the best use of this space would be a smaller size roll top desk, which would allow the laptop and printer to remain in the desk securely by simply rolling the lid closed.  This proved to monumental task #2.  New factory desks were out of the question not only due to price, but weight.  I had to have a desk that would not only fit, but would not present an overweight problem for the slide out mechanism.  I finally dedicated my efforts to online shopping.  I did find several that would fit our requirements.  The first two were either sold or still too heavy.  We finally found a small size roll top on Craig's List downstate that only took a little driving and a day out with my bride to complete our mission. 

     The scaled down version does not include pedestal type drawers, but this was remedied by using a portable briefcase style hanging file folder case.  It fits perfectly, still allowing the chair to swivel to watch TV.  We still have a chair to add, but heck.....how hard can that be?    

Breaking Down the Costs: "A Work in Progress"

     

     It has become our habit to camp on the Boardman River just south of Traverse City each summer for a week.  It is an incredibly scenic and fairly remote location minutes from town.  Barb can commute to work from here; in fact it's only about a 15 minute drive.  She enjoys to be able to work and come home to camp in the woods as well as a home cooked meal each night.  The fishing can sometimes be worth it as well if I can manage to outsmart a few 'brookies'.    This was a pretty typical Northern Michigan week in the summer as rain and overcast/drizzly conditions for 2 of our 6 days kept Dharma, Bodhi, and myself inside more than we would like.  
     I decided to 'run the numbers' for this trip and see how our costs boiled down with solar vs. generator power for 6 days.  Power consumption was used for lights, music, TV, DVD, water pump, showering, flushing, and recharging our electronics.  We were in camp 142 hours this trip;  120 hours on solar and 22 on the generator.  Honda generator power was utilized to top off batteries on both overcast days, provide A/C relief several hours one day, and to pump 40 gallons of fresh water midweek.  As such 22 hours of generator equals 3 gallons of gas (yes, the Honda EU-3000 is this efficient) totaling $10.95 (@ $3.65 per gallon).  This equates to 86% of our total power consumption from solar and 14% from generator power, resulting in a total power cost of $1.82 per day.  If we were to use solely generator power for the same services our total cost would be $25.55 or $4.25 per day. 

Spiessbraten on the AusPit

    

     Never let it be said that I didn't want to create exceptional meals even when camping.  This trip is no exception.  This recipe utilized our AusPit Rotisserie and the best of German Cuisine.  The AusPit http://www.auspitbbq.com/ is a wonderful camping tool; simple to set up anywhere and battery powered off a single D cell that will last up to 90 hours!  It allows me to cook over wood, in this case maple, which is the best of all possible flavors.  This recipe is courtesy of Steven Raichlen's Primal Grill Website http://www.primalgrill.org/recipe_details.asp?RecipeID=160&EpisodeID=38  It consists of a single Pork Tenderloin butterflied, inside wiped with chopped garlic, and stuffed with sliced onion. In addition I added Turkey Pepperoni slices and several slices of Provolone Cheese and seasoned the outside with Ground Cloves.  Tie shut tightly with butcher's twine.  Skewered over the wood fire for about 3 hours. Serve to grateful wife after a hard day at work returning to camp;  voila! 

Boondocking Part 4: Technology & Communication

     Everybody wants to stay in touch while on the road just as much as at home and we are no different.  From email checking, to menu research and planning, as well as looking for that next campground, making business plans, and even social networking or maintaining this blog.  My wife and I both use IPhone 5s, but still wanted a laptop for our RV as a way to not only communicate, but to research, plan, and print.

     We purchased the DELL Inspiron 17R laptop with a 17" widescreen (NO notebook for us), the CANON OfficeJet 100 Bluetooth wireless printer, and utilize Verizon's Jetpack as our WiFi hotspot.  Additionally, we can tether our IPhones to the laptop as a WiFi hotspot if needed.  Powering such devices is not necessarily a difficult task, but it does need consideration.  All these have long life Lithium Ion batteries that will last for hours, but when charging is needed I try to coordinate it with running the generator for A/C, microwave, or topping off the main battery bank.   Of course hooking up to shore power at a campground solves this as well.  I keep them topped them off whenever possible.  Being online only a short time daily or when needed extends battery life.  We also utilize our SOLIO (see earlier post) solar powered mini-charger that will charge 3 phones, or any combination of (2) laptop, printer, or Jetpack.  A small power inverter can solve the DC/AC issue, but only a true sine wave inverter is the safest for electronics. 
     Of course the Jetpack is only as good as your cell phone signal strength as that is exactly what it is; another phone line.  Tethering our IPhones with the laptop costs $15/month and the Jetpack can supply WiFi to several systems for $20/month.  In the future I see myself investing in a directional WiFi antenna and possibly even a WiFi amplifier for those fringe areas.  Nothing, of course, beats logging on to report our travels, upload photos, or share menus at the nearest McDonalds or other free hot spot. 
     In the end though, being 'off the grid' means exactly that and as such we want to have the choice and power to communicate when and where we choose.  Joie de Vivre!

Pork Shrimp Stuffed Eggplant

    

     This dish is somewhat involved to prepare, but inevitably worth the effort.  Eggplant is one of those vegetables that requires understanding or even preparation in order to pursuade the diner to begin, and ultimately enjoy, the entire dining experience.  This meal combines many of the concepts of a "twice baked" meal..  This entree is the complete meal of protein, carbohydrates, and especially fiber. It is a splendid combination of lamb/pork, oregano, garlic, ginger, fish sauce, orzo, and cilantro.  For us this recipe lasted two days.  You can download this recipe at http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/pork_shrimp_stuffed_eggplant.html

Brock & The Two Hearted River

     Sparty's first adventure post-retirement was to venture north in Michigan's Upper Peninsula to the mouth of the Two Hearted River.  This trip was the maiden voyage of the new truck towing our RV as well as our grandson's first camping trip!   This campground is located 30 miles NE of Newberry, Michigan.  The final 16 miles is a well maintained dirt road.  The campground features roomy sites, vault toilets, and a well to pump water.  We utilized solar power and generator as it did rain 2 days.  There is NO cell phone service anywhere near here.  This is completely about sandy beaches, clear water, and scenery.  Get away from it all!   

    

     This river was made famous years ago in Earnest Hemmingway's short story, "The Big Two Hearted River" in the book "Our Time".   This river is known nationwide as a Blue Ribbon Trout Stream, but I tend to venture there to search for Lake Superior Agates and other gems at the vast river mouth. 



     Brock enjoyed the trip, working hard to discover any stone that caught his eye, which numbered in the hundereds!  We enjoyed 5 days of wonderful fun, good food, and family fellowship even though it rained the last two days.  Final totals for the trip included 1 agate, a dozen nice samples of Jasper and Unakite and 13.5 mpg for the new truck!