Real Life

We have a long "to do" list today. It's our last day in our hometown park. Tomorrow we have an early morning date with a Winnie dealer about 30 miles south of here. So, we're not really sure when we'll get out of town. The problem they'll be checking out seems minor, so we're remaining optimistic that our delay will be short.

We're preparing to head south with mixed emotions. It's been wonderful to spend time with family. And, we wish we had time to see more friends. It would be easy to extend our stay through the holidays. (Except for that whole "single digits" and "snow" thing.) Our nieces have been encouraging us to stick around, or come back for the holidays. As much as we would love to do that, we really can't.

We need to get back to our real life.

Back in the days when we flew into Kansas City every year for a week or so to enjoy a holiday or two, it was never a question of when, or if, we would depart. The end date of each visit was set when we purchased the tickets for our flight. After a warm and wonderful stay, we'd sadly say goodbye to family and friends. But, we had to get back. After all, we had a house and a couple of jobs waiting for us.

What we realize now was there was one more thing we always came home to: Our real life. Beyond the house and the jobs was the everyday life we lived -- friends, fun and just kickin' back with the cats. As much as we enjoyed each stay in Kansas City, our real life was nearly 2,000 miles away. And, it was always good to get back.

These days, we don't have a stick and brick house or a couple of jobs waiting for us. Technically, we don't have to be anywhere. So, it's easy to see how some of the folks in our family don't understand why we feel compelled to leave tomorrow.

"You've already been to Texas," said a niece we love dearly who wishes so much we would stay. "Why do you have to go back?"

That's right! We had a "good reason" to head to Texas after the holidays last year. Actually, we had three: We'd yet to visit the Lone Star State; We had to get down there and establish residency; And, most importantly, we had to get warm.

This year, it's different. We don't have to do anything. Or, so it seems.

Actually, we do. We have to get back to our real life. After a month of sitting in our old hometown, we need to get back to exploring our beautiful country, meeting new people, visiting family and friends, meeting up with fellow fulltimers and having a whole lot of fun. We need to get back to just kickin' back with the cats. And, yes, we need to stay warm.

We miss it.

And, as soon as we're back to our real life, we'll miss our family and friends in Kansas City. Terribly. And, in the words of our ol' California governor, we'll be back.

Watching The Wheels

You know how it is when a song gets "stuck in your head"? That happened to Paul this morning. By the time I was up and around, he had googled the song and was reflecting on the lyrics, which seem so appropriate for us as we sit here lazily in the same city where we worked our butts off for some 20 years.

Of course, it's a song we've heard many times. But, these days, we're hearing it with new ears.

We think other fulltimers - past, present and future - might just feel the same way. So, we'll share. You might just get it stuck in your head, too. In fact, we hope you do!

People say I'm crazy doing what I'm doing,

Well they give me all kinds of warnings to save me from ruin,

When I say that I'm o.k. they look at me kind of strange,

Surely your not happy now you no longer play the game,

People say I'm lazy dreaming my life away,

Well they give me all kinds of advice designed to enlighten me,

When I tell that I'm doing Fine watching shadows on the wall,

Don't you miss the big time boy you're no longer on the ball?

I'm just sitting here watching the wheels go round and round,

I really love to watch them roll,

No longer riding on the merry-go-round,

I just had to let it go,

People asking questions lost in confusion,

Well I tell them there's no problem,

Only solutions,

Well they shake their heads and they look at me as if I've lost my mind,

I tell them there's no hurry...

I'm just sitting here doing time,

I'm just sitting here watching the wheels go round and round,

I really love to watch them roll,

No longer riding on the merry-go-round,

I just had to let it go.

Watching the Wheels

John Lennon

Now, just in case that classic tune isn't yet firmly embedded in your gray matter, click here to watch and listen.

Oh, how we love no longer riding on the merry-go-round!

Thankful

We're enjoying a rare moment. Our stuffed bodies are reclining comfortably in front of the fireplace and holiday football. I can't remember the last time we had time to do that!

Our time in Kansas City has been busy. Very busy. We've seen lots of family, a few friends and done a bit of sightseeing. Rocky has brand spanking new tires and Bullwinkle has a new headlight. The recall work is complete on our fridge. (If you have a 4-door Norcold, it's probably been recalled. Go here to find out.) Just about every this, that and the other thing we had on our list of things to do has been taken care of.

As if on cue, the weather here during our last week in Kansas City has turned especially Arctic. Tonight's lows are predicted to drop into the teens. Mother Nature seems to be making it clear that it is definitely time for us to head south. And, we will, soon. With the holiday behind us, we'll use the next few days to finish our business and get ready to roll toward Texas.

We can't wait.

As much fun as we've had during our November visit to Kansas City, we're especially thankful that we won't be here in December. We've been there, done that and won't do it again. Yep, we're quick learners! (Single digits and a foot of snow will do that!)

On this, our second Thanksgiving as fulltimers, we are so blessed to be living this crazy life we love. We're most thankful for our family and friends who make visits at home and life on the road lots of fun. Best wishes to you, our faithful readers, for a Happy Thanksgiving and a safe and healthy holiday season.

We look forward to seeing you down the road soon.

We Weren't Gonna

It wasn't in our plans. No, we weren't gonna do it.

Buy another space heater, that is.

During our frigid stay in Kansas City last December, we purchased a ceramic space heater to help preserve propane. After running nearly 24 hours a day for a month or so, it died a timely death about a month later when we arrived on the Texas Gulf Coast.

"Good riddance," we thought at the time. After all, we weren't ever going to put ourselves in the position of facing single-digit temps ever again. And, if we weren't going to do that, we wouldn't need another space heater.

Fast forward 11 months.

On this particular November night in Kansas City, the overnight temperature is supposed to drop into the 20s. That's nothing like the single digits we saw here last December, but we are burning through a bit more propane than we'd like. And, if your remember, getting propane here requires us to pack up, move and drive five miles or so and back. So, we're all for anything we can do to keep from having to go for propane.

Even though we said we weren't gonna, we did. Late this afternoon we headed to Walmart and picked up another ceramic heater. It's smaller than the one we bought last year. And, with any luck, we'll use it a lot less. Maybe, just maybe, it will last longer.

We plugged the little thing in a couple of hours ago. As a result, our gas heater has been silenced. Sure, we'll pay an extra penny or two for the electricity. But, it sure feels good to be extra warm and cozy without worrying about having to make a run for propane.

It's all good!

Cheers for Chairs

At long last, we've solved our "chair dilemma".

Hip, hip, hurray!

Of all the things we had to figure out before we set out on our fulltiming journey, our outside seating arrangements gave us the most fits. But, after nearly a year and a half on the road, we've finally landed on the the right combination of places for us and our guests to park our butts.

Back in the days when we were tent campers, we bought two of those canvas bag chairs. They were pretty innovative at the time, actually. They fit into the trunk like a glove and they setup and collapsed with ease. When we bought our first moose, we tossed the trusty chairs in a bay and they served us well on each weekend adventure. However, we did notice that it was a bit more difficult to get our 50-something bodies out of the bucket-like chairs. So, we started shopping for replacements.

With each weekend adventure we'd scan our park with a critical eye on our fellow RVers' chairs. Every club outing became an outdoor seating Q&A session as we quizzed fellow members on the likes and dislikes of their chairs. We spent hours sitting in every chair offered at Camping World, REI and Cabela's. Still, we couldn't decide on our dream chairs.

When we packed our gasser for fulltime travel, weight and space were at a premium. So, we stuck with our trusty bag chairs. One thing that became obvious early in our journey was that two chairs simply wouldn't be enough. With no place for guests to sit, every place we set up looked just a bit unwelcoming. And, every time we invited neighbors over they had to lug their chairs along.

Determined that four would be the magic number, we set out to find the right combination of chairs. We wanted them to be comfortable, versatile and fit easily in available space. After surveying various chair setups at a billion sites, we decided on two recliners and two "regular" chairs. Without room for one recliner, much less two, in our little gasser, we postponed any chair purchases until our big moose came along.

When the big moose rolled into our lives a year ago, we resumed our search for the perfect chairs. Given nearly a year, we suspect most people would find that to be more than enough time to select four chairs. But, not us! We narrowed our search to the perfect recliner and the perfect regular chair. (Perfect for us, anyway.) We made it a discussion item in many campground conversations. Loaded with lots of great advice from fellow RVers, we finally made our decision.

For our "regular" chairs, we chose the X-press Lounger , which we picked up at Camping World in Spartanburg, SC. We spotted these chairs at our Winnebago rally in May and thought they were pretty nifty. They fold up to the size of a laptop and are the easiest things in the world to tote around. The sit quite comfortably, too. They take a bit of practice to get the folding and unfolding just right. But, by the time we met up with our friends in Tennessee, we had it down...pretty much.

The recliner we chose is Cabela's Chaise Lounger. Our friends Mike and Leslie have a pair of these. After spending a goodly amount of time in their chairs when we met them in Idaho this Summer, we decided they were perfect for us. Not exactly sure how these chairs would fit in our storage bays, we picked up one chair on our first stop out of Idaho, in Billings. This one chair got quite a bit of use by us both. So, even though we're not exactly sure where we're going to store it, we went ahead and ordered a second recliner, which we picked up at the Cabela's in Kansas City today.

With our full complement of dream chairs finally on board, we're ready to leave our old blue bag chairs behind as we head south and sit outside!

Family and Friends

It's hard to believe we're reaching the halfway point in our stay in Kansas City. Once again, our time here is passing very quickly. There just never seems to be enough time for everything we want to do while we're in our old hometown.

As always, our time spent with family and friends provides the most fun. A highlight of this stay has been a visit from our friends Leslie and Mike, who we met when they parked next to us in Idaho this Summer. They hadn't spent any time before in Kansas City, really. So, it's been our pleasure to show them a few of the sites and introduce them to some mighty fine Kansas City barbecue. There's a post in the works for Bullwinkle's Travels. So, more to come about that.

The point we want to make here is how nice it is to have fulltiming friends stop by our crummy little home park. And, anybody who'd spend some time in this crummy little park to see us is a real friend in our book! (Yes, we warned them. And, they came anyway!)

We were delighted when Gypsy stopped by when we were here last Fall. And, it was great to hang with Mac and Netters when they endured brutally cold weather to spend a few nights here last December. So, we were thrilled when Leslie and Mike decided to stop, too. (And, our fingers are crossed for decent weather for the duration of their stay!) Thanks so much, y'all!

One of the things we like best about this lifestyle is meeting new folks on the road. But, we gotta tell you. When some of those good folks stop by to say "Hi" when you're parked for awhile in one spot, that's even better!

Hot Water

In the words of Roseanne Roseannadanna: It's always something.

Last night's forecast called for temps to dip below freezing, so we played it safe and dropped our water line. That's no big deal, of course. With plenty of fresh water in our tank, we simply flipped on the water pump. About 20 minutes later we heard the pump kick on for a couple of seconds.

"That's the ice maker," we thought. About 20 minutes later we heard the pump kick on once again. Either we had just set a world record for ice making, or we had a leak somewhere. Our bet was on the latter. With no visible signs of leakage anywhere inside, we flipped off the pump and went to sleep on our wonderfully enhanced Sleep Number bed.

This morning, Paul stepped out into the cold and checked around outside. He spotted a puddle under our water heater. That sent us racing to our back closet. We removed a panel in the closet to reveal the back of the heater and a growing pool of water that was being fed by a steady drip from a cracked elbow connector.

Curses!

The total sum of space available to work on this project is about three cubic feet. With tools in hand, Paul contorted himself to work inside the hatbox-sized space. It didn't take long to determine that this job required the services of a double-jointed professional.

Calls to the local Winnebago dealer, Forest City and a totally booked mobile RV tech left us with a service appointment 30 minutes from here on Tuesday morning...and a still steadily dripping water heater.

Paul drained the heater and flipped the bypass switch as a temporary solution. We wouldn't have hot water, of course. But, we'd have all the cold water we needed and the dripping would stop. At least, it should have! With water steadily spewing out of the connector, we turned off the city water and drained the lines. With no water left in the coach, the leaking stopped.

With a dry moose, we were in for a really long weekend!

After a bit of searching online, I spotted a mobile tech that might just work. Paul dialed them up and the friendly voice on the other end said they'd have a tech on our doorstep by 4 PM.

Outstanding!

Just before the appointed hour, the very professional, knowledgeable, friendly and flexible tech arrived. In minutes he confirmed our diagnosis, replaced the faulty connector and reassembled the heater, informing us of how to do it ourselves in the future every step of the way. After testing to ensure all systems were go, he started the process to see if our refrigerator is under a recently announced recall. He even answered a question or two we had about our heat pump. With everything taken care of, he went on his merry way.

This little incident has taught us the value of running off our fresh water tank every now and then. Hearing our water pump gave us a valuable hint that something was up. Had we remained connected to city water for much longer we would have had a real mess on our hands!

With order restored in our rolling home, we're looking forward to sorting out who pays for what as the moose has just a few days remaining on his one-year factory warranty. That said, we are sooooo grateful to have hot water flowing once again. We didn't even have to go anywhere to make it happen. To top everything off, we have found a wonderful new partner in our rolling home improvement arsenal.

If you're ever in the Kansas City area and need an RV repair, call A-Z Mobile RV Service. (They don't do engines, but they do everything else.) You'll be glad you did!

Better Numbers

TV around here is still ghostly and buzzing. But, we're sleeping much better these days (er, nights) thanks to our most recent moose modification.

Our Sleep Number bed is absolutely dreamy. We've loved it from the very first night. But, a couple of weeks ago we unzipped the top of the mattress and made a wonderful discovery. There we found a 2-inch thick layer of "egg crate" foam. And, that got us thinking.

You see, we love memory foam. We had a groovy 3-inch memory foam topper on the mattress in our first moose. So, we quickly came to the conclusion that replacing this 2-inch flimsy stuff with a layer of memory foam would be a welcome addition to our household.

A few clicks later, the deed was done. I returned to overstock.com and found a 2-inch Serta memory foam topper that looked like it would do the trick. Yesterday it arrived. Last night we unrolled the foam tamale and cut it to fit. We put the new memory foam on top of the existing egg crate and zipped up the mattress. It all fit perfectly.

And, we're so pleased to report, it sleeps like a dream!

Bottom line: We took a good thing and made it great. We had no complaints about our Sleep Number bed. But, we definitely made it better.

Sweet dreams!

The Cable Guy

The only thing we really like about our "home park" is the location. There are whole bunch of things we don't like about the place. And, we just added one to the list: Television.

Actually, it's a lack of TV that's the problem. The place is surrounded by trees, which is great for shade but makes satellite reception impossible. We can pickup Kansas City stations over the air, of course. But, as we found out last night, if you're interested in news of national importance the local stations fall short.

We know what you're thinking. What about cable?

The approach this park has taken to cable has us scratching our heads. The park advertises that it has cable. But, here's how it actually works. Every site has a cable hookup. But, if you want to use that hookup you need to call the local cable company and subscribe.

Seriously!

(We don't want to open a quality RV park in Johnson County. But, this place keeps piling up some good reasons to do just that!)

Anyway...since we're here a month we decided to make ourselves comfortable in the TV department. We suspended our DirecTV account for the month, which we've never thought to do before and were so surprised at how easy it was. Then, Paul initiated the process of becoming a cable subscriber.

Installation was scheduled for sometime between 10 AM and 1 PM today. While I lunched with my mom and sisters, Paul welcomed the cable guy into our rolling home. Within minutes the dude had everything hooked up and just about ready to go. The only thing that needed to happen was a 20-minute software update for the cable box. With the update underway the cable guy went on to his next gig. With the update complete, Paul turned everything on. All the channels were there. But, the picture is a bit ghostly. And, oh yeah, the TV now has a buzz.

And, it's a really annoying buzz!

With hopes that we can make this fancy cable service actually work for us, Paul dialed the company to ask for help. Twenty minutes later he was still on hold, with no help in sight.

By this time, it was cocktail hour. So, he hung up and decided to mix our favorite beverages instead. Maybe that will make the buzz go away?

Yes, this is a heck of a lot of hassle for a month of television. But, if we didn't do this, what the heck would we blog about while we sit in this dumpy little park?

We'll keep you posted.

Election Day

Here at The Great RV Escape we do our best to stay apolitical. And, today is no exception. On this, America's Election Day, we have a few observations to share. So, here goes.

We've traveled in 23 of our great states during this election year. That's given us a little peek at hundreds of state and local campaigns. With no dog in these hunts, we've enjoyed being casual and neutral observers of this democratic process as it has unfolded across the country. From the earliest primaries to election eve, we've seen it all.

Some races were hotly contested while others were shoe-ins. There were a few candidates and a couple of issues that were familiar to us, but most were unknowns. We've seen television commercials and yard signs that were put together on a shoestring, and others that were super slick. It's interesting to watch one mud-slinging ad about a candidate you don't know or care about follow another ad that slings the mud right back. When you're not a voter in that district, it can be downright comical.

The messaging in most of these campaigns was largely forgettable. But, there was one campaign slogan for a sitting senator in Iowa that we heard so many times it nearly sent us over the edge.

"I'll tweet. I'll text. I'll do whatever it takes."

Really, Senator?

As we traveled across the country observing this election, we noticed two things. Nobody, it seems, was running for re-election. Of course, many candidates are. But, nobody mentioned it. Nobody. We couldn't tell the incumbents from the newcomers. Interesting, huh?

The other thing that was obviously missing in this campaign cycle was party affiliation. Of the gazillion television commercials and yard signs we've seen from California to New York, you couldn't tell the Democrats from the Republicans. There were no elephant or donkey logos anywhere. No (D)s or (R)s either. Just a mention of the Tea Party here and there.

When the candidates won't tell you which party their affiliated with and if they're running for re-election, that says something. We sure think so anyway.

By tonight all the votes will be cast. Propositions will pass or fail. Candidates will win or lose. This election season will, at long last, be over.

As happy as we are to see it end, we're happier that we are free to roam a country where every vote counts and the citizens have the right to choose. That the process provides entertainment and fodder for the blog is icing on the cake.

Win or lose, one thing is for sure. Kansas basketball starts tonight. And, when it comes to college basketball, we are openly biased. Go Hawks!