We have air conditioning in the Airstream at last. The electrician arrived with a helper mid-day and managed to get the 30 amp RV port plug installed by 3 pm, along with half a dozen other electrical projects. We now have GFCI outlets in the right places, four more lights that actually produce light, and some electrical mysteries have been cleared up.

But the big thing is the air conditioning. Today was forecast to reach 103, but it got hotter in places. Eleanor reported that the bank time/temperature sign was reading 113 but the truck's digital thermometer only said 106. In any case it was hot enough that the Airstream would have been marginally inhabitable this evening, so it was good to plug into the new 30 amp outlet and start cooling it down.

By evening the Airstream's interior was back into the upper 70, thanks to the miracle of air conditioning. And now we have a nearly full hookup in our carport -- water, 30 amp electric, and gray water drain -- which means the Airstream will be completely usable as a guest house when we return.

We also interviewed a concrete stain artist today, who we are hiring to re-do the floors. There isn't time to strip the existing vinyl and carpet flooring, prep the surface, stain, and seal, for the entire house before we need to leave. But there will be time to do a single room, so next week the laundry room will become our test case. Stained concrete floors (photos) are becoming popular everywhere, and particularly here where they fit in the southwest motif and feel cool in the summer.

But it can't be all house business while we are here. We don't want to hit the road feeling burned out and thinking of the house only as a burden to return to. So last night I bought a propane grill and tonight we relaxed like true suburbanites on the back patio, watching the sunset turn the clouds pink over swaying palm trees and the rugged faces of the Catalinas.

Dinner on the patio felt a little peculiar after all our time camping, but I'm sure we'll quickly get used to it.
Although just a few days ago it felt like penance to be locked down to a house for two weeks, now our time here is starting to seem very short.