Not For The Faint of Heart: a horse trailer bar
Have you ever had an experience, a trial, or a test in life that really pushes you to your limits? Really tests your own self confidence and your goals? The last two weeks I have questioned myself on every decision I have made about this trailer and at times... wished I hadn't ever taken the leap in this adventure. If anyone reading this blog is considering a trailer conversion, done by themselves, I advise you now that this type of project is NOT for the faint at heart. I've cried more in the last two weeks than I would like to admit! But hey, that's life I guess. But I am now one week away from my first event so NOW IT'S GO TIME!
All the boards are sanded, polyurthaned and ready to be installed. The table posts have been made and the hinges have been welded to the trailer. I painted the interior of the trailer a clean and tidy Swiss Coffee color. And last week we installed the bar top and the awnings!
While I rattle off all the great progress, you may be wondering, then what was it that made me cry? Well, as we progressed with the work on the trailer, the exterior paint kept coming off. Every time we hammered into something, paint would fall off. Every time we welded, paint would scuff off. So, ok, it was going to have a rustic look then right? No. Rather than having a beautiful chippy-peely rustic look (which I LOVE), it was only chipping in a few distinct areas and it was starting look TERRIBLE. I may sound dramatic by saying terrible, but it really was looking bad. I cried many, many times over it. And people were agreeing with my conclusion of its terrible paint status. And let me just clarify that I had never, ever planned, nor budgeted for a paint job, so... I freaked. I TOTALLY freaked. Everything came piling down on me at the same time and I lost it. Mascara running down the face, ugly girl cry kind of "lost it". I was a hot mess. And to add to the drama, on Thursday morning while I was driving home from Chico, a monstrous rock slammed into my Jeep window, crushing the entire thing and shattering glass all over me and the Jeep. Friday, while I was vacuuming all the glass out of the Jeep, I decided to do a deep clean and really clean the interior out (since I hadn't done so in over a year) and just as I was finishing it up, a dirt devil tornado, full of dirt, weed-eated grass and leaves, blew straight into my perfectly vacuumed Jeep. This whole story is true- I almost snapped. So I had to re-vacuum the entire vehicle. And THEN, on Saturday morning, my fabricator broke his hand between a press brake. And that Saturday we were supposed to start installing things in the trailer but we needed the fabricator to do it. So you could say, things got a little stressful. And crazy. Did I mention stressful?!
But God had a plan, as he always does. After stressing about the trailer and it's paint, then praying about it, and of course gushing my frustrations out to my mom and dad about it (because they are always the ones I go to for advice at the end of the day) they gave me the idea to check with Miracle Auto Body in Chico, CA. So I just casually called up Miracle Auto and asked, "Um hi. My name is Sarah Beth and I have a two horse trailer, that I have converted into a bar, and, well, our first event is next Saturday and I need it sanded down and painted in three days. Can you do that?" (try to imagine that poor guy's face on the other end of the phone).
Crazy, right? I know. But the craziest part about this story is...
THEY DID IT. In just 3 days!!!
This all happened on a Tuesday while I was at work, so my dear dad had to drive all the way to my place to pick up the trailer, and drive it to Miracle Auto in Chico for me. Then, while he was there he had to negotiate prices for me and PICK A PAINT COLOR. My dad said picking the paint color, without me there, was a very nerve wrecking experience. The poor thing. But my father did it all without a complaint. He was a HUGE help!! And PS- HE PICKED THE PERFECT PAINT COLOR.
So, here is the before and after of the paint job for you all to see the improvements it has had.
Now that my paint worries are gone, and I have stopped crying, I want to make it publicly known that Mike at Miracle Auto is a great man, and runs a great business., And my Dad, is such a wonderful father! He was a life saver. I'm so glad to have had both of them on my team for this trailer. Thank you!
God bless,
Sarah Beth
