Hello Readers!  This is the first post of this year's Snowbird Trip.  I have changed the name of the post from Artie and Leinen's Grand Adventure to Machida's Meanderings, for two reasons.  One) we have added the cat, Ameena,  to our travels.  2) The animals aren't involved in everything we do. 

As many of you know we are proud owners of a 2005 Mandalay 41' diesel pusher.  All the reasons why and how we came across this will be covered in a later post.  This post is to show pictures of the inside, and pics of a wonderful little garden I found.  First of all, our new home.

 Here we are parked at Benson Fairgrounds.  We have power and water, but no sewer.  The picture above right shows the driver's side of the interior of our Mandalay Coach.  Things are a mess in this picture because I was in the middle of unpacking.  The carpet is new. 

This is the passenger side of the coach.  No oven, but it does have a microwave/convection oven.  I'll have to figure that out.  Limited counter space, but can use the table for food prep.  We spent one day shopping at Fred Meyers for a dish pan, dish rack, napkins, paper towels, bath mat, waste basket x2, command hooks, broom, cat dish, dog food, dog food container, and many other little things needed to set up house that didn't come on the trip down.  Fred Meyers didn't have toilet brush, paper towel holder, napkin holder, spray cleaner.  

What a mess!  The table pulls out.  We can sit 4 at the table comfortably.  There are two matching folding chairs under the bed.  I like the fabric a lot.  However, the seat feels old and I may need a cushion to sit on.  See the counter under the window and storage under?  That was a must for what we wanted.  The table and shelf are corian.  

Had to unpack the magnets right away!  lol

It is hard to get a good picture of the bathroom because of the size.  I wanted an RV that had the toilet, sink, and shower all in one room.  This bathroom has 2 doors.  One to the bedroom, one to the hallway.  Some RVs have the shower in the hallway with a sink, then a small room with a toilet and sink.  I really don't see the reason to have 3 sinks for 2 people (one in the kitchen).  But then again, we got 3 TV's with this rig.  lol.  The hanging bag there was replaced with a small trash can.

The toilet is called a macerating toilet.  It grinds up what is in the bowl and stores it in its own tank.  There are many pros and cons.  We do have to keep track of flushes because it only holds 40 flushes.  Plus we read it breaks often.  Well, let's see!  The pros for this is that it has a cleaner black tank, less likely to clog.  hmmmmmm

The shower is a nice size.  I have plenty of room to dry inside the shower.  

One side of the bedroom-the headboard.  Yes, that is a mirror above it.  These old RVs usually have mirrors all over the place.  The one used as a backsplash for the stove top will be the first to go. And mirrored closet doors.  Nice, big closet.  

This is at the foot of the bed.  The mirror here will open to emergency escape.  Only two drawers.  

This view is of looking from the bedroom to the front of the coach.  The door to the right in this pic is the door to the bathroom.  On the left are 3 nice, big windows.

You can see looking down the hall at the three nice windows.  The cabinet in the left part of the picture holds glasses and dishes behind the glass doors,  The little counter there, with mirror, holds our medicines and electronic charging station.

Here's happy Artie looking out the window.  

Now some pics of the gardens.  There were some very unusual plants there.  This garden was just a few feet from our coach.

This is looking at the entrance of this small garden

One bed had plants that would NOT attract deer.  I wonder if there are plants that keep moose away.

This sign shows that the University Extension Service tends this garden.  

PURPLE!

Phlox

This is a young persimmon.

Asparagus!

This asparagus bush was about 6' tall!

Camera shot taken of the asparagus growing.  I should have put an action figure here!  Or little army men.

Figs on the fig tree

The fig tree and its sign.

Water lilies growing in a barrell!

So pretty

This was a display to show how you can grow a garden for those who can't bend over.

Eggplant

Lots of peppers!

I hope you enjoyed this post.  If I can get thousands to regularly read this I could make a few dollars.  Very few.  Not a goal of mine.  lol.