Overheard at the Campground

Jill's Journal: We said a sad goodbye to Kristi, Adam, and Baby Logan today, finding ourselves a few hours later ensconced in a campground near Sequoia National Park.

As we were setting up, another family pulled up and began to do the same thing. Like us, they were also a couple with three young children. Unlike us (hopefully), they were clearly a bit frazzled. It turns out they’d had a long, multiple-day drive and were simply at the end of their respective ropes.

The father, looking half-apologetic and half-happy-to-escape, left his overwhelmed wife to make dinner and wrangle their children while he went to the store. This exchange is what we overheard:

“Honey,” he said, “I’ll get you a six-pack or a 12-pack, whatever you need. What do you want?”

Without missing a beat, the mother returned, “A sedative!”

Oh, how we laughed. You just can’t make this stuff up.

Norman - the (now) bike-riding dog

So now we've seen it on youtube.  We spotted him in a National Geographic Kids magazine while we were in Solvang (I need to find that pic).  He was in the Rose Parade.  He's had numerous television appearances, even anchoring a newscast (I've seen the video, just can't find the link).  Jill even wrote a post about Norman when we stayed in Carson City last fall.  Clearly, the dog is a hit, with a facebook page, and now a viral sensation as I've now spotted posts about him on a blog I follow and had three facebook friends post the video.  Well done Norman, and Karen, and Chris.  Well done indeed.

In our post, Norman was just getting started on the bike and was mostly a curiosity in the campground.  Our kids played with their kids, and it was actually one of the more memorable interactions with fellow campers that we've run into.  They are now off the trail and living in South Carolina, I think, but kudos to them for taking a year to let Chris (Dad) wind-down from stress, explore the country, homeschool as needed, and live the lifestyle of full-timers.  Their blog was fun to follow.

I love seeing these types of posts on other blogs.  It makes me wonder - who have we influenced (if anyone)?  When I respond to "Where are you from?" with "Well, we started in Lexington, KY, but we full-time now, so this week we're from (here).  Next week we'll be from (there), and for the next month we'll call (whereever) home."  People pretty much have only two reactions - "That's really cool.", or... "oh." (meaning they think we are insane).   Chris and Karen thought we were cool, and insane.  They wanted to do what we do, but did it on a limited timeframe, and so they never fully embraced the lifestyle this is.  Plus, they were blessed with Norman, and his talents, only weeks into their journey.  They had a lot going on with their travels, and a novelty like Norman can change the focus of your trip.

Honestly, I hope to meet up with that family again.  Clear-as-day I remember how odd, and fortunate, the pairing was in Carson City - them not understanding why we would stay at a campground, even with so much area to discover, for more than 4 days, and us, not understanding why a family, on the road like us, would want to push so hard - especially when they had no real schedule.

It all comes down to different lifestyles.  Different goals.  AND... different timetables.  I respect what Chris, Karen, Norman, and the kids set-out to do, accomplished, and have now.  They were great people to meet and will always be a part of our journey - and I, WE, love to see their dreams come true with NormantheBriard(.com).  We wish them the greatest of successes.

Mount Whitney - our climb

I found a t-shirt at the campground store that signified how we hike -- a family of 5, three small kids, that didn't entirely want to travel the number of miles to make it up to the summit and back. I hope you get the giggle out of it that we did.

A mention on facebook, that kinda scared us...

We truly enjoyed Pendleton, and found the town and its people both charming and great to be around. It was a great stop and while there were a couple of disappointments (Pendleton Woolen Mills' factory closing the week we wanted to visit; mind-boggling policies and practices at the casino), Jill blogged extensively and we know we'll return, possibly as early as next year for the round-up (if things work out right).

Turns out that the blog got some crazy traffic during our stop there. We couldn't figure it out at first, but Jill's tenacity proved fruitful and she found that the Pendleton facebook page (and twitter account) had made specific mention of our blog after her second-day's post (see below).

While flattering, it also freaked us out a little. We've never been so candid in real-time, with posts both about where we were staying, and pictures of the Rig right there linked for the world to see. Fortunately nobody came knocking, and everything was fine, but it was still a little enlightening, and worth a mention.

What an opportunity - a day ON the track.

Hi everyone....

What an amazing opportunity. Although I think I was the only one there for the track, and not the cycling, I still tried to fit in as much as I could. Now, I haven't seriously ridden in a LONG time. This wasn't necessarily the best time to start - that 180 feet in vertical change (all within about 3/4 mi) doesn't sound like much, but it kills you at the top. Now, that being said - its pretty cool to know that first hand.  I wish I'd been in a motorized vehicle (and to tell the truth, one day I will be. The track can be rented in a myriad of ways... oh yes, one day - you will be mine...)

On the Starting Grid

I did however want to show my day at the track, because it was pretty much the whole reason we stayed through this week. Once I found out there was a twilight bike ride (which the track does once a month, all year long, FYI) I had to go be a part of that. Trust me, I scouted ways to sneak on the track at night just to walk it (strictly and expressly forbidden) - had an opportunity just today to just point the van at the track and drive it on  (skirting arrest and jail), but I so much enjoyed my time here that I wanted to get out there and feel the raceway...  The pic here is my Trek parked in the grid, at the start line...  big smile.

View of the right turn
out of 'The Corkscrew'

The biggest part of my day was riding the corkscrew, which I did twice (a third time, without a motorized escort, was NOT an option).  The first time through, I didn't stop - I pedaled through the entire 2.238 miles of the track one time around.  It nearly killed me, and my lungs are still recovering, but it was absolutely worth it.

"The corkscrew" is probably the defining feature of this track, and I'm betting its very tough to drive.  You crest a hill, take a 110 degree left (turn 8), and an 80 degree right (turn 9) all while dropping 60 feet in elevation which, at speed would take just about all the grip out of your car, all within a few hundred feet of track....  Fortunately on a bike it wasn't quite like that, just fast as can be.  A fun leaning turn.  OR two.  Then it leads you out down a couple of sweeping turns and straightaways...  until you come around the big corner to the finish line...  and start the circuit all over. I have video, but right now its so shaky its not worth showing...  that, and the breathing coming up the hill makes it sound like I'm near death....

Here are my various pics from the corkscrew. The first one is probably worth enlarging (click it).

PANO - a little rough, but you get a sense of it (and I loved taking it.)

I'll leave the blog with a few additional photos. Pit Row, and the Straightaway between Turn 3 and 4 (which I learned wasn't even there until after 1995). The track seems to have gone through a lot of changes over the last 55 years. At the end, a little background (no wonder my Dad revered Laguna Seca - it was conceived during his time of driving really, really great cars)...

Pit Row - it seems every good Laguna Seca video starts
with one of those doors opening, just check youtube...

The Pedestrian Bridge into Turn 4

"The vision for Laguna Seca developed out of the fabled Pebble Beach Road Races. During the 1950's, some of the world's best sports car drivers tested their skills on the roads winding through the Del Monte Forest. The races brought prestige, fans and money to the Monterey Peninsula. But, within a few years, the event had grown too big, and the cars too fast for the open road. The races needed a new home. Rather than see the event, and its fans and financial impact, go elsewhere, a group of local business people came up with an idea - build a permanent, world-class race track.

They founded the Sports Car Racing Association of the Monterey Peninsula (SCRAMP) on November 1, 1956. The charter for the non-profit group explained its mission, to "benefit local charitable and non-profit organizations and to promote the economic vitality of Monterey through the encouragement, solicitation, organization, sponsorship and perpetuation of motorsports events in the vicinity of the Monterey Peninsula." SCRAMP went right to work. The group leased Fort Ord land from the United States Army, and within a year the track was finished. On November 9, 1957, Pete Lovely won the first race at Laguna Seca.

In 1974, the Army transferred ownership of the 500-plus acre parcel containing the race track to Monterey County. At that point, the facility became a public recreation area under the jurisdiction of the Monterey County Parks Department. Despite its unusual arrangements, the race track has always been managed by one proprietor, SCRAMP.

SCRAMP has progressed from producing a single sports car race to promoting five major world-class motorsports events each year featuring national and international motorcycle racing, the Monterey Historic Automobile Races, NASCAR stock cars, Le Mans sports cars and the CART FedEx Championship Series." -- http://jimturley.tripod.com/laguna.htm

Oh what fun... it is to ride...
(I'll finish this thought when I have a gas pedal and a brake...)

A pretty good day at the track...

I got up this morning thinking about all the toys that must have been delivered while I slept. Today was Western Auto Journalist's Day here, and from what I saw come in the last couple of hours yesterday, it was going to be a pretty good day of oogling autos. I had no idea.

I didn't wake up to the zoom-zoom (Mazda's tagline -- it is everywhere here at Laguna Seca) because most of the stuff brought out was tame. Everyday rides for the most part, but there was some fun stuff. The new Jag was fun to see, as well as the Lotus - the new 300 which was being driven around outside the track... Saw a Fiat 500 (think Luigi from Cars), and some REAL American Muscle in the Mustang and Challenger that hit the track (THROATY and SEXY, is all that can be said).

I had no idea, however, that one of the most intriguing cars (both personally and worldwide) would be on-track. I wasn't prepared - I'd seen it in magazines and thought... meh. Its no '56 300SL Gullwing. (A car my dad owned and got rid of on a whim... bad Dad.. BAD.) However, I hadn't seen it in person, and now I'm a little smitten.

This will probably be THE car I'll remember from our time here. I've seen some pretty cool stuff, but this one leaves an imprint. Here it is going through turn 5.

Its all I had time to take, and wish I could have stayed a little longer to watch, but we came back and took a photo while it was in the paddock. Some little game that MBUSA was playing with a police car. Just take a look at the distance between the headrests... now look at your car - YEAH - its that wide.

Surprisingly - later on Mercedes also showed up with their latest project, the F-Cell cars. The F-CELL World Drive project (worldwide tour) is something that MB is using to try to raise awareness of alternative fuel technologies. They are a Hydrogen-based hybrid vehicle that emits ZERO emissions, and could change everything. These cars (3 class-B Mercedes) are driving around the world on an educational mission, and it was amazing to see everything behind what this trip takes - 2 semis, 3 F-Cell cars, two support vehicles (non-tagged), 4 vans with trailers, 1 personnel van, 1 GLK, and then the fuel truck, which carried a support crew of 2 trucks and 5 men). An INSANE amount of behind-the-scenes. Here's a link to learn more: click here.

The day ended well with lots of trucks taking lots of really fun, fancy rides away. I'm thinking I may need to change professions because these journalists - they get it all... New, fun rides in brilliant, free cars. On tracks, that noone gets to drive without spending tens of thousands of dollars. They write a few hundred words talking about what they did that day... SIGN. ME. UP. :)

Things I figured out in Denver

We feel that we're finally settling in a little and finding a little time here or there, now that we're stationary for a little while. I've had a few posts in my head in a note on the bulletin board since we stopped in Denver, but hadn't really had the time to put it all down in the blog. I had a lot of long, quiet time on the trek West, these thoughts went along with that drive... I'll post bits and pieces of them over the next couple of days.

Go for a little trip before going for the big one.

While we aren't unhappy with how we took off, and as I've written before that each journey is its own, and this journey wouldn't be the same if we'd done it any differently, in hindsight I'd have to recommend that if you're planning on taking off on any long-term, full-time RV trip, it would be a good idea to take a short trip or two first. Originally, that was our plan, but for one reason or another those small trips never materialized. I think what those small trips would have helped was not having to learn everything all at once, all at the same time. There's a lot to know and a lot to adjust to living like this. Doing a small trip or two first would have given us a little less to learn right off the bat. At the very least, camp for a little while in one location that you know - and try to do everything you can and/or think you will on your trip while you are there. That way you'll have a little safety net before you set off. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that we did things the way we did. It's just a hindsight recommendation for others.

Buy the right rig up front.

I'm very x10¹³⁴ happy about our purchase. What we bought seemed to be the right choice at the time, and I can only say that it was the right choice 100%. Sure, I'd love to have a class A with three bedrooms, but I don't particularly want to spend what I would have had to spend to get it. I'd rather put those resources into museum visits, fishing equipment and other niceties on our trip. By saying "buy the right rig", I'm essentially saying - don't buy expecting to trade up - you won't, and even if you do, you'll lose money on the deal. Buy a rig with a good reputation too - quality is one thing you can't fix after the fact. Full-timing is very different from vacationing, so look at a rig with the features/quality you need up front. Having the kids sleep on the couch in the kitchen might be great when you're all running around on the beach for the weekend, but doing that day-in, day-out will cut into your alone time, their sleep time, and everyone's happiness-in-general - even if it saves you $15,000 in rig-cost. We researched and bought the very best I could find, and I'm not only glad I found what I wanted, but spending what I spent (considered pretty expensive for a fiver) has been worth every penny.

Those Class A Guys

I'll admit it. I have ClassA envy. I'd love to have the kids with me when we are driving down the road. I'd love to be able to pull into a spot, press a button and have a sturdy, 100% electronically levelled RV at the push of one button. The kids would really enjoy having Satellite TV that tracks as we're driving down the road, giving them 140 different choices of what they could watch. Really, those rigs are generally built very well and would probably not need some of the fixes, upgrades and detail work that our trailer has needed. Class A people are generally better-regarded at parks, and may sometimes get a better shake about things than us trailer-folk (remember the million-dollar motor home in RI?). Besides, how slick would it be to roll into a place in the rain, never have to get out to get any part of things situated and have everything just how it should be, not to mention packing up to leave goes from 2 hours to about 8 minutes... so yeah - I have class A envy.

That being said, I'm very happy with what we've got. The rig cost about 20% of what we'd have needed to spend to get a comparable class A. There was only one made that I've found that had the kind of setup we'd need. Most of the rest would have put the bunks in the master bedroom, and that's no way to live full-time ;) (for us). It also would have been tough in Elkhart and Iowa where I had to have the rig taken away to be worked on. While we could always go get a hotel room - I just like having my own bed at night.

I guess what I'm saying is that just because someone doesn't have a class A doesn't mean they aren't serious about what they are doing. We could have bought one, and afforded doing so, but there were reasons we went the way we did - and everyone just needs to make that choice for themselves for their own reasons. Next time you see an RVer, ask them why they bought that rig specifically, if you're interested. You might be surprised how much thought was put into that particular one - maybe even more thought than most people put into their house.

My new favorite pasttime...

There's lots to be said by a lot of people about this photo. I couldn't help myself from taking it. I'll probably never live it down, and some might get steamed (ok, only one) - but there wasn't much that could be done about it -- I mean, where was he gonna go?

I'm not sure if my favorite part is the Ford yanking out the Chevy (for the second time in a week), or the way the angels seem to have appeared from the heavens. Yes, there is a lot going on in this photo - take with it what you will. (tongue very firmly in cheek) ;)

Moving Day

As we try to do weekly, today was once again moving day for us, and if they could all be like today, I'd really, really enjoy that - especially since this morning unfolded in a way that I'd have to make the day a workday, and take another day off later in the week.

So today - we started here.

And we moved all the way over here...

But - this is why: (you should enlarge this)
In this house, the front yard has amazing space, afternoon sun and plenty of bike-riding area. Dontcha wish you could move your house around like that? ;) Truly, if every moving day was like this, we wouldn't get to see much - but the days sure would be easier. :)

Fall/Winter is upon us, and we're still headed North - a long way North...

The temps dipped enough that we had to turn on the heater last night. 42 is cold enough for us to need to bump the two furnaces on, which means two things. 1-We're not anywhere near Assateague anymore (yes, we still talk about how hot that was). 2-it is going to start getting expensive and noisy. See, propane isn't included in the nightly hookups. I have a sneaking suspicion that's one of the reasons off-peak is cheaper.

I'm going to run out and get some electric space heaters so that we can use those during the day to keep things evened out. They should put enough concentrated heat out to keep the areas that need to stay warm toasty, without adding any expense on our stays. Then, we can use the furnaces at night to keep things safe. Right now I think that's a good plan - we'll see where I'm at in a couple of months. ;)

Good news is that at 42 this morning it wasn't that bad in the trailer. I deliberately have the thermostats set a little low (65) to see what we can live with. As anyone that's full-timed before will tell you, everything is a learning experience. I'm figuring that the girls will learn about staying under their blankets, that footy pajamas are the best thing ever, and what it's really like to live in the winter. The house was always warmer in the bedrooms, so when we had the thermostat set reasonably, it was usually warm, quite warm, at night.

I fear a little for Jill - she doesn't have any footy pajamas. Could be a long winter. :)

Route Map

I google mapped our route and thought I'd share it with everyone. I'm planning on updating it regularly, with current locations and the next planned destination, when possible.
The 'trips' are approximate, but the locations are as drilled-down as I can make them. This is both for us and posterity; who knows if the girls will want to stay in the same spot? ;)

If you want to take a look, you can check it out here: CLICK.

Being "Seasonal"

So one of the most fascinating things to me of late has been the people who are "seasonal". We've seen a lot of it in the last couple of campgrounds, particularly Chincoteague, New Jersey, and here in Connecticut. A seasonal person is someone who buys the lot on a monthly (or longer) basis, pays a monthly (or however the campground breaks it up) fee, and then usually pays for their electrical needs on a metered basis.

They usually have very set and elaborate spreads. I've taken some pictures of what we've seen (shown) and its all just very interesting to me. These people decorate their 'space', put gravel into their campsites, even build decks and sheds - and some never, ever move their trailers. Those probably pay a yearly fee to be where they are and its clear - they don't plan on leaving. I thought - why would anyone do that? They aren't there all the time and they are paying for space that they don't use except for XYZ time... and then I got it. Its simply a second house - a vacation house. You pay taxes, nominal utilities, even a mortgage for a vacation house when you aren't there. Instead of having a million dollar vacation house, why not have a $20,000 vacation house and do with it as you please? In fact, I talked with people the other night that bought their trailer for less than $4K, and have lived in it full-time/seasonal for 10 years... The fees for the campsite have to be cheaper than taxes and homeowners fees. In fact, you could do it in a different place every year, just number the boards on your elaborate deck, take it down when you leave and put it back up at your next location. Take 2 days to construct something that will be there for four months - easy! Even better - you could have 5 places in different locations for the price of one normally priced house... starting to look pretty good, huh?

In reality, I'm thinking that when we're done - if we ever "finish" this trip - that this might be a great way to go. Find a lake, get a good spot, build a deck and a screened porch. Travel up on the weekends and have a place that is pretty much like a condo, in the woods (or wherever), with plenty of sleeping quarters and a place for any other RV friends to meet as well... Everyone wins, and for a reasonable price :)

Found it!

So, on Assateague we had yet another power problem, and that was just not the place to fix it. Chincoteague got busy and I vowed that I would trace it down no matter what it took when we were in Delaware. There's a lot of technical stuff in here that I assume people know, yet I KNOW people don't, so skip to the end and just think - whew, that's fixed... if you're so inclined. :)

/begin technical mumbojumbo

I tried a lot of things - starting with the generator, then thinking that it must be the charger - but the charger showed the proper voltages at the proper times where the wire connected (it has different modes depending on what its supposed to be doing, and each was exactly in line when tested with a meter). And the battery meter I put in was showing a positive flow of amps to the bank, just much smaller than I was accustomed to. So, I ruled the charger out.

I tested the batteries individually, and they were weak as can be, but none worse off than another. I check all the fuses that I can find, all test OK. At this point, I checked the wire running from the charger to the batteries - it showed to be connected - so I was stumped.

I spent that first afternoon running around to marine shops since we were in Ocean City, MD figuring that they would be pretty similar systems. Boats and RVs have a lot in common as to self-contained living spaces, but much to my surprise they either weren't willing, or weren't able to help. It was like the question I was asking was foreign - enough to have one of the guys at the boat ship tell me he just sells them, and had no idea how they actually worked. (*note: I must assume that he knew the V-shaped closed part of the boat went in the water and the open, softly-padded sitty-surfaced part went up, so maybe he just didn't understand all the systems). ;) I finally went to a boat repair shop, described to the mechanic on duty what I was seeing and we were in agreement - it had to be a bad battery bringing down the system (I have 3 total). Possibly even bad enough to the point that the plates got warped, therefore totally trashing the batteries.

Another day of running through tests and working through what it might be, with no results finally runs the batteries down to a point where the coach won't respond. So, still not knowing quite what the deal is, I go to Walmart and pickup a battery that I know is good, and wire it accordingly, and wait for (now Chincoteague) to continue troubleshooting.

In Chincoteague I tested, and ran, and retested, and figured out that I could charge the coach battery with the car & jumper cables, running a couple of hours at a time. SO temporary fix in place, we continue to enjoy our time on the island, and I run the car every night for a couple of hours. No big deal - I'll fix it when I can tear the belly out, since I've now got it down to a short in the wire that runs from the charger to the battery. See, now that wire isn't testing through with the ohm-meter, but in order to get to it I have to take out the walls they put in hiding all that stuff.

Anyway - after pulling everything apart I find out that the culprit in this whole mess is a fuse. A 50 AMP maxi-fuse that not only had I tested, but had traced as the likely problem early in this endeavor. See, it failed because of a surge, like it was supposed to do, when I was running the generator on Assateague. However, it didn't completely fail. It left enough of itself connected so that it tested ok when I used the meter, but wasn't thick enough to carry the electricity from the charger to the battery banks, therefore showing a small reading of power into the batteries, but not allowing them to really charge at all. See, I should have just replaced the fuse, but RVs aren't built like cars. The fuse in block A-1 on this unit isn't always your left taillight. Being built by hand you have to run everything down individually - they don't make diagrams.

/end technical stuff

Anyhow - mystery solved and not at too much expense, except for some sanity. Jill and I have figured out a few things and probably my most important from this problem is this: RVing is all about experience. I can't go to school to figure out all the little peccadillos I'm going to run into with this rig, and even if I went to school, what happens on my rig is different than what happens on yours. I can read until my eyes are blurry about every possible problem, except the next one I'm going to encounter, because that one is different than what anyone else will encounter. Now, sure - some things are always similar, just like with car problems, but there's something about throwing the whole house factor together with it that makes it ultra-unique.

Now that we've got that down we will just keep moving forward and experiencing whatever is thrown at us. As Jill said, we're starting to feel settled and like this is where we want to be. Yes, we both had moments in the last couple of weeks where we wanted to quit, walk away and not feel bad about it. Heat, humidity (multiplied by 5) on top of broken things and frayed nerves will do that. But we also vowed to stick through it, and now we are on the other side and happy about sticking around. Well, maybe until the next thing breaks... (just kidding).

nggh.. Shay 'ello ... to my liddle fren'...

Meet ol' Blue. We've become quite the friends this week. Forced to buy him for the lack of hookups, and Jill's fondness for Laundry and showering the girls, he and I have spent some quality time together this week and I just thought you should all meet my newest (and possibly most single-purposefully-minded) friend.

It's a subject we haven't broached at all because I think most people are afraid to talk about it - unless they are camper/rv'ers (and then they don't need to talk about it). So, just know these facts... we have a freshwater tank, and two tanks for waste both fore and aft. One holds black water and the other gray. Ol' blue here is for only the gray water, which is just pretty much dirty laundry water, hence not too toxic. Not that we couldn't put black water in a little guy like this if necessary, let's just say I'll go a long way not to have to put black water in a little guy like this, and leave it at that. :) The systems are pretty much self-contained and I only need to hook up some hoses and touch some external valves and move stuff around, then wash it down (wearing Nitrile gloves the entire time of course), so it's all in all a pretty clean existance. They make lots of little gizmos and gadgets to make it even easier and better, and I've bought a few - plan on buying a couple of others, but for the most part - it's a pretty simple and easy process. If you have any questions, feel free to ask because I have no shyness about any of this kind of stuff any more. :) Enjoy your indoor plumbing all. :)

What a day - "Karma called, and they hate you..."

I don't really understand. Maybe I pillaged a village in a past life and its all catching up? Maybe, just maybe, what we are doing is so cool that Karma is trying to level the playing field just a bit...

I started off this post in a much, much worse mood. But those of you that are Facebook friends might have seen tonight's full melee of posts and comments, and its put me in such better spirits that I can't be upset. Good friends, good memories, maybe even, even after today, a good mood.

You see, last night I was in a good mood. I did a lot of work, was happy with where things are here, and this morning woke up with great anticipation of getting things done. New things, not fixing things - advance, advance - not C.M.A. Then, power, once again, reared its ugly head.

I've said for the last couple of days (to myself mostly, and slightly under my breath) that this stop would be the most important of the trip. We've been hot, sticky, sullen, unhappy, tempermentalists, forlorn, snippy, etc... (and I only got to Sunday morning in that list...) Bottom line is that none of us were meant for this July in this place, with no power, no AC, heat indexes of 105, tired, stressed, and everything else that goes with that this early into our trip. Jill and I have both come close to packing it in (and have stated such verbally) and the kids it seemed at times would almost rather that we did... BUT, slow down folks - the heat is doing a lot of talking here. Its really been miserable, and while I'm sure that many of you have suffered through more, with less, in less fanciful settings, please note that we have also gotten to the three-week-into-our-trip phase. First week - Honeymoon. Second week - Adjustments. Third week - REAL Adjustments, and this was not the place to be, with these conditions, when REAL ADJUSTMENT hit the girls... and us.

I think we'll reflect back on this and realize that this week defined a lot of stuff going forward. What we will, and won't do. What we will, and won't plan. And how POWER in summer is very, very important (water too). Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying this was a bad thing/place/experience for us. Very much the contrary in fact as we learned so much.

Unfortunately, just as Jill and I discussed this last night, and had come to grips with everything... BUMP. Something else went bump.

Personally, I'm pretty sure its why the two girls in the tent camp next to us moved camp after one night. I'm pretty sure its why I've been whacking my head into a steel pole all day. I'm pretty sure its going to make it that I'm replacing just about every system on this rig, each at its own time...

The bump was batteries. Seems like last night might have run them down further than I expected. Now, I've been monitoring them for the last several days. Paying attention to levels and running the generator to recharge them daily (as needed), but last night might (ok, WAS) too much to ask. And, unfortunatley, unlike any other inverter (takes Battery 12V and turns it into House 120V) I've ever had, this one just beeps when its mad. My others have all beeped, then refused to be taken advantage of and turned off. I found this out because the girls watched a movie yesterday, then I of course worked, and played on FB and watched a movie - with earphones in... The manufacturer of the RV did buy one that beeps, but not enough to be heard inside (its in an outside storage compartment), even without earphones - so when it got to a dangerous level, it annoyed our neighbors, but didn't tell me anything... and I went to bed.

So poof. Now we have no power - no fridge - no laptop - no lights - no nothing. Three great big piles of weight that won't respond to a charge. I have a generator, and I keep trying to push power into them, but sadly, as I learn later, they are too far gone. Dead after only three months of use, and now its just another set of stuff I'm going to have to replace. I'm hoping that I can work out some kind of warranty issue.

>>> Sometime Later...

I've gone to Walmart to pick up some kind of lifeline, we have 12V again - jury-rigged as it is. To top it off I've fixed Jill's lost laptop from this morning (should get me points) and the fridge is beginning to creep back into real temperatures. I know there's more research to be done to see if I can save anything battery, or if the solution I thought I'd come up with in theory (before we'd left) is the right one now. We'll see. Lots of tests tomorrow to make sure things are working as they should, then replacement of what needs to be replaced, moving of what needs to be moved - and hopefully, at some point - I'll finally get a bike ride. :) I'm quite tired of fixing things. I really want to enjoy all the spoils, but this is clearly trial-by-fire, as the trip has dictated all along. I hope someone finds a firehose soon. :)

<<< A little later... Fortunately, as I edit this I've stopped thinking that Karma is getting me back for things in my past. I now realize that what it's doing is getting even for how cool this trip is, how lucky we are to be taking it, and how cool its going to be for the rest of my kids lives (and ours). And honestly, I think I can pay it forward now, figuring that the upside is worth the payment.

Where we are now **

** Unfortunately I had to edit the heck out of this post for it to work correctly. I will try to work on that more as time goes on so that we can post immediately from the road. A good experiment, but I can't call it a success yet. -- R.

Well, if the posting works right, and the picture goes alongside - this has been the goal. Yes, the ponies really are throughout the campsites. Yes they are so in the campsite that the foal (laying down in the right of the photo) will walk through your tent and the stallion will steal food right off your table. We are still settling in and hopefully will post much more tonight, but I wanted to send along a little teaser today. :)


Sent from my iPhone

Updates...

Hey all - We've finally settled in and are finally getting down to routine. Work in the daytime, kids to bed, personal time at night. Its a little funny to me how little some things have changed since we were in the ol' sticks and bricks (RV slang for a house), but how much other things have changed. I'm hoping to change my schedule a little more to be more in line with the kids. I've been saying that for a long time now, so I'm sure Jill doesn't believe it - but it'll come. My guess is that next week will have a significant push toward that direction - true boondocking.

I know I haven't posted in a couple of days, and let me tell you why. I got a little funky about the comment on the West Virginia post. We know nobody (that I know of) from West Virginia, and while at first it seemed a little cutesy and in jest, the more I thought of the comment the snarkier it became in my head. We post so that people can keep up with us without having it rammed down their throat. Know what you want, see what you want, comment back when you find something funny, or truthful or fulfilling. You don't even have to leave a name, in fact - we love it when we get comments at all, and so far most have been signed in some way so that we can tell who you are, but that the commenter doesn't have to open themselves up to the whole universe. That's fantastic, and all we ask. However, the WV comment was anonymous, in the most anonymous sense -- the text, the verbiage, the mocking - didn't fit with anyone we'd expect. So - my policy is now this... This is a friendly blog. We are not trying to get famous, gain followers, promote RVfor5, or do anything other than let friends and family know what's going on without having to make 25 phone calls a day. It has become a forum that we can talk on, share with you, relive the trip and all its, uh, fun and learning. There are a lot of things that I want this website/blog to become, but a snarky place for unnecessary comments is not one of them. I'm not naive enough to think that there aren't people out there that are looking at our blog that we haven't told or invited. The Internet is a wide open thing. I am just saying this - there's no need to be that way. Step up WVA person and tell us more about yourself...

Bottom line: If your comment is anonymous, snarky, and neither Jill nor I know who wrote it - its probably gonna get axed. I'm leaving Mr. WestVirginiaGetOffMyHighways as a learning experience. I'm just putting it out there otherwise.

Now - that all being said.... Updates:

Injector - I went down to Richmond today to try to get that fixed and was told rather unceremoniously by Jason that without being able to replicate it, they'd never be able to figure out what was wrong. I was pretty sure I knew what was wrong, gave them info, but if "it don't throw codes" then apparently they can't figure it out. I now have to wait until it REALLY breaks and makes towing really difficult before taking it in. Hopefully at some point it breaks just enough to tell them what's wrong without halting our trip... And they say the American car industry is in a comeback. :/

Today - I'm sure that Jill will blog a bit about our visit today, but can I just say how nice it was to visit with friends from the past. Everyone here needs to know that without the friend we visited today, none of this (and I'm talking down to the Jill and I even meeting part) would be happening. Thank you for changing the course of my life. It was fun to catch up and I hope to see you more in the next couple of weeks, not to mention on the trip back down. Somehow, we'll find a way to get you camping yet :)

Campgrounds - WOW. How different they all are. We've had - GREAT (Horse Park), CORPORATE - (First 3 days in Cave Creek), RURAL, SMALL and disconcerting (but by far the most friendly - Bardstown), TROUBLING - on so many levels (Jellystone Park), and now PURE STRANGE (here - in three days I've talked with one other camper, and it was not good). Its funny that our first park is maybe one of the best parks in the US (and now we are starting to understand why). We still have a lot of different experiences to go through, and I'm sure a lot of different types of parks to see, but I think we've run into a good mix of things. I'll post more on the different parks soon, but let me just say this - read between the lines of advertising; read comments and posts about the parks before you reserve them; unless they are in the exact, perfect location for what you're trying to do (read: not another park that rated close within an hour), research more.

I'm really enjoying the many aspects of this trip, but its going to be tough to find an RV park that will fulfill everything we are looking for. I know for a fact that it is tough to start your trek with such a good park, and that most will have a tough time measuring up. However, its also amazing to me how much personality each park has... We've just got to learn what type of park we want to be friendly with... :)

I've still got a lot to post about, but now its late and I'm going to need to get up rather early tomorrow to get a full day of work in. I can see why retirees favor this kind of lifestyle, and while I wish I could do the same, I'm glad to be able to provide and work from the road. Hopefully I can figure out everything Internet in the next few weeks and be all set for every situation. I'm sure it'll get expensive, but if that's what makes the trip happen, then whatever it takes - right?

R.

West Vir-*******-ginia

I'll let you'all fill in the stars... :)

Jill says I should blog more. And I try, I really do, but I'm always doing something, then I get tired, then I sleep, then I work, then stuff to do... its still an ugly cycle. So far in and still so much to fix. I'm hoping over the next three weeks to be able to wipe any of that left-over junk out.

Today was really a bad day. It started off bad with the mud. That red - cakey - stick to everything - color all your clothing - ick. And since it rained, and the grass was washed away from anywhere that was near the hookups - it is everywhere. Pants, knees, shoes (which I had to change for the inch of mud caked on the bottoms (that picked up rocks throughout the campsite)), steps, cables, hoses... everywhere. I have to find a better system for the mud. Then, the drain is 2 1/2 inches above the bottoms of the hoses. We haven't had any talks about the hoses and the dumping and the fun of all that... so I won't start now - however, not gonna let that happen again either. Lots of lifting, purging, heaving... If you haven't experienced it, don't. :)

Needless to say I was 2 hours behind schedule and grouchy.

Then - Jill wants to go all the way to Richmond... or, "let's get to the VA border, and 'then we'll see'." :) If I were in a car, if I were in her say - MR2 - then yeah - I'm all about that plan. Sadly, we aren't. And as much as I want all that freedom - I'm happy with Charleston... Let's get halfway there today, not push, and then follow through tomorrow. Well, with the late getaway, the tough drive up through KY (traffic and heat), well, we shoulda...we coulda, but didn't. :) We pushed. -I- PUSHED.. hard. I got gas milage that people would scoff at. Foot-in-the-floor kinda numbers whenever possible. I spent more on Diesel today than I have in poker for... (ok.. a month - I had a final game.. it was fun..) :)

West Virginia became my least favorite state today. :) It's hilly, poorly road-managed and... well...geez... its just got some really crazy hills - all with really sharp curves and grades - not meant to be pushed, aggressively, by a Ford, with a notoriously problematic motor... and poof. Injector. I know it. I felt it. And tho I was able to limp it into the gas dock, get it refueled, and then restarted... I'm worried from there. We made it the rest of the way tonight, but this is not my first rodeo. I know its coming back - so I already have the plan for an appointment early next week in Richmond. Hopefully I'm able to limp it in, and if so - hopefully I'm wrong.

I also got to put the first scratch in the RV today. Running down a road that was supposed to hold an RV park we ran into an ugly dead end. And while I was sure I could swing it, and rotate out - Jill heard a crash and a scrape. Its all cosmetic (pictures tomorrow) but its still painful. I hate this state that told us there was a campground ovur thar, then thar weren't (sic). :)

To top WV off we've now gone the full circle..... I'm sure that we will have campgrounds that are worse. I'm sure that we will have campgrounds that are less level, less friendly, less 24 hour shoppable.... but tonight is a Wal-Mart parking lot. We tried three campgrounds tonight, albeit without reservations. And the best one (ok - the only one that answered the phone) told us - "we got a spot for a couple of 25 footers. You can try it if'n y'unt to." Pass. (I mentioned #3 above). I decided to punt, and even in this tiny pittance of a town, it took us two full passes to find the WalMart. Who tucks away a WalMart from the road (and we were BOTH looking for it... on the right side. geez)?

Anyhow - everyone is settled down. The kids had an ok day (aside from the ultra-late bedtimes) riding in Daddy's truck and watching movies. And, above all, Jill and I learned valuable lessons. This will be, barring catastrophic (or fecundant) news, our longest trek. I don't anticipate doing this many miles in three weeks (well, except for maybe Sara-toga- --) because its just not 'our' journey. We won't leave anywhere now with a 'go-with-it' plan because three kids and a 42-foot trailer just don't allow that. "Let's see how far we get" is now banished... yes - BANISHED from our vocabulary. Unfortunate for late-night movie watching, YES. Happy for planning our trip... much more so :)

Anyhow - as I listen to the melodious tones of the vacuum car running around and sucking up the crap that people leave on the ground for no good reason (he's been here for 3 hours people... you really drop that much crap out of your cars nightly?) I think its time to hit the hay. I've got another long trip tomorrow, and a good part of it is through West Virginia...***redacted*** ... I don't wish what I typed on anyone. :)

g'night all.

And they're off.....

Today is the first day I feel like we've finally started our adventure. All that before - that seemed to just be preparation. I'm finally finished cleaning, doing chores, and basically flogging my guts out working to get going... Last night, I actually got to do nothing but listen to music and drink beer.
As you can see, leaving was no easy task. When they paved the road at the farm they raised the height of it about 4", at the same time the wires have drooped over the driveway over the last several years. I called about getting it fixed back in April, and still can't get anyone that knows anything to talk with me. So - I made up my own solution with some scrap boards and two 16-foot 2 x 10's. It worked like a charm and though you can't see it, we cleared by a couple of feet. Yahoo!
Then off to the Horse Park we went. Even though I knew I still had a day of work to do, it was a good thing to get on the road. I slept better, I feel better, and I'm more social and happy than I've been in awhile. I think Jill likes the change. :) Yesterday for me was a final day of working through the stuff and I was able to make the progress I needed with no distractions or trouble. I threw out BAGS of stuff, donated some really, really nice electronics and the truck is so full that I can't see out of it, but at least now we are all in one place -- with all our stuff in one place as well. The next couple of days will be spent organizing tools and supplies, and going through the stuff in the truck. I have evenings free now - I can do that!

I'm finding that I'm much more physically active out here. Because I don't have pressing things to do at all hours, I've been walking a couple of miles a day. Once I get the bikes in shape I'll bike a lot as well. I wish I'd had it ready to ride here at KHP, but first things first. There's time for that. Today Erika and I went on a nice walk just the two of us. I think it made a big difference in her day - she loves one on one time. We also had a nice walk all five of us and got to watch some polo practice (which I'm sure Jill will blog about tonight). All in all a good day, with a good day of work as well. I'm going to like this life I think.

Tomorrow we are off to Louisville for me to do some much needed maintenance on servers and to visit some long-time friends. I'm doubtful I'll get to hang out too much, but the girls and Jill will get to, and that'll be good for them. After that I think we've got a couple of days reservations in Bardstown - a town which I pretty much know nothing about. We still don't know what's up with the 4th (can't find a place), but things will work out somehow, somewhere - that's kinda how we're being about this trip. No need to panic - worst case is a night in a parking lot and driving early the next day. No worries!