Ilean - Starting inside and painting the outside. - Oct 2011

I know I have been telling you about Ilean and I realized I hadn't shown you very many pictures of the inside. Well let me remedy that problem. THIS is Ilean!

The kitchen. Don't you just love the dark brown cabinets? Me neither.

Jules said that the kitchen was going to get much better in time. I know she has a way of seeing things when they are done, while looking at the starting point, but HOW do you fix this?

The living room. The little side room is what we call the goiter. Its just a spot that seems attached at random to the side of Ilean.

I really dig the linoleum and carpeted floor. Again, NOT!
I know it looks like its going to be a lot of work to get it looking nice. You clearly are very astute.

I wondered at the time what timeline Jules had for making Ilean nice. Maybe a year or two? I'm glad I didn't ask because the answer would have killed Norm and me. Norm jokes with Jules sometimes that she is a slave driver. I have to wonder now if he is sometimes serious when he says he is joking.

The hallway leading to the bedrooms and bathroom. Considering that Ilean is a 1969 mobile home explains why the hallway is more like a tunnel.




 





The bathroom was all done up in a nautical theme. Check out the stylish wallpaper and faux brickwork.
Lovely right? You got it - NOT!
I'm sure the decorating that was done before we bought Ilean worked for the other people. It just doesn't work for us. I'm glad Jules is going to be decorating Ilean.

 It was all that I could do to not scream when I realized the wallpaper was covering more wallpaper AND panelling. Who does that?

Time to get to work. I think Norm needs to start wearing a hat like I do. It'll cover up that follically challenged area.


That was what we started with on the inside.







Jules granted me special dispensation and said I can show you the changes to the outside now instead of waiting until Ilean is completely done!



Outside Ilean - Before



You remember what the outside looked like when we started. All hermetically sealed and nasty.

After opening up the patio area, Ilean's outside just sat for a while. When we finally got going on the outside again we started by scrubbing her down. Then Ilean got a new coat of white paint. Norm III does an excellent job with the sprayer. Even Rosie was impressed.

  

 

Everyone that knows us also would know that an all white house is not painted. It needs color. 

 We painted the trim next.

The purple is a tribute to Norm's mom. Purple was Joanne's signature color. Under the awning, after we started painting, Jules changed her mind. Instead of purple on the top and blue accents she reversed them for the rest of the house.

Blue for the top stripe all the way around.

I think Norm should have been up here painting but he was off building a flower box and shutters.

The awning had this really cool looking trim. When it was all white you didn't notice it. I really liked they way it turned out. Jules has an eye for things like that.

Under the awning had to get painted too. Norm III ran out of paint when he was spraying, which was a good thing or I wouldn't have had any before shots. The part behind me is what we started with.

With Jules its all about the details. Norm thought it was done when it was all painted white. I think he was WISHING Jules would feel the same way, but Jules doesn't care if we were tired of painting. She wanted the support brackets painted silver. This is how it turned out. (By the way, Jules painted most of the silver anyhow!)

After Norm built the shutters they were painted purple.

Of course when Norm makes shutters for Jules he has to put a heart in them because he loves her. I do like they way they look, I just don't want to tell Norm that.

The final step was adding the flower box. Norm copied the trim from the awning and added it to the front of the flower box.

Jules and Norm may be magical people, but the flowers did not grow instantly in the flower box. They're silk flowers. Jules said they look better longer and are a lot less work than real flowers. I couldn't agree more.


OK, drum roll please......

We are proud to present;  Ilean



Ilean Outside - After



Besides replacing a few broken windows that about covers what we did to the outside. I hope to be able to show you some inside changes soon. Maybe I can sneak in a few shots of what we were doing without giving away the final product. I'll have to discuss it with Jules.

Take care,

Travis

Malden and Princeton - Sept - Oct 2011

Well now... Even though Jules won't let me tell you everything (ok, hardly anything) about the changes that have been occurring to Ilean I can tell you this, the property has become a great little campground!

Staying in the campers is one of the highlights of going to Malden. Of course even as Ilean progresses into a more habitable abode the campers remain the reason that Norm and Jules bought the property.  I think Norm needs to set the campers up more like he does for the rallies though. I think he is being lazy but Jules says he is just tired from working on Ilean.

There are plans afoot to actually bring the other campers to Malden. I can see it now, Norm and Jules' four campers, Joni & Jason's camper and my camper, all parked in a semi-circle with a little campfire ring in the middle, Norm III's hammock hanging in the trees, a cooler full of ice cold tasty beverages, and Brock getting all excited every time a train goes by.

Brock is really into trains right now. He talks about them all the time.

The image of six or seven campers of friends and family all parked on the property for a weekend and everyone sitting around a campfire is something I hope we can accomplish next summer. Ilean will be done by then and hopefully the shop building will be built in spring. Clearly there is enough room for those dreams to become a reality.

Having Bob & Walter parked the way they are has drawn some attention from a few of the Malden residents. One woman stopped by and said her sister is an artist and after seeing Bob & Walter wanted to make a painting using the campers and property as the subject matter. Of course I said yes immediately and invited her and her sister to stop by anytime. Then I went in and told Norm and Jules about the encounter.

I HAVE to tell you about what happened when we went to Princeton for supplies. A guy wanted to thump me! Can you believe it? Scared the pellets out of me!

Princeton is the "big" city compared to Malden. While there I saw a gorgeous woman standing near the door of a local spa. I of course approached her and complimented her on how great she looked. I have a way with the ladies as you well know. I was just about to bust a move when this guy cleared his throat. I told him he probably needed some lozenges, but I didn't pay him much attention. He did it again and when I turned around I couldn't help but giggle a bit.

He was wearing grape vines instead of clothes!

I think he thought he was all that and a bag of chips. He said I was talking to "his" girl. I told him if he was trying to make time with the ladies the proper way is to wear clothes, not vines. That was when he threatened to stomp the stuffings out of me. I told him he would look funny with his grapes laying on the sidewalk. He didn't get the joke and actually tried to stomp on me. I made like a banana and split. I couldn't believe how testy he was. Since I'm a lover, not a fighter, I thought it best to skedaddle.

When I told Norm about the encounter he told me sooner or later I was going to put a move on some lady and her significant other was going to make a grease spot out of me. I thought he would be supportive and maybe go talk to the guy. I really don't know why I hang out with him.

We went back to Malden and back to work. I told Jules about the incident and Norm's reaction. Jules told me I shouldn't worry so much, that Norm actually likes me. You could have fooled me.

Till next time,

Travis

Vintage Trailer Rally - Montello, Wisconsin - Sept 14-18, 2011

Whew, what a weekend! I'm telling you these vintage trailer rallies are a blast. Last week we took a break from working on Ilean at Aluminum Acres to go to the rally in Montello, Wisconsin. The wagon masters, Kimberly & Gibb, really put on quite a deal. It is held at Buffalo Lake Camping Resort, in Montello, Wisconsin and was the first rally that Norm & Jules had ever attended and that was in 2007. The paint on Bob was still wet. This year marked the tenth anniversary of the rally.

The first night is the progressive cocktail party.

What better way to start a rally than to go from camper to camper with everyone, enjoy a tasty beverage and some appetizers and to catch up with old friends while making new friends?

We brought Bob this year. Norm & Jules "rotate" campers each year for each rally so nobody feels left out.

I was just chilling in the morning when I made a new friend. I thought it was a baby dinosaur at first. He said his name was Barney. Since he wasn't a strange shade of fuzzy purple I figured he was ok.

He asked if we had any flies around 'cuz he was hungry. I told him we might have fries and he corrected  me and said, "No, flies." He said he ate flies. How weird is that? I told him we didn't have any in the fridge.

Norm said that it was a baby snapping turtle. During the weekend they were spotted all over the campground. Anytime someone found one crawling around we picked it up so they would be safe. Gibb collected them throughout the weekend and had 13 of them. He planned to take them down to the lake before we left and release them. 

I really think these little guys are direct descendants of the dinosaurs.

Enough about the critters. The campers are a bit more spread out in Montello than some of the other rallies. I think there were nearly 40 different campers this year.

This year there were even four big vintage buses and a pop-up.

Some trailers arrive being pulled by vintage cars & trucks.

Of course Gunther was there with his family. The girls, Holly & Gabriella, wanted a picture with us good looking guys. (Or was it the other way around with good looking girls, I don't remember.)

One of the many highlights of any rally is the pot-luck dinner. Kimberly puts a different spin on it and has a burger contest one night and the pot-luck dinner the next. The entered burgers are cut up and everyone samples them. Then everyone votes on which one is the best.

Jello deserts were also entered into the competition this year. Jello scares me so I used Julia's famed recipe for M&M salad for my dish to pass, but I modified it a little. I added tootsie rolls for visual enhancement.

It was a BIG HIT too!

This was the burger table with the competitors getting ready to be carved up for sampling. Its a lot of fun to see what everyone does to make their burgers special.

This was the Jello table. One of the jellos actually was moving all the time! It kept spinning like it was possessed or something. It should stop moving at some point, RIGHT? One of them even had Spam in it. I didn't try that one! I told you that stuff scares me.

During dinner I was assaulted by a Packer. I kept my cool and didn't punt his scrawny bottom across the room. He thought he was all that and a bag of chips. I never understood what set him off or why he chose to attack me. Considering that I towered over him I figured he was just not right. Who would pick a fight with a giant? (How cool is that? ME, a giant!) I just couldn't hurt the little guy, he was so confused and full of himself. Favre was the name on his shirt. I could only guess that he was starving for attention.

Dinner BOTH nights was fantastic. This plate of yummies was Saturday night's pot luck. Just bring meat to grill & a dish to pass. I love steak.

Ok, Holly is going to choke me for this photo, but Alex would be happy. The other photo, where Holly is smiling nice only had Alex's ear. Sorry Holly. Your other photo was stunning though. I guess you could blame Gabriella 'cuz she took the picture.

After dinner Saturday was the big fun. Not only did we get to pick some cool stuff during the door prize part when our names were called we got to be entertained too!



We got bubbles for Brock



The entertainment was special. To celebrate the tenth anniversary of the rally in Montello a couple that went by the stage names of KG and The Ranger performed. They were really good. I thought for sure during the rope trick part someone was going to get tangled up and fall. But they didn't. If you like old time movie songs about cowboys it would be right up your alley. I enjoyed it.  I thought about adding a video, and YES smarty pants I got permission from KG, but the quality of it wasn't that great. I didn't want to do them an injustice. This is their website http://www.kgandtheranger.com/

I felt like such a grouper.

Oh, sorry, groupie. Grouper is a fish according to Norm.

Duh, everyone knows that. I just had a moment, that's all.

Hokey smokes I almost forgot and missed this picture. How silly of me.

During Saturday's show & shine I met Jean. I really liked her hat! I am a big fan of hats. Jules on the other hand does not like them. I think that is the only point that we disagree on.

It turned out that Jean was "The Birthday Girl" and since she was celebrating her birthday at the rally some of her other friends got her a hat to wear. What would we do without good friends? 

I better get to scooting. This rally stuff is too much fun.



Caught with the lampshade on my head.
Too many beverages at BJ's campsite will do that.



Until the next rally!

Travis

Aluminum Acres - Ilean - September 2011

 I know I haven't been updating this as often as I should. We have been very busy working on Ilean at Aluminum Acres, in Malden.



The starting point



Now that the work is being completed in many areas the changes are both dramatic and obvious. I think that I should clearly get paid a lot more for the work that I have done. Norm says family and friends don't get paid. I told him that's why he didn't have any friends and family had no choice. He almost caught me before Jules told him to leave me alone. He sure seems to be getting faster in his old age.

Unfortunately, Jules won't let me update ANY photos of the work we have done on Ilean until we are finished or VERY near finished. Needless to say, I really want to go against her wishes. Norm keeps telling me to go ahead and put some pictures up. I know he's trying to get me in trouble with Jules. But I really, really want to show you the progress we have been making. Soon I hope!

Anyhow, some of the recent work involved,

                                                                                                               

                                                                                                                        

                                                                    . Of course there will be surprises too that I can't mention yet.



Ilean doesn't know what to think of all the attention. She actually started fighting us. You know, like someone who gets set in their ways, like wearing combat boots all the time and then having to wear fancy take me out on the town shoes. Ilean decided it was too uncomfortable and turned off the                  . 

We are now dealing with                                                                      .

No more                 . There is so much more that I want to tell you about too. I better get going before I can't help myself and start SHOWING you the progress.



Stay tuned,

Travis

(Jules caught me while I was typing and getting ready to post this. She has final editing rights.)

Camper Related Blogs / Websites / Rally Pages

During a number of rallies Norm has been asked, usually by a newer member or someone just venturing into the world of vintage trailers, where do you get parts, information and how to contact various people. Considering that Norm is nearly computer illiterate I compiled this list for him. It is in no way all inclusive, but are the links to the ones that he uses most.

Groups

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Vintage_Trailers_Network_Illinois/_

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/VintageTrailerEnthusiasts/

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vintage-trailer-rally/
(You will need to go to the database for a calendar of most rallies)

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MidwestVintageTrailerAssocation/

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Club-Wisconsin-USAVTN/

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Club-Indiana-USAVTN/

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Club-Illinois-USAVTN/

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Vintage_Trailers_Iowa/

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/classicrv/

http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/Classicshastas/

http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/VintageShastaClub/

Rally Pages

http://springflingvintagerally.blogspot.com/

http://woodstockrally.blogspot.com/

http://n2vintage.tripod.com/

http://nindianarally.blogspot.com/

http://southern-indiana-vtr.blogspot.com/

http://iowavtr.blogspot.com/

Other

http://www.willoakscampground.com/

http://www.rvparkreviews.com/

September 11, 2011 - Soldier Field - Chicago

Norm & Norm III went to the Bears vs Falcons game Sunday. Of course since there were only two tickets I get left home. During the National Anthem the guy behind Norm (Bryon) was taking a picture.

During the game Bryon showed it to Norm. Norm told him, "Why didn't you tell me to move my arm so you could get the shot." Bryon said, "It made the shot."

I agree with Bryon!

Leaving Me Home is Unacceptable! - September 2011

Ok, so sometimes Norm and I don't see eye to eye. Well, in reality we never do since I'm vertically challenged, but we do disagree now and then. However, to be left home to watch and care for the dogs when he and Jules go to Malden for a long weekend is just plain unacceptable.



Left to right: Jo Jo, Rosie & Relli



Do you have any idea what that is like? Those dogs are bigger than me and not the brightest bulbs in the box.

They don't listen except when its time to eat.

I was trying to get them to go for a walk and all they did was lay there and snore.

Now this was a challenge! One of the dogs, Rosie, knows how to tell time. She KNOWS when its 8 o'clock. That is the time that she eats. If you don't pay attention to her she just keeps getting louder. I can't understand why anyone would teach a dog how to tell time. Its not like they will ever need to catch a bus or go to work.

Since the dogs all knew it was time to eat (I thought I was bad at keeping secrets, Rosie is worse!) they wouldn't let me fix their bowls on the floor. Reli kept spinning and Rosie kept stomping on the floor and trying to stomp on me. 

Jo Jo was the only good one. She just sat quietly waiting. I think she was just as afraid of getting stomped as me.

They kept trying to eat out of the containers and I was getting really frustrated. I had to climb onto the washer just to get it all ready. KC was kind enough to leave their name tags in the bowls so there wouldn't be any arguing among the dogs.

I should have known that these dogs were a bit spoiled what with individual picnic tables and all, but we got through it.

The weekend wasn't a complete loss though. The bright spot in the weekend was that I got to watch movies with KC. She watches some very strange movies.

Just before Norm & Jules came home KC and I made them some signs. KC is a big fan of signs. I wasn't real happy though when I saw that KC ratted on me about being bitter. I thought she had my back.

KC saw that I was even more bitter when I saw her sign. She said she didn't rat me out, she only was telling Norm & Jules that they hurt my feelings.



KC really did have my back, I just misunderstood. I guess I shouldn't squawk too loud and I should apologize to KC. I kind of did the same thing to KC in my note.

But we had fun and I did like some of the movies. I guess getting scared watching movies can be fun in small doses.

Maybe I'll share some more update pictures from Malden if they let me go with next time.


Until that time, stay safe, go camping and keep having fun!

Travis