Our Favorite

When we were planning for our fulltiming adventures, I had a vision of how our new life would be: kicked back in a recliner outside with a book enjoying dappled shade and shirt-sleeve temps cooled by a gently breeze off a scenic lake. That idyllic scene had yet to manifest.

Until yesterday.

Defeated Creek COE Campground in Carthage, TN is simply gorgeous. There isn't a bad site in the place. Each one enjoys at least a bit of shade and a view of water and tree-covered hills that are just beginning to display their autumn colors. The weather since our arrival - and the forecast for the foreseeable future - is perfect. We'll take all of the 80-degree highs and 40-something low days Mother Nature will dish out.

Yep. This place will definitely work.

Of course, in our travels we've come to learn that it's the people who really make a place. And, that is certainly true here at Defeated. We're here with friends, which makes this spot extra special. So far, Ellie and Jim, JoAnn and Doug, Netters and Mac and Leno and Kevin have arrived and more are coming. We've all come to meet locals Lisa and Tony and their family and friends. They've warmly welcomed us here to their home park. We so look forward to hanging out with everybody for the next couple of weeks.

In these parts, neighbors are most friendly folks. Dinner at home last night was accompanied by impromptu bluegrass from the site next door. (It was all good!!!!) After dinner, we stepped out to catch the second half of a Big 12 football game at Jim and Ellie's, and were greeted by our neighbors at the site outside our door. We chatted around their campfire and time flew by. By the time we bid our neighbors adieu, the game was long over.

There's lots to do around here. And, we will get around to it, eventually. For now, we're thinking we might just have to spend a second morning sitting outside in the shade, with a book, watching the water.

Yep. We think we may have found our favorite spot....so far, anyway!

Frozen

Every so often we are reminded that this lifestyle we've embarked on doesn't quite fit with the day-to-day world. Case in point: Chase.

Paul has a Chase Freedom card. He's used it to pay for everything for years and paid off the balance every month. There's never been a problem, until a few months ago when the card was compromised. Chase promptly issued another card with a new number, and we've been humming along since. Until the other day when we popped into the local IGA to pick up a few things. Paul produced his card, and it was declined.

Say what?

Well, of course this would happen in a place where we have no cellular service. Paul didn't get a call from Chase and couldn't make one. While he was suspended in credit card limbo, his card was frozen.

Yesterday, during our topless adventure from the peaceful side of the Smokies to the crazy side, we found some 3G service in Pigeon Forge and Paul made a call. Seems a fuel purchase in South Carolina flagged the Fraud Department. (Let's see....we've been buying fuel with that card all across the country for the last 15 months. What's so unusual about that?) Paul convinced the lovely voice on the other end that the purchase was legit. So, she moved the conversation along.

"When will you be done traveling and return to Texas?" asked the cheerful Chaser.

You see, in her world, there are only two ways for a customer to be. One is happily spending close to home. The other is in "travel mode". The former is a permanent state of being. The latter is temporary.

"We won't be done traveling," Paul explained. "It's what we do."

The woman repeated her innocent question hoping for a return date she could plug into her computer. But, it wasn't to be. Minutes later she was as frustrated as Paul. The two agreed to disagree and she assured Paul he could use his card again.

Crisis averted.

Back at our rolling home, Paul tried to log on and check the activity on his card. The cheerful Chaser had been much more concerned with our travels than she was about any recent transactions, so Paul really wanted to check it out. But, his online account access was suspended for the next three to five business days.

How crazy is that?

In a flurry of emails that followed Paul explained that he wanted to see the activity on his very own account so that he could check for any fraudulent activity. Suddenly he had access. He checked and all was well.

Then, he checked his email. He had a response from halfway across the world explaining that the access was temporary. Like Cinderella, his temporary access would be revoked at midnight. Permanent access will be reinstated in three to five days. He shared the message with me. I asked him to forward it to me so we could share it with you. Here's the best part.

Dear Paul,

I have addressed your concern to the best of my ability and you can be rest assured of exceptional service every-time an opportunity arises.

A frozen account is thawed, but our temperament as customers is definitely on the rise.

You can be rest assured!

Topless

On this absolutely gorgeous 70-something sunny day in east Tennessee, we had a first.

We went topless.

Rocky has a soft top. And, back when we lived in a stick and brick house there was many a day when we unzipped the windows and stored them inside. Then, we pulled back the top and went - you guessed it - topless.

We hadn't gone topless since we started fulltiming. It just never seemed to work out. But, today called for us to pull the windows out, peel back the top and go cruising in the National Park just up the road. So, we did!

And, it was fun. Lots of fun.

Truth is, Rocky doesn't have a lot of room. And, if we want to take friends along it's down right cumbersome. But, today we remembered why we really love this little Wrangler.

We can go topless!

Long Weekend

Yesterday, while we were dodging falling walnuts, Paul had a brief chat with a workcamper who told him they were expecting 18 rigs to roll in before the day was over.

"Everybody wants to get a jump on the weekend," the yellow-shirt wearing worker said.

That's right. We had to remind ourselves that it was Thursday!

Through the course of the day our spacious park became a little tighter and a lot more populated. About an hour before sundown, two motorhomes and a fiver pulled into three sites next to us within a few minutes of each other. In the blink of an eye they had their rigs backed in, hooked up and everything set up under their patio awnings. It was obvious they were friends who were here to enjoy the weekend. But, they had something else in common. They were all dressed in business casual attire that told us they had all worked some today. As soon as they were able they got out of the office, hooked up their rolling weekend homes and headed for the hills. We heard our next door neighbor tell the others that he hadn't just had a long day, but a reaaaallly long day.

We looked at each other and smiled.

Oh, how we remember the freeing feeling of finding a free Friday on the calendar and managing things so we could leave the office early Thursday afternoon to get a head start. We'd spend Tuesday evening grocery shopping and Wednesday night getting everything packed. Then, we'd go to work and scramble to get everything done so we could make our early escape. We'd dash home, load the Jeep as fast as we could and head for the storage facility. Our goal was always the same: To beat rush hour traffic. Sometimes we did it. Other times we weren't so lucky. But, we always got away. To have the feeling of putting our feet up under our patio awning outside our moose on a Thursday night was worth all that trouble. Sure, we were always exhausted upon our arrival. But, the prospect of three, count 'em THREE, nights in a campground was sheer bliss.

That's exactly what these three couples were feeling last night. We could see it. And, we're so happy for them. We hope they have a great weekend. We'll tolerate smoke from their must-have campfire and the noise of the happy conversations they have sitting around it. These folks need this long weekend for their health, well-being and sanity. We know. We've been there.

We don't miss the hassle. Not one bit. But, we do miss the rush. Just a little. (Really, just a little!) That feeling you get when you meet friends in a campground after a crazy week at work is absolutely wonderful. Of course, when you have to pack it all up and say goodbye on Sunday knowing you have to go to work on Monday, that's one of the worst feelings in the world.

We're meeting up with a bunch of RVing friends next week. So, we'll get a taste of the best part of the long weekend rush. We're really looking forward to that.

We won't have to pack a thing or scramble anywhere. And, the best part is we won't have to go to back to work!

We can't wait.

Pitter, Splat, THUNK!

If you're anywhere along the eastern seaboard today, it's raining. Actually, that's putting it mildly. Remnants from Tropical Storm Nicole are forecasted to dump six to 10 inches of rain in some places. Thankfully, here in the hills of east Tennessee all we've had were overnight showers that should be out of here by noon today. It's quite a soaking, but nothing compared to the flooding threat east of here. Our thoughts are with family and friends along the coast. We hope everybody stays safe.

Generally, we love rain. Of course, too much of even a good thing can turn bad. But, most of the time, we're happy to hear the pitter patter of rain on our fiberglass roof. We never have to wonder if it's raining. If it is, we hear it. This "can't miss" sound is a wonderful sleep aid. A good pitter patter will put all four of us (cats included) to sleep in minutes and keep us asleep for the duration. It's one of the things we dreamed about when we were planning to become fulltime RVers: A lovely spot in the woods...on a cool autumn morning...with the pitter patter of rain on the roof.

That dream has been realized more than once. And, this morning is just such an occasion. It's cool and it's raining. And, while it is lovely, it's not exactly as we dreamed it to be.

You see, we are in the woods. That means we are parked under trees. Big, tall ones. These big, tall trees hold water in their leaves and drop them on our motorhome in splats. And, that turns Mother Nature's gentle pitter patter into a random collection of pitters and splats.

Pitter, pitter, splat, pitter, pitter, pitter, splat, splat, pitter.

We're really not complaining. After all, it's not annoying. It's just a different rhythm, that's all.

But, we're not in any ordinary woods. No, no. We are parked under a canopy of Black Walnut trees. And, it's the end of September. Just before the leaves start to change in these parts, the black walnuts fall. These tennis-ball-sized nuggets land on our fiberglass roof with a sharp thunk that gives us all a jolt.

Just when we're settling in to the pitter patter and adjusting to the sporatic splats we're greeted with a deafening thunk that sends the cats running for the exits. We'll adjust, I suppose. We always do. But, I'm wondering if hard hats are in order. By the the sound of things around here, stepping outside could be hazardous to our health!

Meanwhile, the cacophony continues.

Pitter, patter, pitter, splat, pitter, THUNK, THUNK, splat, pitter, pitter, patter, THUNK, splat.

Chassis School

We are definitely ready to get out of Gaffney!

After back-to-back days of service last week, and back-to-back days of chassis school, we are in serious need of a few back-to-back days of hiking. All of this sittin' around has worn us out!

I can hear you now. Did she say chassis school?

Sho 'nuff!

We spent the last two days at the Freightliner Custom Chassis Owner's Training, which is also known as "Camp Freightliner". It's designed for diesel motorhome owners to answer any and all questions they have about the "innards" of their rolling home, provided it's Freightliner o'course.

We joined folks from 14 other motorhomes for this two-day learnin' fest. And, learn we did. Every question we had was answered. We now know enough about our chassis, engine, transmission, batteries and tires to be, well, dangerous! Now, I will confess that late yesterday when the talk turned to suspensions, I was on information overload. So, I just let the rest of it flow over me and trust that any information we need will be there when and if we need it.

I can't speak for Paul, but I definitely feel more comfortable with this new-found knowledge. It's one thing to turn the key on this big ol' moose and cruise ignorantly down the highway. (Been there, done that.) With a much better understanding of how things are supposed to work and what to do to when or if they don't, I know I'll be a much more confident commander of this beast, and a much more worry-free passenger.

Besides learning how to run down the road with our moose, we got the low down on its care and feeding. We are definitely not DIY types. But, now we have a much better idea of what service we need and when, and how to ask for it. And, we have a couple of helpful hints that might get us out of a pinch somewhere down the road. Although it was a couple of long days that followed a couple of long days, it was definitely worth the time and money.

With the moose freshly serviced and our brains full of all kinds of new stuff, we are hitting the road this morning and headin' over them there hills to do some hikin'!

(You know it's time to go when you start blogging with a local accent!)

More soon from the Smokies.

Virtual Happy Hour

After a much needed day of rest here in Gaffney, we had one heck of a happy hour. The participants were nearly 3,000 miles apart!

It had been ages since we'd chatted with our dear friends Cindy and Rick in California. Cindy and I exchanged emails earlier this week and she made a novel suggestion: A Virtual Happy Hour.

We were all over it.

We set today as the date. Because we are three hours apart, the timing was a little tricky. But, our left coast friends opted for the early shift and proposed 7PM ET/4PM PT. Now, y'all already know we like to eat late, so this schedule worked just fine for us.

Minutes before the agreed upon time, Paul mixed a couple of Manhattans. That was the frequent drink of choice whenever we got together with these two. At a minute or two past the hour, we dialed them up and pressed the "speaker" button.

For the next 90 minutes it was as if the four of us were in the same room. They introduced us to their new puppy. We gave them the lowdown on getting motorhome service in Gaffney. Together we caught up on each other's lives since we last met in May. Lots has happened. We honored memories of lost loved ones and celebrated the birth of new family members. We laughed like we always did. And, interestingly enough, we took pictures on each end and shared them with the other. Totally unplanned, of course. But, absolutely in sync. That's how these friends are.

One Manhattan turned into two and before we knew it we were making plans to meet up next year in Texas, New Mexico or Utah. Or, perhaps all three! Whenever it happens, it'll be wonderful to see these dear friends.

After catching up and sharing lots of laughs, it was getting way past time dinner time for us and approaching that time for our friends in the west. We wrapped up the conversation and made plans to have another happy hour next month. We can't wait.

As much as we love life on the road, we do miss our friends. We're thrilled to have created the virtual happy hour to share with them over many miles and several time zones. We look forward to the next one.

Cheers!