Saturday, May 18, 2013, Adley's graduation, Murfreesboro, TN

We went to our niece's High School graduation in Murfreesboro, TN. It seemed like she went from being a little girl to a young woman in a flash. We are very proud of her.

Thursday, May 16, 2013, Fall Creek Falls, TN

We had originally planned to camp at Fall Creek Falls, TN, but ran out of time, so we did the next best thing - we drove over for the day. It was only about 90 miles so not a bad trip. Fall Creek Falls has got to be one of the prettiest falls anywhere. Recent rains meant decent flow in the creek and an exceptionally pretty view!

Cane Creek Cascades was really pretty as well. I remember swimming in the cascades many years ago, but I think there was enough water to wash me downstream today.

I went on the swinging bridge. It looked exactly the same as it did 40 years ago. It might have been swinging a bit more under the increased load.

Just as we wondered what kind of wildlife might be around out jumped a deer who posed for us.

We finished our park tour with Piney Creek Falls and the Piney Creek gorge. I don't think we could have had any better weather.

The tree in the picture below is on "Buzzard's Roost." Walking out to it required stepping across a gap in the rock. I could not see the bottom of the gap. The cracked stone someone had cemented in place over the gap looked a bit precarious, but we ventured on.

Wednesday, May 15, 2013, Finished the Floor, Lebanon, TN

Joani finished the grouting!

Wow! If we had known how much work the floor would be we might not have done it, which would have been too bad because we really love the floor now that it's done.

Saturday, May 11, 2013, Move to Lebanon, TN

We drove to Tennessee for the first leg of our real full-time travels. Stopped at Countryside Campground Resort in Lebanon, TN (241.6 miles/ 59,722.7). It was a very nice park with lots of rolling hills around.

I probably shouldn't include this since it might make us look a bit flaky, but after spending three months creating our to-do list and things to pick-up list we actually left home without remembering to check it one last time (luckily, we didn't forget anything.)

Mom didn't have much in the way of a work list. Put up a ceiling fan in the spare bedroom. My brother, Doug, made an aluminum panel for our stairwell. It fit perfectly and looked great even without polishing. (Thanks again, Doug!)

Friday, May 03, through Thursday, May 09, 2013, Week five of the floor renovation, Cumming, GA

Week five of the floor renovation:

That's right - the last piece of tile!

With all of the tile in place, Joani started the grout under the furniture first so we could get it back in place. We rationalized that all of the grout did not need to be finished before leaving, so we focused on getting everything else packed for the road and set our departure date for Saturday. 

We've been saying goodbye to friends for weeks, today it was Sam's turn. Sugar came by to romp.

Friday, Apr 26 through Thursday, May 02, 2013, Week four of the floor renovation, Cumming, GA

Week four of the floor renovation:

Finally, the actual tiling begins. Placement of the first tile is critical, but Joani has an eye for those things so, of course, she got it just right.

Maybe half of the tiles required no cutting at all and another 40 percent of the tiles only needed one straight cut, but every now and then the cut was a bit more complicated. Good thing the tiles could be cut with a nice sharp utility knife.

Above the stairwell was an improvised panel made with the hardwood flooring so it needed a makeover. We decided to combine the tile we used for the counter backsplash and the wood we used in the ceiling A/C vent. When it gets finished it will pull things together to make it look like we had a master plan from the beginning. 

Friday, Apr 19 through Thursday, Apr 25, 2013, Week three of the floor renovation, Cumming, GA

Week three of the floor renovation:

Had folks over on Friday, so no work on the coach.  

Saturday's excuse for no work on the coach was simply - we were tired of working on it - so we took the day off!  

Sunday we made sure the sub-floor was fitting exactly as we wanted and attached it with screws. Wanting to make sure it didn't shift as we travel, we used two pounds of 3/4 inch fine thread screws. I don't know how many that was, but I don't think there are many places that don't have a screw every 6 inches. It certainly felt solid. Joani worked for a few days making sure the screws were flush and any gaps were filled.  

I spent time on basement organization. I rationalized that since I had never used them I would not miss the Joey beds. Removing them easily reduced the coach load by 250 pounds and it gave me the clearance to store my telescope in the basement. With all of the additional cargo I loaded, I am sure I probably have a net increase in weight, but we have a lot more of our "stuff" with us.  

We watched a you-tube video by the RVGeeks on replacing fluorescent lamps with LEDs. It was very straightforward, so Joani ordered LEDs on a roll and we tried it.  

It worked out extremely well and was much cheaper than I had expected. Clearly, I was side-tracked from the flooring project, but it's all good stuff to get done.

Rain on Wednesday delayed us a bit so the primer was not finished until Thursday bringing to a close week three of our little project.