From Hiker to RVer

Anyone who knows me has heard me starting to talk about EarthTone and LoGear's next Adventure.  We are planning on embarking on the Full Time RVer life.  

I know that I still need to finish my first traverse of the Appalachian Trail and that is still at the top of my To Do list, but over the last several weeks I have watched hundreds of videos, bookmarked dozens of websites and spent lots of hours researching what it takes to get rid of our stuff, sell our sticks and bricks, buy something that moves and head out on the road.  Saying that it has become my latest obsession is an understatement.

The Quest continues

When we first started discussing this new Adventure, we weren't sure what it took to make it happen.  When I started looking into it, I immediately became overwhelmed. After taking a deep breath and reminding myself of the technique of eating an elephant (one bite at a time), I started learning.  

I have been searching online for a nice used truck to buy to tow a Travel Trailer and we have already gone to three RV shows and visited two local dealers to look at a few coaches.  At first we were looking into the Class C.  That is one the midsize one that you drive yourself.  The large Class A were a little too big for our needs.  

Class A

After looking at a lot of Class Cs, we decided that if we went that route, we would need a vehicle to tow behind so we could be mobile when out camping without having to pick up the whole rig and break camp every time we want to head out.  Next we looked at a couple of 5th wheels, but then focused our search on a regular old Travel Trailer.  

Class C

As I learned more, I decided that I don't want anything much more than 30 feet long.  We are trying to find that sweet spot of big enough to be comfortable, but not too long to challenge my towing skills or restrict where we can take it.  The Goldilocks Trailer.  

I now know what the model name codes mean and can get an idea of the layout just by reading the code.  We really don't care if it is a Rear Bath or Front Living or any of the other layouts.  As long as it has a bathroom of a decent size, a kitchen with the essentials a couch and dinette table, heater, AC, TV and a decent amount of storage.

5th Wheel

Travel Trailer

My truck search has been a task.  My mind keep changing about what I need/want.  I've gone from an overpowered diesel to something that would work, to a regular truck that should be able to handle what we buy.  It hasn't been easy and I'm still suffering from sticker shock at the price of heavy duty pickup trucks.  I have been searching the webs and visiting dealerships, driving a few and comparing their options.  

As a kid, my family used to spend a lot of the summer renting a small Scotty trailer that somehow fit the six of us and we would go up and down the east coast staying at campgrounds.  Those fond memories still linger in my mind as I think about what LoGear and I will be doing in the hopefully not too distant future. I have plans of visiting all of the lower 48 states and maybe even do Alaska and Canada. There are so many places in this great country that I want to see or re-visit.  I am excited to get started.

My childhood trailer was like this

So now I'm learning new terms like boondocking, black tank, dump station, lithium batteries, brake controller, sway bars, bunkhouse, rear living, converter, toy hauler, full hookup, slide-out, and the list goes on and on.

I have found that the RV community is a lot like the Hiker community.  They have their own language and the camaraderie is just as strong.  And just like hikers, RVers talk a lot about poop.  

Each day I pick a topic to research and learn about and I take my notes, bookmark another site or two and watch several more videos.  

We are slowly trying to get rid of all the "stuff" we have accumulated over the last few decades and we are planning on attending another RV show this winter.  We have a nest egg that we put away several years ago, not knowing what we would use it for, but using that seems like the perfect way to get on the road without increasing our debt.  

Once we sell our sticks and bricks house, we will re-egg our nest.  

Spending so much time on the Trail has instilled in me a need to simplify my life, decrease my "stuff" and keep Adventuring before I'm too old to do what I want.  

So, the Quest continues, but has once again evolved into seeing all I can in this already Great Country.  

Peace,
EarthTone and LoGear

Amazing Race without the Prize

The Adventure of Travel – 1300 PST in the air somewhere over the Rocky Mountains

Every time I hit the road, or in this case the air, it has the potential to become an adventure. I really like adventure and just like I always look for opportunities to use my survival skills and kit, I will usually spin my situation in a positive light. Of course, I have to do a few calculations to ensure my plans aren’t completely put into a tail spin, but I like a change in agenda from time to time. Today’s trip has been just that.

I arose at 0600 on a Saturday to get a few things done, eat some breakfast and head on out to the airport for a 0845 flight to Oakland with a connection through Salt Lake City. It has been snowing lightly when I left the fitness club last night after the Wallyball league matches. This morning had about an inch of snow on the ground covered in a nice layer of ice and sleet. The road didn’t look too bad and when I got off the side streets and on to the highway, it was just salted wetness.

Everything went well at BWI. I parked my car at PreFlight and arrived at the terminal with plenty of time to spare. I got through security easily and made my way to the gate. Our plane arrived on time from its prior city and we boarded on time. At that point things started to go South. It seems we had to wait for a couple late comers then there was a wait to get the wings treated (which is something I wouldn’t have foregone), and we were finally in the air about 50 minutes late. I saw this as a possible problem as my layover in Salt Lake was only 30 minutes. There are times when my next fight is delayed for whatever reason, so I wasn’t too worried, but you never know.

When we were about 40 minutes when the flight crew announced that the Oakland flight was going to be leaving on time. I wouldn’t be on it. We got in about 1230 local time and I went to the gate desk. They had new boarding passes for me for a flight that went through LAX. I would be arriving in Oakland after 1630, so now I know how I will be killing the time from arrival to check in at the barracks. I would have rather been in Petaluma and doing some shopping or exploring, but it doesn’t matter. I go with the flow and for now, the flow is still taking me west to my destination. I just get to fly over a lot of the state of California before I get to where I’m going, where I will then get my car and head north to the wine country. The adventure continues…

And continue it did. After we landed in LA and were taxiing to the gate, I turned on my phone and checked the status of my next flight. Cancelled!

Once again I headed to the gate counter to see what was next and by now I started to recognize a couple and an older lady who were going through the same ordeal as me. As we waited our turn I made the comment that became the title of this post. It felt like we were stuck in a episode of the Amazing Race, but there were no cameras and no prize at the end. I was starting to get the feeling that I needed to get that last seat on the plane before they do...

But, it turned out to not be as dramatic. I did have a bit of serendipity while boarding the last leg of the flight. My beautiful A boarding pass had transformed into an end of the Bs boarding pass. This last flight was a full flight, so that probably meant sitting in a middle seat and maybe even having to have my luggage checked. As I made my way back towards the very end of the plane, where I saw a few still open bins, the flight attendant announced a certain person's name and instructions to get their gear and exit the plane. I thought it a little strange until I saw a pretty girl with lots of makeup dressed in a Southwest uniform getting up from a window seat just as I arrived at that row. She indicated that she was the one who was exiting and it wasn't a big deal as she was just deadheading and could catch another flight. I said I would gladly take her now vacant seat. The better part was she had to remove her carry on and mine fit right in its place. I thanked her with relief at not having to do either of the two things I feared, took my seat and set in for the final leg of the flight.

One thing I noticed while flying the other two legs was that I kept ending up in the 13th row. I'm not superstitious, but my last row of the travel day wasn't the 13th.

Well, the flight crew kept warning that it was going to be a bumpy flight due to high winds and had ordered the crew to stay seated the whole trip, but it wasn't bad at all. I just concentrated on making my bladder last the trip.

We hit the ground around 1600 or so and I was driving out of the rental car place around 1618. An hour and 10 minutes later, I was getting my parking pass at the front gate of TRACEN Petaluma for a fabulous one week stay.

I headed up to the club to check in and had an order of wings for dinner and a beer. Next I went down to my room and unloaded my suitcase. By now it was around 2000 local time, but 2300 in my head. I hooked up my laptop to make sure I had my umbilical for the week, changed into sleeping clothes, headed to the rack and called it a night. I read for a while and hit the lights after 2030.

Of course the next thing I knew it was 0300 local time and my mind was telling me it was time to get up. This always happens. I will be an early to bed, early to rise dude while here. More than usual. I'm waiting for sunrise now and will probably get a trek in up into the perimeter then maybe a little something in the gym. Next, I will probably take a quick trip into town for some supplies for the week. I need to keep my calories under control and pizza, wings and beer are not going to be the right things. There is a Subway here, but I have to be careful with that too.

We meet at 1300, then I can watch the second game to see if San Fran will be going back to the Superbowl. I must prepare my uniforms for tomorrow and the fun will then begin.

On the Road and Acid Reflux

This week myself and one of my co-RFMCs went to St Louis to talk to all the senior enlisted that were attending a conference. We met with them in a nice conference room and just talked about issues. It was good getting all the silver badges within the C4IT community (ESUs) in one room.

The day before I left, my dear wife said her chest hurt after an intense spin class. My questions were hard for her to answer. Where exactly does it hurt? How bad? What kind of pain is it?

She was a little worried, but assured me I could still travel. After I got there we talked and she was still hurting. I recommended she go to the ER just to get checked out as that is what the on-call Tricare people told her to do. Her sister told her the same thing and she is a paramedic, but she didn't decide to go until our teenager told her to go.

Of course they made her stay the night and most of the next day while they took a bunch of blood and tests and decided that there was nothing wrong with her heart. Their diagnosis was possibly acid reflux. She always says she doesn't know what heartburn is because she has never had it. Maybe that is no longer the case. So now she has some Prilosec OTC to try out.

Next Monday I head out again to CA for the whole week.

It is quite a helpless feeling when something is going on far away and you can't get back quickly enough to lend a hand or "fix it" or whatever.