Rackin-Schmackin

It's another beautiful night here in Crossville, Tennessee. Once again we're sitting outside watching football. This time it's the Monday night variety. And, yes, once again I'm wrapped up in my pashmina. It's a very relaxing ending to a very rackin-schmackin sort of day.

Rackin-Schmackin. Do you know it? For us, I think its origin may have been childhood cartoons. Whenever a situation called for foul language, our favorite characters would instead mutter barely distinguishable sounds. They sounded something like "rackin' frackin' schmackin'." At least, that's how we remember it.

These days, we use the term rackin-schmackin when things aren't going so well. It sounds so much better than being real potty mouths. It's never anything serious. Heck, if anything is real serious, I'll cuss like a sailor. But, most of the time, rackin-schmackin just seems to fill the bill.

So, what was rackin-schmackin about this day? Well, it seems that our Cummins engine likes to "run hot", as they say (rackin-schmackin). It's been testing our patience a bit. We had it checked out in Prescott, AZ and Forest City, IA and were assured it was normal. But, after another "high coolant temp" warning on the way here, we're not so sure. Our next stop is Freightliner in Gaffney, SC, so we'll have it all checked out at the source. But, today as we were lounging around our very relaxing campsite, we decided to check our coolant level.

Normally, checking the coolant on an '09 Winnebago Tour is a piece of cake. You simply unlatch the engine hood in the back, lift it up and take a look. We did all that and everything checked out just fine. But, when we went to close the hood, all hell came loose. The metal vent separated from the fiberglass exterior. The metal piece fell to the ground, scratching some paint on the way.

Say it with me now. Rackin-Schmackin!

Yep. There's nothing quite like the feeling you get when pieces of your still new, not-exactly-cheap motorhome literally fall apart in your hands.

Rackin-Schmackin, indeed!

We called Winnebago, which was precious little help. We did learn that it's OK to travel without the metal vent. It'll eventually need to be put back together. And, we'll take care of that in Forest City next month. For now, we'll stow the offending piece and hope the fiberglass cover fares OK for the next 2,000 miles or so.

Rackin-Schmackin!

We love our Winnebago. Really, we do. But, times like this make us scratch our heads and wonder if they are still staffing their Quality Control Department up there in Forest City. Turns out this big, heavy metal piece was glued to the fiberglass. Glued! And, for some reason, the glue chose this day to fail. Go figure. We are thankful it happened here and now and not one day when we were rolling down the road.

Add to that some other minor things we have going on. Three ceiling panels are buckling. (Apparently yet another glue problem!) We have a slide lock that has apparently stopped working. Thankfully, it's in the "unlock" position. Our front awning has decided that tilting at something that resembles a 45-degree angle front to back is a good thing. Combine that with this pesky overheating issue and we're a couple of fulltimers who are more than a bit miffed at our motorhome.

Thankfully, it's all minor stuff, really. It's all part of the process of working the kinks out of a brand new piece of complicated machinery. Our fingers are crossed that after we spend some time in Gaffney and Forest City, it'll all be better. For awhile, at least.

Meanwhile, we have just one thing to say.

Rackin-Schmackin!

Pashmina

Here we are happily camped in a familiar park, and it's one of our favorites: Spring Lake RV Resort in Crossville, TN. We were here, checked in and set up by 1 PM today. Can I say I am loving the whole early arrival thing? It is definitely great to be back here.

Most of the time after our arrival early this afternoon was spent staying cool inside. After all, the afternoon high was nearly 90, and the western sun did a steady job of beating in our Imax window. It was warm, indeed. No doubt about it.

But, as the sun started to set in the west in this eastern edge of the Central Time Zone, we did a couple of laps strolling around the park, then settled in to our very pleasantly appointed site. We made ourselves comfortable in the park-supplied table and chairs and enjoyed a cocktail overlooking the lake. Before long we decided to pull out our outside TV and take in the Sunday night football game on NBC. As we watched the Manning brothers do their thing, the night air took on a wee bit of a chill. So, I went inside and grabbed my pashmina.

Back in the day, when we were super workaholics and I paid attention to fashion, there came a time when the pashmina was all the rage. This 28" x 80" piece of fine cashmere wool was the accessory du jour, especially in San Francisco, where the daytime temps can quickly and easily swing to a chilly evening. Somewhere along the way I decided I needed to have one, and Paul surprised me with a pashmina one Christmas. It's a lovely weave, lightweight but still toasty warm, in a salmon color. I loved it. I wrapped myself in it many an evening when we headed into the city for cocktails or dinner when the evening chill settled in.

As we were purging ourselves of all of our possessions, I remember several times when I placed my palm on my comfy, cozy, super soft salmon-colored pashmina. Several times I thought about giving it to a friend. After all, why would I need such a luxurious thing on the road? But, each time I talked myself out of it and decided to keep this wonderful piece of wool. When the last purging took place, my decision was final. The pashmina was lightweight and warm. It didn't take up much space. It would stay.

I'm soooooo glad.

Tonight as I sat in my super casual tank top and cotton capris, I wrapped myself in my wonderful pashmina. Luxury meets practical cotton. I'm telling you, it was pure bliss. To envelope myself in this luscious lightweight blanket of wool was pure luxury. It's the perfect way for me to spend an evening, provided there's no smelly campfire around.

Turns out, it looks like the elder Manning will trounce the younger. But, tonight, I'm especially glad I had the foresight to hold on to just a little bit of luxury.

Love it!

Repeat

Monett, MO was noteworthy.

Really!

Truth is, unless you have family or business in this tiny southwest Missouri town located between Joplin and Springfield, Monett wouldn't ever be on your radar screen. But, for us it's noteworthy.

Why?

Well, for starters, we have family there. They are absolutely delightful people we love being with.

Second, as we joke with our peeps, Monett is "the crossroads to everywhere"! So, why wouldn't it be noteworthy?

But, actually, this little town is noteworthy because it's our first real repeat.

Let me explain.

Monett was our 20th stop as fulltimers. (Yes, I do keep count!) And, this week, it was number 75.

(Wait just a minute! 75 stops? How did THAT happen? But, I digress.)

With 55 stops between our visits, Monett was our first real repeat visit, if you don't count Kansas City. And, we're not going to count Kansas City because that's as close to a home base as we can get. So, it doesn't count. But, Monett does.

This was the first time we stopped in the same park for a second time, outside Kansas City. In fact, we parked in exactly the same site, but this time we were in a new, improved rig.

Yep. It was pretty trippy.

We were thrilled to pull into a town and know exactly where we were headed. To be familiar with the park, where to go and what to do was soothing, to say the least. We were welcomed as repeat customers to the park. It was all fun!

For the first 14 months of this fulltiming gig, everything has been new. (Except the two places in the country where we once lived.) Every town, every campground, every site has been unchartered territory. Even in towns we ventured to where we'd visited on previous vacations or business trips, it was different in the moose. Way different.

These days, we're starting to repeat ourselves. First, Monett. Now, Paducah. We drove through this town nearly a year ago. Tonight we're stopped here. We came at the city from a completely different direction, and we've never been in this campground, so it all feels new. But, it also has that feeling that we've been here before. Because, we have!

Tomorrow we're off to Crossville, TN. We're eager to spend a few days there in one of our favorite parks we enjoyed just under a year ago. It will all be familiar. Yep. We know exactly how to get there. And, once we're settled, we have a good idea how to get around town.

So, what's my point?

Suddenly, this beautiful country of ours is starting to feel very familiar. More comfortable. More like a great big neighborhood. It feels like a new chapter opening up in our lives as fulltimers.

And, you know what?

We like it!

Six-Week Sojourn

We're on the road again. Hallelujah!

We left Kansas City yesterday morning to start a six-week sojourn to South Carolina and back. And, for the first time in a long time our travels feel a bit like vacation!

Our "goodbyes" to family and friends were easy. After all, we'll be back in a month and a half or so. We haven't been here since last December. So, to be able to say "see you in October" made the idea of leaving a whole lot easier.

Our travel day was absolutely perfect! Less than 200 miles on great roads in comfortable temps with no wind and very little traffic. If only every travel day could be that great!

This six-week trip has many agendas. Chief among them is getting our moose in shape. Our farthest most destination on this leg is Gaffney, SC, where we'll get our annual chassis service and attend a couple of days of classes at "Camp Freightliner" to teach all we need to know about the guts of our rolling home. We'll also make a run back to Forest City, Iowa, to get the last of our one-year warranty service. We have a couple of new pesky items that have popped up, like a slide lock that has a mind of its own. So, we're eager to get all that worked out.

Also on the agenda is visiting a spot we intended to see last fall, but didn't get to because we opted to detour for a new motorhome purchase. Our planned week near Great Smokey Mountains National Park is something we're really looking forward to. We have high hopes that the weather and fall colors will be in our favor.

We're also planning to meet up for a week or so with some fellow RVers in Tennessee. This particular meetup has been a long time coming. We planned on hooking up with Lisa last fall, but a faulty pop-off valve on our air dryer sent us straight to Kansas City for repairs. When Lisa started coordinating a gathering of fellow RVers in her neighborhood, we promised we'd be there. After all, we owe her one. Plus, it looks like we'll be in good company. Many of our RVing friends will be there. We've met most, but there are several good folks who are virtual friends. We look forward to meeting everybody soon.

The last couple of weeks have been emotional, to say the least. There is something very soothing about being back on the road, after a perfect travel day, parked in a familiar park with family close by. We're back where we're supposed to be.

Something tells me the next six weeks are exactly what we need right now. We are definitely looking forward to the adventure.

Stay tuned!

A Dent

No, no! This dent I speak of is not in our motorhome, or our Jeep. (And, here's hoping it stays that way!) A dent is exactly what my sisters and I made in my parents' basement today.

My parents have lived in their house for 43 years. They raised six kids there and have entertained a bunch of grandchildren. Their plan, not that they actually have one, is to live there for the rest of their days. These days, it's a lot of space for two people. It has a full-size basement. They have a two-car garage that hasn't actually housed a car since I can remember. You see, they've never been the kind of folks to part with things easily. In fact, my Dad is a certified pack rat. So, all of this space is filled to the brim with stuff!

It's probably always been this way, but I'm seeing it with fresh eyes. Having purged most of our household possessions, I've discovered I have a bit of an aversion to stuff. When I find myself in a house filled with it, I get uncomfortable. I start to sweat. I grow edgy. I want to start tossing things.

It's not pretty.

The house I grew up in gives me the willies! Of course, I love being there. But, really, the place has so much stuff!!! While my parents are in a state of denial about doing something about this, the reality is that it will have to be dealt with. Sooner or later.

Turns out two of my sisters have been on a campaign to get my Mom on board with thinning out some of their stuff. Today was deemed the day that they were going to tackle the basement. When they invited me to join in on the fun, I looked my Mom straight in the eye and explained that when it comes to throwing stuff out, I'm very, very good! Knowing she would be working with a semi-pro tosser probably made her a bit nervous. It made my sisters feel much better!

It took us about half the day to make a sizeable dent in the basement. We took a completely overwhelming project and knocked it down to a gigantic one. There's still lots to do, but at least we made progress. That's something.

During today's work as a whirling dervish, one thing kept going through my mind. I am so glad we have hardly any stuff! To be free of it is such a blessing.

Mystery du Jour

Neighbors can provide some of the best entertainment.

This morning's show was two sites down. A lovely couple with a travel trailer went through the motions of getting ready to go. As the rig started to pull away I did my customary "neighborly glance" to see if anything looked terribly out of place. (We saved a big diesel pusher from "automatically" unplugging from a power pole on the way out just the other day!) Much to my surprise, he had left his hoses and his wife!

Yep. There she sat, looking happy as a clam as he pulled out of the park.

Because I have waaaaay too much time on my hands, I immediately tried to figure this out. My first thought was that I had witnessed a dramatic breakup. But, I quickly ruled that out. She looked too happy. Plus, no man would leave perfectly good hoses.

My much more logical conclusion was that he was taking their rolling home in for service. It's a nice day, so I surmised that she opted for hanging out in this dumpy park instead of the waiting room of some RV service department. Just as I was readying myself to step over and offer the waiting wife a cup of coffee, he reappeared with the rig. He'd been gone for ten minutes. Maybe.

I put the empty coffee cup back in the cabinet, filled my own and sat and watched. He backed halfway into the site and reattached the sewer hose. Then he filled two five-gallon buckets with water and took them inside. For the next few minutes they were both in, out and around the rig. Neither of them looked very happy. Moments later the hoses were stowed and the not-so-happy-looking couple pulled away.

I've given them a few minutes. I don't think they're coming back.

All of this activity has this coffee-sipping detective thinking. Care to weigh in and help solve this mystery du jour?

Touched

It's really been just five days since our last post? It seems more like five weeks!

What stands out most in these past five days is the outpouring of thoughts, prayers and sympathies we have received from friends and readers. Your comments and emails are truly appreciated. Knowing that our blogging buddies and RVing friends were thinking of us helped us through some really dark days. We are really touched.

Thank you!

We were also touched by the kindness of the good folks who run the campground where we were when we got the call about Paul's mom. When we explained that we had to leave before our week was up they told us not to worry. They'd take care of it and follow up by email. They offered their condolences and wished us a safe journey.

At our first fuel stop I called our "home" park in Kansas City. It's small, busy and doesn't have a lot of room for our 40-footer. But, they know us. When I explained our situation and made a last minute plea for a site for a couple of weeks or so, I could tell they had to juggle a few things around. But, after a few seconds, they assured me they would make room for us and told us to be careful. Once again, we were touched by the kindness of others.

Our 900-mile, two-day sojourn was a blur. We pointed the moose west on I-70 and cruised. We covered 400 miles on Saturday, after getting off to a very late start. With preliminary plans to park at a Walmart somewhere near Indianapolis, we watched the temperatures climb. By the time we reached Indy, the temperature was 90-something and the humidity was in the same neighborhood. So, we opted for full hookups and plenty of AC at the KOA. We were up and back on the road early Sunday and covered a record-breaking 508 miles. I must confess, I piloted the moose and squirrel through downtown Kansas City on autopilot. Good thing I lived here for a zillion years! If there is one city I could drive through with my eyes closed, this is it!

When we pulled into our dumpy but oh-so-convenient home park, the owners offered us their condolences and helped us get our trusty Bullwinkle in his spot for a well-deserved rest. One of the many permanent residents recognized us immediately from our December stay and welcomed us home. We wouldn't recommend this place to a soul, but in our time of need we couldn't ask for more. In the state we were in, it was very good to have a place to call home.

Of course, the last few days have been all about family. Together we celebrated the life of a wonderful woman who was the best mother-in-law I could ask for. We mourn her passing and are relieved that her suffering is over. We know she is in a much better place.

After a marathon drive followed by several emotional and action-packed days, we are tired. Very tired. We got a decent sleep last night, and look forward to more in the nights to come. Our plan is to spend the next couple of weeks here. We're so grateful that we have the time and flexibility to do that.

We'll get back to regularly scheduled programming before too long. Meanwhile, we remain touched by your thoughtfulness.

Thank you.