West Virginia To Virginia And On To Virginia Beach and More Problems

Virginia Beach, VA.

55 deg. partly cloudy, no wind.

Forecast = Sunny, High 68F. Winds N at 10 to 20 mph.


We left the Summer Wind CG at 9:50 Tuesday morning and continued East on I-64 until we came to Exit 169 (US 219) at Lewisburg. Following 219 South for about 2 1/2 miles brought us to Loudermilk Trailer & RV Sales, where Chris is the general manager. It was about 10:15 when we arrived.

Chris was waiting for us and directed us around to the rear of the business and into a spot where there was an electric hook-up to plug Nora in so that he could check the A/C as well as the furnace operation with the new Thermostat. Everything went well and everything worked with the new thermostat so by about 10:55 we were heading North on US 219.

Once back to I-64 we again turned East and followed it into Virginia and to US 220 at Cliftondale  Park, where we turned South. US 220 brought us down to Roanoke, VA. where we again turned East on US 460. Following 460 brought us to Appomattox, VA and the Parkview RV Park.

It was right at 2:00 when we arrived, so it took us 4 hours and 10 minutes to get Nora's thermostat installed, stop at a station in Virginia to get Big RED a drink of that good old #2 diesel fuel and travel 178 miles.

We've been to the Parkview RV Park before and I don't remember all the noisy traffic on US 460 as well as Rt. 24 at all times of the day and night. I also don't think that the park was as well maintained as it used to be, but still is OK for an overnight stay. Kind of expensive though at $35.10, (after the Good Sam discount), for a full hook-up site with absolutely no other amenities.

It got pretty chilly Tuesday evening, so Jim turned the furnace on. Everything went well for about an hour and a half or so, with the furnace cycling on and off like it should, but then, it quit!!!!!!  Yep, blew a fuse in the new thermostat!!!!!

Wednesday morning before we left Appomattox, Jim called Chris and told him that the new thermostat had also blown the fuse and to ask him if he had any other ideas of what might be causing it to happen. Chris said that he would call the manufacturer and see if they had any ideas and call Jim back. Jim said that we'd be on the road, traveling, so that he would call him back when we got to our destination instead.

So, we left the Parkview RV Park at 9:55 and continued East on US 460. 460 took us over to Suffolk and then to the Norfolk / Chesapeake area where we turned off on I-64 which took us around to Virginia Beach where we turned East on I-264. At exit #20, we turned off of 264 and then took local roads for about 2 miles to Joe and Nancy's house, arriving about 1:40 after traveling a total of 195 miles in 3 hours and 45 minutes.

The plan is to stay here in VB for about a week before heading to North Carolina to see Mike and Gina, in the Raleigh area. However, a lot will depend on the weather and the furnace as to when we'll need to head further South to stay warm.

Oh, speaking of the furnace, Jim called Chris back and he said that the only thing that he and the tech,  that he spoke to, could come up with was a possible short in the wire that goes, first up to the Air Conditioner, and then down to the furnace. :-(

Did you know that on this date in 1930 - J.K. Scott won the first miniature golf tournament? The event was held in Chattanooga, TN.

Woof!!!

Shopping For Clothes, More Furniture, Big RED Gets Recalled and A Neat Web Site

DeBary, FL.

62 deg. overcast, SE wind @ 7 mph.

Forecast = Considerable cloudiness. Occasional rain showers this afternoon. High 81F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 50%.

Wow!!!! I can't believe that it''s been 10 days since I've last posted!!!!!   But, as they say, "No news is good news". ;-)

There's been the normal things going on, like grocery shopping, going to Walgreen's and going out to eat once in awhile at places like Arby's and Gram's Kitchen.

Tuesday, Jim took Big RED to a local mechanic, (Bob Gorman's Alignment and Brake Center) and had his oil and filter's changed. They also checked him over real well and declared that he was "good to go"!  :-)

Then, Tuesday afternoon, Jim and Linda too Big RED and headed over to the Used Furniture Store and purchased a nice end table and Lamp to put in the Florida Room next to the Glider.

I think I like it. It makes the Florida Room look more like a room, rather than a porch.

Yesterday morning, Laura picked up Linda and they headed over to the Mall in Sanford where they bought Linda a whole bunch of new clothes. You see, it all started when Linda was undergoing the Chemo and Radiation treatments. She didn't have much of an appetite, so she didn't eat much. Well, she lost quite a bit of weight and since then, she has been very careful about what she eats and has lost even more. So,   ,  ,  ,  most of her clothes no longer fit!

I guess that was one of the good things that came her from being sick!!

While Linda and Laura were shopping, Jim took Big RED and headed over to the CG to check on Nora. She's doing fine over there at Paradise Lakes. From there he went to an ACE Hardware Store and bought a few things and then headed to Bob Evans for breakfast at lunchtime. (Laura and Linda ate at Cracker Barrel). From Bob Evans, Jim went to Home Depot where he bought a board for a project that he has in mind and then headed up to the Dodge Ram dealer in DeLand.

You see, Big RED has been recalled. Yep. he's been recalled for that air bag thing and they're going to have to replace some of the air bag parts. So now, he has an appointment next Tuesday at 8:00 AM to have the work done. The service manager told Jim that it would take about 3 hours to preform the work, so that'll take up most of the morning. :-(

Nothing much planned for today or this weekend. The weather guessers on TV are saying that it will start raining here this afternoon and continue until tomorrow, around noon. After that, it's supposed to be quite a bit cooler but sunny, so maybe Jim can get going on that project he's thinking about.

Oh, I wanted to share a web site with you that I found the other day. It's called Weatherbase and it gives you all the weather data for almost every city in the United States as well as many cities in other countries.

Here's the link to the site. Weatherbase

Jim says that it should be real handy when planning a trip to different parts of the country, so check it out and be sure to check the links for "features" also as there's some good info there too.

Did you know that today is "National Pie Day"?

Woof!!!!

New Shocks For Big RED

Virginia Beach, VA.

58 deg. overcast, no wind.

Forecast today = Periods of rain. High 71F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch..
Tonight = Rain showers this evening with mostly clear conditions overnight. Low 48F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%.

Way back in April when Big RED first pulled Nora from the RV Dealer's lot to Highbanks, Jim thought that possibly Big RED's shocks weren't in the best condition any longer. But because Linda was still having treatments and Jim was busy trying to get the trailer ready and packed for travel, nothing was done about it.

Jim knew that the shocks weren't real worn out and figured that they'd probably be OK for this trip. He also reasoned that if they became too worn and the ride got too bouncy, he could find someplace to get them replaced along our route. Well, the farther we've traveled, the more bouncy the ride has become, so when we arrived here in Virginia Beach, Jim decided it was time to do something about it.

I don't know if you recall, but 3 or 4 years ago, Jim had Ray, (One of Joe's friends who works out of his garage), replace all the brakes on CLT (Cute Little Truck), when we were here. Well, Ray is very conscientious and is very reasonable with his pricing, so Monday, Jim gave him a call and asked if he'd have timer to change Big RED's shocks before we leave here on Friday?

Jim told Ray that because Big RED would be doing a lot of towing, he wanted him to try to get some replacement shocks that were better than the original ones. Ray said that he had time and would check on the availability of shocks and get back to him. After a day of not finding suitable shocks at local parts stores, he was finally able to find what was wanted at a truck parts store and would be available on Wednesday.  

So, yesterday, Ray came over here and picked up Big RED. He left his little Toyota truck here and told Jim that if he needed to go someplace to go ahead and use it. In about 4 hours, Ray brought Big RED back, with new shocks installed, and told Jim that 3 of the 4 old shocks were definitely weak and in the short drive back here, he had noticed quite an improvement in the ride.

It was dinner time by the time Ray returned with Big RED so Jim hasn't driven him yet. Jim has some errands to run today so he'll get to test the ride later. Then, tomorrow will be the big test when we leave Virginia Beach and Big RED tows Nora back down to Williamston.

We'll only stay one night at the CG near Williamston so that Jim can dump Nora's tanks and then we'll head for the coast, (just south of the outer banks), where we have a reservation at the Surf City Family CG near North Topsail Beach, NC. We'll be staying there for 3 nights and then head down to Myrtle Beach, SC for 4 nights.

Ahhhh!!!! I can hear the surf already!! ;-)

Did you know that Virginia Beach has 28 miles of public beach area?

Woof!!!

Full-Timing RVs and Trucks

DeBary, FL
.

58 deg. clear, no wind. 

Forecast = Sun and clouds mixed. High 83F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph.

Being that nothing important is happening, I thought I'd create a collage of the RVs and trucks that we've had since we went full-timing back in 2001. 

In the top left corner there's Mariah. (You can click on the photo to enlarge it). She was the 1998 35' Winnebago Chieftain gas engine motor home that Jim and Linda had when we started full-timing June 1, 2001. They had purchased her in 1999 and she served us well, taking us all across the lower 48 states many times and even up to Alaska and back in 2002.   

The center photo on the left side is TTT a 1992 Nissan pickup truck. (Mariah named him TTT for Tiny Tin Truck).  He also was with us right from the start and followed along behind Mariah for many, many miles. He really took a beating from all the gravel on our trip to Alaska and in 2004 developed some major mechanical problems, so in April of 2004, Jim traded him off for CLT, (Lower left in the photo), a 1996 Nissan pickup, (Named Cute Little Truck, also by Mariah). CLT's truck bed was the same as TTT's so it was possible to transfer the bed cap from one truck to the other without any modifications.

In 2005, Mariah developed some major structural problems so Jim and Linda traded her for Myrddin, (a 1992 40' Beaver Marquis diesel pusher). (Top right in above photo)

Myrddin was beautiful inside with a handcrafted cherry wood interior and was probably the motor home with the interior that Jim and Linda liked the best. Myrddin had his problems though, and on the first trip out West in 2005 we had major problems with the engine stopping all of a sudden and doing that, during the whole trip out west and back. Jim and Linda took him to many RV repair shops along the way, but no one could figure out what was wrong. 

We finally made it back down to Florida where a mechanic named Lester, at a shop in Lakeland Florida figured it out. Come to find out, it was an intermittent short in a 12 volt electric motor that powered the vacuum pump for the dash heater.  

The problem was fixed, but Jim never had faith in Myrddin after that. 

In 2011 on our way to the RV Dreams Rally in Sevierville, TN, Myrddin again developed an engine problem. This time it was a misfire condition. We made it to the Rally and then after the rally, Jim tried to find someone who could figure out what was wrong. Every place he called, he was told that they no longer had the diagnostic  equipment to check his engine out. Jim finally found a CAT dealer in Bristol TN who had the equipment and repaired the problem, which ended up being a loose wire on cylinders 3 & 4 injectors. 

At this same time, there was also a problem with Myrddin's furnace. When they tried to order the needed parts, they found out that they were almost non existent. It was at this time that Jim and Linda started to look for a newer RV.  

In May of 2011, Jim and Linda found Emrys, a 45' 2000 Newmar, London Aire diesel pusher motor home at a dealer in central Illinois.  (Bottom center in the above photo).

Linda named him Emrys, and he was also very nice inside, but didn't have the fit and finish of the woodwork that Myrddin had. When Jim and Linda purchased him, there were some problems that the dealer said that they would take care of. Well, come to find out, they just patched him together to get him out of the door, and once we were on the road, things started to go wrong. : (   (This dealer has since, gone out of business).

Again, Lester, (the mechanic and his crew down in Florida), came to the rescue and soon most of the problems were repaired and we were on our way. : )

Emrys was huge at 45', great to drive down the Interstates, (steady as a rock), and great to be living in with his 2 slideouts, but neither Jim or Linda had any idea just how much more those extra 5' of length would restrict where we could camp or go. He was no fun at all on hilly, twisty/turny roads, (like U.S. 101 up along the Oregon coast), and we found that many of the campgrounds along the non-Interstate roads could not accommodate such a large RV.

Jim and Linda adjusted our travels though, and soon we were traveling on almost all Interstates and staying in only the larger parks.

I still don't know just what happened to make Jim decide that he thought it was time  to stop full-timing and to buy a house again, but during the winter of 2012/2013, he told Linda that he thought it was time to stop. Now, before they started full-timing, they made an agreement that if one of them ever decided that it was time to stop full-timing, they would tell the other, discuss the reasons, and then stop if that person still felt the same after the discussion.

Well, as most of you know, they did buy a double wide manufactured home down in DeBary Florida. It's in a gated community and there is absolutely no place to park a 45' motor home, much less even get it through the entrance. They do however, have a storage lot within the community where a smaller RV could be stored.

So, the search was on for a smaller RV.

It didn't take long before Jim and Linda found Bobbie T., a 27' Class B motorhome, (lower right in the photo), at a nearby RV dealer that would take Emrys in on trade.

During the summer of 2013, we took Bobbie T, with CLT hooked behind, and traveled from FL to IL by way of Virginia Beach, VA and Apex, NC. At Linda's regular Doctor's appointment in August, she was diagnosed with cancer.

At that time, we came down here to Florida and moved into the Double-wide manufactured home so that Linda could have surgery and treatments, thus, officially ending our full-timing lifestyle in August of 2013.

Since we've been here in Florida, Jim and Linda have traded CLT for a 3/4 ton Dodge pickup, and sometime before fall, will be either selling Bobbie T, or trading her in on a trailer of some kind. The reason for this is that Bobbie T. is not doing well over in the storage lot and Jim is worried about what kind of condition her engine and other chassis parts will be in after such a long period of non-use.

So, that's the vehicles that we've had while Full-timing. We've had a great time traveling all over the lower 48 and up into Alaska and would have liked to full-time longer. But, as we all know, things don't always work out the way we wanted them to.

Did you know that American Eddie Eagan is the only person to have won gold medals in both the Summer and Winter Games? He was a boxing champion in the 1920 Antwerp Games, and also won gold at the 1932 Lake Placid Games in the team bobsled event.

Woof!!!

CLT Goes To A Mechanic, Decorations and A Second Phone

DeBary, FL.

62 deg. light fog, no wind
Forecast = Mainly sunny to start, then a few afternoon clouds. High near 85F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph.

Wednesday, Jim took CLT to a mechanic down on US 17/92. You see, for a while now, there has been a clunking noise coming from his steering wheel, and just lately, his horn has started blowing at odd times while driving down the road. Jim was quite sure that something had come loose in the steering column and didn't want to take any chances of the steering either locking up or coming apart! :-O

The mechanics at Bob Gorman's Alignment and Brake Center did a fine job and soon had CLT's steering repaired. While he was there, Jim also had the mechanic install new shocks on the front and do an alignment. Now CLT doesn't bounce while driving down the road and Jim says that he drives better too. :-)

While CLT was at the mechanic's, (Bob brought Jim back here to the house while CLT was being repaired), Jim and Linda finished decorating the tree. I think it looks pretty nice and I'm even starting to get into the Christmas spirit. ;-)

Then, about 4:30 Bob called and told Jim that CLT was finished and he would be picking him up in just a short while. In about 10 minutes, Bob arrived with CLT and picked Jim up. They headed back to the shop where Jim paid the bill, (Jim thought the charges were very reasonable), before bringing CLT back here.

Since she doesn't know how the chemo treatments are going to affect her, Linda's getting worried about getting everything ready for the upcoming holiday. In fact, yesterday, she and Jim were making a list of things that need to get done before the treatments start. Then, about 2:00 they took CLT and headed out to do some shopping and to see about getting another phone so that they can contact each other.

You see, all these years, Jim and Linda have only had one phone, and that had worked quite well because they were almost always together. Now, since we're here in DeBary, there already have been some times when a second phone would have come in real handy. After checking on how much it would cost to have another phone line added to their regular plan, it was decided to just go with a pre-paid phone, which was much less expensive.

After doing the shopping and getting the phone,  they came back here for while and then headed to Gram's Kitchen in Orange City for dinner.

This afternoon, Linda has an appointment at the chemotherapy  place for a "Chemo Patient Education" session. From what I understand, they will show Linda the facilities, explain the procedures to her and answer any questions she has about the treatment process and the side effects. Jim and Laura will also go along so that they will also have an idea of what Linda is going through.

 Then on the 12th, (next Thursday), Linda will have her first treatment.

A Point to Ponder :  Being kind is more important than being right.

Woof!!!