New Things

Okay….I found out a few new things about my motorhome today. First – I DO have a bi-pass valve in my motorhome and that’s why my hot water heater wasn’t working. The water heater didn’t have any water in it! It took a new temperature sensor and a lot of time and effort on the part of my dad to figure it out. We finally found the bi-pass valve behind the drawer underneath the stove. I finally have hot water again! Second, I didn’t know that I could run the furnace when I’m boondocking (or NOT hooked up to shore power). I happen to have a catalytic heater so I thought it was that or nothing. Imagine my delight when I found out I could just get up and turn the furnace on whenever I’m not hooked up to shore power. If I’m warm, I’m a very happy camper!! Two wonderful new discoveries today!!

This afternoon dad and I took a two mile hike to Cape Arago. The sky cleared up around 1pm and it turned out to be a beautiful day.

 I have one more day to take advantage of the beautiful weather and the coastal trail views. I was going to leave on Saturday and (maybe) take two days to get home but Charleston is having an oyster feed on Saturday from noon – 4pm – all you can eat local oysters! I’m very tempted to stay one more night and go chow down. Yummo!! I think I’ll go downtown tomorrow and see what it’s all about……

Still Leaking

April 1, 2010

I had the motorhome back for one day - ONE DAY - and it rained - and the NEW roof leaked! I drove it back to the shop and they proceeded to screw a moulding strip over the Eternabond and caulk around it to prevent future leaks. The whole idea of getting the roof I did, with the Eternabond tape, was to do away with the moulding, which allows the water to pool in the upper corners of the motorhome instead of running off.  When I got home, I contacted a rep at Eternabond and he said that it probably wasn't applied properly, which I'm sure is true, because I can see that debris was left under the tape from the old roofing material. The techs at the shop told the service manager that "they've never seen the Eternabond tape leak before." I'd fight to have them re-do the whole thing except for the fact that I'm leaving for Alaska soon and don't have the time, which I think they're acutely aware of.

To say I'm mad is an understatement. For once, I'd appreciate a service industry treating my belongings with respect. Along with the compromised new roofing job, they've scratched the sides of my motorhome with their scaffolding, they serviced the generator and it still won't start, the new vent has to be replaced because the seam is bad, my awning has roofing material on it that won't come off, they gouged the linoleum floor and that needs to be repaired. All of this takes more time that I don't have.

The wing caps, which are also being replaced, have been on back order for over a month now. Each time I call the manufacturer they promise a new delivery date, which comes and goes. The latest is that they shipped last Friday and the shop should have them by the end of this week. I'll drive the motorhome back into the shop and have them replace or repair everything on my list. I've also asked for a warranty on the new roof in the event that it continues to leak once I'm on the road. Although I certainly don't know what good a warranty will be when I'm 3000 miles away from the shop in question!

I'm taking the motorhome on a shakedown cruise to Eastern Oregon for a week and then to the Oregon Coast for another week. We'll see how the roof holds in the rain I'm sure to get on the coast.

Home again - sorta

On Friday I retreived Ellie from the shop, where she's been for the past two months.  She has a new roof, new cover for the air conditioner and refrigerator, new skylight and new chassis battery. More about the battery later.

Exploratory Surgery

Ellie's in the shop. The roof is coming off today and I wait for the phone call - damage control. A few months ago Ellie sprung a leak that I, nor the guys from the local shop, could find. So the next logical thing was to take the roof off, assess the damage to the internal structure and go from there. I was looking at potentially thousands of dollars to repair Ellie so I did what I always do when faced with a daunting situation that could cost me a LOT of money - nothing!

I winterized her, covered her up with tarps and parked her outside the house for the next two months. During that time I unintentionally drained the chassis battery. I didn't know that you're supposed to leave it on a "trickle" charge so it doesn't die on you during the winter. So now I've replaced the chassis battery and I'm afraid the coach batteries are next. I also didn't know that if you have the coach plugged in to shore power the battery indicator reads a false positive and so I thought my coach batteries were doing great - that is until I unplugged the motorhome and saw the indicator dip to the red zone. Uh, oh....since this was just before I took her in for "surgury" I didn't have time to adequately charge them so I'm afraid they, too, may have bit the dust.

 I did have some really good luck with the chassis battery though. They were purchased from Walmart and had a 3 year guarantee which wasn't up until June. I took the old battery into Walmart, expecting them to prorate me on a new battery but I has so pleasantly surprised to find that they swapped it out, even though the new battery had more power and was $5 more than the old battery. Hooray for Walmart! I'm now telling everyone to buy batteries there!

I'm getting very excited to hit the road in June. Alaska here I come!

My Alaska Notebook is filling up - great places to camp, fun things to do, delicious places to eat. I feel like I'm taking the virtual trip before the real trip and it's been great fun so far. There is still much to prepare for however. Taking Ellie out from under cover, getting her in for repair, is just the start but at least I started! It's hard to spend that kind of money on the unknown but I hope and pray in the long run it will be worth the price. I don't make decisions lightly but I usually feel confident in the end - or at least I've just bought myself some time to get used to it!

Bittersweet

Yesterday we wanted to go to the famous Lincoln City bakery for a donut - or two! We had it all planned out - get to the bakery by 9am, order and eat our donuts, and then drive to the outlet mall to do a little shopping. We found the bakery, right on Hwy 101, but....hum....no cars parked in front. That's unusual for such a popular bakery. We found out why....they're closed on Thursdays. Thursdays? Who would've thought? Okay....there goes that plan - now what? I remember seeing a donut shop close to our RV park so we head back the way we came and sure enough there is one in the shopping center right next to the park. We buy our donuts (yes, more than one) and there is no room in the little shop to eat them....all the tables are taken. So we get back in the car and go across the street to the bottle return at Safeway for that little errand. It's still to early to go to the outlet mall and the day is very foggy and cool, so we decide to head back to the park and just be lazy for a few hours and maybe go back out in the afternoon.

I took Cooper for a short walk through a neighborhood and down to the beach. There seem to be a lot of homes for sale - I wonder if people are trying to sell vacation homes in this depressed economy. Good time to buy if you're looking for a home on the beach. Of course a ocean front home still goes for half a million!

In the afternoon we headed south to the outlet mall and of course I succumbed to departing of a few dollars....I was going to be good but there were some "great deals" to be had! I did buy a few birthday gifts as well though - to assuage my guilt!

Speaking of shopping....it's dangerous for me to have a Bi-Mart so close to where I'm staying. I've walked there 3-4 times since I've been here and spent too much money - all on things I "need" for the motorhome lifestyle, of course!

This morning we're going to the casino to have breakfast and  redeem the $2 off coupons that we received for getting a player's card. After breakfast it's time to clean up and un-hook the motorhome and travel back to Portland and home. I have loved my three weeks traveling in Ellie and could easily see myself just heading somewhere new and exciting down the road. It's always fun to plan your next stop. Although I think if I were to keep going this time, I would head south to warmer climates! I have been really lucky with the weather on this trip, however - most days have been exceptionally clear and beautiful.

It's also been nice having mom and dad as company. We travel well together as we both enjoy each other's company but also respect our own private time and space. They've been so helpful to me as a new RVer and I know I can rely on them with anything and they're always there to lend a hand. I like being solo in my own motorhome but traveling with someone else is really special - you know they're just across the way and that's comforting. You know you're not alone.

I've come to the conclusion that when I travel to Alaska next year, and possibly beyond , that I must keep a tighter budget. It's easy when you're in a different town to want to see and do and eat all there is and oftentimes that takes money. Also there are so many great things I want to buy for Ellie that it's hard to put a reign on it. Since I don't have income coming in at the moment I must take that into consideration when I'm out on the town!

Tonight I am looking forward to seeing DG again, who has also been away on business for the past two weeks, and my other dogs, Kyra and Emmitt, and to the normal routines of the day when living in a "sticks and bricks" home. But I will always have that roaming spirit within me and will look forward to my next adventure on the open road.

Keep living the life you love!

smoke alarms

When anyone comes knocking at the motorhome Cooper goes crazy. This time it's my mom and he greets her in his normal way, almost knocking her over, and instead of coming back inside as usual  he takes off running. We take off in pursuit, yelling his name and soon I find him along the dog run, chasing after a dog on leash, barking and jumping. I tear after him, apologizing for my dog's bad social behavior while she's trying to pick up her dog, who's just thrown up on the grass, probably from fear of this lab monster attacking him. The "older" lady is trying to calm her dog down while he sounds like he's choking for air and I'm running after Cooper who's barking furiously, thinking this is all a fun game.

How long can I use the "he's just a puppy" line? Or "I have a Marley", as if that excuses his exuberant, wild behavior? Most of the time, Cooper is a sweet and lovable dog who just thinks that all other dogs - as well as humans - are there to play with and jump on and bark at.  There are times when I can just see him weighing his options.....should I behave and do as I'm told or should I go for it and suffer the consequences later? Some of the time he surprises me  and I think he's finally growing up and getting it - other times the Marley puppy just oozes out of him. It's hard to harness all that energy and excitement - and, when it doesn't involve humans who don't understand, I love to watch it, that love for life and everything in it.

Last night I decided to "break in" the oven by cooking my mom's homemade lasagna. I really wanted to put foil or a cookie sheet down on the bottom but the manual says it's a no-no, so once I preheated the oven to 350 degrees, in went the lasagna. Just looking at it I knew there was trouble ahead.  About 5 minutes later the smoke alarm went off. With one hand I'm waving at the alarm with a kitchen towel, the other hand trying to open the door to let the smoke out. I open the oven door to check things out....looks okay. Turn down the heat a bit -maybe it's too hot. Five minutes later the smoke alarm goes off again. By this time the cheese is oozing over the side of the dish onto the floor of the oven, which is right above the burners. Five "alarms" later, I give up, turn the oven off and take the lasagna out. It's been in there about 30 minutes and I'm hoping that's enough - if not, there's always the good old standby, microwave! My oven has cheese drippings all over the bottom and the inside of the motorhome is a smoky haze.  The next time, screw the manual- I'm putting a pan below the rack!

I took the lasagna over to mom and dad's motorhome and we had a nice leisurely dinner together. I'd forgotten to take my cell phone with me and when I got back, I had received a phone message from the RV park manager telling me that my dog was barking (I had left the window open because of the smoke) and that he needed some attention. I'm sure "Marley's"  on the black list today!

Flowers

I like taking close-up pictures of flowers for some reason.

Here's one I took the other day that I really like.