It’s A Wrap…..

On the road again. 

 

Not so lucky for others.

Just 230 miles and we ended up at the TTN Wilderness in Menifee, CA.  Nice trip for us. We get to the park and it is jammed up tight.  we got a nice sight next to the dumpsters. Nice fresh country air.  Got to watch somebody back into a parked (site) fifth wheel with their auto.  As they moved across the street they pushed a picnic table about two feet.  This person shouldn’t be driving a car much less a large RV. Scary..

Here’s some fun photos

     

See ya…………

Kinda Slow & A Fun Day

Today was pretty easy.  I had two seminars and helped Nick with his by showing up with a kayak.  Then Carol & i got to drive some golf carts blind folded. That was very interesting and fun too.  At the closing ceremony I got the one and only firggin bright orange Gypsy Journal Rally shirt.  It’s BRIGHT and really enjoy getting it. It got up to 88 degrees inside the rig today.  We got the sun beating down on one entire side of the RV all day and it cooked inside. We finally got low amps so we could turn on one AC (12 amps). It got us cooled down pretty quick.

I also borrowed Greg White’s Sears air compressor during the day and pumped my front tires up to 120 lbs.  That compressor is one working machine for sure. That 120 psi is above the 115 lbs I want but I can let air out easier than but it in at that high of pressure. By weight charts I should be at 110.  I was at 85 lbs and that’s way too low.  Pumping these front tires up will also shift some weight to my rear tag axle where I got a lot of room for more weight.

King Dome TV satellite – what poor coordination on their part.  They took 5 days before they shipped a part out that was suppose to got out immediately.  Then a normal 4 days shipping.  It’s due to arrive tomorrow after we leave. I already paid a mobile guy to come out to diagnosis the problem and reinstall the new device.  Oh well my lost.  That was King Dome’s feeling too.  SOB’s.  I don’t ever plan on having another one.  It even gets more complicated than that and too much more to mention.

I ordered some transport auto wrap for our trip to Alaska.  They sent it to friggin Texas vice here in Yuma.  When I called them they went oops we sent it to the billing address vice the shipping address.  Now I paid shipping to Texas and have to now pay for it to be shipped by the Escapees to California our next stop. Then I have to try and get credit some how from the company.  That’s going to be fun. Why oh why……..! I ought to not pay for that portion of my credit card. That should get them excited…..

Tomorrow we leave for Menifee, CA (near Hemet) about 230 miles to Carol’s land dancing rally.  I can hardly wait (sarcasm intended). The drive should be nice.  We get to see how the Dutch Star does while traveling in hot weather.  The Dutch Star has done pretty good in very cool weather so far. It’s 4 AM and I got to do some RV School work.

See ya……………….

Blurrrrrrrrrrrrr

Tuesday & Wednesday have been a blurrrr.  It hurts to try and remember what’s been going on.  I’ve taken over 300 pictures and haven’t downloaded them yet to go thru them.

Great weather here.  Sunny mid 70s to upper 70s and now even in the 80s.  This is nice.  Wearing shorts is a must.

The dust might settle with what we are doing in the next few days. I will then be able to put some great pictures on here for all to see.  The rally is going great.  Getting students for the driving school before during and after the rally has been an all time low of zero. It must be my orange cones scaring them away.

We’re having trouble with King Dome TV satellite HQ people.  Seems like they are on a different clock than we are on.  They go by a monthly clock on taking care of warranty work.

Redlands Repair will check out our tag axle seal leak if we can just get the thing in there in the next two weeks (our schedule).

Bob Pinner came over to our rig and helped reprogram our rear TV again.  Carol keeps pushing them dog on buttons either to much or not enough.

There’s another RVer here with an RV just like ours so I’m picking his brain about his.

That’s it in a big nutshell.

See ya……………….

Hold On Here We Go

Up & gone by 7:00 AM.  We figured we would go to the Marine Corps Air Station here in Yuma and get Carol’s military ID card updated.  But first it’s Cracker Barrel for breakfast.  We had a nice breakfast and walked out paying $11.22 for it plus a tip.  We split one of their big breakfast and even have left overs. Then we arrived at base about 8:15 or so.  We know that base offices open at 8AM.  Wrong……things have changed.  Now their offices here at this base open at 9AM.  It must be nice for the troops.  Anyhow, we decided to go get the Mariner get it’s 10K mile service.  We went to the local Ford dealer and pulled right in.  One hour later we got the car back and they even washed it – no cost for nothing.  This is my kind of service.  We went back to base and Carol got her ID card.

Got back to the fairgrounds and things were starting to rock and roll with the vendors, etc.  We are seeing a lot of friends and way too many to mention.  Come 3 o’clock the opening ceremony commenced.  Nick & Terry did their thing and were very well received.  The vendors got to introduce themselves.  The crazy ladies now have a ice cream truck and they provided free ice cream to everybody.  I just don’t know how they are going to do it. They got an old pink converted van for their ice cream truck.  Good Luck….

Then there was the expert panel.  We helped some people with some basic knowledge of RVing.  I did participate so it was very basic & short when I was called upon.

Then it was dinner time at Applebee's Carol’s favorite.  They had $2 margaritas and appetizers for 1/2 price.  We didn’t get back in time for the prize give away, oh well.

Carol did something to her TV in the bedroom.  It was working this morning but she pushed too many buttons and now it don’t work. I guess she will have to get Bob Pinner and take him to bed bedroom to fix “Things” again.

See ya…………..

Park Park Park Park Park

Dick Reed & I parked over 50 RV’s today.  Job well done if I say so myself and I do.  Guess what? Only one idiot who complained that he didn’t have 10 feet on the driver side of his RV. This was a very young Escapee & Boomer (decals) in a Safari with no slides. He was really giving me a ration of poo.  I was in disbelief and really thought he was joking at first and told him so.  I offered to move him and he said if he had to start his engine he would leave. I told him that I would personally refund his money and he could & should depart now. He declined. I asked if he was a fulltimer and he hesitated and said  yes. He needed an education in RV Rally Parking 101. 

I had lunch and dinner about 7PM or so which was my fault.  I just wanted to get everybody parked like everyone else.  Great parking team….

Carol arrived 10:30PM at the Yuma Airport.  She only had to walk across the street to the fairgrounds. Not…..I picked her up.  She said the RV passed her inspection and was glad that I had cleaned the carpet so well at the bedroom sink.

Tomorrow we have to set up our booth.  We also have to get Carol’s military ID card taken care. It’s getting ready to expire.

See ya…………

Water, Cat & Automatic

Those three things should not me in the same sentence much less situation.  I topped off the fresh water tank.  About a half hour later I checked the gauge for the tank . I just calibrated it the other day.  Now it showed 3/4 tank. No big deal so I recalibrated it. The little cat, Rainbow, was being all lovey dovey to me which meant she was out of food in the bedroom. She had water on her head and back for some reason. I went back to the bedroom sink and it was flooded.  I installed an automatic water dispenser on the faucet for the cats in the bedroom sink.  Evidently she got it stuck open some how and I had about a 1/4 tank of fresh water all over the place.  It was soaked.  

Here’s the culprit.

Hey guys, what do you do when you need rags right NOW?  You just grab something.  Carol’s drawer was right next to the flooded area.  I ain’t saying nothing more.“Hey honey, I cleaned the carpet while you were gone!”  Needless to say I took the automatic water thing off.  Hey, I least I haven’t over filled the black water tank yet (in this rig).  It’s on my “honey” do list. Pun intended. During this excitement I went and got the big flashlight to see where the water was coming from at first.  Dead batteries.  No problem I got a lot of batteries and the right size.  Put the batteries in and it worked fine.  Was looking in the cabinet and the bulb went poop – burnt out.  Oh well, things weren’t too good at the time anyhow.    I found Carol’s stash of sodas during this mess. While I was moving them from the flooded area I dropped one on the tile floor.  It wasn’t really that bad.  Carol had another drawer nearby so it wasn’t that big of mess. I did some laundry today.  Hey, I hope Dawn dish detergent is alright to use, it’s soap.  We got a real clean sewer pipe now too.  Honey, the new coach awaits your return.  Oh, I didn’t wash the sheets because I figure your side wasn’t dirty.  Plus, I was almost out of Dawn and still needed to clean the grease off the stove from all them taters I’ve been cooking. The wind was really blowing here in Yuma today so I thought I would dust inside the RV – I opened all the windows.  Oh, we are almost out of paper plates and plastic forks too!

I moved over to the fairgrounds later that day.  We got briefs on parking by the fairgrounds and then had a parking crew meeting.  

Then it was time to break out the Texas smoked pulled pork for the potluck.  I even introduced my Tabasco pulp pork.  It all seemed to go over very well. Hey, it’s free so they’re weren’t any complaints.  Maybe we will prepare something a little different next year. After dinner we sat around and everybody introduced themselves and tell stories.  Folks, this is RVing to the max.  This is what it’s about for us – meeting new friends (and then leaving them – just kidding).  We don’t say good bye, we say see ya.

“ I hope my computer don’t crash.”

Laughing or napping?

Nick looks like a little baby . Is he napping?

Oh Lord, is it Friday yet!

Is Nick happy or what? Nick, it’s just a phone. It’s us guys and our gizmos that keep us happy. Food helps too!

How sweet it is…….

See ya……..

What A Move

A whopping 20 mile move today.  I went over to Jerry & Arlyne’s lot in the Foothills of Yuma.  This will be for one night then I move over to the rear of the Yuma Fairgrounds with the Parking Crew for the Gypsy Journal.  

En route today I stopped and got fuel.  It had gone up only 10 cents since yesterday evening so it cost me $6 bucks more to fuel up today rather than yesterday. There goes another Denny’s breakfast.  I’m glad I had just over a half of tank. I had gone 461   miles since my last fill up.  So this was my first kinda normal fill up.  I averaged 7.5 MPG which is just OK considering it was more than normal city/stop & go traffic.  I should be able to go over 900 miles on a 3/4 tank (150 capacity). If this baby gets 8 MPG normally I will be very happy.

David Cross stopped by to welcome me to  the neighbor hood.  We met him and his wife Lynn at the recent Escapees Boot Camp in Congress, AZ.  We swapped stories about our fuel mileage and hyrdo hot systems.  We will meet them again tomorrow since they are on the parking crew for the Gypsy Journal also.

Oh, people said I must have made a mistake about the cost of washing this 43’ and the car for only $35.  My reply is that they have never been to Yuma.  That’s about the going price around here and you can even get it done for $25.  They bring soft water so there is no water spots and they squeegee the windows. This is the second time since we got this (Jan) that I had it washed.  The first time I got it washed and hand waxed (McGuire's wax) for $100.  You can get any size RV washed at Blue Beacon for $36 and some will dry for another $15 (Eloy, AZ).

I went out to diner with Jerry & Arlyne to Applebee’s. Our waitress was 8 months pregnant.  She got a big tip.  I had a shrimp fajitas and it was a knock out of the park to me.  Shrimp up the ying yang. I like shrimp….

See Ya…………..

Running Two ACs on 30 AMPS

The guys (Roberts RV Wash) who were going to wash our Dutch Star & car for $35 showed about 9AM ready to go.  About one hour later the three of them finished and both vehicles looked really good. I told them to leave the wheels and tires alone and they looked at them and understood.  After they left I still went out and wiped the coach down without getting on a ladder.

Mama’s carriages are ready for return!

Later that day I decided I was going to run two ACs since it was 84 degrees out and getting a little hot inside.  I needed to unplug the freezer because I’ve been running about 10 AMPs.  I unplugged it and still running 10 AMPS.  I put the frig on LP still at 10 AMPS.  Now I’m on a search mission. Hot water off. Well, after about 15 minutes of doing circuit breakers I found that the engine block heater was on.  Turned it off and wham 2 AMPS.  This thing has been on for weeks.  Their is no indicator on the switch if it’s on or off so I marked the OFF position and turned on two ACs. Ran up to 28 AMPS and the Dutch Star cooled down pretty quick. Then I went back to one AC with the freezer/frig on and ran about 20 AMPS.  That’s doable.  All is well.

Well, I think my Quartzsite Crude is gone.  No more coughing and feeling like poo and not being able to sleep.  My back is almost back to normal as long as I don’t pick up anything heavy or bend over.  Hey, I’m almost an old normal person.

See Ya……..

Bob & Molly’s Get Together

Do that, do this and then it’s done what ever I did.  I did get the last much needed part for my LP hook up. Now I will be able to run what ever I need off the Dutch Star’s LP tank.  Next step will be to put it all together and try it out but not now.  I did shine the other side of the rig’s wheels.  Tomorrow the coach gets a wash job.  Then I started working on the smoked pulled pork for Bob & Molly’s get together later today.  I mixed some hot pulled pork with the non hot to give it a little kick.  As it turned out later I kicked the ball out of the park for most people.  Here I thought I was being kind.  Oh Well..

Bob is thinking “Where are are these people coming from?” Bob Miller is the background saying he can park them.  He’s usually the Parking Head Hauncho at Escapade Rallys.

“Go set down you’ve been a bad boy”

Fun girls………….

 

Looking west…….

 

Looking east….

See ya…………….

Fire At TTN Wilderness Tuesday AM

Bill Joyce  sent me these pictures yesterday. This happened at the Thousand Trails in Menifee, CA. The couple had just pulled in.  He went to tell the office his space number and she was walking the dog.  They think – not sure, it was from the frig.  The fire truck was there within 10 minutes.  No loss of life.

  I would guess these people are vacationers and not full timers.  Talk about ruining a vacation.  Still sad though.

We just got our Norcold frig updated (recall) last week at this same park near this burnout as a matter of fact.

 

GEICO was $230 cheaper than State Farm for exact same coverage of Mom Hill’s mobile in Livingston, TX.  What's up with that? Just about every year I call other insurance companies to keep them honest on all of our insurance. 

The King Dome tech was out and declared a circuit board in the dome was bad.  It is covered under warranty except his road call which was $50.  the board will be here early next week.

I cleaned the freezer in the outside compartment from an exploded forgotten soda. It soaks up the amperage.

I shined the wheels on one side of the Dutch Star.  I use Novus #2 which is a plastic scratch remover.  these wheels are coated with Accua Shield which is a plastic type covering.  Most wheels today are like this. I prefer the polish able type because they really  POP out when they are shined.  These wheels really shine but they don’t POP.

Tomorrow is party day……………….?

See ya…..