It was time for the ol’ dinette set to go…

April, 2023. After a layoff, a sickness (our whole household got the “C” during the latter part of 2022), and days which turned into weeks which turned into a few months of heavy rain (very uncharacteristic for Southern California), I had had enough. I geared up in rain jacket and work gloves, braved another chilly downpour, and made my way across my parents’ backyard to the RV.

Let the demo-ing begin! I announced to no one as I swung open the door to Winnie-the-Pugh’s inner sanctuary. I was greeted by the pungent odor of damp hay. Admittedly, over the last season, our trusty steed had been turned into a storage unit. Piles of my “extra stuff” (it’s amazing how it all accumulates) and cardboard boxes of Timothy hay filled the couch, the sleeping area overhead and, of course, the top of that darn dinette which was soon to be no more.

It was then that I realized I had a looooong way to go before this ship on wheels was ever going to set sail again.

What’s more, I didn’t have a clue on how to get started with such an overwhelming project like gutting and remodeling an old RV. I mean, I can power through a 4,000 word article like it’s nobody’s business, but use a power tool? I can plug one in and that’s about it.

After poking around a bit, I finally settled down to the BIG QUESTION – what the heck was I going to do with this dinette set that literally took up the entire left side of the RV?

I mean, if I took it out, then what would I replace it with? Or do I just go back to eating my dinner on the floor like in my college days? Who needs a dining table in an RV anyways?

In the end, I determined that, actually, I do. Something about being on the other side of 50 just makes me balk at perpetual floor-level dining.

So, without structure, rhyme, or reason, that day I started the painful job of taking that ol’ dinette set apart bit by bit. Despite stripped screws and weeding through thirty years of grime, I have to admit that hauling that monstrosity out of there was pretty satisfying.

Wanna let off a little steam? Try old RV remodeling. Works every time!

Anyhow, my experience with removing the dinette set in Winnie the Pugh was a lesson in trial and error. I spent a lot of time saying things like “Oops, now what do I do with this?”

Eventually (I think because he was tired of me borrowing his tools without knowing how to use them) my retired-carpenter father got into the act too! You’ll see at least his hands and feet in some of the videos coming soon.

In the end, what was created was absolutely perfect and just right for a middle aged writer and her feisty shotgun-riding bunny. We’ll get to the final product (and also our “maiden voyage” in May and June 2023) in the coming weeks as well.

In this blog, however, I give homage to a dinette set whose time has come -and gone. I hope you enjoy it and maybe even learn a little something to boot.

If you did, or if you find this blog and it’s accompanying vid not helpful at all but at least mildly entertaining, be sure to leave me a note in the comment below. I would love to hear from you!

See you on the road,

Nikki P, aka The Gentle Healthy Traveler

(and Ms D, the first ever health coaching, traveling bunny)