The south end of the beach at Hua Hin, Thailand.
Where are Kevin and Ruth now? Hua Hin, Thailand.

Where are Kevin and Ruth going next? Maldives on March 23rd.

Thursday, November 16, 2017

New dinette table for Sherman... and we're off!

Sherman has a new dinette table!

We've always hated our dinette table in the motorhome. It simply looked cheap.

Our son in law Justin is a wood craftsman. He's actually a trained cabinetmaker, and he builds the nicest furniture. But he's always so busy, so we hesitated to ask. We told him we would pay him to build us a table, and he agreed. So before we left for Barbados, we bought some (expensive!) Peruvian walnut hardwood at a wood specialty shop.

And while we were gone, we let him work his magic...

Here's Ruth at the store, choosing the wood...

Ruth, choosing the wood for our new table.

 Son in law Justin, thinking about what he's going to build.

 Out with the old!

And in with the new...

Wow!

 Fantastic!

It makes such a difference.

Only one problem.

It's too nice! We're afraid to put anything on it! Ha!

No, it wasn't cheap. But we didn't want cheap! $133 for the wood, and $200 labor and materials. Sherman has a $333 CAD ($265 USD) dinette table, but we're really happy with it and we spend a lot of time at that table. That's pretty good actually, for a custom made piece of finely crafted furniture. Thanks Justin!

And with that done, we're ready to leave. We've said goodbye to all of the family, and we don't plan on being back in Ottawa until late September next year.

A little bit of rain hitting the roof right now, and it's supposed to be showers on and off all day. We'll cross the border at Ogdensburg, New York and head south through Syracuse. We have a couple of stops to make along the way... Sherman's shelves and cupboards need to be stocked, as does the booze cabinet. And we need to get a Verizon SIM card so that we can keep you up to date for the next 7 weeks that we will be in the United States. And we need to fill the fuel tank with some cheap American gasoline. We have enough in the tank that we can easily get across the border.

And we're off... day one of our two year motorhome adventure! Next update coming from somewhere south of Syracuse, New York!

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RV trailer wheel stops... big price drop!


And in Canada...




50 comments:

  1. If you are heading to Ithaca you probably have Watkins Glen on your to do list but if not I would HIGHLY recommend it. We just got back from a month of doing New England and that was my favorite stop! I'm sure you've seen the free boondocking sight 5- 10 minutes from there, I would give that an excellent review also. Happy travels!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We might stop at Watkins Glen. Depends on the weather, but it's also a little bit off our route. Are you talking about Sugar Hill State Forest? If so, the website says they close the gate after October 3rd.

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    2. Yes, I was referring to Sugar Hill. Sorry, didn't think about it closing, we were there end of September till Oct 1. Should of thought about it since we had some trouble finding open campgrounds towards the end of our trip. We were surprised so many were closing when it was still peak time for the leaves.

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    3. I have Watkins Glen State Park on our list to visit but unfortunately the trail through the gorge closed on Oct. 31st so this will have to wait for another visit. :-(

      Delete
  2. Hey, we're in Savannah,Georgia right now. Heading to Nashville, Memphis then New Orleans and over to Laredo beginning of Dec. Maybe we'll meet up with you again?

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    Replies
    1. We should be in Nashville by the 24th or 25th, again depending on what the weather is doing. Then we're going to do a slow drive down the Natchez Trace Parkway.

      Delete
  3. The table is beautiful! I'm excited to follow your travels! Godspeed :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for following along on our adventures.

      We really love the table and so does Sherman! :-)

      Delete
  4. Great table...safe and happy travels hope to see you this winter in SMA...best wishes les

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Les!

      Yep, that would work, just keep in touch with us. Enjoy your winter there.

      Delete
  5. What an adventure you are about to have! So looking forward to following along with you here. We have a trip to Tennessee, and also Kentucky, on the calendar in 2018, so it will be interesting to read your write ups once you reach there.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Tamara! we are looking forward to our travels as well. We love traveling in Sherman.

      Not sure we will be a lot of help for watching our trip at least in Kentucky, it will depend on the weather, if it is still too chilly we will be moving down the road rather quickly.

      Delete
  6. Love the table, welcome to the states, and travel safe.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks George, we love the table too! It turned out so well. :-)

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  7. That's a beautiful piece of workmanship from your son-in-law. Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We didn't expect anything less from him. We have seen his work so we knew we would love whatever he came up with. We are so pleased with the results. :-)

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  8. Replies
    1. It is gorgeous and you will get to see it in person today! :-)

      Delete
  9. Beautiful! - with the added bonus of your family always being on your mind and in your heart when you sit at this lovely table.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are right we will be thinking of them every time we sit down here and admire it.

      Delete
  10. We will be following you folks as you traverse the continent for the next two year. Have a safe journey. Your son in law does fabulous work. cheers

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Tommy, we are looking forward to this big adventure!

      Yes, Justin does fantastic work, we are really pleased with our new table.

      Delete
  11. Great looking Table! Well worth the investment. Place mats will help to protect it.
    Safe Travels and Enjoy your Trip!

    It's about time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We are already using the place mats. We used them before to hid the old table now we are using them to protect this one but only when it is in use. When not in use we will remove the place mats so that the beauty of the table is visible. :-)

      Delete
  12. What a fantastic table, he is very talented! Safe travels

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    Replies
    1. He sure is, that is why we let him do his magic! We are so happy with the results.

      Delete
  13. Very nice, get one of those furniture pens from home depot to do touch ups to the table when need be for a stratch or dent. They work beautifully. Happy day one. We start our adventure of moving to Vancouver Island in two weeks!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hopefully we won't have to worry about any mishaps. Justin also said that he made the table almost indestructible! :-)

      Good luck with your move, you both must be so excited!

      Delete
  14. The table is beautiful! Now you need to update the table benches and cushions...looks like the benches just need to be restained and polished.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We had already recovered the dinette cushions a few years ago but we would like to do it again sometime soon. And yes, the benches themselves need to be replaced/painted. You can't re-stain these as it is only a fake covering (some type of plastic coating) over the cheap thin wood.

      Delete
  15. Lovely woodwork. Wish we were allowed to stay longer than three months.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You can always move between the USA, Canada and Mexico to lengthen your stay.

      Delete
  16. Bet your glad to be back in Sherman. Kinda like home!! Safe travels

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sherman is our home and yes we are very happy to be back in him and traveling again.

      Delete
  17. Your son in law did a lovely job on the table, Travel safe and look forward to your next post, such an exciting adventure lies ahead enjoy!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Justin do a wonderful job on the table, we are so happy with the results but then we knew we would be. :-)

      Well, we certainly got off to an interesting start to our adventure. Life is never boring with us.

      Delete
  18. Wonderful looking table. Congrats to Justin....he did a beautiful job.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Rose Marie, we think he did a fabulous job on it as well.

      Delete
  19. Table is beautiful. Safe travels. I look forward to watching this adventure. We are off to Australia for 3 months and will rent a camper van there - smaller than Sherman.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you!

      I am sure you will love your adventure in Australia. That is exactly the way we want to do Australia as well.

      Delete
  20. Only one word to describe the table, beautiful! Safe travels and we hope to see you in a couple of months!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yep, that is a great way to describe it!

      Hopefully our paths will cross down in Mexico. :-)

      Delete
  21. Gorgeous table. I bet that would fit in Serenity. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I bet it would too but I doubt that Sherman will give it up easily! ;-)

      Delete
  22. Great table, lots of meals will be enjoyed there:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, and yes lots of meals will be enjoyed here. :-)

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  23. I must admit I thought a new table was a waste of money but 'wow' is right.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I thought the wood was a little expensive just for an RV table but Kevin wanted something unique and I have to admit that I do love the wood we picked out and the results. Justin did a fantastic job on it. :-)

      Delete
  24. Love the table and I know that you spend a lot of time at it so why not.

    See you in March.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I wouldn't say a lot of time but definitely enough that we wanted to have a nice looking table for Sherman, after all he does deserve it. :-)

      Delete

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