Nice weekend - Day 368 (Yr 2, Day 3)

Raleigh, NC

We had a very lovely Shabbat, as there was a special guest visiting the shul this weekend - Rabbi Moshe Herson.  He is not only the head of the Rabbinical College in Morristown, NJ and the grandfather of Rabbi Cotlar's wife, but he is the father of Rabbi Mendy Herson, whose synagogue we were members of for a time when we lived in NJ.  It was an honor to meet such a charismatic scholar.  There was a community dinner on Friday night, where he spoke, and again during kiddush lunch on Saturday.  It was such an intriguing discussion that we didn't leave until 3:00!

The past few days we here, like in many parts of the country, have been experiencing high heat and lots of severe storms.  Today (Sunday) was the first day that not only brought clear blue skies all day, but somewhat lower temps (in the high 80s) and low humidity, so it felt like an absolutely gorgeous day!  We took a trip out to the State Farmer's Market, where we found the tomatoes and cantalope to be their peak season.  I wish I knew how to can and had the proper equipment (then again, I wouldn't have the space to store it).

The campground has been very empty this past week, but yesterday and today people are starting to come in.  It's still fairly empty, but I suspect it will be pretty crowded by the weekend (4th of July) and for the next few weeks as there's another big horse show after that.

News is the truck should be ready on July 3rd.  We shall see about that as the week progresses.  Mitch has another test scheduled for July 16th, so we'll be in Raleigh at least until the end of the month.  Honestly, I'm starting to get wanderlust and and ready to travel.  I'd love to get out to New Mexico, but that's not on the horizon at the moment.  Everything now depends on where Mitch's assignments will be and for now, it's here.  Who knows, maybe I'll be lucky and the urb-e's will be finished and shipped soon.  It would be a nice way for me to get out of the campground and go out and do things.  But for now, just one day at a time.

ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY - Yr 1, Day 365

Raleigh, NC

I absolutely cannot believe it has been one year today that we officially became RV full-timers (we left our sticks & bricks home in NJ on June 5th, but were in a state of limbo for the next 20 days while the closing experienced a few obstacles.  We closed on June 23rd, and the money was in the bank on the 25th so that we could make the purchase and put our new home on wheels in our name).

Naturally, this is a time to be reflective.  Do we like this lifestyle?  What have we learned?

There are a number of things we love and things we don't love about the lifestyle.  The bottom line is that, so far, it seems like a perfect fit for us and we plan to continue.  Yes, I would say we're loving it, despite some of the setbacks we've had.

Things we like about the lifestyle:

• A smaller space to clean, no mowing or shoveling snow
• No mortgage, property taxes or utility bills
• The flexibility and freedom to be wherever we want, with a new change of scenery (I like being able to sit outside near a lake or other scenic area with my laptop to work)
• Meeting new friends wherever we go
• Evening campfires and beautiful sunsets
• Not being tied down to location or climates
• Experiencing different cultures, hearing different accents, learning about local history
• Seeing different trees and birds local to each region

Things we don't like:

• Packing up, driving, parking,  unpacking
• Repairs and maintenance
• Campgrounds with tight spaces
• Harder for Mitch to find IT gigs
•  Not always easy to find a synagogue to go to
• Bugs

What have we learned?

• I have learned to become a lot more flexible, discovering that most plans are made in bubbles.  I no longer get totally freaked out when things don't go according to plan.
• There's a lot of stuff we don't know we don't know, so we have to learn as we go.
• We not alone in making "newbie" mistakes.  Everyone has been in our shoes at one time or another, although we try to read as much as we can so we don't make the same mistakes.
• This lifestyle is not a full time vacation but it's very important to take some time off to get out to explore the area, even if only for 1/2 a day once a week.  There are so many great things to do and see, and it defeats the lifestyle if we just sit at our desks and work full time.

Highlights of this past year

Cheryl's list: 

The good stuff:

• St. Augustine
• Myrtle Beach
• Visiting family & friends (Fred & Twila, Mindy, Sharon, Lisa)
• Fishing 
• I love living in this castle on wheels; it's a perfect floorplan for us

The bad stuff:

• Accident when we got stuck in a tight space, requiring fixing the roof and side
• Stuck in Arcadia for almost 2 months while waiting for parts & repair of king pin
• Staying in hotels & Jessica's house for almost 2 months waiting for slide repair

Mitch's list:

 The good stuff:

• Myrtle Beach
• Pecans
• Guy from FAA and his flying machines
• Being in tight quarters with me

 The bad stuff:

• Getting the mail late
• All the repairs
• Missing the family

Emergency room - Yr 1, Day 364

Raleigh, NC

All things happen for a reason, although at the time I didn't see that.  On the way home from work yesterday (Tuesday), Mitch called to tell me he had bad news -- he lost his glasses!  Bad news because we're only eligible for new exams and prescriptions every 2 years, and he had his made less than a year ago, which meant total out of pocket for a replacement (which cost about $500).

However, during the exam, the optometrist discovered swelling of the optic nerve, which she said could be potentially fatal.  So if he hadn't lost his glasses, this never would have been discovered!

It was recommended that he immediately see an ophthalmology neurologist to further verify this.  Unfortunately, there were no such specialists available for at least 3 weeks, so the dr. advised he go to the emergency room.

We arrived at the ER at 6pm and finally returned home a few minutes after midnight.  The ER doc. said that since Mitch didn't have any symptoms whatsoever, it was probably nothing and could have even been a false reading.  He also said they weren't really equipped to do anything other than give him a referral (which was to the same specialist we already tried).  They did, however, do an MRI.  A preliminary reading didn't show anything, but they said it needed to be read by a neurologist who knew what he was looking at.  They would call us if they found anything.  So far, we have not heard a word, so we're assuming there is nothing.  The follow up appt. is on July 14th.

Home Sweet Home (Again!) - Yr 1, Day 361

Raleigh, NC

We left the Bronx yesterday at 7:00 am and arrived back in Raleigh at 5:00 pm with only 4 stops to stretch our legs, go to the restroom and change drivers.  We were a bit worried because we heard that some very severe storms passed through, but we were fortunate that there was no damage here.

On the way back, we stopped at the kid's because Jessica made something special for her chocolate loving Dad:

As great as it was to spend time with the family, it felt good to be back in our own comfy bed!  It's also such a pleasure that the horse show is over and the campground is almost completely empty.  It's a very nice place to stay when every spot isn't taken!  You can actually see the grass and trees and have room to spread out.

Of course, however, I got myself terribly stressed out when we brought all the stuff from the locker into the rig, where it was all over the place.  Mitch did a terrific job putting most of it away, and Jessica will be taking the bags and bags of photos to scan.  I just need to look the other way for a few days.  It WILL get better and cleaner.

NJ & NY - Yr 1, Day 358

New York, New York

(break into song here!)....

As I write this, I am at Mitch's sister, Doris's apartment in Manhattan.  We left Columbia, SC at 3:30pm on Wednesday and drove straight through to NJ, arriving at our destination at 8:00 am.  We stopped several times at rest areas along the way to take little catnaps.  I have night blindness, so I drove until it started to get dark.  We got off at an exit in Roanoake Rapids, VA (just north of the border of NC) and stopped at a pizza place for a quick bite to eat.  Mitch then took over the driving.  By then, there were severe storms most of the way so he was driving in blinding rain for the most part.  Grueling ride!  I then took over the last 120 miles when we crossed the border into NJ, as it was finally daylight (but still raining).

Unfortunately, the person we had to meet (John, who has the keys to the locker) wasn't available until 11:00 so we had some time to spend. We drove around Fanwood, even passing our old home.  It was a weird feeling and in some ways it felt like we never left - everything was so familiar.  Mitch popped into his favorite bagel store and they were thrilled to see him.

The cleanout was a lot easier than I was anticipating as well.  For one thing, being that we had a small rental car and were not planning on keeping 90% or more of the items, we were figuring making at least 5 or more trips to the local thrift shop to donate.  John told us not to worry about it; that anything we left behind he would take care of!  That certainly saved us a few hours right there.  We were also very fortunate that everything we needed fit in the car.  We had been anticipating the need to take stuff to the UPS store and have it wrapped and shipped.

So after packing up, we headed into NYC where we spent the night and are spending this morning.  Then we head over to the Bronx where we will spend Shabbat with my dad.  Heading back to Raleigh on Sunday.

In nice hotel - Yr 1, Day 355

Columbia, SC

The drive down here to the test site was long but easy, and somewhat enjoyable in a fast car as opposed to the truck, and especially pulling the rig!

It's amazing what a difference there is between the cheap hotels we tend to stay at and the one the company put us up in!  And it's not even the high end either (Country Inn & Suites -- not Hyatt, but not Super 8!).

Of course, this has to be another one of those days where my clients are making major demands.  This hotel has a nice indoor pool and spa.  It was interesting to bring my laptop to the pool area and work in between laps -- with one of the clients calling me every 5 minutes!

Wishing Mitch success on his first exam tomorrow, then heading back to Raleigh to drop off this huge gas tank he now needs to carry with him (plus to the test).  Won't have room for all our stuff from the locker with the tank in the trunk so need to make a pit stop to drop it off at the rig.  It's about an hour out of the way, but you gotta do what you gotta do.  No clue when we'll hit the road for NJ, but that's a worry for another day.  Anyway, back to work.....

Packing up again - Yr 1, Day 354

Raleigh, NC

At least this time it's not because we're displaced, although we will be for almost the next week again.  As I mentioned the other day, we will be heading down to Columbia, SC where Mitch is scheduled to take the first of 2 certification tests for gas pipeline inspector.  The test starts at 7am on Wed. so we will travel down there tomorrow.  We have an appt. at 8:30 am at the collision shop to bring the truck over (we're picking it up this afternoon as the new tires have been mounted.  It's driveable, just very ugly).  We'll leave after our meeting at the shop and stay in a company paid hotel.

The plans (hopefully not being made in bubbles) are:

After the test on Wed, we'll start heading up north towards NJ.  It's an 11 hour drive without stopping, so we will go as far as we can and then stop in a hotel off the highway for the night.

On Thursday, hopefully before noon, we will arrive at the locker and spend the day cleaning it out (probably making several trips to the thrift shop to donate 99% of what's in there).  When done, we will go into Manhattan and stay overnight with Mitch's sister Doris.

On Friday afternoon, we will head up to "Da Bronx" to spend Shabbat with my dad and stepmom (I'm thrilled to be able to spend Father's Day with him!), and will stay over until Sunday morning, at which time we'll head back to Raleigh. 

Sounds like a sound plan, right?  Praying that no obstacles fall in our way, but it's always in God's hands.

Relaxing day - Yr 1, Day 352

Raleigh, NC

We went to services in Cary, and as always, found it very inspirational.  We actually sponsored the kiddush in honor of our having our home back and in honor of being protected in a dangerous situation (the accident of the blowout).

There is a small rally going on here (in addition to the Quarter Horses competition) so we met up with the group of rally-ers (a regional chapter of Good Sam's Club called Sam's O'Wake).  We could not participate in any of their activities (which is mostly going out to eat!), but we hung around with them for a few hours late this afternoon.  We were the youngest by far -- these are mostly retired folks in their late 60's to early 80s who own RVs but are not full-timers.  They live in the Raleigh area and get together to camp once a month.

Home at Last - Yr 1, Day 351

Raleigh, NC

I can't begin to express how great it feels to have our home back!  It was so wonderful for Tom Johnson's Camping Center (the repair place) to have it delivered to us, 200 miles away, for free!

It arrived at the NC State Fairgrounds about 2:00.  The folks who delivered it were really nice - a retired couple; he was a professional truck driver.  There's a huge horse competition going on this week, so we were very lucky to have found a space in the campground, as it's 99% full.

Settling back in was a bit overwhelming, but with a nice stiff drink and a cold shower first (it's over 90 degrees now), I was able to survive the unpacking.  Not only did we have a suitcase and bags and bags and bags our our own stuff that we've been traveling with between the kids and hotels and the kids again (and another hotel), but in order to replace the slide, they had to empty out every cabinet, closet and drawer in the bedroom, so there were about 5 giant boxes in the living room, all needing to be unpacked and put away.  It was like setting up my house from scratch again.

Once everything was set up, we met with Jessica and Griffin for a very nice, celebratory sushi dinner.

So far, they seem to have done a good job with the slide.  It's working and the rebuilt bed looks good.  Even the switch that raises the top of the bed up is working again.  They cleaned the place (inside and out), including cleaning out and scrubbing the inside of the refrigerator (which, by now, was full of rotten food), so we didn't need to deal with that as well.  Of course, the frig is totally empty, so we'll have a lot of shopping to do, as we head into Shabbat tonight.

As for the truck, we're still working with the insurance company and repair shops.  I suspect it will be at least 2 weeks before we can have it back.  Meanwhile, the rental car (a Hyundai Sonata) is great!  It's been a year since I've driven a car (anything smaller than a huge truck), so it was a lot of fun.  We're even toying with the idea, since it has a lot of trunk space, of maybe heading up to NY/NJ to clean out the locker while we have the car.  Mitch has a 2 day hands on test next week in SC, so maybe we can head up that way afterwards?  I'll need to do some planning first (it also means packing the suitcase yet again and we'll have to figure out where to stay and how to manage to see everyone).  I'm sure I'll figure it out.

Nope, not going home yet - Yr 1, Day 349

Raleigh, NC

Unbelievable!  We left the kids' house around 10:00 this morning.  Got about 20 miles out of town and had a tire blowout!  Always looking for the blessings in everything, there were several:  (1) I was able to safely make it to the shoulder; (2) there were no other cars involved; (3) other than the cost of the tires, the insurance will cover everything, including up to $2K of hotel, rental car and meals.  We also learned later in the day that Tom Johnson's Camping World, where the rig has been in the repair shop, AS A COURTESY, is going to DELIVER OUR RIG to us in Raleigh tomorrow, which is over 200 miles away (they are only asking us to cover the costs to pay the person to drive it over; waiving the $3/mile charge).

We could look at this as a sign from the universe that we should give up the lifestyle (although we've had a blowout and several accidents where our vehicles were totalled -- once in bad fog and once from a deer), and we've had lots of major repairs needed in our house.  We choose to look at it as sign that God is still walking with us, and despite the inconveniences and financial setbacks, we still have it pretty good.  After all, Mitch just got a new, steady job to compensate for the finances and my business has been doing very well also. And most of all, no matter what has happened, we have remained safe.

Of course,unfortunately, there was a lot of damage to the truck.  This photo doesn't do justice to the extent of the front end and bumper:

The Ford dealership will replace the tire, but the collision shop next door can't see us until at least next Wednesday.  At least we have a rental car in the interim and the truck will be drivable once the tire is put on (hopefully tomorrow).  I suspect once the collision shop takes it, it could be at least a week or more before all the work is complete. Fortunately, Mitch's work continues in Raleigh so no rush to leave and we'll have our home back.

I hope to reread these posts in a year from now and laugh.

Going Home! - Yr 1, Day 348

Raleigh, NC

Finally, the work is almost complete.  There were still delays this morning (some screws got stripped), and there is still more stuff to do, which they PROMISED would be done in the morning.  We were assured if we left Raleigh in the morning, the rig would be ready and parked in their campground by the time we got there in the afternoon.  There is still more work that needs to be done (installing the gray tank, the part of which still hasn't arrived) and troubleshooting the generator (since we'll be on full hookups with electric, we won't need to use it, so it can wait until they replace the tank to work on that.  Fingers crossed that we don't have a power outage and need the genny!  That would be our luck, wouldn't it?!)

So the plan is to leave Raleigh tomorrow morning (Wed.) and return here on Thursday.  Mitch has a test in SC on the 17th and another one the week after.  If he passes both tests, he'll be officially certified in NC and SC as a gas line inspector.  It's still not determined whether, after his tests, he'll stay in Raleigh (where the training has been) or be moved to Asheville.  But we know we'll be in Raleigh for at least another 2-3 weeks.

Hopefully I won't have a post for tomorrow with bad news!

First One Year milestone- Yr 1, Day 344

Raleigh, NC

Today (June 5th) marks one year that we pulled out of our driveway in Fanwood, NJ to begin the journey of living in an RV.  This is what I will call the "limbo phase."

We were scheduled to close on our house on that day.  Since we signed over all the papers to our attorney, we were told our presence at the closing wasn't required so we felt safe leaving.  We headed to VA to stay overnight with our daughter's in-laws, and then proceed to spend the weekend with our daughter and SIL before heading down to FL to purchase the rig.

The journey started off with lots of obstacles so we didn't close until June 23rd.  We consider Day 1 to be the day we closed the deal on the rig and it officially became ours.

Here are the links to the start of this journey - the limbo phased:

http://mitcherylrv.blogspot.com/2014_06_01_archive.html
http://mitcheryl-rv-journey.blogspot.com/2014_06_01_archive.html

Still nothing - Yr 1, Day 342

Raleigh, NC

When following up on Monday, we were told the part was still "on the truck waiting to be delivered today or tomorrow" and the slide still wasn't put in.  Thursday was more likely.  Spoke to them yesterday to learn that there were "adjustment problems" with putting the slide back in; somehow it wasn't going in the way it should so they had to work overtime and get a bigger team to help out.  We also learned that the part wasn't delivered because it wasn't actually on the truck - it was lost by the warehouse!  Now, allegedly, another one is being shipped and should arrive early next week.

The kids have big plans the weekend of June 20th and need us to be gone by then.  I really hope we're gone much sooner than that!  It's been since May 11th already.   Between the time it was in the shop for repairs after the accident in January (2 weeks), then over a month in Arcadia, FL waiting for the king pin part and gray tank repair (recall it was only temporarily patched as they didn't have time to undertake such a large job of replacing it--that's what we're waiting for right now), and the almost one month this time around, it just seems that we've spent more time out of the rig than in it.  But I suppose all I need to do is re-read my blog and I'll see that's not really true.