Another campground night survived....they do have cable TV but I haven't bothered to try to find the cable cord I THINK is in one of the bays. I get several channels off the antenna and that has been fine.
The Comfort Inn behind the campground has great wireless but requires you to log in so still no Internet access. I know everyone is probably wondering how I am doing....LOL!!
Had some good news last evening....I may have a contract on my house! My UPS man and his wife have wanted to buy my house since last year when it was first on the market but they needed to sell their house first. They found a buyer for their house but the buyer needed to sell theirs. Well the chain seems to have been completed....they have a buyer and should be signing the contract Tuesday or Wednesday. Once that is done, then my buyer will write up our contract. From there it will be a race to see how we can coordinate the closing dates and possession. I think I will have a busy couple of weeks ahead of me!
Back to the campground....more firsts today. I decided to try out the awnings. The window awning over the sofa was easy....you pull it down and hook the strap. No problems. It was the main awning that I was worried about...remember I mentioned all those steps. I should have gotten the book out first...I ended up getting it started but did one thing way out of sequence and had to get two folks walking by later to help me out. Phew! At least I didn't damage it!
I headed back up to Camping World to see about scheduling a service appointment for new shocks. Strike one....they are booked until late Wednesday. Strike two....they don't have my shocks in stock. Strike three....the earliest they could get them in would be Thursday's delivery. Before I develop an alternate plan I will talk to the Service Manager in the morning and may opt to set an appointment for Thursday afternoon and then head directly to Goshen, IN from there. That gives me two days to load up the RV....oh my! Not going to be spending much time online for a while. LOL!
Then factor in the SERVICE ENGINE SOON light and finding out I have to see the Ford Dealer for that....let's hope it's something simple like an oil change reminder light that needs to be reset.
I forgot to mention what a beautiful sight I saw this morning as I took BoBo out for his first walk. The sun was just over the horizon and as we walked towards the lake I heard a raucous cry. In swooped a gorgeous and huge blue heron (at least that is what I think it was). Before we got to the other end of the small lake, another raucous cry heralded a second heron who settled in the trees. Now THIS is what camping is all about....
Till next time - keep on rollin',
Froggi/Donna
I Survived.....
Sunday, September 2, 2007
Just a little recap of all the occurred today. I unhooked, trying to remember all the steps and left the campground before the other three motorhomes were even stirring...and it was almost 9 am. What a life!
Cloudy with rain in the forecast, I got back onto I-75 and headed north. Traffic was light which helped in the various construction zones. The morning got a little more interesting when my SERVICE ENGINE SOON light came on. Since I had to get gas I got off at the next Flying J to take a phone break, get something to eat and get gas. Called my son and talked to him about the engine. He felt the same was as I did, since it said "SOON" and not "NOW", and all my gauges were reading fine, the engine and transmission were running fine, no strange sounds were heard, it should be okay to continue my trek homeward just keeping an eye on things.
So after successfully getting gas again (yes, this is a big deal for me), I got back on the road. The rain moved in and out all day. One thing I bought at Flying J was some RainX wipes for the outside mirrors. Once they were water spotted, it was really hard to see what was close to me. Needless to say, it never rained hard again the rest of the day.
I pulled over at a couple of rest stops along the way both to stretch and take BoBo for his potty break. At the second one it was getting hot enough to start the air conditioning so I decided to fire up the generator. Generator started without a hitch....but nothing in the RV was working. No lights, no A/C, nothing. Now I was stymied....I flipped to battery kill switch (for the coach batteries)....OOPS! That killed the generator...okay, store that in the memory bank.
Turned them back on and headed to the rest rooms...on the way back it suddenly hit me. I had never plugged the power cord into the inside plug, thus I had an open power circuit. Not going to work...unlocked the bay, plugged in the cord, refired the generator and voila! Power....it felt good to solve one problem myself.
Before I knew it I was coming into Atlanta and the traffic, while better than during the week and much better than if a game had been going on, was fairly heavy. I found my mantra was "Let them flow around me...", keeping my eyes on the road ahead and concentrating on maintaining my lane. I got too nervous trying to watch all three mirrors, the traffic ahead and be sure I was in the right lane to avoid an accidental exit or routing onto the wrong highway. Of course when I needed to change lanes I used the mirrors and the backup monitor.
The backup monitor has been a life saver. I has two level settings, one higher than the other. I initially moved it to the higher setting that gave me a broader view of the lanes behind me. After dealing with 6-8 lanes of traffic all going in one direction (most doing the speed limit thanks to the higher police presence on a holiday weekend), I experimented a little once I got north of town. I discovered that if I used the lower setting it gave me a quick visual of my lane change zone. If a car was in my view then they were in my blind spot and I couldn't move over. If not, then the side mirrors showed me the rest of the story. Now I have to decide if I want to move the top setting down to this level which will put the lower setting closer to the hitch (where the previous owner had it). Another learning experience....
I arrived at Camping World Chattanooga around 4 pm and they were open till 5 pm. The gave me the code for the campground and I did a little shopping (okay, maybe a bit more than a little). The first thing I got was a stove top cover to both quiet the stove when traveling as well as expanding the non-existent counter space. I also got a sink cover (there are twin sinks) and that lets me put my coffee maker in the corner, just under the plug. Got jack pads, my extra water hose, a mini-dish drainer (sits right beside the coffee maker just like it was meant for that spot), a neat little expandable broom and dust pan (much needed with hardwood floors and all the sand being tracked in), a little rug for the top of the steps so the old one can be outside under the steps, and a few other little things.
Took the RV around to the campground entrance and wound my way around the sites until I found one open that appeared to be fairly level. Now came another new experience....using the levelers for the first time. First thing, one jack couldn't come down. Using my foot (since I had no tools, no little shovel, etc. with me), I finally managed to scrape it low enough that it could come down. Okay, next step. One jack had several inches between it and the ground so I used two of the 4 jack pads underneath. None of the others had enough clearance (note to self, hit the Dollar Store for 4 of those cheaper cutting boards). Back inside to go to the next step....had the instructions right beside me. Still confusing....but after about 30 minutes total time and many (way too many) trips in and out, I managed to get it leveled side to side. It's still a bit down in the front but the refrigerator is level enough to run well and that's the most important thing. (The new thermometer showed me it was running fine, will check the freezer tomorrow.)
Okay, enough fun for one day....time to walk BoBo and then clean up. Talk about hot & sweaty! Met some of the neighbors, they had two Harleys out there so had to chat. Looked at their trailer and really liked it. It was a Haulmark Low Hauler which made it really nice to pull up into. But the last two feet are totally wasted space since it's sloped down. I've seen open trailers set up the same way and I have to decide if I want to pull two extra feet in length just to lower the ramp. I am seriously considering an enclosed trailer now....good place to store my gear as well as extra clothes, books, etc. since I can get one for two bikes and only store one. Decisions.....
Tomorrow the saga continues....
Till next time - keep on rollin',
Froggi/Donna
Cloudy with rain in the forecast, I got back onto I-75 and headed north. Traffic was light which helped in the various construction zones. The morning got a little more interesting when my SERVICE ENGINE SOON light came on. Since I had to get gas I got off at the next Flying J to take a phone break, get something to eat and get gas. Called my son and talked to him about the engine. He felt the same was as I did, since it said "SOON" and not "NOW", and all my gauges were reading fine, the engine and transmission were running fine, no strange sounds were heard, it should be okay to continue my trek homeward just keeping an eye on things.
So after successfully getting gas again (yes, this is a big deal for me
I pulled over at a couple of rest stops along the way both to stretch and take BoBo for his potty break. At the second one it was getting hot enough to start the air conditioning so I decided to fire up the generator. Generator started without a hitch....but nothing in the RV was working. No lights, no A/C, nothing. Now I was stymied....I flipped to battery kill switch (for the coach batteries)....OOPS! That killed the generator...okay, store that in the memory bank.
Turned them back on and headed to the rest rooms...on the way back it suddenly hit me. I had never plugged the power cord into the inside plug, thus I had an open power circuit. Not going to work...unlocked the bay, plugged in the cord, refired the generator and voila! Power....it felt good to solve one problem myself.
Before I knew it I was coming into Atlanta and the traffic, while better than during the week and much better than if a game had been going on, was fairly heavy. I found my mantra was "Let them flow around me...", keeping my eyes on the road ahead and concentrating on maintaining my lane. I got too nervous trying to watch all three mirrors, the traffic ahead and be sure I was in the right lane to avoid an accidental exit or routing onto the wrong highway. Of course when I needed to change lanes I used the mirrors and the backup monitor.
The backup monitor has been a life saver. I has two level settings, one higher than the other. I initially moved it to the higher setting that gave me a broader view of the lanes behind me. After dealing with 6-8 lanes of traffic all going in one direction (most doing the speed limit thanks to the higher police presence on a holiday weekend), I experimented a little once I got north of town. I discovered that if I used the lower setting it gave me a quick visual of my lane change zone. If a car was in my view then they were in my blind spot and I couldn't move over. If not, then the side mirrors showed me the rest of the story. Now I have to decide if I want to move the top setting down to this level which will put the lower setting closer to the hitch (where the previous owner had it). Another learning experience....
I arrived at Camping World Chattanooga around 4 pm and they were open till 5 pm. The gave me the code for the campground and I did a little shopping (okay, maybe a bit more than a little
Took the RV around to the campground entrance and wound my way around the sites until I found one open that appeared to be fairly level. Now came another new experience....using the levelers for the first time. First thing, one jack couldn't come down. Using my foot (since I had no tools, no little shovel, etc. with me), I finally managed to scrape it low enough that it could come down. Okay, next step. One jack had several inches between it and the ground so I used two of the 4 jack pads underneath. None of the others had enough clearance (note to self, hit the Dollar Store for 4 of those cheaper cutting boards). Back inside to go to the next step....had the instructions right beside me. Still confusing....but after about 30 minutes total time and many (way too many) trips in and out, I managed to get it leveled side to side. It's still a bit down in the front but the refrigerator is level enough to run well and that's the most important thing. (The new thermometer showed me it was running fine, will check the freezer tomorrow.)
Okay, enough fun for one day....time to walk BoBo and then clean up. Talk about hot & sweaty! Met some of the neighbors, they had two Harleys out there so had to chat. Looked at their trailer and really liked it. It was a Haulmark Low Hauler which made it really nice to pull up into. But the last two feet are totally wasted space since it's sloped down. I've seen open trailers set up the same way and I have to decide if I want to pull two extra feet in length just to lower the ramp. I am seriously considering an enclosed trailer now....good place to store my gear as well as extra clothes, books, etc. since I can get one for two bikes and only store one. Decisions.....
Tomorrow the saga continues....
Till next time - keep on rollin',
Froggi/Donna
A Day of Firsts
Saturday, September 1, 2007
Well, I survived my first night in The Lily Pad....all snug and tucked into a corner of the dealer's lot. Quiet location, for the most part, we settled in and headed to bed at 11 pm. I slept pretty well, did dream about what I wanted to do to settle my stuff in my new home.
About 6 am I awoke to a major storm blowing through....heavy downpours, high winds, thunder and lightning. I considered getting up and bringing down my TV antenna but knew that would awake BoBo and there was no way were were going outside in that downpour. It lasted over an hour but finally pushed through the area, headed on to new territory.
The dealer has no service staff on weekends but two of the sales staff showed a little after 9 am. About 10 am, BoBo and I wandered around the front building to wait for the owner to show. Another customer was there and we chatted for a while. Eventually the owner appeared, having slept in a bit being a weekend. He thought I was pretty much set to go, then he found out we still had some things to cover including dumping the tanks.
My firsts today....
Tomorrow I get to try to remember everything I need to do (got to build a checklist), head out and try to make Chattanooga where I will stay at Camping World's campground. I'm hoping they will be open Labor Day so I can get some shopping done.
Till next time - keep on rollin',
Froggi/Donna
About 6 am I awoke to a major storm blowing through....heavy downpours, high winds, thunder and lightning. I considered getting up and bringing down my TV antenna but knew that would awake BoBo and there was no way were were going outside in that downpour. It lasted over an hour but finally pushed through the area, headed on to new territory.
The dealer has no service staff on weekends but two of the sales staff showed a little after 9 am. About 10 am, BoBo and I wandered around the front building to wait for the owner to show. Another customer was there and we chatted for a while. Eventually the owner appeared, having slept in a bit being a weekend. He thought I was pretty much set to go, then he found out we still had some things to cover including dumping the tanks.
My firsts today....
- Backing up my first motorhome
- Driving my first motorhome
- Hooking up power and water
- Starting the generator
- Putting down the awning (that sucker is HUGE, covers the entire side of the rig)
- Putting up the awning (wondering how I will ever remember all the steps)
- Dumping the tanks (glad the black was almost empty because the hose blew off
) - Driving 225 miles on the interstate in my first motorhome
- Pulling into my first rest area (truck side) with my first motorhome
- Getting gas in my first motorhome (lined up just perfect...filler is in the middle of the back....too far to reach with the short hose so had to pull forward & back several times before I could reach it)
- Spending the night in my first campground in my first motorhome
- Doing my own hookups in my first campground in my first motorhome
Till next time - keep on rollin',
Froggi/Donna
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)