Livin' in a Trailer Down by the River

Like Saturday Night Live's overcaffeinated "motivational speaker" Chris Farley, I find myself now "64 years old, thrice divorced, and living in a van down by the river!"
 

The reality is that I am in an economically marginal demographic trailer park in a million dollar setting!   The "hill" in this picture is a regional landmark i.e. Scotia Bluffs fossil cliffs and the Eel River runs along the western periphery of the park.  The area teems with wildlife as well as lowlife...

The delivery of the trailer was frustrating bordering on painful.  The dealership (Trailer Hitch RV which I have since renamed Trailer Bitch RV) was not accustomed to being asked for customer service and seemed unfamiliar with communicating and coordinating the usual elements of preparing their product for delivery.  I have a new appreciation for Florida RV dealerships, which prior to this experience I rated "poor to fair" on customer service.  This dealership did not even register on a scale!

The goal was to toast our new digs by my 64th birthday on June 3 and we actually toasted ahead of schedule on May 26th!   It has been fun nesting inside with our stuff and making it as livable and convenient as possible with modifications of space--always a challenge in an RV.  But, we are now "in" and Sharon made a lasagna in the teeny tiny oven last night while we sipped our margaritas.

Sofa Bed

Sharon & Cassie in Sofa Bed

 

Sis's power recliner in dining room

Theater Seating
Removed Dining Table/Chairs

Cable TV & Fireplace

Here is a link to the full album with floorplan/specs Lacrosse Travel Trailer

While awaiting the tortuous delivery, my sis and I planned and executed several projects;  highest priority was to secure the border from intruders!  Sis's park borders Eel River and she has a wildlife preserve as part of her property.  Along the river is a sandbar popular with fishing enthusiasts and ATV's.   Occasionally, people shoot fish from a flotation device and police are summoned, but the perps are usually teenage boys related to the police or the town supervisors... It's a mixed bag of trouble and nuisance to the peace and serenity of park residents.

As soon as the sunshine returns to the north coast, intruders (townies) hang out at the river and enter private property from the beach to loiter, take showers and use the bathrooms for all manner of mischief.  So, a security fence and No Trespassing signs were erected around the utility service area and No Trespassing notices have been painted on the river side of the periphery fence.   (Within a few days of installation, four trespassers were challenged and chose to voluntarily leave the property.)  Solar-powered motion lights were installed at the usual access paths used by park residents.  The Laundry Room got a much-need paint job.   Next job is a cold-patch of the many potholes that developed during the flood season.  Thanks to SLR asphalt experts for tips!

While trying to wrestle our rig from the dealership, we also got a chance to see the annual 3-day Kinetic Sculpture Race, in which people enter home-grown vehicles to race on road, mud, sand and water.   Most vehicles never see the finish line.  This dragon breathes real fire and won the Spectator Favorite award.  The race kickoff was staged in Arcata, a funky college town reminiscent of the 60's. 

This is kinetic sand flea.

Here is a link to the full album Kinetic Sculpture Race.  Here is a link explaining the race and its history History of Kinetic Sculpture Race