Long time no posting

Sorry about the long time in between posts but alot has been going on.
First is the job situation for Thom. He had to choose between 2 - one was a yr long contract and the other to stay at his current job. He ended up taking the yr contract as that would have us sorta in one spot for a yr. His other job had him traveling all the time for the last 7 yrs and I was not able to go with and we did not have the RV at the time so being together was the deciding factor for us for this one.
We had an eventful 5 weeks of traveling around the US. Some of which is posted here. The rest is getting to the DC area and staying for a few days to not only get to see our adorable granddaughter but also the oldest son (her dad) and his wife. Then we also got to see the youngest son whom we had not seen in about 6 yrs. Yes military. He was able to finally able to meet his niece, she is 5 yrs old now.
After we left there we went to Michigan to finish up the house and give it back to the bank - very long story that is pretty much done - and Thoms last week at his now old job. We got back to MI and went to finish cleaning out the house and barns and found that someone had decided to do it for us. Cops and insurance company called and forms filled out. About $40k to $50 worth of tools and stuff gone. We did have alot in storage already so not as bad as it could have been but still bad. Because we only had a week here and we had now all this to deal with we could not go thru the storage and get the things out that we wanted to put into the RV so we are dealing with it and just waiting till we can get back to finish getting it the way we want and to sell everything else. There was just not enough time to do it then with the time crunch.
We then left MI and went on our way back to CA. Had a week to get there and almost did not get there, a problem with volts and electricity to run the coach while going thru the top of TX. We ended up needing to run the generator while going down the road to keep the volts up enough to get back. Our MPG went down half while needing to run that. It's just the way the rig is wired. Luckily we only had to do that for about 1 1/2 days. We did make it back to Lancaster, CA and stayed at the AV Fair Grounds for a little while waiting on a monthly spot to open up at a decent campground. That was $35 a day, no deals for a week stay or going monthly. It is just a parking lot basically with FHU so it works in a pinch. Remember that when traveling, most fairgrounds has an RV park that usually is not filled and also usually has nothing but FHU.
We ended up going to the Acton KOA and staying here as monthlies. The price (for 2012) is $520 FHU and wi-fi included in that too.
Problems found:
We did find that the solar panal was old enough that it did not have a "shut off" thing to stop it from charging the battery. So the batteries ended up needing to be replaced as soon as we stopped, we kept adding water to keep them going till we stopped. That was about $200 each and we have 3.
We also had an intermittent problem with electric that was mistifying. We added a Surge Guard inbetween the inv/char and the electric coming into the coach. Then Thom opened up the inv/char since it seemed while he was in there that it was working on and off. Turns out that some of the wires were barely touching. I would NOT reccomend anyone doing anything to those things unless you have some experience in wiring and electricity which Thom has. We are looking at replacing it with a larger one now. Reason below.
I like to bake and we have a rather large microwave/convection oven so I can do lots. Well as I was doing a batch of oatmeal cookies (I will post my receipe, lol) when I heard a pop and it stopped heating. I stopped it as soon as I heard the pop so not too much harm done. Thom did open it up and fix that. BUT we realized at that point that when the previous owners replaced the microwave/convection oven and the inv/char while they owned it that they (or anyone else) did NOT match up the elect use and elect output ability. The m/c oven uses/needs 1.62 Kwz and the inv/char is only 1500 watts (or 1.5 Kwz) so as you can see someone did not do their homework. We are saving money up to get one that is at least 3000 watts or 3 Kwz and pure sine wave instead of modified wave. They are not cheap but that means the newer things like an LED TV will work more efficiently and it will be able to handle the m/c oven and I can get back to cooking and baking more :)
We are also performing in a play right now too, A Christmas Carol. Thom is doing 3 roles and I am doing 2. There are lots of roles in the play and everyone is doing more than one except for the one playing Scrooge. We have our first performace tonight in front of an audience.
I will be keeping up with the blog more often.

Upto April 19th

Well we arrived in Virginia the other day. Started off at Aquia Pines Camp Resort. When we made the reservations we specifically asked about the internet and the answer was yes we do and it is real good. Well first off it is considered off season so half the campgrounds things are not open but they are still charging full price of over $50 a night. The internet only worked if you were at the office no matter what they tried to say about it. There was no manager to be found and no way to contact them. Needless to say we did not stay past one night. We moved on down the road to Prince William Forest RV Campground. Price is almost $20 less a night. Granted it is only 30 amp but they are putting in a row with 50 amp. Getting in and out is WAY easier than Aquia. They not only try to cram you in an over priced piece of crap campground but they make you think there is nothing better. Prince William we will stay at anytime again. Everything is much better there. The internet works, the people working there are more friendly and well it is also cheaper. How much more do you want?
We got to see the oldest son (Joshua) and his wife (Erin), the granddaughter (Lisa) and the youngest son (Justin). We have not seen Justin since he graduated Basic about 6 yrs or so ago. He had been in Alaska, Iraq and then Korea.
We are leaving in the morning to head back to Michigan. It is supposed to take anywhere from 10 to 13 hrs to get there. 10 hrs if we want to try taking all the toll roads and 13 if we don't. Since some tolls charge by the axle including all the axles on a trailer we will not be taking toll roads. We will be in Michigan for a week and then heading back to California. No stops to see anyone this time so no way for anyone else to get mad at us when we just can't fit or just can't spend more than 2 days trying to hook up with anyone.
Thom will be happy to get back out there since he will be able to ride his motorcycle every day. He likes riding for several reasons including the one that when he rides then I have the truck to drive. Neither one of us can understand why people get a bike and then don't ride it. We see that all over.

April 10th thru April 14th

Well we seen some and could not go see others. We are now in South Carolina. We will be here till Sunday, pulling out in the morning.We have made alot mad since we could not take the next 12 days off to see everyone that we know. Sorry we have tried to make it easy to see people but it seems that some just can not grasp that this thing is just a little longer than a semi and the pivot point is no where near like a semi. If you think a semi would have a problem then we can NOT take this thing there. Thats why we have put the call out on texts and Thom's facebook when we are in town so that we could maybe meet up close to the highway. Sorry that we could not stay a week with everyone and have to leave most of the time just a few hours after we see you but we have a very long trip still to go yet. One more set of people to see and then up to Michigan. One week there to clear the house out and one week to drive back to California. We have done nothing so far except drive to see who we could. If that seems to upset people I am sorry we just do not have the money or time to be where you all want us to be all the time. It is not just one person that is mad it seems we have made people made in lots of states.
And by the way you do not have to offer us a "real bed" when we do stop for the night cause this thing does have a real bed and is quite comfortable. We have gotten that in alot of places.

April 9th

Well we finally left Troll and Michelle's at about 2:30am and got back to the MH to get some sleep. Got up at around 9am. We had some oatmeal for breakfast and got the day started. We went to go to Lowe's and realized that our brokerage company was right next door so we stopped over there first to take care of some paperwork, over an hr later we made it to Lowe's. Picked up so hex head bolts for the wheel chock that we are putting on the front of the trailer. This way he can drive the bike onto the trailer, steady the bike with it in the chock thing and then manuver the back easier. Then we will put the 4Runner on the trailer. It should be easier to take them on and off from now on. It's a learning experience so we will see how this set up goes.
Then we went and had a quick snack and went over to my dad's place again to pick up Thom's present from him. We then went over to the Eagles club to meet up with him and talked with him for a few. Decided at that point that we are going to stay in Bradenton/Sarasota one more day to take care of some other stuff. We then met up with another friend for some wings, beer and a cigar. Finally got back home again after 1 am, lol.
It's been fun seeing some friends and my dad for this stop. Bradenton and Sarasota both have changed alot in the 7 years that we have been gone. Some places are gone and some new ones opened up but that happens sometimes.

April 7th and 8th

April 7th
We got up early and went on our way, determined to make it to Bradenton/Sarasota FL before we stopped. We pulled into Encore RV Park at about 10:30 pm and hooked up. Nice enough place but when we went to go online we found out that they not only use Tengo Internet but you pay for it which would be about $9 a day for each of us to go online. So we just went to bed and in the morning left. April 7th was Thoms BDay too, I was upset that he did not get to do anything but drive but he was ok with it since we made it our first stop with family.April 8th
Got up at about 9 am and immediatly unhooked and went to pay as we left the park. Just can not stay where there is no free internet right now. We went over to the Eagles club on old 301 and saw my dad whom we have not seen in about 7 yrs when we left FL. We spent some time with him and then decided to park over at Sun N Fun Resort and Campground for 2 nights. It's about $50 a night but they do have free wi-fi at the sites. They do reset it so you have to relog in over hr but since we are not going to be spending that much time on it we will take the little free over paying. Just checking games resources right now, lol.
We have the 4Runner on the trailer first and then the bike but we have decided to reverse that so that it's easier to take either one off the trailer. As Thom was working on getting a wheel chock on the front of the trailer to make it more stable holding the bike we got a call from our friends - Troll and Michelle. Needless to say we finished the part we were on and went over to see them. After talking at their house we went up to The Roo until they closed and then went back to their place. We finally left there and came back to the MH at about 3 am. We will spend another 1 1/2 days or so here and see as many friends as possible then we will be headed north.

April 6th

We spent the night outside at a friends house and got up about 7:30am. Had coffee and breakfast with Toni, Tom and Brant. Had a last chat with them and then took off about 10 am or so. Stayed driving all day this time.
We did stop for some diesel at found it for $3.85 gal. We got 77.74 gals and it came out to 9.36 mpg this time. There was some driving thru towns and stuff with stop and go with lights so thats why the lowered milage. We think that the gage is off by alot cause at needing the 77 gals it says we have between 1/4 and 1/2 tank. We will have to check into that but thats not high on the list cause at that we still go over 700 miles before getting fuel. Besides we found it at $3.85, we would have gotten it at that price at a half tank, lol.
We made a decision that even if we would not make it all the 1100 miles down to Bradenton that we would at least make Florida before we stopped and well shortly after we hit the border we stopped at Pelican Palms RV Park. It's ok. We stopped at about 2 or 3 am so we had to find a spot and the 'map' was not marked about what was were so the spot we picked just had 30 amp service. The water spigot itself leaks - alot. Thom will be going up here shortly to pay and let them know.
EDIT - they gave us a discount on the price since we could not use the water.
We are just going to make coffee, oatmeal for breakfast, checking some game stuff and then getting back on the road. We will be down in Bradenton tonight.

April 5

Sorta short day driving yesterday.
We went from Junction, TX to Taylor, TX to see some friends on the way to the rest of the trip. Of course with seeing people you always end up spending more time and that's fine, lol. We stayed for dinner and then had a TX PD Fest on the porch last night. Relaxed and had fun with Toni, Tom, Thom, Brant and me. Small party as they go but we still had fun catching up and enjoying time with everyone.
We are now (again) playing Travian. Oh well, just one account with Thom and I on it so that should be ok, lol.
Going to be taking off fairly compared to all the other days.