Slow boring day!

The smallest clock I could
find

May 31 -  Since we didn’t have to be at work until 5 today, we did some “house” work.  I hung my new clock and my little wine rack that holds 3

See it only holds 3

glasses.  Bill cut the rug we bought into the sizes of our steps so we can have them bound when we go to Home Depot.  Gradually we’re getting things as much as we can the way we want them.  I took the phone booster system out and read the book and it may be a bit more complicated that I thought but it was too chilly out to get on the roof and check out the signal today. 

We were supposed to work til 9 but since everyone had checked in and things slowed down we got to leave just after 8.  I work with Barb until she leaves after July 4 and we get along very well.  She and her husband live in Venice, FL but are from around this area.  We had some rowdy kids to deal with who came in to play the game machines and pass the time.  I think Bill was out mowing grass and raking out some topsoil

One of the pavillions

they had delivered.  We had packed our dinner and took a break to eat.  I had my leftovers from last night and I made Bill a huge chicken sandwich with a grilled chicken breast that was leftover.  We sat in the lobby in front of the big stone fireplace and had our dinner.

With nothing but reruns on there hasn’t been much of interest on TV so after trying to get on the internet and it was a bust, I read and Bill had already been reading.

Our first day off

May 30 – We had the day off today so once we had breakfast and cleaned up a bit we headed

My first guests

out for the day.  It was a GREAT day!  As soon as I got up I looked out the front window and had my first hummingbird.  He was shiny green and then another one came, with a white neck stripe and red throat.  I was very excited and it was the perfect start to my day.

The weather warmed up after another cool night and we headed into Willimantic to visit the Windham Textile & History Museum.  It’s only 14 miles from us and opened at 10.  As we walked in we heard a guy telling his group he was taking them on the tour shortly.  We didn’t know they did tours but asked if we could join them and he was giving a special tour but since there were only 4 people he said sure.  We were very lucky as he was extremely knowledgeable about the town

One of the mill buildings and the
Willimantic River power source

as well as the history of the Mill.  The original buildings were built primarily from local granite and later brick factories were added but only the granite ones remain.  Two are now all apartments and the others have business offices on the first floor and the other floors will be converted to apartments.  There were over 1,000 mills in CT prior to the Civil War, before the invention of electricity.  Water power from the many

Original Company Store
for the mill, now part of the
Museum

rivers that had long drops in a short space that created power to run the machinery.  The buildings were built long and narrow with lots of big windows to allow enough natural light in for the workers to see.  They originally worked from dawn until dusk.  This particular mill started as the American Linen Company where they used cotton from the south and flax from Europe.  During WWII they could no longer get flax so changed to making cotton thread, then experimented with different synthetic fibers to make seat belts in cars.  Once electricity use spread and factories opened in the south to avoid shipping north the number of factories decreased rapidly.  This one closed in 1985. 

After the tour we were starved so headed to the University of Connecticut Campus where we had a good lunch in a local bar and eatery.  I had a chef salad and Bill went a little overboard with buffalo chicken quesadilla.  Then we checked out some stores still looking for things for the RV.  Found a wall clock the right size but no rug, silverware tray or drain dish.  Bill found a shirt.  We went to the 5:00 movie “A Million Ways to Die in the West”.  We were early so glad we had our books.  The movie was funny but so dumb.  Bill cackled his way through it.  Not one I’d EVER watch again.

Ribbits

On the way home we stopped at “Ribbits" for dinner.  Nice little place, generous servings and pretty good food for the price.  The theme is frogs so I liked it.  I had liver with onions, sweet potato and broccoli with a salad.  Only ate half so my dinner tomorrow just needs reheated.  Bill had meatloaf, slaw, broccoli and salad so he was better.  We work 5 – 9 tomorrow evening so this had to be our date night.  Turned into date day but we had a nice time and got to check out some more places.  Eventually we will find our way around.

Checking out the area

May 29 – No work today until 2:30 so after breakfast we ventured in the other direction where we found a Big Lots, K-mart, Dollar Tree and some other small stores and the Shop and Stop grocery store.  It is a very nice upscale store like a Publix.  The prices for produce was high so didn’t buy much.  Snapple was on sale and everyone knows Bill loves his Snapple.  Checked out the health food section and they carry most of what I use so that is good. 

Typical drive to town

On the way out of the shopping center the car signaled that we

Veggie and meat store

had low air pressure in the tires.  Pull right into a gas station and the back two were low so got that remedied in a hurry.  What a smart car!  Took a different route home but it looked just like the way over.  The roads are really pretty just driving along under a cover of big green trees.  We stopped at a corner market that advertised fresh veggies and local grown beef.  The only veggies in right now were asparagus and she didn’t grow pencil ones so I picked through and got enough skinny ones for dinner.  Also bought a boneless sirloin steak that looked really nice and was CT grown with no hormones.

I thought I found a new dish rack to fit the smaller sink but was wrong.  I have so many things now to return to stores!  I did buy 2 shepherd’s hooks for my bird feeders.  One will be for the hummers and one for any birds I can get!  Bought bird seed and put them both up and made a batch of hummer nectar.  I moved our cactus light and other outside décor because now you can’t open the compartments behind them and that’s the main one we go into all the time.  Then we hurried and had our lunch and got to work early.  Steve had said yesterday we’d only work a couple of hours but we didn’t get to leave until about 6.  Bill did more mowing and I got to train with Linda today.  She went over some of the same stuff but a lot of new stuff and I got to input a reservation into the computer and rang up things on the cash register.  There are a lot of details but you just need to get some practice.

By the time we left for home it was getting cold out again.  The only thing I went back out for was to put my nectar in my hummingbird feeder.  I cooked our steak on the George Foreman and Bill said it was too raw but I thought it was pretty good.  The asparagus were excellent and we threw in some other leftover veggies.  Have enough steak for another serving.

Bill did his dishes and watched TV and as I sign off to go to bed the thermometer reads 52 out at 11.

We're not in Florida anymore!

May 28 -  Brrrrrr!  It was 49 our when I got up this morning.  We’re not in Florida anymore!  I felt bad for Bill to have to mow grass today.

Frog sitting on a thread spool

We were not due in to work until 12:30 so took a jaunt to wherever the Wal-mart and Home Depot were.  Still looking for certain items for the RV and ordered some indoor/outdoor carpet to make a dash mat for the RV.  Bill bought a rug to cut to put on the steps.  I was pleasantly surprised that there was an Aldi’s there.  Great!  I picked up a few produce items.  We continued down that main road to Willamantic where there used to be a big textile mill on the river.  The buildings are all in use for other things now but we think they have a textile/milling museum so will go back one day.  The bridge there over the Natchaug River was so cool with HUGE frogs on each corner of the bridge.  That seems to be a pretty nice town.

Bill did mow grass today and loved it!  Steve trained me and he does things a little different than Barb so I might have to tweak my memory.  I think there will be several different ways of getting things done and I don’t want to step on any toes.  Steve is more of a clean freak and there really isn’t any dirt but I dusted stuff anyway.  We got off at 5:30 and it was so cold out still.  We switched from propane to our electric portable heaters as Steve said the propane truck can’t fill our RV and it would be a big issue to move it and take it someplace to fill.  So we are down to ¾ of our tank and that should be fine for cooking and grilling this summer.  I might call the propane people myself and check on that.  It was too cold to do anything outside after work today so we hibernated!

First Day On The Job

May 27 – First day on the job!  Bill was training with Ron and they did a variety of things.  One was helping to move the RV next to ours over a bit.  The owner complained that we were too close to him and wanted to be moved and have the other volunteer on the other side of him moved also.  So they moved him and all of his “stuff” outside and I guess he was OK.  They cleaned fire pits left from the long weekend and talked to some of the Seasonal people that we will see all summer.  I was in the office training on the telephone, computer reservation system, supplies, cleaning chores and campground rules.  Bill and I will always be on the same hours on the same days.  I trained with Barb.

After work we came home and did some rearranging of our outdoor stuff.  The neighbor across from us complained that we needed to move our car so he’d be able to park his truck.  This could end up being a VERY long summer.  We’re really tight in our space and should not be parked here but Bill says since we were last to arrive we got the leftovers.  He moved the car to right in front of the RV parallel parked. 

After dinner I worked more on the blog and photos.  Really want to catch up but then on most work days there won’t be a lot to say.  It is to cool down quite a bit tonight so I turned the furnace on.  Not clear on the electric part of it as it came out cool air so had to go propane.

Molly clawed the end of the couch so we now have to keep her in the bedroom at night and during the day when we’re gone.  I debated about having her declawed before we left and just didn’t want to put her through it.  I have a water bottle ready when she claws anything but her scratch box.

Finally made it to Charlie Brown's

May 26 - The last day on the road!  When we got up there were several tractor trailers beside us so we knew it was a safe night.  The car was still behind the RV!  We slept in and didn’t get on the road until 9:00.  We had good weather all the way so that was a major plus.  We didn’t need any more pitfalls along the way.

With the detour we took the roads were terrible, lumpy bumpy all the way.  Stuff was all over and even the catfood container fell off the counter and there was cat food everywhere.  Oh well, it was easy to clean up.

There were more deer along the highway and even a white deer.  I don’t think I have ever seen one in person.  Later down in a low spot there was a deer grazing and I think that one’s chances were better.  I spotted my first Oriole, no not a Baltimore one.  It was really pretty, would like some at my bird feeder.

We arrived at the campground after a 15 or so mile drive off the interstate.  It was hilly, wooded areas with lots of small “towns” along the way if that is what you’d call them.  Maybe Villages.  Had no trouble finding the campground and as soon as we pulled in the owners, Steve and Pam were there to greet us along with one of the other volunteers, Barbara.  Later we met her husband, Ron and Carl and Linda.  The fourth couple are Joe and Rick who actually are from Tavares and they used to own JR’s Attic Door in Winter Garden.  Small World!

Steve took Bill to see our space and I thought we were going to back in but when I walked back there they had parked us parallel.  We were pretty uneven and the guys decided that to make sure the jacks would work efficiently they should put boards under the low tires and then under the jacks as the ground here is still pretty wet and soft.  Once we got leveled Bill hooked up our water and electric and started putting out our yard stuff while I got organized inside.  Tried to get started posting the blog but the wifi is terrible.  I still have to download photos and resize them for posting.

It’s nice to be able to open all the slides and put everything away.  After dinner we took a walk down to the lower sites and took a look around, sat by the Natchaug River.  This campground has an upper and lower and we are in the upper where the full hook up sites are.  The lower has 31 sites right on the river and more on the inside loop.  There are 4 pavilions, a playground, soccer field, fishing pond and big play areas for the kids.  About half of the sites are seasonals that leave their RV’s and come for the summer or a month or weekends.

We report for duty at 12:30 tomorrow.

Another day on the long road to CT

May 25

We left the campground about 8:30.  Oh, our meals are really pretty boring right now as we’re both on the Fast Metabolism Diet.  Bill’s lost 20 pounds and I’ve lost 13 and we have a way to go.  When we get to have a special meal I’ll be sure to tell about it.

Just down the road before getting on I-95 was a truck stop so we waited til this morning to fill up.  There were no other vehicles getting fuel so I went ahead and pulled the car up behind the RV and we hooked it up there.  I think I have figured out a marker on the car to help we line it up correctly behind the RV, using the left wiper squirter as the center and drive it into the center of the hitch.

Bill drove first today and the scenery was nice with lots of trees and big farms along the way.  He kept complaining that there was a noise behind him and I told him nothing was wrong, but then I heard and asked if he remembered to lock the gas door.  Oops!  So at the next rest stop he locked it.  That was our mishap for the day!

I had my turn driving after we went over the mountain from Charlottesville to I-81.  He was a bit nervous and I offered to drive it but he said he needed to face his fears and he was fine.  It’s not much of a mountain in my opinion, especially once you’ve driven Wolf Creek Pass in CO.  We drove though the part of MD where we volunteered last summer and it was nice to see place and landmarks that we recognized. 

Neat old house in PA

Today’s roadkill was mostly deer and a few groundhogs.  I did see a young doe along the highway grazing.  Little does she know her fate later if she tries to cross the road.

We ended our day in Mechanicsburg, PA in a Walmart parking lot.  It’s our first time dry camping but with the built in generator we have AC, hot water, no roughing it.  Oh, did I forget to say we have a residential refrigerator now, my FAVORITE feature.  It even has an ice maker and water dispenser (that I didn’t’ know about until Saturday).  No more spoiled veggies and fruit that didn’t stay cold enough.  No more ice trays!

We arrived around 4 so once we parked and put one slide out some to make moving about easier we walked over to Marshalls and I found a corner stacking rack that is perfect and then we went to Wally World and struck out on my list except for the grocery items.  I made a spaghetti sauce with Italian chicken sausage over spaghetti squash for me and Bill had our leftover sides of spaghetti from last night with extra sauce.  He said that’s what he should have ordered last night!

He spent most of the evening reading while I typed.  He called Carole to let her know we were OK and one more road day to go.

Day 2 of the new adventure

May 24

Today is a new day for a new adventure.  We both were getting more comfortable driving but not so much to the clatter of dishes and stuff in storage.  We left about 8:30 but had some problems with the control panel for the leveling system.  The jacks were up but it kept saying they were down.  Bill called La Mesa and got our salesman and he told him some code sequence to clear it.  Later when I was driving the dash panel said we needed to change the oil in 200 miles.  Bill was told it was changed and was good for 10,000 miles so he called the salesman again and he said the always change the oil in trade in rigs but the mechanic failed to reset the computer.  To get it off the screen we’d have to take it to a mechanic.  Not on our buck you can be sure!

Once we got in to VA the roadkill changed to deer of all sizes.  What a waste!  All that venison left on the road, some even attached to car parts! 

Molly napping on the sofa while
we did the driving!

This was our long day of almost 400 miles.  Normally we go about 350, so we were both tired.  We arrived at the South Forty RV Resort just south of Petersburg and it was not what we would classify as a resort.  It was a decent campground with a pool and playground but not a resort by any means.  Nice people!  We were parked by a couple from Ocala who were on their first RV trip in his new travel trailer.  I gather they had their share of problems also.  Once we got hooked up we went into town in search of phone chargers as I could not find the bag they were in and most stuff had been put away.  I had called Kam last night to ask her to go over and make a search of the house and check out where we park our RV but no luck.  I also discovered my file packet with my checkbook was missing but that was at the house so Kam will send later
. 

We got our chargers and came back to the campground to have dinner at the small Italian restaurant that is owned by the lady who owns the campground.  She does all the cooking and the staff raved about it.  Well they must be used to Pizza Hut for Italian because it was definitely not worth the price for the food.  The best part was the salad and they didn’t even have an olive.  What self respecting Italian would serve a salad with no olives?  As we were waiting for our food our neighbor lady brought in the couple beside her and they told us as they walked up they saw water running off the roof of our RV but didn’t understand the cause.  Now what?  The husband turned off the water faucet but didn’t know what else to do.  I know Bill felt really stressed and the lady offered for us to go and she’d wait for our meals and bring them but we said oh well, it will still be there when we get there.  We discussed what it could be and figured the only thing was if while he was chatting with the neighbors and not paying attention to hooking up the water he hooked it to the tank sprayer and since we were not hooked up to sewer it filled the black tank and created a geyser up the roof exhaust vent.  The question was how much water backed up out of the toilet and if our place was flooded.  I knew Bill was really antsy to go so as soon as we ate I sent him on while I paid the check and boxed our leftover side dishes of pasta with sauce.  We finally got a break!  Our suspicion was correct and he easily made the correction and drained the tank.  By the time I got there he had cleaned up the little bit of water that came out of the toilet.  Timing is everything and the neighbors must have seen it right when it was starting to overflow.  I can’t imagine what we would have done if the RV flooded!

I always tell Bill I’m up for an adventure but he doesn’t have to take me up on it on a daily basis!

It was too late to go to the office and use the wifi so I started writing the blog.

First day on the road to Connecticut

May 23

Bill took the first driving shift

We were up at 6:30 in hopes of being at the warehouse by 8

Second shift driver

so we could load while Kurt and Mark installed a gas line from our propane on the driver’s side to the passenger side for using with our grill.  Well as normal, we were a little late and they were busy but they got it done and we got loaded, hitched and on the road about 10:15.  It wasn’t so bad as this was to be our short day of about 345 miles to Yemasee, SC.  Bill drove first as Molly and I adjusted to riding in the “bus” as opposed to the truck.  It’s very different and now you know everything that falls or flies around.  We never had to hear it before, just pick it up!  Bill drove until lunch and I said I’d give it a try from the rest area onto the Interstate and then back into a rest area.  Well, it really wasn’t bad, it’s just so wide!  We decided to stop at Camping World in Savannah since it’s right off the Interstate.  I had some things to return and wanted to look for an over the door rack for under the sink.  There didn’t appear to be any more Camping Worlds along our route to CT.  Oh, by the way, Eastford, CT is our final destination this summer.  We are volunteering at a private campground, Charlie Brown’s Campground.  We will work 5 hours, 4 days a week and off 3.  With the rotation of other couples, we are supposed to have 6 days off every 3-4 weeks. Then we plan to take off on some short trips in the new coach which should be much easier to pack up and go.

Front Driver

Back at Camping World I found what I wanted and while I shopped

Front Passenger

Bill had to do his thing on the tow car.  Every 6 hours of driving you have to run the engine at least 5 minutes, then put it in park, drive, reverse and neutral and leave the key in the “B” position.  There was a diesel station at the corner, a block away and we thought it was a good time to fill up.  Bill was driving and as we turned into the station he could see the car in the mirror and the tires were flat in front.   We moved to fast as we were blocking the driveway.  We unhooked the car and I drove on into the station and filled up.  He had left the car in Park and was dragging it for a block and destroyed the front tires.  He walked down to Camping World to see who they recommended he call for tires.  Well, now it’s almost 5 on Friday before a holiday and we were lucky to have some good Southern folks understand our plight and we got our tires and were back on the road at about 6:40.  That was an expensive lesson but we have to view it as a learning experience of what NOT to do.

Our first night

In NC and SC we encountered an abundance of armadillo roadkill being feasted on by buzzards.  We stayed at the Oakes at Point South in Yemasee.  We thought we had stayed there before and we had.  For a Thousand Trails place, it’s not very nice.  Rutty road and dirt sites and just plain run down looking.  We decided this would be our last time there.   I made a quick dinner and we read a bit and tried to get some rest from a long day.  It was certainly not the best day, but we made it safely to our destination.

Summer 2014 - Leading up to Take off

I have to begin by backtracking for the 2 weeks prior to our leaving on May 23rd. There is a need to present the whole picture of what transpired causing us to miss our original leave date of May 15th.

Many of our family and friends know we have been looking for the “perfect” Class A for a while. I had not been too excited about the prospect for many reasons, but knew if we were going to trade we needed to do it before our beloved 5th wheel further depreciated and with new RV models coming out the prices for them would continue to escalate therefore creating an even wider gap of what we could afford. After visiting and calling a number of dealerships looking for a Tiffin RV, and not finding the “perfect” one, I told Bill I would lessen my expectations and settle for most of my list. He in turn would have to give up his Nissan truck and trade it in with the Ram in order to buy a tow vehicle that we would not have payments on.

Kitchen with Corian counters

Our new RV

Every night I would check websites and find RVs that might be the one only to call the next day and find it was sold. But knowing how important it was to Bill to get a Class A that he felt comfortable driving, I continued to search but widening our possibilities by including Winnebago units. On Sunday night, May 4, I found 2 possibles at La Mesa. Bill confirmed that he would go with me Monday afternoon to see them but to call first. As was our luck they were both sold, BUT the salesman said they had just gotten a 2013 Itasca Meridian 36M by Winnebago and he’d be happy to have it ready to show us that afternoon. We arrived at La Mesa at 4:30 and they closed at 6, but we didn’t leave there until 9:30 as the proud owners of the Itasca. We hope we didn’t jump into anything but it was as close to perfect as we had seen and a beautiful coach inside and a color outside that I could live with.

They had some prep work to do on it and we arranged for our mechanic to give it a thorough

And that was after a lot was put away

checking over, so we would not be able to pick it up until the 14th We arrived at 9:30 that morning and we had our 2 hour walk through and signed all of our paper and at noon we started moving all our stuff and at 9:00 we had made a lot of headway but still had a pile on the floor, but we call it a day and Bill drove it home. I worked on Tuesday but in the evenings I started looking at tow cars. There are only certain makes and models that can be towed as

The new wheels

automatics and each manufacturer has different oddities of what you have to do to the vehicle before, during and after towing, but that’s a whole other story. Ford seemed to have the most possibles so on Wednesday while I went to the dentist Bill stopped by Sun State Ford to take a look at some SUV’s. I told him he could pick since he was giving up his truck. He called and asked if I could stop buy on my way to the east side of Orlando where I had an appt. later in the day and had planned to make a final attempt to find the “perfect” dress for Kam’s wedding on the 10th. Now remember this was on the 7th! I was beginning to feel a bit of stress at this point. I stopped at the Ford dealer and 2 hours later we left with a new 2013 Ford Edge in a beautiful blue.

THE dress

I just made my appt in time and then managed to look for dresses at 3 places and at the last one I found my perfect dress. (I had 2 at home to return). Now, since Kam’s wedding was having a Pittsburgh traditional Cookie Table at the reception, I had already baked 9 dozen cookies and froze them. I had all the cake layers made for her wedding cake and had finished her veil. What I still had to do was make 6 dozen coconut macaroons and decorate the wedding cake.

Now the sweat is starting to run down my back! I worked on Thursday and spent Friday making macaroons and icing for the cakes and doing the decorating. By the time of the rehearsal I had most of it done and once we got home I finished the last layer. Saturday Kerry and my friend Jean and I went to set up the Cookie Table and the cake at the designated time. They were not ready for us and I ended up missing my hair appt. Plus I had some major cake problems all along and wasn’t sure this was going to be one of my best efforts. Geez! Kam arranged for the hairdresser to wait for me at the church so I did manage to get a bit of a “do” just not what I had planned. 

Kam and Dan entering reception

The wedding was fabulous and Kam was beautifully elegant in

The Cake

her dress. I looked pretty good in my new dress that matched Bill’s shirt! I was ecstatic to arrive at the reception and find the cake still standing and received many compliments on it, especially how good it was. (each layer was a different flavor with a different filling, nothing simple for my daughter)

At campout moved decal from
the 5th wheel to door

With the wedding behind us, cars and trucks and Rv’s all exchanged, traded, we brought the RV home on the 14th and left on the 15th for our monthly campout with our club. We didn’t take the car as we had to arrange to have the towing apparatus and braking system installed the following week. Everyone was surprised to see us driving the coach! Oh, not us, Bill drove it! He drove it home from the dealer at night and then in the rain to the campout. I was not quite ready to drive it but had my brother take me for a 45 minute lesson that week in his. I think everyone was more shocked to see him drive than see the coach. We had a great weekend in it and a short list of things that needed attention so Bill took it back on Monday and waited for it. Wednesday we delivered it and the car to have the towing and braking system done. Bill went to pick it up Thursday afternoon and there had been some glitches and he didn’t get it home until 7, but he was fully trained in hitching and unhitching.

And then the fun begins…….