On The Road Again

We are less than one month away from our departure date of June 14th. I am actually starting to believe we will be firing up the coach and leaving! I get more excited every day. The reservations have long ago been made. October for the popular areas like Yellowstone, and months ago for the trip to get there.

As the song goes:

On The Road Again, Just Can’t Wait To Get On The Road Again, Goin’ Places That I’ve Never Been, Seein’ Things That I may Never See Again, Can’t Wait To Get On the Road Again!

When I worked for a living I made it a practice to tell everyone the project was due at least two days before the actual due date. (forgive me Father for I have lied) That way, when the last minute problems came up, we had time to fix the issue and still come in on time and on budget. (see UPDATE below)

I still do that. I have a full sheet of things that must be done BEFORE departure: take the TOAD in to check fluids, recharge the AC, etc. (it’s going to be 110 degrees in Lake Havasu) Put the last four new tires on the coach so all have been replaced. Take what has to go to the storage unit there and bring back what is going with us. You have different things onboard when you are parked for six months than when you are traveling. Take the coach in to check all fluids, systems, etc., kind of a preflight checklist. Order what has to be ordered now so we have enough with us for five months and aren’t looking around for whatever in the middle of (state name goes here.) Kathryn has been hard at work too making final doctors, dentists, and vet appointments for before we leave. Also stocking the final groceries so we don’t have to shop in the first few days, and getting enough medication for the trip. How do you refill a three month prescription four months from now when you are out of state? I guess we will find out. And coordinating Usher’s needs as well. He will need a shot three months out, making the groomer’s appointments, and arranging who is going to care for Usher when we go on our balloon ride in Albuquerque? You know, details like that we don’t want to wait until the day before to try and figure out. Are we a team or what?!

As I wrote in the blog post GOAT or BLT, I’ve been thru all the websites for each of the places we will visit so we know what we can do if we want to. Like Trip Advisor, Atlas Obscura, Factory Tours, and more. I’ve spent the last few days on YouTube. Did you know there are literally hundreds of people who document the places they visit with movies, music, and more, and give tips? I just write my little journal and post photos for family and friends to keep track of where we are and to remind me of the places we’ve been. If you can’t actually visit a place like Yellowstone, YouTube is the next best thing! Well OK, not every contributor is a movie director but there is still excellent information and in most cases you feel like you are there. For the last few days, I have been cross referencing their hiking recommendations with the All Hikes website and selected what trails I think I am capable of doing in each location. I know, I know. But it helps pass the days and makes the trip feel almost real until it is actually time to go.

In other words, I can’t wait to get on the road again!

UPDATE: You know that last minute issue that pops up and needs to be taken care of? For us it was during the week before we leave. The microwave/convention oven died! Yes, it is a residential over the stove microwave/convection oven, but finding one in stock at your local Home Depot or Loews is an issue post covid. No one has one in store and MIGHT be able to get one by the end of June. The stoves and ovens all have yellow sticky notes on them with the hoped for delivery date if you really want to buy one. If you have shopped for anything lately, it is quite possible they don’t have it and don’t know when they will. I finally found one in a small local chain appliance store, but he didn’t want my money because we would be outside his service area should we have an issue. (the old one was seven years old. I sure hope I don’t have an issue) I finally convinced him my address is in Punta Gorda so I am local! “In a motor home? No, we don’t do that! Last time my installation guy tried, he was there for three hours!”

Fortunately our salesperson Bob Hamill had and excellent RV repairman who he was sure could install it. The good news, he could fit me in on Friday, so we would be without for only a week. The bad news, he is an hour away. Close it up and off we go! He had it installed in just about an hour and for less money than the store wanted to charge. Oh well, I was going to top off the fuel tank before we left anyhow. Check that off the list. We are back on schedule with only a slight dent in the budget.