First Day out (Tobyhanna, PA)

 

Well, we got up around 4 AM to get an early start.  After packing up the truck with all of the clothes and food from the frig, we left the house around 5:30 AM. The sun was just starting to rise.

We made it to Amityville around 6 AM,  not much traffic at that hour of the morning.  After putting all of the food in the freezer and refrigerator compartment we hitched up and backed the camper out by 7:30 AM.

No real traffic on I 495, Clearview, or Throgs Neck bridge.  The Cross Bronx was a different story, as usual, bumper to bumper until we crossed the GW bridge.

Headed west on I 80, until we hit the Poconos, then North on SR 611 to Hemlock Campgrounds.  We are here to unpack and straighten out the camper.  Getting it ready for the next 6 weeks.

It is a nice campground in the a wooded area.  No satellite, intermittent Wi-Fi, good internet on the Air card, though.  One bad thing is the the poor power.  The voltage is all over the place, so no AC.  Didn’t really need it because the temperature is nice and cool.

Last night we had dinner with our good friends, Pauline and Irwin, who have a place near by.

Yesterday we didn’t do much, just relaxed.  Today we will do most of the fixing up.  Tomorrow we will get back on I-80 heading West.

Well that’s our story and we are sticking to it!

See you down the Roan road….

2 Days Left (Flushing NY)

 

38 hrs, 54 min., 24 sec.

 

Enough said.

3 days left - (Flushing, NY)

 

August 1st is the day we leave for Wyoming.

The House is cleaned up and the Real Estate broker is starting to show the house.  The sign goes up on Monday in front of the house.  That is one big scary step for us.  Oh well, soon we will be Homeless.

Monday morning we pull out of Amityville, where the camper is parked, and head west on I-80 again.  This is the same route we took in 1974.

First we will be staying 2 nights in the Poconos to straighten out the camper and rest up.  Then we are headed to Indiana, the Elkhart area.  On August 8th we have an appointment to have a part added to the hitch which will make pulling the trailer smoother and a less tiring ride. 

Then back on I-80 west.  We have to be in Cheyenne, WY on August 26th for the Escapees Bootcamp, for two days.  The bootcamp is for RV newcomers.  After the bootcamp we stay put and the Escapees Rally begins, they are expecting around 800 RVs.

More than likely we will make some stops in South Dakota.  The Badlands area to be specific, Deadwood, Custer NP.,  etc.  We will keep everyone updated as we go.

See you down the Roan road….

Well, We did it!! - Flushing NY

 

Ann and I have been working on the house getting it ready to be put on the market.  The inside has been painted upstairs and down.  The carpet in the basement has been cleaned. We planted flowers in the front and on the back deck.  The front and back yards have been landscaped.

Today we did it.  We signed the agreement with a Real Estate agent to sell the house. 

We have been cleaning, well mostly Ann has been getting rid of many, many years of STUFF.  That is the hard part.

Andrew and Caroline are in from Paris for a wedding and will be staying with us for a few days.  After they leave, the house will be officially listed.

We hope to be leaving August 1st for Wyoming.  We will be taking our time on the way out there.  There is an Escapees Rally the end of August we are going to attend.  After that we will spend some time in South Dakota’s Black Hills and the Custer area. 

We have an appointment at the factory in Kansas on September 14 to have some work done on the Trailer.  We plan to be back home by about September  21st.

I will have more blog updates when we hit the road or something important to say.

To be continued ……

We are Back (Flushing-NY)

 

We are home, well we are in our house in Flushing.  Our home is parked temporarily in Amityville.

Tuesday night we stayed in a Flying J Truck stop.  Now there are Plusses and Minuses to staying at a truck stop.

Plus:  Its Free, Nothing, Nada, does not cost a penny.  That is if you don’t buy any fuel or food there.

Minus: Trucks make noise, A LOT of NOISE.  Especially when they are refrigerated trucks that have a diesel engine to power the refrigeration unit. The units are on 24/7.  What is worse is when they park right next to you and doesn’t leave until 1 AM. But I am not complaining.  After all it is FREE.  I guess the adage is true: “there is no such thing as a free lunch”.

We got up at 6 AM, after finally falling asleep around 1 AM.  Ate breakfast at Denny’s, which is part of the truck stop and left.

We got on the NJ Turnpike and headed north to the Big Apple.  We exited at exit #13 and took the Goethals Bridge, crossed Staten Island.  We waved to Helen and Stu as we crossed Staten Island.  Went over the Verrazano Bridge, up the BQE to I-495.  I must say NYC has some of the worst roads we have seen in a month of travels.

When we got onto the LIE, (that’s I-495 for all of you non New Yorkers), other drivers began pointing to the roof of the RV.  I finally pulled over to the service road at the Main Street exit.  I climbed up the the roof and found that one of the solar panels had broken loose and flipped over onto another panel and breaking it.  Now what to do, so close to home?  Of coarse,  I called Ralph.  I told him what happened and said I would drive to the house, or as close as I could park and call him back.

Luckily, by the grace of God, there was a spot right in front of the house.

If you click on the picture to enlarge it you can see Ralph and I on the roof.

                                  Pictures by Ann

So while we remounted the solar panels, Ann unpacked the RV thereby saving many trips to Amityville where the RV will be stored.

A great big Thanks to Ralph.

I have emailed the factory, where the solar array was installed to see if they will at least cover the cost of replacing the broken solar panel.

Se here we are in Flushing.  Going to doctors, getting the house ready to sell and planning the next trip.  Maybe up through Maine and the Canadian Maritime Provinces. 

To Be Continued…

Ann Saves the Day (Milford-VA)

 

Today we are staying (for one night) in a campsite just north of Richmond VA.  It is the R-D Family Campground.  The owners are friendly and accommodating.  It is a wooded campsite with level pull through sites.  It is too bad we are only staying here one night.  We will keep this in mind when we have time to really explor the area.

Now you ask how did Ann save the day?  It is a long and sad story with a happy ending.  The hinges on the rear compartment door broke. 

So Ann offered one of her favorite belts for Job.  I removed the broken hinges and cut pieces of her belt to make a temporary hinge until we get home and can order new hinges. 

Now I owe her a new belt (and whatever else) once we get home.  OK,  Ann wrote that so we will see!!!

Ralph, it looks like we have a lot of work to do starting next week.  The list of things to do on the camper keeps growing.

To Be Continued…

Heading Home? (Surf City–NC)

 

Well, that’s a bummer.  Who would have thought that one month could be so short a time.  Well, I guess time does go fast when you are having fun.

Yesterday we drove up US 17 from Savannah to Surf City NC.  Surf City is about 25 mile north of Wilmington NC.  Since we could not get a campsite close to Wilmington we decided to go up the coast and find a campsite there. We could then go back down to explore Wilmington.

We are now in a really nice campsite right on the ocean.

There are about 350 sites, most are permanent or seasonal. 

Today we drove down to Wilmington to see the city and visit the Battleship North Carolina.  That is one big boat, or I mean ship.

The North Carolina was a WW II Battleship that saw action in the Pacific theater fighting the Japanese.

We then walked around Wilmington’s main shopping area and river walk.  It looks like it has been hit hard by the recession, as there were about 5 empty stores on the main shopping area.

Well, tomorrow we start heading back towards the Big Apple.  We will head up I-95 taking our time and should be back on May 19th.

To Be Continued…