A Typical Pull Out??

What a start for a 6-month trip!

We talked the CW in MB into actually finishing the installation of our Fridge last night, so they, of course, made the mechanic work over until it was installed and working OK.

Then, as instructed, he parked the Rig outside of CW for us to take our unit early and hit the Road!

Well, we got up at 5:30 this morning. Yes, I said, 5:30AM!

We packed our fridge stuff, our overnight bag, and of course Helen had to sanitize the house because Star is coing down for the weekend and using our house, and we drove in the dark of night down to the CW store.

We finally got down to the RV, loaded up, and pulled up to a Gas station that sells Diesel, and I can get my Rig into with the Jeep tied to it.

Guess What?

6:30 in the morning is when all of the Beer and Cola distributors deliver their goods for the day to these roadside establishments.

And ............ Just guess where they park?  Right at the end of the long line of fuel pumps, which b ythe way is where they put their only Diesel fuel pump.

So, I had to go inside and ask;  "Which one of you is the Miller guy, and which one is the Bud guy?

Well, out of 5 different guys in there, two of them lifted their heads with a very impressive scowl, and both of them said; ME, WHY?

I stepped back a bit and then I responded.

"Hey Guys, I have an RV out side and I need to get to the Diesel pumps, and you guys are blocking them."

Well, Their scowls deepened and one said;
"I got about twenty more minutes before I am finished",
and the other looked at me as he wanted to remove some of my organs, and said,
"and I need more time than that".

I just smiled at them both and responded;
"Well, I am presently blocking the road, going down to a subdivision, and there are already two cars out there with pissed off people in them."

"I'll just go out there and tell them that you two guys need more time, and they should talk to you?"

"Who Knows?" I said;  " Maybe a Cop will drive up and I can explain to him why I can't move my Rig because you two are blocking the pumps and are too busy to move your trucks."

As I turned to go out the door, I heard several strings of profanities thrown at me but the two guys actually got to their trucks, before I could get to my Rig.

As they moved, to where they should have been anyway, by the way,I smiled and waved to them, mouthing the words "Thank You!" over and over.

I filled up ($236 poorer) and I hit the road "South  Bound and Down", as the song goes.

We put in a good 7-1/2 hours in the RV with only a couple of "Stretch, Pee and Eat" stops.

Finally I was south of Atlanta (daily goal #1), and into Alabama (daily goal #2), so we looked for a CG to crash in for the night.
No Wally-World and No Rest Area, tonight.
I wanted AC, Hot Food, Cold Wine, and a good nights sleep.
I plan to run tomorrow!

So, We are presently sitting in a CG in LaGrange, Ala. and:    OMG!     OMG!     OMG!

I will have to tell you about this place after we leave in the morning.

What a Dump!  (but with Good Intentions!)

The Adventure has begun!

In Texas and Lickin' my Wounds!

Yeah, That's what I said;  LICKING MY WOUNDS!

We pulled out of Abita Springs, just north of New Orleans right at daybreak.

We topped off our fuel tank (Gulp!-------$242).

And we pulled out onto I-12 (which blends into I-10 in Baton Rouge) and put the Rig in Auto-Pilot.

We stopped to Pee twice, and eat Lunch when we crossed into Texas, otherwise, we cranked.

We ran at 70-73 mph, (cruise control) the whole trip except when one of the many Brain-Dead drivers, that populate the Roads of America, tried to kill us.  This only happened every hour or so, so I guess most of these "Zombie Roadies" were busy preparing for Halloween ..... or whatever.

Anyway, we rolled up to San Antonio, and took a left in to the "Hill Country" of South Texas.

It really is beautiful, and we are going to drive back through there and catch some good Pics to share in a couple of days.

And, there I was, over 9-1/2 hours of jockeying a Big RIG on the Interstates, Back aching, eyes burning, arms weighing over a ton each, and what happens?

There we are less than to miles from our CG, and my Garmin decides to Piss in my Oatmeal.

That;s Right, Piss in my Oatmeal!

The map system tells me to turn right onto a little street called, what else "D" street.

Hell, I didn't know!

I've never been here before.

Well, it turns out that my CG is very near a booming Lake area, Medina Lake.

It is booming so much that many of the aggressive developers have gone out and run bulldozers through teh Mesquite trees and Cactus, and Rocks and Sand, and marked off hundreds of streets.

They even put up signs with proper names on them.

So, some A-Hole at Garmin, went and added these unreal streets to their maps.

So, what is the Big Deal?

OK, These streets are wide enough for one car to go down.

I own a 42-foot, Rig with a 18-foot Jeep tied to it's tail.

Try to make a turn at an intersetion that is this narrow.

I only drove 6-blocks and made two turns before I got to a real Road.

I figure that I only took out 6-10 Mesquite trees and a couple of Cactus with the RV.

Needless to say, I now need; not only a good wash job, but also a good Buff and Polish of the paint job.

Anyway, we checked in to the CG, and went over and selected a campsite.

I unhooked the Jeep, and?

The Battery was Dead.  I had put the ignition key in the wrong position, and the RV sucked down the RV battery.

I had to bum a Jump off of a fellow camper, and we backed into our site.

What else could go wrong?

You will not believe this, but You remember that our trip started two months late while we waited for some major parts for the Fridge?

Well, We opened the door, to assure that it had switched voer automatically to AC fro Propane, and

OH Yeah!

The Freakin' Freezer Temp was 35, and the Fridge temp was 48!

The damned newly rebuilt Fridge was not operating properly.

We walked around and cursed for a while and then after we calmed down, we opened some nice Chardonnay, and went Zombie for the night.

We got up this morning and those temps had dropped to 31 and 35, so we had hope that we could use the Fridge after all.

But, again, Murphy stepped in, and while we took a midday trip to Bandera, the temps had drifted back up to 33 and 37.

I called the brilliant people at Camping World, and they gave me a list of things to test and check tomorrow and call them back.

Banderas was cool,and I will write about it tomorrow, but right now, I think we have another couple of bottles of that Chardonnay somewhere, and ........ you know ....... What the Hell!

We are on Holiday! What else could go wrong?

G'Day!

Day 2 and 3

OK, day-2 was a little rough the next morning!

Way too many Jalapeno's and different cheeses and onions and green peppers and spices.

Oh ...... and corn chips!

Looked good!

Smelled Great!

Tasted Fantastic!

Next Morning?  Not such a great idea in the copious quantities that they were consumed.

So, my plans for yesterday were dramatically modified so I could stay in the house and near the throne!

As to my "Open Display" food management plan on the counter top?

Well, I have had a couple of accidents that dumped enough stuff onto the floor so that when I walk into the kitchen, I am greeted with a medley of crunching sounds as I walk through.

I was going to vacuum, but then I figured that;  What the Heck!

Leave it and just vacuum the kitchen ONCE!

The day before Helen gets home.

As to the crunching sounds from the crushed chips?

I had a great idea.

I put a pair of Crocs at the doorway into the kitchen, and slip them on when I go into the kitchen, and off when I leave.

Working Great so far.

Today?  Well.my internal systems are back to functioning properly, so I will be down at the RV for a couple of hours tinkering with that noisy roof fan in the kitchen.

I will either fix it, or make sure that it is so broken that it will need to be replaced.

PS. You know those Eggs that you can pour from a carton?
I found some this morning, in the back of the fridge.
A note to you all ......... Don't spill that stuff on a rug!
What a sticky mess!
I decided to let it dry and maybe I can rub it off then.
Wish me luck.

On the Road ..... finally!

You would not believe what we have gone through over the past week.

You think that this picture is of an RV, Right?  Nope, it is a used RV wrapped around a new Fridge!


As the old Country song says; "I been Lied to and ..............".

Anyway, the Fridge is completed (or so I have been promised?)

And, early in the morning we are going to drive down to the CW store, long before they open, and load up our new Fridge with food, and finally head to Texas.

I am going to try to get on the road early enough to get out of MB, and on the South side of Atlanta by tomorrow afternoon.

If all goes well, I will pop into a campground for thenight and get a good nights rest and continue on from there down to Baton Rouge.

I figure that two long days of driving, and I can make up for one of the days we lost.

But, I am not going to push it.  IF I have problems, or get tired, or whatever, I am going to pull into a truck stop or a Wally-World and shut down early.

I have done those 10-hour-plus driving days, and they really pull you down.

I don't need that.

So, I will have to play this whole first part of our trip to Texas by ear.
What does ON-THE-ROAD look like?

Check it out!