Saturday and guest blog with Elisabeth Haug
My goodness, time flies. Only one week left until the trip starts. I "just" have to finish packing, finish everything at work so I can be away for 6 weeks.
Table of contents
Camping at the weekend
The weekend was absolutely great. First spent Friday with good friends and of course slept in the motorhome. We tried out our new sunbed. I don't want to run around like a fool on the beach and not get air in the sofa. It was probably good that I tried it without an audience. My God, it looked fun. A little too little air at first but then so!!!
More mates and campervan fixes
On Saturday we went on to the next couple of friends and their country house in Flen. It is always good to get a few nights in the motorhome before we go on a long journey. I took the opportunity to "ask" the friends: "What do you think? Can you easily remove the foot of the old satellite dish on the roof?"
Took about 3 minutes before the job started, they would only check a little 🙂 Bang on, off with the foot (very heavy), on with the sheet metal that was popped on. Absolutely brilliant and so simple by asking a question. A thousand thousand thanks, dear friends for your help. It's wonderful when you can combine benefit with pleasure. We were so pleased with the weekend, spending time with good friends and lots of laughter BOTH Friday and Saturday, what a luxury!
New table for the motorhome
Directly on Sunday when we came home, mum and dad came to visit. Fun to see when it does not get so often, they live in Kragerö, Norway and it is about 65 miles away. The plan was that dad would build a new table for the motorhome. It is so unwieldy what there is. It goes a little too far out into the aisle and then there is a gap between the table and the wall. Very annoying.
I have been looking for a long time to find new legs and wall brackets, it arrived last week and has been on hold until my dad arrived. The table was perfect, as long as the sofa so that it is easier to walk in the aisle and to have the possibility of a larger table, we built a flap that we attach when needed. He is so good, dad. 🙂 Weighed the old table, 18.5 kg. Absolutely crazy. The new table 10 kg.
Look how nice it turned out. I am so proud. It wasn't so scary to adapt the car to our needs, you just have to be careful, think and look around before you start.
Making lists, continued
We are making progress with planning. It's so nice to tick things off the list, then you can see everything you've done. For me, there is a point in saving these to feel satisfied with what I have done instead of getting anxious about what I have left. Smart, right?
Fixing a troublesome back door hingeRemove the foot of the old satellite dish (remove unnecessary weight).Fix a new table inside the car (the old one is unnecessarily large and a bit too low when you have a child seat).Buy an extra hob (so I can stand outside much more and cook).Switching on the reversing cameraFind the GPS, that it can just disappear!!!- Make play boxes for Elias so that he doesn't just play games during the car journey.
Remind the husband to get an international driving licence (think it is needed in Albania, for example)..)Make a smart grocery list (grilled meat and potato salad in all honour, but for 6!! weeks?).Sewing curtains for the sleeping alcove (How can you make curtains that don't cover the entire opening? )
New combi hooks
- Buy a better booster seat for Elias
- Sew your own sun protection for your awning
Book a ferry ticket home
Went to TallinkSilja's website to book the ferry home from Riga to Stockholm, first checked on Motormännens website to find discounts, and it says that you should get a discount, got the code and then when I try to book it says that it is not valid. It drives me crazy. Calls Motormännen: "yes, the code should work" try again, no, no! Calls Tallink, They have no answer or explanation. Sigh!!! Sitting in the queue again to motormännen; "you have place 18 in the queue".
When I arrived, they had no idea why it was so but promised to check and return. Finally got feedback from Motormännen, the discount only applies if you book a return trip. Surt, would appreciate it being on the website so that you know. Just book anyway, close your eyes and pay 😉.
Things are moving forward. The next time I write or at least publish, we are in the car on the way from Åkersberga. Happy, nervous and probably completely exhausted with then damn it will be holidaying. Hope everyone had a nice midsummer and enjoy the camping life!
Did you miss last week's post about the trip? Read the Two weeks left ...
Mr Frank Olsen says:
Good morning from sunny Crete!
Nice that most things seem to be working out? And unnecessary weight is good to get rid of. We were constantly a bit overweight during our European tour.
One thing you need to be aware of when it comes to the pop rivets you have used on the plate on the roof is that water can leak into the centre of the rivets. There is a small hole right through the centre. Put some silicone over it to be on the safe side?
24 June 2017 - 6:23
Elisabeth says:
Many thanks for the tip:) We will fix that on the roof. We are in the process of weighing everything that goes into the car now. Everything must be assessed whether it should be included or not. 🙂 Greetings Crete 🙂
24 June 2017 - 11:50
Peppercorn says:
Hello!
There were no pop rivets if Per didn't redo them when he got home. The bracket that sat is still there, only the engine is gone. But I hope Pär siliconised what he was supposed to. Write it down on the list.
25 June 2017 - 16:06
Elisabeth says:
Thanks Peppe, I remind Per 🙂
26 June 2017 - 12:49
Mr Nils-Åke Hansson says:
Helpful friends are to be welcomed. Know several who have thought that the tables have been unnecessarily large and made new ones. It was nice.
24 June 2017 - 8:06
Elisabeth says:
Yes, it's good to have helpful friends and also much nicer to do things together. We are very happy with the table. This weekend I will paint the table so that it is completely ready. 🙂 Will be antique white, there is so much wood in the interior so it will be good with something that breaks off.
24 June 2017 - 11:53
Lena - good for the soul says:
Oh what a wonderful feeling it is to plan, donate and fix before departure. And such a long journey too!
Have a wonderful midsummer weekend!
Hug Lena
24 June 2017 - 9:34
Elisabeth says:
Yes, so cosy to fix and tinker. There are some of our friends who think that it is so much "work" with a motorhome, but it is half the fun to do it before. 🙂
Hope you also have a great weekend 🙂 .
24 June 2017 - 11:57
Lena in Wales says:
Have a nice trip!
24 June 2017 - 12:06
Helena says:
I can't believe the ferry ticket! It takes so much energy to do that. I often think that I should take advantage of discounts, but sometimes it really becomes more work than it is worth ...! It will be great fun to follow your journey when you leave! We are in Poland now and it is fantastically green and nice! Will of course return with reports!
24 June 2017 - 19:59
BP says:
It's great to have a handy dad! The discount is what I would call false marketing. That it does not apply to single tickets should of course have been stated. So much wasted energy there ...
We also always make a list before travelling. It feels wonderful when you can tick off item after item.
24 June 2017 - 20:42
Elisabeth says:
That's one of the good things about motorhome friends, you can get lots of tips and help! Then it is always fun to meet. Have a good trip!
24 June 2017 - 20:48