PPG Mount for Car

Posted on February 10, 2017 by Ben

Since the truck had to be registered as a commercial vehicle in New York, I can’t drive it on certain roads. I built a PPG mount for the car so that I can take the PPG anywhere:

I’ll be replacing the flimsy aluminum angle iron with steel:

February 9th through the years

Posted on February 9, 2017 by Ben

We’ve been off the road for about 10 months now, and much of today was occupied with snowblowing the driveway:

Makes me wonder what I was doing on this day last year. That would be Day 916.

Oh right, I was at the Salton Sea Fly-in:

What about 2015? That was Day 551.

Ah yes, again, the fly-in at Salton Sea:

What about 2014? That was Day 186, which was a raw sewage disaster, but we were enjoying dispersed camping near Borrego Springs:

Fulltime RVing, I do miss you.

Assateague Sukkos Day 8: Still More Flying and Beach Fun, and Biking

Posted on October 21, 2016 by Ben

This morning the weather was grim. The forecast showed mist and fog, then high winds gusting to 40MPH moving in around midnight:

Another yummy RV breakfast, featuring FakeBakon™:

We laid out the shells and shell fragments we collected this week:

The kids played in the surf again. Note the fog reducing visibility to a few hundred feet:

I went for a bike ride. The fog dissipated as it moved inland beyond the beach, so the bay side of the island was clear. I watched the horses out in the marsh:

After riding a bit on the mainland, I came back to find this fellow right near the road:

Another horse along the island road:

By the time I returned to the RV, the fog had cleared, so I went for flight #114:

Trish photographed me from the RV as I came in to land:

This video shows all four flights on this trip:

Good Shabbos from Assateague Island!

Assateague Sukkos Day 7: More Flying and Beach Fun

Posted on October 20, 2016 by Ben

This morning we awoke to horses poking around the RV. Note how empty the campground is:

This is why you should never stop with open windows next to a feral horse:

B took over the photography:

M and I drove over Ocean City, Maryland to attend Chol Hamoed services:

I love RV breakfasts!

Last night, we met the T family when they arrived in the campground. They were excited to see our sukkah. I went over to say hello and check our their sukkah. We chatted for some time, and it turns out Mrs. T is related to the Rabbi of the congregation in Santa Fe with which we spent Purim on Day 959. Small world!

This morning, the T family stopped by on their way home to check out the RV and we swapped more stories about frum RVing:

The weather was still good, so I decided to fly:

Another reverse launch:

Launch of flight #113:

This video contains all the flights on this trip:

More frolicking in the surf:

The kids dug sizeable holes:

Trish got in on the action too:

The wind was good, so Trish put the kiting harness on and I provided the forward motion necessary for her to take flight:

Here’s a great video of Tricia’s first flight at the Salton Sea on Day 901:

M’s turn:

Towards sunset, Trish and I walked the beach:

This Horseshoe crab had quite a few hitchhikers on his shell:

Another beautiful day on Assateague Island!

Assateague Sukkos Day 6: Flying and Beach Fun

Posted on October 19, 2016 by Ben

The first two days of Sukkos (Monday and Tuesday) with congregation Ahavat Shalom in Ocean City, Maryland were great. It was the first time we’ve spent a holiday with a Sefardi congregation. Since everyone there except us were Israeli expats, the Rabbi delivered his sermon in Hebrew. On the second day I walked down to the beach and walked the boardwalk for a bit.

RV breakfasts are always fantastic:

The passenger side of the RV seemed to be sagging, and a peek underneath revealed that the rear passenger leaf spring had broken. This is the same spring position that broke and had to be replaced on Day 366. Back when that spring broke, I replaced the springs on both sides so the axle would be square to the trailer and therefore the tires would not wear poorly. As I result, I had with us the unbroken leaf spring pulled off the driver’s side of the rear axle those few years ago. I crawled under the RV and got to work:

Installing the new leaf spring:

While I was working, this Wheel bug wandered by:

The broken leaf spring:

The congregation used to be headed up by a Chabad rabbi, which explains why the synagogue was built to resemble 770:

After Shacharis and fixing the leaf spring, we relocated back to Assateague Island. We had camping reservations at Assateague Island National Seashore, but we would have had to change sites in the middle of our stay, so we decided to try for the first time camping at Assateague State Park, which was much less crowded. For a couple more dollars, we have use of bathhouses with toilets and nice showers, as opposed to just pit toilets in the NPS campground.

We set up our sukkah again: