Puppy sitting - Yr 1, Day 339

Raleigh, NC

It's been fun, and exhausting, spending time with Ellie.  She is very much like a toddler -- needing constant supervision and interaction.  Not that I mind; she's a sweetie.  Just tiring.  I think I'm over my puppy fever!  The kids went away for the weekend, so we're on total puppy sitting patrol.

Last we heard about our home - they are really hoping it will be finished on Tuesday.  The slide would be completely finished on Saturday, and the other little things would also be taken care of on Sat. and Monday.  If the tank arrived, it can all be done by Tuesday.  I'll know more on Monday whether this is the case.

It also looks like there's a good chance Mitch can be working in Raleigh throughout the entire summer as opposed to going to Asheville.  I would like that a lot!  But again, things are still very much up in the air right now.  Stay tuned!

Going "home" - Yr 1, Day 335

Raleigh, NC

"Home" in quotes because, sadly, not OUR home but our daughter and SIL's home. We're very grateful they've invited us back to stay with them until our ordeal is over.  We move back in tomorrow.

I'm really thrilled that Ellie (our corgi grandpuppy) knows me.  When they ask her "where's Grandma?" she runs to the front door looking for me!  The kids are going away for the weekend, so we get her all to ourselves for a few days.

Last we heard about our rig, they were putting the slide back together today, but the parts for the gray tank had not arrived yet.  They're hoping if the parts are delivered by Friday, we can pick it up maybe by next Wednesday.  I'm not holding my breath yet, but the original plans were to leave the hotel by June 7th, so if the parts aren't there by then, we may just have to wait to get that fixed another time (the gray tank was sloppily patched in Arcadia.  It's holding for now and needs to be replaced, but it isn't critical.  Mitch's assignment after his training in Raleigh will most likely be in Asheville, which is about 40 miles from the repair shop, so we may need to hold off until then.  That job is only 2 days anyway.  Time will tell.

Finding silver lining - Yr 1, Yr 1, Day 332

Raleigh, NC

I need to keep a positive attitude and find silver linings in every situation.

This hotel is very depressing.  When I go outside of my room, I feel like I'm living in "the projects."  This is not so much a hotel, as an efficiency apartment complex designed for welfare families.  I also can't keep the curtains open for natural sunlight, as people walk by all the time and tend to look in.  Unfortunately, the next step up is at the Hyatt at $119/night, so we have no other options.  My attitude here is to be non-judgemental.  G-d forbid I can be in the same situation!  This is also only temporary.  The room itself is adequate and we can cook our meals without having to eat out.

Also on a positive note is that we can celebrate Shavout with the community.  Shavout is the celebration of the giving our our Torah (the Bible) and the time when we officially became a Jewish nation - entering into a convenant with our Creator.  It's a very important holiday, and if we had been at the rally, there would have been no way to celebrate it.  During the worship services, we hear the 10 Commandments being read, and need to imagine we were at the foot of Mt. Sinai hearing them directly from God, as our ancestors did.

Another positive is that we are getting to spend time with our daughter, son-in-law and grandpuppy (who I've grown very attached to and miss very much).

We celebrated Shabbat on Friday with our new Cary friends, Lara and Paul and their kids Coby (17) and Mason (11).   The newest fad here in Cary is owning chickens for eggs.  This family is one that purchased a few.  It was very interesting watching these "dudes" as they called them.

So we shall see what this Memorial Day weekend brings.

Back in a hotel - Yr 1, Day 329

Raleigh, NC

We're grateful for the 10 days we were able to stay with our daughter and son-in-law, but it was time to let them get on with their lives.  There's still probably another week or 2 before the rig is ready, so we moved over to a hotel that has a kitchenette so at least we can cook our own meals.

Mitch started his new job on Monday (he has been an IT field technician, doing anything from repairing POS systems to installing nationwide networks).  Unfortunately, work has been very unreliable (he hasn't had a gig in months) and needed to find something else to do to bring in some money (no, we are not retired yet; we do both need to work).  He found something a few months ago -- inspecting gas pipelines.  The company was specifically looking for full-time RV'ers as they have work all over the country.  It seemed like a good opportunity so he applied and was accepted.

The training started this week and so far it's been pretty brutal.  The job requires a LOT of walking (could be up to 10 miles a day, in all types of weather, heat and cold).  He leaves at 6:30 in the morning and doesn't get back until almost 5pm.  So far, it's not something he enjoys at all, but a job is a job and you gotta do what you gotta do.  I just hope that he can stick it out long enough to adjust to a routine.  I think once we find our rhythm, it will be fine.  I mean, it's a big adjustment for me as well.  For one, I'll be totally alone all day - no one to take my walks with, no one to take a day off with and "play", and mostly being stuck at home or at the campground because I have no way to get around since he's using the only vehicle we have.

But I've always said there's a reason for everything and for every problem there's a solution.  As I said, I'm sure once we find our rhythm, it will all work out just fine.  We just have to get through this transition, which seems much more difficult than our transition from a sticks & bricks to full time RVing!

Hanging in - Yr 1, Day 325

Raleigh, NC

Still here with the kids and so far we're all still talking to each other!  Also loving my very energetic grandpup!  Nothing at all eventful going on here; mostly spending the days working.  I do need to discipline myself to get out and walk a bit more though.  We'll be moving to a hotel with a kitchenette on Thursday.

I did find a great silver lining here (besides spending time with our daughter, SIL and grandpup) -- the rally was going to be taking place not only during Memorial Day weekend, but on Shavous (the holiday that commemorates our receiving the Torah).  It is an important holiday, but the location of the rally prohibited us from spending any time at a synagogue (closest ones are in Asheville, about 40 miles away).  So being here allows us the opportunity share the holiday with our home-away-from- home community.

Moving forward - Yr 1, Day 321

Raleigh, NC

We started the morning meeting with the technician, the project manager and his boss, to show us the damage they were talking about.  All I can say is "wow."  There really was no way that this would have shown up on an inspection, but the fact that all that rotting was caused by a water leak which was fixed at some point, means that the previous owner must have known about the problem.  Unfortunately, there's no way to prove it, and it's water under the bridge.  Life goes on and so must we.

It was decided that this is our HOME.  We worked and prayed too hard over the past 4 years to get to this point.  This is/was our dream, and we can't let a financial setback cause us to give it up.  We were very much aware that there would be repairs along the way.  We just didn't expect them to all happen so close together!  The same thing could happen with a new car, or even buying a new home.  We're very fortunate that we have a nest egg to pull from and that we don't have to take out a loan or put in a situation where we have to sell it for a fraction of what we paid and get an apartment somewhere.

The bad news is that timewise, they're talking weeks.  For now, Jessica and Griffin are being very gracious and allowing us to stay with them for a little while until we can find somewhere else to stay.  We can't afford a hotel for that long.

There is, however, a silver lining...  remember how Mitch is going to be starting a new job?  I don't remember what day I posted it, but to recap, it's with a national gas pipeline company who was looking for RV'ers to inspect their gas lines all over the country.  He was going to start training in Raleigh after the rally (June 1st) and then start his assignment in Asheville, NC.  Since we're in Raleigh already, he let them know and they decided to let him start the training next week!

Bad news -Yr 1, Day 320

Marion, NC

Back on the roller coaster ride.  It would sure be nice if life wasn't all ups & downs and had a few steadies thrown in.

First, we learned that the gray tank which was supposed to be replaced this week was not delivered yet and won't be until next week!  We deliberately came here a month early to make sure we didn't run into a parts problem.  Oh well, it is what it is.  And this part is the good news, compared to what comes next....

Regarding the slide:  after they took the bedroom apart to get to the mechanics that work the slide, it was discovered that the entire floor and wall are rotted.  Apparently, there must have been some kind of water leak a long time ago which rotted it all out (and this is what caused the slide not to work properly).  Since this is a maintenance issue, it will not be covered by the warranty, and we're looking at a minimum of $5,000 to repair, not to mention who knows how many more days in a hotel.  This is not something that could have been detected during the inspection; the only way to find out was to take the whole thing apart.  Oh, I also didn't mention that all 10 tires need to be replaced.  They are in good condition on the outside, but as tires age, the insides get rotten.  It is recommended for any vehicle not to have tires that are more than 5 years old (ours are going on 7).  When it's our home involved, we can't take chances and wait for a blow-out and very severe damage or worse.  At $400/tire, that's another huge chunk of cash.

So tomorrow we need to make a decision: clean out our nest egg to pay for this or take what we can get and give up the lifestyle.  With Mitch's new job about to start, it will give us a chance to replenish the funds little by little, so I think the answer is pretty clear (stay).  We have to consider ourselves blessed that we even have the money in the bank to make that decision.

I just want to know when this is going to end.  But then again, it could happen in a sticks & bricks house as well.  Things break down, wear out, go bad, and need to be fixed.  Better our home than our bodies, although it's true for that too.

Back in a hotel - Yr 1, Day 319

Marion, NC

After an uneventful weekend -- I took Friday off work since I had laryngitis and was coughing up a lung or 2, so I had 3 consecutive days of rest -- today was our appointment to bring the rig in for all the work to be started.  So we are in a Super 8 motel about 8 miles away until then.   Absolutely nothing to do around here.  I have a lot of client work, but Mitch is going quite stir crazy!!!  Oh, the need to putter....

Sick - Yr 1, Day 315

Marion, NC

Honestly, I can't remember the last time I was sick (not counting the week of diarrhea a few months ago or any of the hip problems); it was probably in the fall of 2013.  This started in my system probably around Sunday and is in full bloom today -- heavily runny nose, coughing up a lung, chills.  I'm exhausted because I'm not sleeping well (keep waking up all night to blow my nose or cough).  Work is keeping my busy so resting during the day isn't an option either.  Eh.  This too shall pass.  Just feeling very miserable but it's just a run of the mill cold.  Not much more I can do besides drink a lot, take cold meds and try to rest.

Back in Marion, NC - Yr 1, Day 314

Marion, NC

We left Sevierville on Tuesday morning, heading back to Tom Johnson's Campground.  We were here a month ago so they could diagnose our slide and tank problems, get the warranty/insurance paperwork started and order parts, so they can work on it before the next rally which starts here on May 23rd.  We have an appt. on Monday, May 11th.  It can be in the shop up to 5 days, and we'll probably have to stay in a hotel (or travel 80 miles and stay with Jessica and Griffin - we'll have to see if the insurance co. will pay for it or not).  It's a really nice campground, so we didn't mind staying here the extra week in advance.  Here are views from in front of our rig and behind it, respectively:

The trip through the mountains getting here were just as scenic:

Rally - Yr 1, Days 305-311

Seiverville, TN

Sorry for the delay.  I was waiting for Mitch to upload all his photos so I could have this blog entry complete.  Finally made it!....

It was certainly a jam-packed week, which flew by very quickly.  RV-Dreams (Linda &  Howard Payne are the founders) is a group we've been following since 2011 (we went to their rally in that year: http://mitcherylrv.blogspot.com/2011/09/after-pa-rally.html).  They put on awesome educational rallies for both wannabees, newbies and experienced full timers (with a lot of really fun events in between).  Although many of the seminars were geared towards the newbies and wannabees, it was  nice for us to be on the other side, offering our advice and stories to them rather than picking everyone else's brains.  It was also a jam-packed week because, as mentioned in a previous post, I had 3 of my 4 steady clients who had demanding deadlines to meet this week.  I did a great job of managing my time by setting up a table with my laptop against the wall and working during the seminars; listening with half an ear and piping in where appropriate, but otherwise "in the zone" working.

Here are the highlights of the week:

Monday, 4/27
Check in was from 3:00 to 5:00.  I volunteered to help out as cashier, so it was a great way to meet everyone in advance.  There were 165 people.  There was a lovely catered dinner.  There was a cool ice-breaker event: a pre-derby race.  Since the Kentucky Derby was this coming weekend, that was going to be the theme.  We had 5 "horses" (us campers wearing a silly plastic jockey hat, riding an inflatable horse on a stick) who jumped to the finished line via a roll of the dice).  The winners would advance in a final race on Saturday night.  When all the activities were over, we returned home and I worked until midnight.

Tuesday, 4/28
Started work at 6:30 am, worked during the seminars and until 5:30, then again after dinner at 8:30.  Didn't learn anything new but provided a good resource to newbies.  Another nice catered dinner but no special activities afterwards.

Wednesday, 4/29
Same work but I took night off.  Went out to Thai Basil with Vance and Marla, who are also Mobile Suites owners and have been full timing for about the same amount of time as we have.  Here is a photo of them.

Thursday, 4/30
After a day of seminars (and work), there was an amazing pot luck dinner, with every kind of dish imaginable, including quite a number of delicious vegetarian choices.  I made my rice & beans dish.

Friday, 5/1
Is it May already???  Where does the time go?  It was only a half day of seminars, as the highlight for most folks was to go ziplining.  I stayed home due to some critical work deadlines, and preparing for Shabbat, but Mitch went and was glad he did:

At the top of the platform, getting instructions

The person ahead of him

The evening was very special.  We met another wonderful Jewish couple (Cheryl and David G).  They are not full timers yet and borrowed a friend's RV to come to the rally.  They are very active in their synagogue and it was really great having them join us for Shabbat dinner, complete with prayer, song and great conversation.

Saturday, 5/2
This was the last day of seminars, although we did not attend.  At night, however, was a great goodbye party with the Kentucky Derby theme, including watching the race.  There was actually a pool but we didn't win anything.  Among the highlights of the party was a derby hat contest (didn't win again, but it was fun).  Here's us in our silly hats:

Our friends Pat and Ron in their hats

Remember the pre-derby race on Monday night?  Here was the final race:

Even the caterer got into the theme:

On Sunday, many people left.  We stayed until Tuesday morning.