135.9/10 Our Eleven Room Mansion

Our Home Away from Home

Some wonder how Jean and I manage for such a long period in such a small house; after all, though Jean is rather petite, I am rather gargantuan. At a first glance such close proximity for 161 days (23 weeks) seems impossible, especially when you consider the places we have been that discourage enjoying the great outdoors: very hot and humid jungle weather, flies and hornets wanting a share of our food, mosquitoes that want to make us their food, cold wind and rain that dampen your enthusiasm, etc. It is more than just the fact we have been “keeping company” since 1945 and, shall I say, been in close contact for over 59 years.

The Mystery Is Exposed

The simple fact is: the Dream Machine is larger on the inside than it is on the outside! “How can that be?” you ask incredulously. It’s all a matter of dimensions. I will try to explain it in terms any 6 year old (computer whiz) could understand.

Consider an ordinary box: if you were a member of the “Flatlanders” race who know only two dimensions, you would only see a rectangle. And you would be amazed at all the goodies that can be put into that rectangle as the box is filled with Black Forest cakes, Mrs. Fields Chocolate Chip cookies, and half gallons of Hagen Däz Triple Chocolate ice cream. (I’m sorry, my mind wandered a bite.)

I know you are jumping ahead of me in this logical argument: we “Solids” (some more than others) know only three dimensions and so see the box that can just hold 12 half gallons of Hagen Däz Triple Chocolate ice cream on the bottom layer, 6 dozen Mrs. Fields Chocolate Chip cookies in the middle layer, and 6 Black Forest cakes on the top layer as full. We think it’s a magic trick when someone comes along and adds 48 Big Mac hamburgers and an equal number of large fries without disturbing the original contents. Welcome to the fourth dimension!

I am sure you all are familiar with the British science programme that features the Time Lord, Dr. Who. Well, Dr. Who’s main conveyance is a Tardis: on the outside it looks like a 30” by 30” by 6’ blue English police box (like one of our formerly ubiquitous phone booths), but as you enter the door you find a large control room about 30’ by 30’ by 20’ high and when you go down the stairs you find all the other necessary rooms needed to travel through space and time. Normally there are just three people traveling together, but on occasion, there have been hundreds.

The Exterior

The Dream Machine embodies the
mysteries of the fourth dimension.
In origin, it is a 1995 Winnebago Rialta.

Now that you understand and are a believer, I will introduce you, illustrated by real photographs, to our little Dream Machine. I won’t go into much detail about the exterior as most people have little trouble understanding that part. The vehicle is 20’–6” long by 7’–4” wide by 8’–3” high to the top of the air conditioner and weighs about 7,000 lb. It is built by Winnebago Ind. on a Volkswagen chassis and powered by a 2.5 liter, fuel injected, five cylinder Audi-Volkswagen gasoline engine. Normally we expect a range of 300 miles at from 15 to 17 miles per gallon, depending on conditions.

Standard equipment includes the afore mentioned 110 V air conditioner, a 2.5 KW generator, microwave, hot water heater, TV antenna, 1.1 cu ft refrigerator, built-in tanks to hold propane, a week’s worth of fresh water, gray water and black water, a large RV type battery, to which I have added two more making a total of three house batteries. It is painted white with purple decals and has a low streamlined, rounded shape.

The Interior

As you step into the high-ceilinged Entryway, you confronted with several directions in which to turn. We will start by entering the left-hand wing (toward the rear).

The small Workbench provides
a convenient place
to lay out camera equipment.

First you find yourself at a small, well lighted, both by natural light and a fluorescent fixture, Workshop where I work on cameras and other equipment while seated comfortably.

The Research Area is a convenient place
to lay out maps, brochures, and the like.

Next, especially when the recreation and office room is busy, I study manuals and guide books, etc. in the Research & Study Area which is conveniently located within reach of the library and reference shelves.

The Bedroom with its linen storage
is inviting after a hard day of play.

That leads us to one of the more important rooms in the house: the decorously softly lit Bedroom with its picture window and convenient adjacent wardrobe and dressing area, contains a full-size bed with a sumptuous, thick, comfortable mattress with a 2” deep pillow top add-on and royal red and gold bedspread. It also has a reading light for pursuing that novel you can’t wait to finish.

Our mini Meditation Center
provides us with a corner
where we can pray, read, & meditate together.

We have created a Meditation Center that includes a shelf of spiritual reading books to add to the reference books found on rear shelves (larger books, maps, and other stationary supplies are in the main storage area). Note the convenient thermostat for the gas furnace.

This Pantry Closet holds some of the larger items
such as bread and juices.
Fresh fruit and smaller canned goods
are found in auxiliary pantry drawers in the kitchen.

Finally this wing contains a convenient Pantry Closet and bread store only a few steps from the kitchen. The pantry was reincarnated from the manufacture’s original equipment shirt closet. (Our regular clothes closet is big enough to hold all our hang-up clothes, shoes, including hiking boots, all the camera equipment, and spare medicines and toiletries plus a laundry bin below.)

For complete privacy or for taking a shower,
the Bathroom walls slide forward to double its size.
When not in use, the large basin tips up.

Returning to the Entryway, we find a convenient Bathroom with all the usual amenities: medicine cabinet with mirror, large basin, counter top, toilet, and a hand shower with a sunken floor. Hot water is provided by the water heater that is heated either by the engine when driving or 110V electricity.

The convenient Kitchen
provides us with 80 to 90% of our meals.

Back at the Entryway, we now turn toward the right-hand wing (forward end). The first thing we notice is the high ceilinged skylighted Atrium in the middle of several rooms. On our left is an efficient Kitchen with a two burner stove, sink, counter space, refrigerator, auxiliary pantry, and two open trays for fresh fruit, wine, etc. There is also a dish cupboard, silverware drawer, and dry goods cupboard; the microwave cupboard has been morphed into a pots and pan cupboard.

The large Dining Room table allows plenty of room
for the simple meals we prefer.
The Engine Room contains the usual driving equipment,
music system, our GPS Navigator, Millie, etc

Straight ahead is the spare chair for a guest who might visit and beyond that is the curtained-off Engine Room from which the vehicle is driven.

On your right from the Atrium area is the highly appreciated and convenient Dining Room. Because we often camp far from towns in Forest Service campgrounds, we often use canned or dehydrated foods. Since we have only three chairs, the large formica topped table can only be used by three people at time. We very seldom eat out because at every thing is so convenient, although traditionally, we enjoy KFC chicken on Saturday nights.

We spend a lot of time in the Recreation Room & Office.

When chores are done we retire to our Recreation Room and Office, where I might indulge in watching a movie on my laptop or Jean may accept the challenge of a jigsaw puzzle. We may read or compose serious blogs. Jean can satisfy her curiosity by identifying the flowers (taxonomic determination) seen and photographed that day, or I might work on creating a masterpiece from a vista photographed that day.

Did I mention that most rooms in the house are very conveniently located only a few steps from each other. The home is so spacious that we seem to be able to keep out of one another's hair most of the time; though with so many rooms it is tiring just to think of going from one end to the other end of the house.

And so, you have seen our little Home Away from Home.