We awoke this morning, way too early, to outside temperatures slightly below 0 (a record for that part of the country) and ice on the insides of our windows. We knew it was going to be a cold night - and it was!
But all was well inside Winne. The propane furnace kept us warm as long as we stayed away from the walls and since we were using our on board water system we had no issues with frozen pipes. Although we made it through the cold evening with no problems - it was time to hit the road and head further south - quickly!
We traveled south on I-81 through the remaining part of Pennsylvania, some of West Virginia and Maryland, and into Virginia where we stopped for gas in Winchester before continuing. Although it remained pretty cold throughout the day it was a bright sunny day.
We finished our travel day in Natural Bridge, VA around 2 PM. I have been nursing a head cold all day and was glad to call it quits somewhat early. Now if I can only get a good night's sleep!
We plan on traveling again tomorrow ... probably making it to the Escapee Raccoon Valley Park just outside Knoxville, TN ... then we will probably take a day off from traveling.
I see the high temp in Knoxville for tomorrow is 60 degrees and they are looking to be almost 70 degrees on Sunday!
Now we're talkin!
Friday, February 28, 2014
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Loong Day One Complete
As predicted - we awoke at oh-dark-thirty, loaded the last minute stuff into Winne, turned off the water and turned down the heat at the house, hooked up the Vue, and were heading south on I-295 at about 6:15 AM with the outside temp right around 0 degrees.
We made our normal stop at the Kennebunk Service Plaza on I-95 to check out the towing equipment, grab a coffee and muffin at Starbucks and continued on our way. Winne ran great as we traveled down I-95 to New Hampshire and into Massachusetts before turning off on I-495 down to the Mass Turnpike (I-90) and then southwest into Connecticut on I-84. We made it through Hartford and the rest of CT and then into New York on I-84 -- stopping for lunch at the Cracker Barrel in Fishkill, NY and for fuel at the one Exit on I-84 in NJ - where the gas is at least 10 cents a gallons cheaper than in NY or just down the road in PA.
We made it through several snow squalls as we finished up our trek through NY and then into PA where we turned south on I-81 in Scranton, PA. Another 100 miles later we arrived here in Lebanon, PA at the Jonestown KOA -- one of the most northeastern campgrounds that is open this time of year. Considering where we are on the map -- and on the calendar -- I'm feeling pretty fortunate that we have a site with full hookups for only $35.
We pulled into our site around 5 PM and hooked up to electricity and cable, and water. I immediately flushed out the "pink stuff" from our water lines, filled the hot water heater, and then put about 50 gallons of water in our on-board fresh water tank before disconnecting the water for the evening. It is expected to get down to about 6 degrees this evening and the water spigots are expected to freeze if left on ... but we will be fine with our on-board tank and propane heat for the night.
So that's the way it is. 500 miles down and looking forward to a good nights sleep.
See ya tomorrow from someplace in Virginia.
We made our normal stop at the Kennebunk Service Plaza on I-95 to check out the towing equipment, grab a coffee and muffin at Starbucks and continued on our way. Winne ran great as we traveled down I-95 to New Hampshire and into Massachusetts before turning off on I-495 down to the Mass Turnpike (I-90) and then southwest into Connecticut on I-84. We made it through Hartford and the rest of CT and then into New York on I-84 -- stopping for lunch at the Cracker Barrel in Fishkill, NY and for fuel at the one Exit on I-84 in NJ - where the gas is at least 10 cents a gallons cheaper than in NY or just down the road in PA.
We made it through several snow squalls as we finished up our trek through NY and then into PA where we turned south on I-81 in Scranton, PA. Another 100 miles later we arrived here in Lebanon, PA at the Jonestown KOA -- one of the most northeastern campgrounds that is open this time of year. Considering where we are on the map -- and on the calendar -- I'm feeling pretty fortunate that we have a site with full hookups for only $35.
We pulled into our site around 5 PM and hooked up to electricity and cable, and water. I immediately flushed out the "pink stuff" from our water lines, filled the hot water heater, and then put about 50 gallons of water in our on-board fresh water tank before disconnecting the water for the evening. It is expected to get down to about 6 degrees this evening and the water spigots are expected to freeze if left on ... but we will be fine with our on-board tank and propane heat for the night.
So that's the way it is. 500 miles down and looking forward to a good nights sleep.
See ya tomorrow from someplace in Virginia.
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Ready to Roll
Well that's just about it. We have just about finished loading our stuff and the house is ready for layup. All we will have to accomplish in the morning is to load a few items, turn off the lights, turn down the heat in the house and turn up the heat inside Winne.
It is supposed to be bitter cold in the morning - down to a bit below 0. We have left in below 0 degree temps before and it's not a pretty sight. I am not looking forward to doing the outside chores necessary to raise anchor!
But raise anchor we will!!!! It may take us a while to find some warm weather but we are going to try our best!
See ya down the road!
It is supposed to be bitter cold in the morning - down to a bit below 0. We have left in below 0 degree temps before and it's not a pretty sight. I am not looking forward to doing the outside chores necessary to raise anchor!
But raise anchor we will!!!! It may take us a while to find some warm weather but we are going to try our best!
See ya down the road!
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
One and a Wake Up!
First ... a Nan update. Nan underwent some minor surgery yesterday to install a feeding tube in her stomach and all went well. She was feeling OK this morning and looking forward to going home on Thursday if the next few days go as planned.
Peggy and I were both pretty busy yesterday and today getting ready to hit the road. Yesterday I did need to climb on Winne's roof and shovel off a few inches of ice and snow before we brought her home and got her settled in the driveway. Peggy acted as the ground crew with 911 on speed dial just in case Mikee slid off the roof with the ice/snow - but alas -- Mikee made it off the old fashioned way ... down the ladder.
Then the work really started. Coach batteries installed, tire pressures adjusted and pressure sensors on, car towing equipment installed, basement storage areas inventoried and stocked, propane system purged and furnace operation checked - whew!!
Then there were property taxes to pay, a little shopping to accomplish, motorhome insurance to re-establish, prescriptions to fill, a house to get ready for winter layup, and a few appointments to reschedule.
Today we spent our time loading inside "stuff" that was removed prior to storage and taking care of a few more chores.
All-In-All we are making good progress on getting ready to go and we should be able to complete our preparations by tomorrow evening to be ready for an Oh-Dark-Thirty departure on Thursday.
Since we are leaving while the northeast is still fully involved in winter - almost every RV/camping facility is closed. This means our first travel day will be a long one. The plan is to drive south through Maine and New Hampshire and into Massachusetts before heading southwest through Connecticut, New York, and then into Pennsylvania before finding a place to stop for the night. We have been through this drill several times in the past - but a 500 mile driving day is not something I look forward to. At least it is our first travel day.
I figure we have about 3,500 miles to drive before we finally make it to our western leg destination in Minden, Nevada. Our plan is to head south quick and then head west along I-40 and then north into Nevada. Even with this "southern" route we may run into some ugly weather so we may need to drop even further south -- but we'll cross that bridge if and when it presents itself. Although we have changed plans due to Nan's change in medical condition - she seems to be doing well at the moment and we all have hopes that her condition will steadily improve as she regains her strength. Assuming all continues to go well - I plan on sticking to a "reasonable" travel schedule. We will try to keep our travel days (except the first one) somewhere around 250 miles and take a few travel days off along the way. We won't be doing much sightseeing on our way west - but arriving at least as sane as when we leave is a major goal.
So -- all we need now is some cooperation by the weatherman to keep the big snowstorms away for a few days and we'll be on our way.
One and a Wake Up!
Peggy and I were both pretty busy yesterday and today getting ready to hit the road. Yesterday I did need to climb on Winne's roof and shovel off a few inches of ice and snow before we brought her home and got her settled in the driveway. Peggy acted as the ground crew with 911 on speed dial just in case Mikee slid off the roof with the ice/snow - but alas -- Mikee made it off the old fashioned way ... down the ladder.
Then the work really started. Coach batteries installed, tire pressures adjusted and pressure sensors on, car towing equipment installed, basement storage areas inventoried and stocked, propane system purged and furnace operation checked - whew!!
Then there were property taxes to pay, a little shopping to accomplish, motorhome insurance to re-establish, prescriptions to fill, a house to get ready for winter layup, and a few appointments to reschedule.
Today we spent our time loading inside "stuff" that was removed prior to storage and taking care of a few more chores.
All-In-All we are making good progress on getting ready to go and we should be able to complete our preparations by tomorrow evening to be ready for an Oh-Dark-Thirty departure on Thursday.
Since we are leaving while the northeast is still fully involved in winter - almost every RV/camping facility is closed. This means our first travel day will be a long one. The plan is to drive south through Maine and New Hampshire and into Massachusetts before heading southwest through Connecticut, New York, and then into Pennsylvania before finding a place to stop for the night. We have been through this drill several times in the past - but a 500 mile driving day is not something I look forward to. At least it is our first travel day.
I figure we have about 3,500 miles to drive before we finally make it to our western leg destination in Minden, Nevada. Our plan is to head south quick and then head west along I-40 and then north into Nevada. Even with this "southern" route we may run into some ugly weather so we may need to drop even further south -- but we'll cross that bridge if and when it presents itself. Although we have changed plans due to Nan's change in medical condition - she seems to be doing well at the moment and we all have hopes that her condition will steadily improve as she regains her strength. Assuming all continues to go well - I plan on sticking to a "reasonable" travel schedule. We will try to keep our travel days (except the first one) somewhere around 250 miles and take a few travel days off along the way. We won't be doing much sightseeing on our way west - but arriving at least as sane as when we leave is a major goal.
So -- all we need now is some cooperation by the weatherman to keep the big snowstorms away for a few days and we'll be on our way.
One and a Wake Up!
Monday, February 24, 2014
Life Happening
Time to get ya'all caught up with the happenings of the Maineiacs (almost) In Motion.
When I last posted a bit over a week go we were enjoying a visit from the NJ Evringham Gang - our son Brian, DIL Nicole, and granddaughters Alyssa and Emily. They finished up their winter visit to Maine on Monday - deciding to head back to NJ before the yet another snowstorm descended on the northeast.
Since that time a lot has happened. We have received several snowstorms, have blown and shoveled a bunch of snow, worked on getting that '32 Ford Streetrod's engine put back together and running, worked in a brake job on Jen & Eric's Equinox, and had fun with a Taylor Anne sleepover at Grandma and Papa's house.
All of that should have brought us to this point with 16 days and a wake up to go before we headed south for our early spring. I say "should" because we have switched over to "Plan C." My mom (Nan) had to be admitted to the hospital out in Nevada late last week due to having pneumonia caused by a continual problem with her aspirating her food and water intake. It has been decided that Nan needs to have a feeding tube installed in her stomach to help with the aspirating problem and it has also been decided that Peggy and I need to head out to Minden to do whatever we can to help out.
So "16" and a wake up has changed to about "3" and a wake up. Our timetable has moved up and our itinerary has been modified .. but what's new? Life happens and we need to adjust.
So we will.
When I last posted a bit over a week go we were enjoying a visit from the NJ Evringham Gang - our son Brian, DIL Nicole, and granddaughters Alyssa and Emily. They finished up their winter visit to Maine on Monday - deciding to head back to NJ before the yet another snowstorm descended on the northeast.
Since that time a lot has happened. We have received several snowstorms, have blown and shoveled a bunch of snow, worked on getting that '32 Ford Streetrod's engine put back together and running, worked in a brake job on Jen & Eric's Equinox, and had fun with a Taylor Anne sleepover at Grandma and Papa's house.
All of that should have brought us to this point with 16 days and a wake up to go before we headed south for our early spring. I say "should" because we have switched over to "Plan C." My mom (Nan) had to be admitted to the hospital out in Nevada late last week due to having pneumonia caused by a continual problem with her aspirating her food and water intake. It has been decided that Nan needs to have a feeding tube installed in her stomach to help with the aspirating problem and it has also been decided that Peggy and I need to head out to Minden to do whatever we can to help out.
So "16" and a wake up has changed to about "3" and a wake up. Our timetable has moved up and our itinerary has been modified .. but what's new? Life happens and we need to adjust.
So we will.
Saturday, February 15, 2014
Gettin' Serious
OK ... it is now time to start getting serious. As of today we have 25 days and a wake up before our planned departure day for the Great 2014 Springtime Getaway! It has become more and more obvious that Maine will not be giving up on us without a fight however. We had a foot of heavy snow to shovel/blow yesterday from the storm that blew through on Thursday and it looks like we are going to get another 6 to 12 inches tonight!
Fortunately the New Jersey Gang made it up for a visit on Wednesday before the Thursday storm and will be with us until early next week when they will need to find a storm free window to travel home. Until then -- they can have fun throwing snowballs, building snow forts - or staying inside watching it snow!
I spent the early part of the week working on a friends really nice '32 Ford Hot Rod. You know - like the yellow one in the movie American Graffiti. It seems my friend didn't have enough horsepower from the 468 cubic inch big block chevy power plant so he wanted to replace the top of the engine with new Aluminum Cylinder heads, new intake manifold, and 2 big 4 barrel carburetors. You know me! I couldn't resist playing with that project!
But I need to get that project finished in amongst all the visiting here and the high school basketball tournament watching so I get on to getting Winne ready to roll and the Maine house ready for a few months of rest.
Peggy and I have done this "Get ready to Roll" thing enough times now over the past 10 or so years that we sorta have it down to a science. Even though I still like to make lists to make sure everything that needs to be loaded - gets loaded and in the right storage spot in Winne -- we can pretty much load her up from memory. It's simple really ... take everything we use on a day-to-day basis and move it from its "at home" spot to its "on-the-road" spot. That's it!
As is always the case this time of year - the challenge is to accomplish all of that while keeping Winne and our home shoveled out from the twice weekly snowstorms and looking for our own "window of opportunity" to get south in a hurry!
Yep ... time to start getting Serious!
Fortunately the New Jersey Gang made it up for a visit on Wednesday before the Thursday storm and will be with us until early next week when they will need to find a storm free window to travel home. Until then -- they can have fun throwing snowballs, building snow forts - or staying inside watching it snow!
I spent the early part of the week working on a friends really nice '32 Ford Hot Rod. You know - like the yellow one in the movie American Graffiti. It seems my friend didn't have enough horsepower from the 468 cubic inch big block chevy power plant so he wanted to replace the top of the engine with new Aluminum Cylinder heads, new intake manifold, and 2 big 4 barrel carburetors. You know me! I couldn't resist playing with that project!
But I need to get that project finished in amongst all the visiting here and the high school basketball tournament watching so I get on to getting Winne ready to roll and the Maine house ready for a few months of rest.
Peggy and I have done this "Get ready to Roll" thing enough times now over the past 10 or so years that we sorta have it down to a science. Even though I still like to make lists to make sure everything that needs to be loaded - gets loaded and in the right storage spot in Winne -- we can pretty much load her up from memory. It's simple really ... take everything we use on a day-to-day basis and move it from its "at home" spot to its "on-the-road" spot. That's it!
As is always the case this time of year - the challenge is to accomplish all of that while keeping Winne and our home shoveled out from the twice weekly snowstorms and looking for our own "window of opportunity" to get south in a hurry!
Yep ... time to start getting Serious!
Saturday, February 8, 2014
Maine - The Way Life Should Be?
Another week has passed and we are another week closer to Spring. As you can tell - I'm ready!
It has been another busy week here at the Maineiacs In Motion Winter Cabin. The beginning of the week was pretty calm as we made it through Super Bowl Sunday without incident. But then came Tuesday when I was running an errand in my truck and BAM! something let loose on the rear suspension. As it turned out one of the shackles holding the passenger side leaf spring in place had rusted right in half and let the spring rise up to hit the bottom of the truck bed. That poor truck is a 2003 Chevrolet Silverado with only about 70,000 miles on it - but unfortunately those miles have been in Maine and elsewhere in New England where we either use salt on the roads in the Winter - or slide off of them. Therefore the relatively cheap and thin steel used to make these newer vehicles corrodes away faster than you would imagine.
So Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday was spent replacing the spring shackles on both sides (the drivers side wasn't going to last much longer) and then while I was at it - replacing the rusted and disintegrating rear brake backing plates. Rust - rust - and then more rust. Gosh I love living in Maine!
And then there is the joy of heating ones home here in the frozen north. For those of you unfamiliar with energy use up here in the winter months let me just say that no matter which fuel you choose to use - it's expensive. Electricity, Heating Oil, Propane, even Natural Gas - if you live in Maine at the end of the supply chain - it's expensive. But what about wood? You must have plenty of that! Well we do ... and the cost of that simply follows the cost of the other potential sources. It's hard to win the energy supply battle no matter how hard you try. Gosh I love living in Maine!
This week was also Tax Return week. Since I now had all the paperwork I needed to complete this annual joy of the American Taxpayer - I performed my duty, paid my fair share to the feds, and then paid more to the good ol' State of Maine. I hear tell where some states don't even have an income tax! Gosh I love living in Maine.
That's why I'm looking forward to Spring. I figure that if we leave Maine during the Spring and return for the Summer and Fall ... we will get to enjoy the reasons why I do love living in Maine.
Now ... what to do about Winter next year?! Snowmobiling and Ice Fishing? I don't think so!!
It has been another busy week here at the Maineiacs In Motion Winter Cabin. The beginning of the week was pretty calm as we made it through Super Bowl Sunday without incident. But then came Tuesday when I was running an errand in my truck and BAM! something let loose on the rear suspension. As it turned out one of the shackles holding the passenger side leaf spring in place had rusted right in half and let the spring rise up to hit the bottom of the truck bed. That poor truck is a 2003 Chevrolet Silverado with only about 70,000 miles on it - but unfortunately those miles have been in Maine and elsewhere in New England where we either use salt on the roads in the Winter - or slide off of them. Therefore the relatively cheap and thin steel used to make these newer vehicles corrodes away faster than you would imagine.
So Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday was spent replacing the spring shackles on both sides (the drivers side wasn't going to last much longer) and then while I was at it - replacing the rusted and disintegrating rear brake backing plates. Rust - rust - and then more rust. Gosh I love living in Maine!
And then there is the joy of heating ones home here in the frozen north. For those of you unfamiliar with energy use up here in the winter months let me just say that no matter which fuel you choose to use - it's expensive. Electricity, Heating Oil, Propane, even Natural Gas - if you live in Maine at the end of the supply chain - it's expensive. But what about wood? You must have plenty of that! Well we do ... and the cost of that simply follows the cost of the other potential sources. It's hard to win the energy supply battle no matter how hard you try. Gosh I love living in Maine!
This week was also Tax Return week. Since I now had all the paperwork I needed to complete this annual joy of the American Taxpayer - I performed my duty, paid my fair share to the feds, and then paid more to the good ol' State of Maine. I hear tell where some states don't even have an income tax! Gosh I love living in Maine.
That's why I'm looking forward to Spring. I figure that if we leave Maine during the Spring and return for the Summer and Fall ... we will get to enjoy the reasons why I do love living in Maine.
Now ... what to do about Winter next year?! Snowmobiling and Ice Fishing? I don't think so!!
Sunday, February 2, 2014
Mid-Winter Thoughts
Here we are at Blog Post #751. Who would have thought that I would keep at this that long? As many of my fellow bloggers have found out first hand - keeping at a blog is not always easy. It is easier when you have lots of activities to report, and it is easier when you have just had a brilliant thought you want to share, but sometimes it isn't easy. So why do it?
For me - I do it for the same reason as when I started. To allow my friends and family a look into what Peggy and I have been doing. It started more as a RV Travel thing - but then morphed in to an all-the-time-thing. I certainly post more often when we are traveling since there are more activities to share, but I do try to provide at least a weekly update when we are home just doing home things. I have also found an unplanned good reason for having the blog ... it allows me to go back and figure out what I was thinking last month/year and therefore cuts down on the "senior moments."
Many of my friends that have maintained blogs in the past have stopped doing so - for all kinds of very valid reasons. I certainly understand that times change for us all - and that's a good thing. But I miss their blogging.
-----------------------------------------------------
Last week Peggy and I were both feeling pretty puny for several days as we both picked up some sort of virus that kept us blowing our noses and huddled up in our blankets. It's not often that we catch one of these "colds" at the same time - so you can imagine what a pathetic sight it was around here! But we are both better now and ready to face whatever the remainder of winter has in store for us.
Speaking of winter ... the calendar says we have 6 and a half weeks remaining. Punxsutawney Phil says we have six more weeks as well! So I recon we have right around 6 more weeks. But 6 more weeks till what? In Maine - we will have 6 more weeks of cold weather and snow covered ground followed by about 3-4 more weeks of the same thing - to be followed by mud season for another 3-4 weeks. But I figure spring will be in full force south of the Mason-Dixon line come mid March - so I am starting to really look forward to heading thataway in 5 weeks - 3 days - and a Wake Up. But who's counting?
5 weeks is still plenty of time to get more time in with kids and grandkids. In fact - we are looking forward to having the NJ Gang here in Maine in just about 10 days or so! That ought to be a fun week!
I visited Winne in storage a few days ago and installed the newly converted LED light fixtures. I think we are really going to like the change! I have a few minor maintenance things I want to get accomplished before we head south - but the biggest concern (as always this time of year) is how much snow/ice will be accumulated on the roof. Right now the roof is looking pretty clear - but who knows what things will be like in 5 weeks? I never like the thought of climbing up there to clean the snow and ice off that roof --- but I can and will if I need to!
Hope your favorite team wins today in the "Super Bowl" !!
For me - I do it for the same reason as when I started. To allow my friends and family a look into what Peggy and I have been doing. It started more as a RV Travel thing - but then morphed in to an all-the-time-thing. I certainly post more often when we are traveling since there are more activities to share, but I do try to provide at least a weekly update when we are home just doing home things. I have also found an unplanned good reason for having the blog ... it allows me to go back and figure out what I was thinking last month/year and therefore cuts down on the "senior moments."
Many of my friends that have maintained blogs in the past have stopped doing so - for all kinds of very valid reasons. I certainly understand that times change for us all - and that's a good thing. But I miss their blogging.
-----------------------------------------------------
Last week Peggy and I were both feeling pretty puny for several days as we both picked up some sort of virus that kept us blowing our noses and huddled up in our blankets. It's not often that we catch one of these "colds" at the same time - so you can imagine what a pathetic sight it was around here! But we are both better now and ready to face whatever the remainder of winter has in store for us.
Speaking of winter ... the calendar says we have 6 and a half weeks remaining. Punxsutawney Phil says we have six more weeks as well! So I recon we have right around 6 more weeks. But 6 more weeks till what? In Maine - we will have 6 more weeks of cold weather and snow covered ground followed by about 3-4 more weeks of the same thing - to be followed by mud season for another 3-4 weeks. But I figure spring will be in full force south of the Mason-Dixon line come mid March - so I am starting to really look forward to heading thataway in 5 weeks - 3 days - and a Wake Up. But who's counting?
5 weeks is still plenty of time to get more time in with kids and grandkids. In fact - we are looking forward to having the NJ Gang here in Maine in just about 10 days or so! That ought to be a fun week!
I visited Winne in storage a few days ago and installed the newly converted LED light fixtures. I think we are really going to like the change! I have a few minor maintenance things I want to get accomplished before we head south - but the biggest concern (as always this time of year) is how much snow/ice will be accumulated on the roof. Right now the roof is looking pretty clear - but who knows what things will be like in 5 weeks? I never like the thought of climbing up there to clean the snow and ice off that roof --- but I can and will if I need to!
Hope your favorite team wins today in the "Super Bowl" !!
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