Tough Choices

When I had the idea to sell my house, divest myself of most of my belongings, and become a dedicated full timer, I guess I thought making decisions from now on would be easy.  Almost from the start that has not been the case.  This summer has turned out to be no different.

Starting off excited

Back up to last fall.  My road buddies Mary and Fay are brimming with excitement about the summer trip they have planned.  After spending the winter at our favorite refuge in New Mexico they would return to Georgia and park their 35' class A motorhome there.  Instead they had plans to move into a trailer purchased by Mary's mom, Lucille.  That's where the excitement begins.  The five of them (Mary, Fay, Lucille, Spike and Harley) would spend the summer zig zagging across the US starting in April and ending up in Alaska by June where they would spend some time before taking a different path back to Georgia by August in time for their fall/winter gig.  I have to admit, I'm jealous and following their blog posts just makes it worse.

Running into a little problem along the way

So one night we were sitting in the Volunteer Lounge talking about their trip when Natalie, a ranger from the fire section and a good buddy of ours, joined in the conversation.  Natalie reminded us that she grew up in Alaska.  In fact, she still has siblings living up there.  Before long a plan was hatched that Natalie and I would fly out to Alaska and meet up with the Zig Zaggers and really have a blast.  Having been to Alaska twice you would think I had seen enough, but how can anyone walk away from a trip to the last American frontier with a local guide?  I was pumped.

All fixed for now.  Hope it holds!

Now let's back up to the end of February when I had to spend a large chunk of my "cushion" fund to buy a new towed vehicle and have a tow plate installed.  Here comes the tough part.  In order to have a new car I had to forfeit the Alaska adventure.   Instead of fishing for salmon in clean northern waters I will be working at a switchboard 5 days a week building up my "cushion" again.  I am now working on making the best
of the "mature" decision - living out the trip vicariously through Mary's blog posts and telling myself there's always next year. 

Whether or Not There's Weather

Beginning of my icy visit to Hohenwald

Whether or not there’s weather, you just gotta go!!

One of the things you really have to keep an eye on when living in an RV is the weather. If your awning is out and it gets windy, be prepared to deal with an awning tragedy. I learned that lesson in Cedar Key, FL back in 2013.

Rain is not usually a factor, unless you have a roof leak. Back in December I returned to Thor after a Christmas party to find water dripping in around the front passenger window. Not much can be done while it is raining except try to catch the drips. A few days later I went in to Camping World in Nashville where they determined the window needed resealing. Confident things were fixed I moved on down to Hohenwald for the holidays only to find that I still had that window leak. When a friend came over to help me put up a tarp we discovered a small crack in the caulking on the roof, just above where the water was coming in at the top of the window. Ah hah….. I had a roll of Gorilla tape that much to my surprise kept the rain out until I got a warmer, dry day that I could get up on the roof and re caulk. I kicked myself for not checking the roof caulking after the first go, but then, why didn’t the service guys notice it? And why did a 6 month old RV need re caulking anyway? Oh well, the damage has been cleaned up now and no more leaks.


Thor has a propane furnace and a 13,500 BTU roof mounted air conditioner. While I’ve only used the air a

Snowy days in Nashville

 couple of times, so far it works. The furnace, on the other hand, has had a workout already. In New Mexico I used up 2 thirty pound tanks of propane. And of course I spent the coldest 3 months of the year in Tennessee. I’m not sure how many tanks I went through, but I was glad I had my buddy tank hooked up. In February I was iced in at the house in Hohenwald, and I ended up staying in Nashville an extra week in March because of the snow. Through it all my furnace kept working great.

Best way to cook

Now that I’m in Georgia during the famous April showers, I’m very glad the roof caulking is in good shape. We have had a few sunny and even downright warm days. One evening was so nice I cooked dinner on the campfire. Would like to do that again soon if I can get some of my fire wood to dry out.

Of course it is tornado season in the south, but so far they’ve stayed away from Georgia. Still I’m keeping an eye on the weather channel. My good friends Mary and Fay along with Mary’s mother Lucille have headed out on their zig zag path across the country to Alaska. The best I can tell from my last communication with them, they are heading right into tornado alley. But hey, as my dear departed husband once told me about 3am one morning as I was watching the weather channel while he tried to hurry me up to go deer hunting with him, "No matter what the weatherman says, we’re going anyway." Yep, Larry, we’re going.

 

I'm Back....!

Started this blog back in August.  New home, new blog.  Seemed like a good idea.  And I think I wrote maybe 2 entries.  My brother Mike has been after me to pick this blog back up and start writing it again.  So, yes, I’m back, Brother!

So I made a big decision to buy a new RV.  Not just new to me, but new new.  This is where you swallow hard.  I took on some debt but I reasoned that this is my retirement home, not just an RV.  My first RV was called Horizon Seeker so it seemed like I needed to name the new home too.  Well, not too creative on this one.  It's a hybrid of the class C and class A made by Thor, so I call my new baby Thor.  I figure if I'm out in a bar one night and some guy tries to pick me up I can just say I have to get home to Thor.  Sounds like I'm headed home to some god-like muscular guy, doesn't it? 



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After 4 years of sleeping on the couch I finally have a bed, and a bedroom.  Plus a kitchen that I don't have to move out of to allow a guest access to the bathroom.  Storage is no longer a problem.  In fact, I even have room for a wine locker now.  Even though this new baby is only 5 feet longer than Seeker it feels huge.  No sense in me telling a lie – the transition hasn’t been as smooth as I thought it would be.  Where I knew all the little noises and oddities in Seeker, I am still learning my way around Thor.  Every day is a learning experience, some lessons easier to learn than others.  Overall though it is a lovely new home that I enjoy living in no matter where I am.  And where have I been since August you ask?

NEW MEXICO: After picking up Thor in Flagstaff and a short visit to the Petrified Forest I surprised my buddies back at Bosque del Apache when I returned in my new digs.  It felt good to be home again at the refuge with all the cranes and geese and ducks and other wildlife (staff included).  Had a great time there once again and hated to leave after the festival, but family back home was wanting me home for the holidays.

My trail across Texas

TEXAS:  It took me 5 days to get across the Lone Star State.  First 2 days were really windy and I was just getting used to how Thor drives so I moved along slowly.  Also stopped at Port Aransas, a little off the straight line home, to see the whooping cranes.  Finally got through Houston about midnight on the fifth day and drove into the first Louisiana rest stop I could find.  That was a long journey.  It only took me one more day to cut across to Natchez, Mississippi and an easy drive up the Trace giving me time to really get the feel for Thor. 



RV breakfast in Thor with Aiden

Gotta love Tennessee roadside attractions

TENNESSEE:  Finally got back into the state in time for a lovely week at Henry Horton State Park meeting up with some caching buddies I hadn’t seen in a while.  Eventually Thor and I found our way to Hohenwald and home.  The grandkids loved it of course and I had to make arrangements to let them each spend a night with me.  There were some things I needed to get done on Thor so I spent nearly 3 months bouncing back and forth between home and Nashville.  Well, there was that and then there was the weather.  For one whole week in February I was iced in in Hohenwald!  Then I ended up in Nashville buying a new car (well, not new new but new to me).  That’s right, my little orange Punkin finally wore out.  So now I have a Honda that is very easy to tow and easy on gas, both of which are high criteria for me. Finally, near the end of March, after being snowed in in Nashville for a week while waiting to get the tow base put on my new car, I got out of Tennessee.



Lucille cooked dinner in the rain

GEORGIA:  My first stop was to visit Lucille and the girls in LaGrange. 

Colton had fun at this cache in Newnan

Had a fabulous week visiting with Lucille and getting to know the family there.  The girls had to run errands in Jacksonville so I didn’t get to spend much time with them, but Lucille and I found lots to do.  The following week found me at Fort Yargo State Park in the town where my brother Mike lives.  We had some fun, or at least it was fun for me, adding some shelving in my cabinets and putting some things on the walls.  One day he brought his adorable granddaughter over and we chased her around the campground.  She is a handful.  By the end of the month I was on the move again.   Grabbed a month long gig as a camp host at the new Georgia state park on Lake Lanier.  It is beautiful here and I think I will like it even more when the rain stops.  I’m also still close to Mike so on my days off we get together.  But it is only for one month, so then I’m on the road again.  Where to?  Well, er, I can’t say just yet.  But I will, soon.  And I won’t take so long to post next time.

Writer?

Just watched another episode of Jeopardy with a contestant introduced as a writer.  During the interview session she revealed that she writes a blog about cruises.  Made me realize just how much our definitions have changed in the 21st century.  Guess I have to rid myself of that romantic image of Ernest Hemingway pounding away on the Remington upright.  So if you're a blogger now days you're a writer.  That means my brother Mike is definitely a writer.  When you read his entries about how deeply he loved and misses his wife Linda be sure to bring the tissues. 

I've been blogging off and on since I moved to Thailand in 2008 although lately it's more off than on.  My Horizon Seeker blog began in 2011 after I retired from teaching in Nashville and hit the road in my little rv.  Mostly it was a way of keeping folks back home up to date on where I happened to land of late and what the world around me looked like.  Pretty much like the Thailand blog without the chicken feet and exotic flowers.  And then came Facebook. 

The great thing about Facebook is the instant response.  The bad thing about Facebook is the instant response.  As a woman alone on the road my awareness of my surroundings has been heightened and my willingness to give out info about my whereabouts has been restricted by the nightmares I hear about.  Most of them on Facebook.  So I don't like to post my movements on those pages.  Call me an alarmist but that's just my take.  My relationship with the almighty Facebook is a love/hate one at best. 

So it's back to blogging for me, for better or worse.