Yes, still here....

Just a quick check-in for those who follow the blog and might otherwise worry. I'm at Camping World in New Braunfels....very nice folks here. I'm getting new tires (now THAT is a major expense, let me tell you) as well as getting the bearings in the trailer greased and turns out, in the front of the RV as well. They are also switching out the trailer hitch for me, hoping that levels it.

I have a ton of email backlogged, so if you've written and not heard, bear with me. I will bet back to you....but feel like reading this afternoon, not typing.

Had a good trip, generally, over from Livingston to New Braunfels. I took mostly US and state routes, almost no traffic, fairly decent roads (other than a couple of stretches early on that bounced me around a bit) and some nice scenery. If I hadn't been rushed to make it here before dark (good thing since it took me three tries to get onto the right frontage road for Camping World), I would have stopped several times. Those days are coming....SOON!

The big surprise of the trip was stopping a couple of hours out to check out the atlas and take a bathroom break. Opened the bathroom door....the smell about knocked me flat. Think of a porta-potty after 10 hours of use on a 100 degree day at a biker event (or outdoor concert). I've never had that happen. The most common cause is having the bathroom vent open...I knew that and it was closed (as were all the vents and windows). I added water, I added RV-Trine treatment, I opened the vent (had to at that point).

It's gone this morning (was pretty gone by bedtime) and I have a few things to check out. The evening was capped by my DVR refusing to load from the satellite. After relocating the dish three times and resetting or unplugging the DVR at least 6 times, I turned it all off. Missed Kid Nation, Private Practice and Dirty Sexy Money. I'll live...

Okay, I said this would be brief but you all know me well enough by now....LOL! Ran into a lady solo, full-timer here. She's at an RVing Women rally and was picking up a replacement "Little Red Campfire". I had read about them in the forums but had never seen one operated. I loved it! Great way to have a campfire without the muss or fuss of wood. It runs on propane which means I wouldn't have to worry about my allergic reaction to smoke. I hadn't gotten one because of limited storage space...then it hit me....I have room in the trailer. Uh, DUH!

Okay, enough babbling...I'll be here again tonight (it's free and if there is a pull-through spot, I can even plug into electric - last night they were all full), then I head to Riverbend RV Park in Luling where I will stay till January 7th.

Escapees - Rainbow's End, Livingston TX

Catching up on yesterday and today. Sunday I woke to a drizzly morning, left Wal-Mart about 8:30am (note to self - avoid in-city Wal-Marts where teens congregate to display their testosterone with racing & hot cars). The rain continued off and on, nothing heavy, just enough to keep the windshield washer busy and turn the back of the RV and all of the trailer disgustingly filthy.

I arrived at the Escapees home park, Rainbow's End, in Livingston, TX around 2:30 pm and got settled in a one night pull-through. At that point I had no idea if I would be able to stay another night or not....had to check in the morning to see if anyone had left one of the back pull-through spots. They normally reserve the front pull-throughs for late arrivals (office closed) and strictly for one night stays.

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I took a walk around the park, listening to my iPod, enjoying the exercise...after switching to a t-shirt from long sleeves. Funny to go from 50 and heating to almost 80 and air conditioning...of course it didn't last. Last night got cold and tonight there is a freeze warning. The ice cream social here was at 6:30 - dark, dark, dark! I started out and turned around to get a brighter flashlight. Had barely started walking when a couple stopped and offered me a ride (gotta love these Escapees!). They looked familiar but we couldn't figure out where we might have seen each other.

Inside the activity center was already busy...I met several new folks including another nice couple who ride a Goldwing trike. He offered to stop by on Monday morning to see if I needed help tying the BMW back down. I soon found the singles table and ran into a couple of friends from the Escapade. I sat there for a bit and met several other solo ladies including one with a much worse Wal-Mart story than I had. The four of us solo gals decided that a portable air horn might be a handy thing to have...adding to my Christmas wish list.

For whatever reason I didn't sleep well. First I was wide awake, then I woke up cold - closed the bedroom overhead vent. Woke up cold again, pulled up the extra quilt. Woke up cold AGAIN, toddled out to the living room (found the flashlight on....not sure how that happened...LOL!), checked the temperature...55. Definitely cold enough to turn on the heat. When I finally fell asleep it was to a really weird, nightmarish dream. UGH! Got up at 7:15...

At 9 I called the Moose in Elkhart, IN to let them know I had never received me membership packet. Real nice lady helped me out, took all my information, apologized several times and assured me that it would get fixed.

Then I called the Camping World in Katy, TX to get a quote on tires. The young man was supposed to call me back. One of my forum friends, Tom, stopped by, he and his wife. Paula, are volunteers at the CARE center here. He was off until this evening, his wife was working. We chatted for about an hour on a variety of topics and planned to all meet up in Quartzsite in January.

Well, by the time Tom left it was 1.5 hrs and no call back. So I went to my next choice, the Camping World in New Braunfels, TX. Talked to a very helpful lady in service, Mary. She took all my information and said she needed to see if the Michelin dealer had the tires in stock. I told her I would call her back in about 30 minutes. I then headed over to the park office to find out if they had a spot for me....they did. I took a ride over in the golf cart to look at it...slight downward slope but for two nights, not a problem.

Because of having the trailer hooked up, I can't use my levelers. The trailer is tipped too far back because the hitch is too high. I have a new one with 2" more drop and will get that changed out soon. Yes, I could ask someone here to do it but you know me....I'm loath to ask favors!

Anyway, I got moved and set up for two days here and I have an appointment in New Braunfels to get my new tires put on. Definitely busts the budget for maintenance & repairs this year but it's something I can't put off. The dry rot is really bad and I don't want to take a chance with them.

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I washed the trailer today....it was SOOO disgusting....and the front of the truck. I then waxed (Protect All spray wax) one side of the trailer. I was pretty beat so will do the rest tomorrow. I think you can see the difference! I need to do the top but will wait till I get set for a month since that requires me to take down my ladder.

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Speaking of ladders....I thought I had done real well getting mine loaded and secured on the roof ladder. But now I'm noticing that most folks have theirs opposite mine....I have the top of the ladder facing down and theirs all seem to be mounted with the top up. So when I take it down I'll see if I can swap it around. Not sure why I did it that way except that it was easier for me to secure. The only downside is that water pools inside the top step since it's upside down. As long as I don't breed mosquitoes in there it should be okay....

Well, sorry for the long blog....that is, if you made it to the end.

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

Back on the road....

Reporting in from the Wal-Mart parking lot in Hope, AR - the hometown of Bill Clinton. Been an interesting day.....got a late start after gabbing with the campground hosts, my just moved in yesterday British lady duo and another couple who are camp hosts in training. (I am SOOO bad with names....going out on a limb here, the camp hosts were Kris & Jim and the trainees were Wanda & Wallace). I passed out my card to everyone, asking them to keep in touch.

So it was at least noon before I left the campground....forgot to write the time and my starting mileage. But I did remember everything else...I think....LOL! Anyway, I had almost 3/4 tank of gas, the sun was trying to peek between the clouds as I started out. I headed south on Hwy 65 which switches between four lane divided highway and two lane. It winds up, down and around the mountains in southern MO and northern AR....would have been awesome on the motorcycle but in the RV I took my time, pulling over to let others pass when possible.

I'd forgotten the sore neck, tight arms and hurting hands that come with 5+ hours of driving, I was quickly reminded as the first hour or so was quite windy. While my suspension upgrades have virtually eliminated my side to side sway, there isn't much that can be done for the nice broadside we RVers present to the wind.

The road got really rough around Little Rock....rough enough that I worried about what might be happening to the motorcycle in the trailer. I had to drop speed to decrease the feeling of being shook completely apart. Egad but I hate rough rider roads like that....

Stopped and got gas....stopped an ate....was making decent time but I knew it would be dark before I got here to Hope. I had to make one more gas stop or I would be in jeopardy of the generator not working. Pulled into a Love's, already dark now, and if there had been decent parking would have stayed there. No room so headed the next few miles south to Wally World.

This is where it got interesting....once again Microsoft Streets & Trips turned me the wrong way. I guess I really need to upgrade tot he newest version. Anyway, I turned around in an empty parking lot and then saw a Waffle House beside a strip mall. I pulled in fully intending to pull through into the strip mall after getting directions. NOT!!! No way through unless I was driving a four wheel drive vehicle...

So I made a rather feeble and quite humbling attempt to back up the trailer to turn around. After several minutes and several tries, I had the trailer completely jack-knifed. Shut it off, went inside and got quick directions from the waitresses (just had to continue back the way I came...but past the Interstate). Then proceeded to ask in a loud voice if there was anyone in there capable of backing up a trailer. Several blank looks, then one waitress pointed outside and said he can, if you want me to ask him.

We both walked outside and explained the situation. Really nice guy, looked over the situation, climbed in and within 2 minutes had it aiming back out for me. He loved the backup monitor...

I managed to find the Wal-Mart, not the best situation. The parking lot is under construction and less than half of it is open. There is a low clearance barrier, which I cleared easily and a no semi's sign. I pulled in and stopped in the very front, along the side. This is the furthest away from the entrance and no one wants to park here. I'm under construction security lights which I like.

I went inside, grabbed a cart and headed to customer service where I asked if I could stay, telling her I was parked out of the way and would be leaving early in the morning. No problem! I picked up a few food items that I needed, another bottle of Protect-All so I can clean up the trailer as well as the RV, new valve caps (just cheap plastic ones) since mine are shot, 12 volt light bulbs so I could replace one that had burned out, a couple of books and a spare 30 to 15 amp adapter that was on clearance.

So, will head to bed in another hour or so and be on my way in the morning. Plans are to make it all the way to Livingston....just hope they have a pull-through spot open or else I'll be asking for help backing up again! LOL!

The strangest part of the day was constantly missing BoBo....I've never traveled in it without him.....

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