Oh Mali Mish. Don’t let the little white fluffy clouds fool you. It’s supposed to sprinkle today. So, I am going to leave you looking a little dirty for our next adventure together. I’m so sorry.

But you are in good company. The van is just as dirty as you.

I’m so sorry about the streak marks, by the way. At least these stripes are vertical… and quite slimming on you.

Oh, I know. The windows. Your poor windows. They might be the worst part of all of this.

Who’s the blame? Don’t you dare say the quickly growing bump that has eaten my seat belt! Don’t you dare.

the end,
marlene

Hmmm. I bet you are wondering how we did without any hook-ups last weekend at Thornhill Broome State Beach, huh? Well, we did just fine! I’m still alive and blogging, ain’t I?

We tried our best to be Mr. and Mrs. Conservative on this two-night trip.

Water
Water-wise, we did great. We washed our dishes and brushed our teeth in gentle streams of water and we didn’t take showers in the Airstream. But we did take showers at home. No, we did not go home just to take showers. Geez. We aren’t huge wussies. We went home because we forgot to pack Ava’s sleeping tent and I could no longer take her sleep kicks and punches at night… and Dan was sad that he was banished to the couch. So, I guess, that makes us little wussies. I’m okay with that. Our gray water tank was still empty after three days according to our usage indicator. I think I may pat myself of the back right now.

Power
Electricity-wise, we didn’t do as great. I did my very best to not turn on lights. We used Ava’s mini-lantern when we could and I even washed our dishes in the dark. I must have really looked ridiculous because our new friend David stopped by and offered his generator so I can wash dishes with the lights on… like normal people.  I kindly refused because I was on a mission to see how long we could last on our own. By the end of the second night, our usage indicator was flashing red. Bad news.

Summary
The overall experience was great. I think we can last a long time water-wise but our two batteries will only allow us to boondock for two nights before we need a recharge from the van… or those generators and solar panels that Dan keeps sending me links to from Craigslist.

The next time we need to boondock for more than a night, we won’t be as apprehensive. I just hope the view from our Airstream is just as nice.

the end,
marlene

Hi there! Welcome back. It’s Day 6 of our road trip and we are still at The Shady Dell in Bisbee, Arizona with our Airstream, the Mali Mish.

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Dan is in the dog house. He used my camera last night to take a sunset picture and forgot to change the ISO sensitivity back. So all my pictures today are grainy and just plain yucky. How embarrassing. But if you look on the bright side, it was a travel day for us and not a sight-seeing day. So I might forgive him by the end of the day… maybe.

After three nights at Catalina State park, it was time for us to head to our next destination… Bisbee, Arizona. It took a bit longer that expected to pack up and get the Airstream ready for the road again. I’m sure after a few more times, we will become old pros.

Our gray water tank, that holds our sink water, was full since yesterday. Because the dump station was located down the road, we decided not let any more water down the drain instead of attaching the trailer to the van and dragging it back and forth. It was going to be way too much work, especially since we would be dumping all of the gray water out in the morning before we headed out to Bisbee.

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It never fails. Whenever we start a road trip, we can never get the inside temperature just right while we are sleeping. It takes us about three days to finally settle on a temperature that is neither too hot nor too cold, but just right. We sound like the Three Little Bears every morning. Once we all agreed that 65 degrees was just right, Yoda began being a bit happier. A bit like her old self. She even started bird watching outside of our bedroom window. She can now officially add the Gila Woodpecker to her Bird Life List. Whaaat? I’m not the bird dork. Yoda is!

Our first stop of the day was the historic Hotel Congress in downtown Tucson. The hotel is famous for its authentic 1920s beauty and for the fire which led to the capture of one of the country’s most notorious criminals — John Dillinger.

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Yesterday we didn’t just give thanks for everything we have, we also gave our Airstream its name. And obviously it is ‘Mali Mish’. I bet you are dying to know how the naming ceremony went down. So here it is. Enjoy.

over and out,
dan

…here we come!! With a decal, no less.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

the end,
marlene