international travel midwife

WanderLust Bus after Irma

I know, I know, I’m LONG overdue for an update… I’ll get to that soon, but I did want everyone to have an update of the bus after the storm… it’s 2 a.m. in Jensen Beach, Fl, but Nick, my awesome son, braved the rain to go out and get a pic for me. As I sat here, all the way in Beira, Mozambique, Africa, I began sobbing… I may have confused the poor housekeeper who only speaks Portuguese, but I smiled to let her know I was OK.

I am pouring with relief. Not being there in Florida with my kids, grandkids, mom, neighbors and bus, has been the hardest thing ever. I can’t even imagine what it was like at home! And the north part of my state (or really north of Orlando still) is not out of harm’s way yet… nor is my mother, who stayed in a mobile home with her daughter and son-in-law in the direct path of what is now looking to be just a Cat 1 when it hits… but for the most part, my area, south of the center part of Florida now has to start clean up… watching Jose closely (bastard is going to do a loopy-ti-loop!).

Here’s my bus… the fuel door opened… Nick closed it, she is fine.

Irony… my electric went out here and my wifi, as I was finish typing this… a common occurance here (like nearly daily)… i luckily have a mifi and a charged lap top… Get the lights turned back on at home… I’ll be there soon (Wednesday)!

Ciao!

Sandi

BUS IRMA

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Bus Update & a video!

So there’s been a lot of progress on the bus! I drove it up to the Panhandle of Florida to get some work done with a fellow Skoolie who was generous enough to put some time into helping me get bathroom walls up, water tanks hung and some plumbing run! He also put together a fun video that I’ll post a link to at the bottom of this post.

The drive up was a bit chaotic! When you move an RV, everything has to be secure. My amazing daughter, Tiffany, spent 6 hours with me getting the bus ready to hit the road. LOL.

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Putting the mattress back on the bed after prepping bus for trip. Tiff is under there somewhere!

And the batteries had sat too long, so the first thing I spent money on was 3 brand new batteries 😦 I took pics of the old ones, so I could figure out how to get the new ones in…

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Got the bus fired up and started out…

Oh the things you learn when you take the first sharp curve 😀 😀 😀 So it was an eventful trip, with many stops to secure yet another thing that went flying, but I finally made it up “to the middle of nowhere”!

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The Florida Turnpike at sunset… gorgeous!

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Backroads of north Florida !

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The first studs are up!

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My spoiled chihuahuas really loved being yard dogs! 

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Sanding the bathroom wall panels.

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I stained them, as well. Classic oak. Came out pretty.

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Got a super bargain on my 41 gallon fresh water tank!

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I cut a hole for my electric box and secured my IKEA kitchen to the bus. It doesn’t move 🙂

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Toilet room done. Not sure if I’m going to paint or stain.

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I also secured my office desk and bookcase to the bus, as well. The bookcase is a family piece and I wanted to figure out how to use it on the bus. I turned it vertical and will custom cut shelving for it. When I look at it, I still see our 1968 World Book Encyclopedias on the bottom shelf ❤ 

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Everything is either attached to the bus or bungee corded down. I put velcro on the kitchen drawers (it held them closed!). 

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Close up of the bookshelf. And yes, I left the legs on top. I’ll hang something cool from there.

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Panoramic view.

The trip home was WAY less chaotic. In fact, it was stress free. Nothing moved. I didn’t have to stop to fix things. It was awesome! I stopped off in Tallahassee for dinner with some midwife friends and to show off the bus and got into my mom’s after 130 am! Worth it to spend sometime with the tribe!

Then home on Wednesday, a 5.5 hour stress free drive. I like that the bus is set at top speed of 65 mph. It forces me to take my time and ride the right lane and relax.

Today Tiff helped me get my office back together and now I’m off to bed. Lots of work to catch up on tomorrow!

Here’s the promised video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYmZ40bKj3M

Thanks DON!!! For helping me with the bus, putting up with my mania (lol), for seemingly enjoying the meals I cooked and for all the work you did on the Wanderlust Bus!

Ciao!

Steady Progress

Since we all work during the week, weekends are when most of the work gets done, but we did squeak in some cleaning mid-week with the help of my friend Catherine and my daughter Tiffany 🙂

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Catherine & Tiffany helping scrub down the walls!

This morning I went up to Lowe’s and picked up a quart of paint to cover the back 1/4 of the bus, since the plan is to have the floor in back there and the bed platform built tomorrow. So I wanted to have the walls painted before hand.

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Water Drops by Benjamin Moore

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I spent a couple of hours on prep & painting in solitude. And a perfect 70 degree day to boot!

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Will do the edges before the crew gets there in the morning. Also taped off the bed space!

So a new update tomorrow or Monday. I am also working on doing an expense post, since so many people have asked me. I hope everyone else is having as fabulous a weekend as I am!

Ciao!

Same Goal… Different Direction!

So the bus deal in CA fell apart. The bus was vandalized and it was going to take to much time, effort and money to even get it road ready to bring here. I immediately jumped on line on a source that was recommended to me by skoolie.net forums called Public|Surplus they have tons of stuff on there, not just school buses.

The deal went through very quickly and Monday I will take the train in from Washington, D.C. and pick up my bus from the Culpepper Co School Transportation Department. Mr. John Walsh will hand over the keys and hopefully give me some quick lesson 😉 He’s already said he’ll have the boys pick me up at the train station!

I’ve already picked up my trip transfer tag, bought my plane and train tickets and ready to go with just my back pack!

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She’s an 11 window, 65 pax (bus talk for passenger) with a T444E diesel engine and an Allison Automatic transmission. Recently inspected and good tires!

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The Back door… the only place with rust that I know of.

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The Seats that will all be removed!

So, there we have it… I’ll be back mid-week next week and then the work begins. Seat removal party on Saturday, Oct 10th… who’s in?!?!

Ciao!

Welcome to This Midwife Travels!

Welcome! A quick update on what is going on with me. I’ve just finished a birth down here in St. Thomas, USVI and I’m heading home tomorrow for Thanksgiving. I am then back down here for a December birth!

On this trip I got to hang out with a couple of my St. John babies, Ethan and Summer, and their mommies Cassie and Monic!

Ethan and Summer

If you are looking for a traveling midwife, you’ve come to the right place! Please use the contact button to send me an email or email directly at sandiblankenshiprm@gmail.com.