Well ... we made it home. As planned, we left Mt. Airy early one frosty morning last Thursday, did an overnight in Staunton, VA, and then drove another 200ish miles north on I-81 to Jonestown, PA on Friday. After a chilly subfreezing night we hit the road again on Saturday, drove across PA along I-78, up I-287 in NJ, over the NEW Tappan Zee Bridge, over to I-95, and then up I-95 in Connecticut. We stopped for the night at the Mohegan Sun Resort and Casino in Uncasville, CT - staying in their huge lot reserved for folks traveling in RV's. It may have no "facilities," but it does provide a safe, convenient, and inexpensive (if you stay out of the Casino) overnight dry camping stopping point.
We awoke pretty early for us on Sunday, braved through a few snow squalls, and made the final 230 mile journey to home where we were immediately welcomed by Stacy, Taylor, and Aiden - followed soon after by Eric, Jen, and Sophie. It was great seeing them all again!
So now the spingtime arrival routine begins. Unload Winne, get the house ready for living, and finally clean and get Winne into storage. Oh yeah -- and do all that while working around the lingering snowbanks and still subfreezing (at night anyway) temperatures. Maine still has several weeks to go before Spring really arrives!
All-in-all ... we had a great trip. It took too long to find the warm temps in the southland ... but we finally did and we enjoyed every day. Winne continued to operate great and keep us safe and secure for all 88 days. So if I'm counting days -- it must be time for the infamous trip statistics!
This was Winne The Two's longest trip to date - surpassing last year's winter trip by 4 days. During those 88 days we stayed in 17 different places along the way -- three of those 17 we stayed in twice and three places were "first time" stops for us. That brings us up to 313 separate sleeping spots in our 14 years of RVing and 90 spots we have stayed in more than once.
Our longest stay was one month at the Rainbow Plantation in Summerdale, Alabama. The least expensive stop was $0.00 per night at the Mohegan Sun Resort and Casino while the most expensive stop was $60 per night at the Creek Fire Motor Resort in Savannah, GA.
We added 1 new state to WTT"s traveled list (There will be a prize to the reader that knows which one) and WTT has now traveled in 24 of the lower 48 states in the past two years while clocking right close to 15,000 miles with the Maineiacs In Motion aboard! With the 5,270 miles from this trip we MIM have now RVed over 153,500 miles!
WTT burned 558 gallons of diesel fuel this trip staying very consistent averaging 9.5 mpg of diesel fuel. Unfortunately the price of diesel was up again on this trip - averaging $2.93 per gallon. Up about $0.40 per gallon from spring 2017.
So that's the story from Winter Trip 2018. We will get WTT placed in storage for about 12 weeks before waking her up again for a short trip to NJ for grand daughter graduations. Then we will bring her home to re-provision for her first coast to coast trip in July/August/September.
Ought to be a busy year.
Happy Easter everybody!
Tuesday, March 27, 2018
Wednesday, March 21, 2018
More Mt. Airy Notables
Since we are hunkered down here in Mt. Airy watching a bit of spring snow beautify the countryside, I thought I might tell you the story of the other two famous men from this area. Many years before Andy Griffith was ever born Mt. Airy was famous for being the home of Eng and Chang Bunker - the world famous Siamese Twins.
Eng and Chang were born in 1811 in Siam (present day Thailand) and were conjoined twins joined at the sternum. Each was fully formed and although they did share a small part of their liver - they were otherwise independent.
They became world famous after being "exhibited" by a Scottish merchant and traveled the world extensively - finally settling in America in the late 1830s, becoming naturalized citizens and taking the surname Bunker. Eng and Chang married a pair of local sisters in April 1843 and purchased a farm here in the Western part of North Carolina and worked a cotton plantation - complete with slaves, up until the civil war.
Eng, Chang, and their wives Sarah (Eng) and Adeline (Chang) lived together for about four years and slept in a special bed made for four. It seems that the sisters stopped getting along well after a few years of that arrangement and then separate homes were built and a new arrangement was made where Eng/Chang would spend 3 nights in one home and then 3 nights in the other home. This arrangement must have worked pretty well as Chang/Adeline had 11 Children and Eng/Sarah had 10.
Eng and Chang died on January 11, 1874 - Chang died in his sleep and Eng died several hours later.
With that many children between the two of them it is no surprise that many of Eng/Chang's descendants still live in the local area. As a matter of fact - the Mayberry Campground where we are staying is owned by one of Eng's descendants and the farmhouse on the property was built by one of his sons.
And you thought you might not learn anything new today ... Hah!
Eng and Chang were born in 1811 in Siam (present day Thailand) and were conjoined twins joined at the sternum. Each was fully formed and although they did share a small part of their liver - they were otherwise independent.
They became world famous after being "exhibited" by a Scottish merchant and traveled the world extensively - finally settling in America in the late 1830s, becoming naturalized citizens and taking the surname Bunker. Eng and Chang married a pair of local sisters in April 1843 and purchased a farm here in the Western part of North Carolina and worked a cotton plantation - complete with slaves, up until the civil war.
Eng, Chang, and their wives Sarah (Eng) and Adeline (Chang) lived together for about four years and slept in a special bed made for four. It seems that the sisters stopped getting along well after a few years of that arrangement and then separate homes were built and a new arrangement was made where Eng/Chang would spend 3 nights in one home and then 3 nights in the other home. This arrangement must have worked pretty well as Chang/Adeline had 11 Children and Eng/Sarah had 10.
Eng and Chang died on January 11, 1874 - Chang died in his sleep and Eng died several hours later.
With that many children between the two of them it is no surprise that many of Eng/Chang's descendants still live in the local area. As a matter of fact - the Mayberry Campground where we are staying is owned by one of Eng's descendants and the farmhouse on the property was built by one of his sons.
And you thought you might not learn anything new today ... Hah!
Tuesday, March 20, 2018
Hanging out at Floyd's Barber Shop - Mayberry (Mt. Airy), NC
Well here we are ... 6 days and some 700 miles north from my last post. Tonight we find ourselves in Mt Airy, NC where the low tonight is expected to be around 33 degrees ... a far cry from those mid 70 degree days we were enjoying back in Florida!
We started our trek north by traveling east from Wauchula, FL -- over to I-95 on Florida's east coast and then north up to St. Augustine. It was a long travel day but the weather was nice and the traffic was tolerable ... well ... barely tolerable.
We hit the road again on Friday the 16th driving north again on I95 to Savannah, GA. I figured I better call ahead to find a reservation in Savannah a day ahead of time since it was still "in season." As it turned out, it was a good thing I did since I failed to understand that St. Patrick's day is a really big deal in Savannah. Add that fact to the ending of spring break for many and the end of Daytona Bike week and you end up with a tough time finding a RV spot for even one night! We did find a spot - at a new RV Park just south of Savannah. The Park was new - generally pretty nice - and waay expensive. But we did get a chance to head out to Tybee Island for some good seafood at The Crab Shack.
Still wearing short pants - we hit the road again on the 18th heading even further north. This time all the way to Charlotte, NC -- where we parked at the Charlotte Motor Speedway for a couple more nights. We have stayed at this RV Park in the past. It's nothing special except that its walking distance to Charlotte Motor Speedway
Walking Distance to the Dirt Track
and Walking distance to the new Drag Strip
Today we made the short (about 100 mile) trip from Charlotte up to Mt. Airy, NC where the high today was about 50 degrees. It looks like our short pants days are over for awhile!
So if we are in Mt. Airy, NC we must be here to discover all things Mayberry. Yes indeed, Mt. Airy is the town where Andy Griffith grew up and was the model for the town portrayed in the Andy Griffith Show of the 1950s and 60s -- Mayberry, NC. After getting set up here at the Mayberry RV Park we drove into Mt. Airy and checked out the historic downtown. We started out in the local Visitors Center where a very nice lady welcomed us and pointed out all the places we needed to visit while we were here. We then walked down Main Street checking out all the touristy shops and finally the most famous of all - Floyd's City Barber Shop.
The barber shop is now named for the famous Floyd's Barber Shop on the AG Show but was simply called City Barber Shop back when Andy got his hair cut here. Back in those days there were 6 barber chairs where today there are only two -- and on the afternoon we visited - no barber was on duty. But there was a fellow sitting in the shop when we arrived so we talked for awhile with him.
Bill Hiatt is the present owner of Floyd's City Barber Shop and is the son of the previous owner Russell Hiatt who had barbered in that shop for 68 years before finally passing away just two short years ago. Bill was a very pleasant guy to talk to and told us all about his dad's history with the shop and the 30,000 photo's that adorn the walls of the shop that his dad had taken of many of the shop's past visitors. When I asked Bill if I could take his picture he was glad to oblige and asked if he could take ours to add to his collection - now maintained on Facebook. So we shared photos and thanked him for a great introduction to his dad's legacy.
After leaving Floyd's we snapped a few pictures of the famous Snappy Lunch diner next door. They are closed in the afternoons so we didn't get to sample the famous Fried Pork Chop sandwich. Who knows -- maybe tomorrow
It was starting to get considerably colder about that time so we made our way back to the car and continued down Main Street where we stopped at Wally's Garage to say Hey to Gomer and Goober Pyle ... but they were nowhere to be seen. Just their tow truck and the Sheriffs cruiser parked outside.
We did spend some time touring the Andy Griffith Museum downtown - learning all about Andy and the other cast members.
There is plenty more to see and do here in the area - and we hope to see some of it tomorrow as we plan on sitting here for another day while the latest nor-easter shoots through here tonight and tomorrow dropping rain (and maybe a little snow) and then heads further north and east to drop more snow along our travel path.
Someday we may have to revisit this area in a warmer time of the year - but for now we will play tourist while waiting for our chance to run home after this nor'easter - quick before another one comes through!
So that's the plan - wait for Thursday and then drive 4 days back to Maine. The weather forecast looks cooperative. I sure hope those folks in PA, NY and further north can get their roads cleared by then!
We started our trek north by traveling east from Wauchula, FL -- over to I-95 on Florida's east coast and then north up to St. Augustine. It was a long travel day but the weather was nice and the traffic was tolerable ... well ... barely tolerable.
We hit the road again on Friday the 16th driving north again on I95 to Savannah, GA. I figured I better call ahead to find a reservation in Savannah a day ahead of time since it was still "in season." As it turned out, it was a good thing I did since I failed to understand that St. Patrick's day is a really big deal in Savannah. Add that fact to the ending of spring break for many and the end of Daytona Bike week and you end up with a tough time finding a RV spot for even one night! We did find a spot - at a new RV Park just south of Savannah. The Park was new - generally pretty nice - and waay expensive. But we did get a chance to head out to Tybee Island for some good seafood at The Crab Shack.
Even the WIZ enjoyed his time at The Crab Shack harassing the local gators!
Walking Distance to the Dirt Track
and Walking distance to the new Drag Strip
Today we made the short (about 100 mile) trip from Charlotte up to Mt. Airy, NC where the high today was about 50 degrees. It looks like our short pants days are over for awhile!
So if we are in Mt. Airy, NC we must be here to discover all things Mayberry. Yes indeed, Mt. Airy is the town where Andy Griffith grew up and was the model for the town portrayed in the Andy Griffith Show of the 1950s and 60s -- Mayberry, NC. After getting set up here at the Mayberry RV Park we drove into Mt. Airy and checked out the historic downtown. We started out in the local Visitors Center where a very nice lady welcomed us and pointed out all the places we needed to visit while we were here. We then walked down Main Street checking out all the touristy shops and finally the most famous of all - Floyd's City Barber Shop.
The barber shop is now named for the famous Floyd's Barber Shop on the AG Show but was simply called City Barber Shop back when Andy got his hair cut here. Back in those days there were 6 barber chairs where today there are only two -- and on the afternoon we visited - no barber was on duty. But there was a fellow sitting in the shop when we arrived so we talked for awhile with him.
Bill Hiatt is the present owner of Floyd's City Barber Shop and is the son of the previous owner Russell Hiatt who had barbered in that shop for 68 years before finally passing away just two short years ago. Bill was a very pleasant guy to talk to and told us all about his dad's history with the shop and the 30,000 photo's that adorn the walls of the shop that his dad had taken of many of the shop's past visitors. When I asked Bill if I could take his picture he was glad to oblige and asked if he could take ours to add to his collection - now maintained on Facebook. So we shared photos and thanked him for a great introduction to his dad's legacy.
After leaving Floyd's we snapped a few pictures of the famous Snappy Lunch diner next door. They are closed in the afternoons so we didn't get to sample the famous Fried Pork Chop sandwich. Who knows -- maybe tomorrow
It was starting to get considerably colder about that time so we made our way back to the car and continued down Main Street where we stopped at Wally's Garage to say Hey to Gomer and Goober Pyle ... but they were nowhere to be seen. Just their tow truck and the Sheriffs cruiser parked outside.
We did spend some time touring the Andy Griffith Museum downtown - learning all about Andy and the other cast members.
There is plenty more to see and do here in the area - and we hope to see some of it tomorrow as we plan on sitting here for another day while the latest nor-easter shoots through here tonight and tomorrow dropping rain (and maybe a little snow) and then heads further north and east to drop more snow along our travel path.
Someday we may have to revisit this area in a warmer time of the year - but for now we will play tourist while waiting for our chance to run home after this nor'easter - quick before another one comes through!
So that's the plan - wait for Thursday and then drive 4 days back to Maine. The weather forecast looks cooperative. I sure hope those folks in PA, NY and further north can get their roads cleared by then!
Wednesday, March 14, 2018
Perhaps the best Amusement Park in Central Florida not named after Walt Disney
Well here it is ... Pi day (3.14) 2018. It is only fitting that Steven Hawking would pass away today.
And since it's Pi day - it is also our last planned day here in southern Florida. Tomorrow we will be moving on -- over to the east coast of Florida and then north up I-95 to near St. Augustine for an overnight stay. From St. Augustine I figure we will head up to near Savannah, GA for a couple of days.
After spending most of Sunday around "the house" Peggy and I went for a cruise in the car on Monday with only a general idea of where we were going. We drove east over to Avon Park and then traveled north on Route 27 through the middle of the state past plenty more orange groves and more cattle ranches. After about an hour of driving we found ourselves only about 20 miles from Walt Disney World so we braved the I-4 traffic and drove into the WDW complex. We made it almost to the $22 a day general parking lot before veering off to find the entrance to the Fort Wilderness Camping facility and then I pushed the "Go Home" button on the GPS so we could find our way outa there!
It really isn't very far (in miles) from the quiet - laid back Florida ranch country to the craziness of Disney World ... but it sure hits you when you enter Never-Never Land ... or is it the Magic Kingdom? ... or is it Tomorrow Land? ... its all of those things and more! And we were glad to have it our rear view mirror. Don't get me wrong - I think WDW is a fantastic place ... but you really gotta be ready to enter that make believe world .. and we weren't last Monday.
We spent most of Tuesday afternoon with Paul and Margery Zeller. After being "picked up" in the Zeller's "pick up" ... we ventured from here near the middle of nowhere Florida into the boonies in the center of the middle of nowhere Florida to find yet another make believe land built by a brilliant artist over many many years. This fantasy land wasn't built by a man named Disney - but by a genius/artist/visionary named Howard Soloman.
Assuming you can follow the few signs out in the middle of nowhere Florida you will find yourself pulling up to Soloman's Castle.
Now I really can't do justice to the whole story of Howard Soloman and how he ended up buying swampland here in central Florida back in the early 1970s - and how he built his home/workshop/castle and how he created his art while doing all his "normal" jobs -- but I can tell you that the place is a treasure, his art on display is very impressive, his story as told by the tour guides is amazing ... and that you really need to come visit if you ever find yourself anywhere nearby! Trust me -- you will not find the place by accident!
Howard passed away back in 2016 but his family continues to run the place during the "season." In fact, we met his daughter and watched as his great great grandchildren got into mischief while the grownups were trying to do their jobs.
Step one of our tour was to tour the "Castle" with our guide. The guide toured us through the Castle/Home while pointing out Howards art ... all-the-while maintaining true to Howard's tour script - including at least two puns per minute. Howard also had a unique sense of humor!
After completing our "Castle Tour" we went on the second offered tour of another building that housed Howard's antique car collection and other whimsical transportation art. In was on this tour that we heard the story of how Henry Ford would sell you a truck, packaged in a crate, and how that crate became part of the truck, and how you would have to "pick up" your truck at the freight depot. This began the era of the "Pick Up Truck."
We ended our tours having spent 3 hours walking around Soloman World near Ona, Florida. What a fun day!
But we weren't done yet. Since it was pretty near dinnertime ... we found our way over to Arcadia, FL to Slim's BBQ. It seems Slim's has been serving BBQ in this area since the mid 50s -- so of course we had to try some. As for me ... I went with the triple combo plate
with smoked ribs, BBQ Chicken and, sliced beef with potato salad and cole slaw on the side. My report? -- The ribs were wonderful, the chicken was good, the beef was so-so, and the sides were also good.
And as always the fellowship was the best part.
We'll see ya down the road Paul and Margery - great seeing you both again and good luck with your new Park Model!
Saturday, March 10, 2018
Has Spring Sprung Yet?
Peggy and I have continued to "while away" our time here in lower Florida among the cattle ranches and orange groves. At least once per day the breeze blows just right and the sweet smell of orange blossoms wafts through the windows. Thankfully the cattle ranch smell doesn't seem to make it this far!
The WIZ has been generally enjoying himself as well. He hung out with us and the Zellers here in Wauchula, and again with our friends Bill and Kathy Ball down in Naples, Florida. He even enjoyed a trip down from Anna Maria Island, through Bradenton Beach and Longboat Key, down to Lido Key and finally to Sarasota ... enjoying the beach scene along the way.
We have been generally relaxing and enjoying the nice weather but we have managed to get out and enjoy some local restaurants with friends Paul and Margery Zeller ... including a great spot for locally produced Vanilla and Orange juice flavored soft serve ice cream! We may have to make it back to Maxwell Groves over in Avon Park again before we leave!
I have also found some time to accomplish a few RV projects that have been kicking around in my noggin. The big project was one I have been contemplating for some time now. As you may already know ... our Winnebago Forza 34T was designed and built without a "porch light" to light the area near the entry door. That area can be lighted by light strips on the extendable awnings - but not without extending the awnings! Awhile back I installed a stick-on solar powered motion sensitive LED light near the door -- and it worked fine to light the door area but unfortunately it could not be turned off so it would come on constantly while traveling down the highway in hours of darkness! A bit irritating for those folks passing us I would think! After spending a bit of time pondering a couple of different methods to install a 12 Volt powered light - I settled on a simple fixture with a LED bulb installed to the left of the door and powered by a new switch I installed inside beside the door. Finally! ... a real porch light by the door! Simple pleasures for simple folk.
I understand that we need to "Spring Ahead" tonight and somehow "save" some daylight for the next few months. I'm still not convinced that any daylight gets saved - but since somebody does - I reckon it is time to think about heading north. Yes - I know those real Maineiacs just got done having their second nor'easter in a week - and I hear another one may be on the way - but I'm convinced that all that snow will be gone by the time we finally get back so I think we'll start heading that way next Thursday. Don't get me wrong -- we'll be heading north -- but not all that fast.
I think we'll start by heading to the east coast of Florida and then up I-95. Why you ask? Well ... Just because we've never gone that way! Then maybe we'll head up to Mt. Airy and checkout the Mayberry scene. I need a haircut so maybe I'll go visit Floyd's Barber Shop before heading over to Snappy Lunch for a sandwich.
After getting our fill of the Andy Griffith nostalgia I figure we will head north up I-81. About the time we get to PA I figure we'll check on the weather and see if it's safe to head to Maine ... or maybe hang out for a few days in New Jersey.
Isn't that groundhog from PA? He ought to know by then if Spring is Sprung!
The WIZ has been generally enjoying himself as well. He hung out with us and the Zellers here in Wauchula, and again with our friends Bill and Kathy Ball down in Naples, Florida. He even enjoyed a trip down from Anna Maria Island, through Bradenton Beach and Longboat Key, down to Lido Key and finally to Sarasota ... enjoying the beach scene along the way.
We have been generally relaxing and enjoying the nice weather but we have managed to get out and enjoy some local restaurants with friends Paul and Margery Zeller ... including a great spot for locally produced Vanilla and Orange juice flavored soft serve ice cream! We may have to make it back to Maxwell Groves over in Avon Park again before we leave!
I have also found some time to accomplish a few RV projects that have been kicking around in my noggin. The big project was one I have been contemplating for some time now. As you may already know ... our Winnebago Forza 34T was designed and built without a "porch light" to light the area near the entry door. That area can be lighted by light strips on the extendable awnings - but not without extending the awnings! Awhile back I installed a stick-on solar powered motion sensitive LED light near the door -- and it worked fine to light the door area but unfortunately it could not be turned off so it would come on constantly while traveling down the highway in hours of darkness! A bit irritating for those folks passing us I would think! After spending a bit of time pondering a couple of different methods to install a 12 Volt powered light - I settled on a simple fixture with a LED bulb installed to the left of the door and powered by a new switch I installed inside beside the door. Finally! ... a real porch light by the door! Simple pleasures for simple folk.
I understand that we need to "Spring Ahead" tonight and somehow "save" some daylight for the next few months. I'm still not convinced that any daylight gets saved - but since somebody does - I reckon it is time to think about heading north. Yes - I know those real Maineiacs just got done having their second nor'easter in a week - and I hear another one may be on the way - but I'm convinced that all that snow will be gone by the time we finally get back so I think we'll start heading that way next Thursday. Don't get me wrong -- we'll be heading north -- but not all that fast.
I think we'll start by heading to the east coast of Florida and then up I-95. Why you ask? Well ... Just because we've never gone that way! Then maybe we'll head up to Mt. Airy and checkout the Mayberry scene. I need a haircut so maybe I'll go visit Floyd's Barber Shop before heading over to Snappy Lunch for a sandwich.
After getting our fill of the Andy Griffith nostalgia I figure we will head north up I-81. About the time we get to PA I figure we'll check on the weather and see if it's safe to head to Maine ... or maybe hang out for a few days in New Jersey.
Isn't that groundhog from PA? He ought to know by then if Spring is Sprung!
Thursday, March 1, 2018
Lazy Days in the Sunshine State
March 1st finds us Maneiacs down in Zolfo Springs, Florida - about 50 or so miles due east of Sarasota, Florida among the orange groves where it is a lovely 85 degrees on a nice sunny day with a 10 mph breeze. Yup ... hard to take .. I know.
We left the nice weather in Summerdale, AL about 10 days ago and traveled about 500 miles to Bushnell, FL where we spent the past 8 days at the Escapee Sumter Oaks RV Park. The weather was darnright warm last week - even for Floridians! We didn't do much new or all that exciting during our stopover in Bushnell - just the normal snowbird routine ... Get up late, enjoy the warm weather, find a restaurant or two to keep us fed - find some strawberry shortcake - you get it --- routine stuff.
So now that we are even further south in Florida - what's next? Well I'm sure there will be some good food, we have several visits with friends planned so I suspect there will be fun fellowship, perhaps a day or three of sightseeing -- and if all that wears us out ... well there is always the snowbird routine to fall back to.
I did manage to accomplish one new motorhome upgrade during our stay in Bushnell. For many years I have contemplated installing a Steering Stabilizer on our motorhome. I never did pull the trigger on that modification on Winne the First but I finally talked myself into tying it on Winne The Two. A steering stabilizer is basically a Spring loaded shock absorber looking gadget that bolts between the chassis frame and the steering tie rod that assists the steering in returning to a centered position. Once you get it correctly adjusted it should help keep the vehicle traveling straight with little driver input. One of the biggest selling points for these gadgets is increased safety in the event of a front tire blowout as the device will help keep the vehicle traveling straight. I can certainly see where it would help in such an event but I am mostly hoping for a decrease in driver fatigue during normal driving since the device should resist "normal" changes in direction due to wind gusts and road conditions. Today's drive of just about 100 miles was my first time using the device, and I did stop twice to perform normal initial centering adjustments ... so I don't really have much real world experience to use in judgement yet. I will say that the tendency to track straight with little driver input has improved with each adjustment I have made ... but I have one more small adjustment to make before I declare it Finally Adjusted. So the jury is still out determining whether or not this was a good investment ... but I ought to have a good read by the time we make it back to Maine.
In the meantime we will do our best to keep us and the WIZ busy for the next couple of weeks here in the Sunshine State before setting sails north for home.
We left the nice weather in Summerdale, AL about 10 days ago and traveled about 500 miles to Bushnell, FL where we spent the past 8 days at the Escapee Sumter Oaks RV Park. The weather was darnright warm last week - even for Floridians! We didn't do much new or all that exciting during our stopover in Bushnell - just the normal snowbird routine ... Get up late, enjoy the warm weather, find a restaurant or two to keep us fed - find some strawberry shortcake - you get it --- routine stuff.
So now that we are even further south in Florida - what's next? Well I'm sure there will be some good food, we have several visits with friends planned so I suspect there will be fun fellowship, perhaps a day or three of sightseeing -- and if all that wears us out ... well there is always the snowbird routine to fall back to.
I did manage to accomplish one new motorhome upgrade during our stay in Bushnell. For many years I have contemplated installing a Steering Stabilizer on our motorhome. I never did pull the trigger on that modification on Winne the First but I finally talked myself into tying it on Winne The Two. A steering stabilizer is basically a Spring loaded shock absorber looking gadget that bolts between the chassis frame and the steering tie rod that assists the steering in returning to a centered position. Once you get it correctly adjusted it should help keep the vehicle traveling straight with little driver input. One of the biggest selling points for these gadgets is increased safety in the event of a front tire blowout as the device will help keep the vehicle traveling straight. I can certainly see where it would help in such an event but I am mostly hoping for a decrease in driver fatigue during normal driving since the device should resist "normal" changes in direction due to wind gusts and road conditions. Today's drive of just about 100 miles was my first time using the device, and I did stop twice to perform normal initial centering adjustments ... so I don't really have much real world experience to use in judgement yet. I will say that the tendency to track straight with little driver input has improved with each adjustment I have made ... but I have one more small adjustment to make before I declare it Finally Adjusted. So the jury is still out determining whether or not this was a good investment ... but I ought to have a good read by the time we make it back to Maine.
In the meantime we will do our best to keep us and the WIZ busy for the next couple of weeks here in the Sunshine State before setting sails north for home.
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