Continuation of the new Adventurer Saga

When I last posted, David and I had just returned from our trip to PA to purchase and drive back to TX an Adventurer for him.  This post is more or less a continuation of the journey since he and Sophie have been busy as beavers getting the coach all tripped out and personalized just for them.

I could tell they were pushing way too hard by the daily reports of how much work was being done and needed a break (not to mention my wanderlust was gaining on me as well) so a trip to a nearby lake and Corps of Engineer park seemed to be the perfect solution.  After all, just how much work can you do sitting by a campfire and telling tall tales?  They also wanted a short trip, close to home before heading out for longer journeys to make sure all systems are go and ready.  Sort of a shake down cruise if you will to address any forgotten items and to learn the right buttons to push at the right time (as opposed to the wrong buttons at the wrong time).

So begins our epic tale of four couples with their motorhomes who have all agreed a bit of relaxing time at the lake would do everyone some good.  David preceded me to the campground and when I stopped at the entrance shack to let the attendant know I would be looking for a spot in the non-reservation area and then come back to pay, I found out for sure that David was already there.  The attendant asked me if I was with that 'other fellow' and I told him I was.  The attendant then told me the 'other fellow' had not been back up to pay yet and needed to do so promptly.  He expected someone to take care of business expeditiously and did not want any trouble or freeloading.  I told him I would seek out the 'other fellow' and see if I could 'jack him up' and get him to come back and pay for his stay.  After looking at me through a half cocked head and squinting eyes, the attendant reluctantly allowed me to enter thinking he might have another 'fare thee well' type camper on his hands.

David and Sophie's new Adventurer

Upon arriving in the campground, we easily find our friend who is still busily trying to get settled in and we pull into the spot next to him.  After I get out and talk to him, I find out the delay in returning to the previously mentioned gate attendant has to do with pushing the right buttons at the right time and the electrical connections at the campsite.  It seems the slides on the motorhome were not working as intended when he first arrived.  Now for those who are unaware, this particular model has a Master Switch with a key that keeps the slides from being activated when it is turned to the off position and the key removed.  It seems that during the process, Sophie has turned the key to off, and David has not realized it when trying to activate the slide mechanisms.  This is even as Sophie, realizing there is something amiss, asks David repeatedly, "does the key need to be in the 'On' position?"  For several minutes there is this back and forth between them about the position of the key when finally David realizes the key is not in the 'On' position as he thought he had left it and voila the slides magically operate as intended once the key is back in the 'On' position.

Now I do not want to mock this situation, but have we not all been in this position before?  This is a classic case of missed communication.  You are not hearing what I am saying and you are not saying what I know you are saying.  I would be willing to guess that everyone reading this can relate to the scenario and recall many of these events throughout their lives.  Anyway, the equipment functioned as intended after communication was re-established and meaning of words reconciled to each other's statements.

I mentioned that Bibi was going back to the entrance gate to pay and after relating the story of my adventure with the gatekeeper, would David like to ride with her to pay too.  He did and so we both have our reputations restored as men of our word and not just a couple of freeloaders.  David refrained from telling the campground host about the electrical connections he discovered.  The other part of his delay had to do with getting the electricity to work.  Being new to the coach and having installed a surge protector, David was unsure if the lack of electricity was on his end or the campground facility.  Anyway, to make a long story short, the campground receptacle had a loose part not allowing a complete connection and thus no electricity.  Again the coach functioned properly once the problem was diagnosed and addressed.

So with a few bumps and fitful starts, our camping was off to a great beginning.  The next day our other two couples arrived to join the party.  Sam and Brenda along with LA and Jean showed up to begin sharing and enjoying each other's company during our stay.  We had a short jam session when Brenda and Beverly got their dulcimers out and I got the guitar out to play and practice a bit.  Then we had Taco Soup for dinner. Afterwards, we all settled down by a nice campfire and viewed the Rangers baseball game on the outside TV while roasting marshmallows on the fire.

Roughing it - Watching Rangers Baseball by the Campfire

The next morning dawned brisk and clear with the promise of plenty of sunshine.  We had a communal breakfast of sausage muffins compliments of Brenda.  Some of our crew are early risers while others do not understand how much daylight they are burning by sleeping so late.  By the time breakfast arrived, I was already to the point of starvation and almost too weak to bring the muffin to my mouth.  But luckily I pulled on my deepest strength and managed to down some nourishment which quickly restored me to my normal blustery self.

Since this was Easter week, the weekend is expected to bring many folks to the campground.  Indeed starting Friday we saw a major influx of people as the campground began to fill up.  By Saturday, it looked as if the place was at capacity with just a couple of empty spots located here and there.  Of course, with a full campground the age levels multiply and the noise levels too.  Everyone around us seemed to be enjoying the wonderful springtime weather.  As for us, we had another enjoyable evening by the campfire watching another Ranger game on TV, this time at David and Sophie's spot.  Because there was so much joy and merriment in the campground, I had a hard time sleeping.  In fact, it benefited me for you see, Brenda made sausage muffins for breakfast again.  But this time, she caught me sleeping.  It was certainly a surprise for her to find me answering her knock on the door with my bedhead hair standing straight up in my sleep pants rubbing my eyes to get the sleep out.  It was certainly nice to have breakfast in bed that AM as I am not normally treated to such royal treatment.

On Friday we were visited by Bill and Nell.  Nell plays the dulcimer too and joined us for a jam session in the pines.  Now Nell is quite a character and willing to have a good time.  There is one particular song that she likes; however, our group does not play it quite as fast as Nell wants us too.  So somewhere along about the middle of the song, we all speed up to keep up with Nell.  By the end of the song, we are traveling at quite a good rate of speed and some of us are out of breath.  For those of you familiar with the old saying, 'like a mule headed for the barn', you will get a sense of the direction and speed enveloping us.  We had a grand ole time playing our instruments and hoo haaing each other during the session.  We garnered quite an audience from our immediate camping group but the rest of the campers just plain missed out on a fun time.

Beverly, Nell and Brenda on Dulcimer with me on Guitar

Saturday we had to abandon the camp temporarily to attend a wedding.  Our niece, Melissa (Missy), married Cory and we had to clean up, spiff up, put on Sunday go to meeting clothes to attend.  Afterwards, we donned our camping clothes once again and returned to the near perfect blissful rest we were all desperately seeking.  Sam and Brenda had to return due to pressing appointments and responsibilities so we are now down to three couples.

Sunday is Easter and Bibi has decided to treat us to a scrumptious feast.  She said it was an easy meal involving a crock pot and opening up cans and packages.  I told her afterwards, she gets the Cook of the Day award as far as I was concerned.  The only problem I had was trying to sleep while the crock pot cooked the meat all night long.  My senses were on overload during the night as I smelled the various stages of the cooking process.  She gave us a roast, mashed potatoes, green beans with Hawaiian King rolls meal followed by old style homemade Banana Pudding (my favorite kind).  Oh boy!  Afterwards, we all retired to check out our eyelids to see if there were any cracks in them.

Somewhere along the way we got to talking about the movie, 'O Brother Where Art Thou' which is one of my all-time favorites.  As it turns out, it is a movie that a lot of my fellow campers thoroughly enjoy as well. Even if it did not have the bluegrass music and an association with Homer's Iliad, it has some very interesting lines.  If you don't believe me then you are not bonafide.  And no, I did not turn into a Toad.  Gotta watch the movie to learn what that means, so enjoy.

For now that is the update.  But stay tuned, there will be short trip to Melissa, TX soon that is sure to find its way onto the blog.

Pennsylvania to Texas

Where to start on this latest Adventure is a real conundrum for me as I have just spent the last 2-1/2 days sharing driving time with my friend in his 2013 Winnebago Adventurer the 1200 miles to his home so I am a bit tired, sore and a little foggy in the memory.  If you are intrigued, let's begin at the beginning.

David and Sophie have been contemplating a move to full-timing since beginning their RVing ways.  During our most recent trip together to Surfside Beach the decision was completed and plans beginning to crystallize as to how to accomplish the transition to a full time lifestyle.  One of the first considerations was what type of home on wheels would best suit the impending lifestyle.

Having toured the Winnebago factory on another trip and listening to my incessant ramblings about why I thought Winnebago was one of the best at combining quality, comfort selections, most standard features and best value for one's choosing, they have narrowed a search to a particular make and model to transition to for the full time option.  Before this could happen, in David's words, he needed to get some money by selling some things.  The things he were talking about were his 'baby' (his restored Mustang fastback) and their current RV (also a Winnebago Adventurer 2001 edition).

While on the Surfside trip, he located some possibilities, using the internet, as candidates for the upcoming contemplated purchase.  When I learned of the distance to travel to look at, buy and then drive home, I offered to accompany him to assist in transporting a purchase back to Texas.

After returning home, they set about making things happen and happen they did.  Quickly he sold both the Mustang and the Adventurer.  Now came the business of finalizing a purchase.  Here is where the story really 'takes off' and begins to hum right along.

Unbelievably, this could not have been accomplished just a few short years ago but technology has advanced the opportunity to these unbelievable levels.  David contacted some folks in Pennsylvania about a unit they had listed on Craigslist while in Surfside.  Because he was not quite ready to consummate the deal, he asked for and received a positive response to let him know if someone else was wanting to buy the unit so he could make an offer.  It was during this interim time he managed to sell some assets, arrange financing and recontacted the sellers about the unit.

Things progressed to the point that a deal was struck (timing was incredible as the couple selling the unit was about to trade it in on another purchase they had located) and arrangements made.  The couple, Jeff and Kristy, were very accommodating and generous to work with throughout the process.  Now they lived and the unit was located in Pennsylvania so David had to figure out how to get there, finalize the purchase and pay for the unit, then transport it back to Texas.  This feat of mental gymnastics consumed him for some period of time and required numerous phone calls and emails to all involved parties.

All the time he kept me posted so I could make my plans to participate too.  I began to be concerned that Sophie might prefer to be in on the trip and I did not want her to feel like I was 'forcing' my way into this adventure.  She assured both David and I that she wanted us to go, saying she trusted David's judgment, which was a nice way of saying, 'you better not mess this up'!

Long story-short, we boarded a flight in Longview on Tuesday to Cleveland, Ohio.  Flying first class is the only way to go these days.  It is nice when you board first and the attendants address you by name and provide a drink while everyone else is boarding the plane and settling down for the trip.  After in the air, you get another libation along with warmed nuts to munch on while your meal is prepared.  Prior to the meal you receive a warm washcloth to clean up your hands before feasting on sumptuous fare prepared onboard the aircraft.  Followed by a choice of a warm chocolate chip or oatmeal cookie.  NICE!!!!

Upon arriving in Cleveland we called the local hotel where our reservations are and requested a shuttle pick up.  A short ten minutes later, we are loaded into the shuttle and on our way to the hotel.  David contacts Kristy to let her know of our arrival.  The next morning, Jeff and Kristy (having offered to pick us up prior to the trip) arrive at the hotel after driving approximately two hours from their home to the hotel at 9:30 and then drive us back the two hours to see the motorhome.  We had a great visit during the drive sharing stories and getting driving recommendations from them about our return trip in the motorhome.

Jeff actually drove us the route we would take in reverse to begin our trek back to Texas.  At one point, we approached and went under an underpass marked with a height of 12' 7".  Knowing the motorhome was listed in the technical specifications brochure as 12' 8", I questioned him about actually attempting to drive the motorhome through it.  His response was sure it would make it, he drove it through there bringing the motorhome to the house.  Soon we arrived at the house and there it was, a shiny new looking 2013 Winnebago  Adventurer.

After perusing it, flipping switches, opening cabinets, and giving the girls back home a tour via facetime (again, technology these days), he immediately received a positive response from Sophie.  After looking and asking more questions, David asks if they can start the generator.  Sure Kristy says and shows him how the procedure works from the main control panel inside the coach.  Unfortunately, it did not start.  In fact, it makes a sickening sound that says, 'no way am I starting today.'  Panic mode begins to set in and Kristy grabs the generator manual from the Winnebago compendium bible of books about the Adventurer and its systems to research possible troubleshooting procedures.  About the same time, Jeff and David hotfoot it outside to open the generator compartment and take the cover off to try and assess the problem issues.  All this while, during each attempt to start the generator, being met with the same response of 'no way am I starting today' sound.

After looking in the battery compartment, someone noticed the main cutoff switch adjacent to the battery compartment was in the 'off' position.  Once restored to the 'on' position, the generator fired up on the first attempt.  I asked Kristy if she was having heart palpitations about that time and had she regained a normal heartbeat to which she assured me all was well when she heard it start.  Tense moments but all were relieved as the issue was not with the generator but with the settings of switches.  This speaks to the complexity of these units and the multitude of systems involved with a motorhome.

After all formalities of purchasing the Adventurer are completed, we wish Jeff and Kristy adieu, telling them to let us know when they are in the East Texas area and promising to do the same when we are in Pennsylvania again too.  We head down the road and our date with the 'bridge.'  Now this is not any old bridge, it is an older version with a much narrower (and shorter) opening since its construction in the 'early' days of autos.  We approach it with much apprehension and consternation (see the picture below).

Bridge with Height Sign

Notice the Narrowness warning on the sign

But all is well, we made it although there were some tense moments for 'yours truly' as we entered the opening.  Approaching traffic created more tenseness as David yielded the space for them to pass we came closer and closer to the side of the bridge.  In fact, I told him we are too close, that is close enough and thankfully he listened.  All I could think of during this episode was Nein, Nein, Nein.  Reminiscent of our German tourist encounter (see earlier posting from South Dakota) on the Needles Highway.  Once we were through, David asked me how close we came, I told him 3 inches and I am not kidding either.  It was close.

Our next stop was at a Wal-Mart for supplies as we made our way south.  We traveled the first day without rain and stopped at Columbus, OH for an overnight stay at a Wal-Mart parking lot.  The next day we proceeded further south and west as we made it as far as Jackson, TN.  This day was an all day rain event with some very intense lightning and rain at times.  I 'cooked' for David at the Cracker Barrel that night and he 'cooked' breakfast for me the next morning at the same Cracker Barrel.

While eating our dinner, David asked for the Cracker Barrel manager to come over to our table.  The gentleman showed up and David told him we were traveling to TX in an RV and would it be okay to overnight in their parking lot for the night.  Immediately the manager replied, 'No' so David asked him if he knew of any other place close that would allow us to park overnight and again immediately he replied, 'No.' It was at this point, after waiting the appropriate length of time, the manager broke into a very wide grin and said he was just kidding, of course it was okay to stay overnight.  I can see him having a big old hooha in the the kitchen as he shared his little joke with the rest of the staff.  Anyway, he got both me and David with his very serious, I am all business reply of No before letting us in on the joke.

After breakfast the next morning, we proceeded towards home and without any rain to torment us along the way.  The only issue was gusting winds as we traveled the rest of TN and Arkansas to Little Rock.  Once past there, it was smooth sailing and a beautiful sunny day to travel to the home destination arriving 1200 miles, 2-1/2 days later at approximately 4 PM.

All in all, it was a very fast trip of eat, drive and sleep.  No sightseeing or dallying along the way.  We saw lots of things through the windshield but little else.  Dodged construction barrels, waded water, felt the wind slam against the sides, saw more than a few other RVers on the road and a lot of big tractor trailer rigs traversing the highways.  In fact, we saw so many RVs headed in the opposite direction, we felt a lot like a Salmon would feel during the swim upstream except headed in the wrong direction.  We guessed there were a lot of snowbirds returning to their home bases wherever that might be.

A very tiring but satisfying trip.  Now all that remains is to trip out the RV and decide on a destination.  Look out America, here we come!

The 2013 Adventurer making its first Wal Mart supply stop with its very proud new owner.