Hello all. We finally completed our outdoor shower + tub. We ended up going with a one-use 330-gallon Schutz Intermediate Bulk Container (IBC) tote that I purchased on Craigslist, a Rubbermaid 100-gallon tote, cedar posts harvested from the property, 5/8″ lag bolts, some lumber from the local Home Depot, a propane Triton outdoor water heater, a deep cycle marine battery, a Flojet on-demand pump, and 6′ corrugated panel siding. I am really happy about the way it turned out, and it works great. That being said, I need to build an enclosure around the water heater to prevent the pilot flame from being blown out by the wind. Additionally, I would like to replace the shower curtain with a hinged door.

We also rented a rock saw from Buddy and the fellas at Dripping Springs Rental Center. They are some good ‘ole boys. I enjoyed meeting all of them and look forward to joining them some afternoon around the table to have a cold one and talk about the local issues. The rock saw was my first experience with ‘real’ machinery; it was a great treat for me to get on there…almost like therapy. We trenched for underground electricity and water and used the front blade to push around some brush piles.

All of these projects led up to my birthday get together. I woke up early that morning to a beautiful burnt orange sunrise. The air was cool and crisp. I could not ask for better weather. There was a lot of work to be done that day. We had some wonderful neighbors and friends join us that day. I received wonderful homemade desserts, treats, and other delights. Thank you to all who came out and for your generosity.

I will close this post with comments about our outdoor theater and LED lit water tanks. My brother gave me his mini outdoor projector, a really cool Bluetooth waterproof outdoor speaker, and some 10 watt multi-color light bulbs for my birthday. We use the projector and speaker for our outdoor theater experience. We project onto the side of the corrugated container. The picture is approx. 120″ and is pretty remarkable quality. As a side ADHD distraction, we lit up a couple of IBC totes with color changing LED lights. It is really cool.

Well, time to run. I have some work I need to get done before packing up to visit my family for Thanksgiving. Thank you to our service men and women, family, and friends. Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday. Be safe and be considerate if you are hitting up Black Friday shopping. There are some vicious shoppers out there.

Stay well.

Hello follower(s) (Mamacita – my one and only favorite follower).  My brother is in town helping me out this week to finish the outdoor shower and run electricity from the meter pole to the container.  Tomorrow is a critical day, which may be tough since I am headed into Austin to hang out with my old roommate and good friends from NY.  They are relatively social and tend to pressure me into exceeding my limits.  I will have to watch myself this evening if I want to be productive tomorrow.

Today was amazing.  My brother, old roommate, a very good friend, and some buddies and I went to the UT vs. Iowa State game at DKR Stadium.  With the passing of DKR earlier this week and the fact today is Veteran’s Day (thank you to all of the men and women who serve our country), the game was special.  They had an amazing tribute with a jet flyover and other spectacles.  Unfortunately, we were a few minutes late to the game because I slept in trying to recover from yesterday evening’s events.  This caused us to miss a few of the pre-game events.  However, we did get to see the Wishbone opening formation that helped propel UT to three (3) national titles under Coach Royal’s guidance.  It was really neat, and the play was a great success!  I think my favorite part was the halftime band formations.  The UT band did a great job honoring our service men and women as well as the late Coach Royal.  I made an attempt to capture the moment with my Mamacita’s camera – thanks for letting me borrow your camera, Mamacita.

This evening some very dear friends/family came out to check out Camp Wanderlust and hit up the local wineries.  Sarah and Emily, thank you for your visit.  My brother and I drove to Driftwood Estate Winery and the Duchman Family Winery, where the four (4) of us enjoyed tastings.  Both venues were hosting beautiful weddings.

At Driftwood Estate Winery, the associates greeted us with bright smiles and wonderful wine.  They also gave me some recycled wine bottles, which I will use for landscaping and decorative accent/conversation pieces.  Thank you to my friends at Driftwood for the bottles.  I hope to get more during other weekday visits.  As a special bonus while at Driftwood, I met six (6) beautiful ladies from the greater Houston and Austin areas.  They were very sweet.  Lauren (sp?), a Texas Tech grad, was there with her dear friends and wedding party for her bachelorette weekend.  I later discovered, while coincidently running into them again at Duchman Family Winery, they had rented a limo and were doing a tour before heading out to Canyon Lake to stay the evening.  If you ladies are reading this post, I really enjoyed meeting you.  Lauren, I wish you and the lucky guy that gets to call you his wife a blissful life together.

The bride-to-be’s future sister-in-law, also named Lauren, was a fellow UT grad.  We had a nice conversation about her non-profit social work, the UT football game (I still had my burnt orange shirt and sneakers on, which served as a catalyst for speaking about the game), and the fact A&M had just moments before taken down the titan ‘Bama program.  I am upset for my cousin Jon who attends Alabama, but thrilled for my good friends who attended A&M and myself who is still hung up over UT’s loss to Alabama in the 2009 title game.  Alabama has a great program, but I am ready to see another conference win the title.  Perhaps my late grandfather’s Kansas State Wildcats or the thrilling to watch Oregon Ducks will be hoisting the title trophy in January.

Upon arriving at Duchman Family Winery, we weaved through the full parking lot before slowly making our way up their elegantly lit walkway to the tasting room.  With the wedding reception underway, we wrangled through the crowd and got to the bar.  The associates there are also extremely pleasant and greet you with glowing smiles.  Sarah and Emily enjoyed tastings while my brother and I admired the venue and its wine processing and bottling areas.  It is really remarkable to see the entire process that goes into making the wines we ultimately enjoy.  I also had nice conversations with the associates and the bachelorette party.

Well, I need to go for now.  I am headed back into Austin for the evening and my old roommate gave me strict instructions that pre-game at his hotel suite starts promptly at 9:00.

Thanks for following our progress and adventures here at Camp Wanderlust.  I should be posting some new pictures of the outdoor shower and corn hole boards in the next few days.