Quarantine!

We are counting down to Monday when we drive to the Tampa airport to pick up a rental car. We will come back home and pack it with all the gear we are taking north. Then later Monday or more likely Tuesday, we will leave Polk City and head to Indiana. It is time to break out of quarantine and go back to Indiana and pick up a trailer load of stuff and bring it back here.

We bought this place in December and made a trip to Texas to pick up some stuff there we wanted to have here. We will eventually get the Texas palace cleaned out of stuff we want and then we will put it up for sale. But until then we will keep it and probably spend a few weeks there every winter. . . or not. . . whatever strikes our fancy.

This first load we are bringing back includes MinnieMee, the little motorhome, and the enclosed cargo trailer. The trailer is currently stuffed full and in a storage unit in Nappanee, Indiana. It is there with the rest of the household stuff that is all boxed and waiting on a ride to Florida. Also in there is the Miata, my sweet little ride. We first have to get the Miata running and get some new tires on it. The ones on it are original and nine years old. Then we will return the rental car to the South Bend airport.

Then we head to the storage warehouse where MinnieMee is stored. We will get her running and take her to the Elkhart Campground near there. We will camp in her there, but we will first have to empty it into the storage locker in Nappanee. We put all our electronics in MinnieMee so they could be in climate controlled storage, but we need the stuff out so we can live in it. We also have to empty the cargo trailer because we are going to get my organ which is in a different climate controlled storage in Elkhart. We are going to go pick it up and then we will load the trailer with anything else we can fit in around the organ.

We will visit mom while we are there, observing social distancing, but it will be good to see her and Nita. We plan to spend some time sorting through the household stuff in storage and visit with some friends in the camp. We have to get new tires on the Miata, so may do that at that time.

Eventually we will start the trek back to Florida with MinnieMee and the trailer in tow. We plan on going to Mississippi to the family reunion on the way back, if they are going to have it. Haven't heard from anyone if they plan on going. We have lost three more members of the family since last year. Only one still came regularly, but he was there last year and we knew he had some health challenges then. So it will be bittersweet if we are able to connect with the rest of the family.

We have been trying to get things ready for the trip. Getting packed and cleaned out the refrigerator/freezers in the motorhome. We have been raiding it regularly, but we didn't want to leave it running while we were gone, so we got it cleaned out today. It is thawing overnight, and I will get it cleaned up tomorrow.

We have found some people who want our furniture. We bought the house furnished, but didn't want the furniture. We have changed all the beds with new mattresses and foundations, but kept that furniture as it was suitable. They are bringing a truck this weekend some time and taking the rest of what they want. We have new furniture being delivered mid-June when we return back to Florida. That will be the living room furniture. Then the only thing left is the dining room furniture and some bookcases, etc. We intend to get that all from IKEA, but they are currently closed and aren't saying when they will reopen. We hope they will be open by the time we get back and then we can finish up the furniture in the house.

We have been staying home mostly during this quarantine time. Trying to follow instructions to keep us safe. We did our doctor visits by telehealth and will follow up in the fall. We have our masks and our antibacterial wipes to take with us to try and keep things clean, so I'm hoping all will go smoothly and we will stay safe on our trip.

Till next time. . .

Dale

And the beat goes on. . .

We continue with the sale of the house. It is all but empty and the closing is set for September 17. Whoo hoo. . . so what have we been doing?

Getting Terry in shape was priority #1. The Entresto tried to kill him. . . shut down his kidneys and he started filling with fluid. When his tissues started leaking fluid, we knew it was bad. But going off the Entresto was bad as well, because you must be off it for three days before going back on his old meds. But he made it through that. He still wasn't losing the 30+ pounds he gained in the last month, so more adjustments were made and the water started leaving. It took over a month to get it gone, but he is now doing better than he has in two years. Now we think the entire problem was that he was retaining more fluid than he should have been and need a little help with that. He continues to do well and has been a bigger help in the process of selling the house.

We had visits from all the kids and their families in June/July. Jocelyn came first and stayed almost two weeks. We babysat for the kids while the adults took in some activities down in Fort Wayne. That was fun for us and we enjoyed the time with the kiddos.

Brandon's came over the fourth of July. They were here for a shorter time and visited some friends along the way, but we got to spend some quality time with them as well. Love seeing the kids and grandkids.

We sprung for a new jack system on Phaeton Place.  That was pricey, but leveling is not overrated on these big rigs. We went with the "Big Foot" system by Quadra Manufacturing. They are in White Pigeon, Michigan, not far away and we were able to boondock there the night before. They got the new system installed and we were trained on it afterwards. It seems to do exactly what we want it to do. It is different than the other system which was all done with the engine running. This system requires only 12-volt, so the engine is off when it works. Bit of a learning curve.

After checking in with some doctors late in the month, we hit the road in MinnieMee and the trailer to take a load of household goods to Jocelyn. There were items she wanted from the house, so we were happy to oblige. The trip went off without a hitch and we first arrived to her storage unit to off load some stuff, then on to her house to leave the rest of the treasures. We did stay an extra day to visit and to haul the box springs she had bought. Then we headed back to Elkhart. Again, a good trip and MinnieMee seemed to enjoy the outing. We really love that little motorhome.

Since then we have continued our garage sales all summer. I think it has been 7-8 weekends, but we got rid of a lot of stuff. We made around $2000 on stuff we have sold. We rented a 10x40 storage locker in Nappanee which will hold the stuff we are keeping and Li'l Red. We have taken one load and the trailer with another load. Sad to say we couldn't get it all in one load. Once we decide where it will all go, we will decide how to get it there. Our friends Tab and Deanna came last weekend and he used his trailer skills to get the trailer into the storage locker. It was a very tight fit and they never make those lanes wide enough to back straight in. Getting it out should be easier, but that will be next year. We still have some stuff to take over in the car, but it is just one load at the most. We want to do some rearranging of stuff and make sure nothing is setting on the concrete where it will draw moisture.

Everything at the house is now out of the cupboards, etc., and in bags marked for distribution. Today we are taking a load to storage. Monday and Tuesday Terry tore the front end off the Miata to further complete the work he started on the baseplate. He wants to tow it behind MinnieMee. I am so thankful that he is feeling well enough to do that. He is really doing so much better. I know those docs who told him last year he needed a transplant would not believe how he is doing. He's really back to where he was before he got sick two years ago. . . actually I think he is better.

So, we continue to finish up here in Goshen. We will no longer be landlords. Yay! No more headaches there. Not sure what our schedule for this winter is. Virginia for sure to see the kids; Florida for sure to see the kids; after that? Who knows. Probably will end up in Texas at some point to check on the property there. With Mom no longer there, it's not the same going there.

Till next time. . .

Dale

And the bad news is . . .

We left Coleman State Park this morning and traveled down to Red Bay, a total of some 35 miles or so. The first place we went was to Bunk House RV which was said to have a supply of jacks. They did have some. . . all used. . . all takeoffs from motorhome that were replacing the jacks with something different. They want about half price or $350 a piece for the used jacks. We have no way of telling how old they are, they just guaranteed that they worked when they took them off. Well, all our jacks have been replaced at one time, so the new ones don't have a great life expectancy. We are reluctant to trust used ones. And we need two, so that would be $700 and about another $300 to put them on, so we are up to $1000. We talked with one guy about them. . . Everybody down here even in these cottage industries that have sprung up around Tiffin. . . have all worked there and seem to know a lot about the rigs and the systems. When we described for him what our coach did, he said that sounded like more of a controller issue that caused the jacks to break. It was so wild the way it happened. But I am inclined to think the controller had something to do with it because it never faltered. Normally when a jack acts up, the controller starts beeping, red lights start flashing and all He!! breaks loose. This time, there were violent "bucks" and the controller just continued to hum along as thought nothing was wrong.

So we are thinking that if we bought jacks to put on it and it was the controller that was bad. . . well. . . know that money would have been for nothing because the controllers are also obsolete and none are available anymore.

The gentlemen did tell us that he thought a lot of the problem was that Tiffin didn't put on heavy enough jacks to begin with. Perhaps that's why all of ours have broken at one time or another. So we are seriously considering an entirely new system. . . just have to decide which one.

Meanwhile, another problem surfaced yesterday when we stopped for a break, this time on MinnieMee. We noticed the generator tailpipe dragging on the ground. Had to have just happened. A clamp broke loose and it was so rusted that it is unusable. Also a hanging strap was torn and was going to follow the same path. We removed the tailpipe the rest of the way. Today we bought the tools Terry needed to fix it. It required a breaker bar because he couldn't get a rusted bolt loosed with his tools. So when we got to camp tonight, he got it fixed. He did a good job and it looks more professional than what was on it. Now we can again use the generator. We couldn't use the generator because it was exhausted straight down to the ground and we would have had fumes. But we are really just using it when we stop for lunch. He wanted it fixed for tonight because we are getting storms and if we happen to lose power, he wanted options.

We are in our camp now at Piney Grove, our home for several years while we come for the reunion. We are in the same site we always book. . . a really long site with 50 amp. So it's overkill for MinnieMee, that's for sure, but it's a nice level site for her.

Not sure what's on the docket for tomorrow. May hang around camp. We don't have a toad, so if we go anywhere, we have to break camp. That's not hard in MinnieMee, though!

Till next time. . .

Dale

On the Road Again!

Monday morning we left for points south. This is reunion time for Terry's family, specifically, the Pace family, Stephens family, and the Taylor family. Whew. It is complicated by the fact that his grandparents were each married before, had something like five kids each and then were both widowed. So they found each other, got married, and had five more children. It's this last group that organized the annual reunion, held to coincide with "Confederate Memorial Day" although some say that doesn't exist. At least this is what we were told by Terry's parents. Only one of the five children born to this union is still alive and he is no longer able to attend. We miss Uncle Bob. But the children of those last five try to gather once a year at this time and hope that more relatives will decide to join in.

We are traveling in MinnieMee, our little 22 1/2' motorhome. This is the one we bought to take to Alaska. . . and DID! Great trip, but that is another blog (see May, June, July, August 2013. Great stuff there. Phaeton Place is still in the shop and the reason she is there is because she has some broken jacks. Two, we are told. They are expensive to replace and it seems none are available. The Atwood System is no longer built, it is obsolete and while some jacks have continued to be available while supplies last, the Atwood company was bought by Lippert and we all know anything made by Lippert turns to gold. NOT. Turns to sh**, more likely. So part of of this trip is going to take us to Red Bay, Alabama, home of Tiffin Motorhomes, to see if we can find any jacks at any of the supply places there.

We drove to Shepherdsville, Kentucky, Monday night. It was a leisurely drive the last half. The first part was stop and go because we needed to stock up on some supplies and we did so by hitting some of the Amish grocery and salvage grocery stores south of Goshen.

We had a nice night in Kentucky, but we needed heat. So we turned on the furnace. SCREECH went the fan. It eventually quieted down, but we decided not to use it anymore and let Terry fix it once we get back home. Hard to get back to sleep after hearing that!

The next day we took off and made our way south to Bowling Green. We stopped off to find a heater, which we thought might be an impossibility during this time of year, but we found what we wanted and it was cheap. It works pretty good too, because we needed it that night. I turned it on and about 10 minutes later I had to turn it off because we were roasting! LOL

Onward now and at Nashville, we diverted to the Bryley Parkway down to I-40 and then picked up the Natchez Trace. This is the inaugural trip for MinnieMee on the Trace. I did take a picture, but I need to take them off the camera. We drove the Trace all the way to 72 in Alabama where we got off and drove west to Mississippi. We drove to J. P. Coleman State Park in Iuka, Mississippi. We have never been there and wasn't sure Phaeton Place would fit. There actually are some spots she would fit  in one section only, but the other section near the water, was definitely for smaller rigs and tents. Course, MinnieMee fit right in, but we took a site in the upper, much quieter section where it wasn't as crowded. It was very quiet and we slept very well.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Yay!

MinnieMee is home tonight! She's getting ready for a road trip. We went to the storage facility this morning and picked her up. She was so happy to see us, she started right up, all her batteries are up, tires are good, etc. She even fired her gennie up first thing! Whoo hoo! She says she is ready!

We stopped off at Elkhart Campground to fill up with propane and then we brought her over to the house and put her up on ramps to level her and turn on the fridge. The fridge is working! So where are we all going?

The Pace-Stevens-Taylor reunion is June 8 in Marietta, Mississippi. I think we have only missed one year since they started it and that was the year we went to Alaska. It will be a quick trip this year because we will take a couple days to get there, stay the night, then head back to Goshen. We are working hard to get the house cleaned out and the kids are all coming starting the middle of June and continuing through the 4th of July. So we need to get back and get ready for them.

It's always good to get MinnieMee out and exercise her a bit, but this is the first long trip in a while for her. She will be going to Virginia later in the summer as well. But Phaeton Place is still at the service center. They have been trying to find a jack for her, but haven't had any luck. And today when we went over, her house batteries are dead. Not sure what's up with that, but we had been over about ten days ago and even ran the generator to help charge the batteries. So Gerald said he will have the guys pull her up and plug her in for a few days to get those batteries back in shape. That and the fact we still can't level with her means we will leave her here to heal and take the little motorhome. Sure glad we have her.

So I have some cleaning to do to get things ready in the little motorhome, but it doesn't take long. There just isn't that much area to clean!

Till next time . . .

Dale

North to Alaska!

Tomorrow is the day we start our epic journey to Alaska. It will be about 10,000 miles round trip. . . give or take a few hundred miles. Two years of planning have gone into this journey and we hope to have a great time.

We are having to watch some weather to the west of us and hope it clears out of the way before we start through that area. We will go west, up to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, over to the Badlands and Black Hills and continue on to Great Falls, Montana. From there we will head north to the Canadian border and up through Banff and Jasper National Parks. Continuing north from there we reach Dawson Creek. Then we start our trek through British Columbia and the Yukon Territory.

Once we cross into Alaska, we will do what is known as the "Grand Tour," a circuitous route taking in as many sites as we can. Eventually we will make our way to Haines where we will hop onto the Alaska Marine Highway System and "ferry hop" down to Juneau, Sitka, Ketchikan, and finally Prince Rupert, where we will disembark for the last time and start east across British Columbia and eventually back to Indiana where we will probably board a plane soon after and fly to Florida to see our newest grandbaby, due August 4.

Whew. . . I'm tired just thinking about what lies ahead for the next 10 weeks.

We are at the Elkhart Campground tonight with Tab and Deanna finalizing plans for our departure tomorrow. Our rigs are sitting side by side and we spent the afternoon chatting about the adventure ahead.

So here we are. . . Team Alaska!

 Our rig, MinnieMee

 Tab and Deanna's rig

Follow us here on our adventure. I will try to post our nightly location on Facebook, if I can figure out the Spot Connect.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Making Headway!

We are camped in the drive at the condo, both MinnieMee and Phaeton Place are in the drive. The purpose of this arrangement is to get PP ready to store for the summer and MinnieMee ready to roll to Alaska.

We can see light at the end of the tunnel. First off, all the extra doctors I had to see because of my "dry eyes/dry mouth" complaint have decided my problem stems from the medication I started taking for acid reflux and the natural course of aging, which is what I said all along. All the blood work I had done returned negative reports for things like lupus, RA, etc. The only finding was arthritis in my hip and that is not new. That has been a problem for years and the rheumatologist injected my hip making our trip to Alaska much more pleasurable for me. The last item to take care of is our final dental appointment next Tuesday. Whew. Will be glad to get all that behind us.

A few days ago we washed Phaeton Place thoroughly and fought to keep the birds from building nests again in the closed slide toppers. While we were washing one side, they were rebuilding in the other. Grrrr. We had bought some "pool noodles" and cut pieces from them and stuffed in the ends. That seemed to stop it. Never had a problem with this before. Normally they build in the engine compartment. Wednesday night while we were unloading stuff we might need from PP, we heard a really loud guttural sound. It's the sound we normally hear from the occasional sandhill crane flying overhead, but this sounded like it was coming from the garage. We searched and searched and even though the sound would occasionally appear, we could not find the source. We looked on the roof of the motorhome and house, I searched around back, etc., but never found it. We were about ready to stop for the night when we heard it again and determined it was coming from underneath the motorhome. The belly of PP is enclosed, but the engine compartment is exposed and something could conceivably crawl up on top of the engine. We really didn't want a bird up there, but the crane is a very large bird and we could see no evidence of it anywhere. I was laying on the pavement with a flashlight trying to see underneath when the noise returned and I quickly caught my eye on the perpetrator. Can you believe it was a "TOAD?" What a hoot. This little guy was backed up against one of the motorhome's rear tires and was apparently content there. He was blended in nicely with the pavement. I could hardly make out his shape. Actually I couldn't from the other side of the motorhome. Once I showed him to Terry, I went inside for the camera and took his picture. He apparently didn't like that flash, as he shortly made his way out from under the coach and into the grass. A better place for him anyway. No doubt!

Yesterday brought the promise of rain, so we wanted to get PP into storage before the rain ruined her freshly washed exterior, so we went back through, pulling out stuff we knew we needed. We piled it all in the spare room in the house and will go through it as we can, but we succeeded in getting it all out of the motorhome. We then closed her up and drove her over to the storage warehouse. She will sleep in air conditioning all summer while we are gone to Alaska. Back at the house, we continued to work on MinnieMee all day, arranging and re-arranging items in the compartments. We don't have much inside storage for "outside items" so Terry bought a trunk while we were in Texas. Earlier this week we went to Elkhart Hitch and the guys there fashioned us a drawbar and rack on which to bolt down the aluminum box. It really fits nicely on there and give us secure, dry outside storage for things like the sewer hoses, water hoses, grill and levelors, etc. And it frees up some space for me on the inside. We are probably taking way too much. I have a lot of extra food, but hate to leave food I know we would use. So I am finding a spot for it, but won't replace it to the extent I have it packed now. I did remove half our dishes. I had a service for 4 packed away. Reduced that to two to make room for more food. So if you plan to visit our camp at dinner anytime, you must bring your own dishes! Hah. We are still getting items in we ordered. Terry installed a new bug deflector on the front of MinnieMee and it looks very nice. The trunk is all done and Terry really did a nice job getting that all configured. He wanted it to sit up so as not to hang up on anything we drive over. He has put extra hooks up for our casual jackets and we are trying to fashion a curtain on the inside for privacy. Once he gets the hardware installed, I will make a curtain to fit it. We continue to work, although now we don't have to work quite as hard, since we only have MinnieMee with us now.

The little truck is still in the shop. It went in Monday for front end work and will probably be ready Monday. Had to order a lot of parts, i.e., front hub, wheel bearings, upper and lower ball joints, steering column bushings, etc. Oh, and we met a neighbor over in the other subdivision the other day. When we bought MinnieMee, we only had one set of coach door keys. Ignition keys would get us into the front and thus into the coach, but that was cumbersome. We knew there was a locksmith a few streets over and we went looking. His garage door was up and his "locksmith" van was in the garage so we stopped. He made all the keys we wanted (8 total) and wanted to charge us only $5. We insisted on $10 because we had not been able to get the locks made anywhere. All 8 work beautifully and now we have extras. It's time for me to get busy now and get something done.

Till next time. . .

Dale