Full of pictures and winsauce

Can I just say?  This whole PAX thing really brings out the best in us nerds.  Who would have thought that a love of video games and all things related would result in 16-hour days of meticulous blueprinting and industrious carpentry?

Well, as promised, we got in a very heavy work day on Sunday, with all four of us getting together (for the first time!) and putting in 64 combined hours (10am – 2am).  It always feels like we have less to show for it at the end of the day than we should, but frankly after our experience with the PAX East preparations, my expectations were recalibrated and I’m very impressed with what we got done.

Our target for Sunday was to get the bedroom torn apart, build the beds, and get them in.  In the last post, I showed the model for what we wanted to build, and that’s where we put most of our efforts.

Brandon, the only R2P newb, was a huge help as he’s actually got some woodworking experience.  He was also a shutterbug anytime he wasn’t actively assembling, so he deserves extra kudos for giving us so many photos.

Anyway there’s not much to talk about here, because quite honestly everything went pretty smoothly.  We had a really well-laid-out plan and we had already prepared all our components.  There were some tricky spots where we had to use tons of clamps to compensate for distortions in the wood, but we got through them and the finished product was as close to perfect as anything we’ve built yet.

At the beginning of the day, we talked about taking a break at some point to go for a quick test drive, so that Brandon could get a turn at the wheel, and so that we could look into getting a few components for the propane system.  About halfway through this project we realized we needed a screw length we didn’t have handy, so we decided we’d  use that as our cue to head into town.

Excursion complete, bed frames assembled, all that was left was to get to the awful task of ripping almost everything out of the RV’s bedroom to make room for our new creations.  Brandon and I volunteered to not do that (we cut the plywood for the top of the frames instead).  I’m such a good person.

In a perfect world, the story would end when the whole thing was done.  In ours, we cleaned up and quit at this point.  We’d been at it all day, every one of us was dead tired, and most of us had to work the next day.  However the end of the day need not be the end of the story – yesterday I went back out to Brian’s place to finish this up.  We finished cleaning the bedroom, got the frames in place, and set the newly-purchased mattresses on them.  Everything is comfy and, better yet, sturdy.

This was just what I needed to really get back into the swing of things.  We were left with so little time after we got the RV back, and I was really worried that we were going to have to just hope that most of the changes we wanted to make could wait.  I’m immeasurably relieved that we were able to get these beds in, and I’m proud that once again, we tackled the biggest hurdle in our way immediately.  I’m now confident that our second road2pax will be even better than the last, and that we’ll be able to handle whatever the trip throws at us.

Which is totally going to be a mountain range.  But hey, whatevs, right?

I mentioned, above, that our test drive to-do list included some components for the “propane system.”  Well, what I really meant was, we have a mothafuckin’ grill on our mothafuckin’ trailer hitch.

So, if you’re reading this and you’re in that lucky / dedicated / awesome group of folks who will be participating in the CCST… any requests?

Although this project comprised only a tiny portion of our time, it contributed disproportionately to our excitement.  Seriously, who doesn’t want to have a grill mounted to their vehicle?  This will drastically increase the quality of the meals that we’re able to quickly and easily make, both at the scheduled stops along the way and once we get to Seattle.  Two weeks would be a long time to live on microwaved meals and fast food, but if you can have a home-cooked burger with five minutes of work, well, life is good.  Also, yes, that is a Wash is my copilot license plate frame.

PAX is approaching almost too fast to fathom, and the time flies even faster when you keep as busy as we’ve been.  In fact our to-do list is probably the only thing preventing me from going stir-crazy waiting for Monday to roll around.  Before you know it, we’ll be on the road.  I hope you’re as excited as I am.