Satisfaction

I've had my pride and joy, my 2004 Itasca Spirit 29B, for  a little over 3 years now and though I can't use it as much as I'd like to right now, I know that in 3 years when I retire to Florida I will use it more.

So, winterizing.  I don't like having to think about the reasons for winterizing as I'm not a fan of the cold white stuff.  A member of one of my RV groups, when asked how to winterize, says "Drive south."  Great advice and some day I'll be able to follow it.  But for now, I need to deal with keeping my plumbing system from freezing and requiring very expensive repairs.

The first two years I paid someone to do it.  Year one I paid a friend and fellow RV-er with a case of beer.  Year two I paid Bob, the traveling RV repairman, $100 to do it (he charged a lot less, but I was so grateful I gave him a good tip).  I was lucky both times because all the RV shops were booked by the time I finally gave in and admitted that camping weather was over here in New England.  I emailed Bob again this year but never heard back from him.

Just before absolute panic set in, I got my RV 101 newsletter "Annual Cold Weather RV Issue" complete with winterizing instructions.  Now, I've read my Itasca Owner's Manual and I've checked RV web sites and forums for the past three years looking for simple, easy to follow instructions for winterizing that were generic enough to use on my rig.  It was serendipitous that the RV 101 newsletter arrived just then answering all my questions with the best instructions for winterizing an RV EVER!!

Experienced RVers say it takes them 20 minutes to winterize their rigs, but I was not under any false impressions that my first time would be anywhere near that fast.  Plus I had to bring all the kitchen and bathroom supplies as well as the TVs into the house for the winter, so this was going to be a lengthy affair.  I packed all the reusable grocery bags (I love these for schlepping things into and out of the RV) and my daughter brought them to the cellar.  After that, I removed the water filter from under the kitchen sink and drained the hot water heater and the fresh water tank.  My black and gray water tanks had already been emptied after our last trip.

Following the instructions (did I say they were easy? cuz' they were!), my daughter and I winterized the RV.  And to my surprise, the actual winterizing part took about 20 minutes!  It would've been even faster if it weren't for the fact that it requires running in and out of the RV, from faucet to faucet to toilet, etc.  I'm thinking that the folks who claim it takes only 20 minutes have already done all the preliminary work (removing supplies, water filters, draining all tanks, etc.).

In any case, thank you Mark Polk and RV 101 for saving me $100 or more.  Most of all, though, thank you for the sense of accomplishment and satisfaction I've gotten from taking this on myself and succeeding.

Of course, the "succeeding" part remains to be seen.  There's a part of me that is terrified that I did something wrong (after all, if it's too good to be true it usually isn't) and come spring I will find out when I turn on the water and all the burst plumbing lines leak all over the place.

I can't wait for the day that winterizing means driving south!

Two posts in one day. This is definitely a personal best for me.

I just looked at the few pictures I took in New Hampshire this week and had to share one of them.  This is a farmstand in (near?) Campton, NH.

Look closely at the sign.  Do you see it?  Ha!

The guy that owns this farmstand is a bit quirky to say the least.  When you ask him about the sign, he'll tell you that the marijuana is for sale.  Then he'll quickly say that he's just joking, he doesn't sell it any more.  He leaves the sign up to see how many people notice it.

Have you ever seen On Golden Pond?  This is Squam Lake, where the movie was filmed.  This dock is where Walter gassed up his boat.  (If you ever get there, eat at Walter's Basin.  The food is fabulous and you can sit by the window and watch the boats go by as you enjoy your meal.)

Interesting week.

 

The intent was to get away to the White Mountains of New Hampshire for a week to enjoy the clean air and the peace and quiet.  It didn't quite turn out that way, but vacation is vacation and I'm glad I got to enjoy the beautiful mountains for a few days.  I cherish every minute I get to spend in my RV, and it was so good to take it out again.  I don't get to use it as much as I'd like to, so I'm grateful for the times I can.

We stayed on a friend's property.  I'll call the friend "P".  The idea was to use the graciously offered piece of land to park the RV and camp for the week.  We had our own water and our own food.   We planned on setting everything up just like we would on a campground - awning, camp chairs, grill, screenhouse - and dry camping for the week.  P offered the use of their electricity, which we accepted.  I don't have a very powerful inverter (on my wish list) and though we would have been fine on battery and generator power, it's much easier to use electricity to run everything.  I have a 30 amp to 110 adapter and 50 foot heavy duty outdoor extension cord in the RV at all times, so we would be able to hook up to their electric easily.

Using their electricity turned out to be necessary anyways as we were parked a lot closer to the house than I wanted to be.  Because I don't have an up-pipe (if it would have even made a difference) and they had all their windows open (it wasn't warm enough for them to turn on their AC), running the generator would have been out of the question.  Being close to the house also afforded us the use of their wi-fi.  Our phone services was sketchy at best, so we couldn't use our iPhones for the internet (or to make a call, for that matter).   That said, who knows if we could have gotten a better signal from the other side of the property and/or access to their wi-fi.  We were parked between the house and the office for the local utility company, so it's possible that the opposite side of the property (a wide open space) would have been better with less interference.

However, in retrospect, I would have gladly traded the electricity and wi-fi for a spot away from the house.  Being that close with all the windows open was a bit uncomfortable at times.  Let's just say that the family wasn't having one of their best weeks.

Though P was more than generous, not only offering us the use of their land but feeding us dinner on two nights (we provided dinner on the third night), it was not the relaxing and peaceful week I had planned on having.  When we weren't listening to their arguments first hand, we were listening to P's side of the story.  Incessantly.  We had almost no time alone.  As soon as she saw movement in the RV in the morning, she showed up (the first morning she brought muffins, which were delicious).  At night, we ate dinner in the house (you can't say no when someone has cooked a meal for you).  We stayed and visited for an hour or so afterwards, excusing ourselves at a reasonable time in order to spend some quiet time in the RV before bed.   However, within minutes she showed up in her jammies to spend even more time with us. Yay.

P is a great person.  She really is.  But she talks a lot.  A REAL LOT.  It's impossible to enjoy a movie (RV with Robin Williams - what a hoot!) with someone droning on and on and on for hours on end.  It was absolutely exhausting for me.  I am a fairly quiet person.  I don't talk for the sake of talking; I only talk when I have something to say.  I'm also a bit of a loner and I desperately need some "me time" every day. When I'm around people 24/7 I get a tad grumpy.  Except for my daughter, that is.  I never tire of being with her.

I simply can't relate to (or tolerate) people who feel the need to talk constantly.  First off, they don't seem to understand that a conversation is a two way street.  With them, it's almost always one sided despite your best efforts to convince them otherwise.  They generally tend to talk about themselves or about things that they are interested in, whether or not you are interested in those things.  Secondly, they aren't really good listeners.  When they talk about, say, a TV show that they love and you tell them over and over that you have never seen it, they continue to talk about the show as if you have a bloody clue what they are talking about (or that you give a rat's @$$ at all).  On the remote chance that you do get to change the subject, they will invariably bring it right back to whatever they want to talk about.  Thirdly, they tend to interrupt or talk over you.  In the beginning when you are actually participating in the conversation, you find yourself waiting for them to breathe so you can have a chance to speak.  Of course, many times it's a false alarm and they're only taking a mini-breath and you don't have time to say anything because they're off and running at the mouth again.  Fourthly, they don't leave (or won't let you leave) until they are done talking, which is usually late into the night.  They don't notice or don't care that you are completely exhausted and need some sleep.   You have to tell these people that you have something to do or that it's getting late and you need to go to bed because...

Lastly, they have zero observation skills.  Meaning that they've been flapping their gums for so long that you've gone from active participation, to nodding and grunting while your eyes glaze over, to actually turning away from them and ignoring them completely and they STILL don't get the hint that you want them to STOP TALKING FOR THE LOVE OF GOD.  I have a sister in law and a co-worker like that ( I can't get away from them - they're EVERYWHERE!!!).

Though we sincerely appreciate everything P did for us this week, it would have been far more restful to just spend a few dollars more and camp in one of the local state parks.

So here I am again....

...creating a new blog and promising myself I will keep up with it.

See, the problem here is that I don't have anything much to say right now.  My posts will never be as interesting as the people I follow because they are on the road already and living their dream.  I can only sit here and sigh, envious of those people and their nomadic lifestyle.  I could post about my health - an obsession of late - because heaven knows there is plenty to talk about there.  But do people want to hear about my health problems?  Maybe.  There are certainly other blogs out there where people discuss their medical history in minute detail.  Interesting?  Hm.  Not sure, unless a) you know me, b) you have the same illness/disease/condition as me, c) you are in the medical field, or d) you are a sadist who enjoys reading about other people's misfortunes.

I do have all the intention in the world to update my blog on a regular basis.  Thing is, I often get sidetracked opening my email, reading posts and playing Farmville and the other addicting games offered by Facebook, and becoming distracted along the way by interesting links that beg me to click on them.  Before I know it, hours have passed and by the time I think of my blog I've had enough of my computer.  I promise myself I'll post something tomorrow.

So once again I spent time creating just the right look for my blog (well, almost anyways; I don't know html so it isn't exactly the way I want it), adding gadgets and pictures and links to other blogs.  And this time, I swear I'm going to write in it.

Right after this quick game of Farmville.....