Another Dangerous Place

The other day,  I discovered I am workamping only 32 miles from a Coleman Factory Outlet. I've never even been to a Coleman store ever. So the dog and I fought with the cantankerous awning for an hour,  then set out for a day of grocery shopping and park walking, as usually we pick a city or county park to go dog walking in,  after our shopping. 

I figured I would take a stroll though the Coleman Outlet store, just for pure entertainment...

When we  found the Coleman Outlet store, the man working there didn't have anything I was asking about, but he did tell me I could have anything in the store at 40% off!

OMG!  40% off?  ;D  Now THAT is DANGEROUS!

I so wanted to just max out the credit card and have a blast!  They had so many nifty things I needed (and a few things I didn't need) but the idea was terrific, like the propane  crockpot.  Never seen that before, but what a great concept for outdoor cooking/camping.

I took a very long lengthy tour of the store, asked him loads of questions while  I filled up my imaginary cart with oodles of items.  Oh there was so much I wanted to just cart right out of there at 40% off!

In the end, I solved my awning problem with a fantastic solution... and walked away with the 40% discount on it too.  ;D

See, my old awning is falling apart, frame and material. It's only 17 years old.  Don't you  just hate it they don't build stuff to last?

I keep patching it up with spare parts and tape and so on.  The problem is now, it won't open and close right due to it's past injuries and insults.  Sometimes I argue with it for an hour, before I get it put away correctly so I can drive to the store (I have no toad and I live in my wheel estate fulltime.)  Invariably, it rains while I am gone, I come back and my outdoor  table and canvas chairs are soaking wet...  Then I argue with the awning again (the frame was in a mishap and has been patched together).

Recently, I priced out a new RV awning  with frame, going to be more than my budget can stand at this time. So I have to think about plan B....

There is was, right in the Coleman Outlet at 40% off!

I do love setting up my outdoor den and  workdesk, plus I have a puppy who loves to be out with me and so on.  Living without an awning is no fun for me at all.  Also, I have friends and I like company, my wheel estate is small and cozy, so having 4-5-6 chairs outside with my rug, table, fan, is more likean  outdoor den that I use a lot. 

I bought the hexagon (six sided)  popup canopy from Coleman. I've never seen one before.    It has 6 legs, big high top like an umbrella and seemed rather durable, as one was set one up in the store for show and tell.  It's 12 feet from pole to pole and 10 feet from side to side.

I got it home (where I workamp)  and set it up. Coleman claims two people can set it up in 3 minutes. HA HA HA!  Who are they kidding? 

It really is hard to set up alone, but then I  temporarily  tied one side of the folded up  frame to the RV, and I was able to manipulate the popup frame outwards to it's full size. Two people could do it much faster for sure.  (I workamp in a remote location and there was just no one around to kidnap into slavery...)

Also, I made the mistake of not setting it up exactly where I wanted it, so walking it around by myself, afterwards was a ton of work (and very amusing to the puppy!).

Since I have loads of room where I am at, I picked a spot with a great view to finally park it, then put my rug, table, chairs, fan and so on under it. This is a terrific solution all around!  It also came with heavy duty tent stakes (like giant nails)  and guide wires, so I was able to secure it now in the event of future winds.

Now I can drive away anytime to go shop, leaving my den all set up and under cover from sun and rain. This morning, I was up at sunrise in my new den,  spent most of the day under it doing my work, eating lunch and daydreaming about all the stuff I would like to go back and get at 40% off.

What a word picture, I can just visualize the whole procedure. ;D Sounds like us setting up camp.

Hope we get to see your new den this winter!!

Can't wait to see it and sit with Harley under it!!  Did you find some discounted Corona's?? ;D

P.S.  Be careful, a good wind shear or thunderstorm will take it away stakes notwithstanding.

Thanks for sharing that with us. I always enjoy your stories -- you write well.

I forgot to mention the discounted Hexagon Popup Canopy was less than 10% cost of what it's going to take to replace my awning and frame (which I still plan to do one of these days).

Since I set the hexagon canopy up on the jumbo concrete patio they provided here,  I couldn't stake it down. Had I done this earlier in the season, I would have drilled holes in the concrete, put the plastic inserts in and screwed the legs down.  But now I'm too lazy to do that, since I am probably moving on and traveling in a few weeks.

However, it came with six guide lines attached, so I have tied those to trees and the permanent garbage can  holder/fence and another to the 8 ton 8 foot picnic table. The remaining legs, I just put some heavy rocks on them.  There is enough tied down, that it won't get far, should I be gone when a brisk gale comes through.

I think at my next assignment, it's all dirt or sand, which I prefer anyhow, so maybe I can seriously stake it down and out for winter's use in Florida. 

Yeah, come on over and party.  ;D 

Harley dog is a tad confused on his long tether, he has put the canopy legs in bondage several times now for me to get lots of exercise untangling for him.

By the way, I guess it's official, I am headed back to Florida for November-March for a new workamping gig in Osceola County. Harley is going too as a bark ranger.

It's 64F degrees here today!  Brrrrrrrr!  A mermaid can't take these frigid temperatures, even the dog is c-c-c-cold.

We went right past that store yesterday on the way back to Atlanta. I passed the camp where you are hosting but didn't have time to stop.

22 miles.. Just about how far I am from "The Outlets at Birch Run" which, by the way, includes a Coleman Outlet store and a Boise outlet store.

I sometimes tell how I was doing my internet run in the family center here in the RV park when the kid's birthday party was in full swing,  I had the headset on listening to some very good music on the hard drive.. When I went to pack up and "head Home" (Back to rv) the parents apologized for all the noise.. I replied "What noise"

Those headsets are.. Well, not quite that good.. but they do turn it from ARRRGH to no problem,,, Boise noise canceling, they work with my cell phone too  Very nice.

Mike... ya'll missed a great time by not stopping by!  ;D  What's the bodacious rush?  Hurry up and get stuck in Atlanta traffic?  :

I was SURPRISED that Coleman had good prices in Commerce GA outlet, as I was really let down when i saw they were in an outlet mall.  But since I had drove so far, I went ahead and looked in on Coleman. But I did not go to the other  70-something stores.  Instead I was in a hurry to get lost at the end of a skinny dead end road...

I had been to another outlet mall in Gaffney, SC, and my gosh, there was NOTHING there at all at outlet prices. It was super trendy mall with even trendier prices. They just tacked Outlet onto everybody's name!

As a kid, when times were tough, we went to old run down warehouse type buildings, or cruddy basements in town to "outlet" stores and the prices were super cheap, the atmosphere bare bones. Some specialized in mill seconds, something I don't see around anymore.

But oh wait... they don't call them "mill seconds" anymore, instead they call them "made in china". 

I think my new fabulous hexagon canopy is a second...  the holes drilled for the "adjustable" roof height are on the wrong end of the pole and there is no way to reverse the pole, due to the welded  legs.  I could be wrong. But in a review online, someone was bragging about the adjustable height and mine has just the one super tall height but at the bottom of the feet are these 3 curious holes...

The zipper on the carrying case was missing a thingy, but it still zips up. So it could be a return or a second, though clearly no one had ever opened mine before.

I've been having a hootinanny since the party canopy went up!  ;D 

Ya'll come on down (or come on up!)  ;D

John From Detroit said:

I sometimes tell how I was doing my internet run in the family center here in the RV park when the kid's birthday party was in full swing,  I had the headset on listening to some very good music on the hard drive.. When I went to pack up and "head Home" (Back to rv) the parents apologized for all the noise.. I replied "What noise"

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I have no problem at all with kids playing in the park and making noises.  Restaurants yes. 

I do have a huge problem with loud car stereo's or idling vehicles near by.

That shelter sounds like a great solution for my future RV. I have a plan in my head that does not allow for traditional awnings.

I do have a huge problem with loud car stereo's or idling vehicles near by.

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I am very mindful of that, my 12 valve cummins is a noisy bugger. I try and get in at a reasonable hour, and never warm it up ever. Once it can move, it is moving!

Tonight I was all set up, the small park seemed quiet.  Then the guys next door came home, obviously construction.  Ok no problem but I'm sitting in here and about 6:30 I heard this loud racket, the guy had a big welder on the back of his truck ran by a generator and cranked it up.  He is out there welding!  I listened to this for awhile and started worrying about how long this was going to last.  So I went over and asked, I said if you are going to be long I am going to move.  He said no an hour at the most he said I just need to fix this.  I'm not sure what it was but likely for the job.  They were real nice and did stop but it really got me that they cranked that thing up here.  I was really starting to wonder, first time I've had an experience like that.

PatrioticStabilist said:

Tonight I was all set up, the small park seemed quiet.  Then the guys next door came home, obviously construction.  Ok no problem but I'm sitting in here and about 6:30 I heard this loud racket, the guy had a big welder on the back of his truck ran by a generator and cranked it up.  He is out there welding!  I listened to this for awhile and started worrying about how long this was going to last.  So I went over and asked, I said if you are going to be long I am going to move.  He said no an hour at the most he said I just need to fix this.  I'm not sure what it was but likely for the job.  They were real nice and did stop but it really got me that they cranked that thing up here.  I was really starting to wonder, first time I've had an experience like that.

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Something like that would not bother me, however let a booming car radio come alongside and...... you get the picture. Now, where did I put that shotgun

I know what you mean about sitting stuff up or lifting things.  Right now I have 2 tenants at our house.  But yesterday I needed to return a couch I bought for the TT we were going to rent and didn't.  It wasn't super heavy, was in 2 big boxes.  But I wallered and wrestled those things getting them on the truck.  I like to killed myself but made it.

There is noone around to lift or move things when I need them, but between leverage and I guess having muscle I generally manage.  So I know exactly what you mean and they call us the weaker sex, yeah right.

testosterone enhanced muscle mass does not equal determination or smarts
My mom would work the teenagers into the ground, weeding out strawberry fields. She would put her head down and go, sweatband on and cigarette hanging out of her mouth. The teenage boys would fall far behind in despair as this 60 year old lady just walked away from them