Getting ready to roll!

I love staying in one spot for a month because I bring out more things and The Lily Pad feels even more like home. I hate staying in one spot for a month because I bring out more things and when it's time to go they have to be put away.

Yesterday was laundry first and finishing the books I was reading so I could swap in the library here. I restored my printer in the chair and put away other items that had accumulated on the two shelves in front of my entertainment center (this is the shelf that the drawer pulls out onto and is a nice out of the way spot to stack things out of the way and yet still have them handy.

Next step was to pull all the rolling duffel bags out of the trailer and pack away all the riding gear that had accumulated inside. I put them all up on the picnic table and took a slightly different approach to packing the stuff. Spent over an hour on that. Then I starting taking down anything that needed to be stored outside....my solar lights, the extension cord plugged into the battery trickle charger, etc. I pulled the totes out from the basement storage and putting things away. In general the organization in the basement storage is still working. It was really foggy and gray until around 1 pm then the sun came out and it got quite warm! Nice to finally sleep with the windows open again.

Today the sun came out for about an hour. It was supposed to hit 80 and it made 78 but was bearable with the clouds (I am NOT a hot weather person....LOL!). Once I did my morning email/forum checks (still have a bunch of email backlogged...but figure that will get done while waiting for Camping World to get done with the rig tomorrow afternoon), it was time to get busy again.

I pulled all the rugs out of the RV (one runner in front of the couch, one in front of the sink, one at the top of the steps coming in, one beside the bed and one in the bathroom - just in case you were interested) and set them on the picnic table. Dug out my Swiffer and after sweeping did a quick mopping of my Pergo floor (boy do I ever LOVE that!) and the bathroom linoleum. Washed and semi-dried the rugs (they all have a rubber backing that you're really not supposed to dry but I usually dry them a bit). Took them back and laid them over the picnic table to dry a bit more.

Since the sun was out and I was feeling pretty energetic, I decided to at least clean the cab outside...it was filthy. I came here in rain, spent several more days during the month with rain and top that off with lots of dust-filled wind and you end up with a pretty disgusting rig. I should have taken a photo...oh well. The worst of it was the hood where there were black circles where the cabover drips hit. I could have stood the rest of it...well except the encrusted bugs. LOL!

I've been using Protect-All since reading the recommendations from other RVers. Two micro-cloths, spray, wipe and dry. As dirty as The Lily Pad was, it took a little work but the wax job done in Elkhart (they used Meguire's Spray Wax) did put down a good base and that helped. Well, you know what happens when you start cleaning something that's really dirty...you end up doing more than you anticipated. The south side of the rig was bad so I kept going...doing the bottom half where I could easily reach...rounded the back and yup, filthy so did that as well. Last side, the north, wasn't so bad but what the heck, I'd come that far so did it as well. The higher parts aren't too bad (and who is looking up there anyway), the only place left that I wish I did was the front of the cabover and the under the cabover. But I would have had to get the ladder down to do that and I was pretty well whipped at this point....and I still had to load the bike and deal with putting away some of the inside stuff.

Mark, one of the guys from MN parked across from me came over while I was cleaning the outside and asked if I wanted help loading the bike. I thanked him and said yes. He needed to run to get groceries and I told him I needed to grab something to eat first anyway. Made a sandwich and sat down to rest before tackling the bike. I knew I needed to get it done because there was no guarantee anyone would be handy to help in the morning. But I was beat....figured I could rest for an hour, then tackle it.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door and a gentleman I didn't know was outside. He wanted to know if I had Wi-Fi access to the park. I explained that sometimes I did, sometimes now. Well, they had added a new router in the kitchen area and he was hoping it would work in the row where I was. He was currently parked at the back by the river. I checked the signal and sure enough...good signal (so I turned off Verizon and have been on the freebie since then). We got to chatting and he was shocked to discover that the motorcycle was mine and I was solo. He used to ride and is thinking about getting back into it. Well, he offered to help me load it and since he had experience with it and Mark really didn't, I took him up on it.

He hooked up the trailer and one thing was clear...I could never have put up the stablizers on the trailer without help. I could have done the rest of it but it was nice, as tired as I was, to not have to worry about it. Now picture this...t-shirt, knee-length shorts, no helmet, no gloves and over the calf boots. What a photo that would have made! LOL!! I got it loaded with Art monitoring from behind.

I then did the tie-downs, using the new ones that I bought in Branson. Worked great....except I can't tighten them. Just not enough strength...that means I have to find ratchet style ones that will work and not slip like the last ones. It's always something!

By the time all was said and done, I was REALLY exhausted and had strained my back. My left hip has been bothering me for over a month (off & on) and that's the side that I pulled. Took a nice hot shower and that helped a bit.

Sorry for the long blog....for anyone that has made it this far, I did snap a so-so sunset photo. Someone posted a comment on my sunrise blog that no one would really know the difference. The main difference here is that the sunsets just aren't as pretty as the sunrises (when it's not foggy or cloudy).

There is minimal stuff that needs to be done in the morning. I will fill my fresh water (the water here is pretty good), dump the tanks, check air pressure in all the tires, filling as needed, do my last minute checks and then hit the road. I don't have to be at Camping World until 1 pm so there is no reason to rush. Tomorrow night will be spent in the Camping World parking lot and Tuesday morning I head to the other side of San Antonio to get a new rear tire put on the BMW. Then it's HEAD WEST, old lady! LOL!!

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Froggi/Donna