Settling In

Me, my truck, my "home"/camper trailer and 2 cats made it safely to Holbrook Campground, Ft. Stewart, GA on Monday 15 February. Mom and I got settled in and are slowing but surely getting things figured out. I still have some work to do inside, but am making progress daily. Our neighbor across the way has a compressor, nail gun and radial saw which he is letting me borrow and is making my life much easier finishing the trim. So far this week I have put down 1/3 of the flooring quarter-round, put in my bed frame, installed a cabinet above the stove, installed shelves in the closet/pantry and put up two closet rods on each end of the camper for mom and I to use as closets. My to-do list is still pretty long, but I am getting there.

We are going up to Fayetteville, NC this weekend to go through our storage unit and bring back the rest of what we need. We will be have a huge rummage sale in May at a friend's house up in Fayetteville, can't wait to unload all my excess schtuff!!!!

Happy Trails!!!

Hendo & Hendo's Mom

Home Sweet Home, Site 13 at Holbrook Campground, Ft. Stewart, GA

Making my bed frame outside.

Bed frame installed in the camper.

 So happy to have a bed..whoohoo!!

 Installed a closet rod at both ends of the trailer so Mom and I have closets to hang our clothes in.

 A new cabinet in the kitchen.

Shelves installed in the pantry!!

On the Road!!!

And so the end is getting nearer. The trailer is now livable and Mom and I will start living in it tomorrow, at the Ft. Stewart camp ground. I have to go see the Post Command Sergeant Major to request an exception to policy to stay at the campground until June when Mom's job is complete. Campground policy only allows you to stay for 60 days and then you have to leave for some period of time before being allowed back. However, the campground manager said we can request an exception to policy from the Post Commander, there is a waiver for everything...haha!!

The walls are painted, ceiling needs to be painted, some wall and ceiling trim need to be put up, the laminate floor is down but quarterround needs to be put in and the water lines need to be connected.

The support I received from my family and friend John Worthington, was unbelievable and I am forever indebted. My Grandma Farnham really went for the gusto and definitely has earned the MVP award by not only scrubbing the entire outside and windows of the trailer, but also single-handedly painting the entire inside walls and doors of the trailer.

Grandma Farnham...painting fool!!!

Grandma Farnham working her way around the trailer, painting like there is no tomorrow.

 My cousin, Kevin Farnham, finishing up fabricating and welding on my spare tire bracket.

My cousin, Kevin Farnham, finished the fabrication of the frame to the left which holds my "garage" an 18in Hx12 in Dx6 ft long metal box, and is now finishing up my spare tire mount.

Cousin Kevin fixing the wiring on my truck, which is messed up from the factory and was not operating the tail lights correctly, but Kevin got them working!!!

 Hooked up and ready to hit the road!!  Goodbye Illinois, Hello North Carolina and Georgia.

Ilene and Grandma Farnham posing proudly in front of my new home.

I owe my success at my renovation to the amazing staff at Kenney's Ace Harware in Mt. Zion, IL. Were it not for there help and assistance I never would have been able to do what I have done. Owners Terry and Libby Kenney are amazing individuals and manage an amazing staff and store...Blake, Riley, Ryan, Tater, Kay and Pat were like my own personal renovation team!!!

Libby and Terry Kenney, the amazing owners of Kenney's Ace Hardware in Mt. Zion, IL

Ryan was my own personal "Carter Oosterhouse". You name it whatever issue I had to fix, Ryan was able to fix or get the person who could. When my renovation project started Ryan was not a fan of fittings, but by the end he was solving fitting puzzles with ease. Look out, he is a Terry Kenney in the making!!!

Ashley Hackl, Tater and Riley...three more members of the Kenney's Ace Hardware, staff and my personal renovation experts!!! Ashley was always eager to help me shake-up my paint, and Riley is a wiz when it comes to nuts, bolts and screws!!

Making my last purchase at Kenney's Ace Hardware. Tater was an amazing help, always able to make sense of all my purchases, returns and exchanges!!!

I came down to Fayetteville, NC and Mom came up from HInesville, GA in order to get into our storage unit. Being sleep deprived, I made a huge mistake this morning which resulted in the breaking of the tongue jack on the trailer. This actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise. While at Camping World getting a new tongue jack we came across a 50 ft heated drinking water hose on clearance, marked down to $75 from $140..whoohoo. We were also able to get an inline water filter. The hard side LP gas cover they have does not fit our tanks, so we will return it tomorrow and see if they have something else that will work.

We wanted to get back into the storage unit tomorrow, Monday, but a winter storm is supposed to be moving in. We will see if it holds out, if not we will come back up here next weekend to get out the rest of the stuff we need.

Here are the latest pictures.

Hendo & Hendo's Mom

Kitchen Table...proudest moment

This is my proudest accomplishment so far int his renovation...my kitchen table/Mom's bed. I am going to glue down pictures of our AT thru-hike and then epoxy over them for the table top. So I cut a piece of MDF, trimmed it with lathe trim with a 1/8 inch lip around the top which will hold in the epoxy, cut a 2x2 to use for the table leg with just the right angle so when it is extended it is perfectly straight, I stapled velcro to the leg and table to hold it up when the table is being used as a bed, attached the brackets which hooks it to the wall and voila...a kitchen table which sits level and fits perfectly between the benches for a bed!!!

Tomorrow we paint the inside, Wednesday the floor goes in and Thursday we tidy up and get ready to head to NC on Friday. I will finish up the details after I get down to GA on Monday. Looking forward to seeing Mom again!!

Happy Trails!!

Hendo & Hendo's Mom