Uncategorized

by

First Time Decorating the RV for Christmas

I was a person that had an attic full of Christmas stuff.  I love Christmas and when the kids were small the house was so full of Christmas things I had to rotate out my regular decorations each year just to make room for it all.  When we decided to downsize our stuff, I made the conscious decision to give away my Christmas items just like everything else.  The girls had a good time arguing over who got which ornament and several of the items were hotly contested.   All I kept was a small ceramic light up tree I made years ago in a class with my mom and sister, a small nativity scene my Aunt Susie made, and a little light up choir boy I had in my bedroom as a child.  Those items were supposed to come with us and in the spirit of a new simpler life would be all the Christmas decorating I did.  Unfortunately we discovered the Christmas tub was put into storage instead of going into the camper and although Lee offered to have Kyrston ship it, I didn’t want to run the risk of it being broken.  So here we were, with no Christmas decorations.

One thing I knew I did want to do was make edible Christmas decorations for the outside.  A year ago as I was reading Howard and Linda’s blog RV-Dreams I saw that Linda had made outside ornaments her first year on the road and I loved the idea of completely changing things up.  New life …new traditions.  But as I saw pictures of my other friends decorating their rig, I did start to feel a little nostalgic, but it didn’t make sense to buy Christmas stuff and I really didn’t have anything with sentimental attachment.    On my trip to Columbus last week I spent some time with my in-laws and they gave me a gift.  My first “on the road” Christmas ornament.  Well that decided it!!  I needed to go get some cheapie materials for my outdoor tree.  While I was at Dollar General (fantastic place to shop for this kind of stuff btw) I picked up a few small items for the camper.

The coolest Christmas ornament and my $3.50 Christmas tree

The coolest Christmas ornament and my $3.50 Christmas tree

 

 

Some tiny lights for our railing.

Some tiny lights for our railing

Some Christmas stockings for our fire place!!

Some Christmas stockings for our fire-place!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then Lee found some of my Christmas items in a box in the camper…not the tree but the nativity scene and my little choir boy who I promptly put out.  And I felt quite a bit better.  My friend Jo and I were talking and she said a friend of hers said, “When you are experiencing this much change…continuity is important.”  I thought that was very wise and certainly for me having a small amount of Christmas continuity was a really great thing.  The new with the old is part of this lifestyle and it was nice to have a bit of both.

My little choir boy...I have had this as long as I can remember

My little choir boy…I have had this as long as I can remember

Nativity scene made by my Aunt Susie

Nativity scene made by my Aunt Susie

 

 

 

So once the inside was done I started working on my edible Christmas tree ornaments.  Let me say this took a chunk of time this weekend, but it was really fun and it’s the kind of work you can combine with watching TV or listening to music.  I don’t consider myself particularly crafty (although I hope that changes in the future) so all of these items are pretty simple to do.

Pine Cones Rolled in Birdseed

  1. Gather fallen pine cones around the camp site
  2. Make a mixture of 1/3 lard to 2/3 peanut butter (the peanut butter alone is too difficult for the birds digestion)
  3. Roll pine cone in lard mixture
  4. Roll pine cone in bird seed or oatmeal first then bird seed
  5. Tie loop to the top of pine cone with biodegradable twine

 

Had my assembly line going

Had my assembly line going

Roll pine cone in lard/PB misture

Roll pine cone in lard/PB mixture

Roll in birdseed

Roll in birdseed

Tie a loop to top of finished cone

Tie a loop to top of finished cone

Pretty easy...hence the big smile

Pretty easy…hence the big smile

 

Garland

  1. Purchase Cheerio’s , Dried Fruit, and cheese crackers
  2. Cut lengths of biodegradable twine and quadrupled cotton thread.  Tie large knot in the bottom of each length.
  3. For Cheerios only you can thread twine through the holes to make garland
  4. For  fruit and cheese crackers use thread and a needle to pierce the fruit or holes
  5. Get creative!!
Garland

Garland

Strung crackers and strung plums dipped in oatmeal are on left

Strung crackers and strung plums dipped in oatmeal are on left

 

 

Well we had tons of ornaments ready to go but Sunday we were moving to our last and final site here in South Carolina.  We have stayed in 30, 7, and 23 and all have been very nice.  I was happy to get back my water view but unfortunately there were no handy trees to put my ornaments on that would have a good view from my desk window.  So Lee and I went to Goodwill to see what we could find, and for $2.99 found a metal CD rack.  It actually comes apart into two pieces and Lee sawed off the lowest rung so we could plant it into the ground outside the camper.  I also bought some Christmas napkins to put on the bottom in the hopes of stopping the squirrels from completely demolishing it the first night.

Lee with the "Christmas Tree"

Lee with the “Christmas Tree”

Decorating the tree

Decorating the tree

Garland, Pine Cones,

Garland, Pine Cones,

Decorated "tree"

Decorated “tree”

Sprinkling "snow" made of leftovers and oatmeal

Sprinkling “snow” made of leftovers and oatmeal

Our first brave bird checking it out

Our first brave bird checking it out

 

Overall it was more work than I thought but a ton of fun and I love that we got creative on a budget and put something like this together!!

————————————————————————————————————————————-

 

Supporting our Blog

We very much appreciate your support of our blog.

  • As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.  Search Amazon Here
  • You can purchase the ebook telling the story of how we became full-time RVers.
  • You can purchase our recipe book filled with 80 recipes we have cooked in our RV and taste tested by Lee himself. You can purchase the kindle or paperback version on Amazon or buy the Apple version on Itunes.

 

by

First Time in Asheville, NC and Pisgah National Forest

Before I jump in and tell you about my week, I wanted to follow-up on an item from a couple of weeks ago; we ended up sending back all of the DISH equipment.  After numerous software downloads and time on the phone with their not-so-hot line, we determined something wasn’t working right and since we had a 30 day warranty with Amazon we just sent it all back.  I have to give AMEX and Amazon huge credit here.  We had our credit in less than 24 hours and I feel much better knowing we didn’t lose $700 for a product that does not do what was advertised.  It was numerous factors but two things were deal breakers for us.  One we could not consistently get the HD channels to come in and secondly I was watching a show in the bedroom and Lee was watching a movie in the living room.  When the movie was done he changed the channel and bam! my show went off.  Apparently if you watch two shows at the same time they have to be on the same satellite signal (which makes sense), BUT there is no way to tell which channel is on what satellite.  When we talked to the “help” desk about it the direct quote was “You’ll figure it out.”  Yeah, that was it for me.  Anyway, we decided to take advantage of AT&T’s current double data promotion, and double our cellular data instead and now have 80 GB.  Because the double data deal is still going on we got 80 GB for the price of 40 GB and we will be watching antenna TV, streaming shows, and using Netflix.  It’s not the perfect solution, but we are both MUCH happier with this use of our money and the bill is still within our total budget for internet/phone/cable.

Alright, so enough of that..now on to the fun stuff.  I traveled to NYC (well actually Secaucus, NJ) (I don’t blame her for not being willing to admit to being in NJ. I’ve been there. No offense to any friends of ours who are from there, or legitimate businessmen who are from there. – Lee) this week and have to say I missed my nature.  The only animal I saw all week was a stray cat and the taxi drivers were routinely displeased by my driving. Work was fine and the people were very nice, but it was a stark contrast to what we have been experiencing in South Carolina.  Next week is Columbus, Ohio but that is my hometown and I get to see family, so that should be a lot more fun. I got home on Friday and was pretty tired and then Saturday it rained all day.  When you only have the weekend to explore, bad weather is not so fun, but Lee was nice enough to drive me around shopping and we picked up our Christmas gifts for Wendy’s kids. For years we’ve been in separate states at Christmas and since we will be together I wanted to buy actual presents this year (instead of money or gift cards).  Buying for the baby was super fun…buying for my 16 year old niece, not so much.  16 year old girls are the worst to buy presents for.  I can say this with authority because I have raised three teenage girls!!!  (It’s true. They hate everything. – Lee) After shopping we stopped by Wendy’s and saw Bailey, Bryce, and Abram then came back to the camper and got caught up on some TV and just relaxed.  I had some serious cabin fever though, mainly because I haven’t seen much of this area so was very excited about the forecasted good weather on Sunday and a trip to Asheville.

Asheville is one of the towns I really wanted to explore in this area and since it’s only about two hours away we decided to take a day trip.  As a bonus we got to stop at a Roadside Attraction that my sister Wendy recommended.  There is a water tower in Gaffney, SC that is painted like a giant peach.  Unfortunately from certain angles it also looks like a giant butt which is hysterical.  When we got there we pulled over and we also got to see a man climbing on the peach butt and working on it.  Ok seriously, insert your own joke here, because they just write themselves. (I’m not sure what that weird little nubbin is hanging from the bottom of the butt, but they should probably get it lanced or something. – Lee) 

Giant peach butt

Giant peach butt

Giant peach butt with worker

Giant peach butt with worker

 

So that was fun!!  The next roadside attraction was a small restaurant called Harry’s Grill and Piggy’s Ice (you can’t make this stuff up)  that has “rescued” advertising statues from other restaurants and has them all outside.  It’s in Hendersonville and is well worth the stop.  I love the silly and this place was chock full of it.  We went on a Sunday (when it was closed) which was actually better because it was easy to take pictures.

 

Harry's Grill and Piggy's Ice Hendersonville, NC

Harry’s Grill and Piggy’s Ice Hendersonville, NC

162

 

The hamburgerlar

Remember Officer Big Mac???

Hooterville Jail

Hooterville Jail

Yogi and BooBoo

Yogi and BooBoo

Big Boy

Big Boy

I think the pink elephants were my favorites

I think the pink elephants were my favorites

 

I think this is Harry

I think this is Harry

Big cow head

Big cow head

They had lots of old signs like this one too

They had lots of old signs like this one too

Lee loved the dinosaur...reminded him of out west

Lee loved the dinosaur…reminded him of out west

They had a board to sign your name

They had a board to sign your name

Another of my favorites a big pig with an apple in his mouth

Another of my favorites a big pig with an apple in his mouth

Me hanging with the tiger

Me hanging with the tiger

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And the ringmaster

And the ringmaster

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So the place was really fun and waaay coooler than we thought it would be.  Plus we needed gas anyways, and it was right off the freeway so just a short detour for tons of fun.  We finally made it to Asheville, but I have to say I was pretty underwhelmed.  It is a hipster kind of place, but coming from the New England area, it looks like tons of small ski villages all throughout Vermont.  There are some neat artsy stores, but the prices are pretty high and really it wasn’t that pretty to walk around.  We did have an excellent lunch though at a noodle place which was VERY good and had outstanding service.  And there was a neat wall right next door where people wrote the things they wanted to do before they died.  The answers ranged from “Be on Ellen” to “Be Heard.”  I put “see Mount Rushmore and Alaska.”

200

I wrote see Mt. Rushmore and Alaska

I wrote see Mt. Rushmore and Alaska

Very good noodle house where we ate lunch

Very good noodle house where we ate lunch

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We saw another roadside attraction in Asheville, a giant iron.  Usually I am a sucker for really big common things but this was just so-so.  The best part of the whole town really was a London double-decker bus which was converted into a small coffee shop with tables setup on the top of the bus.  It was really really neat and Lee loved it.  Plus his coffee and my hot chocolate were excellent. Absolutely recommend it, but bring cash as they don’t take credit cards.

216

Double Decker bus converted into a coffee shop

Double Decker bus converted into a coffee shop

Me in the bottom part of the bus where you order

Me in the bottom part of the bus where you order

Lee eating at a booth in the top part of the bus

Lee eating at a booth in the top part of the bus

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After Asheville, we still had plenty of time and Lee wanted to drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  The views are absolutely amazing and even though it was probably the least pretty time of year I still found it very compelling.  We took tons of pics, so I’ll just share a few of my favorites to give you a feel for the views, but if you are near here in the summer or fall I definitely wouldn’t miss it.

Blue Ridge Parkway

Blue Ridge Parkway

 

Blue Ridge Parkway

Blue Ridge Parkway

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blue Ridge Parkway

Blue Ridge Parkway

Blue Ridge Parkway

Blue Ridge Parkway

 

The Parkway goes for 469 miles, so we couldn’t drive the whole thing, so we got off after a while and drove through part of Pisgah National Forest.  I was excited because I had also wanted to see the Forest and the route was perfect.  We stopped along the way at a couple of places to see the stream running through and then turned a corner and found the Looking Glass Waterfall.  I absolutely love love waterfalls and this one was one of the best I have ever seen and it is right off the road.  We got some fantastic pictures and I was so grateful we stumbled across this.  Truly what this life is about for us and I feel very blessed by the day we had.

Stream in Pisgah State Park

Stream in Pisgah State Park

Really liked this shot with the stream and old bridge

Really liked this shot with the stream and old bridge

 

Me and Lee in front of Looking Glass Waterfall

Me and Lee in front of Looking Glass Waterfall

313

 

Looking Glass Waterfall

Looking Glass Waterfall

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

————————————————————————————————————————————-

Camper Chronicles is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.  Search Amazon.com here

 

by

First Thanksgiving on the Road

We intentionally scheduled our first trip to be near my sister and knew we would get to spend our first on the road Thanksgiving with her family.  She also invited my Dad, his wife Carol, and Jake down to visit as well.  Plus we got to spend tons of time with the new baby Wendy is adopting which was so much fun.  My sister and her husband met in cooking school, and even though she is a nurse and he is a banker now…wow can they cook.  Since I didn’t want to suffer by comparison I made Lee’s favorite deviled eggs (recipe below) and a celery tray. It was fun cooking in the rig and I didn’t have any stress from worrying about the rest of the meal.  It was a little sad, since it was our first Thanksgiving in years without at least one of our daughters, but Wendy’s rowdy bunch more than made up for it and we had tons of great food and fun.

Lee's face after eating one of my deviled eggs

Lee’s face after eating one of my deviled eggs

Lee feeding Abram. He loved the sweet potatoes. Can't show any pics of his face on social media until the adoption is complete

Lee feeding Abram. He loved the sweet potatoes. Can’t show any pics of his face on social media until the adoption is complete

11025

My sister Wendy and her son Bryce

My niece Bailey hugging her brother..he's thrilled :)

My niece Bailey hugging her brother..he’s thrilled 🙂

My step-mom Carol

My step-mom Carol

Jake towers over the baby :)

Jake towers over the baby 🙂

Lee and my brother-in-law Josh

Lee and my brother-in-law Josh

My nephew Alex is a very energetic 10 year old.

My nephew Alex is a very energetic 10-year-old.

Wendy had it all under control. It was fun not having to be the chef!!

Wendy had it all under control. It was fun not having to be the chef!!

After dinner Wendy, Carol and Bailey all went shopping, but since we just spent months getting rid of all our stuff that was the last thing I wanted (or needed to do) so no Black Friday shopping for me…which was actually awesome.  I didn’t miss the craziness at all.  Friday Dad came over and checked out Lake Wylie with the boys and then we all went to Captain Steve’s, a local fish restaurant.  It was reasonably priced ($30 for two of us) but the food wasn’t that great.  Lee said the catfish at Anna J’s was way better.  The company was good though and we took up a long table in the restaurant.

Dad and Carol

Dad and Carol

I love this picture of Josh as the long -suffering parent with his kids lol. He's a really good dad

I love this picture of Josh as the long suffering parent with his kids lol. He’s a really good dad

Saturday was the Ohio State – Michigan football game and as every person in my family went to Ohio State at some point or another we are all big fans.  I loved being with them for the big game and although there were some tough moments, Ohio State was of course victorious!!

Dad and Bryce

Dad and Bryce

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lee who is not a football fan decided to go to visit a Roadside attraction that is right near Wendy’s house.  I have talked before about this great app I love called Roadside America .  Every where we go I look the area up and I am so glad I did because there is a TARDIS in a person’s backyard right near Wendy’s house.  The Tardis is a London phone booth which acts as the Time Machine for Doctor Who.  Lee, Kay, and Kat all love that show and he was beyond excited someone had one in Rock Hill, SC.  Turns out the folks are huge Dr. Who fans and their TARDIS is actually a chicken coop.  So funny.

 

Lee and the Tardis

Lee and the Tardis

Inside is a chicken coop

Inside is a chicken coop

The back has the exit for the chickens

The back has the exit for the chickens

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So Lee had a great time and I got to watch the big game with my family.  We had so much fun and although I did miss the girls, I was so glad we got to spend our first Thanksgiving at Wendy’s house.

I will be traveling for work the next couple of weeks, so not sure how much blogging I will do, but Lee and I will try to get out some on the weekends.  I think Lee is excited about the alone time because he can finally get things organized without me being in the way.  We are staying here through  Alec’s birthday and for Abram’s first Christmas so we will definitely have time to explore.

 Lee’s Favorite Deviled Eggs

I usually make some plain, some with paprika, and some with olives so everyone is happy. Lee is incredibly picky about his deviled eggs and this is the recipe he likes the best.  I always have him taste test one before I start stuffing.  He really is a deviled egg aficionado. 

  • 2 dozen eggs
  • 1/4 tsp onion salt
  • 1/4 tsp celery salt
  • 1/4 tsp garlic salt
  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • 6 squirts yellow mustard
  • paprika (optional)
  • Green olives (optional)
  1. Boil Eggs
  2. Run cold water over eggs, then place in refrigerator until chilled
  3. Peel eggs
  4. Slice eggs in half longways
  5. Remove yolks and place in bowl
  6. Using a fork break yolks into very small pieces
  7. Add mayonnaise, mustard, garlic, celery, and onion salt
  8. Mix very well with a fork
  9. Using a small spoon place egg mixture into the center of the egg whites
  10. Sprinkle with paprika (if desired)
  11. Cut olives and place a slice (without pimento) on each egg (if desired)
Lee's Favorite Deviled Eggs

Lee’s Favorite Deviled Eggs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

————————————————————————————————————————————-

Camper Chronicles is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.  Search Amazon.com here

 

 

 

by

Compromises

I promised myself when I started this blog I would be as honest as I possibly could.  (I made no such promise. Caveat emptor. – Lee) I think many people gloss over any detail that even gives the slightest impression that this life is not the best thing ever, but obviously that’s not realistic.  Life is life.  It has ups and downs, good and bad.  That’s part of the fun.  If every day was a perfect day things would get pretty boring pretty quick.  So as much as I can I will try to present the balanced picture.   One of the things about this lifestyle is it involves many compromises.  In our sticks and bricks we had created a life that really suited our day-to-day needs.  Obviously it wasn’t good enough or we would never have made the move, but we were comfortable. (I’m never actually comfortable, the best I can shoot for is minimally uncomfortable. – Lee)  Going out on the road is an exercise in getting out of your comfort zone and it seems every decision we make involves compromise of one sort or another.  Compromise is not bad in and of itself, (yes, it is – Lee.) but you really have to be honest with yourself and each other about what really matters to you.  In this post I am going to talk about some of the compromises we have run into in just the first week.  Please keep in mind most of these things are definitely “first world problems” and taken individually we would probably not even pause, but so many all at the same time is a little unsettling.  Unsettling is good though in my opinion. (Wanna guess what my opinion is? -Lee)  It means we are definitely out of our comfort zone.  So here are some of the compromises we are dealing with.

Internet – In  our seasonal site we had very strong, unlimited internet. (We were using cable internet. Always has been, and always be the fastest and most stable connection to interwebs. – Lee)  Now things are different.  The campsite has WiFi (No, it does not. They claim to have WiFi, but what they have is something really cool and new where you see a WiFi network, you connect to it, and then it disappears. Every. Single. Damn. Time. It’s like Whac-A-Mole, but there’s no little tickets that spit out that you can redeem for cool little prizes. – Lee) (unusual in a State Park) but they are having issues with it and it has been up and down all week.  Luckily we have strong cell signal and have had good luck using our  ATT hot spot.  We decided to stay with ATT (rather than going with Verizon which most full timers do) because we would have had to purchase a new IPhone and Ipad and sign a two-year contract with Verizon.  At this point we really don’t want to get locked into any long-term commitments because we don’t know what life on the road will look like for us.  With  ATT we could keep our original devices and best of all continue month to month.  Plus, we were lucky enough to take advantage of the double data deals in October so we got  40 GB of data a month for around $106.  I know that sounds like a lot of data, but if you want to stream movies and/or do a lot of downloading it adds up quick.  For example, we have only been on the road for one week and with extremely careless data usage we have already used 65% of our monthly allotment.  Now we certainly can throttle back (and will)  but…damn.  The next level up (60 GB) was almost double in price, so we will need to change our internet usage patterns and really keep an eye on what we are doing and when.  Is that a huge deal? Of course not, but when you’ve had unlimited fast internet for $50 a month it’s a bit of an adjustment to have less for more money.

TV – Lee did tons of research and based on what we wanted we purchased $600 in hardware (dish with two channel selector and two boxes) from Wineguard.  Lee went to set it up this week and  after numerous phone calls discovered he was flat-out lied to about the functionality and what we purchased will do.   He was very specific that we wanted to watch one channel and DVR another, and yet discovered that this is only possible if you have a Dish plan associated with a house.  The “on the road” month-to-month plan that was so appealing to us does not allow for this functionality.  He was livid, and frankly I don’t blame him, because being a TV guy he was very very specific when he put this system together.  We could have saved the $600 and spent about $200 instead which is not an insignificant amount of money.  Also, despite spending an additional $10 a month for HD channels it turns out only some of the channels are actually HD (essentially the networks and we are already getting a beautiful HD signal for free with our over the air antenna).   I know, poor baby right, but in my sticks and bricks I called a guy he came out and setup my cable.  (Or, more often, she called a guy, he came out and screwed it up, then I came home and fixed it. – Lee) On the road,  Lee spent the better part of a day just getting it all set up and numerous phone calls to discover it wouldn’t work as expected.  The situation did prompt  a really good conversation about how much we wanted TV to be part of our new life.  I want a life that involves less TV and more hikes and bird watching, but we are also being realistic that we are not completely willing to give up all TV immediately.  So it will require more research and discussion and some compromise (in this case not necessarily a bad thing), (I beg to differ- Lee) but it was a shock since Lee had done so much research in advance of going on the road.  On a positive note I did get to watch both the Patriots game and the Dancing with the Stars finale on local TV (with a beautiful free HD signal) so I was very happy this week!!  (Clearly she does not speak for me on this – Lee) 

Working from Camper –  I worked from the camper all last summer but the last week has been a different experience.  As I mentioned before I am lucky enough to be able to do my job from the road.  We have 140 office locations spread throughout the United States and as long as I have phone, internet, and access to an airport  it shouldn’t matter where I work from.  I like a mixed work week with some days in an office and others from home and that is working well here as the Charlotte office is only a 30 minute drive from our campsite.     The office days give me great interaction with our field staff, and I use home days for getting lots of “quiet time” work done.  So I went into the office on Wednesday to check it out and they were so nice.  They put me in a great office and made me feel right at home.  Over 15 years with my company I have worked with many people, and Lorraine from Charlotte was one of my favorites.  She took great care of me and went out of her way to make me feel welcome. The compromise occurred when I worked from the camper.  My desk area is great and the WiFi connection was strong, but in the past when I worked from the camper Lee was never there.  After a somewhat frustrating first day on his part, we pretty quickly we realized we were going to need to make some adjustments.  We have the Front Living Room model so the TV is up at the front as well as the desk area and because of all the conference calls, Lee couldn’t really do anything at all inside the camper. (And that’s where all the cool stuff is!-Lee) So he was either outside (which was fine) or inside being stuck in 2/3 of the camper and needing to be super quiet.(I’m not so good at being quiet, let alone “super quiet” -Lee) We never thought through what this would look like with two people in the camper and it was different. We will definitely be fine, but it did catch us both by surprise. (What she doesn’t know is that I am planning to move her desk outside. Problem solved. Everyone wins. Well, I win. That’s good enough for me. What’s next? -Lee)

Temperature – The great thing about the rig is it heats up quickly, but it also loses heat quickly as well.  The weather here has been all over the place, ranging from 14 degrees one morning to a high of 78 one afternoon.  Don’t get me wrong, I am loving the weather, but we have struggled a bit with regulating the temperature.  It was important to us that we find a way to manage the temp using only electric power because propane costs additional money and we would like to save that for the really chilly nights.  I also made a mistake during one of our early moves and left the space heater in the bedroom sticking out too far from the wall and crushed the top of it with the slide out.  Not good, but Lee was very sweet about it.    He found a Hunter 24″ heater with temperature settings and a remote control for $50 at Home Depot which wasn’t awful, and we also bought a small heater for the kitchen area. The nicer unit with the specific temperature setting is really important for the bedroom or it can get really hot at night.  The kitchen one we just turn on and off as needed.  We use the electric fireplace (which has temperature control) for the front room, so now we have all rooms covered with electric heat.  I hear there are campgrounds where they really crack down on electric heaters, but so far we have not experienced that and want to use electric heat as much as possible.  The only downside is you really need to watch what you run at the same time or you will overload your circuits and pop a breaker.  For example, we can’t run all three heaters and the coffee maker or microwave at the same time, but really that hasn’t been a big deal. I guess it gets trickier when on 30 amp.  I also have heard that blow dryers will easily  overload circuits but since my hair is so short that’s never an issue for us!!  Again, not a big deal but unlike a sticks and bricks you can’t just flip everything on at the same time, you have to think it through a little.

Smoking – We are smokers and yes I know we should quit,  but seriously I can only handle so much change at one time.  We don’t smoke in the camper at all (that was a hard rule I had before we bought it) and when we looked at our initial budgets we saw pretty quickly that cigarettes was a huge line item.  Lee went into action and starting rolling our own.  A carton of premade cigarettes in NH costs around $65, and he can make a carton and a half for about $37. Plus, the bagged cigarette tobacco has less additives than the premade cigarettes.  So here we come to the Carolinas, the home of Phillip Morris for heaven’s sake, and we can’t find bagged cigarette tobacco anywhere.  We looked in two states and called or went to many, many stores.  You also cannot purchase it online because of the local state rules so finally we decided we would have to settle for pipe tobacco which is much cheaper than the cigarette cut but much harder to roll.  Will we muddle through?  Of course, but it’s one more example of something simple that becomes not simple overnight and is taking quite a bit of our time and energy. (Here’s an update on that, I finally found a place that sells what we were looking for, and will order as many bags as I want, so that problem is solved, at least for now. We’ll be travelling with a somewhat ridiculous amount of bagged tobacco when we go from here to Florida, but I’m sure we’ll find a source for it again when we get there.-Lee)

Security – One last thing I want to mention that we never thought much about was the security of our stuff.  When living on our seasonal site, it was mostly a non-issue as we had plenty of neighbors who kept an eye on things.  But after our friend Deb had her kayak stolen (from a well run state campground) and another friend Jo had her outside rug stolen from her truck bed at rest stop I started to think more about theft.  (Who the hell steals a USED outdoor rug from the back of a pickup truck at a rest stop???? People suck. -Lee) Although I absolutely love the State campground we are in there is quite a bit of day traffic unrelated to the campground. It’s on a lake, and there are people bringing in and out boats all day. After talking to Deb I decided the best thing was to keep the bikes locked up and not leave anything out that might present a good target.  So instead of putting out our $60 gravity chairs, we have the cheaper models out all the time.  Also,  I really want to take an overnight weekend to Charleston at some point, but I am not sure how I would feel about leaving the camper unattended. There is a mix here of very expensive RV’s and some people living in pop up campers and even tents.  (Not that the type of camper or lack of one in any way reflects on the type of person camping, but these are definitely sketchy people. One in particular started right away with “can I bum some cigarettes from you” and “can I get a ride to the store, my car isn’t running” and that sort of thing. Ick. – Lee) I don’t feel unsafe physically, but I don’t think I would want to leave my stuff lying around.   So for the time being, I will have to play this by ear.  The ranger said the campground really clears out after Thanksgiving weekend and I will see if we feel more or less safe with less people.

So,  those are a few of the compromises we have been working through over the last 10 days.  None are major and the benefits by far outweigh the irritations, but it definitely is part of the story.  I want to end on a positive note though so I am going to share some bird pictures I took this week.  I have wanted to have the time (and a nice enough camera) to start taking bird pictures for years.  I finally was able to start that so here are some pics.   Eventually I will be adding a new page with the birds I have identified so I can keep track of what I have seen.  I am also using a great website called  What Bird.com to help me identify the birds, but I am super new at this so if I get one wrong I would really appreciate a correction note from anyone so I can change it.

 

Chickadee

                           Chickadee Rock Hill, SC                                       (picture taken by Lee)

Yellow finch

Pine Warbler  Rock Hill, SC             (picture taken by Lee)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cardinal Rock Hill, SC

Cardinal Rock Hill, SC

 

 

 

 

 

 

————————————————————————————————————————————-

 

Supporting our Blog

We very much appreciate your support of our blog.

  • As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.  Search Amazon Here
  • You can purchase the ebook telling the story of how we became full-time RVers.
  • You can purchase our recipe book filled with 80 recipes we have cooked in our RV and taste tested by Lee himself. You can purchase the kindle or paperback version on Amazon or buy the Apple version on Itunes.

 

by

Hanging with Deb and Steve

The very next day after we landed in Rock Hill, Steve and Deb came to visit!!  They had rerouted themselves to spend time with us, which was so sweet, and a wonderful way to start our adventure.  We made chili for them and once they got situated we went over and spent some time eating and getting caught up.  Steve works from his rig and we spent some time talking about how he makes that work for both of them.  It was a great conversation and it’s interesting to talk about the similarities and differences between what we are experiencing.

I promised some pictures of Ebenezer State Park in my last blog so here we are.   Our “back yard” looks out on the water and it is a very short walk down to the water’s edge. They have sites that can be reserved for two weeks as well as “drop in” sites that are day to day.  The campground is broken into two sections; a wooded area and an open area with lake views and the rangers are very nice. The price is right at $28 a day for full hookups, including city water, and fantastic water pressure.  They have free wifi which is on the weak side but we had no trouble getting cell signal here.

I was dying to try out my new camera a Canon Rebel T5 so I walked down to the water and took some pictures.  My one big splurge before going on the road was this camera.  I have been using a point and shoot for many years, but I couldn’t stand the thought of missing out on a great shot because I didn’t have the right lens.  It was pretty darn intimidating at first, but Lee hooked me up and set the settings at a simple point and shoot mode.  I will get more fancy later, but for right now I loved  how simple it was to use.  Plus I felt like a professional with my fancy camera and strap!!

Campsite in Ebenezer State Park

Campsite in Ebenezer State Park

 

 

Our Camper :)

Our Camper. (Comes complete with handsome and witty man.-Lee)

 

077

View from our back window

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ebenezer State Park

Lake Wylie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ebenezer State Park

Ebenezer State Park beach area

 

Lakw Wylie

Lake Wylie has beautiful houses across the shore

Lake Wylie

Lake Wylie has many small islands you can land a boat on

The next night Steve and Deb cooked.  They made chicken breasts wrapped with bacon, new potatoes, and salad, and it was amazing.  Here’s the thing about swapping meals…what’s normal to the people cooking is super good to the invitees.  We all tend to make the same meals over and over so it’s a great opportunity to eat something new and get some fresh ideas.   Deb’s potatoes in particular were awesome.  She medium boiled them in salt water to fork tender then drained them and added butter and a sprinkle of parsley.  So good.  The skins were super soft and it was easy.  I added the recipe below

Oh, and the funniest thing happened.  We have two pretty brazen squirrels hanging out at our site (Rocky and Adrian).  Lee put some birdseed on the ground and now they are our best friends.  Well Rocky did the craziest thing.  He jumped on our chair and then climbed up on the metal hand rail next to our door.  Then he sat there and swiped at the door with his paws as if he was trying to get in.  Crazy.  Couldn’t get a pic when he was on the rail, but he stayed there for a really long time before he jumped down and wandered away.  Never seen anything like that.

Rocky

Rocky  (picture taken by Lee)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next night I made my Grandma Betty’s Meatloaf.  She passed not that long ago and throughout this process I really have felt she was watching out for me, so it was nice to make her signature dish and get to share it with our friends.  Steve and Debbie really liked it (I gave Steve the leftovers for a meatloaf sandwich the next day)  and I have posted the recipe below.   Then we played Cards against Humanity and Steve crushed it even though they have never played before.  I do want to warn you: the game is definitely for adults and can stray into the raunchy.  (That’s not true at all. It starts in the raunchy and quickly devolves into the downright offensive. I love it. – Lee) Luckily they definitely got it and there was a ton of laughter.   Who knew Deb had such a wicked sense of humor 🙂  Deb also showed us how she routes them.  She is the planning master and is an expert at finding campgrounds and routes.  She uses a website called Road Tripper (they also have an app) and Lee really liked it.

The next morning we went to this little hole in the wall breakfast place my sister recommended called Anna J’s.  I love the mom and pop places and luckily it’s what our new budget can afford.  I got silver dollar pancakes, bacon, and coffee for $5.  Can’t beat that.  Deb got the catfish and eggs because she had never seen it before.  I love her adventurous spirit.  The catfish was unbelievably good and the portion was so large we all had a piece.

Look at this piece of catfish...unbelievable and I think her breakfast was $6

Look at this piece of catfish…unbelievable and I think her breakfast was $6

Steve and Deb at Anna J's

Steve and Deb at Anna J’s…they are so cute

 

So what do you do after going to a diner for breakfast in South Carolina?  Well, you go to a gun range of course!!  Let me start by saying I am a huge fan of all of our amendments including the right to bear arms so I have no problem with gun ownership at all.  We never had guns (although Lee grew up with them) because of the kids, and for us personally the potential risk was not worth it.  However now that it is just the two of us we have been rethinking that strategy and since Steve and Deb have a gun in their rig we decided to go to a range and shoot it.  If you are a gun owner, I think it is incredibly important that both members of the couple are comfortable enough shooting it to use it in a dangerous situation.  That means being able to load, cock, and fire the weapon with some level of certainty.  In order to make that work for me (who has very limited experience) it would be important to find a handgun that I felt I could grow comfortable with over time.  Steve’s was not too bad but had a bit of a kick for me, so I rented (for $7) a Smith & Wesson 9MM.  I liked shooting it and found it reasonably easy to cock and load, but I am not ready to “pull the trigger” and buy one.  Sorry couldn’t help myself 🙂  It was fun though and only cost $18 for Deb and Steve who had their own gun and bullets and $57 for Lee and I who rented one and bought 100 rounds. Kind of pricey for an hour’s entertainment but it’s also research so I didn’t feel too bad about it.  Plus of course we got some great pictures and had a really good time.  Although Deb has been shooting since age four, she has never been to a gun range so it was a new experience for her.

Shot him right in the junk. I was not messing around :)

Shot him right in the junk. I was not messing around 🙂

Deb is one heck of a shot. She's been shooting since she was 4 years old. Don't mess with her.

Deb is one heck of a shot. She’s been shooting since she was 4 years old. Don’t mess with her.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steve's a goofball

Steve’s a goofball.  He was simulating a man coming at me to get me in the shooting mood. It worked!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Me and Deb. Do you believe she's older than me?? What I wouldn't give for that Italian heritage

Me and Deb.

 

Lee was into it

Lee was into it

 

 

 

 

 

 

We went over to see my sister briefly after the gun range.  Needed to pick up our new heated fresh water hose. (Even though the daytime weather is quite nice, sometimes the nights can get down below freezing, and there’s no protection from the cold for the fresh water hose that goes from the campground’s water supply hydrant to the camper. It’s a pain to go out and turn it off every night, and then drain it, so it doesn’t freeze up. This hose has a built in heating element that runs the length of the hose, and a thermostat, and keeps the water above freezing, down to well below zero. One of the nicest features is that it is female on both ends, so you can use it whether the power source that you are plugging in to is at the supply end, or the demand end. It comes with a male-male adaptor to use that feature. – Lee) It’s nice to be able to send things to my sister while we are here and we are taking full advantage to get our last minute items from Amazon.  Then we took some relax time in the afternoon and just hung out in the beautiful sun. The weather has been beautiful all week…clear blue skies and temperatures in the mid 60’s.  As I watched my friends in Buffalo and other parts east deal with nasty weather, I felt so very grateful to be in a place where I could walk outside with just a light jacket.  One thing we hadn’t done yet was have a campfire, so we took advantage of our last night with Steve and Deb and made one.  It was great, and just what we needed to take off the night chill and the first campfire of our new life together.  So glad we had friends there to share it with us.

Our first fire of our new life. It was a good one

Our first fire of our new life. It was a good one

Deb and Steve bringing us Stew and biscuits...yummy

Deb and Steve bringing us stew and biscuits…yummy

Deb made stew and biscuits and we sat around the fire and talked until pretty late.  Even though we are going through similar things today, we took advantage of the time to learn a little about each others pasts and since Deb has 4 kids and I have 3 shared our childbirth stories…hey, it’s what parents do.  (No pictures, because….ewwww. – Lee) The best story of the night though goes to Debbie when she told us how Steve passed out in their Lamaze class.   He says it was the heat, but they were playing the C-section video at the time so you be the judge!!!  Steve is a big guy, and he passed out cold in the hallway and they had to carry him into one of the doctors’ offices and use smelling salts to revive him.  The picture of that is still making me smile and it was so nice to get to know each other better.

We had a great time this week and feel really blessed that Deb and Steve changed their travel plans to meet up with us.  They are headed to Charleston, Savannah, and all parts of Forida, but we hope to meet up with them again before they head out west.  I know I keep saying it but it bears repeating…you meet the nicest people in this lifestyle and we are truly grateful for it.

Recipes

Tracy’s Chili

  • 3 packages of chili seasoning (I like McCormick but any brand will do)
  • 3 lbs hamburger
  • 1 – (15 oz) can dark red kidney beans (drained)
  • 2 – (15 oz) cans dark red kidney beans (drained)
  • 3 –  (14oz) cans petite diced tomatoes (no flavoring and do not drain)
  1. Brown hamburger
  2. Add tomatoes, kidney beans, and seasoning packets to large pot
  3. Add cooked and drained hamburger
  4. Cook over medium heat until comes to a light boil
  5. Simmer (stir frequently so it does not burn)
  6. Let sit several hours on no heat or overnight
  7. Eat one or two meals then freeze the rest

 

Deb’s Tiny Potatoes

  • Small bag of white or red new potatoes
  • 1 stick of Butter
  • Parsley
  • Salt
  1. Boil potatoes in salt water until fork tender
  2. Drain
  3. Add 1/2 to 1 stick of butter (use generously)
  4. Season with parsley
  5. Serve

Grandma Betty’s Meatloaf

  • 2 pounds hamburger
  • 1 package Lipton’s onion soup mix
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup crumbled Saltine Crackers
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 cup ketchup
  • 1/2 cup BBQ sauce
  • Aluminum Foil
  • Glass or metal baking dish
  1. Place hamburger in a large mixing bowl and add soup mix, crackers, milk, and egg
  2. In a separate small bowl mix ketchup and BBQ sauce
  3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  4. Mix hamburger and ingredients VERY well using your hands (yes it’s messy but it’s the best way!!)
  5. Shape meatloaf into a loaf in a baking pan (I try to not make it too thick or the middle does not get done)
  6. Cover top and sides of meatloaf with sauce mixture (saving 1/2 for second basting)
  7. Cover pan with aluminum foil
  8. Cook 1/2 hour at 350 degrees then remove from oven
  9. Drain grease, baste with remaining sauce, cover with foil, place in oven
  10. Cook an additional 1/2 hour
  11. Remove from oven and check the middle to make sure it’s down
  12. Place in oven for an additional 10 minutes uncovered to lightly brown the sauce on top
  13. Serve

Y001

 

 

 

 

 

 

————————————————————————————————————————————-

Camper Chronicles is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.  Search Amazon.com here

by

First Time Freezing Up the Water Hose

We had a wonderful visit with our friends Cori and Greg and their awesome dog Hobie (cavachon).  They have a really nice Class A and since our rig was frankly a god awful mess (filled with last-minute stuff), they were kind enough to let us hang at their place.  They had my favorite bottle of  wine, Honey Jack Daniels for Lee, and champagne on hand to celebrate our new life.  We had so much fun, especially playing Cards Against Humanity, at which Lee totally demolished us all. To thank them for being so awesome we took them to lunch and ended up eating at this little diner where the movie the Blob was filmed many years ago.  I guess the local movie theater recreates the scene from the movie every year where everyone comes running out screaming.  The food was good, dessert was delicious, and the company beyond compare.  We were so happy that we got to share our launch with such great friends..it made a wonderful experience even better. 

The diner where the movie The Blob was filmed. Yummy desert!!

The diner where the movie The Blob was filmed. Yummy desert!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Because the drive was so crazy on Friday we decided to take our time with the remaining nine hours.  We split it into two 5 hour trips..leaving very early in the morning and getting to our destination by 11:30.  This was MUCH better.  We used the walkie talkies, Lee mapped the route (including Flying J stops) in advance, and despite some heavy rain, it was much better.  Plus getting at a campground and setting up in the daytime is of course way better than rolling in late at night and trying to set up in the dark.  Our first stop was a Passport America Park called Stoney Creek RV Resort.  For the low Passport America price of $19 we got a pull through site with water and 50 amp electric for the night.  We had heard quite a bit about Passport America and since it’s pretty cheap, decided to give it a try.  I was VERY happy with how easy it was to use.    They have an app to look up the participating campgrounds and we had no issue at all getting the price.  Definitely recommend it for those short stays..will let you know how it works down the road for longer ones.  If you do decide to sign up please use our number C-650771 as a reference number and I think we will get some time added to our membership.

The campground was nice and had a nice man-made pond with a beach.  It was well wooded, and had one of the best  laundry rooms I’ve seen so far.  The wifi was strong and I would definitely recommend it for a quick stay.  They also had a really cool event room and it looks like this place would be a lot of fun in season, but this time of year it was pretty empty.

004

Stoney Creek RV Resort

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also took this picture of a tree trunk in the park, because I love nature sculptures and thought this was pretty neat. Please excuse the Dallas Cowboys trailer in the background.  I was so excited by the tree I didn’t even notice that.  Sorry my Texan friends but I am NOT a Dallas fan.

003

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was cold and rainy so we didn’t venture out much but Lee took advantage of the time to start with the organizing.  Most of that will come when we get settled in South Carolina, but he had to do some of it so we could walk from one end of the coach to another 🙂  We knew it was going to be cold that night, but since it rained all day we didn’t think it would get that cold.  So first thing in the morning we discovered our water hose was frozen and since we were traveling we didn’t put any water in the tank.  So let me say we know better.  We had talked this particular issue to death prior to going on the road and it was just stupid.  Thankfully all it cost us was showers in the morning.  Nothing burst and we had bottled water in the rig for brushing our teeth.  I also had purchase some adult wipes which work ok for cleaning up in a pinch. Funny story, I have been carrying around these soap pads for over a year, don’t ask me why, in case we were in a situation with no water.  So I am all proud of myself and I go pull them out and right on the package it says need water.  Geez those are going in the trash.

So despite the chaos we got on the road and finally made it to Ebenezer Park in Rock Hill, South Carolina.  The park ranger was so nice and it took awhile, but we backed into our site which has a beautiful view of the lake.  Lots of pics in my next entry I promise.  We deployed and then went to see my sister who lives about 15 minutes away.  She is in the process of adopting a new baby, and although I can’t show you pics of him yet because the adoption isn’t finalized he is the most beautiful happy and fat baby on the planet!!  Of course I am little biased, but he was amazing and I loved seeing my niece and nephews.  Deb and Steve are due in tomorrow and are staying in the same campground so this should be a great week!

 Lessons Learned

  • Disconnect your water hose from the faucet if you even think it might freeze overnight
  • Put some water in your fresh water tank if you think it will freeze so you can take a shower in the morning
  • Adult wipes work for cleaning up in a pinch
  • Passport America is a good deal

Stoney Creek RV Resort – Greenville, VA 3 out of 5 pine cones

Man made pond with beach, well wooded.  Passport America location electric and water hookup only cost us $19 per night.  Many pull through’s.  Wifi.  Small camp store and friendly staff.  Multiple kids play areas and a terrific laundry facility.  The bathrooms were clean, I didn’t see the showers.  Definitely fine for an overnight stay and looks like it would be good for longer.

————————————————————————————————————————————-

 

Supporting our Blog

We very much appreciate your support of our blog.

  • As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.  Search Amazon Here
  • You can purchase the ebook telling the story of how we became full-time RVers.
  • You can purchase our recipe book filled with 80 recipes we have cooked in our RV and taste tested by Lee himself. You can purchase the kindle or paperback version on Amazon or buy the Apple version on Itunes.

 

by

First Time Full Timing

It’s been a crazy couple of weeks but we made it, and as of today we are officially full timers!!!  We are sitting in the beautiful Brandywine Creek Campground in Pennsylvania with our friends Cori and Greg, with our new lives stretched out in front of us.  It’s an amazing feeling and very difficult to describe.  This whole journey started with our best friend Mike dying two years ago and coincidentally (or not so much) today would have been Mike’s 47th birthday.  We have always felt he has been watching over us and I have no doubt he is smiling right now seeing us make our dream come true. We love you Mike.

Let me back up a bit and tell you about the last couple of weeks and how we got here.  By the way, if you are interested in the full year-long journey I have added a new page on the website called “Becoming Full Timers – Step by Step“  which chronicles the year-long journey, but on this post I am just going to talk about the last couple of weeks.

Selling the house was an absolute must for us to make this work, but until the actual paperwork was signed there was still a small piece of me that was holding back.  Closings fall through or get delayed, so everything I did was knowing that it wasn’t real until the ink was dry. One of the nicest and most difficult parts of the transition was all the many goodbyes.  I am a “rip the band-aid off” kind of person, and as my kids will tell you, long goodbyes are definitely not my thing, but because it was over the course of 14 days there were so many goodbyes and it was all stretched out.  Don’t get me wrong, both Lee and I are incredibly grateful that folks cared enough about us to want to say goodbye, but it was sad.  We had goodbye meals with our friends Mark and Cricket, Nick and Georgia, and Lee’s Board of Directors.  Rick and his mom Sandra came over to wish us off and our neighbor across the street stopped by to say goodbye and thank us for being such good neighbors.  Lee has been such a huge part of our little community that they actually wrote an article about his leaving in our paper and everywhere he went people talked to him about it.  I even got questioned when I went to vote by the lady who looked my name up.  What can I say, it’s a small town, and the idea of going on the road really seems to appeals to people. Several people sent us gifts, which was so sweet, and my favorite was a wonderful card from a retired woman who is on Lee’s board.  She wrote some very nice things to him and added a note to me.  It said, “My mother always said: ‘Retirement is twice as much husband, and half as much money.’  It’s true, but it’s absolutely wonderful.”  It was such a sweet sentiment and although we aren’t exactly retired it certainly applies to our new life on the road.

Along with the goodbyes we also had a lot of “lasts”.  Last time going to our favorite restaurant, Luca’s. Very sad but the meal was fantastic! Last time getting a haircut (my stylist Maria wrote down all my color and cut information for me and I was very touched), etc.  (Last time eating at the Chinese buffet. Remember, kids, it’s not the BEST Chinese food, but it is the MOST Chinese food.-Lee) Plus, just driving through town, last time seeing this place or that place.  We have no particular sentimental attachment to our house but it was where we raised our kids and Keene, NH has been a huge part of our life for the last 13 years.

So, while we were dealing with the emotions of leaving, we also had A LOT of work left to do.  We had been preparing for months but wow the last few days were chaotic.  I can’t believe how much little stuff was left to go through and in the end we ended up filling the camper and both the car and truck with “incidentals.”  Will we throw most of that away? …sure ..but the combination of time pressure and sentimentality had us keeping a few things we probably don’t need.  Lee made multiple last-minute trips to the dump and the storage building and even so we were still doing a last-minute clean/fire drill the morning of the walk-through and closing.  Luckily we got it all done with about 20 minutes to spare and I finally got to meet the couple who is buying our house.  They are a great young couple who have been renting a duplex, with her parents in the other half. Needless to say they were super excited and because they don’t have much to start with, were willing to take anything we left over.  This was a HUGE benefit for us because not only could we pay it forward a bit with this nice young couple, we didn’t need to worry about Craig’s List or garage sales in the middle of all the other things going on.

They were truly grateful for everything we left behind and I felt so good when they told us they had looked at many houses but ours felt like “home” to them.  It was a very nice house to raise kids in and I am so glad it will be in such good hands.  The closing went extremely well although it did take a while as they were first time home buyers.  Finally we were done at 11:20 am and Lee handed them the keys.  By the way you should have seen the look on their face when Lee gave them 8 (yes eight) keys to the back door.  My husband is a crazy person 🙂 (For those of you who understand, that is the officially sanctioned correct number of keys. Anything less is not enough, anything more is just silly.-Lee)

My original mental picture of leaving was after the closing we would jump in the car and go.  Of course that didn’t happen, we had to go to the bank to deposit the check, drop off cable boxes, and eat some McDonald’s, so it was 1:00 pm by the time we got to the camper.  I started to get a little nervous, because I knew we had a 9 hour drive in front of us, but Lee felt adamant that we needed to take our time and make sure everything was right before we left.  I probably would have been a nervous wreck but Kyrston (our oldest daughter) came and stayed with us for the last hour.  She has been absolutely wonderful through this whole process.  Although I am sure it was very difficult for her losing her childhood home and watching her parents leave town, she was incredibly positive, generous, and supportive as we worked through the transition.  Our child has an amazing heart and we absolutely adore her. (She’s alright, that kid.-Lee)

Finally it was time to go, and Kyrston, knowing how I feel about goodbyes kept it short but sweet.  At 2pm we were on the road…hooray!!!  Unfortunately from a traffic standpoint we could not have picked a worse time.  (Not so much hooray.) This had us hitting Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York on a Friday with rush hour traffic.  It was also the first time we had driven in two cars and frankly we did a lousy job of working out our route up front.  Lee’s GPS is designed for campers and allows you to put in the height of the vehicle to avoid low bridge,  as well as the width for narrow construction zones, and other details. My GPS reroutes based on traffic,  but doesn’t have the RV specific features. I knew we would have some differences but I had no idea how very different the routes would be. (For example, hers took her more or less to where we were going, mine took me to Newark, presumably just as a punishment for something.- Lee)

We recognized the problem and thanks to my friend Cori (who navigated over the phone) we managed to get on a route that would NOT take us through NYC.  Things were going much better but we started to get low on gas and there wasn’t a truck stop for more miles than we had in remaining fuel. Now at this point folks, we should have stopped.  We know better, but we were excited and anxious to get to our friends so we just kept plowing along.  When we only had around 120 miles of gas left, I decided to go ahead and try to scout out a gas station Lee could get in and out of.  Many miles went by and nothing.  Finally I called him and discovered his GPS had rerouted him and he was on a totally different highway.  (Newark, baby. What an interesting odor. – Lee) Now we are screwed…no way I can go back and catch up and I can’t help him find diesel. It was a tense conversation, but I will say we both kept it together and weren’t too terribly mean to each other.  My ETA was 9:31 and his was 9:50 so we just told each other we would meet at the campground.  By this time I was down to 50 miles left and the gas light had come on.   It was also 7:30 and I was starving so the first exit with gas and food I got off.   Let me say this about New Jersey exits…the stuff is not close to the exit at all.  I did find gas and finally 3 miles down the road a Wendy’s and thankfully Lee texted me he had found gas as well. Throughout the Odyssey, Cori was ground control and I am sure we were making her very nervous with the craziness!!

While at the Wendy’s I looked at my GPS and it now said arrival time 9:52.  What????  Apparently I got off at an exit where you couldn’t get back on and I added 20 minutes to my drive.  At this point I just followed the GPS and went on some crazy back roads in the middle of absolutely no where.  Seriously, I came VERY close to hitting a deer which was casually walking in the middle of one of these country roads I was on.  (Even the deer in New Jersey have attitudes.- Lee) Finally after 20 minutes of this kind of driving I hit a 2 lane highway and felt more comfortable.  I called Lee and he was doing fine (the GPS took him by the Newark Airport) and I was near Trenton, but seemed to be heading in the right direction.

When we were about an hour away, I called Lee again and said Cori and Greg wanted to meet him when he got off the freeway and guide him in.  He said he was at mile marker 350 on the Pennsylvania Turnpike.  I looked down at my GPS and I was getting on the same turnpike in 5 miles.  When I got on the turnpike the first mile marker I saw was 351.  What??  Lee slowed down, I sped up and after about 15 minutes we were back together in our own little adorable convoy. So here’s the thing about this story…it is a perfect allegory for our life together.  Yes, there is stress and we often go in totally different directions, but we also end up back together at the end.  When I was behind Lee I called he said, “Even the universe cannot keep us apart,” and yes that is why I love this man. (Can’t really blame her, I’m awesome.-Lee)

The rest of the trip was a piece of cake.  Our friends met us and brought us to their campground, we hugged, talked, had a drink, and went to bed.  Today starts the first day of our new lives.  I know it won’t always be easy and we will certainly go in opposite directions again, but as long as we always end up back on the same path it will be a beautiful life.

 Lessons Learned

  • It will take you longer than you think to finish last-minute items on departure day
  • Route your trip in advance including gas stops especially if you are in two different cars
  • Different GPS’s will take you different routes so be careful
  • Have your walkie talkies when driving in two separate vehicles
  • If you get separated, don’t panic.  Remember your going to the same place
  • It doesn’t matter how much purging you did, you WILL have a pile of stuff just dumped in the camper at the end.  Make your peace with it 🙂

 

Brandywine Creek Campground   1091 Creek Road Downington, PA Rating:  3 out of 5 pine cones (2014)

Small family owned campground with a fishing pond and nice creek running along the perimeter.  Large pull through sites and numerous seasonal campers.  Wifi is included and campground is wooded without being dense.  My only complaint was while we were there the water was a little discolored, but this may have been because they purged the water lines in the back right before we got there.  Quiet and well-managed.

————————————————————————————————————————————-

 

Supporting our Blog

We very much appreciate your support of our blog.

  • As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.  Search Amazon Here
  • You can purchase the ebook telling the story of how we became full-time RVers.
  • You can purchase our recipe book filled with 80 recipes we have cooked in our RV and taste tested by Lee himself. You can purchase the kindle or paperback version on Amazon or buy the Apple version on Itunes.

 

by

Last Time at the Keene Pumpkin Festival

This week was absolutely amazing.  Our rally friends Cori, Greg,  Deb and Steve were all here in Keene to spend time with us and see the Keene Pumpkin Festival.  (It turned out that was not as good an idea as everyone thought it was. That’s foreshadowing. Read on. #pumpkinriots. – Lee) Deb and Steve were here on Monday and we got to spend Monday and Wednesday night with them.   Lee was super busy as his whole week is spent in preparation for live coverage of the Keene pumpkin festival, but we still had lots of evening time to spend with them.  For those who don’t know, Lee runs the local community television station here in Keene.  He’s been the executive director for many years and actually started the station with a very small amount of funding and a very large dream 10 years ago.  So, although we are ready to move on with our lives, it has been bittersweet.  Giving his 30 day notice to his board of directors was very emotional, and it was great to have friends from our new life here to support him.

Cori and Greg came into town on Friday and all six of us got together for a night of steak dinner, campfires, and lots of laughter.  Things have obviously been chaotic for us over the last 30 days, and the laughter was exactly what we needed.  I have to say Greg is incredibly funny so he would get us rolling then Steve would chime in and between the two of them I laughed until I cried.  Lee said it took so much of his stress away…laughter really is the best medicine.

002

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Everyone loved the leaves here and the quaintness of our little New England town. (Little did they know what was coming……)  It is peak leaf season and since the summer was so wet the colors were particularly vivid.  Greg said he had never seen such vibrant reds and he is absolutely right.  I’ve seen some beautiful foliage in other parts of the country, but nothing beats the fall in New England after a wet summer.  Lee was up at 5am on Saturday (his annual pumpkin festival coverage is a dawn to dusk event) so I took the team on a tour of the city.  In  Keene once a year they close the downtown and try to set the Guinness Book World record for most lit carved pumpkins.  Last year we set the record with over 30,000 and I couldn’t wait to show the group everything.  It’s a really terrific event for the local business owners as they do a months worth of business in one day, and all of the food is provided as a fund-raiser by local non profits such as Volunteer Fire departments, Lion’s Club, etc.  Not only do you feel great  about donating to charity but the food is phenomenal.  Greg and Steve ate their way up and down the aisles 🙂

The center of Keene has all the pumpkins carved by local school children

The center of Keene has all the pumpkins carved by local school children

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Greg, Cori, Steve, and Deb in front of the large pumpkin tower

Greg, Cori, Steve, and Deb in front of the large pumpkin tower

 

One of my favorite parts of the festival is the kids costume parade and every year I get to provide color commentary as the kids walk by in their costumes.  Over the years I have done the event with my mom and my girls but this year I shanghaied Cori into being my guest co-host.  Cori has never been on TV before so she was a little nervous, but she quickly got into the spirit of it and did a great job helping me.  It was bittersweet because I knew it would be our last year at the event and it’s been such a huge part of our lives I really was feeling a bit sad about it.

Cheshire TV at the Keene pumpkin festival

Cheshire TV at the Keene pumpkin festival

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lee was having a blast though, because for the first time he had a whole cast of professional media people hosting the event all day.  Over the years Lee has had a variety of hosts, but this was the most professionally produced event for him ever and he was having a blast.  So while he was working I walked the main street with my friends and showed them all the people and places I have grown to love over the last 13 years.  Keene has been a wonderful place to raise our children and since it is a small town (about 25,000) we have grown to be a part of the community.  Since Lee runs the local television station he knows everybody and by extension many people know me.  I walked the gang everywhere and they were good sports, even buying shoes at the best shoe store I’ve ever been to: Ted’s Shoe and Sports.  I like to support local businesses and it was great to see them so busy!

As a local I like the morning the best, but as the day goes on it always gets super crowded, so we all ended up leaving in the early evening to go back to the camper and hang out.  Lee of course stayed as he would be there until midnight or so, but I am just not a fan of the crowds.  Plus things get rowdy with all the local college kids after dark, so I always try to be out of there before then.  Well this year I am so glad I did.  Some of you may have heard that the college students actually rioted about two blocks away from the event.  They were starting fires, flipping cars over, throwing beer bottles at each other, and generally making a menace of themselves.  The police department did a good job of containing it to off the footprint of the actual pumpkin fest but at one point there were over 4,000 kids making asses of themselves.  Usually the pumpkin festival coverage is very folksy, but the host Jared felt he needed to get some footage of what was going on so he took Lee as his camera man and they went to get some coverage.  Lee said it was crazy.  Kids were throwing beer bottles at them and the behavior was much worse than anyone ever expected.  Jared got a couple of interviews with kids who said the police were using tear gas to break up the gatherings and shooting them with paintball-like pepper pellets.  Don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen the video and these kids were completely out of control and the police did the best they could, but the thought of tear gas and riot gear in our small town is not a pleasant one.  Plus my husband is down there with a camera right in the middle of it.  I was glad that they didn’t stay long as the situation was really not safe.

Back at the camper though Cori and Greg and I were hanging out when Steve and Deb came down to tell us to turn on the station.  Apparently the person who produces the pumpkin festival was displeased that Cheshire TV was covering what was happening at the campus and threatened to “pull the plug” on the television coverage.  It takes a special kind of hubris to march onto a live broadcast and try to grab the microphone out of the hand of the host of a show, but hey, that’s Keene. The downside of living in such a small town is the “movers and shakers” think they own the place and the rest of us work for them.  Lee is VERY serious about the First Amendment…it’s practically his religion and censorship of any kind is a big no-no in his book.  (Scratch that. It IS my religion. It’s the most important amendment, that’s why they wrote it first. – Lee) I get she was trying to control the message and since running this annual event is her full-time job for the entire year her livelihood depends on its existence, but there are lines you just don’t cross.  One positive thing that came out of the entire scene though is the melancholy from the morning evaporated.  Again it’s been a wonderful place for us to raise our kids, but it’s definitely time to move on. There is a whole wide world out there and this is just one tiny little town that sometimes takes itself waaaay to seriously.   🙂

For those who are interested I have provided a link.

So, we had tons of drama but the group were really good sports about it.  They found the whole thing pretty hysterical (riots aside) and thanked us for the entertainment.  Family members, bosses, and friends from Texas, California, and Virginia were texting them throughout the day saying they saw the riot on their local news and wanted to check in with them.  Don’t get me wrong, the riots were NOT funny, but since they were contained to a pretty small area of town (good job police!!) it was a non issue for them.  Plus it gave us all lots to talk about.

Sunday we had another great day together.  Lee woke up to requests from network affiliates and had to run out first thing in the morning and provide footage of the on-air altercation to some of them (CBS, NBC, NECN) which was kind of exciting, but the rest of the day we just hung out together.  More laughter, sharing of stories, and getting to know each other better.  One of the best weekends I have ever spent with friends in my life!!  I don’t know if all camping people are this cool or we just got incredibly lucky at the rally we attended, but I love love these people and feel so very blessed they are in our life.

Greg and Cori

Greg and Cori

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steve and Debbie

Steve and Debbie

————————————————————————————————————————————-

 

Supporting our Blog

We very much appreciate your support of our blog.

  • As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.  Search Amazon Here
  • You can purchase the ebook telling the story of how we became full-time RVers.
  • You can purchase our recipe book filled with 80 recipes we have cooked in our RV and taste tested by Lee himself. You can purchase the kindle or paperback version on Amazon or buy the Apple version on Itunes.

 

by

First Time at a Basic Training Graduation

Sorry I haven’t posted in a while, it’s been a crazy couple of weeks.   First we got an offer on the house!!!!!   We have been on the market for 6 months and kept lowering the price.  We finally got a solid offer for $4K less than we spent on the house in 2001 but at this point we were happy to accept.  It helps that it a young family who are first time home owners so I feel like we are paying things forward a bit.  I was a little stressed about getting rid of the stuff we don’t need anymore,  but the couple is willing to take anything we want to leave, and again I feel great about giving them a little bit of starter stuff with their new home, plus I don’t need to mess with Craig s list or another garage sale.  Our last concern was the inspection, but it went great and we are completely on track.

The inspection was last Tuesday and we left first thing Wednesday  morning to go to San Antonio to see our daughter graduate from Basic training.  We have had very little contact with Kay in the last 8 weeks and were so excited to see her.  It’s been particularly tough on Lee and we couldn’t wait to get down there.  It was a fantastic weekend and San Antonio is a tremendous town.  When we first got there we discovered Kay graduated with honors.  This was a wonderful surprise as only 40 kids out of 400 made honors and she was one of only 5 women.

The gauntlet run with the parents cheering on the sides

The gauntlet run with the parents cheering on the sides

My girl is on the end. This was the ceremony for the honors group. What a thrill to hear her name called

My girl is on the end. This was the ceremony for the honors group. What a thrill to hear her name called

Awe inspiring watching the flights march in

Awe inspiring watching the flights march in

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The entire weekend was wonderful with many instances where strangers came up and thanked her for her service.  We also got free tickets to Sea World (where during the Shamu show they asked all the graduates to stand up and they got a huge round of applause)  to the River Walk area and the Alamo which I highly recommend if you are ever in the San Antonio area.  I won’t spend a lot of time on the week since it wasn’t camping related, but I thought I would share a few pictures so everyone can see how neat it was.

The moment Lee got to see his baby

The moment Lee got to see his baby

Shirts Lee had made to celebrate her graduation. Check out the Pooh Bear flying on the eagle

Shirts Lee had made to celebrate her graduation. Check out the Pooh Bear flying on the eagle

The graduation ceremony

The graduation ceremony

Her flight with the two drill sergeants. So glad I got to thank them personally for the impact they had on my daughter

Her flight with the two drill sergeants. So glad I got to thank them personally for the impact they had on my daughter

Our girl

Our girl

In her locker she had a picture of Lee (who graduated from basic at the same base) and a quote I had sent her

In her locker she had a picture of Lee (who graduated from basic at the same base) and a quote I had sent her

Us at Sea World

Us at Sea World

226

 

Highly recommend the boat tour of the river walk

Highly recommend the boat tour of the river walk

The little restaurant we ate at

The little restaurant we ate at

 

The Alamo...Lee loved it..so tiny

The Alamo…Lee loved it..so tiny

Wax museum...Kay saluting her commander in chief

Wax museum…Kay saluting her commander in chief

 

It was an amazing week and I know in my heart 100% that my daughter is on the right track.  What a great feeling for any parent and I am so proud she has chosen to serve her country.

You would think it couldn’t get better but we came home to our rally friends Deb and Steve.  They found a great spot here at our campground and we stayed up until 10 talking and catching up.  Perfect end to a perfect weekend.  Deb and Steve are staying all week and Cori and Greg are coming in this weekend.  Going to be a fantastic pumpkin festival and so glad we have friends to share it with!!!  My cup runneth over 🙂

————————————————————————————————————————————-

 

Supporting our Blog

We very much appreciate your support of our blog.

  • As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.  Search Amazon Here
  • You can purchase the ebook telling the story of how we became full-time RVers.
  • You can purchase our recipe book filled with 80 recipes we have cooked in our RV and taste tested by Lee himself. You can purchase the kindle or paperback version on Amazon or buy the Apple version on Itunes.

 

by

First Time at a Pickle Festival

So I have to be honest, part of the reason we went to the pickle festival is so I could name this blog “first time at a pickle festival”.  I mean seriously the jokes write themselves!!  (No, they don’t. I write the jokes.-Lee) I did want to go though. (I did not.)  I love small festivals and Winchester is very close to our campground. (Dangerously close. So close it’s really impossible to get lost between here and the pickle festival.) We’ve talked about going for several years but something always got in the way so it was great to just go and have a good time.   The place was packed.  Winchester, NH is a tiny town and has one main street.  We found a parking space, with some difficulty, and walked down the side of the street the festival was on.

Winchester Pickle Fest

Winchester Pickle Fest

Call John cracks me up...you know it's a small town festival

Call John cracks me up…you know it’s a small town festival

Basically it was a small group of tents with food and some locally made items for sale.  The festival was disappointingly short on pickle themed activities, they could have had a lot of fun with that, but there was a bouncy house area for kids and even some pony rides.  It seemed like the entire town turned out and the kids were definitely having a good time.  (They don’t know any better.) The prices were also reasonable for the food items and all of the vendors were local non-profit organizations trying to raise funds, which I always like.

Lee said it was so specific "since Nov 1962"

Lee said it was so specific: “since Nov 1962”

Fried pickles were yummy

Fried pickles were yummy

The festival T-shirt...which I would have bought if I didn't look so terrible in yellow

The festival T-shirt…which I would have bought if I didn’t look so terrible in yellow

Oh yeah maple cotton candy

Oh yeah maple cotton candy

 

 

One of the coolest things was they had several baskets that local non-profits were raffling off as a fundraiser.  They were nice baskets and the tickets were $1 each so they were very reasonably priced.

A cooking gift basket I put in for

A cooking gift basket I put in for

Lee chose the pancake breakfast basket

Lee chose the pancake breakfast basket

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The absolute best part was the local library had a “Fill A Bag For $4” book sale and I cleaned up on old cookbooks.  (I loaded up on WWII and Cold War material. Everyone wins.) As I have mentioned before I love unusual cookbooks and I found several that I have never seen before, and you can’t beat the price.  Plus, it was an absolutely beautiful day…sunny with a temperature in the 80’s which is highly unusual in late September here.  (I spent most of my time looking for small patches of pickle-free shade) I mean, we have had snow on October 1st on more than one occasion so it was exciting to see such a pretty day.  Oh, and when we were at the library we ran into my friend Jim and his barbershop quartet. Their singing was beautiful and it was so nice to see him. Overall it was a nice festival although I don’t think I would make a special trip to see it, but I did enjoy the small town vibe. (It’s worth noting that we saw the entire thing in about an hour. And most of that time was spent in the library looking through books. This is not a big festival. This isn’t even a festival. But there were pickles.)

Really sweet they were singing to a woman in a wheel chair

Really sweet they were singing to a woman in a wheel chair

The acoustics in the town hall were amazing. Jim sounded so good!!

The acoustics in the town hall were amazing. Jim sounded so good!!

On the way home from the pickle festival we stopped at the Ashuelot River Campground to check it out.  We need to move our rig on November 1st and Swanzey Lake Camping Area only offers winter storage with no access mid-winter which won’t work for us. Ashuelot has a new owner and he was very interested in working with us for both staying in a seasonal site the month of Nov (at a reduced rate) and month-to-month storage for the winter.  They had a site with very easy access right near the front so it could easily be plowed to if we needed to get to the camper for any reason.  The owner is going to talk to his wife about pricing since they’re still new at this, but I got a good feel from the place and it’s great to have options other than putting it in a storage area somewhere where we can’t get to it if we want to go somewhere in the winter.

Also this weekend we saw lots of house sale activity.  We dropped the price another $10K this week and that seems to have put us in a new category.  Friday we had a showing and Saturday four groups came to our open house.  On Sunday Lee and I had separate plans for the day. He went to the house to mow and do some laundry and I had lunch with our daughter Kyrston.  While Lee was at the house a family came because they thought the open house was on Sunday.  I have to say the fact that Lee was there when they came was a VERY fortunate coincidence and they spent 1-1/2 hours going through the house.  Lee was there to answer all their questions and I feel really really good about our chances of having a sale in the near future…fingers crossed!! We are trying not to get too excited though, because we’ve had good showings with no offers before… so we continue to wait.  We did have a great steak dinner and I made a new baked apple recipe that tasted pretty good and I think will be super fun for kids to make.  See below for the recipe.  And no matter what happens with the sale, we try to focus on the fact that we have our health, we are employed, and we love each other.  It will happen when it’s meant to happen.  I will be honest though, I have a really good feeling.

Foil Grilled Apple

  • 1 Large Baking Apple
  • 2tsp butter
  • 2 tbl sugar
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • Aluminum foil, heavy-duty

1.  Core each apple to within 1/2 inch of bottom (I did this with a small paring knife)

2.  Fill the hole in the apple with 1 tsp butter

3.  Combine sugar and cinnamon and put in hole

4.  Add 1 tsp butter on top of sugar/cinnamon mixture

5.  Wrap in heavy-duty foil

6  Place upright on low-medium coals for 25-30 minutes until soft

7.  Unwrap and eat

Stuffed apple and wrapped apple

Stuffed apple and wrapped apple

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cooked apple

Cooked apple

————————————————————————————————————————————-

Camper Chronicles is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.  Search Amazon.com here