planetpayne

This weekend we were all sick with a mild and short-lived cold. Andrew worked anyway, and put a new carpet in the cab. He first insulated the floor with some stuff that will help muffle the noise coming up when we’re driving. He hung the curtains I made for the bedroom, and installed locks on the cabinets for when we’re driving. Ingrid and I helped a little and played a lot. We read two more chapters of The Wind in the Willows and a whole bunch of Spanish books. I’m getting really excited about the prospect of living in a Spanish speaking country for a month!

The rain makes it more difficult but now that Ingrid has her cute little raincoat, we can go outside anytime. It’s fun to walk around and look at the RVs, splash the puddles, and meet different people. There are lots of migratory birds since we’re right next to the marsh. Today we walked at Bayfront Park again, with our new stroller. It’s actually a pretty cool park and I never even knew it was here. It kind of reminds me of Fort Funston, but instead of a beach there’s the marshes. It’s lush now, with beautiful rolling green hills and miles of paved walkway. Best of all, it’s never crowded. The only downside I can see is that dogs have to be on a leash, but at least they’re allowed.

We’ve moved from our comfortable place at my sister’s house in Ben Lomond, to an RV park in Redwood City. It’s not officially the start of our trip, more of a pre-trip preparation stop. Andrew’s been working nonstop to get us ready. The Vanagon is running and street legal. We sold my beloved “Kirby” VW Golf to our niece Lizzy. I painted the interior of the RV a normal khaki color and that made it feel much more like a home. Andrew put in new floors, fake hardwood, and it’s oh so lovely now when I look down. We’ve ordered new cushions for the couch and once those come in Andrew will rip out the hide-a-bed and build us some badly needed storage for Ingrid’s toys. We’ve pretty much figured out where everything should go, and it fits! Unlike Memory Lane, everything in our new home has a very exact location. We bought some vinyl fabric to recover the dinette seats. They didn’t have as much as we wanted so it might be close, but Andrew scored it for just $20! We are officially Nevada residents. Our mail goes to a forwarding center in Nevada, and then is sent to us wherever we are, without the annoying junk mail. Andrew installed an electrical inverter for converting DC to AC, and rewired everything. I think he still has a little more electrical work to do, but it looks so much better than it did down there. I don’t know much else about it, other than it will give us more power for boondocking. There’s a ton more little things we did but I won’t bore you with those details.

Here in Redwood City, Ingrid and I have been enjoying some new and old dance classes. Ingrid returned to her Menlo Park pre-dance class that she loves. Also her old ballet class in Mountain View.

She tried a ballet class here in Redwood City but it sucked big time. The teacher had absolutely no control over the kids. It was basically 15 girls running around screaming and hitting each other. They demanded things from the teacher, and almost pulled her pants down at one point. She put one of the 6 years olds in charge of the ipod, and the little girl kept turning off the music to be funny. They did ONE ballet step, ballet walking, in the 30 minutes of class. THEN, the receptionist argues with me that the class is 45 minutes. The teacher actually left the class two times and came back a few minutes later. Two of the girls left also and came back wearing each other’s clothes. The teacher yelled nonstop to try to talk over all the noise but it was futile. The receptionist tried to tell me I should sign up for the $20 (!!!) class because Ingrid really enjoyed it. Well when Ingrid came out to the lobby she said, mommy I don’t want to come to this class again because I didn’t learn anything, not even one thing!

Ingrid is excited about a class coming up Monday: zumba for kids! She loves zumba, thanks to her cousin Lizzy. She taught her all the moves and the music and they did a bunch of private classes while we stayed with them. I’ve attended a zumba class here too (it was just OK), and am going back to my Sunday samba class. I also tried a new samba class in Mountain View but it was kind of lame. I’m hoping to find a samba school that I love while I’m here, because when we come back in May I want to dance the Carnaval parade with a new school.

This RV park is really just a giant parking lot, with full hook ups and laundry rooms and showers. Bayfront park is less than a mile away and we’ve been walking there with the dogs. Otto has not had a seizure since we left so I’m thinking that exercise helps his nervousness. It’s very quiet here considering how many RVs are right next to us. We bought a new stroller, for jogging. I’ve been crazily running full speed with Ingrid in the stroller and the dogs leashed to it. Lots of fun for Ingrid and I, but the dogs are nervous about their paws getting run over by the wheels. This new stroller has only one front wheel and it’s much sturdier so I hope we’ll like it better. 

Right now, we’re trying to finish up the RV projects. We’re also staying close because my nephew Oliver is going to have gastric surgery. After this, we plan to head to Nevada (more registration, license duties), Southern Cali (Vanagon work) and then to Baja California, where we’ll stay for about a month. Warmer weather, beaches, cliffs, deserts, yummy food, and lots of space to ourselves. Can’t wait!