The demolition of The Big Rolling Turd started today. I removed two of the three captains chairs and the sofa from the RV. I also removed the overhead vent covers which were filthy. The intake filters for the two A/C units were so dirty, I don’t know how they worked. Both A/C units should be much happier now.
I started to remove the carpet from the rear bedroom, but I had trouble removing the pedestal that the mattress sits on. At this point, one screw is holding me up. I’m going to have to drill out the screw tomorrow and then remove the pedestal so I can get the carpet out in one piece.
I’ve also run into a problem ordering the springs for the leveling jacks. I’m going to have to run over to the RV dealer (about 45 minutes away) tomorrow to have them measure the spring that broke off one of the rear jacks.
In the next day or two, we need to make a decision on what carpet we are going to get and who we are going to have install the carpet. Apparently, installing carpet in an RV is a bit of a specialty and not just any carpet installer can do it. We’ve gotten one quote, but we made the mistake of picking out carpet that is too expensive. Now we have to go back to pick out more affordable carpet.
We are scheduled to leave in just three weeks. My gosh, I don’t know how we are going to get everything done, but well find a way. We have to.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Review: Mabe's Pizza
NOTE: During our great big road trip, we will be looking for the best pizza places in the U.S. We're starting our search a little early with a visit to Mabe's Pizza.
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I had heard good things about Mabe’s Pizza in Decorah, IA. Several websites I’ve run across sing the praises of Mabe’s, so I finally decided that I need to try it for myself.
Mabe’s is located at 110 E. Water St. in downtown Decorah. Decorah is a very quaint little town. We got there at about 6:00 pm on a Saturday night. I wish we had gotten there earlier to spend some time looking around.
We ordered two pizzas; a regular (sausage & pepperoni) with extra cheese and a barbeque chicken pizza. Unfortunately, they mixed our order up a little bit and put the extra cheese on the barbeque chicken pizza. Oh well. Other than this one slip-up, the service was pretty good.
The barbeque chicken pizza was very good, although the extra cheese made it a bit heavy for the thin crust. The sauce was tasty and the chicken was tender white meat.
The regular was good, but not great. It was slightly undercooked for my tastes. Kim thought the crust was fine, but it was a bit soft in my opinion and it had too much flour left on the bottom of the crust. This made the pizza rather dry.
Mabe's crust is thin, but not crunchy. Although I wasn't crazy about it, it was consistent from pizza to pizza.
On a scale of 1-10, I would give Mabe’s a 6 (slightly above average). Having read several reviews of the place, my expectations were pretty high. Unfortunately, I was a little bit disappointed. The pizza was good, but I had hoped for more.
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I had heard good things about Mabe’s Pizza in Decorah, IA. Several websites I’ve run across sing the praises of Mabe’s, so I finally decided that I need to try it for myself.
Mabe’s is located at 110 E. Water St. in downtown Decorah. Decorah is a very quaint little town. We got there at about 6:00 pm on a Saturday night. I wish we had gotten there earlier to spend some time looking around.
We ordered two pizzas; a regular (sausage & pepperoni) with extra cheese and a barbeque chicken pizza. Unfortunately, they mixed our order up a little bit and put the extra cheese on the barbeque chicken pizza. Oh well. Other than this one slip-up, the service was pretty good.
The barbeque chicken pizza was very good, although the extra cheese made it a bit heavy for the thin crust. The sauce was tasty and the chicken was tender white meat.
The regular was good, but not great. It was slightly undercooked for my tastes. Kim thought the crust was fine, but it was a bit soft in my opinion and it had too much flour left on the bottom of the crust. This made the pizza rather dry.
Mabe's crust is thin, but not crunchy. Although I wasn't crazy about it, it was consistent from pizza to pizza.
On a scale of 1-10, I would give Mabe’s a 6 (slightly above average). Having read several reviews of the place, my expectations were pretty high. Unfortunately, I was a little bit disappointed. The pizza was good, but I had hoped for more.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
The Big Rolling Turd (and other news)
Our new RV is being called The Big Rolling Turd by everyone now. As you may know, that is the nickname that they gave to the motorhome in the movie “RV.” I don’t like it and I think our RV deserves a more dignified name. I’ll live with The Big Rolling Turd for now, but once we put in new carpet, deodorize the inside, and finally hit the road, I’m going to petition for a new name.
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I put the leveling jacks down for the first time the other day and I broke off the retracting spring on the right rear jack. Now I have to figure out where to get a new spring. Just add it to the list of things that need to be done before we leave.
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I had lunch with Anne O’Connor, editor of the Kickapoo Free Press (our local monthly newspaper) and I told her about our upcoming trip. She thinks the idea is very cool and would like to include a monthly update from the road in the paper. I like the idea because it will give me a chance to write for publication and it will help me to keep up with my efforts to chronicle our whole trip. The first update will be in the December issue.
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Anne’s husband, Joe Hart, has agreed to edit Lake of the Falls, my book of short stories. That is so cool. Joe is a very accomplished writer and I’m looking forward to working with him. The book is so far past the original publication date that I hate to even guess when it might be published. I’m hoping to have it published by next summer, but we’ll see.
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We’re going to pick out new carpet for The Big Rolling Turd today. Installing carpet in an RV is a bit of a specialty and we’ve only found one company in the greater La Crosse area that does it. Hopefully, they are not ridiculously expensive. We’ll know later today.
**********
I put the leveling jacks down for the first time the other day and I broke off the retracting spring on the right rear jack. Now I have to figure out where to get a new spring. Just add it to the list of things that need to be done before we leave.
**********
I had lunch with Anne O’Connor, editor of the Kickapoo Free Press (our local monthly newspaper) and I told her about our upcoming trip. She thinks the idea is very cool and would like to include a monthly update from the road in the paper. I like the idea because it will give me a chance to write for publication and it will help me to keep up with my efforts to chronicle our whole trip. The first update will be in the December issue.
**********
Anne’s husband, Joe Hart, has agreed to edit Lake of the Falls, my book of short stories. That is so cool. Joe is a very accomplished writer and I’m looking forward to working with him. The book is so far past the original publication date that I hate to even guess when it might be published. I’m hoping to have it published by next summer, but we’ll see.
**********
We’re going to pick out new carpet for The Big Rolling Turd today. Installing carpet in an RV is a bit of a specialty and we’ve only found one company in the greater La Crosse area that does it. Hopefully, they are not ridiculously expensive. We’ll know later today.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
The Long Road Home
When I was 16-years old, a friend let me use his motorcycle. I had never ridden a motorcycle before, but how difficult could it be, I reasoned. After all, I was a young daredevil who loved speed, so I figured riding a motorcycle should be second nature to me.
As I sped down the road, I kept a white knuckle grip on the handle bars. I was going so fast, I was afraid to look at the speedometer or glance in the rearview mirror. After several minutes at this death-defying speed, I finally got the guts up to take my eyes off the road to look in the mirror and at the speedometer. To my surprise, there were four cars stacked up behind me right on my tail. To my amazement, I was only going 20 mph.
It was kind of the same thing when I climbed behind the wheel of the RV for the first time. Driving down California 101, I felt like I was going 100 mph. It was difficult handling the big beast on the hills and curves, but the speedometer said I was only going 40 mph in a 55 mph zone. This was going to take some getting used to.
Just a few miles out of Willits, CA I turned onto CA 20 and drove through the California lake country. It was beautiful, but I was more concerned with the many hills and curves. Even so, little by little I started to get used to driving the RV.
By the time I got to Sacramento and turned onto I-80, I was feeling pretty comfortable driving our new home. The speed limit kicked up to 70 mph and I was able to keep up with traffic.
In eastern California, I-80 swings north of Lake Tahoe and heads into the Virginia Mountains in Western Nevada. The road becomes curvy and goes up and down the mountains. The RV isn’t fond of climbing hills. It struggles a bit and it takes a lot of oomph just to maintain 45-50 mph. Even so, the Big Rolling Turd (as in the movie “RV”) didn’t miss a beat. It slowed down a bit, but continued to run strong.
As I drove through Reno, NV (The Biggest Little Town in America), I thought about stopping to see if I could get my RV money back on the blackjack table. The thought was fleeting and I drove on.
East of Reno, I-80 goes through the Nightingale Mountains, the Trinity Range, the Humboldt Range, and then into Winnemucca, NV. I pulled over into a Flying J Truck Plaza in Winnemucca to spend the night. As I climbed out of the driver’s seat, I realized that it was cold and I didn’t know how to run the heater. After I laid in bed shivering for a while, I got up and put on an extra sweatshirt and a pair of socks. The extra clothes helped for a while, but around 2:30 or 3:00 am I decided it was time to learn how to use the furnace.
When I headed back out the next morning, the time & temperature sign said it was 24 degrees. No wonder I was cold. At least I got some sleep. The day was bright and sunny, and I was ready to keep heading east.
When Nevada gave way to Utah, the landscape turned from scrub brush to salt flats. As I drove along, I noticed that people had stopped along the road to leave messages in the soft salt. “MB + TT.” “I Love You Marie.” “Go Demons.” “We Miss You Tim.”
It started snowing in Salt Lake City and got heavier as I drove east past Park City. The snow wasn’t sticking on the road and it just added to the beauty of the Utah landscape.
In Wyoming I had my first mishap of the trip. A construction truck drove past me and dropped a rock off of its trailer and right into my windshield. The RV has two windshields (one on each side split down the middle) and each windshield costs about $1,800. Thankfully, Kim made sure that we had insurance before we bought the RV, so our only money out of pocket will be our $100 deductible.
As I drove through the Rocky Mountains the snow got heavier and the road became icy between Laramie and Cheyenne. By the time I reached Cheyenne, I was ready to get some sleep. I pulled into Little America in Cheyenne, but there was nowhere to park. Next, I tried Flying J, but they were already full. Across the street was a McDonalds with a semi truck parking lot. I got one of the last available spaces.
Before going to bed, I figured out how to turn on both furnaces. It was so easy I don’t know why I couldn’t figure it out the night before. With the RV nice and warm, I slept until about 5:00 the next morning.
I had great weather the rest of the way home. Near Des Moines I smelled something burning and eventually found out that the shade on one of the lights had fallen, turning on the light and burning the shade as it rested against the light bulb.
On I-90 in Minnesota, the road was so rough that it loosened up the left outside rearview mirror. For the last 1 ½ hours of my trip, I couldn’t tell if anyone was driving on my left. Thankfully, it didn’t cause any problems.
Overall, I had a great trip. The RV ran great and after a shaky start, I became very comfortable driving it.
Now that I’m home, there is a ton of work to do. We are going to have to replace the carpet in the RV and have the seats, ceiling, walls and window treatments cleaned. We also still have a lot of stuff to move out of the house and we need to take care of other things like getting a P.O. Box, getting new cell phones, etc. We’re supposed to leave in just 25 days. Time is really flying.
As I sped down the road, I kept a white knuckle grip on the handle bars. I was going so fast, I was afraid to look at the speedometer or glance in the rearview mirror. After several minutes at this death-defying speed, I finally got the guts up to take my eyes off the road to look in the mirror and at the speedometer. To my surprise, there were four cars stacked up behind me right on my tail. To my amazement, I was only going 20 mph.
It was kind of the same thing when I climbed behind the wheel of the RV for the first time. Driving down California 101, I felt like I was going 100 mph. It was difficult handling the big beast on the hills and curves, but the speedometer said I was only going 40 mph in a 55 mph zone. This was going to take some getting used to.
Just a few miles out of Willits, CA I turned onto CA 20 and drove through the California lake country. It was beautiful, but I was more concerned with the many hills and curves. Even so, little by little I started to get used to driving the RV.
By the time I got to Sacramento and turned onto I-80, I was feeling pretty comfortable driving our new home. The speed limit kicked up to 70 mph and I was able to keep up with traffic.
In eastern California, I-80 swings north of Lake Tahoe and heads into the Virginia Mountains in Western Nevada. The road becomes curvy and goes up and down the mountains. The RV isn’t fond of climbing hills. It struggles a bit and it takes a lot of oomph just to maintain 45-50 mph. Even so, the Big Rolling Turd (as in the movie “RV”) didn’t miss a beat. It slowed down a bit, but continued to run strong.
As I drove through Reno, NV (The Biggest Little Town in America), I thought about stopping to see if I could get my RV money back on the blackjack table. The thought was fleeting and I drove on.
East of Reno, I-80 goes through the Nightingale Mountains, the Trinity Range, the Humboldt Range, and then into Winnemucca, NV. I pulled over into a Flying J Truck Plaza in Winnemucca to spend the night. As I climbed out of the driver’s seat, I realized that it was cold and I didn’t know how to run the heater. After I laid in bed shivering for a while, I got up and put on an extra sweatshirt and a pair of socks. The extra clothes helped for a while, but around 2:30 or 3:00 am I decided it was time to learn how to use the furnace.
When I headed back out the next morning, the time & temperature sign said it was 24 degrees. No wonder I was cold. At least I got some sleep. The day was bright and sunny, and I was ready to keep heading east.
When Nevada gave way to Utah, the landscape turned from scrub brush to salt flats. As I drove along, I noticed that people had stopped along the road to leave messages in the soft salt. “MB + TT.” “I Love You Marie.” “Go Demons.” “We Miss You Tim.”
It started snowing in Salt Lake City and got heavier as I drove east past Park City. The snow wasn’t sticking on the road and it just added to the beauty of the Utah landscape.
In Wyoming I had my first mishap of the trip. A construction truck drove past me and dropped a rock off of its trailer and right into my windshield. The RV has two windshields (one on each side split down the middle) and each windshield costs about $1,800. Thankfully, Kim made sure that we had insurance before we bought the RV, so our only money out of pocket will be our $100 deductible.
As I drove through the Rocky Mountains the snow got heavier and the road became icy between Laramie and Cheyenne. By the time I reached Cheyenne, I was ready to get some sleep. I pulled into Little America in Cheyenne, but there was nowhere to park. Next, I tried Flying J, but they were already full. Across the street was a McDonalds with a semi truck parking lot. I got one of the last available spaces.
Before going to bed, I figured out how to turn on both furnaces. It was so easy I don’t know why I couldn’t figure it out the night before. With the RV nice and warm, I slept until about 5:00 the next morning.
I had great weather the rest of the way home. Near Des Moines I smelled something burning and eventually found out that the shade on one of the lights had fallen, turning on the light and burning the shade as it rested against the light bulb.
On I-90 in Minnesota, the road was so rough that it loosened up the left outside rearview mirror. For the last 1 ½ hours of my trip, I couldn’t tell if anyone was driving on my left. Thankfully, it didn’t cause any problems.
Overall, I had a great trip. The RV ran great and after a shaky start, I became very comfortable driving it.
Now that I’m home, there is a ton of work to do. We are going to have to replace the carpet in the RV and have the seats, ceiling, walls and window treatments cleaned. We also still have a lot of stuff to move out of the house and we need to take care of other things like getting a P.O. Box, getting new cell phones, etc. We’re supposed to leave in just 25 days. Time is really flying.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Fixer-Uppper in Need of TLC
Last Friday I flew to San Francisco and met up with my friend Brett and his girlfriend Cynthia. After they picked me up at the airport, we went for dinner at The Fish House in San Mateo. It was a good start to my first-ever visit to California.
On the way to the restaurant, someone cut Brett off in traffic. Brett laid on the horn and as we drove by the other vehicle, Cynthia shot them a nasty look. Brett commented that he was surprised Cynthia didn’t flip them off. So much for the laid back, mellow Californians I had expected.
On Saturday we headed up to Willits to pick up the RV. We got there a little early so we had lunch at a little hole-in-the-wall called Chad’s Fish & Chips. The restaurant was a bit of a dive, but the food was really good. The breaded Icelandic Cod in particular was good.
That was the end of the good news for a while. When we got to the place where the RV was, we were greeted by a scene out of the back roads of Appalachia. The house sat on a hill with an unkempt yard surrounded by a cyclone fence. Toys and debris were scattered haphazardly around the yard. There was a pick up truck in the driveway that was parked behind an apparently broken down car that was serving as storage for boxes and more debris. This was not a good sign.
Parked next to the pickup and storage vehicle was the RV. One of the owner’s nine kids was on the roof of the RV cleaning it. Actually, he was mostly just getting it wet. There wasn’t much cleaning going on.
The RV was dirty, but the exterior was in fairly good shape. I didn’t see any rust or dents, although there were some minor scrapes in a couple of places. The exterior graphics were also cracked and a bit faded from the sun, but that was to be expected. The tires were in good (not great) shape, with fairly good tread and no noticeable dry rotting. Overall, not bad for an eight-year-old RV.
Then I walked into the interior of the RV and my heart sank. The first thing that hit me was the cigarette and dog urine smell. Nasty. Then I saw the stained carpet, the dirty upholstery, and the crumbs and cobwebs in every nook and cranny. This was not what I had bargained for.
As I inspected the RV and checked out all of the systems, my mind was reeling. I had expected some wear and tear, but I didn’t think the RV would be so filthy dirty on the inside. My first reaction was to walk away from the sale, but then I remembered that we were only paying about 50% of the book value. Rather than being disappointed, I thought to myself, maybe I should look at it like I was buying a fixer-upper house. Sure, it needed some new carpet and an extremely good cleaning, but those things are relatively inexpensive. It would be like adding paint and landscaping to a fixer-upper.
Of course, the big difference between a fixer-upper house and the RV is that the RV has an engine and transmission. Thankfully, most of the abuse the RV had suffered occurred while it was sitting still. It had fewer than 18,000 miles on it (less than I had been told), so my hope was that the engine and drivetrain would be in good shape.
The test drive went well. The engine sounded good, ran strong, and the transmission shifted just like it should. And for a 36 foot behemoth, it handled fairly well.
After I decided to go forward with the sale, we did the paperwork and I got out on the road as quickly as possible. I wanted to put Willits and the former owners of the RV in my rearview mirror as fast as I could.
Next time, the 2200 miles journey from California to Wisconsin.
On the way to the restaurant, someone cut Brett off in traffic. Brett laid on the horn and as we drove by the other vehicle, Cynthia shot them a nasty look. Brett commented that he was surprised Cynthia didn’t flip them off. So much for the laid back, mellow Californians I had expected.
On Saturday we headed up to Willits to pick up the RV. We got there a little early so we had lunch at a little hole-in-the-wall called Chad’s Fish & Chips. The restaurant was a bit of a dive, but the food was really good. The breaded Icelandic Cod in particular was good.
That was the end of the good news for a while. When we got to the place where the RV was, we were greeted by a scene out of the back roads of Appalachia. The house sat on a hill with an unkempt yard surrounded by a cyclone fence. Toys and debris were scattered haphazardly around the yard. There was a pick up truck in the driveway that was parked behind an apparently broken down car that was serving as storage for boxes and more debris. This was not a good sign.
Parked next to the pickup and storage vehicle was the RV. One of the owner’s nine kids was on the roof of the RV cleaning it. Actually, he was mostly just getting it wet. There wasn’t much cleaning going on.
The RV was dirty, but the exterior was in fairly good shape. I didn’t see any rust or dents, although there were some minor scrapes in a couple of places. The exterior graphics were also cracked and a bit faded from the sun, but that was to be expected. The tires were in good (not great) shape, with fairly good tread and no noticeable dry rotting. Overall, not bad for an eight-year-old RV.
Then I walked into the interior of the RV and my heart sank. The first thing that hit me was the cigarette and dog urine smell. Nasty. Then I saw the stained carpet, the dirty upholstery, and the crumbs and cobwebs in every nook and cranny. This was not what I had bargained for.
As I inspected the RV and checked out all of the systems, my mind was reeling. I had expected some wear and tear, but I didn’t think the RV would be so filthy dirty on the inside. My first reaction was to walk away from the sale, but then I remembered that we were only paying about 50% of the book value. Rather than being disappointed, I thought to myself, maybe I should look at it like I was buying a fixer-upper house. Sure, it needed some new carpet and an extremely good cleaning, but those things are relatively inexpensive. It would be like adding paint and landscaping to a fixer-upper.
Of course, the big difference between a fixer-upper house and the RV is that the RV has an engine and transmission. Thankfully, most of the abuse the RV had suffered occurred while it was sitting still. It had fewer than 18,000 miles on it (less than I had been told), so my hope was that the engine and drivetrain would be in good shape.
The test drive went well. The engine sounded good, ran strong, and the transmission shifted just like it should. And for a 36 foot behemoth, it handled fairly well.
After I decided to go forward with the sale, we did the paperwork and I got out on the road as quickly as possible. I wanted to put Willits and the former owners of the RV in my rearview mirror as fast as I could.
Next time, the 2200 miles journey from California to Wisconsin.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Time Waits For No Man
The clock is ticking and I’m getting nervous. There are a thousand things to do and there are only 37 days until Thanksgiving. Uff-da . . .
I made a list yesterday of all of the things that we need to do to be able to leave by Thanksgiving (the truth is that I’m trying to get on the road by November 19). There is an entire page of things that need to be done. I know it can be done. In fact, I’m certain that it all will get done. It just makes me nervous.
I'm flying out to San Francisco on Friday. I'll be picking up the RV in Willits, CA on Saturday and will start the long drive back. I'm hoping that everything is working and the RV is ready to go when I get there on Saturday. Keep your fingers crossed. If everything works out, I should be home by Monday of next week.
I'll try to include a photo of our new home when I get back from California.
I made a list yesterday of all of the things that we need to do to be able to leave by Thanksgiving (the truth is that I’m trying to get on the road by November 19). There is an entire page of things that need to be done. I know it can be done. In fact, I’m certain that it all will get done. It just makes me nervous.
I'm flying out to San Francisco on Friday. I'll be picking up the RV in Willits, CA on Saturday and will start the long drive back. I'm hoping that everything is working and the RV is ready to go when I get there on Saturday. Keep your fingers crossed. If everything works out, I should be home by Monday of next week.
I'll try to include a photo of our new home when I get back from California.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
The United States is Really Big
I’ve been working on our itinerary and I’ve learned one thing: this is a really big country. Initially, I had planned on driving all over the country and seeing anything and everything. However, time is too short and the country’s too big.
So what are we going to miss? For one thing, we’re not going to be able to make it to the northeast. All of the great spots like Boston, New York, Washington, DC. Worst of all, we won’t be able to make it to Cooperstown.
We’re also going to miss most of the Atlantic Coast. That means we’ll miss Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina.
At first I was upset about what we were going to miss, but then it dawned on me that there is an awful lot we are going to get to see and experience. We’re going to get to see a lot of Florida over 7-8 weeks. We’ll be in Texas for five weeks, Arizona for three weeks and California for four weeks. We’re going to be staying in Yosemite, Glacier, Rocky Mountain and Yellowstone National Parks. We’re going to see parts of the country that we’ve never seen before.
I guess it’s all in your perspective. You can either focus on the positive or you can focus on the negative. I’m usually a glass-is-half-full kind of guy. In that spirit, I’m going to focus on all of the great places we’re going to see. It’s going to be a great trip.
So what are we going to miss? For one thing, we’re not going to be able to make it to the northeast. All of the great spots like Boston, New York, Washington, DC. Worst of all, we won’t be able to make it to Cooperstown.
We’re also going to miss most of the Atlantic Coast. That means we’ll miss Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina.
At first I was upset about what we were going to miss, but then it dawned on me that there is an awful lot we are going to get to see and experience. We’re going to get to see a lot of Florida over 7-8 weeks. We’ll be in Texas for five weeks, Arizona for three weeks and California for four weeks. We’re going to be staying in Yosemite, Glacier, Rocky Mountain and Yellowstone National Parks. We’re going to see parts of the country that we’ve never seen before.
I guess it’s all in your perspective. You can either focus on the positive or you can focus on the negative. I’m usually a glass-is-half-full kind of guy. In that spirit, I’m going to focus on all of the great places we’re going to see. It’s going to be a great trip.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Houston, We Have An RV
Just when you think things aren’t going to work out, they end up working out.
In my previous post, I was lamenting the fact that we hadn’t been able to buy an RV on EBay and that there weren’t any RVs coming up that really excited us. There was one RV that we liked, but the owner had started the bidding higher than we wanted to go. After several days, no one had bid on the RV, so I sent an email to the owner offering less than his opening bid. I didn’t think he would take it, but I figured there was no harm in making the offer.
The owner of the RV wrote back to me saying that the low book value on the RV is $41,000 and asked if I had a better offer. I responded by saying that my offer was all we had to spend, but I wished him luck with the auction. Surprisingly, the owner responded and asked if I would be willing to call him to discuss my offer. As it turned out, nobody bid on his RV and he accepted my offer.
The RV is a 1999 Fleetwood Bounder with a Ford V10 engine and 22,000 miles. We’re excited about our new RV. The one problem is that it is located in Willits, CA, about 175 miles north of San Francisco. I’m planning on going out there next week and then I’ll be driving it back the 2700 plus miles to Viroqua.
Buying the RV is just the start of a lot of things that need to be done. As of today we only have 42 days until Thanksgiving and the beginning of our adventure. In the immortal words of the “Bandit,” we’ve got a long way to go and a short time to get there. It’s time to get busy.
In my previous post, I was lamenting the fact that we hadn’t been able to buy an RV on EBay and that there weren’t any RVs coming up that really excited us. There was one RV that we liked, but the owner had started the bidding higher than we wanted to go. After several days, no one had bid on the RV, so I sent an email to the owner offering less than his opening bid. I didn’t think he would take it, but I figured there was no harm in making the offer.
The owner of the RV wrote back to me saying that the low book value on the RV is $41,000 and asked if I had a better offer. I responded by saying that my offer was all we had to spend, but I wished him luck with the auction. Surprisingly, the owner responded and asked if I would be willing to call him to discuss my offer. As it turned out, nobody bid on his RV and he accepted my offer.
The RV is a 1999 Fleetwood Bounder with a Ford V10 engine and 22,000 miles. We’re excited about our new RV. The one problem is that it is located in Willits, CA, about 175 miles north of San Francisco. I’m planning on going out there next week and then I’ll be driving it back the 2700 plus miles to Viroqua.
Buying the RV is just the start of a lot of things that need to be done. As of today we only have 42 days until Thanksgiving and the beginning of our adventure. In the immortal words of the “Bandit,” we’ve got a long way to go and a short time to get there. It’s time to get busy.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
No RV Yet
We were 0-3 on the RV front today. The first RV of the day got too expensive before we even bid on it. We bid on the second RV and were the high bidder right up until two-and-a-half minutes left to go in the auction. Unfortunately, we got beat right at the buzzer, so at that point we were 0-2.
I had high hopes for the third RV, but things didn’t work out too well with that one either. I was getting ready to bid when the bidding suddenly jumped up above our budget. Oh well, I guess it just wasn’t meant to be.
So where does that leave us? There are a couple of more RVs coming up on EBay over the next few days, but the only one we are really interested in isn’t up until next Monday. In the meantime, I’ve tracked down three RVs for sale off of EBay. The first is at a dealership in Michigan, the second is being sold by a private party in Indiana, and the third is at a dealership in Montana. I’ll be following up on all three to find out more.
Finding an RV has turned into more of a job than I thought it would be. I’m anxious to get one so we are set to leave on time and so I can concentrate on other things, but I also don’t want to make a mistake and overpay for an RV. The search continues. . .
I had high hopes for the third RV, but things didn’t work out too well with that one either. I was getting ready to bid when the bidding suddenly jumped up above our budget. Oh well, I guess it just wasn’t meant to be.
So where does that leave us? There are a couple of more RVs coming up on EBay over the next few days, but the only one we are really interested in isn’t up until next Monday. In the meantime, I’ve tracked down three RVs for sale off of EBay. The first is at a dealership in Michigan, the second is being sold by a private party in Indiana, and the third is at a dealership in Montana. I’ll be following up on all three to find out more.
Finding an RV has turned into more of a job than I thought it would be. I’m anxious to get one so we are set to leave on time and so I can concentrate on other things, but I also don’t want to make a mistake and overpay for an RV. The search continues. . .
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
It's Getting Cold
The Summer-like weather we had this passed weekend has given way to much cooler autumn temperatures. Daytime highs are forecast to be in the 50’s and overnight lows will be down in the 30’s. The changing weather is serving to accentuate the point that time is running out for us to get the RV and to hit the road.
There are three RVs coming up on EBay tomorrow that we are interested in AND are currently in our price range. That doesn’t mean the bids will stay in our price range, but as of now they are. I’m starting to get a little nervous that we are planning on being out of our house by Thanksgiving, but we still don’t have the RV that we will be calling home. Tomorrow might be the day we get our new home.
Kim has narrowed down her choices for homeschooling curriculum, but still has a couple of things she needs to check in to. Kim’s friend Amy, a former school teacher, is helping her to decide on the best curriculum for Shelby and Lou.
Our itinerary is in the rough draft phase. I initially made the mistake of having us visiting some areas before the snow has melted and roads have reopened. I’ve made some changes to avoid this, but there are still a few things that need to be tweaked before the schedule becomes final (subject to spur of the moment changes).
Tomorrow is going to be a big day. I’ll let you know what happens.
There are three RVs coming up on EBay tomorrow that we are interested in AND are currently in our price range. That doesn’t mean the bids will stay in our price range, but as of now they are. I’m starting to get a little nervous that we are planning on being out of our house by Thanksgiving, but we still don’t have the RV that we will be calling home. Tomorrow might be the day we get our new home.
Kim has narrowed down her choices for homeschooling curriculum, but still has a couple of things she needs to check in to. Kim’s friend Amy, a former school teacher, is helping her to decide on the best curriculum for Shelby and Lou.
Our itinerary is in the rough draft phase. I initially made the mistake of having us visiting some areas before the snow has melted and roads have reopened. I’ve made some changes to avoid this, but there are still a few things that need to be tweaked before the schedule becomes final (subject to spur of the moment changes).
Tomorrow is going to be a big day. I’ll let you know what happens.
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Ferris Bueller Day
Happy Ferris Bueller Day!
Today is the 10th anniversary of the day that became known as Ferris Bueller Day. On October 7, 1997 I went to an outpatient clinic in Melbourne, Florida to have routine sinus surgery. As it turned out, the surgery was anything but routine. The morning after the surgery I had a fever of 105 degrees and I had to be rushed to the hospital. It turned out that I had toxic shock syndrome and I spent the next six days in intensive care where the doctors had a horrible time trying to get my blood pressure stabilized.
In the end, the story has a happy ending. I recovered just fine and now every October 7th I do something to remember just how lucky I was (and am). This year, Kim, Shelby, Lou, Shelby’s friend Sierra and I went for a hike in the Kickapoo Valley Reserve in LaFarge, WI. The KVR is a great wilderness area with an interesting history. We went for a short hike (about 2 miles) on the Dam Tower trail loop. We are having unusually hot and humid weather for October (it was 82 degrees today), so the bugs were pretty bad. Even so, it was good to get out and enjoy nature.
The time away also took me away from my computer and away from my search for an RV. We are tracking several RVs on Ebay right now. It probably isn’t the best way to shop for an RV, but the honest truth is that with what we have budgeted for the RV, we are going to need to get a really good deal. We looked at dealerships first, but of course they are asking top dollar for the rigs on their lot. I’ve purchased two other vehicles on Ebay in the past and both vehicles turned out to be good vehicles, so I’m confident we’ll find what we’re looking for this time.
If everything works out the way I hope it works out, we’ll purchase an RV in the next couple of days. Stay tuned.
Today is the 10th anniversary of the day that became known as Ferris Bueller Day. On October 7, 1997 I went to an outpatient clinic in Melbourne, Florida to have routine sinus surgery. As it turned out, the surgery was anything but routine. The morning after the surgery I had a fever of 105 degrees and I had to be rushed to the hospital. It turned out that I had toxic shock syndrome and I spent the next six days in intensive care where the doctors had a horrible time trying to get my blood pressure stabilized.
In the end, the story has a happy ending. I recovered just fine and now every October 7th I do something to remember just how lucky I was (and am). This year, Kim, Shelby, Lou, Shelby’s friend Sierra and I went for a hike in the Kickapoo Valley Reserve in LaFarge, WI. The KVR is a great wilderness area with an interesting history. We went for a short hike (about 2 miles) on the Dam Tower trail loop. We are having unusually hot and humid weather for October (it was 82 degrees today), so the bugs were pretty bad. Even so, it was good to get out and enjoy nature.
The time away also took me away from my computer and away from my search for an RV. We are tracking several RVs on Ebay right now. It probably isn’t the best way to shop for an RV, but the honest truth is that with what we have budgeted for the RV, we are going to need to get a really good deal. We looked at dealerships first, but of course they are asking top dollar for the rigs on their lot. I’ve purchased two other vehicles on Ebay in the past and both vehicles turned out to be good vehicles, so I’m confident we’ll find what we’re looking for this time.
If everything works out the way I hope it works out, we’ll purchase an RV in the next couple of days. Stay tuned.
Saturday, October 6, 2007
And So the Journey Begins. . .
It started out as a rather harmless, innocent idea. Wouldn't it be cool to pack up the whole family in an RV and travel around the country? Sure it would be cool, but how could anyone actually do it? With jobs and schools and homes and budgets, how could you actually pull it off? Well, I think we've figured it out.
Thankfully, we own our own business and we have great people who work for us. It doesn't say much for me I guess, but the office does fine without me there. They'll miss Kim, but Roger and Shirley can hold down the fort without either of us being present. We're considering hiring another person, but for now, we're going to have to play things by ear.
How are we going to school the kids? Thankfully, homeschooling is becoming more and more popular and there are a ton of curriculum choices to choose from. We've done our research and we're convinced that both Shelby and Lou will do fine with homeschooling. Plus, the plan is to stay on the road for only 7 - 9 months, so the kids will be back in regular school next year.
What about our home? Other than the RV, we won't have a home. Wherever we are at the moment will be our home. It's going to be a big change, but I have no doubt that in time we'll adjust.
Next, what about the budget? That's our biggest question mark. We think we're going to be just fine, but who knows for sure what kind of expenses (expected and otherwise) we'll run into on the road? It's a little scary, but it also makes the entire adventure more interesting.
Finally, why would anyone want to give up their home to travel around the country in a big metal box? I suppose that everyone who has ever contemplated such an adventure has their own reasons. For us, there are four main reasons.
First, it has been a desire of ours for some time to experience the freedom that comes with being on the road. I love road trips. I love being on the road. Unfortunately, most road trips consist of traveling from point A to point B as quickly and painlessly as possible. We're going to travel from point A to point B (and then point C, point D, etc), but we're going to enjoy the journey between the points just as much as the points themselves.
Second, the kids are at the right age to do this. At 12 and 7, the kids are still young enough to adjust to life on the road, but old enough to appreciate the things we are going to do and see. If we don't do this now, we may never get the chance again.
Third, the trip itself will be educational for both the kids and for Kim and me. In school, the kids learn about different places and historical events from around the country. We'd like them to actually get a chance to see and experience these places. For Kim and me, we've been fortunate to live in several different places around the country, but there's so much more that we haven't seen. Our great big road trip will give us all a chance to see parts of the country that we otherwise may never see.
Finally, as a family, we've gone through a lot of struggles over the past four years. It started in December 2003 when I was diagnosed with cancer. Because of that, 2004 and the beginning of 2005 was probably the toughest time any of us have gone through. In 2006 one of our businesses failed (not our main business, thankfully). We've had a few other challeges over the last couple of years as well. We could seriously use a little time away to recharge our batteries.
So how is all of this going to come together? Our goal is to be on the road by Thanksgiving. That's only about 54 days from now. During that time, we need to purchase an RV, pack all of our stuff, move all of our stuff into storage, change our address, arrange for our mail to be forwarded, set an itinerary, make reservations at campgrounds, and a bunch of other stuff. It's going to be a busy (and exciting) time.
In the immortal words of Jack Kerouac, "the road is life." We'll be following in Kerouac's footsteps to see how much life is out there. It should be a great ride.
Thankfully, we own our own business and we have great people who work for us. It doesn't say much for me I guess, but the office does fine without me there. They'll miss Kim, but Roger and Shirley can hold down the fort without either of us being present. We're considering hiring another person, but for now, we're going to have to play things by ear.
How are we going to school the kids? Thankfully, homeschooling is becoming more and more popular and there are a ton of curriculum choices to choose from. We've done our research and we're convinced that both Shelby and Lou will do fine with homeschooling. Plus, the plan is to stay on the road for only 7 - 9 months, so the kids will be back in regular school next year.
What about our home? Other than the RV, we won't have a home. Wherever we are at the moment will be our home. It's going to be a big change, but I have no doubt that in time we'll adjust.
Next, what about the budget? That's our biggest question mark. We think we're going to be just fine, but who knows for sure what kind of expenses (expected and otherwise) we'll run into on the road? It's a little scary, but it also makes the entire adventure more interesting.
Finally, why would anyone want to give up their home to travel around the country in a big metal box? I suppose that everyone who has ever contemplated such an adventure has their own reasons. For us, there are four main reasons.
First, it has been a desire of ours for some time to experience the freedom that comes with being on the road. I love road trips. I love being on the road. Unfortunately, most road trips consist of traveling from point A to point B as quickly and painlessly as possible. We're going to travel from point A to point B (and then point C, point D, etc), but we're going to enjoy the journey between the points just as much as the points themselves.
Second, the kids are at the right age to do this. At 12 and 7, the kids are still young enough to adjust to life on the road, but old enough to appreciate the things we are going to do and see. If we don't do this now, we may never get the chance again.
Third, the trip itself will be educational for both the kids and for Kim and me. In school, the kids learn about different places and historical events from around the country. We'd like them to actually get a chance to see and experience these places. For Kim and me, we've been fortunate to live in several different places around the country, but there's so much more that we haven't seen. Our great big road trip will give us all a chance to see parts of the country that we otherwise may never see.
Finally, as a family, we've gone through a lot of struggles over the past four years. It started in December 2003 when I was diagnosed with cancer. Because of that, 2004 and the beginning of 2005 was probably the toughest time any of us have gone through. In 2006 one of our businesses failed (not our main business, thankfully). We've had a few other challeges over the last couple of years as well. We could seriously use a little time away to recharge our batteries.
So how is all of this going to come together? Our goal is to be on the road by Thanksgiving. That's only about 54 days from now. During that time, we need to purchase an RV, pack all of our stuff, move all of our stuff into storage, change our address, arrange for our mail to be forwarded, set an itinerary, make reservations at campgrounds, and a bunch of other stuff. It's going to be a busy (and exciting) time.
In the immortal words of Jack Kerouac, "the road is life." We'll be following in Kerouac's footsteps to see how much life is out there. It should be a great ride.
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