Unvieling, Project "X"--- the Camp Cruiser!!!

So back at our camping trip over Memorial Day weekend with other friends from church, we were sitting around the campfire watching the seasonal campers pass back and forth on their golf carts, mixed amongst the kids riding their bikes.  Got me thinking, wouldn't it be  ol to have a Surrey bike to ride at the campground?  Or maybe some other type of two person bike that we can each ride around to the main store and back or just for fun?

Got out my Nexus Tablet and started searching.  Nothing found within my price range, even a used Surrey can be $1400 bucks even if it is damaged and needs repair.  A few days later while surfing the web some more, I came across the American Speedster webpage.  Here is a guy that has got to have an engineering background and to much time on his hands, but I give him very much credit, as it is a cool project and he has put a lot of time and effort into the design.  (And, as I built it below, I became more impressed with the thought, planning, and execution of the design and parts.)  I went ahead and ordered the plan packet which arrived a few days later.

The Sidekick is a two person pedal bike made out of 1 1/4 Schedule 40 PVC pipe,.... Yes, PVC.  It is an engineers dream project.  So, after studying the plans a bit, I decided to build a topless model for easier storage and transport.  This way we don't have to take off the top and store in the van with all the other luggage.  So, enough quick background, lets show off the fun,.... Frustration,.... And creativeness we had!!

Frame, Glued and Assembled, being cleaned for Painting

Paint Complete!  Masking removed for Stripes!

Rally Stripes look

Almost done!  Needs final adjustment, Woodwork, and Lights!

After the first round of road tests, we had a problem.  The front sprocket and the pedal shaft would slip.  These are to be held tight using an allen key set screw into a dimple in the shaft, but under load, this was slipping out of the dimple and we would lose our drive power.  So, I had to Flintstone my way back to the house one night and come up with a solution.

Cleaned and Prep'd

I ended up removing the sprocket, and drilling out the dimple in the shaft to make it a deeper penetration into the peddle shaft.  While I had the sprocket removed I cleaned off the paint using my dremel tool and prepared it for welding.  Yes, no messing around now.

3/16" weld provides 2,400 lbs of shear force per inch, so we shouldn't lose our drive power now!  HAHA! 

Welded that sucker on!

We also have to adjust the brakes and shifting cables.  Since they are new, they will settle in and stretch a bit now that we have them installed and seated into the connections.  A few good pulls on the handles and a few zip ties to secure the lines to the frame so they don't move, and we'll be in better shape.  The shifter needed some adjustment on the upper and lower stop screws, as in first gear it sounded like it would want to skip off every once in a while.  The brakes and brake pads are always a pain to get aligned properly on a bike, and this one is being no different.  They needed to be aligned better for stronger braking action and better brake pad wear.

The final touches include the wood slats for the rear basket area and a wood bumper.  I chose red oak for all the wood on the bike because it is a nice durable hardwood that looks great with just a Urethane clear coat to bring out the natural color.  No staining needed.  Of course, a chrome 'Limited Edition' placard adds a nice touch.

2013 - Trip 6 - Assateague Island State Park, Maryland

So,.. Monday we drove back from Frontier Town Maryland, I crammed in 5 days of work into 3,.. and here we are loading the van and hitching the camper again to head to Assateague Island State Park on Friday!!  This is great!

One of the many Ponies we would encounter this weekend!

We arrived to the H-Loop, the only loop with electric hookup.  We were able to fill our on-board water tank so we could do dishes and have water in the camper by using our 12V water pump.  We were surrounded on this loop by larger travel trailers, 5th wheel campers, and motor homes, but everyone was very friendly and outgoing.  The girls quick made friends with the one girl across the drive and they were running around and riding their bikes / scooters all the time together.

The girls and their campground friends

This weekend was more about just relaxing and enjoying the beach.  Last weekend we had the hustle and bustle of going to Ocean City, doing activities at Frontier Town, and while that was all very fun, it is nice to just sit on the chair and relax.  So, this post will have a series of photos from the trip, and less chat.... at least till the exciting parts of the weekend!

Madie running on the open beach

Clean, Open, and Empty!

A spectacular sight!

The 'Busy' Beach on Saturday!

Girls being silly

One of my creations

This one was more useful!

Ally Cruising the Campground on her Scooter

Saturday evening was a nice, nearly perfect evening to be out relaxing in the chair watching the kids ride their scooters and bikes on the driveway.  There was a very light breeze and no bugs!  They rode around with their friends for a while as the sun set, and then we began to prepare to have a camp fire and smores.

Saturday Evening Sunset

Jeff and Maria came over to our site as well to enjoy the campfire and relax.  Jeff was playing the piano on his Ipad, keeping us entertained with his abilities.  All the girls were making smores by the fire and enjoying our last evening there.  In the photo below, you can see everyone having a good time, but take note of my empty chair, the smore sticks, and you can just see the corner of the Marshmallow bag sitting there.

Enjoying the campfire, Note Smore Sticks and Marshmallows next to Becky!

I was up taking photos, and then I went over to the left of the group to get something to drink out of the cooler.  Keep in mind, it is really dark our here at 10 pm, with just the glow of the fire lighting up the area and our small porch light giving a glow near the camper.  I was at the picnic table when I thought the light went out, so I looked to my right and Whoa!! A Horse!  This guy was right under our awnig and on our carpet,.... I think we kind of spooked one another as he turned and walked towards the group.  Becky, with Madie now sleeping in her arms, jumped out of her chair and ran around the other side of the fire, frightening Madie and sending her crying.  The horse didn't care, and he went right to the food and took our bag of Jet-Puffed Marshmallows!!!  The WHOLE BAG!!

That Horse took our Marshmallows!!!! (Click to view larger)

Within a few moments, he shredded the bag and ate everything!  Then he continued to walk over towards our chairs and the fire.  Becky and the kids were now inside the camper, while Jeff was clapping a folding chair together trying to shoosh the pony away.  Maria and I were just taking photos, as we couldn't believe it!  After a few minutes, he wandered away as we watched him till our flashlights couldn't see him anymore.

What Excitement!!  But he wasn't done.  About 2:30am, the camper started rocking!  Bella awoke and yelled 'HORSE!'.  We peeked out the screen to see that the horse was walking around our camper.  He must have had an itch and chose to scratch right on the end of the bunk end.  The sky was now clear, and the ground lit well by the bright moon,... so I was on Horse Patrol for about 30 minutes, keeping an eye on this character as he wondered about outside between our camper and the neighbors.

Horse Hair Evidence at the Bunk End

Sunday morning Sunrise over the beach

Sunday morning was a nice cool morning with the salty dew running off the camper and the van.  I packed up what I could while the girls walked the beach with Becky in their pajamas,.. yes, pajamas!  It was very early and we were able to enjoy the quiet surf rolling onto the sand.

It wasn't long till the Conga Line at the dump station was forming, so I gathered our porta-potti and gray-water tanks and headed off to do the dance.  Once back, it was now full on packing up while the kids rode their bikes.  By 10 am we were just about completed and ready to get on the road for the journey back home.

"Hey, I'm Mr. Ed,... Good Morning Mr Tent Camper!"

Our overall experience was fantastic!  And meeting new people that are friendly at these new campgrounds makes it all the more worth it.  The state is scheduled to shut down some of the campground loops this fall and into next spring in order to complete some renovations to the loops and renovate the bath houses.  We looked online and were able to reserve a site for next July, Sunday to Thursday!  We can still go to Ocean City, Frontier Town, and do many things, but most of all, we can be here on the clean and empty beaches of Assateague Island with friends!

2013 - Trip 5 - Frontier Town Campground, Maryland

Wahoo!  After some crazy days at work, we were off to Frontier Town, located just south of Ocean City Maryland.  We have heard a lot of fun and great things about this campground from various people at church and other campers that we have talked with through our trips the past few months.  We were able to book Thursday thru Monday, so this way we were hoping to avoid any traffic jams on Friday and Sunday.  This turned out to be a very good decision, as the traffic was light and we could just tow along at our own pace.

Shortly after lunch, we paired up with some other campers heading down Rt 113.  Seeing that the one was a Jayco, we thought it might be Jeff and Maria from the PopupPortal forums, as they were supposed to be in Assateague Island this weekend.  At a stop light, we found it wasn't them, but a kind man with his son and daughter, also heading to Frontier Town.  We then followed them the rest of the trip.

Obligatory Campsite Photo

Arrival and check in went great!  We did the Pony-Express service where we completed checkin over the phone the day before.  This allowed them to have a camper package for us as we arrived at the entry gate, we didn't even have to get out of our car.  They gave us a car pass, map, explained the route to the campsite, and sent us on our way!  Smooth.

Our site was nice and of decent size.  We did have a few trees, but as you can see in the photo above, they weren't much for providing shade.  Good thing we have the Popup Gizmo Solar covers.  Thursday was hot and humid, with little breeze.  We ended up running the AC on low thru the night as the temps outside were still in the 80s'.  Next to us was another family in their popup from Ephrata, PA, and a travel trailer pulled in behind us from Cape May, NJ.  Everyone was settling in for the weekend.

Friday morning came early and the weather was looking great to head up to the beach.  Gary and Mary were in town and told us of some cheap and easy to access parking at the Inlet, the south end of Ocean City.  We arrived about 8:15am there and there were only about 5 other cars in the parking lot.  Sweet!  The beach was empty and the cool breeze felt really nice coming in off the ocean.  It would be great at the camp if we could have that breeze..... but not today.  Temps up in the mid 90's again and humid at Frontier Town.

The girls played in the sand and went for walks on the beach with Becky and Mary, as Gary and I chatted about airplanes and flying while keeping our feet cool in the surf.  Madie had a good time playing in the sand and was doing well for her first time at the beach and near the waves.  After a while, she would go into the water only when the wave was going out and then quick run back as the next wave came towards the shore.  Cute!

Madie and Bella on the Beach

Getting Dumped on at the Lazy River Waterfall!!!

After a while, the beach became pretty crowded and it was also getting quite hot.  The girls were getting a little antsy and soon would be getting hungry, so we all packed up and headed up to Gary and Mary's camper just north of Ocean City.  They have a nice community park and their camper is quite nice too!  We all enjoyed playing with their new puppy, Ziva, who won't be a puppy much longer judging by the size of her paws!  After a little pizza, we decided to let them have their afternoon and we headed back to Frontier Town to let the kids relax a bit.  After dinner, we would make our way up to the Ocean City board walk to have a walk on the boards, funnel cake, and find some ice cream!

One thing about Frontier Town, it is HUGE.  Many people ride their bikes around and have golf carts.  We found out that you can rent the golf carts for a daily rate, but you have to book in advance or check daily.  With so many campers coming and going throughout the week, they often get one available.  So, with luck, we managed to book one for Friday Afternoon to Monday morning.  This made cruising around the campground, running to the camp store, bathhouse, pool, or activities so much easier and cool,.. not just cool, but temperature cool.  With the heat and humidity you could get a shower and sweat so much by the time you walked back to the camper it wasn't worth it, now it wasn't so bad.  The girls also liked cruising around too!

In Frontier Town's Wild West!

Saturday was a day full of activities at the campground.  In the morning we had a good breakfast and then prepared to spend time at the water park.  It fills up quickly, so we wanted to be up there by 10am when they opened.  Once ready, we hopped on the golf cart and made our way to the front of the park.  Ally and Bella were tall enough to go on the slides.  They had the mat slides (shown below) and one that you could take the inner tubes on and enter the Lazy River that way.  At first, Bella was her timid self, but after the first run she was having a good time and I think this will help open her up to going on more adventurous slides at Knoebels later this August.

In the middle of the water park was a large pool area for the younger kids.  This had a stage coach they could climb into and slide out of into the water, and the water itself was all only 1'-6" deep.  We are pretty sure that the entire park was a salt-water setup which made it even nicer.

Madie really enjoyed the smaller slides and playing with the water fountains that shot up out of the ground.  The temps were hot, but being in and around the water made everything nice and comfortable.  By the time it was getting crowded again at the water park, the kids were getting tired and hungry.  Since the water park is included in our nightly fee, we could come and go as we pleased and decided to head back to rest for the afternoon as the girls had craft time and the Cinderella Ball later this evening!

Making Magic Wands at Craft time

All my Princesses getting ready to go to the Ball!

I was the Chou-fer for the trip, with our luxurious golf cart!

The events on Saturday were catered to being a Disney Prince & Princess weekend.  The girls borrowed costume dresses for the Cinderella Ball and brought them along on our trip.  Overall, they had a good turnout of kids, both Prince and Princesses, all there for the Ball.  The DJ could have played some more appropriate Disney Music rather than the latest Pop you would hear on the radio, but the kids didn't seem to mind and they had a good time.  The DJ was a rather enthusiastic character himself, dancing to the beat.  Many of the parents had a good laugh watching him through out the evening.

My little Princess,... Bring this photo back in 25 yrs at her wedding......

By the time 9pm rolled around at the Dance Party, all my princesses were getting tired.  They had a long day and in the morning we were planning to go out to the beach for some more fun.  So, before the Golf Cart Carriage needed a charge, we rode back to the camp to go to bed.

Sunday felt cooler, and it seemed that the heat and humidity finally broke.  This morning we were off to Assateague Island for the morning to see the beach and visit some PopupPortal Forum members there.  Our neighbors had bought a weekly pass for the National Park, and they were departing this morning so they passed it on to us so we could enjoy the National Park side end of the island.  As we arrived to the State park, we checked in and then found the campsite where Maria and Jeff, known as Jayco1997, were camping.  Unfortunately they had to pack up this morning and get ready to head home, but they were kind enough to let us stop in and see their restored 1997 Jayco camper that they have been working on.  It definitely shows the amount of hard work they have put into it, as it looks very nice.  Bear Creek Canvas, refinished cabinetry and counters, and lots of little modifications to make it their own.  They were very nice, and while there Maria, Becky and the girls walked over to the beach to check it out.  They saw 7 or 8 horses on the beach not far away and were amazed at how empty and private the beach was to the campground.  As everyone was talking, Maria and Jeff mentioned how they both booked for the following weekend and offered to us to take one of the sites they had..... didn't take long, and we said Sure!

We left them to continue packing and we went off to the National Seashore parking lot to go out on the beach there.  Nice cool breeze blowing, and a nice clean and less crowded beach scene, made it very enjoyable for a while.  Madie was a little crabby, probably still tired from all the events so far this weekend.  But, we managed to get some time on the beach and check out the campground.

Princes Cowgirl cooling off with some Ice Cream!

Da Dum, Da Dum,.... JAWS!!!  AHHH!!!

Remember those campers we followed to Frontier Town I mentioned?  Well, we go to talking with them and the dad, Melvin, let us go out on the kayaks he had.  This was a lot of fun and Bella took to it pretty well and quick.  Sometime we hope to go kayaking again, maybe at Peace Valley Park some afternoon.

Rob (Left) and Melvin (Right), Kayaking away from the Marina

Monday morning came quickly, and we began the packing up routine.  Everything was packed and cleaned up smoothly, and we were getting on our way by about 10:30am in hopes to stay ahead of the traffic as we got on the major highways above Dover and around Philadelphia.

And after all that,... we will be back next weekend to go down to Assateague State Park, the northern end of Assateague Island to camp along the beach!  Thanks to the kindness of Jeff and Maria!

Oh,.. and a lot of GoPro video and images to process for a future post!