Day 27... More on my travels

Well, hello again, last time I wrote an entry I was at a hotel...lol, boy have things changed!

I made it to my new "home" in this state, TX , the following day (since my last blog). I am now in Livingston, TX where Escapees is located. Boy, what a great group of folks and what a great program they have here. I am officially listed as the youngest retiree to join...YES! Here, I got a permanant real mailing address, lots of cheap camping throughout the US and mail forwarding all for $188 a year, trust me, that is cheap!

Since I needed work done on the trailer (read my previous blog), I asked at the office who I could take my set up to for the work which included getting a weight distribution hitch and sway bar (for safety as I discovered on the road in a very scary situation), get my converter fixed so my lights worked properly off of "shore power" and have my brakes, tires and bearings inspected and fixed/replaced if needed. They referred me to Rick, so I stopped at his shop on my way to the State Park and made an appointment for Monday. Since my black water tank was "overflowing" per say, he decided to stay after hours and correct the problem then and there. Way cool! I was soooo embarrassed to find out, after his brief inspection that there was another (up under the trailer) outlet for the black water tank, even more embarrassed when they opened it and "poo" fell out as the valve had been opened repeatedly in an attempt to dump it. He was not phased and took the necessary steps to empty it for me....whoa, lesson learned along with embarrassment, thank you! He said he would do all the other work I needed in a day as I was living in my "rig". Cool, onto the state park, fully embarrassed! Oh, and he loved my dog and she love him, good sign, seemed like a great guy, good humor and good people in general there.

So, the first four days I was in Livingston, I figured I did NOT want to stay in an "old folks" RV park (Escapees)! So I opted to stay at Lake Livingston State Park, right on the lake, very beautiful. It was $28 a day to stay there, but I was under the impression that the Escapees RV Resort was quite a bit more, so that is where I stayed until Thursday, at the state park. Friday came and the park had full reservations so I had to go, I was disappointed as I had come to be comfortable, alas, I figured "everything happens for a reason", right? Since the only other place I was familiar with was the Escapees park, well, I called and the nice lady said "We always have a space for our members", how they pull that off with over 28,000 members, I am not sure. But it was refreshing to hear that I mattered and counted for something somewhere, since I was being booted from the park I had come to feel so comfortable in. I arrived here, completely looking like crap! It was hot and very humid and I had been through the couple hours it takes to get disconnected and reorganized to move, frankly, I think I looked homeless...LOL! In an attempt to remain cool, I had doned the least of the clothes I had brought out on the road. That day I was wearing blue and white checkered shorts and a black tank top, did not match, my hair was only semi looking okay because it was plastered to my scalp with sweat, my make-up had long ago disappeared into the humidity somehow, but I made it to Escapees!

When I first walked into the registration office, the great, great man behind the counter greeted me (lookin' homeless and all!) with a huge smile and a welcome greeting...maybe they are used to distressed out of towners not used to the humidity here, but he didn't even blink at my worn out appearance! Much releif in the cool A/C with such a friendly gentleman to take care of me! He was kinda round with a big mustache, and a Texas accent ta' boot! I was instantly relieved I had come here, actually, to my new "home", to stay. Even more relieved to find out that the daily rate is only $12.50 per day to members such as me! This nice gentleman, after hearing that I was quite new at backing up my trailer, assigned me a space that was "easy to back into". For most, anyway!

So, I headed out to claim my space, #44! I got to it and was pretty confident, with a bit of embarrassment and if I took my time, I could back in my newly acquired trailer! I was working it, still confident and about 30 seconds into my attempt when a nice elderly gentleman stopped his golf cart and hopped out and guided me into my spot, figuring I was new I am sure. I expressed my appreciation for his help and he expressed his admiration for my little Scamp (I have had at least 8 people admire or ask to take a look inside), and quipped that it was "perfect"! My best compliment yet on my choice! I was warned by other owners that they are popular and very interesting to "outsiders" who have never seen inside one, so I was proud, but not as surprised as I could have been by the interest in her (she's a girl, by the way). Once in my spot, the "locals" in the nearby area soon arrived and welcomed me and were interested in my story of retiring so young and all, they all loved my dog!

So, I have been here at Escapees since then...although I cannot forget to tell you about getting my trailer serviced!

So, Monday morning, I proceeded (or tried to...) get my trailer ready to move. I have gotten pretty good at it, it is not simple, but not difficult either. You just must remember many simple things, such as closing all the windows and roof vents, moving all your stuff to a place that won't allow it to end up on the floor, disconnect all (water, electric, sewer) and switch over the fridge from electric to propane and such. Soooo, as it goes, the interest in my trailer was in full mode at 7:30am, I had three couples come by to see it and comment and tell me their story of how they wanted one! So, being congenial as I am, and loving to talk to older people with stories I will one day tell, I stopped and talked and listened. I cannot tell you how important it is to listen! to those that are older than you, not because you have to, but because you want to! Some of the best stories I have ever heard! I am learning to slow down and hear people rather than just "put up" with being "nice" and hearing them. I love listening to people with so much more wisdom than me. BUT, in each of these cases, they seemed to think that I was the smart one for aquiring my cute little Scamp! Nice to hear from those that know!

I was finally ready to roll the 10 miles down the road to Rick, who promised to take good care of my new home! I arrived promptly 30 minutes late for my appointment as all the folks held me up wanting to comment or see my rig. Rick, nor his staff, complained, but were very nice about taking it into the shop. They gave me my Infiniti back so I had a places to go, although me and my dog were welcome to stay and observe or kick it in the lounge, but we chose to see a bit of Livingston...again, everyone loved my dog! So, we went and sampled too much of the local southern food, got a call from Rick to return the truck around 11am for it's turn. I was pleased that once they had my truck in the shop (to install it's portion of the weight distribution hitch and sway bar) that I was allowed in the shop to watch. They were having some difficulty with the converter inside the trailer and the A/C wouldn't work once the converter was installed, some tense stuff!! They talked of cutting my cute little fiberglass trailer in half to find the wiring problem, but only to freak me out I soon learned, and it worked, I freaked out on the suggestion of that one!!! LOL! All the guys in the shop apparently knew how attached I have already gotten to her and joked about cutting her in half, NOT FUNNY, until I learned they were kidding me! A few hours later they located the source of the problem with my A/C, a BARE WIRE! Scary! They got it fixed, no fire, and got the hitch and all attached...sent me home $1200 poorer, but much more confident in my safety with the rig! Rick called on Tuesday to make sure all went well while unhitching it all for the first time and gave me his home phone number in case I had any problems with the wiring. Really cool folks and I enjoyed the opportunity to watch the work in progress despite the big sign that said for insurance purposes, I was not allowed in the service area!

On Tuesday I took my dog to the vet to get her shots and on heart worm prevention, another $220, but what is a mom supposed to do, risk it? No way! Very expensive couple of days!

So, tomorrow, I take my trailer and tow vehicle (the Infiniti) down to get it all inspected and registered in Texas, if all goes well, I will be headed for Alabama to see my siblings, neice, nephew, great neice and two great nephews, haven't seen some of them ever (the younger ones) and the rest I haven't seen in 12 years, should be fun, will update you all on that!

Thanks for reading!

My first 18 days on the road...what an adventure!

Okay, I am not going to start this off by saying ALL was wonderful, I still have a lot to learn, but here it is, great times and some others...

Let me start off with April the 2nd, my first official day as a full time RVer. I have no home other than my little 16' Scamp trailer.

From Descanso, CA to the Superstition Mountains where I stayed from April 2nd until April 14th. While I was there I had no hook-ups (known as dry camping), no water (exept what I had in my tank and got from my ice chest), no power (except from my battery on the trailer, not much power) and no way to empty my tanks. The wind blew hard most of the time and when it wasn't blowing it was about 95 degrees, HOT! The upside of this part of the plan was that my man come out to see me about every other day and showed me all about how my trailer worked. One of the propane tanks was full, so I had a refrigerator and could cook inside on my stove. He taught me about how hook ups worked (hard line electric, water, etc) and how to light the propane on my refrigerator. He built me a cool step as my trailer did not come with one, and brought ice, alcohol and steaks. The down side was, every other day or so I would have to drive and hour into town to my friends house to shower and do laundry...good thing that was only temporary.

So...on Tuesday, April 14th, I left CA headed in a fury to get to Livingston, TX. Livingston, TX is where Escapees is ( www.escapees.com ) , Escapees provides a permanant address for RVer's on the road and domicile so we can vote and all that. They forward mail, etc. So, I was die hard to get there and get "settled", register my vehicles in TX, get a TX driver's license, effectively becoming a Texan (so ashamed of CA right now!). Well the first day was very windy and I had some sway problems with the trailer (never felt sway? very freaking scary!). I stopped in Eloy, NM and stayed the night in my trailer parked in the parking lot of a Motel 6, not a bad night at all. The next day, the 15th, I drove all day and stayed the night in Van Horn, TX in the parking lot of a Super 8 motel, another windy, tense day on the road. On the 16th I was heading to San Antonio when I kept hearing storm warnings on the radio. I was tired, in dire need of a shower and scared to death to be towing my trailer in a bad storm in the middle of TX, so I stopped in this cute little town called Junction, TX. I pulled into a Motel 6 and got me a really nice room, nicest Motel 6 I have ever seen. I showered and got a good night's sleep. The next morning I left my trailer in the parking lot and decided to see this really cute town...the storm had blown through overnight. As I was cruising along, I saw a sign for South Llano River State Park and decided to check it out. ABSOLUTELY beautiful park! Now, just for those of you who do not know (I didn't know!), TX has some beautiful "Hill Country" (that's what TX calls it). I fell in love with this State Park! I decided it was time to slow the hell down and enjoy my retirement, so after my dog and I spent the afternoon (Friday), hiking and swimming in the river, I stopped at the front desk (soaking wet from the river) and paid for two nights. I headed back to the Motel and picked up my trailer, hit the liquer store and grocery store (where I bought two steaks that were "manufactured" right in Junction, really fresh), and headed out to claim my spot.

As I arrived at my site I noticed (to my great surprise and facination) a Casita directly across from me. Casita is another brand of molded fiberglass travel trailers (a rare breed) and the type that was my first choice actually, but a Scamp (my second choice) came up for sale at the right time, in the right place and for the right price. So, as soon as I got settled (successfully backing up my trailer for the first time), I went over and introduced myself to Renee. She is also a single female traveling with her two dogs, Honey and Harley. She was stoked to check out my Scamp and me her Casita. After checking out her Casita I was really glad I ended up with my second choice, my Scamp. Not that her Casita was bad, but I really just liked my Scamp better. The refrigerator in my Scamp is twice the size, I have way more storage space and many other minor things. So...Renee, Honey, Harley and I and my dog, Goof, became fast friends. We shared stories and ideas regarding camping, campers and being on the road in general. It also turned out that she owns a 280 acre cattle ranch near Livingston, TX (where I was headed and have planned on staying for about a month). She invited me to camp on her ranch once she gets back on the 28th. Way cool, can save a lot of money and hang out on a real TX cattle ranch, I will be calling her around the 28th!

On Saturday (yesterday), Renee and I took all the dogs down to the river to go swimming, we all had a great time, but had to head back kind of early because she was "checking out" and had to be gone by 2pm, bummer, she was way cool!

BUT, we exchanged info and I am sure to be in touch with her again. After she left, me and Goof went into town, got more ice and headed back to go get one last swim in in the river. We finally got back to camp about 6pm, all was going very well, I felt really good about slowing down and my decision to take my time in getting to Livingston after all. Then the one minor problem...

As evening approached I realized that my outlets (I had power hook-ups) were working fine, but my lights were dimming greatly...what? Well, earlier that day I had met the guy camped next to me when I was on my way back from the restroom, he has a daughter living in San Diego County and wanted to know what part of CA (license plates on my stuff) I was from. So, before it got too late, I decided to go ask him if he knew something I didn't, maybe I hooked up my trailer wrong??? Turns out he was an electrician (seriously, lucky me!), he brought his stuff over, spent about 45min checking out my electrical and finally figured out that I have a bad converter (about a $200 fix), okay, cool! I got really lucky that this nice man took his time and figured out where my problem is, easy for me to switch out once I get a new one (almost like switching out a fuse) and I didn't have to pay to have the problem figured out, another great person I have met so far! So I cooked my steak, potato and onion that night by lantern light, no big deal. Thank you to that nice, nice man!!!!

So comes this morning! I am finally learning how to load my trailer where all my stuff does not end up on the floor (due to basic travel conditions) and did a great job of packing in my stuff. Very proud of myself! Soooo....I get to where you empty the tanks (both grey, sink water, and black, toilet water, were pretty full). No matter what I tried, my black water (the grossest one) would not empty. I have a clog or a bad pump, not sure. Upside to that, lots of tongue weight, no sway. Down side is pretty obvious, I have to get something fixed. That's fine, I can do that, will learn stuff in the process as I plan to watch how they fix it so I can do it all myself later if need be. So I head out on SR 290 for ????

I stopped in Fredricksburg, TX, a small, cute town and had lunch and looked over my map. Yep, there was the perfect campground on Lake Sommerville, TX that I would hit right about sundown, perfect! My goal has been NOT to be on the road too much at night in case of a break down or flat tire, etc. Well...

I ended up getting to Lake Sommerville about a half hour after dark, after driving down a long (15 mile) road to an empty, creepy campground. Only creepy, I am sure, because it was dark and empty (Sunday night). So, my gut feeling was to move on and not stop there as I would be completely alone and there was no cell phone coverage. I got back to Hwy 290 about 9pm, way after dark....I called my friend Vicki who has been tracking my progress on line, living vicariously through me, and she got on line. She let me know that (me being all freaked out by the creepy park and that it was getting close to 10pm) there was a Best Western Hotel coming up soon, my next choice for camping was 100 miles away. So...hating the fact that I was once again going to stay in a Hotel when I love my trailer, for both our good, tonight I opted for the Hotel. I feel a bit guilty, but I am still new at this and just did not plan well. I thought I would be in Livingston today, but the route I took was slow, not a freeway, but a highway with lots of stop lights in little towns...I took longer than expected and ended up in a pickle. Being as I, and Vicki, were already freaking out a bit (dark, late at night), I chose to get a room...again!

So, here I sit, more learned about planning and the time difference (and many other differences) between Freeways and Highways, in my room. I am self disappointed, but safe, that is the most important thing I suppose.

I have to say that my dog, Goof, has been quite the troooper! She is sleeping soundly now and I am about to get a shower and get to bed. Hopefully by the time I write another blog, I will have better stories of adventure, but for now, just a bunch of learning and meeting some cool people...thanks for reading!