ODEL BEGINS A NEW PROJECT

Since we are going to be staying in this area for almost three months (YIPES!), we have time to work on those projects that are easiest to do when we are not on the road. Odel and I each have one.

I am going to take advantage of the free-to-us Drayson Fitness Center and my "lifetime membership" in Weight Watchers to lose 12 pounds. Odel is going to spruce up the exterior of Scoopy. My project is cheaper; his is easier. Today we worked on his project.

We both love Scoopy's lines and color scheme. Over the years we have traveled, we have been glad for her mostly-white body (it definitely absorbs less heat, which is a GOOD thing). From a distance, she looks great.

Up close is a different story. Now almost 7 years old, her stripes are fading, and it is causing Odel pain. When we were in this area (at the Escapee park in Aguanga) last year, we had her waxed, but soon realized that it was time to think about more serious maintenance.

Well, it's now a year later - we've done a lot of thinking, but not much action. Look at the fading on those stripes!

Today we visited a business that specializes in refurbishing and detailing RV's, to check out their work. Wow, were we impressed.

We saw motorhomes in several stages of the process, which involves stripping off the old stripes (they are made of vinyl) and the old adhesive, polishing everything up to a totally smooth surface, then applying the new vinyl strips and completely detailing the exterior of the rig. I think it was feeling that smooth, smooth, smooth surface that sold Odel - poor Scoopy hasn't felt that satin-y in a couple of years (neither have I, for that matter).

Odel is in full-blown planning mode now, hog-heaven. Here he is in the office of RV Stripes and Graphics, checking out Before and After photos and imagining color combinations.

We came home with great confidence in the company and their expertise, with three large color samples to compare to our current colors (we don't want to change the current color scheme much) and a book of smaller color swatches. I've never seen Odel so interested in redecorating before.

Part two of the project is to figure out where we're going to live for a week or two while we have the work done. They offered an onsite electrical hookup, but the business is right off The 215 (aka I-215)... lots of noise, an unavoidable freeway experience to drive to and from LLUMC and, the biggest obstacle of all: what about Luna? Strangers moving the rig around and putting the slides in and out, scary air compressor noises... no, it wouldn't do for Luna. :)

Fortunately, the area surrounding LLUMC is full of furnished short- and long-term lodgings catering to patients and their families, so Odel is going to look for accommodations suitable for a few weeks near the end of his treatment. By the end of January, we'll be driving off in a like-new rig with a freshly radiated prostate, ready for another 5 years on the road.