Reflections of another year gone by; downtown - Day 1098 (Year 4, Day 3)

Washington, NC

Our 3 year "RVersary" was on Friday.  Mitch was putting together a slide show of the past 3 years, so I will let him put up his own blog post with his memories and in his own unique style.  As for me, some thoughts about this past year, which has gone by very quickly (here are my thoughts for the 1st and 2nd years:  http://mitcheryl-rv-journey.blogspot.com/2016/06/thoughts-for-week-day-735-yr-3-day-2.html).

My reflections aren't as extensive as previous years, as I'd say I pretty much everything (good and bad) I posted last year holds true now.  Mostly this past year we were in Bismarck, spent a lot of time traveling from there to Raleigh for Thanksgiving, then a lot of time from Raleigh to Texas, then back again to North Carolina.  Work was mostly in Bismarck/ Jamestown, ND; Houston/ Austin/ Livingston, TX; and now Greenville, NC.  The only real "touristy" stuff we got to do was visit NASA and New Orleans, as well as go on a bus/boat tour in Austin.  Despite all this, I still enjoy the lifestyle very much. When we force ourselves to take some time off and explore the area we're living in, we still like learning new things and meeting new people.  The only downside to this lifestyle are all the constant repairs that need to be made, but thankfully this past year has been mostly run-of-the-mill, bound to break down kind of stuff - no catastrophes. (although it drained our nest egg nonetheless).

So, this was the first full weekend here at the campground.  Although we did get a lot of folks coming in for the weekend, the place wasn't crazy busy (or maybe it just seemed that way because of so much space and we're kind of on the perimeter.  Many of the sites closer to the river are fuller).

The weather has been extremely hot and humid, making it much more comfortable to be inside in the a/c, although we did go for a nice swim on Friday and Saturday.  It's a wonderful pool - very large - so that even when there are a lot of kids playing, there's still room to do laps.  They have lounge chairs and 4 tables with umbrellas.  My only complaint is I wish there were more umbrellas, as there's no other shade, and those tables get taken quickly.  Next time, however, I won't be shy -- I'll just ask to join whoever's sitting there!

Highlight of the week was planting a "garden" (consisting of parsley, cilantro, thyme, rosemary and basil).  The wood is to weigh down the plastic cups and box, as it gets very windy here and a slight breeze will knock it all over.  So far, the basil has started to sprout.



Praying outdoors is once again nice and spiritual as the scenery is very pleasant to look at.  Maybe next week we'll go sit by the river.

Also noticed that besides many birds that take over the field, there are now swarms of dragonflies! (note: the different birds and dragonflies all come and go at a specific time of day!  Nature is fascinating).  I used to be petrified of them, but they're harmless.  Just weird seeing so many at a time.  Haven't seen any fireflies though.  I guess those are more in the woods.

On Saturday, there were several planned activities at the clubhouse.  We missed Amazing Race (a game where participants have to do strange or disgusting things, like eating tuna & ice cream).  At 2:00 pm, they had games.  I thought it would be board games, but it was Family Feud, followed by various weird things such as putting a stocking on your head, with each leg filled with a tennis ball.  You had to guide a ping pong ball to the wall by swinging the legs of the stocking.  Another game was bouncing a ping pong ball into a cup on the table.  Silly stuff like that.  It was mostly just for the kids (I got suckered into Family Feud, but watched the rest).  Afterwards, we went for a swim, took a short nap, and then went to visit with Shannon and Kenny.  Very nice folks indeed.  We were hoping to have a campfire Sat. night but it started raining.

Saturday night we had another little flood, as we saw water pouring out from under the refrigerator.  Since we had this problem once before, we knew exactly what it was -- the end cap on the roof probably got blown off or knocked out of position from all the high winds we've had.  Nothing Mitch could do about it in the rain and dark, so we just put lots of towels down.  Fortunately, the rain stopped after a few hours so we didn't have to get up every few hours during the night to change out the saturated towels.  Sunday morning he went up to the roof.  It did not blow off and away, so he was able to re-attach it back into position.  He also took care of a few other odds and ends.

At 3:30, despite it still being very hot, we decided to take our urb-es to the downtown harbor district.  It's a quaint and quiet little downtown area with many art galleries and antique shops.  Along the river / marina there is a promenade where we also rode.  Here are some photos:

     

Hand-painted crabs seem to be a big thing in this town.  We also passed a few while driving but I couldn't get photos.

 

This port is also a historical site from the Civil War.  I couldn't get the entire board in one shot, so you need to read the history in 2 parts:

 

Finally, here are some photos along the river and promenade:

      

Today is Monday, and Mitch's first day in the field in this new location.  He's working in Greenville, so we shall soon learn how bad the 25-30 mile commute is.  Fortunately, Kenny is doing the same thing so they can commiserate (Kenny stayed at the campground closer to Greenville and hated it, which is why he's here now).

The Campground - Day 1097 (Year 3, Day 364)

Washington, NC

First, do you see what Year/Day it is?  Tomorrow - June 23rd, will be our 3 year "RVersary" - exactly 3 years ago tomorrow we will have officially started this new chapter in our lives.  I'm not sure if I'll have the time tomorrow to reflect on the past year, but I promise to do so shortly.

It was a fairly busy work day for me (Mitch was still home, but most likely will be out in the field on Monday - YAY!!!), but I forced myself to take some time out to explore the campground and take some photos.

First, a bit of a description about Tranter's Creek Resort & Campground.  This place ranks high on my list of places to stay - I do love it here!   This is a very lovely campground with a lot of wide open space.  Trees line the perimeter, but mostly everything is open (unfortunately, many new sites are supposed to be built so the place will be much more crowded in the future).  But for now, wide open fields on one side, surrounded by Tranter's Creek on the other (and not far from the Tar and Pamlico Rivers).  People here are like one big happy family: so warm and caring.  Place has game room with arcade games, billiards & air hockey (need to pay for those), but a nice book/magazine and DVD library to borrow from, as well as a bunch of outdoor game and pool equipment to borrow.  Beautiful and large pool, fire pits and picnic tables.  They even pick up the trash in front of my site twice a day!  Very nice RVs and a few homes (I don't see any old, run down, held-together-with-duct-tape units like we did in the last place).  They provide entertainment and activities, mostly on the weekends.  We haven't been here for a weekend yet, but my hunch is, that like the last place we stayed, it's a weekend camping/fishing destination and will get much busier.

Anyway, here a bunch of pictures of the campground.

View out the front door and side of the RV:

 

View to the left, walking towards the office: 

Front and back of the office:

  

Panoramic and 2 pics of clubhouse/game room, and store:

   

The pool, and pavilion where they hold outdoor events including concerts:

 

Some photos down by the creek and of the river:

 

For me, the only major drawback is that we're 35 miles away from a synagogue, which is too far to travel on Shabbat (they do, however, offer Sunday morning church services!!!)

Big Baby, Wimpy Wuss - Day 1096 (Year 3, Day 363)

Washington, NC

I am very sad, ashamed and embarrassed to admit I'm talking about myself.  It has always been a lifelong problem of mine to go outside of my physical comfort zone due to fear of getting hurt; sometimes realistically but often imagined.  After I fell once ice skating (10 years old), I would never try it again.  I will not ride roller coasters or any amusement park ride beyond the ferris wheel.  Even on the carousel, I sit on the bench.  I need to use a step stool to climb into my truck, as I fear the distance is too far and I may fall or twist myself (and dislocate my hip) if I try to jump down (it's too high to step).

That being said, we wanted to go out and explore a little today.  There is an estuarium nearby (where the river meets the sea) and they offer a free boat ride down the river (in addition to a little museum).  Here are a few photos:

     

At departure time, we went down the ramp to the boat, with the other 8 people.  I absolutely freaked out by the distance from the dock onto the boat.  I'd say it was at least twice the distance of the truck.  Not to mention that the boat was moving and at least 2-3 feet away.  I was such a wuss and refused to go, despite the captain and Mitch offering to help.  I tried to convince Mitch to go without me (since it was his idea to begin with), but he refused.  We landed up going to Dollar Tree and Walmart and then back home.

On a more positive note, the folks Mitch will be working with arrived yesterday (Kenny, his wife Shannon, their daughter Lily and puggle (cross between a pug and beagle) Kipper.  Kenny wasn't home yet, but I had a lovely conversation with Shannon.  I look forward to spending time with them.

Update on problems - Day 1096 (Year 3, Day 363)

Washington, NC

All is (mostly) well.

Rig:  new surge protector arrived yesterday and was installed by 3:30pm.  It was rainy and much cooler than the previous day, so we didn't need to work in the clubhouse, as the open windows provided enough of a nice breeze.  Feels great to have the power back on though.  I can tell you we're definitely not the type that likes to boondock; we love our power too much.  We did go through an entire 40# tank of propane in 2 days due to using the generator for a total of no more than about 8 hours, at a cost of about $35.

Truck:  turns out it was NOT the EGR delete, but rather an EGR valve that got stuck in the open position, thus cutting off the fuel flow.  Mechanic said he didn't think it was necessary to replace the EGR delete quite yet.

Now for the "mostly" part -- the tow truck had a little accident and managed to damage the rear bumper of the truck.  They immediately called their insurance company who will handle it all, but there's the inconvenience of having to wait for the adjuster to look at it, and then getting it fixed.

Raining all day yesterday and cloudy today so probably not going to get out and take pictures of the campground.

Never a dull moment! Day 1094 (Year 3, Day 361)

Washington, NC

Well, we did finally make it to our next destination.  As a recap, Mitch will be working in Greenville, which is about 30 miles east.  We chose this place rather then the one in Greenville because the other one was basically just a parking lot with 10 spots - no amenities, no wifi, not even a bathhouse where we'd go to seek shelter.  We'll give it a month to see if the commute is really that terrible and if it's worth giving up this really nice place.  I'll write more about it later in the week as well as take a bunch of pics.  Suffice it to say it's a really nice place where I know I'll be very happy.

Anyway, we packed up and hit the road on Sunday (yesterday) at about 9:30 am.  We expected it would take some extra time due to the problems we have with the hydraulic system, but for a change, the slides all went in on the first try.  We drove to the halfway point - Raleigh - and met the kids.  They were very kind to treat us to a delicious sushi lunch for Father's Day (thanks again, Jess and Griffin!) (note for anyone curious about how I can eat sushi since I can't have rice: they make rolls out of cucumbers which holds together nicely without the rice).  We parked the rig in the large field at the back of the campground at the State Fairgrounds for a few hours.  After lunch, we stopped in at Trader Joe's to stock up on kosher meat and dark chocolate again.  We would have liked to go back to the house and stay for a bit, but it was 1:30 by then and we really needed to be on the road.

Mother-daughter:



We arrived in Washington at about 5:00.  Although we were given a pull through site, it took us about 1/2 hr of maneuvering because a tree was right in the middle.  We landed up having to pull way out and around and back in anyway.  Still, it feels like we're in a wide open field.  But as I said, I'll give a full description in another post.

Anyway, the drive was fairly uneventful, although there were a few times I had noticed the truck spewing black exhaust again when accelerating.  Made note to self that it should be checked out when we get settled in, since Mitch doesn't officially start his assignment in the field until the beginning of July.

So, we get into the spot, hook up the connections, and wait and wait for the electric to kick on.  It usually takes about 2 minutes, but after 5, we decided to call the office and have them check their breakers, being certain it was a problem at the pedestal.  Larry came to check it out, and it was determined that the problem was with our surge protector, which for some unknown reason (probably age) was blown out and not working.  The unit has no breakers so that wasn't the issue.  Oh, did I mention that it was about 95 degrees, no trees (except that one single little one blocking the entrance to our site) and 1000% humidity?  Not exactly a day not to have electricity and air conditioning!

We called Paul, the local RV tech/handyman.  It happens that he lives at the campground and he arrived within a few minutes.  He checked it out and concurred that it was a bad surge protector.  By now it was almost 6:30 pm on a Sunday so nothing could be done about it.  We ran the generator for a few hours to cool things down, and by evening, there was a nice breeze through the open windows so we were able to sleep comfortably.

First thing in the morning, Paul advised us that (1) the warranty company would cover the cost, less our $100 deductible; and (2) he found a company that had the part in stock so he would have it overnighted and we'll have it tomorrow.  He said it shouldn't take him too long to install it.  So we'll be back to normal in the rig some time on Tuesday.

Today turned out to be another scorcher.  We didn't turn the generator on until my laptop battery was about to die (around 10:00 am).  By then it was getting too hot inside anyway and we can't run the generator for more than an hour or 2 at a time.  They have a large clubhouse in the office building, so we packed up all our equipment and some food and settled there for the day (at this writing, this is where I still am).   The office is about 1/4 mile from our site, and since we had all our equipment, we decided to be lazy and take the truck over.  That's when we encountered our 2nd problem -- the truck died again.  Part of the same engine saga as the last 2 times, but there's only 1 part left to repair.  We were warned that at some point it would give out, but at $1500, we chose to wait until we had more $ in the bank (for those of you in the know - it's the EGR delete of a Ford 6.0L engine).  As I was driving, tons of white smoke came out and I couldn't get it moving more than 5 mph.  It stalled once, and I barely limped into the parking spot.

Paul actually found us in the clubhouse and asked if we knew about the smoke.  We told him the saga and since he has a huge network of folks he works with, he offered to help us find the best qualified local mechanic to work on it (he even offered to drive us to/from there).  We did find someone and are now waiting for a tow truck to bring it there.  Meanwhile, several women on the staff have offered to drive us anywhere we need, including to the supermarket - just ask!  I feel like we are in such great hands and are being well taken care of.

Of course, the silver lining in this is how much worse or inconvenient it could be.  We were already parked and settled in a nice spot when the electric went out and it can be fixed quickly and at practically no cost.  The better news is that the truck could have died while we were in transit and towing (like it did in Peoria).  The highway we were driving on wasn't an interstate; there were few exits and the one that were there had no services on them, and the shoulder was very narrow, so there really wouldn't have been anywhere to conveniently break down.  And lastly, Mitch is off work so he's not losing time off by not having a truck for a few days.  Worst part, of course, is this hurts the pocketbook real bad again.  It seems that financially, every step forward is 2 steps back.  But it's only money.  We're safe, in good health, and have a wonderful support system here.  It'll all be fine.

Who knows -- maybe during my stay here, I'll actually catch a fish!

(post from Mitch): SHAME-OUT: Rand McNally's GPS #7730/7735 is poorly designed and should be recalled/replace for free!

Dateline:     Lexington, NC (Written  06/14/16 [ Road-Date3.352(Year3.353 or Day 1083)]   ** (see note at end!)

 Warning.... This is Mitch Here:
 SHAME-OUT:  Rand McNally's 7730 (Good Sam's #7735) GPS is a piece of junk.
OK.  I've had it.
My experiences with Good Sam have made me very very unhappy. 

None so much as my experiences with the RM7730/7735.
(The 7730 is branded by Rand McNally, the 7735 is sold only by Good Sam, but is the same unit.)

To recap in BRIEF. (it's a LONG long saga)

We've had THIS unit replaced AT LEAST four times for the same defect.  The design is DEFECTIVE, and the USB port becomes separated from the GPS's motherboard.  When this happens the unit cannot be charged, or plugged in at all, and becomes a expensive brick.

What makes this worse is that we made the mistake of buying what we thought was an extended warranty from Good-Sam, instead of the usual Square Trade warranties we usually buy on all our electronics.

Wow.  Bad customer service, apparently we bought a one time replacement policy from Good Sam, despite paying almost $75 more then the cost of a three year Square Trade warranty

It turns out that apparently what we thought was an extended warranty was simply a "No-Hassle" extended return period, in which after two units being returned (one for being dead on arrival), we were refused further exchanges from Good Sam.

So, in the time we would have had a solid Square Trade warranty, we have had to have Rand McNally replace the unit.

Turns out it was last replaced per the tracking # on may 11th of 2017.
Last week (5/9/17) I discovered AGAIN that the power connector is hosed.

 Well.  Here's the deal.  I am tired of this poor hardware.  I want satisfaction.
I want (and this isn't a real big deal for a large company), a NEW UNIT that is either RV or truck capable, and will preferably be in a tablet form, so I can use the software on Multiple devices.

Is THAT really asking for so much after putting up with this poor product for so long?

 Summary:
This product sucks.  It apparently is not even  being sold anymore (GOOD RIDDANCE)
perhaps their tablet product will be more reliable.  
However, I don't think I can honestly recommend a product by Rand McNally (even if rebranded with the Good SAM brand).

I thank you for 

• reading this far
• understanding my writing style and ideas are greatly different then Cheryl's
• humoring me with my star-trek (no I am FAR from a trekkie)inspired "road-date" trip information date.
• not spam- botting me with negative comments

 Sincerely:

Mitch B

** Note:

Yes, I REALLY, really do like MY date format.  It tells you (and us) Where and when we've been on the road…  I want YOUR opinion. Leave us a comment below if you think my Road.Date.yr.DDD  is cool, or just STUPID!  

Ingraining memories - Day 1083 (Year 3, Day 351)

Lexington, NC

First, my last post on June 6th: I guess the date got away from me.  Tonight I recalled that June 6th is a milestone date -- On 6/6/2014, 3 years ago, we said good-bye for the last time to our sticks & bricks home in Fanwood, NJ and headed out the door towards our next chapter.  The closing of the house didn't happen as expected (you can read about it if it you click on the Page to the right, "The Next Chapter: Part I).

Anyway, if things go according to plan, we should be leaving here 1 week from tomorrow.  Two things that I want to remember are (1) "our" swing by the lake where we go every Saturday: the beauty of the lake, the smell of the water, the sound of the waves lapping upon the shore, the serenity of the location; and (2) the magical light show at dusk put on by the fireflies.

Our next location will be on the Tar River where they claim there's a lot of fishing.  We shall see how that goes!

This past weekend, and marching orders - Day 1079 (Year 3, Day 347)

Lexington, NC

Didn't mean to get your hopes up too high with that title - there was absolutely nothing to write home about!  It was lovely weather, the campground wasn't too crowded, and the highlight of the weekend was that on Saturday and Sunday we used the pool!  There were still a number of kids in it, so I wasn't able to swim any laps, but at least I could do other types of exercises and keep cool.

Sunday night and Monday we had a lot of rain, so Mitch couldn't work.  He still couldn't work today because the ground is still wet and muddy.

Today he also got a call from his boss with our marching orders.  They actually want 2 people working in this area now, and since they had a couple who was readily available, they decided to move Mitch instead (otherwise they'd have to take a single person off another assignment, and find a replacement for him, ad infinitum).  We're not  moving too far -- about 200 miles -- to Greenville, NC, which is about 85 miles east of Raleigh (we're currently 100 miles west).  Not sure exactly when, but right now it's looking like move day will be Sunday, June 18th (Father's Day).  Our route takes us through Raleigh, so hopefully we can meet the kids for lunch.  But you know what they say about plans....