Mid-Trip Reassessment

We headed south from Sugar Island, Michigan, and as we did, we were met with lots and lots of heavy rain.  The Carpe Diem pulled well; we ended up taking two lane freeways the last half.  Our destination was Columbus where we were staying the night with Erica's brother and family.  We woke up this morning and went out to grab some laundry to wash and found a very unwelcome development...

The marine fabric that was on top of the floor in the bed area of the teardrop.

The first thing I noticed was that the bedspread was wet.   Upon further inspection, I saw that not only was the bedspread wet, the mattress cover was completely soaked.  I pulled the bedspread out and soon saw that under the mattress the marine fabric was also completely soaked.  

The foam of our mattress.

After pulling out the mattress and the marine fabric, I found the problem.  We knew that there was a small problem with the floor under the doors.  There seems to be some kind of bowing of the plywood floor that pulls it away from the metal frame of the walls.  I had jacked the frame up earlier and then bolted through the bowed wood before I caulked and weatherproofed the side walls.  Over time, the bolts pulled out of the wood and the 'gap' opened again.  Unfortunately, the rains penetrated the gap and the marine fabric and the mattress pad simply absorbed and wicked the moisture up from the bottom of the floor.

After removing the marine fabric from the floor.

The gap, look at the space between the silver sheet metal screw and the black wood floor.

I went to Menard's and picked up several tubes of caulk, some backer rod and a remnant of linoleum and necessary adhesives.  I've decided that the marine fabric is not the best material to use for my flooring.  Of course, I kind of knew this, but I didn't see a 'need' to do so until now.  Thankfully, I was able to purchase a small remnant that will fit very well for our use.  

I removed the old caulk and backer rod.  Then, I added a layer of caulk in the gap and then inserted the backer rod into it.  After an hour or so, I added another layer of caulk and some more backer rod.  In all, I probably have an inch of 'caulk' in the gap with the backer rod.  I am planning to cut the linoleum a little wider than the flooring so that I can use it to bridge the gap in the frame/floor.  I am hopeful that the linoleum will protect the mattress from any moisture that might possibly get in.  I can't imagine that any moisture will make it through the incredible amount of material I put in there today, but you never know.

The aluminum flashing at the top of the neoprene rubber rock guard needed to be re-glued today.

Somehow, quite miraculously, the small piece of aluminum that is at the top of the neoprene came unglued and landed in the basket.  So, since I was caulking, I cleaned up the area and re-glued the piece of aluminum.  We are hopeful that this will prevent any water from seeping down under the neoprene layer.  

The linoleum remnant has a wood grain look.  I cut it a little wider than the mattress to allow for some overlap of the metal.

Looking at the linoleum in this view, it makes me think about the storage boxes on the floor; it would have been slick to have the linoleum down to create a water-tight layer.  

The linoleum cut very easily with a razor knife.

I used a straight edge to cut the 'lids' to the storage boxes.  For now, I'm just going to leave the marine fabric on the 'lids.'  I will switch them out when we get home.

I think it looks pretty nice!

My next step was to add yet another layer of caulk to the edges.  I pulled up the linoleum along the edges to let the caulk dry overnight.  Like I said, I'll replace the marine fabric on the lids when we get home.  I am thinking about not using the adhesive that is usually used in a household application.  I think the heavy duty contact cement should be just fine. 

While we were on the first couple of legs of our journey, we made a list of 'additions' or improvements we wanted to make to the Carpe Diem.  Some of them are practical, some of them are creature comforts, some of them are fun things to do.  Here is the list up to now:

1. Add hat hooks (possibly use velcro to hold the hooks).
2. Make a square 'key' for locking the locks inside the cabin.
3. Come up with some kind of system for pulling up the triangle brace.
4. Velcro corners on the curtains
5. File down bolts on the door locks.
6. Re-do the driver side door lock (not matching up properly).
7. Glue driver side cup holder back in place.
8. Side table or folding table to hold stove and a space to work and prepare meals.
9. Fresh scent for inside the cabin (lavender oil or air freshener?)
10. Remove and vacum the vent screen and window screens.
11. Cover the door hinges in the same rubber used on doors.
12. Trivet for putting hot pots while cooking.
13. Add tea and sugar to our supplies; both regular and decaf.
14. Spoon rest for cooking.
15. Salt.
16. Clorox wipes.
17. New Stove (propane; our Coleman is not optimum for cooking).
18. Propane (we saw someone who kept their propane tank in a milk crate for ease of moving it around and being able to lash it to the cargo basket).
19. 12" extension for the tow tongue (We learned that the cargo basket cuts down on our turning radius an awful lot!)
20. Crock Pot: if there is 120 volt power we could use it to cook a meal while we are away, or if needed we could use the inverter in the cabin.
21. Crossword puzzles/word finds.
22. Mancala Game.
23. Cribbage (we want to learn how to play.)
24. Cards
25. Electrical Tape
26. Duct Tape
27. Random electrical connectors.
28. Screwdrivers
29. WD-40
30. Carabiners (the two 'hooks' we used to hold the chains in place were bent and broken during travel.)
31. Fly Rod and associated gear.
32. Assorted Rubbermaid containers to store food in the cooler and prevent it from becoming contaminated from water, etc.  Also to put ice in to help ice last longer.

Just a 'few' things to add to the Carpe Diem!

We are planning to head south tomorrow morning to drop our children off with their other grandparents for a few days.  Erica and I are going to revisit our College Alma Mater, Ohio University.  We haven't been there together in over 15 years.  We look forward to spending some time in the place where we fell in love.  

Canda: Day Three

When we went to bed last night, we had made a plan.  We would wake early, make hot coffee, jump in Lake Superior and then come back and enjoy the coffee as the foggy morning cleared.  Finally, we'd pack up and head back to America.

This is a panorama of what the lake looked like when we woke.  Slightly foggy, smooth as glass and very, very peaceful.

This is us, before we jumped in the lake.

This is us afterward!

It was so incredibly cold that when in dove in, I literally could not breathe.  Erica was ready to keep swimming, but I was immediately moving toward the shore.  I have always wondered how it felt when people did the polar plunge.  This wasn't even frozen, but it surely was cold.  I just checked the temperatures and it appears that the water temperature was in the low 50's.  Can't imagine the shock one's body must go into when falling into a frozen lake.

We started a tradition.  We want to take a photo of the teardrop at each of our campsites near some sort of sign.  Agawa Bay sure was a terrific place to have our first outing.  

We did a little shopping for souvenirs; sadly, we ended up finding our items in the duty free shop.

Welcome to the United States!  We entered on the fourth of July.  Thankfully, the border was not crowded. A short while after crossing the bridge we were at the crossing point.  The U.S. agent must having a very good day because our conversation went something like this: 

"...Is that a home made trailer?"

"No, I restored it.  It is a 1947."

"You two must get along pretty well to sleep in that thing."

"Yes sir, we do."

"Between the two of you, you have one correct passport."

"Excuse me?"

"Erica needs to sign hers, and Todd needs a new one.  It expired in February."

"Oh my goodness, I did not realize."

"Have a good day."

"Happy Fourth of July!"

With that, we were back to America.  Phew!

We made one significant purchase in Canada.  We purchased a EZ Up Shelter that came with the screens for all four sides.  We put it up yesterday evening to test it out while we are camping here at the island a couple of more days.  It went up quickly and simply.  The screens clipped on in minutes and we now have a 100 square foot addition to our teardrop.  We can put it next to the teardrop as you see here, or we could even put it over the teardrop to provide maximum protection.  I could imagine a really hot night where we left the doors open with the shelter/screens over the teardrop.  Hopefully we'll never have that yucky of a day to deal with, but now we have some alternatives.  As it is right now, the one side unzips to reveal an opening for the door.  We are thinking that the kids might end up sleeping in the screened portion.  We may add one or two 'privacy walls,' in the future.  This will truly extend our living space.  It was a good purchase.

Canada: Day Two

 Canada: Day Two

We woke sort of late today.  Enjoyed some blueberry muffins and coffee and then decided to go north to Wawa.  This is interesting in that many years ago when I would go fishing in northern Canada, we would fly out of Wawa on float planes called Otters.  They would take us an hour or so north of Wawa into remote areas, usually with no electricity, running water or other conveniences.  We would have to bring in all our own water, food, etc.  The only compensation for all the craziness it took to get there was that we almost always did very well with the fish.

Just one short fish story; I was with my father-in-law one late evening when he hooked into a large Northern Pike.  The rules of a small boat are simple.  If one of the fishermen gets a fish on, the other pulls in their pole down and gets the net to help bring in the devil fish.  I call them that because they have massive teeth, huge mouths and they fight like crazy once they 'see' you.  My father-in-law was pulling this beast toward the boat when I caught sight of it.  It was a decent fish; I would say about three feet long.  The water in the area we fished was crystal clear.  As the fish got about five feet below the boat, I saw an iridescent flash below the fish.  The next thing I know, I was face to face with the mouth of another fish, probably a gargantuan Muskie.  This beast had seen the Pike struggling and had lashed out at it.  It bit it square in the back and the moment he did that, my father-in-law's pole nearly snapped with the added weight of this beast.  Within moments, the second, much larger fish, saw me and released his grip on the first fish.  The pole unbent slightly and he pulled in the, now dead, fish with a bit in it easily the width of both of my hands.  That puts the Muskie at easily a foot in width at it's jaws.  Needless to say, we both were stunned.  We had an incredible 'fish story' to share with the guys when we came back that night.  We still laugh about that episode.  Coming back to Wawa brought the story to the top of my mind all over again!

Wawa is Ojibway for Northern Goose.  This town is the only town of any significance at all along route 17.  It was three hours to Wawa from the bridge.  That's a long distance between establishments.  The town has a giant Canadian Goose as its 'mascot.'  This statue has been in this location since 1963 and is in need of some real repairs.  We stopped into the welcome center and learned a bit more about the area.  Best discovery; they had old books for sale.  This was awesome as I had just finished Transatlantic by Column McCann.  I was in need of something good to measure of to that fantastic piece of literature.  I found a couple of books and so did Erica.  

Me being silly.

 The only actual moose we saw.  Lots and lots of road signs for them, but we didn't see a living one.

We were laughing at the great sense of humor the Canadian's have.    One of the displays in the nature center talked about ways to prevent being bitten by mosquitoes or black flies.  They listed lots of items to use, such as mosquito nets, head nets, etc.  Then, on the last display it said that carbon dioxide is the  main attractant .  Humans, it said, expel this when they exhale.  So, "...the best way to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes is to not exhale."  Funny.  Here's another great example of their humor.  There were three lakes in a row.  The first was Dad Lake; then Mom Lake and you can guess what the third was...Baby Lake.  

We decided on our way back from Wawa that we would visit the petroglyphs that the region is famous for.  We had seen the above symbol, which kind of looks like a dragon, on all sorts of signs, but we didn't know what it actually was.  We were in for a treat.

This is looking out past the petroglyphs.  The rocks in the image are the size of houses.  Literally twenty foot tall rocks submerged in the lake.  Getting to the glyphs was not an easy endeavor.  In fact there were all sorts of signs that warned that death and injury have happened.  

This is the path along the lake shore.  There were chains for you to hold on to as you crossed the sheer rock face.  We ended up taking off our shoes to help us 'stick' to the rocks a little bit better.  

This is the symbol that we had seen all over the place.  It's actually a symbol for the Lynx.  The Ojibway believed that the Lynx was a magical creature that was representative of Lake Superior.  These images were painted by Ojibway medicine men somewhere between 500 and 3000 years ago.  They were made with red ochre and animal fat.  It was very intriguing to be so close to something that has lasted so long.

Here is a short video about the petroglyphs.

One of the many gorgeous outlooks we stopped at.  Those rocks don't seem as massive in this image, but for reference, you can see that Erica is sitting on the rock on the far right.  We really enjoyed the warm, shallow coves along the way.  Next time we come north, we will surely plan on visiting one of these coves again.  The waters of Lake Superior are frigid in most places.  In these sun-kissed bays, the sandy shores warm the waters to tolerable temperatures in the the early summer.  More on that, tomorrow.

Canada: Day One

Today was Canada Day.  We were both shocked with how patriotic the Canadians were.  It seemed that every home had a Canadian flag on display.  When we got to the campground, nearly every tents, trailer or RV had some sort of Canadian flag on display too.

We boarded the Sugar Island Ferry to take us back to the main land so we could begin our journey northward to Canada.  We were both pretty excited because it was the first time we've ever traveled out of the country together.  It was also the first time Erica had traveled with her new passport.  Crossing borders, at least for me, makes me a little nervous.  Going over proved to be no problem.

The Carpe Diem on the ferry.

My father-in-law suggested we take a picture of us in front of the ferry to show that we have had no problems with trailer licensing.  Wisconsin does not require a trailer plate because the teardrop is well under the 3,000 pound measure.  So, here is the obligatory shot of me with the teardrop in front of the sign.

Crossing the International Bridge over the locks of the Soo.

Literally crossing the border.

Welcome to Sault Saint Marie, Ontario!

We drove a couple of hours north on the Trans-Canadian Freeway (17) to the Ontario Provincial Park.  The views were spectacular and we made several stops to take in the views.  This is the view 'up' from our campsite.  We both learned a lot about backing the teardrop into tiny spaces.  We will surely be adding the 12" extension to the trailer tongue.  We need that tiny bit of extra room for maneuverability.  

Our first 'official' camping site at Agawa Bay in the Ontario Provincial Park.

A breath taking sunset, at nearly 10:00 at night, to end our first official camping trip.  We both slept very well.  The temperatures got into the 50's in the night.  The vent, blowing out, creates a fantastic cross breeze when one or both windows are open.  At one point in the night, I ended up closing my window too.  The suction was so powerful that I could feel the vent 'sucking' through the holes in the teardrops skin where the hinges meet the frame.  I made many notes about tweaks to the teardrop; one of them being covering the hinges with the foam rubber as I've done on the door.

49 States, 47 Countries, Six Continents, 1,554 Visitors, Three Months!

49 States, 47 Countries, Six Continents, 1,554 Visitors in only three months.  It makes you wonder, "Who out there is interested in teardrops?"

It seems like there are thousands of people who are interested enough to at least visit the blog.  I just noticed that Vietnam and India have checked in.  I can't even imagine how those folks found my blog, let alone have an interest in teardrops!  Well, welcome anyway.  I hope those of you around the world enjoy the process, and now the perks of all that hard work.  Welcome.  Feel free to leave a comment!

Beautiful Michigan

We've been here for three days and now it's time to head further north.  So enjoy the cool temperatures, especially at night.  It makes sleeping a treat.  It's hard to beat views like this!

First Night

We made the 500 mile trip north to Sault Saint Marie, Michigan yesterday. Crossing the river in the ferry and breathing the cool air reminded us how much we like it here! The trailer pulled well; no trouble at all handling or otherwise. It did impact our miles per gallon: we usually get about 26 mpg; our towing mpg was closer to 19 mpg. Granted, a lot of that was on freeways going pretty fast; 70+ mph. When we were on two lane roads, we seemed to get better mileage. Note to self: slow down and take the back roads when possible. It will slow us down, but make us focus a little more on enjoying the journey.

Welcome to Michigan!

 We are spending a couple of days here with family and then my wife and I are heading north to Canada. It's funny because sitting on the deck, I can see Canada across the river! We are heading up to Lake Superior Provincial Park. It looks beautiful. The east shore of Lake Superior is rocky and rugged. The website for the park describes one of the canoe routes as being, "...crystal clear waters in which you can see 60 feet down where boulders the size of houses line the bottom."

Last night was our first night in the completed teardrop. I had spent one night in the teardrop before fully completing everything. My wife was thrilled. She said that she slept really well. I did too. She said that she, '...didn't even know I was there!' The vent provided just enough 'white noise' to drown out the sounds around us. The cool night temperature made sleeping heavenly. With the vent pushing air 'out' there was a delightful cross-breeze created by the sliding windows. At one point my wife closed hers. Amazingly, the mosquitos, which are legendary and HUGE here, were relegated to the outside of the cabin. We had a couple of stowaways in the cabin, but once they were killed, we enjoyed a bug free night.

 A few notes on our first night of sleep. The curtains were welcome; they gave us just enough privacy from nephews walking around the cabin while we were still resting. I do want to add some velcro tabs to the corners of the panels so that when the cross-breeze is pulling air into the cabin that the curtains will stay in place. They tended to blow in and not provide much 'privacy' when doing so. We need to add some velcro hooks for hats, keys, etc. We may need to make some kind of labels for the storage bins in the cabin. As of now, all our stuff is sort of stashed in there together. It made it a little tough to find our things when we wanted them. We found the reading lights to be almost 'too' bright. One light was enough to illuminate the whole cabin. I might try to find some lower wattage bulbs, if there is such a thing. Or, maybe there is a way to 'coat' the bulb to knock down some of the wattage. Where we are 'parked' right now, we don't have a picnic table or other 'surface' to put the stove, etc. I know now that I really want to make that side table so that I can use it to heat water for coffee, etc. I may find some way to do it tomorrow morning. I was missing my coffee made in my french press. I think we will end up purchasing a pop up shelter with sides to give us a little more 'space' outside the camper.

Make shift hat rack on the edge of the curtain rod.

Our first overnight camp site.