Shakedown Cruise

To check that we had everything we'd need, and especially to check the air mattress that I'd gotten for $4 at a garage sale, we went on a quick one-night camping trip.

(Note that we won't take the truck across the country -- we used it for this trip because the route to the campsite includes several miles of dirt road.)



The mattress is in like-new condition (it's just like this one). It's as comfortable as our mattress at home and fits perfectly in the tent. The pump inflates it or deflates it in about one minute using four rechargeable AA cells (in D cell adapters).

By 3:30 AM it had deflated completely, and we were on the ground. Since it fit perfectly in the tent, we pretty much had to get out of the tent to blow it up again. I've since found the leak and repaired it with PVC cement and duct tape.

But we had a good time in general, and a great breakfast.