Travel Update!

 Maybe you have been wondering whether we have fallen off of the face of the earth. No we haven't, but Van-Life has it's disadvantages, at least if you have little experience with it and just happen "to dump into it".

After some rather hectic last hours before the start, we shoved off onto known highways through the state of Maine. The unusual part began when we had our first break.

"Where is...." was the beginning of most questions. What had be packed away in a rush had now to be unpacked in the middle of what resembled Chaos. Shoulda taken pictures of it, but sorry - I think you might imagine.

While drifting farther and farther south and then west, we tried to secure a place for overnighting. At this time of the year, Massachusetts has no open State Parks with camping, and as we had terrific weather and this being Saturday, private campgrounds were all booked solid. So was every single hotel in the area. So what to do?

It turned out that WALMART was the last available ressource. We found one in Sturbridge, MA.

After getting Dixie out of the little space we had, I emptied 2 cans of soup ($1.98 at Walmart) into a pot, cut in a little Beef sausage ($3.98 at Walmart) added a little bread on the side.Voila - there was our dinner.

Going to bed is another chapter which was never written for older people. I mean if one is young it would look radically different, but having us two oldies crawl into that space between the mattrass and the ceiling would qualify for the Saturday night entertainment show. When I finally had tucked myself in, I started contemplating about what I had subjected my dear wife to, after 37 years of marriage.

Also it dawned on me what being homeless might mean for people having seen better days. Some of those folks don't even have a van to sleep in, but drive around in a beaten-up old Mercury.

Finally sleep came to me pushing those ugly thoughts out of the way.

We had been worried what we would do if we would need to go to the bathroom, when WALMART closes at 11pm.

Bea didn't need to, while I had to calm Dixie at 3am when I stepped across her bed on the way out the side door.

Oh dear! 

Going to bed that early (9am) we woke up too darn early as well. The inside temperature in the van wasn't inviting to get out from under the covers, but being the initiator of this drama, I better had to. Outside again, I walked around the front and opened the driver door. Then I started the engine. It wouldn't take long and a cozy warmth would spread through the apartement. 

When it was time to make coffee, a little problem came up. Our newly purchased propane stove did not light a flame. The cylinder valve underneath was open, but no propane made it to the burner. Coffee got canceled and we got out of the Walmart property.

In search for a place with food we found that the Pilot Truckstop would be a place we could try. 

I will spare you from describing the tedious stressful search for that place. All I can say is that that business is tucked away in a corner you won't find. So forget it. Just go somewhere else

We actually used almost 45 minutes to locate it and when Bea wanted to get coffee from the machine, she had to call for assistance. Since they had misplaced the user manual an employee came over and did a lightning-fast intensive course about how to operate this electronic touch-screen rocket wonder. I remember the other kind where large coffee containers had levers on the top which you could press, upon which coffee would pour into your cup. But I do understand that such primitive equipment wouldn't appeal to our talented young people. 

We did not buy any food as we still had chocolate-chip muffins in the van. Mind you, they were kind of hard to locate there.

Finally we were out on the Interstate heading west.

A great surprise were the low gas prices. Lowest we paid was 2.88/gal, but I saw a station offering regular for 2.78/gal. Of course, as soon as we hit Pennsylvania that party was over. Why that state has so high gas prices (above 3.15/gal) I don't know. Maybe tax-greed! But honestly I didn't mind too much, as our van currently lives of 13mpg, which is GREAT compared to when pulling our travel trailer.

The weather today was absolutely terrific. I never saw a single cloud. The fall colours were just phenomenal.

So yesterday I had found and booked a motel room in a SUPER-8 in Brookeville, PA.

We reached the place at 5pm, filled up at a Flying J and walked into a Denny's place.

I have enjoyed Denny's food years earlier, but obviously some less gifted powers have taken a hold on that old American food chain. My Country-fried steak tasted old bread and the So-called fries were not of any edible quality. Tough and tasteless food was it alltogether.

It also took a long time to getting served

Bea's salmon was burnt and her salad was served without dressing and she was never asked about what dressing she would like. Denny's has deterioated to a third-class eating place. 

When we approached our motel, I saw a Pizza Hut right next to it. That would probably have been a better place for eating.

So, you see we are updating experiences.

After many, many years of RVing around I have to say that no hotel beats a well-equipped RV.

Just think of all the comfort-giving stuff you can have in your RV and how much of baggage you would have to move from your car into your room when staying at a motel. And all it is, is a (hopefully) comfortable bed, a bathroom and a TV (which you, of course, also have in your RV. But I have to admit - Hotel beats Van-Life BIG TIME!

Just wondering what this is all about

There might be more to laugh about tomorrow, so stay tuned!

Leaving a Day Early

The plan was to leave on Sunday, but thanks to good planning on the part of Bea, we are ready for travel. Bea had pre-arranged all totes and boxes inside the house, so today we only needed to take all of it out to the van.

This year's preparations were quite different from previous years. Having our trailer outside, we always took 2 weeks to get everything to it's designated spot. But this year, everything we used to have in the trailer had to be packed down and put into the van or the wooden transport box on the auto-hauler. For 2 days the house looked a little "uprooted", like it would be when preparing for moving out or in. However, tonight everything is ready and cleaned up again. Before supper I went into the basement and drained the water out of the lines. For that we use an air compressor, connected to our garden outlet. I believe this is the best way to safeguard against frost. Before leaving in the morning I will pour plumber's antifreeze into the P-traps and the washer. Shutting off the power will be the very last act before heading out.

At least 5 months in hopefully warm and sunny weather are ahead of us. This is always like a big reward for a busy summer spent. Over the last days temperatures have dropped and whenever the wind picks up it's getting frightfully cold. Most older people are more aware of feeling cold during  late fall and winter. As we grow older we want to avoid experiencing frosty weather. For my part I have never been especially happy about winter and snow. And after 25 years in Norway I would go to great length to avoid winter temperatures.

Puckered Out!

Was it always so much work, or did I get soo much older?

After 2 very intense days for preparations for the big trip I simply feel "puckered out".

There is just so much to do before we can leave home for 5 months.

Just gathering all the tools and camping equipment is a steady run-around. Inside the house one stumbles over heaps of boxes and totes. It seems like all surfaces are filled with something "important" we need to take with us.

Should we take those plastic plates from the trailer? Bea was asking. "Let's take the paper plates", I answered.

What about our preserves made from Black Currant and Blackberries, and what about the tomato spaghetti sauce Bea made from hundreds of home-grown tomatoes?

We won't have a freezer until we are in Colorado, so our supplies of frozen beans and peas will be donated to a dear neighbour.

I still need to check air pressure on all tires, oil on our Jeep, and will we actually get our license plate for the new trailer? 

And so it is going on and on and on. at 10:30am our neighbour called and invited us for lunch. She made turkey soup! What a delight! 

In the afternoon I drive to the post office. The license plate for the trailer has arrived. Thank God! After all it has taken almost a month to get it.

The big transport box on the trailer is almost filled up. Tomorrow we need to fill up the van. And maybe, just maybe, we can start the trip on Saturday, if not it'll be Sunday. That's OK!

I am puckered out for now!

The Yearly Change-Over

Yesterday was the last day of our tourist season, and it was the passengers of the cruise vessel "VIKING MARS" who visited the island. 

After a guided walk through the Roosevelt Cottage they were all headed to the "Tea w.Eleanor" (Roosevelt) after which we dropped them off at the boat ramp in Lubec, ME again. 37 Good-Byes with big smiles is a wonderful reward for a happy tour.

Then today I woke up with a song in my head. This was a day without a tour - though not without a bit of work.

The agenda for the day contained the removal of the passenger seats from our 15-seater bus.

Once we had them out, the real work started. All parts of the previous years camper van conversion had been stored in the garage. They needed to be mounted together to make a nice big bed and a little kitchen unit. Carpet is covering the floor and after 6 hrs. of hard work crawling around in the interior it all looked quite comfortable.

Next thing on the agenda was the transport of room plants to a dear friend who is gonna baby them while we are soaking up the winter sun in sunny California.

While I was relaxing after all that work the phone rang. Another inquiry for an ISLAND TOUR at the end of October. I hate to say NO to a potential guest, but this time, I had to. A week from now we'll be in Colorado picking up our new-to-us motorhome. 

And we are really looking forward to this new adventure.

We still have a couple of days until departure and we know the days will just fly by. But from Sunday evening you might find daily updates on our journey out west.