Transition week two: Grants Pass

Our week in Grants Pass was similar to Seattle, with Kevin and I plugging away at work projects we needed to wrap up before leaving, but for the kids it was a much more fun situation—grandparents! They were entirely spoiled, of course, with pie, cable, board games, and cuddles. We’d planned a lot more adventures for our time there, but the forest fires nixed all of those plans. Stepping outside, it was a very fine line between saying that you’d literally or figuratively stepped into a furnace. (Ok, still a metaphor, but I wouldn’t have given an eye roll to anyone that did utter the phrase). It was hot, and at times you couldn’t see 100ft for the smoke. Cue the N95 masks, and water-soaked bandanas. In those moments when the smoke cleared a bit the kids ran out of the house as fast as they could to get on the zip line or ATVs.

We also had time to stock up on the things we needed for the RV, like leveling blocks, random hoses (still claiming ignorance there until it’s absolutely necessary to learn), and more Command hooks than I though one family could possibly need to purchase. We also had time to realize that an important modification was necessary for our sanity in the RV—more curtains. The front queen bed has curtains, but the back bunks didn’t. Surprisingly, the light from a 13 year-old reading really bugs the 9 and 11 year-olds. Also, anyone making eye contact from across the bunk could lead to giggles or complaints. Sometimes shrieking.

Armed with our masks and Jo-Ann coupons we hit the fabric store, and let the kids pick out what they wanted. I made a neutral color curtain for the entry way, so that they could have privacy changing (and not hog the one bathroom to do so). The end result with all of the curtains up reminds me of either a train car bunk or Tokyo mini-apartment cubby. They do like retreating into their own spaces now, and it’s nice to have lights on in the main part of the RV without keeping anyone awake. Also, if it’s messy back there I can ignore it.