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.

Update on the 'cane.

I'm making my list of preparations, and thought I'd put out an update for everyone from how I see it. Right now the track and strength have changed pretty dramatically from when I wrote this morning. Facts are that it could get much weaker before it gets here, but even with it the way it is now, I think we're in fine shape.

As of about an hour ago, the projected path by NOAA takes it out of RI and down to a Category 1 when it passes. We have a 50/60% chance of seeing tropical winds (+/- 39MPH average over a one minute period). As any poker player will tell you - that's a coin flip, and purely a maybe-maybe not thought. I'm currently on the maybe not side. I'm thinking it will weaken and move out enough that we'll see some winds, we'll see plenty of rain, but nothing too significant, at least - nothing to be too worried about.

I've prepped as I've been taught. Gas tanks are full if we need to leave, cased water in the house in case something goes really wrong, but the cool thing about being in an RV is that we don't suffer from the problems that traditional houses would. Think about it - if the electricity fails, I'm already setup for that both through 12V and a generator. If city water fails, I have a full tank of more water than we can conservatively use in a week. If gas fails - it can't fail because I already carry more than I can use in a few days now. If traffic is bad, we pull over and have the house with us.

In reality, the biggest thing we have to worry about is damage from the winds, and we've already survived a good set of gusts of 45+ in Chincoteague... which I admit I should have been better prepared for then, and why our youngest is currently freaked out at the thought of 'Storms', but I know better now and am prepared. Especially for this one.

Yes - "tornados love trailer parks", but we have advanced warning of this out-in-the-ocean twister, so all will be well. Will I stay up tomorrow night, on-point, without beer? - you betcha. Am I worried right now that we'll have to move? - not a bit. Will I be prepared should things take a turn for the worse? - already am. Tomorrow's gonna be just fine, just spent comforting a 2-year-old about the big rain. Jill and I are ok with that. :)

Ten feet at a time...

Traffic. How do we run into some of the big messes considering how little we really drive? Today's trek should have taken us about two and a half, maybe three hours - Mr. Garmin even said so. As I type this while sitting on the road (the truck is in park, and I have a new iPad) we are at hour four, and we haven't even left New Jersey yet.

We have CB's and I've been listening to radio traffic trying to pick up ANY tidbit ...and the last bit of traffic I heard was... "...Wherever you are going driver, don't even think about taking the George Washington bridge...". See the picture to the right...? That one that says - well, you know exactly what it says... I just took that about 150 feet before I typed the paragraph... Sticking us right into it with no recourse. Yahoo. :/

Well, we'll get there when we get there I guess. One thing I'll be sure to do in the future tho is to pack a cooler for the truck. You'd think I wouldn't have to since I'm towing my household refrigerator less than 10 feet from where I sit, but apparently when you're moving 10 feet at a time at random intervals it's tough, nay - impossible - to pick the right spot to get out and unlock the door...

Settling in...

Well, now we've been here a couple of days and the new car smell is starting to wear off. The noises and rattles and movements are becoming recognizable (proving that I NEED to get an accumulator tank for the water system). The routine is beginning to straighten itself out again, and most importantly its all still good. :)

I still have an amazing amount of stuff to do, both for the RV and for the farm. I'm sure I'll get it done, but I know that we are both looking forward to getting on the road RIGHT NOW, and its going to delay us from that departure. However, in the true fashion of the way we are trying to live I am putting no pressure on myself to have to be gone by a certain date. Pressure and anxiety is the enemy, 'go with the flo' is the mantra... well, at least we're trying to keep it that way.

Jill and the kids were gone all day and the RV was quiet. I will be able to get a lot of work done on days like that, and, I think, once we are in a campground, on days that are not quiet in the RV I'll be able to find another spot. I just wish they made dual screen laptops. I can't wait to get the desk setup and should in the next couple of days. Working off the table is getting old. But, one thing at a time, right?

Last night I burned the pile of boxes and wood stuffs we'd accumulated over the course of our life at the house (pic above). Tonight I'm off to push through some of the projects and hopefully get at least one or two done. I need to tear into the barn aisle and really turn a harsh eye on things I just don't need. I'm hopeful that it'll be an easy task - we'll see how much crap I really have left over that I didn't have time to deal with. I'm a little afraid the amount is larger than I'm able to deal with in a day or two.

So the summary is basically this: Still a lot to do, stuck in a holding pattern until everything is done. GET STUFF DONE. :) that is all.

Counter....

So, we just had our counter offer accepted and should be under contract in the next couple of hours - with like a 23 day window with which to be completely out of the house.

Crazy? I'm just realizing how crazy - so as my breathing restricts a little and my back ties up to the point where I'm having trouble walking, its time to come up with a plan, and to figure out what to let go.

23 days.

23.

Project #1 is a success - on to project 2

Well, The first project (make room for a stackable washer/dryer is completed. We'll still need to vent it once I get the product, but at least the closet is done. I'm actually pretty happy with how everything turned out, and I think, for having to reuse pieces and canabalize the scrap, it turned out quite well.

The only thing that happened which I failed to realize is that the cabinet door will now need to be open to use the remote with the DVD player. While that's inconvenient, it isn't the end of the world, and if this setup works out ok I may just cut a hole in the cabinet door to make it work. OOF - I also forgot about the satellite receiver... hmm. More mods to be made :)

So - on to planning the next - Bed Rails. I found an example of what I want to base what we're doing (left). This is out of a Class A (a really expensive one - notice the granite end table for the lower bed...). I am hoping we can do something similar, but I'm not entirely sure how the ladder will work. Sound I use heavy closet rod (found one at Lowe's) or should I order something higher end? I think I'll use red oak stained to match as close as possible - its really all I can do. I sketched out the idea, and I think it'll be a pretty straightforward design.

I was planning on doing the desk next, but I realized that I can vacation without the desk - I can't put the girls in bed without the rails.

Day 5 1/2 | RV attained, lessons on picking up in the afternoon learned

Well, its dark, its late, and I spent the better part of my day just waiting around because they didn't do all the inspecting they probably should have. But it is attached to the truck, in the driveway and everything seems to work.

Let's start at the beginning for the day... I really don't like California anymore. I'm sure I could get used to it again, but wow - what a hassle. Traffic, is a nightmare. It is stop and go, ofr no reason other than that there are too many people to fit on roads that were designed and built just last year even. The freeway is worse (we stop-and-go'd around a corner on the freeway just because it was a corner - no accident, no stall, CORNER. sigh. Then, I needed diesel, so I got off the freeway where a station should be, but no diesel. drove down the street, no diesel... ugh. Took me what seemed like forever to get everything done and then get down to Norm's...

Then: Well, you'd think it was going to be easy - they knew I was coming two weeks out, they knew I was leaving with the RV that night, and they KNEW I was from far away and wasn't going to bring it back in for a due bill... sigh. We did some shopping - with the deal I got a $50 gift cert. Because I bought from them I get 10% off. This still brought the price down to HIGH retail, so I didn't buy anything more than I absolutely needed. She tried to upsell me on everything, and I'm sure her information is good and she just wanted me to be happy, but I can cut about 20% off those prices by waiting a couple of days, so I did. I used the cert to get: cheap sewer hose and connector, egg crate (I needed another $5 thing), RV shaped like the Glendale for the girls, a 15 to 30 adapter, and a 25' water hose (longer primary, then a 15' can be an extension). They gave me some nice 'getting started' books, including a Woodall's guide, an atlas, and a nice "one tank trips" book for the far west of the US... In addition (and because they matched Camping World's president price) I bought the 50 amp portable surge protector and lock (aside: The Glendale's wiring thus far seems to be behind the panel, and I can't easily get to it. I want to hard wire one in instead, but I'll have to wait to see if that's possible. I probably won't plug in until our first trip - not on the way home... AND if I did, it'll probably be to the Honda i2000 I plan to buy.) Anyhow, I also had to buy the gooseneck adapter you see, and they came close to CW's price, but I didn't have to go get it, lug it around, etc. so that was worth it to me. I'll call it a convenience fee. :) I'm excited to see what the girls do with the toy.

So we finish that deal, and i go out for the walkthrough - but wait, the GN adapter isn't put on yet. They are afraid to do it with the pinbox my trailer comes with, and 'have been trying to call me all day'. Anyhow - the decision is made to replace my pinbox 'for free' to a solid box from a past unit and then attach the GN to that. OK, sounds reasonable, but they had several ways to get ahold of me (including the email address Norm had emailed me at just days before...) well, no harm, no foul - just an annoyance, and a telling sign of things to come.

I get a silly guy that likes to joke for my technician in the walkthrough. He likes to talk, likes to kid, and jokes. I'm not really in the mood for it, but I go along with it for now. It turns out that I'll be glad i did, but we'll leave that for later. :) We went through all the systems in the coach, and find several odd things. It seems to me that they are used to having someone come in that just wants to know how the systems work, but don't go any further than that. I fine-tooth-combed the unit. Every light, every drawer, everything - and found several faults, INCLUDING one's I'd brought up the day before...sigh. We find about 10 things that are kinda minor, but still should be addresses if they are delivering a brand new coach. Then we did something I don't think they were used to... we went to the roof. You see, I know that there's a lot of stuff up there and I want to know about it - AND I knew that the unit has been sitting in the sun and elements for probably a year... So up we go, and he says that I'm supposed to check this stuff about every 6 months, and clearly they haven't - the sealant around things is supposed to be white - it isn't. It is supposed to be pretty smooth without pitting, it isn't. Nobody seems to have looked at that - and the fact is that they should have. My advice to anyone buying/looking. If the units spent anytime outdoors, get up on the roof and inspect it. Ask questions, complain if it doesn't look right and don't let them blow you off. Earlier I said I got lucky, and I did, because I think if I'd been up there with any other tech, they would have told me that's how it was supposed to look, and I might have been ok with that. Steve was honest, and took ownership of the process and the product. While that probably costs his employers in the short term, it probably is minor in comparison to what they gain in customer loyalty/repurchase/etc.

Steve even looked at one of the doors that seemed a little to largely gapped in the back, and while Kim (mgr) and I discussed that it did in fact seal, and that its just the way the coach is built, Steve at least was willing to write it down and take it to her, rather than just blow past it. That is something I can truly appreciate.

Anyhow- because of the roof fiasco I missed dinner (they should have probably offered to buy since my truck was hooked up by that point), and didn't get out of there until 8. BUT at least they were willing to stay and let me get out of there tonight, rather than have to burn 4 hours doing it tomorrow. I'll take it. Norm's RV is behind me, I've got my unit in the driveway, and things work fine now :)

More blogging on Day 6 after I mess around a bit with it. More photos too (now I need to open a flickr account... darnit!)

So much to talk about...

I have so many things to talk about, and no mind to do it. Tomorrow I promise, tomorrow.

Topics include:

• How fast things move when you pull the trigger
• Timelines change when things move fast
• How to grab the only trailer in inventory, while trying to sneak that you're doing it
• How many things have come about in the last several hours that might set aside the entire schedule.

More to come soon, but first, a little rest. :)

R.

Interesting conversion for a desk

I saw this when looking at used trailers today, and thought it a very elegant solution to not having workspace. I could do this with any chest of drawers using mostly materials that already exist in the RV. The slides and platform for the pullout could be easy to get from Lowe's/HD, and the drawer facia could be cut down to remanufacture smaller drawers on the top level. Everything could then be laid out on the chest, with the pull out left for the laptop.

Since just about every one of the units we've looked at has a chest of drawers like this in some format, I think my problem of workspace is pretty much solved in that fashion. then, if I ever did have to work late, and Jill were asleep I could take the laptop out into the LR without problem, as long as I don't always have to be out there.

Europe bound?

Last night I was watching Bourne and thought, you know - if we can do the RV in the US - we could really do that in Europe too. That movie shows an awful lot of fantastic sights and scenes and things that I would very much like to see.

I'm sure there are some logitical problems, but that's a good two years or more away, and we'll have to see how everything shakes out between now and then. I am however pretty certain that if we can do it here, we can do it there.

If we were to do it, I'd have to do a lot of research about vehicle length, width, fuel, types, etc. I know that there are differrent laws over there and I'm not entirely keen on all the hoops we'd probably have to jump through, but it'd be worth it if I can put up with it and keep the right attitude.

Personally, I'd like to see all the different things that Europe has to show me and my family, and I'd like to learn and teach the cultures and heritage that the area would have to offer. I could see a good amout of time in Western Europe, and while going into Eastern Europe would be interesting, it would all depend on how much time we wanted to spend. If I think it'll take a long time to move around over here, I can imagine how much time it'll take over there.

I suppose our primary countries would be: Italy, Spain, France, Germany (I mean - the autobahn in a 450 towing 40' of house... oh yeah!), the Netherlands, Denmark and I'm sure England/Ireland/Scotland would all be something to do. Secondary trips could include Monaco, Iceland (I've always wanted to go), Moscow (maybe a weekend trip), and Sweden/Finland/Norway just to see what that area is like. We'd need our passports in hand, that's for sure.

Worst case scenario is that the girls would all be much older, and could understand that they need to survive with less space. We could just sell the rig over here and buy something more suitable to life over there - we'll see. I'd think that over there I'd be very, very interested in a class C or A. Maybe by that point I'll have won the World Series and no longer need to work... HA!

Bluegrass RV

OK, so I've decided its been too long and planning this stuff is just too daunting - so here it is, raw, real, and flowing.

I took the girls shopping on Sunday. I'd hoped Jill would nap - heck, I had hoped the girls would nap and I wouldn't have to go, but they got caught up, like ya do... and I found myself on the North side of town looking for a project. Why not RV shopping right?

Bluegrass here I come. As Jill noted earlier, we'd opted to go across the street last time, because this place look used-car to me. BOOOYAH - I can read... I got there at 1, they opened at 1, and it seemed like they weren't sure they wanted to be there. We parked, got out, went into an RV that was open (what a boon actually) and when we came out were treated to a guy that asked 3 questions, decided we weren't ready to buy that day, and quickly shuffled us to 'visit me in the office on your way out and I'll get you a brochure'.

Regardless it was an good trip. We got to see another version of a bunkhouse, and I finally got to see what a loft was all about. The problem is that all these trailers were 30 / 31 feet. OH what I can do with another 8 to 12... Clearly these are not FT'ers. Though, they did teach me a lot about space, adjustments, and what I might be able to do for a desk.

On another note, I haven't researched it yet, but I think I might just be comfortable in a 6'6" or so Travel Trailer. No saying now that I can just throw that out. We went, we saw, I stood up, and it wasn't overwhelmingly small... Not the most ideal, but if it includes everything I want to have, I can take 6'6"....

Highlight of the day is that I asked the girls - Do you think you could do this, sleep this way and have fun - and they enthusiastically said yes not knowing they didn't have a choice. Its not a matter of if - it is entirely - when.

Purge....

So it has begun. I knew where I was going with the purge, but I don't think anyone believed it. When Jill heard I was talking about 86ing my poker books, I think it was finally understood. We are going to have to get rid of A LOT of stuff. I'm all about storing stuff, but it has to be important stuff. Anything I haven't looked at or used in the last 18 months probably needs to go. Most of the other stuff probably needs to be used.

Just looking around the office I can see tons of paper that has to be used - DVDs to make electronic, pictures to store (those aren't going to go away), all the electronics that we don't need. The furniture that quite frankly is gonna go away and I guess some is staying, we are coming back to a house at some point after all, right?

Jill started purging herself today, and I think it was a big step. I know she likes to get rid of things, but she got rid of some stuff that was very personal and things that she had projects in mind for. I'm not sure I'm ready to take that big a step this quick, but I'm gonna work on it.

Toy Hauler?

So, now - maybe a toy hauler? With the garage area we could tun it into whatever we wanted. The triple-bunk thing probably wouldn't be hard to do - it would be 'empty' space to use as a playroom, and we could use the tailgate as a kind of porch.

In fact - putting a deck on that ramp, putting supports on the outside wouldn't be that tough. We could leave it closed when the weather was bad and open it up during the day when its good. I could see putting some simple kind of aluminum railing in place that automatically opened. Damn, new ideas.

We'd still need to go with a tow vehicle, though they do make motohomes with that type of floorplan. That kind of open floorplan might be just the kind of playroom we need.

Too many days...

Its really been too many days since I last blogged. Between work and family time, its hard to find time to do things like this, but I'm trying harder than I did with my poker blog. That one I always waited until the very end of the day, and by that point I was too 'done' to bother. Might be why I haven't blogged there since October.

I have been doing things to move forward. I read a great basic book from Wal-mart ($10) that had so much information in it - from this guy that used to be a sales manager. The RV Book told me that I know enough to start looking around and asking questions. I think I've got a good solution for the van (unless we were to buy a rig like Gone Richter). Towing on that trailer will work well for what we are trying to do. I think I'll be able to make some kind of bike rack with 2 inch square steel, mounting them like they are in the garage. That should give me a good contact, along with the ability to lock them down and still store other things on that trailer. I still have to measure and draw it up - and figure out the bike trailer, but my thought there is to store it on the other side - toward the RV. We'll see - drawings to come.

I've also been looking over the little catalog from Camping World - what a boon! I've now got a way to look at W/D, solar recharge and know to look into a tracking satellite for web. I'm ready to start buying bowls and collanders, and I've found myself thinking in entirely new ways about products I buy, money I spend, and business I keep or let go. EVERYTHING is about this trip now, and I only wish it could start sooner. it might be time to restructure a few priorities to try to get there.

--R.

Rethinking how the job will work...

So, I kinda had a bad night/day today. Chinese hackers (and other foreigners) decided to attack my server which in and of itself is not pleasant, but now it goes deeper than that.

I'm going to have to come up with a contingency plan for when we are travelling. Is my connection fast enough, secure enough, strong enough, hell, there at all, when something like this occurs. I will no longer be able to count on an absolute static IP, nor can I count on a high-speed connection. With the cellular network I think I'll be in good shape for most of the time we're stopped. Plus, most - well many? - RV parks have wireless networks, but again - how much can I trust that.

So - I'll have to start putting all that in place as well as setting all the other items up. That means I'll probably have to spend a little money this year in order to get everything secured. Would putting UEO on its own server be a better option since I can pretty much close the outside world to it? Should I move my non-essential services to a non-essential server? I'm sure I'll come up with a general plan in the next couple of days.

--R.