Getting clean

Hampton, Ga.--Boondocking requires conservation.

Electricity is not a problem. We have some solar panels, so on a sunny day, we can keep our house batteries pretty well charged and don't have to run the generator to make coffee or use the microwave. We run the generator when we watch TV, but that's about the only time.

Water (fresh and waste) is another issue. Short navy showers (get wet, lather up, rinse off) are a must. Paper plates are highly recommended.  Some people trek down to public showers to clean up, but I'd rather not do that. I've even seen people walking out to the port-o-potties to avoid filling their own black (waste) tanks.

We've done well. One more night here, but we have not had to call for the "honey wagon" to dump, nor the fresh water wagon to refill our potable water.

I don't like the combo washer-dryer unit we have in this RV; I much prefer the stacked washer-dryer (just like those found frequently in apartments). The stacked unit allowed for bigger loads and was faster. However, the combo unit is what we have. Unfortunately, it can take about 1.5 hours to wash and dry a very small load of clothes. Instead of doing laundry once a week, as I do at home, using the combo requires doing a small load each night.

However, when you are dry camping, you cannot use your washer-dryer. The water would be gone in a jiffy, and the holding tank would fill up quickly.

After a week of camping, our clothes hamper was overfilled. So, this morning I found a laundromat.

The cost of using a laundromat's washer's has increased considerably over the years. It is no longer 50 or 75 cents. The big front loader (I put in two loads) cost $5.50. The small front loader (one load) was $3.75. (This laundry did not have top-loading machines.) Drying cost an additional $1.50 for all loads. That's $10.75 to wash and dry the equivalent of three loads of clothes!

Oh, well. The laundromat was just down the road; it was relatively clean; and now we have enough clean clothes to finish out our trip. However, if we stay in a campground with full hookups, I'll be doing small loads each night.

Until next time,

Your Reluctant RoVer,

Linda

A home show for RVers

Have you ever gone to a home show? Jim and I usually go to both spring and fall home shows put on in Jacksonville. It's fun to walk around and see new merchandise. It's also a good time to talk with venders about products we might be in the market for in the near future.

RV shows are home shows for a very mobile audience. The venders at RV shows specialize in items that are unique to recreational vehicles, and believe me, you could go broke if you gave into impulse buying. But, like home shows, RV shows are good places to gather information for future purchases. Sometimes you get really good bargains, too.

Yesterday, we purchased one of those bargains--Good Sam travel benefits and assistance. For a discounted price of $79 for one year, I bought peace of mind, should an emergency occur while we are away from home.

The travel plan is actually a specialized insurance program. If either of us had a medical emergency, the plan would take care of getting us home. It would also take care of the cost of getting the RV home--plus other benefits and assistance, such as finding a doctor or vet. Two years ago this type of travel benefit was included in the membership for FMCA (Family Motor Coach Association). However, FMCA dropped the benefit as part of its membership package and started selling it separately, just as Good Sam does. The $79 is a small price to pay for peace of mind.

As we wander through the vender buildings, Jim is gathering information on such things as stabilizer bars, batteries, LED light systems, replacement awning fabric, and water pumps. Who knows if we will buy any of these things?

In the meantime, we look and lust after all the aftermarket products available to moneyed RVers. And we sign up for drawings and get free samples of products that "guaranteed to change our life."

It's all in fun.

Until next time,

Your Reluctant RoVer,
Linda

Rally around the Beach Boys

Hampton, Ga.--Just a few notes...

When we arrived here on Tuesday afternoon, there were several hundred RVs parked in various lots around the Atlanta Motor Speedway. Now, there are thousands--I would guess between 8,000 and 10,000.

We have spent the last couple of days sitting in various educational seminars on successful RVing. Jim is most interested in better understanding motorhome electrical systems and waste systems. I learned more about using that miracle invention Velcro in RVs. Because we've been at this for going on three years now, I didn't learn too many new tricks, but I did hear a couple of innovative ways to use Velcro. It really is a lifesaver in an RV.

We are now able to run our generator without "breaking" the rules. Jim completed the exhaust stack last night, and it works great!

The cats are basically behaving themselves. Xena was naughty once, but not since then. Oh, yes. Last night she jumped off the couch to go get a snack out of the dry food bowl. After a few bites, she went back to napping. A few minutes later I got up from my computer and discovered that she had deliberately tipped the food bowl over, spilling the bits all over the floor! I don't know what got into her; she's never done that before.

The Rally has a lot of social activities, for those who are bent on socializing. (I am not.) As part of the cost of admission (which, for us, was free), everyone is invited to three concerts. Tonight, it was the Beach Boys, which still has one of the original members, Mike Love. Neither of us was ever a fan of this music group, but we felt that we "had" to go. So we did, for about a half hour. I never went to a Beach Boys concert when I was young. Now I can say I did as an oldster.

Tomorrow the concert is Vince Gill. I am told he is a country music star. We will probably go to the concert, but I doubt that we will stay very long.

Time to close,

Until next time,

Your Reluctant RoVer

Linda

Roughing it, motorhome style

Hampton, Ga.--You've probably used the phrase "out in the boondocks." To RVers, the boondocks can be a very real thing.

We are in Hampton, Ga., camped out with thousands of other RVers at the Camping World/Good Sam National Rally. (We went to the same rally last year, but it was put on in Daytona Beach, Fla.) Because we are lifetime Good Sam members and because we must have purchased a requisite dollar amount from Camping World, our camping and attendance at this show is free. (All we had to pay was for two nights early-bird camping, for $35.)

We are boondocking--that is, dry camping.

We've done this before, usually for only one night staying at a Walmart or rest stop, while enroute to a destination. We tried boondocking for a longer period of time when we went to Quartzite, Az., two years ago. We lasted, I think, three or four days.

Dry camping is just that: no hookups for water, electricity, or sewer. Everything is self-contained. It is roughing it, albeit with all the comforts of home (hot water, toilet, television, computer, gas stove, etc.). Those comforts come with a cost, however. The cost is the use of coveted resources of water, electricity, and waste-water tank capacity.

Our solar panels have been a big help. (You remember those solar panels...the ones Jim was installing when we fell off the roof and broke eight ribs, his clavicle, scapula, left hand, and left foot?) The solar panels help keep our house batteries charged, so we can use electricity. However, the more you use, the more you drain the batteries. If the sun isn't shining (or we need more power), we have to run the generator. That burns fuel, of course, but it gives us electricity to do anything we want, just as if we were plugged into a receptacle.

The generator is another issue. Because of the close proximity of the parked RVs, we are required to put an extension on the generator exhaust pipe, to pull the carbon monoxide fumes away from the RVs. Ever resourceful, Jim did not want to pay $150 for a kit that was comprised of a bent pipe, a couple of clamps, and some PVC. So he's making his own extension kit for a fraction of the cost. He'll have it done later this afternoon. However, because we aren't "legal" we've limited using our generator, out of consideration of others around us.

Water is another issue. So far, so good. To conserve water, we take "Navy" showers: wet down, lather up, rinse off. We use disposable plates as much as possible. We try not to run water except when absolutely necessary.

What happens if our grey and black water tanks fill up or we run out of water? Not to fear; the Rally has provided a "honey" wagon (which pumps sewage) and a water truck. All for a fee, of course. So far, however, we are doing well. We'll see if we can last the week.

Until next time,

Your Reluctant RoVer,

Linda

MARTA, CNN, and Coca Cola: A full day

I used to take the train to work, when I worked in Chicago and lived in Wilmette, a northern suburb. I loved the no-nonsense commute. I would also occasionally take the El into downtown Chicago. That required being a little more adventuresome, since it required transferring trains, but I learned to do it, and I discovered that I didn't have to put up with the cost and trouble of finding parking in the city.

When Jim suggested taking MARTA (which I think stands for Metropolitan Atlanta Regional Transportation Authority), I was hesitant: We didn't know how to use the system. However, since we learned to do it in Washington, D.C., we figured we could do it in Atlanta.

The Rally is located in Hampton, Ga., a southside suburb about 20 from downtown. The closest MARTA station is at the airport, but we opted to go another couple of miles to a town called College Place. There we found free parking (and luckily a parking spot in the crowded lot!). As we were trying to figure out how to buy tickets, a lady came up to us and explained the whole process. I don't think we was with MARTA, but even if she was, it was a friendly and helpful gesture. We bought two round-trip tickets for $5 each. We also had to purchase a card for $1 each. The woman also told us that CNN and Coca Cola were within walking distance of each other. (She was right.)

As a side note: The RV Rally sponsors several area tours, including one that takes in CNN headquarters and the World of Coca Cola, which is next door to the Georgia Aquarium. The cost of the tour was close to $70 a person. Jim and I decided to go on our own. Our cost: $24 each for the combo tour tickets ($48), plus the cost of MARTA transportation--$12. We spent half as much as the cost of the bus tour.

We had no problem with the train, which dropped us virtually at the doorstep of CNN. We only had to wait a few minutes for a tour. In addition to us, there was a father and son, so this was a pretty private tour.

Being on the tour let me fulfill a lifelong dream: to read the news on air! Well, sort of. CNN has a mock-up studio as a first stop on the tour. After the guide explained how the teleprompters worked, as well as some other technical details of putting on the news, he invited one of us to try reading the news. It was my chance. Unfortunately, it didn't occur to my husband to take a picture(: He said I looked nice on TV, though.

A view as we were going up the eight-story escalator.

CNN newsroom

The CNN tour was really very interesting. If I were young, I think I would like to work in broadcasting. Broadcasting, though, is a young person's job, since its constant deadlines are very trying.

After CNN we trekked across Centennial Park to the World of Coca Cola. It, too, was interesting, despite its being pure marketing. It was fun to sit through the 4D movie as well as to watch a collage of international commercials. The best part, however, was being able to taste more than 60 coke-brand flavors from throughout the world.

Many of the flavors were similar to ones we have here; some, however, were absolutely horrible.

When I starting tasting, I filled my plastic cup with about one or two ounces of each soda. It didn't take long for me to reduce the taste test for a lot less. You figure it out: one ounce each of 60 flavors is almost two quarts! We passed on tasting flavors available only in the United States. (Been there, done that.)

We hadn't eaten anything all day, so after the Coke tour, despite being filled up with soda, we were going to look for a place to eat. Jim wanted to go to Atlanta Underground; I have never been there, but several people who know the area told us to be "careful" of that area of the city. We stopped to ask directions from a police office. His advice? Don't go there. He said that it wasn't like it was 20 years ago, when Jim had been there. Now it was unsavory and mostly only flea-market stalls, with no good restaurants. We decided to pass.

The police officer recommending a hike up to the Varsity, a hot-dog/hamburger restaurant near Georgia Tech. It was quite a hike for foot-weary trekkers, but we made it. Jim said the Varsity is often shown on football games. I never heard of it. No matter; we didn't eat there. They did not have gluten-free buns, and eating a hot dog without a bun wasn't appealing. We decided to head home.

By this time, my feet were really aching. I looked around and mused, "I think there must be a MARTA stop near here." As I pulled out my smart phone to try to find out, Jim stopped a passer-by, who pointed to the MARTA station a half block away. Yea! We didn't have to walk back downtown.

Lunch? Well, it turned into dinner. When we got off MARTA at our station, we caught a whiff of barbecue. As we drove off, we found the restaurant and sated our appetite. It was good barbecue.

Tomorrow the Rally actually starts. We'll be going to seminars and visiting venders. Should be fun. What is not so much fun is rationing water and electricity, since we are dry-camping. More about that later.

For now, I am

Your Reluctant RoVer,

Linda

Georgia on our mind

I never thought much about Georgia, until I moved to northern Florida. For much of my life, I equated Georgia with Atlanta. Of course, I knew the state had much more than that metropolis, since I have traveled through it on several occasions. But on this trip, I seem to be really seeing Georgia for the first time.

We spent a couple of days in an RV park in Unadilla, a small farming town about 30 miles from Macon. For those of you who are geographically challenged about Georgia as I have been, Macon sits just about in the middle of the state.

After we solved our electrical problems, Jim and I decided to play tourist in Macon. That wasn't a hard decision; there really wasn't much else to do around Unadilla. We had already gone to Americus where we could have visited the world headquarters of Habitat for Humanity (had we not been eager to fix our electrical problems). And we had already visited Andersonville,  which was a prisoner of war camp that had horrible living conditions. (If you haven't read the novel Andersonville, I recommend it.) So, Macon was just about the only other area to visit.

I'm glad we did. We really liked the city with its antebellum grandeur.

In some ways, Jacksonville and Macon are similar. I think Jacksonville is slightly older; both have city-county governments; and both are located on rivers, which had an impact on their development and growth. Jacksonville is much larger (864,000), vs. 155,000.

Macon, however, seems vibrant and living. Maybe it is because the antebellum homes are kept up (at least on the outside). Most of the big, old homes were closed for touring because we were there on a Monday, but we were able to tour the Hay House, a National Historic Landmark.

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The countryside in central Georgia is beautiful. Pecan trees are everywhere. I told Jim I wanted to stop and buy some pecans. We didn't have to! The RV park in Unadilla was nestled among pecan trees. Last night we picked up several pounds of the nuts. Yum!

Jim and I picked up a couple bags of pecans fallen from the trees.

These goodies were just lying about, waiting for us to pick them up!

And the rolling hills! I'm a flatlander, no doubt about it. Mountains are beautiful, but they make me nervous when I have to drive in them. But hills are another matter. I love hills, especially when I can look out on fields of blossoming cotton. (They remind me of the good times I had while living in Texas.)

A cotton field ready to be picked.

Here's a cotton bush up close. I took home a ball for a memento of our trip.

We will be driving northeast across Georgia next week, in order to go to Raleigh. As we make our journey, we'll see more of these lovely countryside.

In the meantime, we are not discounting the possibility of the Macon area for relocation. Just an idea right now. We need to do a lot of research about cost of living, including housing and real estate taxes.

We're not in any hurry. We can come back and have an extended visit and "try out" living wherever  our curiosity takes us.

Until next time,

Your Reluctant RoVer,

Linda

Let there be light

Unadilla, Ga., October 13, 2013—I’ve written about electrical woes before. They seem to be the bane of RVers, at least to us.

Last time we took a trip (a month ago, to south Florida), we had no electricity for one evening. At first we thought the problem lay with the hookup at the state park where we were staying. The park ranger checked everything out, however, and informed us that unfortunately, the cause of the problem was in our motorhome. We had no power all night. The next morning Jim, the Sherlock Holmes of electrical systems, finally found the cause of the outage: a ground-fault breaker. A simple fix; he just had to reset the breaker and we were back in the power business.

Last night, all was good. Everything was working well. Then, all of us sudden, around midnight, while Jim was watching TV, the power went off.

In a motorhome, you aren’t quite in the dark if the power goes off, as long as you have fully charged house batteries, which we do, thanks to the solar panels Jim installed. Nevertheless, we had to figure out what was causing the outage.

It was late, so we slept on the problem. In the morning, Jim tested the GFI and discovered that it was not functioning properly. In all likelihood that was the source of the problem. Getting a new GFI was a challenge, though. Unadilla is slightly more than a wide spot in the road. We asked “Garmina” (our GPS) the location of the nearest hardware store. 

Okay...not too bad. Unfortunately, the hardware store was also located in a very small town, and it was not open on Sunday. We asked Garmina again for suggestions. This time we opted to travel farther and opted to go to a Lowe’s, in Americus, Ga., another 20 miles away.

Americus is a quaint town, home to Habitat for Humanity. I think we actually went through this town last year when we visited Andersonville, the Civil War prison site.

After buying the GFI and driving around the town a bit, we queried my smart phone for a Mexican restaurant for lunch. We found one, El Jalapeño. Nestled in a neighborhood nowhere near any other commercial establishments, this restaurant drew a huge after-church crowd. And no wonder. The food was cheap and terrific!

Back to the power problem. It is apparently solved (cross fingers), thanks to Jim. He changed the GFI, and now we seem to be back in business. We are hoping for no new surprises for the rest of our trip—as well as for future trips as well.

We didn’t get to “tourist” much today. Tomorrow we will find out what there is to do around here. Perhaps tour Macon? Who knows. The Georgia countryside is beautiful, and it is nice just being out of the house.

Until next time,

Your Reluctant RoVer,

Linda