Function trumps Aesthetics

I have had several ask about what the inside of the Old Girl looks like. After my Tobacco Road post , the requests multiplied.  I guess my quips about a couch on the front porch and a car on blocks made them think maybe the interior of my RV looked like a bad episode of Hoarders.  So this is my tell all.  I will preface it by saying I am not a neat freak but I do like everything in its’ place where I can find it.  Sometimes when the GF and Ranger, the Wonder Dog come to visit, I feel like I need one of those PODS things delivered so I can store all of my stuff out of the way for their visit.

Because of the magic of the Internet I can give you a photo tour of the innards of the Fish Bus.

The forward view of the Old Girl

Looking forward,  The Buddy Heater is busy keeping me warm. The cooler in the front aisle is an 12v electric cooler which is handy for cold beverages, it manages to keep a Miller Lite just about right.  I can’t use it  hardcore boondocking  because it is a power hungry rascal.  And of course, just to the right in the pic is the dinette where all the thinking happens.

The other side of the Dinette with essentials at hand

The off side of the Dinette serves as storage for essential items.  The OGIO backpack AKA Man Purse ready to be loaded with a change of drawers and socks at a moment’s notice. Other Man Purse essentials close at hand  — a carton of Marlboro Lights and a Colt Government Model.  Notice how my gun leather is mis-matched; one tan and one black?   Function folks, aesthetics be damned .  I always have a stack of hardback books on hand.   Those electronic readers don’t do much for me.

The Old Girl's Door

The  door of the Old Girl is a busy place.  Leather gloves peaking out from under the chair and another pair in the chair seat  – not namby-pamby effete thin lambskin gloves- no sir, big ol’ thick cowhide gloves that allow you to grab barb wire fences with impunity!  A 1952 Ithaca Model 37 12 gauge and a bandoleer of Ithaca food.   2 pairs of work  boots; the black boots are old and worn out and serve as “mud” boots now.  The tan Red Wings are the “good” boots but they actually look pretty muddy too.  I am glad they are different colors so I can tell them apart.

The coat locker.

Working outside, you have to have an assortment of coats and vests and insulated coveralls with names like Carhartt and Dickies.   Notice the Stack O’ Hats and the Stack O’ Coveralls all neatly arranged because I knew we were having company.  In the warm weather, these goods are stowed under the sofa.  I love the warm weather because this area is then transformed into my  trendy Media Room.  You don’t need a big screen when you are sitting that close so it works out nice.

Looking toward the rear of the Dolphin 32d

Old school recreational vehicle living.  No slides, marble floors or mirrored ceilings.  Just 200 sq ft +/- of utility space.  The shower is on the left and the WC on the right.

Fish Bus bedroom

Warm flannel sheets and a thick down comforter for those cold boondocking nights when the heat is minimal.  The quilt was handmade by my Mom back in the 70’s for the sleeper cab on my 18 wheeler.  I have used it ever since.  It is getting sorta tatty with age but I will use it until the last patchwork square deteriorates and blows away in a puff of cotton dust.

On that warm fuzzy, we will end the tour of the Old Girl.  Watch your step on the way out, the mud porch is pretty slick from the rain.

End Note: Tonight from the  Zune files we have a double header:

Brimstone Rock by 16 Horsepower from the Low Estate album

Let There Be Rock by the Drive-By Truckers from the Southern Rock Opera album

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