I don’t know if we are the only people who have ever gone to Memphis but not actually “gone” to Memphis, but we are definitely among them! We went there for a mini-reno in the camper, enticed by the proximity to IKEA, Home Depot, and Target. We are gonna camper-live like Jeannie!
The Memphis Jellystone is actually in Horn Lake, MS. The campgrounds were like a giant parking lot with grass between each space. It was neat and tidy, awesome showers and laundry facilities (as I expected from Jellystone). It def did not vibe like a Jellystone. Perhaps that was because we were there in off-season, I dunno. This place vibes like that town in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang where the Child Catcher had everyone hiding their kids in their houses. We saw five kids while we were there, none spoke. Three were on their campsite very briefly before going into their camper, two were with their mom doing laundry and then gone into their camper. Even the adults were quiet as mice; we only saw 4 people walking their dogs, but we heard more than that number of dogs. It was weird.
It was like a retirement neighborhood, replete with more rules than we have ever encountered at any campground. Children under the age of 13 are not allowed anywhere without their parents. The five other Jellystones we have been to are kid freedom zones – like stepping back in the 70s-80s with kids of about 8 and up (if not younger) riding bikes and scooters, running around and having fun without parent eyes on them at all times, the only nod to present day being walkie-talkies for parental communication not kid-to-kid communication. We picked Jellystone thinking the kids could ride their bikes/scooters, playground, hike the wooded trail (there have been wooded trails at every other Jellystone), or just hang out with each other and maybe other kids that were there *while we worked on the camper*. No. Not this Jellystone. Mini-reno will happen with the children on our campsite if not in the camper.
I am so not trying to sound like Negative Nelly, because it is a nice campground. It just doesn’t vibe like the other five Jellystones we know. The sites were nicely sized, the water hook-ups had anti-freezing insulation wrapped upon them. Although one day we were not allowed to use the rec room in the Comfort Station (which is one of the amenities that comes with the rental of a site), because the two person office was having a party for the office staff. That made math extra fun that day as it was the day the fridge came out of its nook so we could fix the furnace. Good times!
I feel like I’ve already written a novella and I haven’t even gotten to the mini-reno! Deep breath.
The projected started off with awesome energy and great success. We removed the couch and the dinette (along with the old mattress we put on the dinette as a trial for the project). That part went SO much better than we anticipated. It was fantastic. Chris toted it all to the nearby dump.
The next day, we picked up our order from IKEA. So exciting!! (Of course, we also had Swedish Meatball dinner in their cafeteria.) I put together the first frame. It looked great, but a bit bigger than I was expecting. I got a bit nervous. Chris tried to reassure me, but I was convinced I had screwed up big time and this was not going to work. It didn’t look right. I measured the space and said, but it should be fine. I put together half of the next frame. It was def not going to fit in the allotted space. At that point, I was kicking myself so hard. Just a shit storm of negative self-talk, it was so hard to stop it. But, I did. I deconstructed the frames and repackaged them and we took them back to IKEA the next day. I was so demoralized, but at least had stopped kicking myself mentally.
After repackaging the frames, I spent some time on the internet. I found exactly what I wanted to replace my ill-planned purchase. I ordered it and then we waited for two days. Two long days. Our budget didn’t include days in Memphis and splurging is not part of the plan⎯until the return leg when it won’t bite us in the ass. It wasn’t too bad. We did math, read books, watched a few movies, the kids got their instruments out and we did music for the first time in a while. Jack played his guitar outside on the picnic table and was very satisfied. Phoebe needs more time to adjust to her electric drum pads, but by the end of the lesson she was feeling very good. Twila played five songs on the bass that Chris and I didn’t even know she knew! They are all pretty amazing kids.
The Wayfair order arrived! I put it together. It was perfect. All we needed to do was modify the base to raise it 2.5″ and Bob’s our uncle (for real, he’s Chris’ uncle 😉). That was going to have to wait for the next day. We were all set to finish the project and leave as planned on Sunday. All we had to do was cut some 2×4 in 2.5″ lengths, paint ’em black, and then use L brackets to attached to the frame legs and then to the slide floor. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.
The furnace stopped working. O. M. G. Are you kidding me!?! Phoebe dropped her phone into the pond⎯it fell out of her hand as she was running around to the other side. What a sad day.
So, while Chris and I worked on the lift project, Tommy and Billy of Moses RV Repair went to work on the furnace. And Phoebe started saving money for a new used phone.
Since we purchased this camper, we’ve had an ongoing problem with the a/c sometimes working and sometimes not. We thought we’d resolved the issue the last time Chris replaced the thermostat and put in a new control board. But alas, like every other time, it was temporary. Based on what they were seeing and what we told them about our a/c history (never the furnace), the theory was that a wire had been sliced through somewhere in the wall…probably by a screw during manufacturing since the only screws in the walls were the ones that came with it. The bounce of driving is what makes it sometimes an issue, sometimes not…and probably what made it much worse to the point the furnace is now also in the mix. They were here for a few hours working to figure out a solution that didn’t involve us going home and putting the camper in the shop and paying through the nose. They were the nicest and most diligent guys. Billy came up with a plan, he’d have to come back the next day to put it into place.
In the meantime, while they were working the furnace problem, we successfully “I Dream of Jeannie”d our camper!! Whoohoo!! Hip hop hooray, ho, hey, ho, hey, ho, hey, ho!!
We now have two twin beds, with clearance underneath for more and more easily accessible storage than before, in our slide out. (And it’s lighter than what was already there.) We can all comfortably sit together and we can all comfortably use tables together in the same space at the same time!! We could not do that before. I found some fantastic folding tables that store under the first bed, easy in/out and opened/closed, that enable this. We can also use the tables elsewhere. If the kids are doing desk work and Chris needs to have some separation to work or have a meeting, he can take a desk back to the bunk and sit on Phoebe’s bed/couch while the kids and I are in the main space. If we want more space during meal prep, table up! It is working like a charm. I hope the honeymoon period never ends!
The next day, Billy came back and fixed the furnace! We had to take the fridge out and run a new wire from the ceiling unit where the control board wires sit to run the a/c and furnace run from the thermostat. Billy and Chris fished the wires through the ceiling from above the fridge and then through the wall from underneath where there is an access panel and then up to the thermostat. It took a while. And the kids did math through it back in the bunk. Talk about distracting
In the end, my screw up cost us two days of down time, that we needed, and put us in the right place at the right time to have Tommy and Billy fix the furnace, and we ended up with much lighter bed frames. Sometimes things work out better through errors than they would without them.
We left the Memphis area for Hot Springs, AR two days later than intended and with a few minor things undone. We need to hang the bathroom mirror and we won’t pick up the linens to make our “I Dream of Jeannie” be Maryland style. I cannot wait to see the final fabulous look!! It will be at the Post Office for us when we get to the Tulsa, OK area.
What a long essay! What a long week!