Kirk Creek Campground - Big Sur

Monday, September 8, 2014

R.I.P. Salty Girl

Our project foreman the Salty Dog passed away in June of this year (2014) at the wise old age of 15.  She is missed dearly, but her joyful spirit lives on forever with us.  We love you so much Salty Girl, and thank you for all that you brought to our lives and all the adventures that we shared.  Wishing you endless fields of fresh cut green grass and belly rubs forever.  Love you Salty girl

The Dream Comes True- in Big Sur


We finally made it happen  -the trip that inspired our Dream Inn project from the beginning.  Kirk Creek campground in Big Sur California



And we even got the campsite I always pictured her in
Could it be any cuter?
Our view out the door, notice the Ol' Girl Salty Dog under the shade of the pick nick table taking in the sights
Sunset View from our camp
Julia Phieffer State Beach








Second trailer trip- fall 2013 Salmon fishing on the Trinity River inNorthern California

Stream side campsite at the Trinity Canyon Lodge, just in time for Halloween 
"Fish On"



Salty Dog checking out or catch

Maiden Voyage 2013 summer trip to Lake Tahoe


First we have to share that the Dream Inn has a new home:

We bought a house just outside of Mount Shasta and the first thing we had to do was build a car port just for the Dream Inn to keep her protected from the rain and snow in the winter months




Headed to Lake Tahoe for the Dream Inn Maiden Voyage


Here she is in all her glory the Dream in, backed into a sweet little site at D.L. Bliss State Park on the south west shore of Lake Tahoe
Time to cook our first breakfast in the trailer- Yumm yumm
say Cheese



And of course the Salty Dog was with us every step of the way- I think she loves this trailer as much as we do
Taking in the awesome natural beauty of Lake Tahoe

Seat cushion upholstery project


So proud of myself! After price checking the dinet upholstery job and being blown away by how much it was going to cost to have it professionally done,   I ordered several yards of vinyl online and high quality foam for the cushions and went to work attempting to sew the new cushions myself- I think they turned out great! Yes I can! Sad thing is that the cost of the vinyl and the foam probably came out close to what it would have cost to just pay a professional to do the job for me in the first place, but oh well - Hey I did it myself and feel pretty proud of my work ;-)
Sample Vinyl color swatches, I think I went with the one on top
I used news paper on top of the vinyl so that the material would flow smoothly under the presser foot of the sewing machine and not get caught up every few stitches (a brilliant suggestion from the lady at my local fabric store)
Final result, I found a great tip on youtube for getting the foam inside the cushion case.  Placed the cut foam in a large garbage bag and used a vacuum suction the shrink wrap it to a quarter the original size and then easily slip it in the opening left in the cushion.  Husband then used his strong hands to sew up the remaining opening, as it was pretty hard hand sewing through four layers of vinyl, thanks Babe- teamwork!

Interior bench and bed rebuild



The Bed frame rebuild, with birch panel over it

Here are some pics of my husband building the dinet bench seat and the bed frame

Bed frame front panel