tbutler
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Blog Comments posted by tbutler
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Sometimes we are carried along by circumstances beyond our control. The joy of this lifestyle is that it gives us the freedom to do just that. Being able to be there for family when we are needed is priceless. Perhaps we'll be able to do some of the things we planned for this summer someday in the future, perhaps not. In the meantime, we're making the best of what we have. Hope you have a good winter and can do some of the travel you plan for next year.
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Gramps,
Think of more rules! I really enjoy reading your blog. Tom
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Thanks for the note. We looked at the dates for the convention in Albuquerque in 2010. We already have booked a cruise to Hawaii for exactly that time so we'll be at sea instead of in Albuquerque. We always try to get to FMCA if it is possible. We've made it to four in the last 8 years. We'll be at another in the future. Thanks for all the work you did for the convention!
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Gail and Cor,
I'd say the rabbit owes you a big one! If it can't do better than that I would dump it also. You've given me a new saying, at least we won't sink! As a pilot, my saying is "at least we don't have to find a place to land!"
We had a flat tire on the rear on the way into our parking spot at FMCA Convention in Minneapolis, last summer. Lucky enough to find a shop that could come out and do a repair on the spot. That got us to the shop to get the tire replaced. And we found out we were spoiled one spring at a campground in Pennsylvania when we found out that propane couldn't be delivered to our location, we had to go get it. In Texas where we winter they come through the park every week with the propane truck and you just put a sign in the window to have them stop and fill up your tank.
Enjoyed your story even if it was a sad one! Better luck with June.
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Ouch indeed! I've been there and done that - more than once! The last time it took staples to close the cut. I was busy looking at the ground while walking and then started to bend over to pick something up... At that point I did purchase a hard hat and some safety cones that I put under the corners of the open bay door! So far that is working for me! Knock on wood!
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Well said Gramps, can't wait for Rule #2 and the rest!
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WHOA DUDE!
An Excel spreadsheet! Now that is organized! Just kidding, everyone finds their own level of planning. For me personally, I feel out of sorts when I know that I have to be someplace in the next five days. I hate having to make appointments more than a month ahead. Our plans are always tentative but then we never have to pack or unpack the RV and don't have to work. Sorry about the four letter word! Full timing is about as free as we can be!When backpackers pack long trips along the Sierra Nevada they can ship supplies to way points along their route. You might try that with the Blue Bell Ice Cream! If we were going to be in Colorado when you come through, I'd give you an address to ship the ice cream to...
We keep criss-crossing the country and haven't seen near everything, not even everything we are interested in seeing. We try to make every trip via a different route. Enjoy your trip!
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A couple we know were camping at Jekyll Island and got locked out. Somehow one of their cats jumped up and hit the door lock. They managed to jimmy the drivers window and get back in-all the time it was pouring rain. Now getting locked in-that is definitely a different story!!Of course it would have to be raining when this happened. The cats sure knew what they were doing didn't they? We started carrying a spare key in the toad for just such an emergency! Imagine the fun if the cats (or dogs or grandkids) had jumped on the parking brake release. I keep a collar under the parking brake release so that it can't be depressed by accident. I also chock the wheels every time we stop! Trust but verify!
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I'd love to hear more about this... How do you get locked in so you can't get out? Was it a malfunction of the door lock? How did they finally resolve the problem? This could be helpful information in case we have friends with the same problem!!!
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The good news is that Louise's mother is now home with her youngest daughter and family. Of course the reason she could come home instead of a nursing home is that Louise and I are here to take care of her during the day while everyone else is away at work. She needs constant supervision. We'll be taking her to doctors visits and doing errands for her. We feel fortunate to be able to do this since we are retired. Having the motor home means that home is just a short distance away most all of the time. It is about as convenient as this duty could be.
Thanks for the concern and yes, whatever time we have left with our parents is well worth whatever sacrifices we make to be there for them.
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Wayne,
Surely would enjoy getting together. Unfortunately, everything I wrote was changed when Louise got a call from her sister. Louise's mother had a heart attack last Friday and we immediately changed plans. We may yet get to Florida and if it hits your time frame, we'll try to get together. Right now we are in Denver, Colorado! Louise's mom is doing well and may be released from the hospital in the next few days. I hope I am that plucky when I get to 88! Enjoy your trip!
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Peggy,
What are your travel plans? What direction is Minnie pointed this morning? I'm looking for your next entry. It will be fun to read about your perspective on the whole voyage of getting into motorhoming. I assume that you have not been out in Minnie before... or am I wrong?
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Several years ago I invested in a Flo Jet Macerator. Now I can pump sh*t up hill! I have enough pipe and hose to make a run of over 50 feet! Snap together fittings used for pumps in farming operations (look for them at Tractor Supply, Orscheln or Princess Auto (for you Canadians) make connections a snap and they don't come apart until I unhook them. Now I can't be stopped!
The only time I use the stinky slinky is when I am within five feet or less of the sewer hook up. And, oh yes, give my sympathy to your wife. You should buy her some nice smelling flowers!
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I'm envious that you have help in cleaning the Coach. I hope you pay them well. I'll have a chat with them about that if I meet them.Wayne, They are way to eager to be paid!
They will grow up soon enough. For now, I'll enjoy the Tom Sawyer role and take advantage of their youthful enthusiasm. Their pay will be trips with Grandpa and Grandma. We'll take the oldest boy in the picture and his cousin on a trip through Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky this summer. If all goes well, we'll spend 12 days with them. We plan to visit the Lincoln Home and Museum in Springfield, the Indianapolis Children's Museum, Schimpff's Candy Store and Factory, the Louisville Slugger Factory and the Zoo in Evansville. There are other stops and some time to play and ride bicycles. We'll be within a days drive of home in Missouri if the boys get homesick. -
Ken, Nancy and Katie Too,
The US mail situation has several solutions.
1) We use a company in South Dakota, there are several, ours is MyHomeAddressInc.com (MHA) out of Emery, South Dakota. For about $250 per year they will handle your mail for you as you desire. We also pay for the cost of sending each mailing, any packaging needed and they charge 0.50 per mailing for handling. They will also give you a "home address" as the name suggests. They can register your vehicles in South Dakota and with a South Dakota drivers license (good for 5 years) you will be a resident of South Dakota. Like several other states, South Dakota has no state income tax. This more than pays for the expense of all of the above. We simply e-mail them (or you can phone their 800 number) to let them know where to send our mail and they will mail it to us. We elect to have our mail sent out once every week. We also tell them to send all our mail, they will toss out the ads and catalogs for you want. They hold our mail when we are in Canada. Many times we have them send the mail General Delivery to a U.S. Post Office along our route of travel or where we will be staying for some time. We also ask them to ship the mail via U.S. Priority Mail so it arrives in a timely manner. We have occasionally encountered a glitch (some the Post Office fault, some communications problems between us and MHA) but this has been our method of mail deliver for almost eight years now. There are other states that have similar companies that do pretty much the same thing. Among them, Texas, Florida are two that I know of. We bought a book that covered many aspects of choosing a home state for full timers. I don't have it anymore and can't remember the title but if you search the internet I'll bet you can find it or its updated successor. Look in Family Motor Coaching magazine for some of these companies. There are legal implications to changing your state of residence, be sure to consider this one carefully.
2) I believe that FMCA still has a member benefit for mail handling if that is all you want. You could maintain your residence where you are now. For some retirees there is no benefit in having a income tax free state as their retirement system requires them to pay income taxes on their retirement in their state at the time they worked. I believe the cost for this is pretty minimal. Check your membership benefits on-line or in the January issue of Family Motor Coaching.
3) I have heard some people use Mail Boxes etc. or a similar mail handling company. They won't offer any of the other services that the first category of businesses will. I have no idea what their rates are or how they handle forwarding.
4) There is an organization for Full Timers, Escapees, headquartered in Texas. You get a Texas address and their mail forwarding service if that fits your need. You can use this address for a home address also.
5) Some people have a relative or friend who will allow them to have mail sent to their address and forward it to them. Here you work out the deal with your friends. I guess if you are generous with them, they might not tire of having to sort out your mail, packaging it and sending it to you.
Note: If you have your mail sent General Delivery one of the tips we got when we started was to choose a Post Office in a small town. In larger towns, only one Post Office will receive all General Delivery Mail for that town. It is the main Post Office and may be in a busy downtown not suitable for an RV. We almost always try to do this. We use the U.S. Post Office website to get the zip code for the post office, it has their address and you can get a map showing where that post office is located in the town.
Hope some of this helps you. Glad you have you out there on the road with us. Enjoy the adventure.
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Great! Another blog to read. If you read my last blog it was about a bonfire night. We got along great with a couple from Florida driving a 2007 Monaco Diplomat. Actually we are planning to get together next February with that same couple to tour South Texas. The town of Harlingen actually came up. Plan on having visitors next year. This website is great to keep in touch with other motorcoach owners and their travels.Yes, I read about your multi-state campfire. Sounds like great fun. You'll fit right in with the crowd down in "the valley." We'll plan on seeing you in the fall!
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Roodriver,
Since you love history and the roadside history stops you will love the trip through the great northwest! There are informative stops throughout the area. Plenty of Blackfoot history in Montana and Idaho. Most have room for the RV to pull out. We finally began to expedite our travel by reading the signs from the RV when we pulled up to them. Otherwise we were going to get caught by the snow!
TButler
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Roodriver,
Regarding your query about the road North out of Yellowstone: We drove that road coming in from the North several years ago (2004 to be exact). At the time they were resurfacing it, chip seal. We had chips all over our toad and I never drove faster than 15 MPH. What a mess.
That project should be done by now. Yes, the scenery is great! It is a two lane road, not too much truck traffic.One of the little surprises is a visitors center for the landslide that occurred during an earthquake that struck the area in the 1960's. The whole hillside collapsed and buried a number of campers and others. If you are interested in geology, this is a must see. You park on the parking lot (plenty of room for RV's) next to boulders larger than your RV. These came down from the mountainside on the other side of the valley. It could scare one out of the mountains if you thought about it too long!
I remember reading the Readers Digest articles about this event when I was in high school.There is a nice section along the lake formed by the landslide when it blocked the stream in the valley. There are fishing spots along the drive if you are so inclined. We spent the night boondocking at a rest stop near one of the fishing spots. There wasn't much traffic on the road through the night.
The Rapid Pace Continues
in Tom and Louise on Tour in North America
A blog by tbutler
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Doc Mike,
It is a wonderful part of the country. Louise loves the sea food, I'm more a see food fan. We both really love the coastal scenery and enjoy watching the tides in the Bay of Fundy. We even looked at land, thinking of a summer parking place where we could see the sea! North of Acadia NP, the land prices are cheaper and the scenery is excellent. But our children are in the mid-west and west to California so Maine is not a place we can go every year. If you've never seen the view from Cadillac Mountain on a clear day, keep that on your to-do list. We watched the Cat, the catamaran ferry to Yarmouth on its return run into Bar Harbor. It was quite a sight to see such a fast moving boat. Interesting that we were both covering pretty much the same area.
Tom