Still shy at 65

The walk from the campfire to Dod's door was only 20' but it seemed to take forever.  We hadn't discussed sleeping arrangements and I wasn't comfortable bringing it up.  If she wanted separate, I would be stuck in the cab over so my preference was together.  As I stepped into Dod with the lantern she asked "What are the sleeping arrangements?"  I told her that it was up to her but that if she chose together, she could count on me to be a perfect gentleman.  She said, "I'd rather sleep together."

I was a gentleman and she was a lady.  That didn't preclude a little hugging and kissing.  We got along so much better than I had anticipated!  After a great night's sleep, we awoke to a very cold Dod and both dressed warmly before heading out for breakfast.  DJ volunteered to cook and I started checking Dod's appliances.  The propane stove worked right away and heater worked great once I located the thermostat.  The refrigerator took a bit longer as the inside ignition does not work.  Not a big problem to open the door and light it from the outside.

Bacon, eggs, toast and coffee in a pine forest; I think I like this lifestyle.  I did a quick clean up after breakfast and we went down to the showers (hand in hand) and never short of conversation.

Back at camp we jumped into Dod projects.  DJ asked me if I was going to replace the carpet in the cab area and when I said yes, she asked me if I could remove the old carpet right away (remember the pet odor). Fifteen minutes later the carpet was gone and she grabbed the cleaning supplies and began giving every surface in the cab a thorough cleaning.  So happy she came along!

I filled Dod's water tank and tested the systems.  Everything worked but with a few tiny leaks here and there. My guess is that the previous owner did not do the best job of winterizing and since Dod was stored above 6000' for several years a few small leaks are better than a lot of large ones.  The water heater was another story.  Heated the water great and the outlets delivered the hot water well but the leaks on the hot water heater were  too large to ignore.  We will get by with heating water on the stove for the rest of this trip.

This would be our last night at this campsite so we decided to drive over to the county park to see what it was like.  It was beautiful!  They have 96 sites and about 90 were available for the time period we wanted.  If I hadn't paid for two nights in advance at the state park, we would have moved right away.

I used "West Coast RV Camping" to choose an Idyllwild campground.  I chose the state park over the county park based on the Scenic Rating.  The book gave the state park an 8 and the county park a 6.  I think they got the ratings reversed at the county park easily has much better scenery and is more secluded.

Back at camp, DJ made lunch: ham and cheese sandwiches with chips and baked beans.  She only used one slice (thin) of ham and one slice of cheese.  When she asked me how they were, I said they were good but could use more meat and cheese.  She said  "Oh good!  My son complains when I use more than one slice because of the expense."  Small point but it's nice to be compatible.