2nd update - Day 1225 (Year 4, Day 130)

Argillite, KY

Well, thank God, we made it safely here, albeit a day late.  The part arrived about 2:30 pm and the truck was ready at 5:30.  By the time we packed up and hitched, it was 6:00, and we made it to the campground at 8:00 pm (in the dark; it gets dark about 7pm). 

I recall the last time we stayed here, I really loved the place and felt terrible that we couldn't spend more time.  The place is nearly empty right now and I'm feeling the same way -- really wish we could spend a few more days in this lovely place.

Tomorrow's ride brings us into the mountains of West Virginia, and hopefully with our new turbo charger, the truck will handle it well.  The closest campground, where we have reservations for the day after tomorrow, is about 300 miles away.  The plan was for tomorrow to stay either at the rest area 129 miles or Walmart 175 miles.  After that, it's another 122 to the campground.  We really don't like to drive more than 150-200 miles a day, but since we're a day behind schedule, we'll just play it by ear and see how we're feeling.

Update on repair - Day 1225 (Year 4, Day 130)

Lexington, KY

The 6.0L engine on the Ford trucks has a history of being cursed (there was actually a recall about 2 years before we bought it; too late to do anything about it now).  We always learn from experience and hindsight; we would not have bought this truck if we knew about the engine problems.

The problem this time was the turbo charger which went bad.  Dealer needs to order the part but promised he would get it today and we should be back on the road this afternoon.  I guess it's great that we broken down where and when we did.  The turbo provides the power to the engine, and the next leg of our journey will take us through the WV mountains, where we need as much power as possible.  It would have been horrible if we lost this while in the mountains!

Unfortunately, we're told this is not the end yet.  The head gasket, another major engine part, is also known to go bad in this engine, and it's just a matter of time when that happens (we're told it generally happens around 120K miles; we currently have 90K).  Besides the great expense, it also takes 3-4 days to install.  We don't want to wait until it breaks, so we will try to find a non-Ford dealer (regular, reputable diesel mechanic) and have the part replaced on our own time.  Hopefully there's a good place in Williamsburg.

Bubbles, again bubbles... Day 1224 (Year 4, Day 129)

Lexington, KY

We are once again parked at "Camp Ford" - yes, the bubbles in our plans popped, as the truck, yet again, broke down.  We drove about 90 miles and were 45 miles away from our destination of the day (Argillite, KY, near the WV border).  We heard a clunking sound, and then it was vibrating and felt like we had a flat tire (although the tire monitor system didn't detect anything).  Then we saw heavy white smoke coming from the exhaust, which usually indicates an engine problem.  We pulled over to the shoulder, waited a little while to see if it would stop, and when it didn't, called for roadside assistance.  Turns out the closest qualified repair shop was in Lexington, which was 65 miles west - back in the direction we came from!  Tow truck (which tows semis since we had the rig with us) showed up at 3:30 pm (we called for help about 12:30) and we arrived at the Ford dealer at 4:30.  So assuming they can fix the problem tomorrow, our schedule is off by a day.  I'm hoping it's a blown gasket, but who knows?  This is getting very tired. Cursed truck.  Just really hope they find the problem and have the parts to fix it and we can leave here tomorrow, especially since we don't have enough propane or fresh water to dry camp more than 1 night (we planned to dry camp on Wednesday and refresh the supplies today at the Argillite campground).

I'd say "never a dull moment," but sitting in the truck waiting for the tow for 3 hours is extremely dull!

Last weekend in IN/KY - Day 1222 (Year 4, Day 127)

Clarksville, IN / Louisville, KY

Well, this assignment has now come to an end and this is the last weekend we will be here.  Admittedly, it is very bittersweet as I enjoyed the area (still didn't get to see or do everything yet: missed a bunch of bourbon distilleries, Churchill Downs and the Derby Museum and Fort Knox, to name a few things we would have liked to do).  More importantly, however, we felt like a part of the Jewish community and saying good-bye to our new friends is difficult.  As a matter of fact, they actually honored us as well.  Every week, they produce a little newsletter (the Shabbos Schmooze) which lists various times and dates for upcoming events, a little joke column, celebrations, historical dates and sometimes a summary of the parsha (weekly Torah (bible) reading).  We discovered this in this week's Schmooze:

A few translations:  "minyonim" - 10 men, required to recite certain prayers.  "Tishrei" - a Hebrew month in which the High Holidays (Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot) are celebrated.  "Chayus" - vitality.

So, how did we spend these last few days? Finally had some fun!  Mitch went to the gas company on Friday morning.  He needed to return some of his equipment and his maps, so the local boss told him to take the rest of the day off (for pay of course).  As it turned out, there was going to be a community Shabbat dinner at the shul which we planned to attend, and we were sponsoring a kiddush lunch on Saturday, so other than the crock pot of soup, I didn't have much in the way of Shabbat preparations (didn't even need to make the challah).  My work load was also very light, so I decided to play hookey.

We decided to squeeze in more things in downtown Louisville and time it so that we could head straight over to the shul.  We visited another distillery (Peerless).  After a 98 year hiatus (they stopped producing during Prohibition and only started up again 2 years ago), they finally had some rye whiskey available (bourbon won't be ready for at least another year).  The tour and facilities were very interesting, but I didn't care much for the product.

Afterwards, we went to the Science Museum where we were both totally underwhelmed and disappointed.  I was expecting something along the lines of Liberty Science Center in NJ or even the one in Chicago.  This was actually a children's museum and most of the hands-on exhibits were broken.  Oh well, at least we tried.

Tomorrow, Mitch will perform (as the rabbi said), a "trifecta" - attending services Friday, Saturday and Sunday!  Afterwards, we have quite a lot of prep work to get ready to hit the road on Monday morning -- mostly filling the tires and removing all the stuff outside (which will most likely require reorganizing the basement).  This evening we went out shopping to make sure we had meals planned while on the road and to buy some KY bourbon that we probably won't be able to find elsewhere.

Our first stop on Monday will be the KOA in Argillite, KY, which is where we stayed on the way to Louisville.  Last time work was crazy busy and I didn't have time to enjoy the very lovely campground.  Hopefully we'll have a chance this time around.  Tuesday night, we'll be staying either at a rest area or Walmart in WV; Wed. nite is a campground in western VA (Greenwood), and then we arrive at our long term place in Williamsburg, VA on Thursday.  At least those are the plans, but as we always say, "plans are made in bubbles."  Let's pray real hard that these bubbles don't pop and we can get there safely, without incident and on time.  The drive will be taking us mostly through the Apalachian Mountains - a very beautiful drive, but mountainous which always makes me anxious.

Sink fixed - Day 1217 (Year 4, Day 122)

Clarksville, IN / Louisville, KY

And Mitch is the one who did it!!! 

Got a call from the RV tech at 8:00 am, saying that he was fully booked up and the earliest he could come out was next Tuesday.  Not gonna work!  He recommended a colleague, but said since they were the only 2 folks in the area, he suspected he would be just as backlogged.  (I still have not received an answer to my phone call or text).  Next I called a plumber but he did not work on RVs.  Not sure why not since you'd think the plumbing is about the same.

In the meantime, it had been raining hard and Mitch needed to call it quits as he can't work in the rain (he does get paid for 3 weather days a week if needed).  So he took advantage and came home to try again.  He stopped at a plumbing supply store and got some advice about the connections.  He also decided to use knee pads while on the floor.

Five hours later, the sink is fixed - no more leaks so I can do dishes and clean the kitchen once again.  YAY MITCH!!!

Another wasted Sunday - Day 1216 (Year 4, Day 121)

Clarksville, IN / Louisville, KY

It started out on Friday morning. Before starting the challah dough, I wanted to scrub the 2nd sink as it was getting pretty grody (I keep the dish drainer in it).  My faucet can rotate left & right or it can pull out with a hose.  I found it easier to rotate it, however, it was very hard to move and in doing so, I broke it off!  Not good timing as it's a day I need to prepare for the Sabbath with extra cooking & cleaning, so I really needed water in the kitchen sink.

I called Mitch in a panic and he took off of work immediately so he could help.  He stopped at a camping store and bought a new faucet.  He has replaced faucets in our sticks & bricks so he figured it would be a fairly easy task.  Ha ha ha!!!  Little did we realize that there is absolutely no room to work in.  Not only is there about 3 feet between the stove and sink to work (meaning you have to put your body at a weird angle instead of kneeling straight in front of it), but the connections to the faucet are hidden way in the back of the cabinet behind big pipes.  It took about 3 hours to finally disconnect the hoses and fittings.  It took another hour to almost get the new fittings on, but he discovered something wasn't the right size, so he had to run to the hardware store (Menard's) to get what he needed.  He finally got everything connected, but when we turned the water back on, water was shooting out of the hoses and connections under the sink - big leaks!  He took it all apart and added teflon tape.  Same result.  Took it apart again and added pipe dope.  A bit of an improvement but still no cigar. 

I was outside when one of my neighbors came over to chat. When I told of the saga, she said that her husband used to be a plumber and is very mechanically inclined and would be happy to help!  He had just come home from work and would be over shortly.  He came over about 15 mins. later but only provided some extra tools to borrow.  They had some family over so he couldn't help.  Mitch tried again with those tools but still couldn't fix the leak. 

After about 8 hours of doing this, and being on his arthritic knees which at this point were in excruciating pain, he had to give up.  By now, it was almost 4:00 pm and I hadn't even started my cooking or even made the challah dough!  We managed to clear off a part of the counter so I could prepare everything, and we used the tiny bathroom sink as our water source (not easy doing dishes in there!).  Mitch offered Ron $100 to come over on Saturday to see what he could do.  He accepted and Mitch gave him our keys since we would be in shul and then at the rabbi's house for lunch so would be out all day.

Turns out Ron did not show up.  He didn't tell us that his kids and grandkids had flown in for the weekend from Dallas and he was spending time with them (had we known, we wouldn't have asked for his help).  Once we learned about that, the decision was made to call an RV mobile tech.  Unfortunately, no one was available on Sunday, so it will have to wait until tomorrow (and if he can't fix it, next step is a plumber).  The real challenge to fixing the leak is just being able to work in a small, cramped area to access the connections.

Which brings us to today (Sunday, our last day in this area and chance to explore).  Everything from under the sink was laying all over the living room, fireplace mantle and counters, and the dishes were piling up everywhere.  Not to mention that I never got to do the heavy duty scrubbing and vacuuming that I wanted to on Friday.  So given the choice between a science museum or trying to eliminate as much chaos as possible, we chose the latter.  I felt very good afterwards.  Mitch also washed and dried all the dishes and whatever we use until the sink is fixed, I will bring over to the bathhouse and use their sink, even if it's against the rules.  Mitch also used the day to rearrange his stuff in the truck and fix the broken kick plate switch under the step for the central vac.  We then went out shopping (needed to pick up a prescription, drop off some items at Goodwill, and get a bunch of household supplies from Dollar Tree).  We decided to eat out rather than use up more pots & pans in cooking (went to Denny's.  Pathetic -- all the time that we've spent in this area, and with so many, many places to eat, the ONLY place that we've ever eaten out has been Denny's.  I guess it's about the only place where I can get low or no carb food such as an omelet; I honestly don't want to order a bowl of lettuce anywhere or spend $20 on a piece of fish).

Final update - Day 1211 (Year 4, Day 116)

Clarksville, IN / Louisville, KY

The next leg of our journey will definitely be taking us to Williamsburg, VA (part of the "Historic Triangle" with Jamestown and Yorktown).  Truly my kind of place!  Can't wait, except that I don't particularly look forward to the cold winter.  Most likely leaving here on Oct. 30th.

Travel update - Day 1210 (Year 4, Day 115)

Clarksville, IN / Louisville, KY

End date will be the following Friday, Oct. 27th, so perhaps I will have one more opportunity to visit the science museum this weekend.

NJ is not available to us as Mitch needs a special certification for that job.  However, an arm of that same project is available in Virginia Beach (actually, Williamsburg VA) and possibly also in Savannah, GA.  If he works either of those, he will automatically get the certification.  We will know later today or tomorrow if Savannah is available.  In the meantime, I am doing extensive research into which location is more preferable for us (variables include distance between NY and Raleigh, distance to nearest synagogue, availability and quality of campgrounds, distance to "civilization" (supermarket and other stores), and fun things to do in the area.  How I love research!  Of course, after doing all this, I'll learn that Savannah is also not available right now.  But it'll be fun to do anyway.

Some updates, weekend- Day 1209 (Year 4, Day 114)

Clarksville, IN / Louisville, KY

I'm happy to report that I'm finally on the upswing.  Not completely there yet, but was well enough to go to shul on Saturday, as my coughing and nose-blowing was greatly diminished (although not 100% gone).  I was just feeling very weak as all that coughing and nose-blowing drained a lot of energy.  Today (Sunday), I felt like I gained back a great deal more strength.  Still not at 100%, but enough that I wanted to go out and do something special, especially since this may be the last week we're in the area (we'll probably know for sure tomorrow, when Mitch meets with his boss from the utility company.  As to where we'll be heading - more on that below).

The first order of business was to take down and store the sukkah, which we completed by 10:30 am.  We also needed to stop at the rabbi's house to deliver our bag of money (we have a "tzedakkah" (charity) box in which we contribute all our loose change and sometimes bills.  When we're ready to leave an area, we ask the rabbi (or local clergyman) to give it to a needy person or family.  We also needed to restock some items (chocolate, everything spice, and kosher meat) at Trader Joe's (near shul) as we're not sure if there will be another one nearby at our next location. 

The main event of the day, however, that I wanted to do was visit the Louisville Science Museum (we still have a ticket for it).  Unfortunately, when I went to the website to look up the hours, there was a traffic alert.  Apparently there were 2 huge events taking place in and around the downtown area -- Iron Man Triathalon, and Susan Koman Walk for a Cure.  It seemed that pretty much every road going into the city and many within the city were going to be closed for much of the day, so there was no hope of going to the museum as there was no way to get there.  We landed up just doing those few chores and hanging out watching movies the rest of the day.  Mitch was going to clean out the basement or truck, but it was raining on and off and very windy and he didn't want to work outside in that weather.  So we'll see... if we're here an extra week, or if his assignment ends sooner than Friday, maybe we can make another attempt to visit the museum.

Regarding next location - as mentioned in previous posts, we were told they greatly needed people in Houston, especially after Hurricane Harvey.  However, last week we learned that a friend was given an assignment in NJ and also made us aware of something in VA Beach.  Mitch spoke briefly with his national boss who said he was out of the office and needed to speak with other folks regarding the contracts and he and Mitch would hook up again on Monday or Tuesday so he can provide more information. So as it stands now, there's a very small chance we may get to go to NJ.  On the positive side, that would be awesome because so many of our friends and family are there who we haven't seen for a while.  It's also much closer to Raleigh, making it easier to visit our daughter for Thanksgiving.  On the negative side, it's not exactly the state I want to be in during the winter (cold and snow), and the only choices of campgrounds are either (1) about 60 miles away from the work area, or (2) a very convenient but extremely costly place which is basically a large parking lot, with no sewer hookup and no water during the winter (hopefully they have a service that will come to the site and deliver water and dump our tanks).  Alternatively, maybe the company will pay for an extended stay hotel, although we'd still incur the expense of storing the rig somewhere.  But we'll cross that bridge if and when we come to it.

I'll post again in the next day or 2 as plans become more concrete.

Been sick - Day 1203 (Year 4, Day 108)

Clarksville, IN / Louisville, KY

Yeah, that time of year again, when needing heat in the a.m. and air conditioning in the p.m. wreaks havoc on one's immune system.  Started out with a very sore throat, which turned into non-stop nose blowing and then into the yearly bronchitis.  I've been taking all kinds of remedies, and thankfully (so far at least), the phlegm I've been coughing up is still clear rather than thick yellow, indicating an upper respiratory infection.  This started about a week ago.  I woke up feeling a bit better, but it's been on and off all day, which means I'm on the mend, but not quite there yet.  Unfortunately, I had to miss services this weekend and also had to cancel our friends joining us for Shabbat lunch.  They will be out of town for the next 2 weeks, and the assignment here might end in about 2 weeks, so we may not have another chance.  Thankfully we've gone to their home a few times (Rosh Hashanah lunch and break-fast after Yom Kippur).  There's a special event at the shul tonight (Sushi in the Sukkah) and tomorrow night (Shwarma in the Shack).  For tonight, it's accompanied by all the best bourbon.  I've been looking forward to going but at this moment I'm not sure I'm up to it.  If I go, I'll be sure to post about it tomorrow (if I'm not too hung over!)  There are also end of holiday services Wed and Thurs; again not sure if I'm going.

Next assignment is returning to Houston.  Unfortunately, we're told that's the only place they have any opportunities during the winter so not much choice if we want to get a paycheck.  Unfortunately, things have not been going to well with either of my 2 main clients: one had prostate surgery followed by a heart attack and the other one has lost a bunch of vendors thus slowing down his business signifcantly.  So my workload has been extremely light lately (of course, Murphy's Law, when it's time to hit the road, that's when things will get crazy busy again!)

Sukkah - Day 1198 (Year 4, Day 103)

Clarksville, IN / Louisville, KY

Yom Kippur, which was this past Friday night and Saturday was, like the Rosh Hashanah services, very inspiring and spiritually uplifting, albeit very grueling (6 hours of prayer services, followed by a 3 hour break, followed by another 2.5 hours, all while fasting).  I do, however, feel cleansed of sin and starting with a fresh slate.

Immediately after Yom Kippur starts the next holiday of Sukkot. I have a more detailed explanation of the holiday last year:  http://mitcheryl-rv-journey.blogspot.com/2016/10/sukkot-day-851-yr-3-day-118.html and, of course, you can Google it for more information and insights.  Briefly, it is a holiday where we are commanded to live in booths to commemorate our ancestors living in booths while traveling in the desert.  I found this video by Mayim Bialek which I found very moving, and it really expresses the purpose of the sukkah better than I could:  https://www.facebook.com/MissMayim/videos/10159475657410008/

Anyway, this is the 2nd year we were able to build our tiny sukkah.  Out of all the things I miss most about our "sticks & bricks" home in NJ was our sukkah which could accommodate about 20 people; now we can barely fit 2.  But you "gotta do what you gotta do," and living Jewishly on the road can sometimes be a challenge (by the way, if you're a Jewish traveler, I have a Facebook page which you're welcome to join:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/646939988745374/ or search for "Jews on Wheels")

Anyway, here are some photos of Mitch building the sukkah (I helped in the background, handing him stuff) and the finished product, all decorated.  As a reminder, our sukkah was the one created for a promotional video, which climbed a high mountain in Colorado.  I like to think that it shares it's own experiences and views of the landscape with us each time we build it.  Here are it's experiences (once again, here's the video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KnmqT-67P8)

You     

Now decorated (I didn't realize, until I posted these pics, how transparent the tarp was!  You really can't see the background while inside it).