Ready to Move (Livingston, TX)

 

We are still here at Rainbow’s End Escapees Park.  Actually, we are waiting for a new slide topper to arrive.  The one we replaced in Atlanta isn’t working out and I had to order a new one on the internet.  It is scheduled to arrive tomorrow.  I will try and install it, with the help of a local RV repairman, and we should be on the move Saturday morning.

Monday we went to the Johnson Space Center with our friends Bob and Sue.  We met Bob and Sue, who also have a New Horizons RV, when we were both having work done at the factory in Kansas last summer.

We spent a great day touring the center.

Next stop is The George H. Bush Presidential Library.  More to come when we get there.

P.S. here is a picture of Ann with her official RV Driving School Certificate.

Live IS great on the Roan Road…

High Fives for Ann (Livingston, TX)

 

We are still here at the Rainbows End, the Escapees park.  We are staying here a few days longer so we can have the slide topper fixed again.  I had it replaced in Atlanta but now it is binding when the slide is brought out.  So I ordered a new material and will replace it.  It won’t be shipped until Monday, so it will not show up here until at least Wednesday. 

We found out that one of the driving instructors from the RVDrivng School is staying at the park.  So I arranged for Ann to take a lesson.  The lesson consists of two, four hour lessons split up over two days.  I was the ride along in the back seat.  I was warned not to say a thing under penalty of death.  The first day we took the camper to little used parking lot, where Ann practiced driving turning and backing.  The next day Ann hitched up the camper and I took it to a different parking lot where she practiced backing into a space.  Then she took the camper on the road, into traffic, making turns and getting onto and off the highway.  When we got back to the campsite Ann backed the camper into the site.

High Fives for Ann.  We are all very proud of her.

Life is good on the Roan Road…

Some Excitement this Morning (Livingston, TX)

 

After leaving the campsite at Ft. Pickens NP, we spent a few hours at the Navel Air Museum in Pensacola.  We had a guided tour,  It is a very well done museum.  They had Naval airplanes from it’s  beginning to the present time.   I would have liked to spend more time there, but we had do push on.

		Naval Air Museum VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

That night we stayed in a campsite in Biloxi, Mississippi right off the interstate.  We stopped around 2PM after some 250 miles.  We got up the next day and left around 9AM.  We continued West on I-10.

The second night we stayed in a campsite, also off the interstate, in Frog City, Louisiana following the same schedule.

When we travel like this, not in a great hurry, we stay in full hookup parks from Passport America.  Passport America has affiliated parks all over the US and they are 50% off, which makes it reasonable.  If we are really pushing it we will stay dry camp in a truck stop or Wal-Mart.  Get off the road around 6PM, eat, go the sleep and get up around 5AM and take off down the road.

    Welcome Center Entering Texas                                   Nice Welcome

On Thursday, we arrived in Texas!  We exited I-10 at Beaumont, TX and headed north, taking mostly two lane roads.  Boy oh boy, is Texas a big state.  Alaska is big, but there are a lot of beautiful mountains.  Texas is big and very flat, at least this part is.  The houses were far apart.  I guess you could call them ranches.  Everyone has an RV in their yard.  What do you want from 2 NY kids from the Bronx/Queens? (Note from Ann to “Those That Know”:  this road reminded me of Babylon, NY once upon a time when those were the days!)

We arrived at Rainbows End RV Park, which is part of Escapees, around 12:30PM and picked a spot, then went to register.  We planned to stay here until Monday and then take off for Las Vegas, visit with  Vic and Judi, and come back to Texas for the New Horizons rally, but things change.  After planning out the trip using Streets & Trips, which has a built in trip cost calculator, I realized the trip up and back would cost us over $1000.00 in fuel.  So we are staying in Texas until after the rally and then go to Las Vegas.

There is a lot to see in Texas besides George W.  Some plans are to see the LBJ and George H Presidential Libraries,  San Antonio and the Alamo, and Big Bend NP to name a few.

We were just laying in bed this morning around 7:30 when both our cell phones went off.  A message came on “High wind and Tornado Alert.  Get out Now” .  It was the “Get out Now” part that got us moving, fast.  We got dressed, put on our rain coats and took off for the Laundry Room.  It is a brick building with restrooms around the back.  There were about 6 of us there.  Don’t know about everyone else, I guess if you don’t know what is happening then you are OK.   Then the power went out.  We could see on our smartphone the track of the storm.  So when it passed we went home.  The power was out, I switched the hot water heater to propane.  The refrigerator automatically switches over.  All the lights are on 12V DC so they run off the battery. We made breakfast and sat down to relax.  We have our computers and the internet. If I wanted to I could turn on the inverter and have Satellite TV.  Life his hard living off the grid. 

Well the power just came back and the rain is stopping too.  All is back to normal.

Notice on the “States Visited” map, there are few more states filled in.

Love to Karen, John, Tommy and Mikey – delighted to hear that everyone in improving nicely.

 

Life is good on the Roan Road…

On Our Way West (Ft. Pickens NP, FL)

 

We spent a great few days visiting with Fran and Rick.  We also spent some time with Seth, Cierra, Chase and Cohen.

We left Largo, Florida Friday morning.  We took I-75 north and connected to I-10 west. After 320 miles we exited I10 at Pensacola and headed south through the tourist town of Pensacola Beach and onto the Ft. Pickens National Park.  Since we have the Senior Pass we can enter any NP, no change, and camping is half price.  That’s $10 per day for electric and water, there is a dump station we can use on the way out.  Since we will be staying 3 days it is no problem.

OMG SNOW IN FLORIDA???  No it is just pure white sand.

Our campsite at Ft. Pickens NP

 

                                   Santa Rosa Island Beaches

Today we went to visit the actual fort.  It is at the tip of Santa Rosa Island on the Pensacola Bay.  It’s claim to fame is that it was one of four forts that while being in a Confederate state it was in Union hands for the entire  Civil War.  Mostly because it wasn’t worth the effort to invade.  The other claim to fame is that it housed the famous Indian leader Geronimo after he was captured.

Next we visit the Naval Air Museum at Pensacola then head west.

Life is good on the Roan Road…

Taking in the Sun (Largo, Florida)

 

We pulled out of Jones RV park around 10AM this past Saturday (after 3 days of pouring rain.  We thought we would have to hitch up in the rain, but it was only overcast and cold.).  We  turned south on I-85 then to I-75 south. After going through some heavy downpours around 5PM we pulled into a Super Wal-mart in Lake City, Florida with 300 miles behind us.  Along with several other RVs we stayed the night.  We thought we were finished with the rain, but it poured all night. 

One good thing, the temperature was in the 70s. We got into bed around 9PM,  When we are on the road and dry camp, we usually get into bed early and get up early.  Around 5AM, we got up ate cold cereal for breakfast and off we went in the dark.  Driving down I-75 we watched the sun come up.  Not much traffic at that hour.

Around 12PM we pulled into Rainbow Village RV park.  The temperature was 79 with a partly cloudy sky. Finally real warm weather.  This RV park is a mixture of RV’s and Park models.  The streets are narrow and paved.  With the help of one of the park hosts we managed to back into a corner spot. 

I turned on the A/C and we both relaxed.  Actually, sat back and checked my eye lids for holes. Didn’t find any.  At 4PM we went over to Fran and Rick’s for dinner.  It was good to see them again.   We returned home around 8PM watched Blue Bloods that was recorded and some of the Oscars and went to bed.

Now it is 10AM, temperature 73 and sunny.  The A/C is running.  Jealous anyone up north? 

We are planning to leave here on Friday and head towards Las  Vegas.

Life is really good on the Road Road…

The End is Near (Norcross, GA)

 

After being in Atlanta for the last 5 months it is time to move on.  Ann will finish physical therapy next Thursday.  So we are planning to leave on Saturday morning for Florida.

This morning we woke up to take a shower, no water.  It seems the temperature dropped last night into the upper 20s so the water hose froze.  Not to worry thought.  We just turned on the pump and used the water from the onboard tank.  Later in the morning I went outside into the “bitter cold”, by then it was about 35 and the sun was shining, took my trusty heat gun and melted the ice in the hose.

We will be visiting with Fran and Rick,  for a few days and then on to Las Vegas.   We are looking forward to seeing our family in Florida.

After Florida we will be going to Las Vegas to visit Judi and Vic.

Stay tuned!

Life is Great on the Roan Road…

We sprung a leak (Norcross, GA)

 

Ann is doing great.  We just came back from the doctor and Ann got an A+.  The doctor is very pleased with the way the hip replacement turned out and how she has recovered.  She has been doing her excises religiously.  We go for walks around the campsite and she doesn’t even limp any more.  The incision has healed and the home nurse has discharged her.  The home therapist has also discharged her.   We are going to have some out patient therapy for a few weeks. Then we are outa here.  We are thinking on heading down to Florida’s west coast and onto the Keys.

Last week, with all of the rain,  I noticed water coming from the top of the window by the dinette table.  When the rain slowed I got out the ladder and checked for any gaps in the seal above the window. I did not see any but put a bead of sealant over the top of the window.    Well that did not stop the water.  I removed the inner metal ring on the inside of the window that holds the window in place.  I could see the water was coming from the top above the window. 

The dinette is on the main slide out.  On top of the slide is a slide topper, which is a canvas awning that covers the top of the slide.

I could see the rain collecting  on the slide topper and leaking through to accumulate on the top of the slide.  It looks like the seal on the fiberglass slide must have a hole in is somewhere.  Nothing can be done until the rain stops.  I searched the web for a dealer that sold Eternabond, a strip that bonds itself to the roof.   After finding a local dealer,  the roll isn’t cheep,  I waited until the weekend and sunshine.  With the help of a neighbor, (Ralph, where are you when I need you?), we released the slide topper and I cleaned the surface with Acetone and applied a primer.  Then put down the Eternabond and rolled it down.  Hopefully that should seal the leak.  The problem is, the slide topper fabric has to be replaced, actually all three should be replaced. 

Thanks to Google and You Tube I found out how and where to replace the fabric.  I doesn't seem to be too hard. It just takes two people,… Ralph.

I think we are good for now. 

Life is Good on the Roan Road…