Our last trip of the season

For the first time having the Motorhome, we had a weekend with full hookups.   My but that is nice.   No worries about the batteries, use as much water as you like.   Watch TV, yeah it was nice.   The sad part when driving home, you know it is the last time for the year.   We parked it and cleaned a bit of it out, but found as each day passed we needed something else out of it.   

Tuesday we will be speaking with Owasco and having it winterized, and if the money holds out some work over the winter done on it.   Money Money Money, that should be our licence plate on the MH.   Because it likes money and gas.  Ok perhaps the plate should read Money Gas Money.    Whatever we love her, and will do our best to make sure she has a nice cozy winter.

We will say goodbye and save save save, as I am pretty sure Spring Summer and Fall of 2015 is going to take some money to enjoy our new big Toy.     Oh and that man by the fire is doing his “Thug in a hoodie” impersonation.

 

Labour day long weekend

We unexpectedly were able to enjoy the long weekend with the Motorhome.   Love it when things like that work out.  

We packed up and were on the road with no problems at all, ok maybe someone forgot to release the emergency brake on the Tracker, but after a couple of feet and a terrible noise, we fixed that little problem.

Bob’s sister Cyndy met us in Picton and we continued on to Quinte Isle Campground.   Hydraulics messed with us a little bit with set up, but we know why and hope it does not cost us an arm and a leg to have that fixed.

We believe that Cyndy enjoyed herself, even with the excitement of a Micro Storm, that was way awesome.   It was not awesome for everyone, unfortunately it was severe and others lost items, including a canopy.   Ambulance was called to the campground which we believe was for a Kite Surfer that got caught on the lake when the storm hit.   Like I said it was a good storm.

Cyndy stayed with us until Saturday evening, we enjoyed her company immensely.    Bob and I spent Sunday resting and took a drive around the area, not like we don’t know it well but it is always a nice scenic drive, and I needed a steeped tea from Tim Hortons.    Monday we stayed later then expected and then enjoyed a nice drive home, after a little scare at the gas station when the Motorhome did not want to start.  Perhaps something else we need to investigate.   

Motorhome is still in the driveway with the fridge on, as we leave again on Friday, for what we are pretty sure is our last weekend out for the season.    A working weekend away, time to clean the carpets for the first time.

It has been awhile

It has been awhile since I have posted, but life and work still gets in the way for a few more years of being where we want to be and that is in the Motorhome, enjoying all the money we have spent on her.   We are still rather up in the air about a name, everyone has to name their Motorhome.    With Bob’s Moms name being Ramona and mine Alice we have thought of combining the names and calling her the Roaming Alice.   But for me the shine is wearing off of that.   So right now she is still the Old Girl.

This week Katie and I spent a Sunday at the flea market, looking through literally hundreds of cassette tapes.   That is right folks cassette tapes, because our Old Girl has a cassette player in the radio.   After that it was hours on the internet until I found a stereo system that will play cds, cassettes, has a usb port and a docking station.   Just so you know it was not that easy to find.   All in all it was a bit expensive this week, and I barely left the house.

We are also planning again, due to a very unfortunate family loss of a work colleague Bob will now have the long weekend off, so without any delay, we booked the weekend in at Quinte Isle Campground.   Of course no hook ups, but we are fine with Boondocking.   We will be away, we will be sitting around a campfire, really what more could you ask for.   We had already booked the following weekend and paid for, so it will be three away, 4 home and 2 days away again.     Then sadly it will be time to get a little work done on her by someone else we think…depends on cost.   And have her winterized and put away for the winter months.    Stay tuned we still have those two weekends coming up, lets hope they are full of nothing but joy and relaxation.

The things you find when cleaning your MH

We were lucky enough to be put onto a product called Zep.  Our Motorhome is of course older and had lost her shine, not to mention the stuff coming off the roof when it rained.  After a lovely time away with it, we decided it was time to give her a good cleaning.   That in its self was an eye opener.   We found a loose panel over the back wheels that is going to need immediate attention.   And a lovely mess at the drivers door, that was well hidden with the sellers arm while he showed us the hydraulics.   Water is your enemy unless we are talking black tank, then it is your friend.

Bob up on top of the MH, scrubbing all the years of neglect off the roof, while I attempted to help by doing the sides.   I was not as much help as I wanted to be, Arthritis is not just about pain, but it strips your strength way, depending on your flavour of Arthritis, and I have two.    Oh and the fact that I fell down the front steps, and a day later my ankle is still mad and swollen, did not help much. 

The first day was washing, and rinsing, yes it took a full day, with the help of one child, he may have slowed us down.    The second day we attacked or Bob Attacked the roof with Zep clear dry floor finish.   He managed to get two coats on the roof, before the weather decided to work against us.   After a small rain delay, we got a coat on the sides of the Motorhome, oh my gosh, what a difference, the old girl looks 10 years younger.   Again the rain, gave us a much needed break, but we were unable to get the other coats on that we wanted to.   But when we do, she is going to shine, with the best of them. 

Someday we will have all the repairs done, and we hope she loves us back as much as we love her.

Our first Vacation under our belt

Was I nervous, yes a little bit, I just wanted everything to go the way it was suppose to.   Silly Me.  

We were unable to get full hookup for our 9 days at Quinte Isle Campground.   Seems if you own a Motorhome and want hookup, you had better be reserving the year before, at least at this very popular campground.   Who Knew..no me.    So we are off to boondock for the first time on our first vacation, and had not yet found our fresh water tank or how to get water to go in the firggin thing.   A bucket of water sitting in the bathroom with a cup, and our tent camping water container sitting outside.   Good thing we had been tent campers for years and had no problem handling this little problem.   

Side note, I did not give up on finding that fresh water tank, and I did, it took me a few days, but I did it.   Above the propane tank, there is a 3 or so inch hole to the side and if you look in there with a flash light there it is, and a little white valve that had it turned off.   Grrrr, who puts something in a place like that, and does not tell you in a manual?  Somebody building it with a sick sense of humour, thats who.

Anyway Everything went smoothly, wonderfully, until our first full day there, got into Picton to pick up some groceries, and our towed vehicle, overheated.   We left it parked to cool down, and walked the rest of the way with the grandchildren to do our shopping, on the way back to the Tracker, we bought some water to put in it.   It needed no water, so we drove to Picton Canadian Tire, and being a small town, said nope, can’t look at it until at least Friday, this was Tuesday, and no car rental in this small town.    They suggested we try to drive to Belleville, bigger town, but the Tracker only made it a short distance and we were on the side of the road over heating.    Thank god we have CTC roadside.   Linden and Tyler got to have their first ride in a large tow truck.   Canadian Tire in Belleville took the Tracker right away and we went for lunch.   So an hour later or so, we were calling a Rental company and we were in a nice new air conditioned car, for what we thought was a couple of days.   After the third call to the Rental company to extent our rental, we got a call from the garage that said they had finally found the problem.   They replaced the water pump, the thermostat, the alternator, the battery, and a belt of some kind.   None of that fixed the problem, the fourth mechanic found the problem, a balancing belt I believe it is called.   The last day of our vacation camping we got our Tracker back and the rental car was just an expensive memory.   I won’t bother giving you the added expense of the Rental and the Garage to our vacation.   It is just a very sad part of the story.

In the middle of this wonderful vacation we drove our Grandchildren to the other grandparents cottage for a yearly family gathering.   It was a nice time, good food, and the boys had a good time.   But the hours in the car to get there and get back, added up to 7 and a half hours.   What you do for family.

Linden and Tyler our Grandsons, loved the new Motorhome, problem was they never wanted to come out of it.   They wanted to play in it, eat in it…just plan stay in it.    If you offered swimming, they were out and ready to go.   But once you got back to the MH, they were back inside, lol.

 

 

A beautiful Camp site, wonderful weather, the nights were cool with a breeze off the lake, and the days were hot enough to enjoy the water.   It would rain a bit at night and the rain on the roof of the Motorhome would lull you to sleep.          

We booked next year while there, and have full hookup, the boys will love the TVs lol.   We also booked a weekend in September for just Bob and I and full hookup.   Time to test the Microwave and a few other things that need full power.

The day before we leave

I somehow thought we were ready, just throw in the food and our clothes, oh and the Grandkids and off we would go.    After shopping for the morning with the Grandkids for the food to put in the MH, and a bill that would joke a horse.   As the youngest one yells from the second floor of the Grocery store, as Poppy takes them to the washrooms.   “Gramma don’t forget to get Cherries”.   All eyes in the fruit and produce area turn to me.   What can you do but say, “Well I am Gramma, where are the cherries?”     Those wonderful people in that large grocery store, start looking for cherries for me.   Two little bags left, and there was no way I was paying what they wanted for those sad looking cherries.   He will never notice..right? 

My little list of say 60 to 80 dollars turned out to be 226 dollars of groceries.   Note to self, never shop with Grandchildren.   Of course we had to stop at McDonalds for breakfast burritos, you know they had to have them, and well we are Gramma and Poppy.    A quick stop at another grocery store, for bacon on sale, like that mattered after the grocery bill we just had…lol.    But I was smart enough to stay in the vehicle with the boys, and let Bob go in alone, you know he came out with more then the things he went in for.   We have a problem with grocery stores.

It is now 10 o’clock at night and we are finally cleaned up and sitting down for the night, that is right folks it took us all day, to put those few things in the motorhome that we had on our list, and the 100 other things we knew we just needed to have. 

We are still working on the water situation, I think we have water in the fresh water tank, although we really have no idea.   Were told there was an over flow and we would know when it was full.   No over flow, no sensor on the panel saying it is full.   It actually says it is empty.   There is water coming out of the taps and the pump is cycling on and off.   So do we have water, is there water, that is the question of the day.   People keep telling me there is a white fresh water tank, under our bed…no there is nothing under our bed, but more bedding and all the toys we have hid from Linden and Tyler.   We both laid under the MH and there is nothing white under there, rust colour yes, white no.    I am sure we will figure it out one day, but it is not today.    Tired and ready to call it a night.    As soon as the boys arrive in the morning, we will hit the road for our first long trip.   Wish us luck, hoping we will not need it, but I would like it anyway.

Our Maiden Voyage

What can I say about our first time out with the Motorhome.   Lots…lol.

We still have a lot to learn, but we are getting there. We have camped in a tent for 20 years at least, and can tell you the number of people that have come over and talked to us on one hand. (Nothing against tent campers, we were them) This weekend, we had a couple in a group, run down the road to us while we were backing into a spot and ask if we would like a lake front spot...well of course. They moved their cars and made room for us, helped us into the spot, then had us join them floating in the lake for drinks. We found out we know some of the same people...then on the other side they came over introduced themselves to us, asked us over for a drink and said to come over with any and all questions we had. Holy Moly, how nice.  and all. 

Each time we pushed a button, and something worked it was all thumbs up and high fives.  Ok so maybe the water is still a problem, but we are almost sure it is the operators and not the MH.   We are still only boondocking, so we just need to get all our systems worked out.  We will be putting in a new toilet and flooring in the bathroom, but I think that will be it for this year.    Next year perhaps a new air conditioner in the front.   Although it was so cool at night this trip that we snuggled into our comfy bed and listened to the wind crashing the waves against the shore, and the rain hitting the top of the MH and windows….lovely.   Even better yet, no leaks that we could find.

We will now talk about the radio, the multi CD changer, the fact that I cannot play CDs on our portable because of the vibrations while travelling.   That I had to walk to the back of the MH while on the road and get some tin foil…went old school on the portable radio and boosted the antenna with that…worked.     Our Radio is an old one, has a cassette player, and we are thinking the antenna is just tired on the roof.   The CD player works like a drive in speaker, you have to tune your radio to a certain station, we again come back to the fact that the radio installed in the MH sucks.  No problem the portable takes USB sticks.   I have to have my music.    

With all the above we had a great time, we set up our chairs had a drink and did none of the work or the complete shake down of stuff that we had planned.    We love it.

We leave again for 2 weeks with our grandchildren in one weeks time.   It cannot come soon enough for Bob and I.

Stay tuned for our adventures with 2 boys and boondocking again.

Surprise Linden and Tyler

The Motorhome is home from the mechanics and purring like a kitten.   We decided it was time to stop talking in code, and let the Grandkids know about their camping trip this year.   They stood on the front deck as this motorhome coming down the road started to turning into the driveway.   Linden yells Poppy is driving that, he starts to smile the biggest smile, he has figured it out.   Tyler, is more concerned that thing is not going to fit in the driveway…oh no it is over the sidewalk.    With his arms crossed over his chest he realizes he has been lied to, not happy about that, but only for a second and his face breaks into a smile when he too realizes this is ours…or Poppy’s and Gramma’s…lol.   Linden comes down the stairs poking his fingers at me, big smile…can we go in can we go in.   
In they go, running from one end to the other, looking for their beds….a big thing for them, where is our bed.   All the rest of the daycare children pour into the Motorhome.   Oh my.   What does this button do, how do you do this…we both yell, don’t push buttons.   We have no idea what they do.   After many questions, and many plans being made by the Grandkids we go to leave the MH.   Linden reaches up and pulls down a shade…as many times as we were in there, cleaning, inspecting things, we never saw that, down he pulls in a split second.   Oh what others buttons to push, things to pull are these boys going to find.
Later that evening they come back to the house and off to the Storage yard we go to put the MH there for a couple of days.    As I turn from unlocking the first gate to let the MH in, I look up and there lays Linden across the dash of the MH, like a big cat laying in the sun, smiling from ear to ear.   As I get to the back of the MH there is Tyler smiling and waving out the bedroom window.
We drove around the lot, through gates, backing up, through other gates as Poppy got lost, not once but twice in the storage yard, finding our parking place for the first time.   Me following in another Vehicle, wondering what is that man doing…lol.    It comes back to the house in a couple of days to load with food and personal things to go away for our first trip.   Just Bob and I for this first one.   Stay tuned for a report of our maiden Voyage…I am sure as newbies we will have lots to tell, or with any luck at all, nothing to tell.

Best laid plans

Canada Day today, and we had big plans for the Motorhome, we were going to hook up the water for the first time and see what happens.   Bob first started by cutting some limbs off a tree in the backyard, the neighbour came out they worked together on this little project, obviously no where near the MH.   A little more puttering, oh a thunder storm, some rain, we will just sit in the MH and listen to it rain for a bit.   We read some instruction stuff that came with it, ok Bob read I just sat and did nothing.   Finally I did work on the bedroom and toys and games for the Grandsons.   Needless to say after much puttering around we did not test the water.  But we did remove the recliner from the motorhome and will be putting the lazy boy recliner from the house in.  Not a bad looking chair, but not comfortable at all, so bye bye Chair.  

 All of the above, or the little bits of stuff above was accomplished with many dips into the pool to cool off.  We are a wild couple, and have decided to go to a campground for the first time, hook the water up and hope for the best.   Like I said we are a wild couple, like to live on the edge, keep things exciting…(NOT).   We are just in a lazy relaxed mood today, its Canada Day, time to reflect on this wonderful country we plan to travel across.  My that sounds nice, of course we were just not in the mood…lol. 
Thursday is a big day for our old girl, she has not yet passed her emissions test and safety.    I guess the water really can wait until she is legal to drive to a campground.
Today the owner of the storage area we are paying for called, to see if we had been in yet with the Motorhome.   He could not find any tire marks in our parking space.   Good thing too, as seems the guy that is next to us has some damage to his door.   Nope not us, not this time, we have been no where near the place.   Sad for the guy with the damage, happy for us. 

The drama continues.

Perhaps it is just me, I am a worrier.   But buying such an older Motorhome, Price being the driving force, I have lots to stress and worry over.   Have we made an error, is our retirement in ruin.   I know this is not the case, but the hint of such is in the back of my mind.   We finally got the slides to work, it was a nightmare of a day, at least 5 plus hours working on this.   We finally got the slides to move out, and thought well lets see if they come back in.   After all we were out and over our neighbours driveway.    No movement, no noise, no nothing.   Neighbour is home at 8pm…what are we going to do.   Of course it is the weekend and a long one at that, good luck finding help.   The internet to the rescue, a pc and a laptop, 4 different groups giving advice.   Sitting alone in the motorhome, as Bob drove into the city to his work to get two new batteries to see if that was the problem, I started reading the threads again.   Thought what the heck put stuff together from each thread.   So I found the hydraulic switch, turned that on, turned on the key for the front slide, turned on the engine of the motorhome.   Pushed the button nothing.   Then I thought well engine will not start if side door is open, so I reached out pulled the drivers door closed, tried again…..Yeah the slide moves in just like it is suppose to.    I mean really all that for one slide to come in.    Bob was coming down the street thinking, watch I will turn the corner after almost a two hour drive and she will have fixed it.  She being me Sally.  He turns the corner slide still out, but just as he pulled in beside the motorhome, he sees the slide come in, and me going crazy with joy in the front seat.   A long stressful day to just figure out how the slides work.   We believe the problem was door open, and Bob had put his hand on the hydraulic switch and perhaps not notice.  
That evening we bring the slide back in to pack up working on the motorhome for the day, and you guessed it the bedroom slide just sits there and looks at us.   After a few choice words and looking at each other I try again, nothing, but it is so hot in the MH by now that my finger slips and the slide moves.   Not sure why but I was hitting the button for it to come back in and you could hear the hydraulics, but when by finger slipped and it hit the button for it to go out, it came in.    My theory, this thing is playing with us, like a cat with a mouse.
The MH goes back to the mechanic on Thursday, all coils replaced, yeah all ten of them.  They are old and seems like a good plan to start out with things as maintained and up to date as we can make them.  Engine being a big thing.   At that time we are handing him two new batteries and telling him to install and fix our 12 volt system.  We are just tired.  And it looks like they are dead, even with charging, nothing.  Keeping our fingers crossed it is just batteries, or as with the slides, we have no idea what we are doing.
One day of stress and a big learning curve done, on to the next in a couple of days. Oh yeah we are about to hook up to water. Keeping our fingers crossed, please oh please let everything go smoothly.

The Beginning was a little rough

It was a long time coming, a five year plan put into motion.  A few times we had to say no to things, because the plan was a Motorhome, and retirement, or was it retirement and then Motorhome.   Retirement is not here yet, but the Motorhome is or almost is.   After finding it, and waiting and waiting for a new windshield, we drove to bring it home, June 23, 2014.   A short way up the road from the owners, Bob's first time behind the wheel, a deer tries to play chicken with him.   Thank goodness Bob won.   But was a hair raising experience watching from the van following him.   I see deer, I see break lights, I see deer jump across road in front of him...oh Yeah I was holding my breath, could this really happen 5 minutes into ownership.    About two hours later we made it home where it playfully decided not to start again in our driveway that very evening…she was just playing with us, she started again. 

We gambled on us doing the Safety and the emissions test, as the new windshield (a bird encounter) was $1900 from the States and then installation.   We thought we would leave that to the old owner.   Did we gamble well, that is yet to be seen.    It is now sitting at the third mechanics.  Being at the third mechanic is a long story and a rant.  The Motorhome failed a Safety, but we can deal with that, new wipers and a washer motor, no biggy.   But now we sit and wait because as I am sure you can guess, it failed the emissions test too.   There is of course the water damage in a couple of areas that we somehow missed when viewing...but we called and he had a reason why.   Lordy let him be an honest man.  So out of the casino we stay, gambling may turn out not to be our thing.   Do we still love “her”, you bet ya.
 
Our new baby.