Well, so much for that!.........Dude, I'm hardly a dude!.......and Porn star

The good times didn't exactly roll as I posted earlier! Dean and I worked on the camper all weekend. The floor that is in the "living room"/"bedroom" (the couches pull out that are on either side, come together and make a king size bed) had gotten wet and the man we bought the camper from had already replaced the floor once. It is 29 years old! But, when he replaced it, he used fiber board. Not the kind made of sawdust and glue, but big woodchips and glue. Never the less, when the glue gets wet, it breaks down. The wood never ever dries and if you keep walking on the floor, it sags. Well, we decided that the whole thing started when we first got the camper. This same man did not winterize properly and one of the water pipes had burst. When we got it, we hooked it up to the city water to flush the lines. Well, we get water gushing from under the one couch and it runs to the the middle of the floor. We get that cleaned up, the pipe repaired, and all seems well. Then one time after camping, we forgot to close the roofvent over this same area. You guessed it! A big storm with sideways rain and the floor got wet again, only we didn't know it for a couple of days! Now last summer, I noticed that there is a trickle of water that runs down the wall from the inside of the water inlet for the water tank which is located under the other couch. I don't know how long that had been happening before I saw it! So, this combination kept the floor damp at the least, softened and it got big divots in it and was very soft when we walked on it. So we knew we had to replace that part of the floor before we used it this year. So, I clean all the upper surfaces Saturday morning. Then we go to breakfast. While enjoying our weekly dining experience at our favorite little diner, we discuss the game plan for the floor repair and such. Come back and decide to tackle the floor. Since we don't know what we will find, we opt to tear out the floor, assess the damage, then go to Home Depot for supplies. Well, Not only did the man screw the board down, he glued it to the old linoleum that he didn't lift! So, we pried it up. Where it was wet was easy. It just came up in chunks. The part that stayed dry was a bear to get up! But we finnally did get it all, measured the space at least 3 times to be sure, then off to Depot! We bought a sheet of 1/2" wolmanized plywood, black and whited checkered tiles to replace what we took off, a bottle of drain opener (more on that later) and came back home. We had wanted the Depot guys to cut the plywood for us, but their saw was broken. So, Dean cuts the wood, we lay it in place and walk on it! Pretty good! But, not enough support in spots. So, I move some support wood where I think it's needed. We lay it down again and decide it is pretty good and it won't get much better without gutting that whole half of the camper. So, Dean screws it down, I start to put the tiles down, and he tries to unclog the bathtub. It had filled up with water when we flushed the lines this time. You have to flush the lines to get the antifreeze out of the lines so you can use your water and it not taste funny. The antifreeze that is used in RV's is not like that which is used in your car. This is non toxic and is a pink color. So, you flush it out by running city water through the lines and opening all your faucets and let it run. When you do this, the water that goes down the drains goes into what is called a gray water holding tank. There is also a black water holding tank that only the toilet empties into when you flush it. Well, the water does not drain out of the bath tub. So, Dean is convinced that there is a clog. First, he tries a plunger. No results. Then a plumber's snake, but it wont fit past the X in the top of the drain. So, he tries the drain opener. (it was Zep brand 10 minute drain opener) Let that sit while I finish applying the whole tiles to the floor and Dean cuts the pieces we need and I apply that to the floor. That takes well over the 10 minutes. Now, while we were at breakfast discussing the repairs game plan, I said to Dean as this thought crossed my mind "Maybe the gray water tank is filled and is backing up into the tub" I see the wheels in his brain as he realizes that this is a possibility. Which it is since the drain in the bath tub is the lowest drain in the camper, the gray water tank will back up into it first when it gets full. So, he had opened the drain gate that is on the outside of the camper to release the water. It doesn't move. So mush for that idea, even though it was a good one. So, he thinks if he gets a jab saw and cuts the X out of the drain, the snake will fit and he will be able to get rid of the clog. Then it's time to get ready for our dinner plans with Tom and Lisa. More on that later. So, Sunday we get up and get going on the camper again. He's working and working at it while I do other odds and ends. So, he asks me to go outside and see if I can hear the snake in the tank. Yes, I can. So, as I look at the "knob" that open the gates for the release of the contents of the tanks, I realize that the one for the black water is open and the one for the gray water is closed. So, I unlock it, pull on it, and whoosh!!!! all this water start flowing! and flowing and flowing and flowing. Well, Dean lets out a big "YEAH, BABY!!! and does the snoopy dance cause he thinks he fixed the clog! He comes out of the camper and then................I show him. He had the wrong gate open and that the tub would have never emptied if I hadn't opened that gate! Now we think there never really was a clog at all..............

The Camper


The area that needed repair


So, the water drains out and goes down the street to the storm drain like it's supposed to! So, we put everything back together and Dean scrubs out the tub while I get the Green Machine and clean the upholstery iln the camper. Then I get all the camper supplies out of the pantry and spare bedroom where we stored them over the winter, and put all that away in the camper. Then I clean the entire floor, let it dry, put the throw rugs down, put the blankets back in and oila! we are ready to go! First rip will be the weekend of the 22nd for Lisa's birthday celebration at the racetrack! We always have such fun!

Lisa is one of my best friends. Everytime I see the commercial where the mom is scolding the girl for all the text messaging on the cell phone bill and she says "Who are you texting 50 times a day?" and the girl answers "I D K (I don't know), my B F F Jill (best friend forever)" I always think of Lisa. we met at the races when Dean and I were first dating and then we camped together that one Pittsburgher in '05 and we have been really good friends ever since. We go see the Gunslingers together, they come to our house, we go to theirs, we camp together, It's fun. So, Saturday night we went to their house, then to dinner at a little restaurant near their house for italian cuisine. Huge portions and very good. Needless to say, I had leftovers for lunch Monday. Then we went to the club they belong to and had drinks. Another friend of ours, Jeff (who I call Chick) showed up so we could get his money for the upcoming camping and race at the end of the month. We had a really good time. I always seem to end up laughing so hard I cry when I am with Lisa (and Tom). We really have fun together.

I call Jeff Chick because at last year's Pittsburgher (our annual year end big race), Jeff and I were clowning around and he said :listen, dear.........." Well, I thought he said "Listen, Dude... and I said Dude, dude? Do I look like a dude?!! (as I motioned toward my upper female anatomy) and I said Listen, CHICK, I am hardly a dude!!! He said" I said Dear, I said Dear!" So, he is chick and I am dude.


Me, Dean, Lisa and Tom at Winterfest at Nemacolin
in January (we went to see the Gunslingers play)

While we were at the club, Jeff accidently brushed against Tom's knee. (Tom was wearing jean shorts). (Sidebar: Tom has a desease, or genetic defect for lack of a better term, in which he has absolutely NO body hair. Not pubic--Dean asked him--not under arm, chest, no eyelashes or eyebrows, none on his head-he is shiny bald!) Jeff said, "man, you have smoothe legs!" Tom said "Because I'm a porn star!" Well, No one heard this except Lisa because Jeff was continuing his conversation with Dean. Lisa started laughing soooooooo hard. I asked her what Tom said and she tried to tell me, but couldn't get it out she was laughing so hard. After about ten minutes, she is finally able to tell me, and I start laughing as hard as she is! Tears were streaming down my face! I couldn't catch my breath. My stomach hurt. My cheeks hurt. Oh My God, it was the funniest thing. .............Maybe you had to be there. Say Goodnight, Gracie. Goodnight, Gracie.