Kitchen Back splash upgrade

Small quick and easy project to upgrade and modernize the look a little. All it takes is some Bondera from Lowes which is some super sticky stuff. It is like a roll of tile thin-set mortar with protective film on each side. You measure how much you need (note I included extra for the edge molding) cut it with a knife and a straight edge, peel one side of it off, press it to the wall, peel the other side off then add your tile sheets. I preferred the small square tiles because they are easy to trim into any shape you need. I then bought a small tub of pre-mixed grout and smoothed into the cracks with a rubber grouting float tool. It's worth the cost for the tool! Then I added some resin decorative edging to finish it off. Only took a few hours and made a huge difference!

Before

After

First camping trip - Townsend Tennessee

We made our maiden voyage to Townsend TN. All went well except for at night when the acorns would fall. We called it "The rain of terror" Just as you fell asleep another one would ping of the roof top and would sound like a gun shot!

For our first voyage we camped for three nights at Townsend at Tremont Hills campground the last week of September (2012). We had a very nice spot by the river. The spot included our own little balcony overlooking the river. We made good use of this balcony as we sat out and read books, played games, or just rested. The chipmunks were regular visitors - scurrying around the campsite and feeding off acorns. One even walked across the balcony while we were sitting there. It didn't seem to be afraid of us at all.

We made our trip during Townsend's annual fall and music festival. There was quite a crowd at the festival Friday evening and all day Saturday. Friday we rode bikes down to the festival but didn't stay. Since we were already sort of tired and a little rusty on bikes, we rode a little ways past the festival and turned around to head back to the camper. It's still a good bike ride. There are plenty of hills to test the muscles. We had a nice chicken dinner Friday night and had a relaxing evening on our balcony.

Saturday we drove to the grocery store and on to Nawgers Nob to check out the craft festival at the other end of Townsend. We usually ride our bikes but since it rained all morning we decided to drive instead. Then on the way back we checked out this new Cuban restaurant. This place has really good food - all traditional Cuban fare. We split a plate of saffron rice, cuban pork (the best I've ever had!), black beans and plantains. We still had enough for lunch the next day! Then we ordered a dessert empanada (smores!) which we devoured when we got back to the camper, as well as an appetizer empanada to go split with our lunch the next day. The empanadas are made by hand and they are delicious.

Saturday afternoon we the rain cleared and we rode bikes down to Sundown resort, where we ran into some acquaintances from Tansi who had just purchased camper lots in Sundown. Sundown is a very nice campground resort where the lots are purchased. We have thought about buying into it but would have to sell our lot in Tansi. Drawbacks to Sundown are the prices (lots go for 35K and up), no sheds or park models allowed, and not open from November through March. But the fees include all maintenance, water, electric and cable, and all the lots are very well kept. It's gated so it is pretty safe. And there are two pools, a recreation area, playground and of course the best part is the location - the Smoky Mountains. Still at Tansi we have our lake, lots of room to ride golf carts, access to three swimming pools, a golf course, and a community center. Plus the location there is pretty nice - close to two state parks.

After Sundown we rode on to the festival and walked around and listened to bluegrass music for a bit. We also brought some wonderful Apple Butter that one of the local church demonstrates and sells at the festival.

Saturday night we had a yummy steak dinner and watched the UT football game. Another relaxing night.

Sunday we did a more aggressive bike ride - the entire length of Townsend. We stopped at the Apple Barn at the halfway point for our traditional break of splitting a slice of apple pie with ice cream. They have wonderful apple pie. Then we rode it off on our return bike ride. This took about two hours. Rest of the time was spent talking to neighbors, reading, walking around the campground. We had talked about going to Dollywood but nixed the idea in favor of a relaxing day. Ben read two books (he's a speed reader! ) and I read a wonderful Sherlock Holmes book by Laurie King - I highly recommend this book. It's the first in a series and I plan on reading them all.

Then Monday we headed back home - the pretty much wonderful weather over the weekend gave way to heavy rain on our way back.

All in all, this was a wonderful first trip in our Adventurer.