Calling all Hobbies!

Going on art tours. We map them out and go from gallery to gallery both in this country and France/Italy/Spain/Switzerland. It’s given my daughter such a passion she is off to university to study History of Art. At which point the Cali gets to transport her stuff to uni and I get weekends away in it visiting her.
 
Soton Campers said:
Hi folks. Just doing some research on what Hobbies your California allows you to enjoy. I would be grateful if you could post your hobby and what feature(s) of the Cali allows you to get the most out of it.

Thanks all.
Click to expand...

Hi. I wouldn't describe it as a hobby as such, more a passion. I sometimes use my California to act as a mobile music studio providing different locations to create different levels of inspiration. The layout is ideal to create a small set up. Mixing desk and all the other necessary computer equipment I need. When I'm on hook up, I can easily power everything I need. But the mobility of the vehicle means I can be right in the middle of the action if I'm looking to use natural found sounds to create something. Being able to set my alarm in order to capture the Dawn Chorus in a remote location is an immense privilege x
 
Bmx racing with my 5yo and nearly 3yo kids. The mini it will replace just wasnt cutting it on freezing cold winter Sunday's when I just wanted a cup of tea and a warm place to sit! it will be the ultimate race van when it turns up that we can also use for holidays, mtb adventures, and the daily commute.
 
At the moment the only hobby our Cali allows me to do is looking at the insides of my eyelids after a picnic on the way back from the supermarket.
 
Restoration of antique Persian carpets. I learned on some that I inherited from my grandmother. I took them to a specialist when I lived in Mexico City to have an estimate for repairs. She said it was possible, but expensive. Then she asked me if I would be interested in learning to do the repairs myself, if I was good with my hands. One look at my forum name will answer that, so I joined her Tuesday restoration workshop. Added advantage was rescuing my German, since that was the language of her workshop. I usually have one in the Cali to work on if the hike planned for that day gets rained out. Auctions are always a good source for projects that others think are too worn to be valuable.

Our hobbies are sometimes associated with more serious matters. The first carpet of my grandmother’s that I restored was made in 19th century Mosul. I can only try to imagine how the descendants of the original creator live now, if there are any left.
 
Troglodyte said:
Have just bought a SUP (Stand up Paddleboard), so we plan to get out on the water over the next few months, inland reservoirs and the coast. It’s inflatable and so packs down quite small.

View attachment 60657
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This one is a good one from Littlehampton, the tide takes you up the river, stop for lunch and then tide takes you back down:

www.surfs-sup.co.uk

Paddleboarding On The River Arun - Stand Up Paddle Boards And Windsurfing Shop And Lessons

The Arun is a river in the county of West Sussex. It is one of the faster flowing rivers in England, and is tidal as far inland as Pallingham Quay, 25.5
www.surfs-sup.co.uk
 
I missed this thread when it was born.
But as a family we'll take the paddle board out.
Individually it gives me a base for :
  1. Running
  2. Saxophone (when everyone in the street has their windows open on warm summer days) I shoot off somewhere quiet and literally raise the roof!!!
  3. cycling base
  4. Guitar therapy
 
It was touring Europe with our bikes on the back.
 
When I eventually get it I will be able to get away from the light pollution here and do some astronomy in a dark skies area with a nice cup of freshly made hot chocolate.
 
MattBW said:
Kayaking (although we are between kayaks right now)
Dog walking
Photography (great makeup station and changing room, plus hand for lunch).
Drone flying
Radio, I do some ham radio and its a great mobile station with a drive on antenna stand.
Cooking.
We always have a few board games in the van too :)
Click to expand...
Hi, do you have an antenna fitted to your Cali for 144/70 ? If so could you recommend the type of fitting you use
 
Extreme knitting! I always knit much faster when I’m chilled out, having down time. The Cali bench seat is nice and upright to maintain good posture and a comfortable back and neck. I put my feet up on the Dunelm ottoman that doubles as a cover for the portapotti. When it’s not my turn to drive I can do something productive whilst still being able to look out at the scenery, listen to the radio, join in conversations, etc and there’s plenty of elbow room in the cab and space for my knitting bag.

A couple of tips for you guys and gals who knit on your travels:

  • Draw your yarn from the centre of the ball and place it in a little bag. It stops it rolling around, getting tangled &/or dirty.
  • Always use circular needles, even you’re only knitting backwards and forwards as well as in the roundin the round. It means you can (even mid row) just push all your stitches to the centre of the flexi part and swirl the needles round. Less danger of dropping stitches and you’re not using/storing long sharp pointy needles that potentially be quite dangerous.
  • If you need different sized needles get some that have screw on/off needle heads.
  • If you don’t want to have to concentrate on your knitting (garment shaping or intricate patterns) knit dish/wash cloths. You can make them out of crafting cotton or use scrunchy/scratchy type yarn. They’re also easy to knit if travelling at night in the dark or like me want something to do at festivals (in between acts) or on a very boring leg of a walk. Here’s a very nice and simple dish cloth pattern in easy garter stitch that starts and ends with 4 stitches so you can decide what size you as you go along. https://www.instructables.com/Easy-Knit-Dishcloth/ This is a great idea for knitting beginners as well as more advanced knitters who get brain fatigue after knitting something intricate. The cream lace pattern below was a nightmare to knit in the van whilst travelling as I kept getting distracted by the beautiful Welsh countryside, I think I ended up frogging (unpicking) nearly more than I actually knitted. Alternately you could get some “fun” yarn and knit to a simple, basic pattern.
Both of these were knitted whilst travelling along as a passenger.

  • 2FDC1F8B-7D44-4876-8964-E288865575FF.jpeg8D077C89-A062-4B92-800C-28E2663514EE.jpeg
 
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