The rollout bottom tray for the trikes has been a perfect solution for loading and unloading, but we quickly became tired of not having organized storage locations for our camping gear. Plus the inverter we had purchased to turn DC to AC decided to quit. And while we liked the swivel front passenger seat, it didn't allow two people to comfortably relax inside the van on cold mornings/evenings or during bad weather. Each of these things proved solvable during the week we spent with Amy and her family in Colorado.
While waiting for our appointment with Mike, we analyzed the "big picture." We quickly realized that the location of the inverter (under the rear passenger seat) and the converter (between the passenger seat and the van wall), would make the job very time consuming. So, we decided to de-install the rear passenger seat, the old dead inverter, and the converter. Once we had done that, moving the cooking pod from its location across the van's sliding door area to the inside of the van where the passenger seat used to be turned out to be a no-brainer. In tiny living spaces, freeing up inches matters... a lot.
The next idea to hit was to upgrade our Yeti ice chest (read ice-consumer every other day), to an electric refrigerator. Amazon to the rescue. We chose a Dometic CFX-35, which is still in an ice chest top-loading format. This format maximizes efficiency because cold air doesn't "fall out" every time you open the unit. Unfortunately the new unit was 2 inches taller than the ice chest was, so we had to build two inch extensions for each side of the pod. Lowes and Home Depot became our best friends!
With the creative juices flowing, we then decided we could do a better job on bug screens than we were able to purchase for any reasonable price. With Amy's sewing machine, we crafted our own screens for the large side door and rear doors. Window-screening fabric, magnets, flat zinc-coated iron bar, and a sewing machine became our frustrating friends. But in the end we prevailed. Paula also got our sun screens for the large front windows to roll and store above the front storage deck. A grand plan, as the screens can be easily damaged.
Then it was on to tackling storage. We found a soft-sided shoe caddy designed to hang from a closet clothes rod. We mounted this under one of our storage cabinets. The caddy will hold shoes and small frequently accessed items that otherwise become hard to locate even in a tiny living space. We also found a couple more large hooks that allow us to hang some of the items that had been living on the trike deck. We can now unload/load our trikes without unloading non-cycling related gear.
Now we have a van with no extra stuff in the way. And we have a way for me to sit in a lawn chair, facing Paula to play Qwirkle when the weather gets nasty.
All through this process, Amy lent us her tools and garage space. And while she and Mel were off to Sante Fe to see operas with our Mom, Alex dealt with how boring it was to live with two women who were so focused on fixing our van. To Alex's relief we took a trip to Colorado Springs to see his school -- University of Colorado/Colorado Springs, and to have lunch at the Golden Bee -- a wonderful Irish Pub with exquisite Reuben sandwiches, and of course, lovely beer.
After lunch we walked the ground of the Broadmoor Hotel. Alex may have finally decided we were two-ok aunts to have around...
Check our next blog entry for our last ride on the Cherry Creek Trail...
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