After less than 4hrs. of sleep
Wow! Good to be back in a normal environment. I'm sure gonna have a couple of naps today, but for now my senses are wide awake and the first thing I want to do is say thanks to all of you guys out there for not "forgetting" us and the blog. THANKS also to Bea, who had an almost three week marathon of running the home and getting things done. Every day at 5pm the phone rang in Germany and we had the "Daily Chat" about what's new and what not.


I see you guys could even follow me in my flight tracks yesterday. Let me tell you what happened. 


After "loosing" my baggage on the run to Europe, (Ich hab' noch einen Koffer in (Berlin) Chicago..) I was eager not to loose it again. Yeah right!


The trouble began by mis-reading my itinerary. Departure time from Hamburg was NOT 2:38pm but 1:45pm! The lady behind the check-in counter gave me a frustrated look. (now I have the works with you)  
Desperately, she tried to find that last flight number from Chicago to San Diego on her screen - but that was not to be. So in all hurry (I had 20 minutes left to departure) she checked the heavy suitcase until Chicago (ORD) only, which was OK with me, as one has to drag that thing around for customs, anyway. But likewise, I also got two boarding cards only - the one to San Diego (SAN) missing.


A bus brought us out to the small Jet from Cimber Sterling Regional Airline. It was XXX..cold when we left the bus to walk up the gangway, but I dared to ask an employee, who I had seen being involved with pushing freight into the jet, whether or not she had seen that suitcase of mine, the one with the read safety strap around. She had seen TWO of those, which made me a Happy Camper.
From Copenhagen I was onboard of SK 943, a big AirBus 340, which was empty enough for me to share 4 seats with that guy from Jamaica.

Scandinavian Airlines: Airbus 340

9hrs later: The AirBus 340 had made a nice soft landing at O'Hare, and I was eager to pick up that piece of baggage for customs and re-check.  I was waitin' and waitin' and waitin'....and then the carousel stopped moving. No baggage for me! Good thing my lay-over was three hours so there was plenty time to file the "delayed baggage claim". The agent could inform me that my beloved suitcase was still enjoying the stay at the Hamburg International Airport.   
No doubt the result of my late Hamburg check-in.


So now, you know, I'm waiting for a ring from some baggage courier to get out here to the Hot Springs.


Keep it where it belongs!

Did I mention the rain?

August 16


I think I did, in yesterday's posting. It started last evening and boy, it is still raining. Went over to Machias this morning for ordering the steel roofing, and I was glad I replaced the wiper blades the other week. And it wasn't even torrential rain, no it came (and comes) as slight and steady as ever. According to the weather-men it will keep raining until the wee hours today. 

When opening my eyes tomorrow I do expect to see the sun again, or else....

Getting the bugs off...

Dropped by my favorite building supply center and then on to the grocery  store.  


Gettin' back to the island I met a new customs officer, asking me where I lived.  That really stands out in stark contrast to the one a couple of weeks ago who looking ahead down the lane shouted back into the office "It's Peter".  

This is not a crop, but dandelions

I can't stop thinking of our upcoming trip down south.
Travel has always meant so much to me. Being a bit older now I have tried to figure out what's the real "behind-the-scenes" reason for it. And I must conclude that it probably is the adventure of the ahead lying unknown, which is so intriguing. I have never traveled with pre-booked overnight stays, on a pre-booked route. No, I love the freedom of a momentary decision, the discovery of places involved, and of course the moving ahead and change of places. Maybe I AM some kind of a gypsy, who knows.

Sculptures at Anza Borrego, CA

The change of living by the sea and going into the totally opposite -  a bone-dry desert, is "the salt in the soup".
But then North America was meant to be my kind of place. Europe does not offer the same opportunities, as you 


would not be able to do f.ex. dry-camping. There are very few area's in Europe where we have similar low population density as in North America. And with a high pop.density there goes the individual campers freedom.


So, yes I am looking forward to a new winter season down south.
And that's all for today.

Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada

June 30


The good life as an RV'er
Today it's just one month ago since we returned from our 9000-mile trip through the U.S. and Canada. That makes me think about how I enjoy life in an RV.

Ready for a cup of Coffee? - A break along the road

Traveling with an RV has a lot of benefits. Take f.ex. you have misplaced something, let's say a document. Unlike in your house where you have to search high and low through several rooms or even two stories, there is a good chance that you will find the document somewhere in a drawer of the RV, after all you have a pretty limited space at hand.

Parked out in the desert - 3 weeks or 3 months -- it doesn't matter

Space, is a keyword when it come to living in an RV. As we usually spend 6 months away from home, we feel that we require a certain amount of room around us. Thus we prefer our 40footer Bus. BUT, we also know couples who live in the smallest type RV, barely 15ft long and much narrower than our bus.    

Somewhere in the Carolina's

Important for all RV'ers is the feeling of Independence and freedom from a usual life at home. I also feel generally renewed and get back a notion of being part of an adventure. 

A stop along the Interstate

Another very nice thing is the camaraderie between RV'ers, and I think I have found out that it originates in the fact that people on the road and away from home are usually "off duty", meaning retired or at least semi-retired. If I feel any stress underway, I know I've done it to myself. Nobody else can be blamed for it. I am the one having tons of time, I can wait at the border for hours, if necessary, as I have everything I need within my reach.
If the weather turns bad, I can simply park for a day or two and wait it all out. It has happened, and will happen again.

Crossing State borders - how many have we done....?

Being on the road I never need to make a reservation if I don't want to. I can always pull in on a truck-stop or an empty space behind a gas station for the night. I never need to be annoyed about slow service in a restaurant as my supper is cooked and served right here - in my RV.


Then there are all the beautiful places we can visit, nothing is too far away, it'll just take a couple of extra days. National Parks, State Parks and even regional Parks are mostly great places to visit. And it is really easy to drop-in with friends and family - as you'll bring your very own accommodation with you.

An early morning in Montana

Of course there are also responsibilities, like f.ex. checking on my vehicles safety features. Tires and air-pressure needs to be checked daily, all lights around the rig have to work a.s.o. but if I keep my rig serviced it won't give me any major problems.

Eager to get going... our true friend and travel companion

"On the Road again" is a popular old song and we play it occasionally when rolling down the Interstate. 


We just hope that gas prices are not climbing to even higher astronomical levels. It will have a devastating effect on RV'ing and the RV-industry as a whole.