A new month rolls in, another day that you can never get back goes by. We're chugging along with the van getting a little bit more done each day. We ordered all the interior LED lights and switches and will get them installed when the proper time comes. We still have to get the wall and ceiling covering up. We were hoping to get enough done to the van to be able to take it camping about the 3rd week of October, but unless we make some serious progress, that ain't gonna happen. We at least need to get Cynthia's bed frame built and the mattresses in. We'll just buy a Queen size memory foam mattress and cut two 27" wide pieces out of it. We're thinking 6" or 8" thick ought to do the job. Cozy. [57]

Cynthia's bed has been built and the 6 inch memory foam mattresses have arrived. So technically, we can go camping now! We still have a lot of work to do, but at least we are finally at a point where we can actually use the van as a camper.

We still need to get a refrigerator and get it installed and put the covering on Cynthia's bed. After that, we will set up the "kitchen" which will consist of a portable propane cooktop and a bar sink. Beyond all that, the daunting task of constructing the overhead cabinets will commence. Anyway, below is a shot of what the van looks like as of today. [59]

We finally got all the components in to finish the installation of the air conditioner. We cut a nice hole into the side of the van and built a duct to carry the A/C exhaust outside. What would have taken a skilled craftsman an hour to do, we took all day to get it done. However, it is done and we didn't have to pay anyone. We fired the A/C up and it started pumping out cold air - woohoo! And with the humidity here in Alabama, we quickly saw that the drain tube works like a charm. Below are a couple of pictures, one from the inside and one from the outside. [58]

We finally got all the ceiling framing installed and have started putting up the white board covering. We did the hardest section first, the one with the fan in it. It was a pain to measure, re-measure then measure again to figure out exactly where to cut the hole... but we managed to get it done. We added a layer of Reflectix insulation onto the white board before installing it. This will greatly reduce the amount of heat that comes through the ceiling on hot days.

Our first camping trip will be this coming weekend. We are headed to Cloud Canyon State Park in Georgia. We are really looking forward to using the van as a camper for the first time. [60]

We had our first camping trip in the van this past weekend! We left last Thursday and drove from Centreville, Alabama up to Cloudland Canyon State Park near Trenton, Georgia. We had reserved a handicapped site (they have 2) but when we arrived, there was someone in both sites. We called the ranger and they came to check on it. Some goober took my registration envelope with my name on it and was in my spot! How can you not see that the paperwork you have has a different name on it? Anyway, the ranger made them pull up camp and move to another spot. They weren't happy about that but hey, don't park in spots marked as reserved with someone else's packet.

We spent just one night at Cloudland Canyon, then headed northeast towards Tellico Plains, TN. Here we hopped on the Cherahola Skyway and followed it over to Robinsville, NC. O... M... G! The scenery on the Skyway this time of year is absolutely stunning. We took a boatload of pictures and are in the process of setting them up online. Below are a couple of teaser images.

We spent the next night at the Peace Valley KOA near Murphy, NC. This was our first ever stay in a KOA and quite frankly, we were not impressed. We'll stick to ordinary campgrounds from now on, we like them much better. One last thing, we are starting a new "tradition" of taking a pic out the rear doors of the van each time we go camping. This will be our record of what we saw while at our campsite. Below are the 2 pictures from this trip. [61]

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