DEMOLITION IS IN FULL EFFECT!

This week, we made serious headway removing seats, rubber, and plywood flooring.

To our surprise, we were able to unbolt the seats in only a few hours. We expected this job to be much more difficult, but a combined effort of Alhen holding the nuts from under the bus and my use of the impact driver on the bolts inside, we finished in time for brunch.

The challenge we're encountering, however, is the disposal of the seats. They're actually quite cool - if I had space and time, I'd create benches, decor, exterior furniture - my stepdad suggested we create a miniature cinema space with them! Getting someone to take them in time to create the space we need to remove the floors... looking bleak.

I hate to throw them out, but with one side of the floor already loosened and ready to be stripped to bare metal, we can't afford the energy of playing musical chairs - literally.

THIS WEEK ALSO SAW THE BEGINNING OF MANY HARDWARE STORE TRIPS.

If you haven't yet been to a Harbor Freight, do it. We made out like bandits with exactly what we needed (and a few more things) for a fraction of what it might have cost at Home Depot or Lowe's. We made our first big purchase: a generator. It's a Predator 4000 Watt and having it to run the fan, charge power tools and phones, and so much more made working in the Florida heat just that much more tolerable. We also grabbed some necessities: sanding and grinding wheels, a level, masks, shop towels, gloves, eye protection.

We're ready to drive to Tennessee!

Alhen has driven the bus a few times, even once the hardware store, and has become quite pro when it comes to parking and maneuvering in places that are ideally meant for passenger vehicles. However, the bus has not traveled this far (about 700 miles) to our knowledge, and it'll be holding all of our stuff AND our pets. Talk about a serious moving truck.