December 01, 2015 at 03:46PM by advodna_dave

I ended up having to aim our space heater at the gray tank to get it to thaw, but in the end, I had the water lines blown out with compressed air, the water heater and fresh water tanks drained and antifreeze in the traps with a whole 45 minutes to spare before we needed to leave for the airport. Then again, the plan all along was to get there a couple hours early to have dinner and get the kids into pajamas before the post-bedtime flight. We only briefly (for 15 minutes) left the wheelie cart with both car seats by a bench just beyond security. Forgot them completely. Oops. And not like anyone noticed... Otherwise, everything's gone to plan with even time for an episode of Paw Patrol before boarding. Side note: Do all parents know about "Guided Access Mode" on the iPad? Triple click to disable the menu button and touch screen so little hands (or littler hands) don't accidentally turn off the show. It's a game changer. #familytravel #loganairport #bostonlogan #nowiftheyllonlysleepontheplane

December 01, 2015 at 09:19AM by advodna_dave

Well, I managed to bend the dump house around enough to break the ice but now the dump valves are frozen. #itsgonnabefine #threehoursandcounting rvlife

December 01, 2015 at 08:33AM by advodna_dave

This morning a lot of things have to come together. We're packed to move out of the trailer for 6 weeks in CA. Fridge is cleaned out. Gorilla's stuff's in Granmie's car, and she's ready for a vacation. Everything's been checked off the Google sheet we've been adding to all month. Pretty much the only thing left to do is winterize. And not a day too soon. In fact, hopefully not a day too late since it seems our 100' dump hose is frozen. Not to worry (riiiight?), we don't leave for the airport for 4 more hours and I've got the hose thawing in the garage. Oh, and it's 34 degrees and raining. Guess today we find out which side of Karma we've ended up on... #Airstream #winterizing

November 29, 2015 at 03:19PM by advodna_dave

In addition to some needed Airstream maintenance, this month of being stationary has also allowed us to pay some attention to the truck. But despite new brakes and tires, the two best things we've had a chance to do have been pulling *everything* out of the back and vacuuming about a cubic yard of goldfish and pretzels from between the seats and, of course, the de-BigGulpification of our cup holders using some weather stripping to narrow them enough to securely grasp something with a smaller capacity than the human stomach. #itsthelittlethings #unsupersizeme #hoarderswithoutborders

November 29, 2015 at 08:47AM by advodna_dave

Ch-ch-ch-chilly morning. Taking care of last to-do lists before we winterize and fly out to CA on Tuesday for 6 weeks. #Airstream #liveriveted #myrivetedlife #brrrrrrrrrr

November 27, 2015 at 09:29AM by advodna_dave

In my continuing series on Airstream field repair (we are literally parked in a field), and my continuing effort to make sure the trailer is ready to weather 6 weeks of a New England winter while we fly to CA, I finally got around to replacing some torn out rivets on the rear belly pan. I have no idea why the holes in the pan were cut so big or so close to the edges allowing them to either slip over the enlarged rivet heads or just tear out completely, but once a few went, there was enough weight for the rest to fail and leave us with a flap open in the back like an old timely prospector on his way to the outhouse. Solution? Trace some makeshift washers onto scrap aluminum using a two dollar Canadian coin (obviously) and cut out with metal snips. New 3/16 rivets and we're all buttoned up! #airstream #airstreamrenovation #oldtimeyprospectorreferences #rivetingstuff #livereriveted

November 27, 2015 at 06:46AM by advodna_dave

If these two hadn't taken turns waking up all night, and I hadn't been kicked out of my bed into a sleeping bag on the floor, I wouldn't have woken up to this view. #thankful #brightside #glasshalffull #airstreamwithkids #tinyhouseliving #solarsystem #artwall

November 26, 2015 at 11:40AM by advodna_dave

Happy Paintsgiving! It's a little hard to see in the top pic, but our A-frame was showing a ton of chips from the Alaskan roads that were starting to rust. Yesterday, after a good cleaning and scraping to remove the loose stuff with a wire brush, I hit the trouble spots with Rustoleum Rust Reformer (flat black). This morning I did two light coats with the Airstream Pewter Gray touch up paint. Gave the steps the same treatment. Doesn't look like new but pretty darn good, and I'll feel a lot better about leaving it out for the next 6 weeks in a New England winter. #airstream #airstreamrenovation #liveriveted #takecareofyourtongueanditwilltakecareofyou

November 25, 2015 at 03:10PM by advodna_dave

Fine, I'll admit it. I had toaster envy after seeing this beauty on @tinyhousegiantjourney's feed. We'd been making due with a Coleman stovetop toaster, but this @deltatoast thing is awesome. Okay, the price isn't awesome ($55!), but I appreciate the design, and it seems to be put out by a small private inventor, and I like to think I could come up with something cool and sell it to someone like me. #airstreamkitchen #toast #toastporn <--- and if you found this post thru this last hashtag, you might wanna get out more... 😉

November 25, 2015 at 05:43AM by advodna_dave

Just a little heads up to all my turkey followers. I would definitely stay away from shiny metal objects, especially if sharpened and attached to a wooden handle, at least for the next couple days. You'll be giving me thanks on Monday if you do. #turkeyadvice #wildturkey #frozenturkey #lookwhoscomingtodinner #airstream #liveriveted #myrivetedlife