Because we haven’t been able to drive away from our campsite here (see previous post on why the truck has to remain hitched to the trailer), we’ve had four very quiet days. I’d call them days of decompression, but who am I kidding: we weren’t compressed to begin with.
But normally we’d leave the campsite a few times for errands or to find good hiking trails or to kayak, and here there’s been nada. So, what have we been up to?
Washing the Airstream
This may seem like an exercise in vanity, but it’s essential when your shiny home travels down dirt roads and sits under pollen-laden trees and gets spitted on by pine tar every day. The solar panels get so dirty that they lose efficiency, and the fittings around the running lights have started to rust (thanks, the Keys).
Tracy did a quick once-over wash here while I handed him stuff, but a month from now when we’re moochdocking in the driveway of a couple of friends and have access to a decent ladder, we’ll do a thorough wash and the twice-a-year wax our home needs. It’s a huge job, and neither of us digs this kind of thing, but otherwise the trailer would look like a caterpillar.
Putzing Around
I napped in the hammock. The sun was shining on me, and Tracy and Banjo shared the deck with me quietly, looking out over the lake. I think the peacefulness of this place simply sunk in.
Finn’s moving to Michigan in June, so his dad and I have been brainstorming with him all things moving-related, which is a lot of things, seeing as how Finn has never lived off campus or more than a few hours’ drive from home. It’s 100% excitement, though.
The day-use area of this huge Corps of Engineers park offers hiking trails, tennis courts, and a beach, but we seem to have slowed down so much that all we can muster is a bike ride beside the lake, ogling all the different campsites. Some are along sandy stretches of waterfront where people cram in with their dogs and kids in a party atmosphere, and we’ve decided ours is the best even though we have no beach because we do have privacy and this best deck ever.
And, of course, I’ve been working on the model house.
In fact, maybe a little too much, because I’ll be finished way before I expected. It’s addicting!
Staring at the Lake
The osprey pair spend a lot of time in the trees at our campsite, picking branches for their nest out on the water.
Common wrens flit around us, once in and out of the trailer (Banjo was napping on the couch and didn’t notice), also looking for nesting material.
A master remote-controlled pilot flies his large white plane with a long wingspan over the lake each evening. He sends it in loops as an air show right in front of us, curving gently down and touching the water enough to leave ripples, then lifting off again with ease. He sends it up in steep elevation, then cuts the engine and lets it drop silently until the last minute, when it revs up and skims the water once again. It glides quietly in gentle curves around the lake, like it’s scanning for nesting material, too.
It’s been a fine four days marooned by this lake. Hotlanta is next!
