New Couple from Florida

[Rbosco]

We are Bob and Laura from Florida. Thank you all for this great site. We have been visiting the site for months now and finally decided to join.

We became interested in teardrops after a camping trip in our motorhome last September. We took our son and his girlfriend with us and it was a disaster. He is a deputy assigned to the night shift and wanted to sleep late. This drove Bob, the morning person, crazy. After the trip Bob swore that we would never camp with our children again. Laura, having maternal instincts, was devastated and immediately began looking for a solution to the problem. Camping is suppose to be about families. We had seen the RV Crazy show and seen a T@B, so Laura decided a teardrop as a "spare bedroom" was the answer. Bob agreed. We discovered your site, found plans that we liked, customized them to suit us, and got lots of ideas from T & TTT. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Laura designed the tear. Bob (with a little help from two sons) started the build. He has prior wood working experience, a little electrical knowledge, and learned how to work with aluminum the hard way. Laura sews and decorates. It took three months of working at night and on weekends, but the end result was so worth it. Not only do we have a spare bedroom, we also have a beautiful little self-contained vehicle that our children use when they want to camp by themselves. We have dubbed it "The Doghouse" for several reasons. First, because we are all lovers of dogs, especially labradors. Second, the formica used for the floor is called "Labrador Granite." And, third, the reason we built the tear was because our son got himself "in the doghouse" for sleeping so late in the morning. Who knew that a teardrop could be so much fun!

Now we are about to begin another one. A young friend of ours, who has "adopted" us as his surrogate parents, wants one of his own. He is debating between a remodeled cargo trailer and a new build tear. He is a big needing lots of room, so we are leaning towards a "super-sized" Benroy. He is also a law enforcement officer, and since Bob is a retired Sheriff's Office Captain (he now works for an architectural firm creating counter-terrorist designs), and Laura is a prosecutor, the theme of the new one will certainly be "The Pig Pen." So once again we are looking at everything on this website to assist us in finding ideas and in building the new tear. We also plan to start attending some camping events.

We are certian you will be hearing from us. We have posted photos in our album. Again, thank you for all the help you had no idea you were giving.

[Joanne]

Laura,

Welcome aboard the nut-house express! If you are planning on number two, you have what it takes to be a first class nut!

You all did a really nice job on the Dog House, and in only three months! It took me three years.

Again, welcome aboard!

Oh, I'm starting to think about number two so I'm a member of the nut-house too!

Joanne

[Woody]

From one Floridian to another welcome. There is a gahtering for the Tear Jerkers ( Eastcoast Teardrop Club) going on in August 3-5 at Fort clinch State Park by Fernadina beach, Florida north of Jacksonville, Florida. Come on by we would love to meet Ya .

[asianflava]

I work night shift (I'm at work right now) and have been for over 12 years now, I like it. I still camp with these folks on this board. Even though some of them seem to turn in at what seems like lunch time for me, I don't hold it against them. They do miss out on the campfire stories.

One drawback to the tear is that I have to wake up early (early for me) because curiosity gets the better of people and they come by to check out the little trailer. My wife tries to field the questions as best as she can but she always defaults to, "he should be awake in a little bit if you want to come back." You should try to get to the Ft Clinch gathering, it's not too far from you. It's like camping with family you've never met before. Lots of food and lots of fun! You get to share your war stories about fighting the evil black goo, or battling with polyurethane caulk. They have been thru it so it will be a sympathetic bunch.

I used to live in Port Orange when I was going to ERAU down the road. Lived kinda close to the interstate on Dunlawton. I stopped there for gas a couple years ago and couldn't believe how much that place has grown!

[Steve_Cox]

Welcome Laura and Bob,

Hope to see your handiwork at a teardrop gathering soon.

[Miriam C.]

to the playground Laura and Bob. You did a beautiful job on the dog house and I am sure you will do an equally nice job on the pig pen. Love the names!

Enjoy

[Mike C.]

Wecome Laura and Bob,

No sense in being shy, jump on in, the people here are friendly.

Hope to see you both at a future gathering.

[jplock]

Sure sounds like a ggreat way to do a room addition to a RV. It would sure be neat to see a picture of your rig! Most motor homes pull a car it would be unique to see your rig going down the road too.
jplock

[tinytrailer]

Welcome to the group. I live in Ormond Beach and attend the gatherings. You get to meet people from every state and hear their stories. Hope to see you at one of the gatherings. Mary Ann