Rambling, rumbling, grumbling

We've had a busy couple of weeks since we arrived in TN. Stu has been busy enjoying his lawn tractor, even using it to move things around back to the shed. He's also done some trimming of the bushes by the back deck and clearing out of wild blackberries (thorns) in favor of the cultivated ones (no thorns).







We also made an agreement with a neighbor for him to pasture his two young steers for the season in exchange for keeping our lawn mowed while we are in Maryland. They also did all the prep work making sure the pasture was secure and mounting the one missing gate. The cows are happy and so are we!







Spring is definitely here. We've had the windows open on several days, only recently resorting to open early then everything closed down to retain the coolness. I hope to not run the A/C until we return in June. Loving our $45 power bills. LOL!





We've gone shopping - Stu likes this giant crab we saw at Sam's Club. Me? I'm thrilled with my new, very spring looking, Tervis tumbler.





We had our first guests at the house - actually, our first guests ever. LOL! My son and his wife came down for the weekend. We enjoyed ourselves, spent an afternoon at Calfkiller Brewing and had a ton of laughs (as you can see in this video). Priceless!



We have sold most of our motorcycle camping gear, only left with the queen airbed & 12v pump, some camping pillows (which I will probably keep), a trailer hitch setup for specific year Tri-Glides, and the trailer itself. We know we won't be doing any long motorcycle trips and it makes no sense to keep hanging on to this stuff.

We have also listed our property for sale by owner. If we don't sell it by mid-July, we will list it with our realtor.

So, chores are getting done. Both our pickup and the trike are now registered and insured here in TN. The Freightliner and fifth wheel will be done when we return in July. The bug guy was out yesterday to work on getting rid of the carpenter bees (deck sprayed), mice, and various insects. That will be an April/October regular visit. In July we will get the termite boost done. Ahhh, the joys of home ownership. But we are enjoying it...for many reasons.

I'm still writing - desperately trying to finish the second novella in my Lei Crime Kindle World series. My deadline is May 1st and that includes edits. Gulp! We will be traveling April 28-30, so no writing then. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Ciao for now!

We made it ~ Sick ~ But we made it

Just a quick catch ya'll up post with a few photos. We got back from the cruise and immediately took delivery of a new shed on our RV lot.  This will take the place of the cargo trailer. The park was charging us $35 a month to have that on our property and we can use the trailer in TN. The inside of the shed is bigger than the trailer because the outside dimensions on the trailer had to take into account the wheels/sidewalls. We're very pleased with the quality and the installation and highly recommend Lark Sheds of Leesburg.

Once that was done on Monday, we spent Tuesday and Wednesday getting ready to head to TN for the cruise-in we mentioned. That never happened. Stu had caught a cold from all the kids on the cruise and it turned into bronchitis. The day before we were due to leave he went to urgent care and got some antibiotics. So we finally headed out on Friday, making it as far as Perry, GA where we Wally-docked.

Remember our inverter issue? The one we thought we resolved with new batteries? Nope, not resolved. Sigh. Something to put on the "summer" to do list. We will stay in campgrounds when we head north the end of the month.

We made it through Atlanta very early on Saturday (if you haven't heard, I-85 had a section collapse due to a fire). We took I-75 to I-285 West and had no issues. We rejoined I-75 north and were good until close to the TN border when there was a backup that cost us at least 30 minutes. But we weren't complaining. It wasn't as bad as the one going south (south of Atlanta) where a travel trailer was wheels up, still attached to it's tow vehicle which was on its side. That backup was at least ten miles and the accident was fairly recent. With it being the first day of spring break, the traffic south was already bumper to bumper. Glad it wasn't us! So, once out of our snarl, we continued until just outside Chattanooga when a "too much traffic for the road" slowed us again for a bit until the I-75, I-24 split. Most of the traffic stayed on I-24 and we sailed onward. We pushed through and made it to the house while it was still light.

Everything was great and the house even smelled nice! We were really happy. We carried in some food for dinner and crashed till Sunday. Stu was feeling better but I was now getting sick. We got all the food moved over and I did all the laundry, then crashed.

The last couple of days have been spent either working like mad or resting like crazy. Stu is enjoying his lawn tractor. He both mowed...

and used it to relocate the motorcycle trailer and camping gear from the storage shed to the garage (prepping to sell).

As you can see, spring is here and everything is popping color! It's been a real treat to enjoy our first cup of coffee out on the back deck in the morning sun. We even had the windows and back door open yesterday.

We're still moving things over from the RV and making a list of the few items that will be moved back and forth. We are trying to limit that even though it means more purchases. For now we will move all food (except some canned), computer, medications, motorcycle gear and a few other sundry items. We're trying to keep it as simple and painless as possible.

That's not to say we haven't bought a few fun things. One of my author friends posted a photo of her new iPad cover and I had to go take a look. I ended up with this one for my iPad Mini and got Stu one of their larger, rotating versions in black for his iPad Air for less than a third of what we paid for his last one.

Oh, yeah. We love our 24 oz Tervis tumblers for iced tea and water but only had two. Rather than add them to the move between list, we opted for two new ones. I LOVE MINE!! So bright and colorful

Stu's hasn't arrived yet, but this is what it will look like.

And, if you ever needed LONG straws for your tall tumblers, this is a HUGE bargain. 250 straws for $10 (we got free shipping with Prime). I picked the multi-color pack. I couldn't get over how many straws were in the package when it arrived. Happy camper here!

We are both on the mend now, doing chores (Stu) and writing (me). If you haven't been following my author blog, you're missing daily (well, except Sundays) posts about our travels since 2005 (solo and together). This is in the April A to Z Blog Challenge and my theme is "Oh, the places we will go!". I hope you will check it out, follow my blog and tell your friends! ;)

Ciao for now!

Returned....

Well, returned to Twin Ells Campground in West Chazy, NY. As mentioned before, we liked it here so much that we booked the week after Escapade. Now we have booked a second week as well. Wonderful riding area, quiet and clean campground with wonderful management and convenient location.

We had another uneventful trip from Essex Junction, VT to here last Sunday. Setup was easy - we knew the spot well (yup, same site). We had been set up for a couple of hours and our friends from Canada, Char & Billy, arrived. Now they camp - not like us. LOL!

Monday was a rain day and our friends planned to relax from their trip. We opted to run errands and see a movie. After recycling the battery out of our old Trip-Lite UPS (replaced with a newer, larger APC UPS) at Lowe's, mailing a package (sending off a prize to a winner of my book promotion for Paradise Down), we headed to the mall to see the new Star Trek movie. Neither of us had any idea of the plot and both greatly enjoyed the movie. Afterward, we walked the mall for steps and took a few minutes to enjoy this:

I also got a kick out of this place, we knew our younger grandkids would have loved this place.

Our final stop was Sam's Club and Wal-Mart for groceries. We spent the evening walking around the campground with Char & Billy, then sitting and chatting till the bugs drove us all inside.

Tuesday, the trio set off for a scenic ride on the bikes while I stayed behind. I needed a day to catchup with laundry and other chores, including making reservations for our leisurely trip back to DE & MD. That accomplished, I tackled some back emails. Here are a few photos Billy & Stu took...note Char's excitement at the ice cream stop!

Wednesday we all headed out to ride the islands that dot the middle of Lake Champlain. I opted to leave my camera behind and just enjoy the scenery. Sorry (not really - LOL). It was a great day, first stop at the little New York state welcome area where we picked up more maps.

We ended up in Burlington - HOT, HOT, HOT with about a gazillion tourists/pedestrians. We finally made it to the ferry and I napped while we spent an hour crossing back to New York. All in all, a wonderful day!

From there we headed to Five Guys, a first for Char & Billy. Bellies full, it was back home for showers and rest.

Thursday Stu did chores while our friends rode to Ausable Chasm for some hiking. Friday, it was time for goodbyes, no, see you laters! We sat, enjoying our coffee while they packed up the camper and trailer. Soon, they headed out....till next time, friends!

Our plans for the next week are simple:

• See the new Jason Bourne movie
• Keep tackling all those little chores that never disappear
• For me, WRITE!
• Get in at least one or two more scenic rides

Ciao for now!

The Owl and The Snake

The other day I posted a photo of our owl - we now have three hanging high in the pavilion.

But if that doesn't scare off the birds, Stu made two rubber hose snakes to lay on top of our nice white roof.

Tomorrow is our final clean up around the RV, do laundry, get rid of food and pack day. Of course I'm still hard at work on book two in my mystery series. Still hoping to get it up on Amazon before we go.

 

Have you read the first book, "Not a Whisper" yet? Here is the latest 5 star review:

"This is the first book in quite a while that was hard for me to put down. I stayed up entirely too late and just about drained the battery on my phone reading Donna B. McNicol's tale of murder, arson, kidnapping and, oh yes, a bit of romance. The ending was quite a surprise! Buy it. Read it. Wait impatiently for the next in the Klondike series."

You can also download the FREE Klondike Kompanion [PDF] to learn more about the main characters.

All our gear is BOUGHT! Finally!

The last pieces arrived yesterday and today. Stu got his new Engel 30 qt. Dry Box Cooler, he likes everything about it except the missing drain spigot. Oh well...it fits well and holds a lot more than the old one that he lost.

I got a replacement mesh jacket on clearance, $79, and it's three-season with a quilted AND a rain liner. With the liners in, it fits wonderfully. With the liners out it's a bit loose but all the adjustments make it comfortable...and when it's really hot, I'll be wearing my cool vest underneath. It's a Cortech by Tour Master LRX Air Jacket for Women. Pink isn't really the best color to match my custom paint, but it will help me stand out on the road.

With the mesh pants we bought, I needed bigger rain pants and once again, got a great buy on Tour Master Elite II rain pants for $45. They fit perfectly and have the added bonus of heat shields on the insides of the legs to protect them from hot pipes.

I tossed in a nice little helmet lock for $15 and got free shipping on everything.

Oh, wait - we also bought two pairs each of lightweight, quick-dry, spandex exercise shorts. I won't scare you with any pictures. [giggle]

So, things are winding down as we move towards the first of September when we'll finally hit the road!

Still rolling,

Stu and Donna 

Final purchases...well, almost....

With a little over three weeks left before we leave on our trip, we're fine-tuning what we'll take with us. When I toured the country in 2005, I wore all textile gear. More functional and more protective than my leather gear. I overheat easily and found mesh gear (jacket and pants) helped me stay comfortable and protected. The downside is when the weather gets cold or wet, the mesh isn't as good. So I traveled with two sets of paints (one mesh, one with rain & quilted liners) and two different jackets.

Since that time, gear has come a long way. I looked at my old mesh pants, First Gear HT Air Overpants and almost bought us those. Then I found the Tourmaster Flex pants - a great three season pant. It works like my Joe Rocket Alter Ego jacket, with panels that zip off for mesh use and a zip in rain liner and quilted liner. The have CE armor in the knees and hips, and three positions for the knee pads. They also offer the mens version in Short, a bonus for us.

 

They arrived today and both fit perfectly. These are perfect pants for our trip. In warm weather we will wear bikes shorts underneath and be much more comfortable. On the trip home or in the mountains, we will leave the panels on and even add the quilted liner if needed. Stu managed to get his jeans under his but from experience, I know this can be cumbersome and uncomfortable after a while. Me? Not unless I lose weight. I will bring long underwear/tights for layering, as I did in 2005.

We bought ours through a great company, Fly n Cycle Motorsports. We talked personally with Shawn and got a great deal on the Flex pants from them. I highly recommend them!

The other item was finding a tank bag for me that could do double duty as a purse. I had previously tried a Joe Rocket one but it was too tall and uncomfortable. So I searched the web and I did a lot of analysis in size as well as price. I didn't want it too large or too tall, plus it had to have a handle so I can snatch it off the bike and carry it. I finally settled on this one, it will replace my purse for the trip and be a handy spot for sunglasses, tissues, candy, phone, etc.

It arrived today and I have to say I LOVE it. Stu likes it so much he plans to take it over once I sell my bike in November. Will hold just enough and yet not get in my way when I'm riding. Yes, it covers the pretty artwork on my gas tank, oh well. ;)

The last item we need to get is a replacement cooler for the trailer. Stu is busily working on that. We can easily get the same cooler but it has no drain plug and that is a big negative for Stu. Will keep you updated!

Still riding,
Stu & Donna