What do they say about holes in your head???

Well here I go again. Bought another vehicle I have no place to park. And it's a big one. This is a 1974 Hall GTC class B+ camper. Got it cheap on Craigslist but it needs a lot of work to clean it up and make it ready for camping. I'd seen these when I was looking for my first motorhome but they're so rare that I didn't think I'd find one. Of course now that I've spent all that money on the other one, this one pops up. This would have been a better starting point for me. For now I'm going to just clean it up and get everything working and then figure out where to go next. I created a web site to share information about about these campers. www.HallGTC.com.

From Hall GTC

Jalama Beach Camping

From Jalama 2010

Julie and I took a trip to Jalama Beach near Lompoc this weekend. Was hoping to do some kite flying and to try out my new KAP camera. Unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate. No wind and it was dreary and wet most of the time. Didn't even try to fly a kite. Spent a lot of time sitting around in the motorhome wondering if the sun would ever come out. It didn't so we came home a day early. I don't normally camp at the beach so I learned a few things. On the first night, a band of raccoons came through and raided everyone's cooler. They got in mine and ate all my eggs and messed up everything else. Now I don't know if raccoons are necessarily a beach critter but never had them attack before. Also the seabirds, while quaint, are really annoying. I never really had a problem with them at Pismo Beach. Oh well, I got to really catch up on my sleep. The Brougham motorhome worked out really well. Still need to get the couch redone so that the sleeping accommodations are more comfortable.

From Jalama 2010

More Camping Adventures

Another camping trip, another adventure. We are camping at Woods Valley Kampground in Valley Center this weekend. As casual vintage trailer meet that we're calling the Spam Rehab. Same weekend as the old annual Spamboree. A bunch of us just decided to show up again this year. Brought the old wagon and teardrop trailer. Pulled into the campground and the car died. No spark. Will have plenty of time to mess with it I guess.

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Hurkey Creek Vintage Trailer Campout

Here we are at Hurkey Creek campground near Lake Hemet, California. This is a vintage trailer rally, first time at this location. We were all in one big group site, about 40 trailers. There were mostly teardrop trailers but also regular trailers as well as tent trailers. Temperatures were hot but there was a nice breeze and the nights were nice and cool. Had a big potluck on Saturday. Good food and good friends is always a good thing. Note that the date of the post is actually the first day of the campout. I updated this blog posting after getting back home.

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Adventures in KAP

What the heck is KAP? KAP stands for Kite Arial Photography. As soon as there were cameras, people started trying to send them up on kites to get a view of the world they couldn't get from the ground. This is the beginning of my adventures in this field. My brother John actually built this rig for me. It uses a Picavet suspension system to keep the camera level and to keep it from spinning around. Click here for a short video showing the rig in action. The camera I'm using is a small Kodak PlaySport video camera. I'm trying to keep this as light as possible. this past weekend there wasn't much wind and what was available was "bumpy" so I didn't get any great video. I did upload part of one I did take where the camera rig goes for a spin when my kit overflew. Click here to see it. Will probably end up making a new rig as I think I want to make the angle of the camera adjustable. Some of the rigs people have made are pretty fancy and even include remote control for pan and tilt and camera functions. I don't think I'll be going down that path.

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Lighting score

Here are the light fixtures that came from my neighbor's house. The people flipping it removed them all and replaced them with modern ones. Fortunately they didn't throw them away and I was able to buy them. My house is missing all its original fixtures so I'll be able to replace them.

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Want to be my neighbor?

This is/was my neighbor's house. After a few years of struggling to try and keep his house, he finally lost the battle and ended up selling it in a short sale a couple months ago and basically walking away. It sold for $250k to a developer who is basically flipping it. The picture above is after they've done their work to it.

The house needed a lot of work. It was built in 1927, which is two years newer than mine. It had a lot of original details such as arched windows and front door, original lighting, plaster moldings, fireplace and more. The kitchen was from the 1940s and not in good shape. As a typical flip, they're going as fast as they can. They've fixed the hardwood floors in the living room and dining room but will probably carpet the rest as they are a real mess. They ripped out the kitchen and replaced it with cheap cabinets and basic granite counters. The kitchen is tiny as they didn't do the normal thing and expand it into the utility room.

They've ripped out all the original light fixtures and replaced them with cheap wall sconces and ceiling fans. I'm trying to get them to sell me the old fixtures. The old 1940s Wedgewood range is sitting in the garage and I'm not sure what they're doing with that. Fortunately they didn't go to the expense of replacing the windows so hopefully they will remain intact. Most people rip them out and replace them with vinyl windows which is a real shame in a vintage house. Of course with all the arched windows, it's not cheap to replace them.

The house used to be tan with green trim but now it's boring white with tan trim. The new owners will probably have to repaint it before too long since they didn't even wash the house down before painting it. All the old stains are going to start showing up before long.

I'm curious to see how much they're going to ask for the place once it's done. The values of our houses were up over half a million a few years ago. I really liked my old neighbor. I just hope it's not someone who's going to turn it into a rental property, enough of that around here already.

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Gomberg Super Sled

Here is one of my latest kites. A Gomberg Super Sled with a 25 foot tail on it. You can see a video of it flying here: Gomberg Super Sled on YouTube

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Let's try a post with pictures...

Julie at the campground in Wrightwood. We were camping there at a casual vintage trailer meet a couple weeks ago. Weather was great and very relaxing.

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