Scamp

I got a call from my mother yesterday.

"You're not going to believe this."

"Did the dryer quit working?"

"No, the washer.  It filled up with water but won't drain."

I told her I would come over and get her sheets and bring them back to my house and launder them.  But first, I got on YouTube to see how you fix a washing machine.  Luckily, I found one about the same model my mother has.

When I got to her house, I looked at the washer.  It had drained.  Good.  I was ready to unhook it from the water and electricity and pull it into her driveway.  Then I noticed a wrench sitting on the washer under the lid.

"Why is this here?"

My mother hadn't seen it.  I said, "Let's put the washer through a quick cycle and see what happens."  While we were waiting, I took a four mile walk.

When I got back, my mother's neighbor was there sitting in my socially distanced chair.  The washing machine was running.

"Has this not gone through the cycle yet?"

"Yes.  It worked!"

She was rewashing her sheets.

Big Balls in Cowtown, friends.  My mother was ready to buy a new washer.  But I was ready to take off the back and go to town.

I came home and showered, ate lunch, and got ready to go to the grocery store.  I put on my mask, got my hand sanitizer, and headed in.  To my dismay, many of the store's shelves were empty.  Seems that people are stocking up for the hurricane season.  Canned goods and pasta were at a premium.

When I got home, I put away the groceries and thought what to do next.  I didn't want to sit on the couch, so I grabbed two beers and called my mother.

"I got you something.  I'm coming over."

I was giving her some of the things I got that were BOGO.

When the beer was gone, so was I.  Home, I fed the feral cat and prepped dinner.  Minute steaks and sliced red potatoes salted and peppered (red and black), oiled and wrapped in aluminum foil for the grill.  A can of baked beans for the stove.

I opened a bottle of Freakshow Cab and looked for small campers on YouTube.  I had seen a teeny one on my walk earlier and my curiosity was piqued.

Oh, my, people. I have a new obsession.  The Scamp 13 (link).  It is a tiny, ugly, fiberglass camper made in Minnesota.  You can buy them new with your own layout design for around $11,000, but I found several used for under $3,000.  I wrote to the owners of the ones near me, but I have not heard back.

There are other small campers.  One of the best, of course, is the Airstream Basecamp (link), but as you can see, it is also one of the most expensive.  Even more expensive, however and surprisingly, is their new fiberglass Nest (link).  It was this, though, that convinced me that fiberglass is the way to go.  It is light and durable.  Weight is a key factor.  The Scamp weighs a mere 1,100 pounds which means you can tow it with almost any car.  And at 13 feet, it is easier than towing a boat.

I don't need much.  For awhile, I thought about simply sleeping in my Xterra.  But this thing is driving me wild.  I want to get out this summer, and this looks like a cheap way to see the sights and sites.  It has a bathroom, for heaven's sake.  I can stay in Walmart parking lots if I need to, all across the country.

I've thought of what a great coffee table book I can make in Walmart parking lots and my little Scamp.

If I can't find a used one, I may just buy one new.  I tell you, I'm obsessed.

So while I cooked and while I ate and after I had cleaned up, I watched camper trailer videos.  I am psyched.  I am really, really ready.  I can socially distance and travel.  I would need to have no more contact with people than I do now, but I can see things.  I can see the buttes and canyons and arroyos of the west, the cornfields and parries of the midwest, the mill towns of the Great Lakes.  I can stay on the great Pacific Coast Highway in the west and the great Capes of the east, and all with conveniences like electricity, showers, and a kitchen.  Holy smokes, I say, why doesn't everyone have one?

O.K., kids.  I want to get the day started.  I felt better yesterday being on the move and staying busy.  Sitting in the house and moping is no good.  And while the prediction of increased Covid-19 cases with increasing crowds has come true (a spike in new cases this week), I can get out of the house without getting close to people.  Besides, I think I have it.  I think this article is talking about me (link).  I never have two good days in a row.

But I have a mission now--the little Scamp 13.  Of course, if I get one, the roads will close or the gas will run out.  If that happens, though, I will put my money back in the stock market and bring the entire country down.