Jellystone Park with the Grandkids

Once again, this is being written many weeks after the events and the chronology and accuracy of the memories are to be taken with a grain of salt.

We were invited to spend the weekend with the grandkids at Jellystone Campgrounds in Luray, Virginia.  They were to stay in a cabin and we would stay in the rv.  A major decision was to tow or not to tow (sounds a little like Shakespeare, kick in the rear or something along those lines).  We decided that the general rule would be that if it was a go to, then camp, and pretty much stay there, that towing was not necessary.  As reported previously, driving the rv without the tow is vastly different in a positive way.  To not tow was the choice.

The drive there was uneventful.  I am getting used to driving the rv in a relatively stress free way.  Still, about four hours is enough for one day.  Five hours is possible with breaks.  It may be the same for car driving because that has not been done for quite a while.  We stopped in Lewisburg at a higher end discount (does that make sense?) outlet place.  We had been there before and liked the nicer brands and had found good goods for good prices.   Goody!  Not this time, however.  Our dog did okay being left in the rv while we shopped.  We did not run the generator to keep him cool as it was a relatively cool day, much like the weather we have had since then - one of the coolest springs and early summers that I can remember.  In general, the dog has done well when left alone.  We tried to cool off the rv as much as possible before leaving him, but the fan for the ac was operating on one speed only.  Another thing to get corrected...

Jellystone Park was nice.  The reservations clerk put us at an rv site right across from the kids' cabin.

 There were people on one side of us and the other side was open.  Setup went well and arrangements were made to de-winterize by getting the antifreeze out of the plumbing systems.  No problems so far...

After dinner, we wanted to wash up some dishes, but alas, no hot water.  After checking that everything was turned on and various combinations of the infamous by-pass, cold water, hot water, fresh, water, water water, and nuclear reactor valves near the radioactive core controlled by a super computer that the NSA has not been able to hack into yet, it was determined that the cold water valve was stuck.  Oddly enough, not having the cold run into the hot water tank means that the no hot water can be made.  There was a brochure in the office that featured a rv repairman's number, but after calling ten times or so during the first 36 hours there, we amazingly arrived at the conclusion that the number was no longer working.  No hot water is not the end of the world.  Camping means roughing it to a certain extent and no shower the next morning was not a major problem.

Saturday was a great day weather-wise and the kids made the best of it.  We did the paddle boats, miniature golf, kick ball, gold mining, throwing the lacrosse ball, the birthday party for the campground, and assorted other activities throughout the day.  When I say "we," it means they were active, Gin participated sometimes, and I was as inactive as possible.  I believe that not burning calories protects the environment.

The main activity that the kids and their father enjoyed was the bouncy area.  It was basically an uncovered area with air filled, strong plastic that provided a big time bounce.  It covered about three to four hundred square feet and the kids loved it when the father got on it with them and bounced them in the air if they were near him.  It was quite the workout  for all.  I watched in adherence to my environmental concerns.

Gin took a shower at the kids cabin late on Saturday and I used the bathhouse on Sunday morning for the same.  It was okay, but nothing to compare with the South of the Border showers mentioned previously.

We cooked out over a fire Saturday night.  Gin and I had been drooling over the idea of the wood grilled hamburgers - real hamburgers, not the 93 percent fat free cardboard that has no taste.  Sadly, we were not that excited about these hamburgers cooked that way.  However, the kids must have had hundreds of s'mores and I had a few too - well, just the marshmallow.  It was a good time and pretty good eating in general.

Sunday, we had tentatively planned to go to Luray caverns.  Everyone was tired and so we headed home instead.  Luray is close enough and on the way for future trips that we will take advantage at a another time.

The trip home was comfortable even though there was traffic and delays due to Sunday travelers.  The best part of the trip was a barbecued chicken place along side of the a river.  It was yummy.  These roadside places are invariably good with the chicken cooked over wood or charcoal and are frequently manned by various clubs - Lion, Rotary, or the such.  This one was for profit, a business run by young guys doing a great job.

On to home.  Time to figure out how to fix the fan for the ac and any other maintenance adventures that  await us.  Little did we know...

A Trip Cut Short - Winterizing Adventures

This episode is being written a full month after the events...

Back at the ranch, park, or whatever it is in Tampa, it continued to be warm.  We were enjoying the park in general and being somewhat lazy, or at least I was.  Gin tends to be more active and need things to do.  Me, I like to start slow and then taper off.

In reference to the mild physical discomfort mentioned in the previous blog, it began to play a major role in our plans.  It had gotten so that I was experiencing mild angina from minor exertion and decided to tell Gin about it.  I had not mentioned it previously because of believing that I was just out of shape from not exercising regularly due to foot problems and so on.  When we discussed it finally, she correctly, as she does so often, pointed out that a phone call to the cardiologist was in order to get some professional advice rather than trying to figure out what was going on ourselves.

I called the office of the cardiologist and explained the symptoms to the medical assistant.  She consulted with the doctor while I remained on the phone and came back with saying that the doctor wanted to see me at 2:30 that day.  "Uhh, I'm in Florida on an RV trip."  She replied, "Ohh."  After a three way conversation that included inquiring whether I needed to go to an emergency room or not (it was not nearly that kind of problem), we were urged to get back to Baltimore as soon as possible and that a week from that day would be the time to see the doctor.  More to come...

We stayed another two days with the admonition from the doctor to "take it easy."  Now this is the kind of advice that I can really take and run with - figuratively speaking of course because running was strictly not allowed.  We continued to enjoy the time there and left a day early than we had reservations for.  We had been planning to visit the east coast of Florida to visit Cape Canaveral and the vicinity, but with the change in plans, our trip was effectively cut about three days short in Florida and possibly one or two on the way back home.

Impending weather was an issue for the trip.  There was a severe weather warning for Jacksonville and the east coast and there was essentially no way to avoid it.  We had tried to avoid traveling in rainy weather, but had no choice.  Onward and forward....

We got to Jacksonville on the first day and it looked like we could skirt the severe weather with good timing and actually got further than we planned for the first day.  See the previous blog about planning and the universe laughing - there was a complete stoppage on I95 above Jacksonville.  We ended up staying at the rv park previously stayed at on the way down.  It was okay because of the familiarity of the facility.  The rain battered our rv.  With the tornado warning, it was kind of exciting, frightening, and so on.  Being in a powerful rain storm in an rv is like being in a tin can beaten by hyperactive marimba musicians that have od'ed on Red Bull, well at least close to that.

We took off the next day with no problems.  Out goal was to get to northern South Carolina, but we went further and ended up at the infamous South of the Border.  Gin wanted to shop there.  We had been once before and I can only describe this place as being so bad that it is good.  We got there and were directed to a site that was basically under water on one side.  We went to another site with the permission of the rv park office and it was not appropriate either.  Another site proved to be fine, although we had only thirty amp service.  That proved to be no problem with our handy, dandy adapter.

I wanted to take a shower, so for the first time ever in an rv park, I used the public bath house.  Other than the mold on the wall, IT WAS THE BEST SHOWER I'VE HAD EVER.  Ever since the federal/state laws have put limits on volume of water from shower heads, taking a shower is a wimpy experience at best.  This baby pumped out water in a stinging, hot spray that was practically like a power washer.  It was good, good, good.  My kingdom for a shower like that at home...

It had been sunny when I went to take the shower.  Did I mention what a great shower it was?  Anyhow, at the time we had decided to go shopping at Pedro's South of the Border, the sky clouded up and it poured rain.  No shopping, no Pedro, no schlocky merchandise to pore over.  Oh well, plans and all of that.

The next stop was above Richmond for two reasons.  We wanted to get relatively close to home for a short drive the final day and there was an rv dealership near the campground.  Now for our adventure in winterizing.  By coming back early to Baltimore, we faced freezing weather, which is a huge hazard for the water lines and tanks in the rv and potentially disastrous for the water damage to the rv.  I had read up interminably on the web about how to winterize the rv, so no problem, right?  Got the antifreeze, spent an hour figuring out how to get it into the fresh water tank, and put the suggested two gallons in.  The water pump would not pump it into the water lines as so universally stated in many web sites.  Could I have interpreted the information wrong?  You damn betcha!  Or the info was wrong.  Anyhow, back to dealership for more antifreeze.  This time, a man overhearing my request for more antifreeze said, "I sure hope that you didn't put that in the fresh water tank."  Gulp!  He proceeded to sell me a simple pump for installing the antifreeze in the water lines through the city water outlet.  Problem solved - except for the antifreeze now in the fresh water tank.  Stay tuned for that adventure that has not happened yet.

We got home the next day, put the rv in storage, and got ready for the visit to the cardiologists the next day.  Friday, the doctor, Monday at University Hospital, another stent, and home the next day.  A persistent mystery of how my cholesterol has been so very low throughout my life and still getting clogged arteries is bugging me and my doctors.  It is what it is.

Since then, it has consistently been freezing temperatures in the mornings.  Winterizing into April is a must.  Have to remember that in the future.

Stay tuned for our Virginia trip to Jellystone Park RV camp and Luray Caverns in Virginia - and dewinterizing the rv...