It is 2019 which means it is time to get The Rectangle ready for a new season of road tripping. Our 2015 Newmar Canyon Star (wow has it already been 3 years for The Rectangle?). Yes and so to get ready there is always the maintenance of which David is a stickler for. Houses can sometimes be called "money pits" but The Rectangle is more a "money puddle" where jumping in can get you wet but you will not drown. Into the shop it went and since we got two new front tires during our Canada trip last year at least tires are not on the list. The list is get the air/heat pumps serviced and cleaned; reseal around the skylight and other things on the roof, get a new couch and the driver and passenger seats recovered (at least this is no cost because covered under warranty). The cost was a puddle, but it will keep The Rectangle in great shape for the travel year.
Our first trip out was to the Hill Country city of Evant, Texas. We stayed in the Buena Vista Wildlife Safari RV Park... This is the story we heard: (have no idea if it is true or not?) this a ranch that has exotic animals that a wealthy oil person used for hunting of them with his wealthy friends. As will happen hard times came and he had to sell the ranch and animals which for the animals was a good thing as the new owner did not want to hunt them. The ranch is now a sanctuary for the exotics and one can pay to drive thru and see them. As far as new RV parks is it good, even with the road noise that after the second night we are pretty used to. Everyday the feed truck goes out and you can follow it to see all the animals really up close and personal. This link will give you all the info on the park and the animals. https://www.buenavistawildlifesafari.com/
Evant was small but with several places to eat. Hamilton down the road had good Chinese. now the story here is interesting as the locals say there was a couple running the restaurant and they went back to China and another couple returned from China with the same name and is running the restaurant or something like that? Whatever the story, the food was great. The winery in Hamilton is a delight and should you be in the area worth the visit. link: Red Wing Dove Winery
Next adventure soon...until then The Rectangle will get a bath and polish and staple goods restocked for the season.
Friday, March 22, 2019
Sunday, September 9, 2018
More Maine and Joining Our Tour...Lessons Learned
*Cadillac Mountain tip puts the world at your feet, beautiful views of sea and islands just like on the postcards.
*Fantasy RV Tours: Meeting up with 24 other RVs to start a new type of adventure with a “caravan tour” begins the process of forming community with rules and common goals:
+Rule: No Bad Days
+Rule:It is your vacation so personalize with side trips as you want
+Rule:Be at the assigned campground or let the Wagon Master know your other plans.
+Goal: Travel safe
+Goal: Share experiences and create memories.
*Group whole lobster dinner with others on the tour always makes for fun times as those who have never seen a whole lobster on their plate are a bit taken back by it “staring” at them. But soon enough those who know show those who do not know and the crackers are fast at work. There are of course those that just cannot, so they have alternative meal. I like those that have the alternative meal because it means their lobster is available…thank you Charlotte.
*A trip mascot (a stuffed lobster) was presented to the group and each couple was to host it for a day and enter into a diary the experiences of the mascot. We jumped on being first (let’s just get it out of the way). It was named Claude or Clawed depending on if you wanted him to be French Canadian or a Maine Rapper…we went with French Canadian.
*WE GET A DOG…ok so it is a black wooden lab dog sitting nicely with a cute bandana around his neck we have named Band short for Bandana, but hey most everyone in our group has a dog or two or three and are out walking them, or making plans to have them walked if needed because we have several days with full day bus tours. We have a nice dog that needs no walking and funny as it is as when those other dogs are out walking they stop and look at Band and some have even barked at him. So far none have “marked” him. Then one morning we notice someone has put a leash on him? A nice like bike red bike wire with lobster clamps on either end and put around Band and the picnic table…well after all there are lease rules in the RV park, never did find out who did this nice touch.
Bar Harbor, Maine is a busy tourist town with shops, restaurants and the usual issue of too many cars and not enough parking. To solve this their is a nice lot outside town with a shuttle bus every 15 minutes to the downtown area. While so many wonderful small towns are fun to visit and offer nice ambiance they all have the small streets with too many cars and no parking syndrome. At least Bar Harbor is trying to find solutions.
More lessons later, off to eat more lobster…travel safe as school kids are now on the road.
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| Thunder Hole |
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| Welcome dinner with tour group |
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| Claude is on the road |
Monday, September 3, 2018
Summer Fun on the Road Heading to Maine
Living in a Rectangle has many lessons the first being when you don’t write you might get behind and then it is a month later. But there has been lessons…
*Remember lessons of the past and plan your route back to Penn State to have ice cream at the Berkey Creamery. Yep just as good as two years ago.
*When driving down the road to Maine and one learns the roads can be very bumpy, very bumpy and that is when things can fall down…like the shade on the drivers side as one is going 60 miles and hour. Oh my it is a shock when a very heavy double shade comes down, the good news it fell straight down rested nicely and we continued down the road.
*Getting the shade back up was a fun game of how many toothpicks can you shove up a hole to create “new wood” that a screw can go into and hold up a shade? Answer, not enough, so one goes to plan B…New hole, put in a sheetrock anchor into hole and a heavier screw. Ahhh, problem solved.
*Going into Thomas Point Beach campground in Brunswick, Maine and we see Band Camp signs everywhere for Band Camp Registration, Parking etc and we think how fun to see the high school band camp students but then one realizes it is not high school, it is a music festival for alternative rock. One must then adjust the expectation of what the music will be….it was however very good.
*We had a delightful camping site at Thomas Point Beach……. It was a rocky start with our neighbors. We pulled in and went to the electrical pole. Two 30amp plugs, so I picked one and put in the electrical upon which I hear this booming voice yell “That is not your plug, that is my plug.” and rushing at a fast pace was a man most intent in making sure I heard him so he said it a couple of more times. I stood silently until he stopped and I said, OK. This was a not what he expected and he began to explain how he camped here in the same spot every year forever and he grew up in the area and last year only one of the plugs worked and on and on. I said OK as David looked on. David called the office upon which the man (Mike) began to talk about how he had known the owners forever and the new person in the office would not know anything and etc etc. Bottom line is the manager came over and explained all the electrical worked as they had done all the repairs from last year, so all was good. Mike came around to being pleasant and a good neighbor.
*Sounds of camping. Squirrels in the trees, Woodpeckers getting food, Leaves making music in the breeze and SILENCE, just silent. Peaceful
*We made it to Bar Harbor, Maine to meet up with our Fantasy Tour group in good time and then had our first Lobster Roll. Yes, as good as anyone can imagine. I love Lobster Rolls Can one ever have a enough lobster?
*A local farmers market gave us the most tastefully fresh Romaine, so no worry from all the mayhem over the Romaine we were hearing on the news. It was sweet, crisp, and totally delightful.
*Sleeping with no AC widows open with fresh clean air makes leaving Texas not so bad.
*I like when Main Street is spelled Maine Street…so cute
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| Penn State Ice Cream is Perfection |
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| Get your funk on |
More lessons to come
Wednesday, July 25, 2018
Week One 2018
One week into our 2018 adventure
*A number bed mattress that does not work and is stuck on 100 can be a challenge but guess it is better than 0. We have it on our list to fix after all we have a new motor we ordered before we left.
*Why do wasps always build their nest in the electrical box at parks. We stayed at the Corps of Engineer park in North Little Rock,Arkansas and yep a wasp was a building nest. I swatted it away and popped off the nest, a very small one, the wasp then dived at me but I expected that so dodged the dive. Then I hear a voice say “I have spray to kill them, do you want it?” The lady across from us was watching and offered her spray, I declined as I thought the wasp should live, after all I was the one who interrupted the home building. She was insistent with “Kill it, it will just build a nest somewhere else”. I declined again and she gave up.
*Don’t you just love how a farmer in a large tractor moves over to let a large Motorcoach pass on a two lane road.
*There are churches and then there is the over the top larger than life church mansion First Pentecostal Little Rock, wow quite a site.
*Arkansas grows A LOT of rice. Who knew?
*Hoosier comfort food — pork tenderloin fried sandwich — is perfection.
*Sitting on a veranda with a family friend grieving the loss of his wife of over 50 yrs; sipping wine and throwing the frisbee for the dog while the cool breeze blows helps ease grieve if only for a while
*Spending time with youngest son in Columbus hearing him play a couple of nights with a couple of bands makes the trip super nice.
*When leaving the RV Park in Columbus and a terrible noise coming from TJ(Tow Jeep) going to hook up with RV is a bit unnerving. But gee it was only the cone that had been next to The Rectangle I ran over being drug under the car. Quick jump out, a few tugs and all is good but the thought crossed my mind that someone saw it all and was laughing a lot.
*While at an RV park in Pennsylvania about 6am a very loud siren begins to screech….for about 3 minutes this goes on. Never did find out why…it was very unnerving had been raining all night and the river behind us was swollen
*We read the Star Telegram newspaper on line each morning and the article on using genetic genealogy to solve cold cases brought a word neither of us had encountered before :”He was whipsawed by the speed with which genetic genealogy led to an arrest.” Whipsawed?
So, I am whipsawed by how fast time has already led us into our 2018 adventure.
AND 70 degree weather is really great!!
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| Columbus Ohio Jazz and BarBQue Festival |
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| Our youngest son Matthew doing what he loves on percussion |
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| A great German deli in Columbus |
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| Saturday worship at the 150 yr old church Trinity Evangelical "German" Lutheran (ELCA) Coumbus, Ohio | always special |
Saturday, July 7, 2018
7 Days Till We Roll
Living in a Rectangle countdown continues
7 Days till 2018 Trip
*Make an appointment to take The Rectangle in to have the front end alignment checked (wear on tires not even?) and cruise control not working (a long trip without cruise control is not good), and propane shut off for refrigerator reset or whatever it needs (safety first).
As always, they get in The Rectangle and the cruise control works just fine
As always, they totally try to get refrigerator to duplicate the shut off issue and everything works just fine.
I love how with many mechanical things they play with us. I imaging a laughing universe saying “got another one”.
*Check all those tires to make sure they will make the next big trip in good shape.
Tires have a way to tell those who know where to look the year the tire was made (who knew?) So when the tire guy doing the front end alignment tells us they are 2013 tires on our 2015 Newmar it set off a hunt for the question of why or what that does to the longevity of the tire. With RVs tires are very important and there is some guy rule or thing rule that tires at between 5 and 7 years they need to be replaced. Our question then is if we got the tires already two years old on our new RV does that mean we will only get 3 more years till the 5 year mark? or how does that work? Newmar says it is a Ford issue as they get of course the chassis from them, and Ford says well we only give a one year warranty on that so it is now not their issue. So Ford builds a chassis and calls the tire people and they send tires and that is that. BUT then, another look at the tires and well really they are 2014…ok so we picked up a year. Bottom line, the tires are the tires and we are in alignment. Whew, too much information re tires, sometimes I rather not know.
The time spent on the phone on this issue was a lot and the number of people who passed us on with the that is not my expertise was fun. Hearing Hmmmm after your questions always makes you know you are about to be passed along.
The true story about any vehicle is only time and travel will tell the rest of the story.
7 Days till 2018 Trip
*Make an appointment to take The Rectangle in to have the front end alignment checked (wear on tires not even?) and cruise control not working (a long trip without cruise control is not good), and propane shut off for refrigerator reset or whatever it needs (safety first).
As always, they get in The Rectangle and the cruise control works just fine
As always, they totally try to get refrigerator to duplicate the shut off issue and everything works just fine.
I love how with many mechanical things they play with us. I imaging a laughing universe saying “got another one”.
*Check all those tires to make sure they will make the next big trip in good shape.
Tires have a way to tell those who know where to look the year the tire was made (who knew?) So when the tire guy doing the front end alignment tells us they are 2013 tires on our 2015 Newmar it set off a hunt for the question of why or what that does to the longevity of the tire. With RVs tires are very important and there is some guy rule or thing rule that tires at between 5 and 7 years they need to be replaced. Our question then is if we got the tires already two years old on our new RV does that mean we will only get 3 more years till the 5 year mark? or how does that work? Newmar says it is a Ford issue as they get of course the chassis from them, and Ford says well we only give a one year warranty on that so it is now not their issue. So Ford builds a chassis and calls the tire people and they send tires and that is that. BUT then, another look at the tires and well really they are 2014…ok so we picked up a year. Bottom line, the tires are the tires and we are in alignment. Whew, too much information re tires, sometimes I rather not know.
The time spent on the phone on this issue was a lot and the number of people who passed us on with the that is not my expertise was fun. Hearing Hmmmm after your questions always makes you know you are about to be passed along.
The true story about any vehicle is only time and travel will tell the rest of the story.
Saturday, June 16, 2018
30 Days Till We Roll
Living with The Rectangle when not Living in The Rectangle
UPDATE ON THE GETTING READY TO TAKE TO THE ROAD:
*There are now things that have to be done like wash sheets/towels/an anything else just to put it back into The Rectangle check it off all clean and ready to roll
*Let Miss Kitty snoop around inside The Rectangle check it off Miss Kitty has done the inside check
*Redust everything and vacuum again check it off nice and clean
*Unload all the food and check for those spices that are out of date. Not sure why I have all those spices except all the big cooking plans that are in my head and never make it out of my head. check it off and the many many spices not good were spread over the ground and some in the compost
*Give The Rectangle a really good bath! check it off BUT it still needs a nice wax before we roll
*Check all those tires to make sure they will make the next big trip in good shape. Interesting story here
*Make an appointment to take The Rectangle in to have the front end alignment checked (wear on tires not even?) and cruise control not working (a long trip without cruise control is not good), and propane shut off for refrigerator reset or whatever it needs (safety first). Interesting story here too
*Design and make a holder for the front car safety guard for TJ (our Tow Jeep Cherokee) so when The Rectangle is at rest and TJ is in action the safety guard can be on hold till needed again to protect TJ from road rocks, bugs etc. when trailing behind The Rectangle. This entails welding and luckily our neighbor can do that. check it off nice job of design by David and welding by our neighbor perfect picture soon
*Buy a waffle maker -- need a waffle maker. Could take the one from home but it is a rather large one and storage is always a consideration in The Rectangle, so maybe a smaller one? check it off thanks to my BFF who had one she was not using The Rectangle now can make waffles.
*Check out the number bed mattress for a leak? or a pump issue? Small white caps were sent from Number Bed people so now to get on phone with them and figure out how to run "the test" on that...will keep you posted on this. check if sort of off Test done and they sent us a new pump (for a small handling fee) and story to follow as we try to install before we roll.
30 Days before we leave….time still to get some things done like we both got new eye glasses so we can see all the beauty on our trip.
UPDATE ON THE GETTING READY TO TAKE TO THE ROAD:
*There are now things that have to be done like wash sheets/towels/an anything else just to put it back into The Rectangle check it off all clean and ready to roll
*Let Miss Kitty snoop around inside The Rectangle check it off Miss Kitty has done the inside check
*Redust everything and vacuum again check it off nice and clean
*Unload all the food and check for those spices that are out of date. Not sure why I have all those spices except all the big cooking plans that are in my head and never make it out of my head. check it off and the many many spices not good were spread over the ground and some in the compost
*Give The Rectangle a really good bath! check it off BUT it still needs a nice wax before we roll
*Check all those tires to make sure they will make the next big trip in good shape. Interesting story here
*Make an appointment to take The Rectangle in to have the front end alignment checked (wear on tires not even?) and cruise control not working (a long trip without cruise control is not good), and propane shut off for refrigerator reset or whatever it needs (safety first). Interesting story here too
*Design and make a holder for the front car safety guard for TJ (our Tow Jeep Cherokee) so when The Rectangle is at rest and TJ is in action the safety guard can be on hold till needed again to protect TJ from road rocks, bugs etc. when trailing behind The Rectangle. This entails welding and luckily our neighbor can do that. check it off nice job of design by David and welding by our neighbor perfect picture soon
*Buy a waffle maker -- need a waffle maker. Could take the one from home but it is a rather large one and storage is always a consideration in The Rectangle, so maybe a smaller one? check it off thanks to my BFF who had one she was not using The Rectangle now can make waffles.
*Check out the number bed mattress for a leak? or a pump issue? Small white caps were sent from Number Bed people so now to get on phone with them and figure out how to run "the test" on that...will keep you posted on this. check if sort of off Test done and they sent us a new pump (for a small handling fee) and story to follow as we try to install before we roll.
30 Days before we leave….time still to get some things done like we both got new eye glasses so we can see all the beauty on our trip.
Wednesday, May 9, 2018
R & R for The Rectangle
Living with The Rectangle when not Living in The Rectangle
*There are now things that have to be done like wash sheets/towels/an anything else just to put it back into The Rectangle
*Let Miss Kitty snoop around inside The Rectangle
*Redust everything and vacuum again
*Unload all the food and check for those spices that are out of date. Not sure why I have all those spices except all the big cooking plans that are in my head and never make it out of my head.
*Give The Rectangle a really good bath!
*Check all those tires to make sure they will make the next big trip in good shape.
*Make an appointment to take The Rectangle in to have the front end alignment checked (wear on tires not even?) and cruise control not working (a long trip without cruise control is not good), and propane shut off for refrigerator reset or whatever it needs (safety first).
*Design and make a holder for the front car safety guard for TJ (our Tow Jeep Cherokee) so when The Rectangle is at rest and TJ is in action the safety guard can be on hold till needed again to protect TJ from road rocks, bugs etc. when trailing behind The Rectangle. This entails welding and luckily our neighbor can do that.
*Buy a waffle maker -- need a waffle maker. Could take the one from home but it is a rather large one and storage is always a consideration in The Rectangle, so maybe a smaller one?
*Check out the number bed mattress for a leak? or a pump issue? Small white caps were sent from Number Bed people so now to get on phone with them and figure out how to run "the test" on that...will keep you posted on this.
Only 68 days till The Rectangle leaves for the next fun trip...Nova Scotia is waiting.
*There are now things that have to be done like wash sheets/towels/an anything else just to put it back into The Rectangle
*Let Miss Kitty snoop around inside The Rectangle
*Redust everything and vacuum again
*Unload all the food and check for those spices that are out of date. Not sure why I have all those spices except all the big cooking plans that are in my head and never make it out of my head.
*Give The Rectangle a really good bath!
*Check all those tires to make sure they will make the next big trip in good shape.
*Make an appointment to take The Rectangle in to have the front end alignment checked (wear on tires not even?) and cruise control not working (a long trip without cruise control is not good), and propane shut off for refrigerator reset or whatever it needs (safety first).
*Design and make a holder for the front car safety guard for TJ (our Tow Jeep Cherokee) so when The Rectangle is at rest and TJ is in action the safety guard can be on hold till needed again to protect TJ from road rocks, bugs etc. when trailing behind The Rectangle. This entails welding and luckily our neighbor can do that.
*Buy a waffle maker -- need a waffle maker. Could take the one from home but it is a rather large one and storage is always a consideration in The Rectangle, so maybe a smaller one?
*Check out the number bed mattress for a leak? or a pump issue? Small white caps were sent from Number Bed people so now to get on phone with them and figure out how to run "the test" on that...will keep you posted on this.
Only 68 days till The Rectangle leaves for the next fun trip...Nova Scotia is waiting.
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