Live the Dream

Live the Dream

Ever wanted to sail the world?  Or at least sail Europe?  But for various reasons (time, ports are not the same as being in the cultural centers, can't swim etc), you moved on?

Ever consider a motorhome?  It can do 65 to windward no problem.  It will get you up the coast.  It will get you to the interior.  You can load it on a ferry and go from Barcelona to Rome overnight.  But egads, the European motorhomes are 25' if you are lucky.

How about an American motorhome in Europe?

That was our thinking when this all started 2+ years ago.  The natural followup question, can it be done?

Yes, we have been cruising for 9+ months in our 36' 2008 American motorhome w/ our family of 5.  Sure we could have done it in a 25' European model, but some of us might not have survived.  Yes, it's big on the roads.  It will turn heads.  When you get to the less cosmopolitan regions, it will turn every single head.  Random Italians have complimented me on what a lovely motorhome while I was dumping tanks.  Sono pazzo, others have thought.  But we're not crazy.  We're living the dream.

But like all good dreams, one must wake.  And we are going to wake up in July with an RV that needs to ship back to the US.  Or maybe you can pickup our part of the dream and keep going...
Well, the good news is that our 36' 2008 American motohome is currently in Europe, and we're going to be done with our trip of this part of our lifetime in about 3 months.  And naturally we want to sell.

American motorhomes in Europe are not cheap.  Check out http://www.stingrayrv.com/American-Motorhome-Sales/ convert to dollars and shake your head in amazement.

Without further ado, these are the specifications:

• 2008 Tiffin Allegro 35QBA FRED Bunkhouse
• 300 hp Cummins diesel engine
• Freightliner Chassis
• Sleeps 4 in actual beds that don't need unfolding or inflating
• Queen Island bed with side tables
• 2 single-person bunks
• Sleeps 6 including the inflatable fold out couch
• 4 slides for incredible inside living space
• Inverter
• Solar Panels
• Upgraded and expanded batteries
• Macerator w/ 100ft hose (you will never go back to a regular American setup after using this)
• Adapters for European water hoses and LPG tank
• Washing machine.  Yes, really.
• 3-burner Gas Cooktop
• Microwave/Convection oven
• 2 door refrigerator/freezer (gas or electric)
• CD/AM/FM radio with headphone jack for iPhone/Android device
• Backup camera in back and sides
• Automatic self-leveling jacks
• Automatic snow chains (flick a switch and keep on going to the skiing!)
• Real standup shower with glass doors and switch to turn off the water.  Better than 90% of the camp showers I've used.  This is the thing that sold me on this model.  I like a good shower.
• New blinds (I hated those nasty "folding" blinds -- these roll down straight)
• New LED bulbs for most of coach (a very few could not be sourced)
• Hot water heater with both gas and electric
• 220v power converter
• Flat screen TV w/ worldwide DVD player
• Central vacuum cleaner
• Laser Printer/Scanner (we removed the 20" cathode ray tube TV to put this in, awesome upgrade!)
• US/European Garmin GPS w/ Truck routing and Bluetooth
• Emergency catalytic heater for if either of the 2 forced air heaters fail (or if you want to save money)
• Camp stove piped to big tank
• 5kw diesel generator
• Bedding and various other housewares if you want it.  Or we'll just give it away.  Camp chairs  & table as well.

It has not been imported to anywhere in Europe, and is still registered in California.  So, that may or may not need to happen depending on the buyer.  And I have owned it for over 1 year which likely gets some break vis a vis import taxes.

Based on what I've seen, a purchase for 60k GBP or 74k Euros would make both of us happy (one dealer is offering the same, but gas powered model for 90k GBP -- http://www.stingrayrv.com/American_Motorhome_Hire_Rental_Winnebagos_details.aspx?mID=1510), but frankly what I most want is a guaranteed handoff somewhere between Switzerland, Sweden and the UK in or before early July.  So, make an offer.  ilovelandshark@gmail.com is the place to reach me.

What makes a campground (for us) great

As I scan through dozens of listings every time we move the rig, I've started to tighten down on a list of things that make a campsite great.  These naturally are my own opinions and reflect our situation (huge 'Merican rig, still haven't sorted out electricity conversion so dry camping, living w/ kids and dog 24/7 in the rig, etc).  Here's a list broken out by priority:

Must have:

• Maneuver and actual space for this big rig.  If we can't get to the pitch, it's a non-starter.  Ditto for a pitch that we can't fit in.
• Allows kids and dogs (I can't imagine hiding this rig full of attention grabbers)

Guaranteed we'll stay there (assuming the must have's are met):

• Wifi at the pitch.  Wifi at the park center is really nice (see below), but at the site is awesome.  If you have that, we'll go 10's of miles out of our way to stay there a few nights just so that we can upgrade multiple computers and devices with all of the required & recommended updates overnight!  I might be willing to even pay for this if the pricing is right and service is fast (1GBP/30min is absurd, and I'm willing to pay to help ensure that I'm not sharing bandwidth with 200 others all streaming netflix)
• Single vehicle mass transit to city (if we can reach an actual city in one step, awesome)

Big wins:

• Walkable grocery
• Walkable dining
• Walkable attractions
• Incredible view
• Good sized Playground, waterpark, etc

Additive (these will help v. other nearby sites):

• Water & Electric @ site
• Dumping @ site
• Playground (any playground is better than no playground)
• Playfield
• Reputation for clean and heated bathrooms (we have our own, so not so critical, but definitely indicative)
• Laundry facilities
• Free wifi at the center
• Town/City centre w/in 10 miles (we have a toad so we can cover decent range)
• Enough space to do the slides.  It has not been a problem here thus far as most spots seem to be square (and room for a 36' length pretty well ensures that we can do slides, and an extra car)

Things that will make us think hard/plan (if the following are true, we may not go, even with multiple big wins):

• No fresh water
• No dump facility
• Grass only site (must consider the rain and our 12T weight!)
• More than 30min drive from grocery or dining
• More 40GBP/night -- seriously?  I'm still shaking my head over 33GBP/night
• Reputation for stinky facilities, campsite has been "let go", year round tenants who commute to city (pensioners are nice & fine)

What baffles me most is that so many of these criteria are impossible to filter or sort on in the 6+ websites I have learned to peruse while searching for pitches (in just the UK!).  The information is in the review sites, but it's just not available to filter/search (rig size isn't there at all AFAICS).  So, I email and I call 5-10 places every time we plan to move.  Definitely room for a good aggregator to build a web site especially with availability.  Too bad I'm busy for the next several months just living.

A good day

Sometimes it is just the little things.  Or maybe it's the strange sort of magic that comes from getting away from it all.  But for whatever reason, yesterday was really an excellent day.

Nothing lead me to believe it would be.  I was in cloud purgatory trying to update Martha's GPS over a very thin straw called the wifi network here in the North of the Lakes Region of England (aka Cumbria).  I couldn't surf the net as I needed all bandwidth for this stupid 4gig update so that I wouldn't lose Martha next time we're on the road (or at least not for as long).  Tensions were running high with the rest of the crew as they had used up their computer time on this rainy with periods of sunshine Sunday.  And the washing machine didn't appear to be working (admittedly, this was our second use of it).  The thunder and lightning struck unexpectedly with Martha appearing in the very loud kids center (best internet in the park, offset seriously by the blaring TV working its way down the top 100 power ballads of all time (I went from somewhere in the 60's (something by Lady Gaga) to 27 ("Don't Stop Belivin'" by Journey and co-opted by the SF Giants))) where I was trying the download.

"Washer is shooting water all over the place and we need to do something with this 'lovely' day, or I'm going to lose it."
"OK.  Give me a second."
"I am sick and tired of all this, and here you are wasting your day..."
"Excuse me, but you just appeared here after dead silence for 3 hours and start yelling at me..."
"I have no one else to vent to."  Short pause, "I'm out of here."  And she marches off.

Crap.  I turn off everything immediately, load up my 30lb electronics backpack and head back with the 3 kids for the rig.  Everyone was at a loss for the explosion.  Paul suggested that it something had happened in the last 12 minutes, he said Mom was fine back at the rig when he left.  Whatever.  Time to go.

We pile in the car with no particular plan in mind.  At the nearest pub, we stop for a carving lunch.  A carving lunch is a really wonderful UK Sunday tradition.  A lunchroom has 2-4 roasts available under heat lamps and a person ready to carve off some meat.  There are several sides (Carrots and peas!  Again!) that one gets at a warm buffet.  Let's just say it was the perfect antidote to the "variable" weather outside.  This particular one had a wood fire going in the fireplace and a few guests had brought their dogs. There was some bickering, but buffets are good at making kids happy -- no need to wait for food, and they get what they want -- so it was a little half-hearted.

After lunch we crossed to look at Arthur's Round Table -- aka a pre-historic circle of bermed earth around a moat likely used as a meeting and trading place in the 1-2k BCE times, now currently used for sheep and cows (based on the bountiful leaving).  The kids immediately started running across and up & down this very large field.  The pastured cows nearby ran to greet them.  After less than 5 minutes, Paul comes running by and declares, "This is the best thing we've seen yet in England."  Wow.  A grassy, recently rained upon field with a big round circle featuring cows and rocks piled into a wall.

But it was.

Full, happy tummies.  A chance to blow off some steam.  A chance to breathe and live away from the computers.  Beautiful contryside in every direction.  Good times.

We followed up by continuing to drive somewhat randomly (no GPS).  We found a circle of stones ("And this is #2" from Paul -- though he confidentially admits later that these were #2 and #3, because the #1 thing he did was the "Running of the Alpacas" which I will leave him to describe later a) because I wasn't there and b) because he is still so excited about it) complete with an ice cream truck.  We went to a town and bought proper rain gear (First time I have gotten Paul to shop with me, ever.  Despite many requests usually turned down with a "buy stuff James likes, and I'll take what I like from him." -- twins, what a job!), repeatedly fed the parking meter, walked along a gorgeous lake, threw some rocks in, got periodically rained upon and had a light tea.

Yeah, best day in a long time.

Roll On, Roll Off...

Hindsight is a funny thing.  For example, I notice how the RORO of Roll On, Roll Off ships make no mention about the rest of the systems working when it rolls off.  Just that it has rolled off.  As Martha has mentioned in a previous post, when Landshark arrived, a few things weren't working.  And by a few, I mean a lot of things.  Perhaps most.  I should be thankful that the engine ran as soon as I turned the key.  Anyway, here's the list of what wasn't working:

• Interior lights
• Heating/Cooling from the engine
• Heating/Cooling for the house
• Radio, Wipers, Mirrors
• Dashboard fans
• Water pump (therefore all water)
• Refrigerator
• Slides
• Levels display
• Generator
• Other things I'm sure I'm forgetting

In other words, it was not habitable.  Yes, I could drive it.  But clearly a lot was wrong.  And we were 9 hours off of the timezone of the person who has done all of our repair work previously.  And Tiffin didn't even answer the phone when we were on the lot in Red Bay.  Well, it could be worse.  We could be offshore on a boat with a similar level of system failures.  How does a "perfectly working" RV go to this state?  Does it really matter?  No.  Just have to start fixing things.

Fortunately, I spent a few hours researching and finally buying a mifi device for the UK after trying all possible options to leverage one of our 4 "personal hotspot" devices to actually deliver the internet.  Between incorrect antenna configurations for the UK, Apple licensing policy, lack of a sufficiently strong business plan for the 6+ cell phone providers, etc.; buying yet another device was the only way to go.  Landfill companies love mobile phone companies.  To the mobile phone companies' credit, I was able to reuse my horrible "smart" phone with just a new sim card.

So, we had the internet.  Any searches along the lines of "massive electrical system failure for motorhome" didn't work out.  Stupid internet.  Finally I started looking for anyone in my timezone with Tiffin experience.  Somehow I was connected with a tech at Signature Motorhomes.  I'm sure it was the plaintive pitch of "we just picked up our RV in Southampton and NOTHING works" which cut through crucial details such as "did you buy it through us?"  Evidently, this one company is responsible for 90+% of American Motorhome sales in the UK and they couldn't imagine anyone being dumb enough to ship one themselves.  Clearly they do not know us very well.

Given the massive system failure, we narrowed it down to the 12v system having gone horribly, horribly wrong.  So, we worked our way to the engine.  Things seemed fine, at least as far as that was concerned.  We headed to the side section and I got to learn what a solenoid looks like (I learned what it did by surfing wikipedia later).  It wasn't powering the 12v house system.  Ah, but it wasn't being powered.  Thus within about 30 minutes, we tracked it down to a 250amp fuse which had blown.  I don't know much about electricity, but having carried a 50amp cable around to power the rig, I cannot imagine what would cause a 250amp fuse to blow.  I'm glad I wasn't touching it at the moment.  (The tech's theory is that someone ran the engine batteries to 0, and then clicked on the "use house system" and the 6 batteries there blew the fuse...  I could see why those 480 amps could blow the 250...  I think I'm going to replace that button on the dash with a separate launch key control...  And I definitely have to buy another replacement fuse!)

I tracked down some jumper cables from a random dockworker (with the number of items which were stolen from our rig, I now wonder if these were bought bought by that dockworker...  but I digress), and we proved that if the fuse is replaced, the lights inside turn on.  Water pump works.  Levels sensor works.  Even a slide works.  That should do it.  Ah, but then I tested the generator.  Nothing.  Still won't turn on.  Another 30 minutes of troubleshooting and it appears that the generator internal fuse was shot.  Excellent. A simple 15amp fuse, a 250amp fuse and we'll be all set.  I thank the tech (I'm keeping his name private to protect him), and unfortunately, never talk to him again.

We head to the hotel.  We eat.  We sleep.  We wake.  We eat again.  It is time to track down some parts.  The internet is useless for finding something within driving distance, so for the first time in nearly 2 decades, I pick up the phone to start asking if shops have what we need.  Amazingly, the 2nd shop had exactly what I needed.  I'm off on an adventure of driving on the left side of the road.  It is surprisingly straightforward, but it does take a while to drive there and back.  I try to buy extra spares, but they have only one of this fuse.  Apparently there isn't much call for it.  Bought a few of the others.  Can't hurt.  We rally the family and head to the rig.  I replace the parts, and we appear to be all set.  The fact that the heating & air conditioning in back isn't working seems like a minor issue, it's got to be 78 degrees here at the coast!  And we've been getting strange looks from the dock workers.  It's time to go.  We drive off to our first campsite of the trip!!!!

< driving montage, smiling and singing family (singing because the radio still isn't working...  And someone stole the aux plug...  Anyway) >

Campground looks great.  I park in the wrong spot, I nearly take out a sign moving the rig about, but I don't care.  We're here.  We're livin' the dream.  And everything except for the radio (as far as I know), is good.  I lower the jacks, and press the slides out button.  Nothing.

Arrgh!

I swear I tested the slides.  And then I remember, I tested the back driver's slide.  The "odd" slide.  The one that doesn't use the same mechanism as the other 3.  Lovely.  Well, at least we can take out that one slide.  And that will give us access to quite a bit more of the rig.  And pleasantly enough, we found that nothing from that part of the rig appears to have been stolen (see Martha's post on stolen items).  So, the fix list is down to:

• 3 slides
• Heating / Air Conditioning in the house
• Radio

It's late.  We eat, we sleep and in the morning, we drive on.  I'm sure we can figure these things out in the afternoon.  We're used to 400 mile days of driving.  But clearly the UK is not used to letting people drive 70mph for hours on end.  We barely manage 150 miles before we're exhausted.  Or I should rephrase, before I'm exhausted.  I have no idea where Martha is.  I lost her 100 miles ago when she passed me.  Fortunately, we decided on our destination before we left that morning.  I'm quite sure she'll find us.  (SPOILER alert:  she does)  After about an hour at the new campsite (a great farm where they make ice cream and have a 30 pitch RV park), she rolls in.  Between a truck hugging my bumper, roundabout excitement and 15 miles to the nearest turnabout point; Martha & James had a lovely drive through Oxford while I had to beat through traffic on the M6 in Birmingham.  Such is life.

The next day I focus on troubleshooting.  After calling my contact at Signature Motorhomes 4 times to no avail and reading up a tutorial on micrometers, I start working my own way through the rig.  The slides were definitely funky.  It seems to me that someone had plugged in a relay incorrectly.  What I relay was before that day, I did not know.  But with the help of the internet and an electrical schematics book (THANK YOU to whoever thought to include that with the Tiffin motorhome!), I was able to narrow it down, swap one wire position and get the slides going.  Feeling good about that, it occurs to me that maybe the heating issue is as dumb as the fuses in both thermostats.  It IS!  On a high from that, I pull out the radio and it turns out that there is a fuse and that it too was blown.  And better yet I have the radio fuse (same as the generator fuse, and I bought 5 of those).  So as Mom and Paul drive in from their day of shopping, I was able to raise my arms in triumph with slides out and the radio blaring the Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana (aka theme from Raging Bull) in full glory.  It was a very good day.

I wake the following day confident that a little bit of calling will get the heat going.  To be on the safe side, I call two shops and confirm they have both fuses.  I head out on the road.  First shop, I get a really bad feeling.  The guys at this electrical supply shop have never seen a fuse this size.  Certainly not this amperage.  They advise going to Maplin.  I get to the second shop, and he has the right amperage (or so we think), but wrong physical size.  He gives me a couple for free "just because you look like you need some help, mate."  I start heading to the Maplin only to discover that I do not have my wallet.  Blast.  Drive back, eat lunch.  I gingerly test out the fuse and the heater blower turns on.  Bingo.  Find the right size fuse and we'll have heat.  Finding the Maplin proves to be quite a challenge, but I do replace several items that were stolen as well as buy Martha a new cell phone before I find the Maplin.  (FWIW, I'm using the mnemonic device of repetition to help ensure that I remember what will likely become my favorite store in the UK -- Maplin.)  They have the fuses and after a bit of shopping at the Tesco, I'm back at the rig.  Fuses are in, and the blowers turn on.  It's going to be warm tonight!

Not really.  Thermostat in the morning said 57.  Fahrenheit.

Still had to sort out getting the gas flowing (just like I had to do with the range & hot water heater -- hardly worth mentioning amidst the drama of missing parts above)...  First attempt killed what was left in the house batteries in the morning.  After getting the generator going, blew through a few 200ma fuses before I switch to the 2amp fuses.  But once the gas was primed, heat was coming out.  Air conditioning too.

Victory was mine.

In a future episode, I'll regale you with my attempts (and someday success!) to get a 110v 50amp rig working on 240v/16amps.  But for now, things are basically working and we're able to roll down the highway and spread out in camp.  Life is good.

-----
Post trip update on the above.  When you go overseas, it's a very good idea to learn how to use a multimeter and to learn your rig.  Stuff will break.  As sailing cruisers say, cruising is fixing things in exotic ports.  And as you can see above, I got to do that and more on the trip.  And I would add that having books in addition to a good internet connection and electricity is a great idea.  Because books don't need power.  And spare fuses are never a bad idea.

August 26 - Day 39?

Today's adventure was off to the Victoria & Albert Museum of Childhood.  It showed on our radar as being a museum that was kid friendly, and between it being a bank holiday (what must of us US-ians call a 3-day weekend) and the prior day being a bit too adult-museum intensive, we thought kid friendly was a good way to go.  It also was the choice of James and Sarah after being presented with a list of 10 kid friendly museums.  

A lot of time on the Tube in London

The trip on the tube and finding the museum was a little difficult despite the smiles from Martha and James on the Tube ride there.  Paul was sick today at "home" and Sarah was thrown off by our inability to buy a BLT at the Tesco for her lunch.  Sometimes it is the little things that throw you off...

Fortunately the museum had art stations going, and Sarah returned to a good mood while creating a T-shirt design of her own.

10 minutes is pretty short to design & execute a T-shirt,
but not for our prolific Sarah!

The museum itself was a collection of the toys of childhood dating back to 1600.  It was really fun seeing toys that I had grown up with and even one toy set that we own (the Playmobil Zoo).  My favorite was the Fisher Price downtown.  The number of ways to interact with it for the 3-5 set was really quite astounding.  I sat down next to the display and showed it to Sarah and she agreed that it was quite an excellent toy that she might still like playing with.  She expressed some hope that it had survived the floods and that one of the Aunts still had the set.  And of course there is always Ebay...

Fisher Price Main Street -- Stoplight, bridge, upstairs apartments, mail facility w/ mail to deliver, fire station, etc --
I wonder if this is why I've always wanted to live in a downtown v. out in the country?

Pride in their creation?  Or just the competition of the most amazing block castle?  Either way, smiles from both participants...  (after repairing the work that a little boy caused when he partially knocked down Sarah's blocks :( )

Niche market -- wonder if the survivalists have mined this concept?

The traveling exhibit was looking at toys during times of war.  It was interesting to see the toys there varying from glorifying general war & combat through the years, propaganda against the enemy, to toys designed to smuggle escape tools in to prisoners.  I enjoyed the tiddlywinks set where one of the tiddlywinks would break and a escape map of the local area was hidden inside!  They also had a nice morse code exhibit which was fun to play with a friend.   And in the shop I quite liked what appeared to be toy soldiers, but were actually green skateboarders.  

Moods had improved in the end

On our way home we enjoyed a high tea in lieu of dinner.  1/3 sandwiches, 1/3 bakery/scones and 1/3 desserts -- What's not to like?

Tomorrow's adventure -- the science museum.  Our second choice from the list of 10.  And a night out for mum & dad to see The Book of Mormon.  London is a great city despite the costs.

A little housekeeping...

After some thought, discussion and experimentation, there are a few changes to the blog.

1. The kids now have their own blog.  We love what they have to say, but it does make the narrative of reading a blog a little difficult to follow.  Martha and I are challenging enough to split between (see below on how to do so).  As I'm sure you will want to follow their blog, please point your browser to:  http://landsharkatraz.blogspot.com/.  
2. The blog should be somewhat easier to follow.  I've added a widget where you can enter your email address and it will send you a daily digest of the blog.  Daily entries may be more than Martha or I can promise, but if we do post several entries in a single day (dream on!), you'll get no more than 1 email.  You can also subscribe to landsharkatraz the same way.  Commenting still seems to require a Google+ subscription.  So annoying.
3. Easier to browse.  The most popular blogs now will be showcased.  Only the most popular in the last 30 days.  Otherwise, the one from 2009 mentioning the Indiana Sand Dunes will inexplicably jump to the top.  SEO does such very weird things.  Also, we will endeavor to tag our posts with the author, so if you click on the label (also with a section on the right), you will only see that author's posts.  
4. Easier to share.  Not sure why you would want to share it, but what the heck.  If you want to share a blogpost, I've added some links to the usual locations.

Morning

In light of yesterday's post to write often, I'm going to try to write early.  Before everyone else has woken for the day (and before I wake them by starting the coffee!) will be my attempt to find my muse.

The day started well, we got out of the apartment just a bit over 10.  Bound for Westminster Abbey to attempt Sunday services, Sarah and I left early to get the boys' daily passes ---

Long aside.  The Brits really know how to do mass transit.  Americans not so much.  On a Sunday in DC  (our nation's capital) we waited 23 minutes for a subway to go to my sister's house.  That was on a direct line.  And we had no idea it was going to take 23 minutes, it wasn't even on the board, it just showed up.  I'm so glad I didn't have to change trains!  This Sunday morning in London we waited 3 minutes.  Looking at the board, the next one was 3 minutes out, and the one beyond was 5 minutes out.  I think my longest wait in London has been about 4 minutes.  The system works.  VTA in San Jose -- every 30 minutes out of rush hour, 15 during rush hour.  No wonder so many rail about how poor mass transit is, it is.  Though naturally it's because of a lack of investment.

And regional trains?  What a laugh.  I took the CalTrain daily to the city.  2 expresses/hr during rush hour, miss one wait 20-40 minutes.  59 minute train ride.  For non rush hour, there are locals and limited lines which will take 1h 15m and 1h 32m respectively if I really was a masochist.  For a 48 mile drive.  Looking at trains in London to Southhampton, they leave every 5-15 minutes midday.  Seriously?  Every 5 minutes?  But they must be slow, right?  Nah.  81 mile journey, done in 1h 14m - 1h 33m.

What about service?  Let's see.  I forget to tag in at the CalTrain station (just refilled my card and forgot the extra step to tag in at the infrequent tag stations, it was before 7a), naturally a conductor discovers me -- he ignores the fact that I had just added $120 to my card that morning.  I got a $288 ticket.  On the underground here in London, I didn't tag on long enough (it didn't register), I got off fine.  Next time on the train, a little sign lights up "request assistance".  I go to the booth and explain my story.  "Quite a scrum at that hour.  We'll fix you right up."  Whole thing sorted out and I'm wished on my way.

Wonder why no one uses mass transit in the US?  It's too infrequent.  Too slow.  Too inconvenient.  Of course we'll all spend $3-10k/yr/car instead of a slight increase in taxes or rates to subsidize mass transit until it's frequent enough to replace the convenience of a car.

---

Back from my long aside.  The service at Westminster Abbey was beautiful.  The Holst singers were the choir rather than the Westminster Abbey choir.  For a second string, they were outstanding.  And having seen a fair number of cathedrals in Europe, there is something very different about going to a service at one rather than just the quick (or even long) tour.  The myriad details that make up a cathedral can actually be appreciated given a long time sitting, listening and looking.  I definitely recommend doing this.

We splurged on lunch in a pub across the way.  Splurged I say because London prices are shocking.  The number themselves are deceptively small, but when the exchange rate kicks in, wham!  It is worth noting that tipping is roughly 10% and the VAT is built into prices, so that is a little bit of a reprieve.  Even so, dining in is becoming the order of the day and dining out is the exception.  It is a pity because the few times we have dined out the food has been very good.  The appetite built by walking so much (10k steps is a really light day, 15k is the norm and 20k serious) definitely adds to it.

We proceeded on to the National Portrait Gallery just around the corner from Trafalgar Square.  There we tracked down a painting and bust of Laurence Sterne, an ancestor of Martha's and naturally of the kids.  Having read and been entertained by his books (he seems to enjoy throwing in asides as much as me (and note, I use me, not I in that context, which is in fact correct), but I, as I so frequently do, digress), it was still a surprise to me just how significant he was.  Very few people had both a bust and painting at the museum seemed to be quite rare.  I suppose I should have known it when I read Don Quixote and there was a reference to in the introduction about Cervantes being the first pre-modern until one finally reaches Sterne.  Despite the many paintings and stories in the portrait museum, the cries of my children did not go unnoticed and I left early with two of them -- for Speakers Corner.

Speakers Corner is for me a new concept.  This is a place in the city where those who have an opinion and want to be heard go, stand on their soapbox (or ladder, or just their own two feet) and start declaring their opinion.  There were more than a dozen groups clustered around speakers listening (and arguing back) with those who were sharing their thoughts on religion on a big level (Christianity v. Islam), and more nuanced level (Christianity has been a hoax since 369AD when the other gospels were suppressed).  Others I was just baffled trying to figure out what they were arguing for.  One guy went on and on about "he" providing everything, speaking for us, etc.; but despite 3 minutes of listening I never figured out if he was Jesus, Mohammed, Budda, Sun Young Moon, Joseph Smith, God (assuming a male -- one doesn't truly know, it is a mystery), and so on.  A real-time facebook.  In any case, surprisingly little politics.  Maybe it's because it is held on a Sunday?

We had an ice cream and headed back to the apartment for the evening.  Martha made IMHO a great puttanesca w/ meatballs for dinner, though there were complaints from Sarah about the spices.  One cannot please everyone.  Especially in a family of 5.

Write

I may have blamed my delay in posting on driving the RV all the time, but as time goes on, I think I need to blame it on just being too busy.  The fact is, between planning travels for a day, doing the travels for the day, dealing with breakfast/lunch/dinner and miscellaneous work around the apartment/RV, it's awfully hard to take a few moments to post on what is up.

I've been heard to say that "when we're in the RV it'll be better" but I'm not really sure that will inevitably be the case.  We stayed for days in Red Bay and I didn't manage a single post.  We spent 2 weeks in DC, and I managed only a really quick post about our travels from Red Bay to DC.  Tomorrow is our 1 week "anniversary" in London, and still nothing even on DC, much less London.  Shouldn't being in hotels or an apartment be easier than an RV?  Yet, so little writing.

I once heard that Stephen King's secret is writing every day.  No matter what.  Write something.  Ditto for Piers Anthony.  In his authors notes (now my favorite part of his books), he points out that he writes even if what he writes is junk -- on his second and third revisions he sometimes purifies random nuggets into base metals.

Thinking further, writing every day is the secret to email's effectiveness/insidiousness.  Every day/hour/minute/second, there's a new email inevitably with some action -- to write.  And that writing so often creates some level of obligation for someone else to email.  Repeat.  Ad infinitum.

But blogging lacks that interactivity/imperative.  That implied obligation to respond with a few words or longer is not there with a blog.  No dialectical call to respond for me.  Nothing compels me to blog about a day other than my own will power.  And after a long day, it's hard to find it.  And at the fresh start of a new day, my mind is turned to the future day rather than reflections on the past.

If it cannot get more difficult to feel inspired to write, there is the fact that a blog is published.  It's public for all to see.  OK.  Admittedly, there aren't that many of you out there seeing it, but still, I feel that I have to write, edit and hopefully have something entertaining (and not too embarrassing) before clicking that orange "publish" button.  And that adds a level of paralysis a priori to putting fingers to keyboard.

But I know that somehow I must write.  The few writings I have done through the years are not brilliant, but they hold the thoughts and reflections of a me that I have long forgotten.  And this year is not one I will ever be able to truly replay.  The other 42 prior to this also cannot be easily replayed, but I was not so aware of their significance.  This year is about my family and our adventure together.  And while I want to live it to its fullest by being in the moment, I also want to be able to cherish it in some future moment.  And to not forget.

And so, I must write.

Speed run

Picking up the narrative on our departure from Red Bay, we continued our speed run (relative to driving a 12 ton, non-commercial vehicle) across the country and to Baltimore to meet the ship.  Adventures along the way included:

• discovering* that a visit to Huntsville, AL likely would have been worth the 1.5+hr trip from Red Bay (*Discovery from a sense of new for us -- we're not claiming to have been the first humans and certainly not white people to have discovered Huntsville, AL)
• hearing a train whistle in the early morning in Chattanooga and walking across the Georgia / Tennessee border 4 times (convenient when the RV park straddles the state line, and one has a dog to walk)
• having Martha radio "I'm good for another 30-60 minutes of driving" and we end up on a 2.5 hour hunt for camping in the Shenandoah Valley (pickup camping Friday evening w/in driving distance of DC during the height of summer -- bad idea)
• discovering an awesome Italian restaurant within walking distance of that desperately found camping spot in the Shenandoah Valley
• finding out that "emptying the propane tanks" which on the internet was portrayed as a trivial activity "for your local propane dealer" actually means burning off every last ounce of propane first -- countless hours of running the outdoor barbeque, running the furnace at 99, turning the burners on full and finally 1+ hour at an apparently major propane distributor "getting medieval" on the tank before doing the 5 minute empty & certification
• camping at a historic battlefield only to be seduced into the nearby waterpark and watching Dr. Strangelove

But all in all, we made it.  The rig was delivered complete with accompanying Prius nearly 45 minutes before they no longer would accept us for that week.  And the 4 copies of certification about the propane?  Never came up.

But I slept really, really well that night.

Red Bay Rebut

Time is passing very quickly as evidenced by that fact that we left Red Bay over a week ago and are now on our second-leg in Washington DC.  But I must try to throw some props out there vis a vis what my wife, partner-in-adventure and fellow blog writer shared about Red Bay, AL and Tiffin Motors.

1.  Props to Tiffin for being in manufacturing in the US and doing it where they're doing it.  They're likely the principal employer in this apparently very rural (15+ miles to the nearest package store) area.  Directly employing 800 people, perhaps a thousand more in direct suppliers w/in 50 miles and I'm guessing still many more in supporting services (multiple RV detailing/sandwich shop/nail salon businesses -- all 3 under one roof, now that's convenience!).  Tiffin's only out of country import are the windshields.  A lot to be said for being private v. public ownership...

Landshark at the nicest campground we've ever been to in Oklahoma City

2.  This is our second RV and though we are having more issues with this one than the last one (whose engine self-destructed as a point of reference), Winnebago also had a big grassy field where people would park for a few weeks while waiting for their service.  We just didn't need it at that time and didn't notice it (or camp there).  And Tiffin had the class to provide a full service campground instead of dry camping.
3.  We had 3 days of service on the rig (without an appointment -- admittedly not possible to make one) and were parked there only 7 days.  To put that in perspective, our "guy" in Silicon Valley had our rig for our final two weeks in SV and didn't even open the door for a week, only to discover that the door latch was broken (it wasn't when I dropped it off) and could not be opened...  He did fix it, however, he charged me for the repair.  And that repair cost the same as our entire 3 days of service in Red Bay.
4.  Wow.  I had to reread that last sentence.  3 days of service in Red Bay was the same price as they guy who may or may not have broken the door latch to the only door into the rig and his cost solely to repair that.  Admittedly, 2 days of the 3 days of Tiffin service were under warranty -- on a 7 year old rig of which we are the 3rd owners.  That's customer service.
5.  The Tiffin factory tour was by far the best factory tour I can remember.  We were right in the action every step on the way.  We saw chassis being put together from beams & wheel assemblies; woodwork for the cabinets being milled, glued & sanded; cabinets being assembled through complete  assembly.  Even the Winnebago factory in Iowa (which was pretty rural, but not as rural -- a 3 on a 1-10 logarithmic scale.  Red Bay is probably a 2.) kept us on a catwalk.  And we only saw the final phase of assembly -- chassis rolling in and pre-manufactured pieces being put together.
6.  Rig owners were welcome to spend their entire time with the repair mechanics the entire time the rig was being worked on.  I learned quite a few tricks in that time.  Priceless.

Cheesecake Filling "Ready to Eat" --
Martha's point re Diabetes was spot on...

7.  I actually found a bookstore.  An excellent one.  Sure, it was 25 miles away in the same town that Helen Keller grew up (causality?  probably).  But these days in Silicon Valley, that's about the apparent distance to finding an actual book store.  And they had a copy of the Sunday New York Times.  When I bought it, they put it in a brown paper bag which did make me think...
8.  Our internet connection was at least as good as I'm seeing here in Washington DC.  Seriously?

Live music, dancing and tasty down-home dinner under a natural
sedimentary overhang complete with natural waterfall?  Awesome!

And to the RVing industry in general, I've been fairly livid in private moments about the cost of RV maintenance, storage & repair, but after a few days in DC spending $300-400/day for hotels & dining (because kitchenette hotels means a mini-fridge & microwave), I'm recalling why we got into RVing in general.  It's a trade off. We always sleep better in the RV, the food is healthier, the TV is easier to limit/disable and the kids argue less (or at least I hear them less because we're more spread out than in a 5 seat car).

Yes, it was a hard run across the country missing way too many sights, but it was done in the interest of maximizing our time in Europe.  We will not be driving 2500 miles/week on that leg of our sabbatical.  I'd be very surprised if we cover similar distance (or even half that) even once in the next 10 months...

Mt Vernon and our DC night drive (August 6)

It was our first day traveling in the DC area.  Having a car, it was the perfect time to explore places that would not be easily accessible via foot or metro.  Thus, we headed off for Mt. Vernon, the home of George Washington.  An overcast and muggy day, crammed into a 5 person car for the first time in weeks (months?), people were a little cranky.  We tried lunch at 5 guys burgers.  It worked.  Sometimes food and the kids switching seats can change the dynamic...  In any case, we arrived at Mt. Vernon without further excitement.  The only bad news, Molly was not allowed.  Even on leash.  Fortunately (NOW I say fortunately), it was overcast so Molly would be fine guarding the car.

Mt Vernon is definitely worth the ticket price and worth a couple of hours to look about.  The grounds are lovely, the tour of the house is great and the view of the Potomac is beautiful.  I definitely appreciate that the ladies association had bought it years ago, maintain it so well and fought off the developers who were planning to put in oil tanks across the river. I leant my camera to Paul who proceeded to take quite a few good pictures as we toured about.

When do I not mug for the camera?

Old school manufacturing / blacksmithing

Always nice to have a photographer with other than Martha or me!

On our way back we walked about old Alexandria.  Quite a beautiful little downtown, and unlike Georgetown it actually has a metro stop.  Unlike us, I recommend going there before 5p so one can see the museums.  At least we had dinner at a little pub to prepare us for life in the UK.

Not content to force me kids to walk about Alexandria, we just happened to drive by the DC memorials, so it was time for a quick driving tour.  The White House was frustrating/impossible to drive by now with Pennsylvania Ave closed, but we did circle by the Capitol and then stopped to see the Jefferson Memorial.  

My favorite of the monuments
(at least partially because it is so difficult to get to)

Having recently read Undaunted Courage about the Lewis and Clark expedition, my understanding of Jefferson was more complex than previously.  Despite his focus on liberty, his policies on the natives were apparently hypocritical in that he was expansionist at their expense while communicating a message that he was their great protector and father.  Nevertheless his quote about evolution of law is still worth remembering.

A living Constitution?

We finished our ride home with an attempt to find "The Awakening" which has unfortunately been relocated away from Haines Point.  But we did manage to find the Marine Corps War Memorial on our drive back to Falls Church.  So, not all was lost.

The nighttime challenge of getting to Iwo Jima has diminished with GPS,
though one still has to lie on their back for a good photo even with a 24mm lens!

If you ever plan to travel East...

It has been a while, so time for a quick recap.

Day 1

We got going late as one would imagine after delaying to make sure Martha's car was detailed.  As a sneak preview into the future (always a benefit of hindsight), it does not get terribly dusty.  Or at least not dusty enough that a few huge rainstorms couldn't clean off in about 1.2 seconds.  The 5+ hours on the road were fine.  Kids were wired into electronics, James was Martha's copilot.  We settled into Tehachapi w/o too much drama.  Items learned:  both cars need their radios charged and on.  95 degrees fahrenheit is apparently a heat wave in Tehachapi.  Just our luck.  The local BBQ place has the hottest black-pepper wise ribs I have ever tasted.  Thus, I ate most of them.

Day 2

Our big crossing into Arizona.  Kingman.  Skipping Barstow & San Bernadino, oh yeah.  Nice little park there.  Items learned:  closing the slides too tight sucks - we popped another shear pin.  Bummer.  OK, get out the tool kit, roll under to replace the pin.  Crap.  ARRGH!  The 6 batteries that we put there so we could go off the grid are completely blocking access to that slide's shear pin.  Thus, the big slide no longer extends.  Well, I was never attached to watching the TV, but it would be nice to get at the books that I so carefully put in that cabinet.  And it could be worse, the slide could have been extended when we lost the pin, or it could have opened when driving.  Lesson 2:  Laundry isn't so bad when there are plenty of machines open.  Yes, we've only been on the road 2 days, but we have been living in the rig for 4.

Day 3

Time to go to New Mexico.  I'm determined to ignore the Route 66 theme inexplicably going through my head and plan to go to Grants, NM (30 miles past Gallup).  Unfortunately, we got hit by multiple storms in the crossing.  The first one that passed us by was buffetting us so hard that it seemed that I was seeing the broken slide starting to move out.  Yeah, that sucked.  After getting through that storm, transferred the kids to Martha's car and drove very carefully.  The rest of the storms weren't so bad wind-wise, though the rain was the worst I've ever been through.  At least the wipers are working (foreshadowing).  We made it to Gallup (darn you Rt-66!) as that was the closest Home Depot and I had an idea on how to anchor the slide.  The camp site was great.  Pool, mini golf, giant chessboard, chatty neighbors, flat.  And the proprietor gave free lodging to all active duty service members.  Been doing it for 30 years apparently.  Pretty cool of him.

Day 4

Woke early to go to home depot.  Kudos to my brother in law for recommending that I buy a full set of wrenches before leaving the country.  With one I was able to crank that slide in the 1 inch it had managed to slip. It was vastly superior to the vicegrip solution I came up with.  After getting it in, Paul and I rigged up some slide locks/supports with plastic conduit and rubber feet.  I'm now really confident that slide isn't going to slide out on me.  We mounted up determined not to stop in Albuquerque and make it to Amarillo.  90 miles after Albuquerque, our faithful dingy lost all power and more or less died.  5+ warning lights and all sorts of dangerous buzzers going.  Time for AAA.  1.5 hours of sitting on the side of the road (which in an RV is the nicest way one would ever want to sit on the side of a road where big rigs are going by at 75), we were back on the move and getting a 170 mile tow to Amarillo.  Time to go with the flow of the Route-66 theme.  We rolled in at 9.30p, parked the now towed car outside the dealer and got to our reserved campground space by 10.30p.  I hate driving the RV at night.

Day 5

Up early to get the car in at the dealer and then back to the campground early enough to get free donuts.  Not bad, for free donuts.  But they cannot compete with Maple Leaf Donuts at home.  They were home made, though.  Anyway, the kids were happy.  3 hours later the call from the dealer is that Martha ran out of gas.

(silence)

All ribbing aside, she didn't really run out of gas.  It's just that her car thought it ran out of gas.  The gas sensor is broken.  Apparently a new tank will fix that problem in a jiffy.  Two days to get a new tank, of course.  Or we can just make sure not to let it go under 1/4 of a tank.  In a prius that'll keep us to only 300 miles/fillup.  No biggie.  We pay the guy and are on the road again.  Strangely, the reverse camera screen doesn't power up when I go to change to the left lane.  Doesn't power up when I change to the right lane to get on the highway.  Doesn't power up when I press the power switch.  I look at the dash a little more and start working my way across the switches.  Power mirrors.  Nothing.  Wipers.  Nothing.  I pull over at the next stop.  Paul, are my lights working?  Yes!  Sky is really clear (& hot!), we're going for it.  I'm so glad I found numerous people who said running the generator while driving is fine.  Because I need the generator to run the two AC units to keep the inside temperature to 94 degrees.  As they say, it could be worse.  It could be 100+ and humid (ie, outside).  We make it to Oklahoma City to the nicest RV park we have ever been in. On a rolling hillside with every spot concrete and flat separated by the most beautiful green grass I have seen outside of a private golf course.  We're in RV heaven.

Day 6

I wake to tremendous rain, hail and thunder.  No worries.  It's the midwest, it'll blow over.  And then I remember the non-functional wipers.  Time to write the blog.

-----

A little mention on the wipers.  Yeah, that is a weird one.  The techs in Red Bay said it's a problem with water in the wiring and bagged up a special spot of wiring with dessicant.  It happened a few more times on the trip and is super unpredictable.  But I've found that stopping, turning off the engine and starting again usually gets it going.  And when it happens, I lose control over the cameras, mirrors and wipers.  And similarly, when I stop and restart the engine, I usually get it all back on the next try.  Just a weird gremlin that affects me every 1/20 times I try to drive.

California

I have now lived in California and traveled here (and across the country) enough that I have to say this state is truly impressive (at this point Martha drops her coffee incredulously at me) and is a microcosm of the US.  I'm sure none of this is new to readers, but the realization for me is like Cortez silent upon a peak in Darien.

Geographically its variance is as great as everything I have seen in the lower 48 and Hawaii (sadly I have not been to Alaska).  Yosemite is staggeringly beautiful -- perhaps the best national park in the US.  When one tries to trot out Yellowstone, I counter that Lassen Volcanic is almost as good as Yellowstone and far more accessible.  In NorCal, we have the surfing beaches of Santa Cruz and rocky water walls of Mendocino & Big Sur -- crushing IMHO Florida, equaling Maine and at least a shadow of Hawaii.  The central valley easing into golden foothills leading to snowy mountains of Lake Tahoe rival the Rocky Mountain and Plains states (and are a much faster drive!).  The deserts and mountains of the southern state mirror the Southwest deserts and mountains.  Texas and the gulf's oil production are mirrored by the Bakersfield area and a few remaining offshore rigs.  The amazingly varied agricultural central valley feeding delta regions pouring into a huge bay of world class sailing exceed the breadth of the Missouri, Mississippi and Ohio valleys production and any sailing I have experienced elsewhere in the US.  The forests of Northern California exceed every forest I have seen in the rest of the US (I must still get to Washington & Oregon).  The migrant labor fortunately does not rival the slavery of the South, but echoes likely can be heard by anyone who opens their ears.  The regional accents of the US may be lacking, but they are overshadowed by the variability of immigrants audible in the commercial centers of this golden state.  The economies of Silicon Valley/San Francisco and Los Angeles easily rival those of the east coast in production and promise.  And politically, any level of bread & circuses promised by DC can be matched if not exceeded by the moonbeams and movie stars of Sacramento.  I confess that I haven't experienced the southeast states personally, but I hope to address that in this next trip across the country.

After my 17+ years here, the only things besides family & friends I truly miss are the great museums of New York and Chicago.  The Getty is beautiful and had I not traveled so widely I might be suitably impressed.  The fact is that the winners of California's recent golden age(s) have not invested in the art and culture as have those in the east or the old world.  That may change as the fortunes of today age, but maybe the apparent re-investment by the current crop in creating a better (or at least measured) world may be better for us all in the long run.

It is a truly wonderful state.

Acknowledgements

A blog isn't a book is it?  But somehow I feel the need for a bit of an acknowledgement section before we really get going (man this detailing is taking forever!).  Because even though this idea seems fairly spur of the moment (followed by 9+ months of research, activity and stress), it really came from ideas & capabilities gained from others over the years...  So in no particular order thanks goes to...

• Richard Spindler and Dona De Mallorca of Latitude 38 for putting the thoughts into my (and to a lesser extent Martha's) head to go on an extended sabbatical.  Though they didn't exactly recommend land cruising, it was their sharing adventures on Profligate with Martha and me over the years that made us see that something like this was possible.  
• Todd Huss and Susan Detwiler for their personal stories of 6 months cruising, 6 months working while homeschooling to make us see that normal, or perhaps extra-normal (because they're adventurers at heart) can do this with their family in a tight space.  
• My son Paul complaining painfully throughout any drive longer than 60 minutes coupled with Martha's desire to regularly explore at the same time we passed by an RV shop in Gilroy, CA to inspire us to rent an RV and have the first decent road trip of our life.  30,000 miles later and at least 3k more to go just in the next week, we're rolling on.  
• The guys who bought the last Landshark from us.  
• Our tenants for signing on and therefore helping fund this trip.  
• Our mechanic Steve for getting us more or less on the road (arrgh re the front heater still being dead...).  
• Our families for eventually understanding this adventure.  
• Geoff for hiring me long ago to join Four11 founded by Larry & Mike.  And Jerry and David for taking a swing at organizing the internet, and then later buying Four11.  
• Dan for putting the bug in my ear about buying property (as opposed to letting it all ride on internet stocks).  And a different Dan for helping me realize that "booms and busts" are truly catastrophic for those caught up amidst them -- and one can and should cash out "a little"  
• David, Adam and Boris for helping me get involved in computers professionally.  And for Mom for getting me involved with computers when I was just 8.  To Wired Magazine for starting to make computers cool.  Finally for Bill hiring me out to revolutionize language learning in Sweden where I met Martha.  
• To all the people we've told this idea to in the last several months who thought it was a cool idea which kept us going.  
• To Martha, Paul, James, Sarah and Molly for all having the faith to join/accept/tolerate a harebrained scheme like this.  

If I missed you in my appreciation, I apologize.  The fact is that you probably fit somewhere in this scheme and I wish I had remembered you on the first pass.  Or maybe I just think you don't want to be somehow blamed if it all goes so very wrong.

Details and detailing?

The movers are done, the cleaners are done, the carpet cleaners are done and the keys have been handed over to our tenants.

However, there are still lots more details to go before we fire up the diesel.  The last of the pre-trip giveaways need to be dropped off at Goodwill.  I have to wedge the car that we're leaving behind in the garage with all our worldly belongings that don't fit in Landshark.  Spare paperwork to help with filing residency has been scanned and needs to go back into the safety deposit box.  A change of address card needs to be filed with the post office & DMV.  And of course, Martha's car needs to be detailed.  As with parenthood, marriage needs a certain flexibility and sometimes that includes detailing a vehicle moments before one goes on a 10+ day cross country drive across the incredibly dusty southwest.

I will say that I no longer am planning on staying at a BLM campsite tonight.

And if I decide to stop along the way and get the Landshark washed for the first time in 4 months, so be it.

Nerves

It has become abundantly clear that we will be living in Landshark for a year+ as of this time next week.  Packing up the house means boxes everywhere.  We've sequestered part of the house for "stuff to load into Landshark" because Landshark is still in the shop.  Issues with the rear passenger slide (the massive one which holds the bunks w/ the boys as well as our only closets and dresser)...  My last day of work is Friday.  Martha's is next Monday (day before the movers/storers arrive?).  The checklist of stuff continues to get longer as we realize things, but much of it has been knocked off.  And the new things are getting smaller and smaller.

But as that stress also builds up, I also am sharing my plans with more people.  Since my employer has been informed, I no longer need to hold this information close.  And the support (and envy) around me is astounding.  Many of the same questions are asked, but every person has a new angle.  Something I haven't thought of.  People I may want to see.  Sites to visit.  It is edifying and rewarding to be sharing this new adventure with others.  It is like working on a startup, but instead of a startup, it's about working on my family and my family life.  It is something that matters personally.  And I love it.

A great time was had by all (now with photos)

We are on our way away from the whole excuse for a shakedown cruise (and one might even say a key element to our getting on with this trip) -- celebrating my parent's 50th Anniversary.

My Mom & Dad invited us 5 kids and all of our kids to celebrate their union at the Rancho Alegre Lodge in Jackson, WY. It was my first time in the Teton's in 30+ years, and first time for everyone in my immediate family.  We ate well, saw many slide shows, played more D&D than I have played in years (and I've picked it up recently!), went hiking, took the tram, went white water rafting and generally had a great time.  I can say with all honesty that I would love to do it again.

My brother-in-law Tom helped troubleshoot and fix the issue with the issue with the slide.  And now I know enough to order the right parts and get it fully repaired w/o having to necessarily go to the Tiffin Motorhome Factory.  Though we probably will as we really enjoyed the Winnebago factory back in 2009.

We also got to see the very nice Emergency Room in Jackson courtesy of our daughter breaking her wrist and splitting open her chin while biking.  The doctors and nurses were great.  And now my daughter has all sorts of excuses to get away with what she would like to get away with anyhow.  The downside is that our return trip is going to be abbreviated as we would prefer to get her stitches taken out both at home and on the timeframe that the ER recommends.  Getting the splint switched to a cast is just the icing on the cake.

We did manage a quick day in Yellowstone including seeing Old Faithful, eating at the Old Faithful Inn and seeing the Mammoth Hot Springs.  Lots of driving today, but now we are in West Yellowstone and will see just how painful a speed run back to the Bay Area can be.  Can we do it in 2 awful days?  Or stretch it to 3 painful ones?  Tune in for more...

This is the rig (before we couldn't get up the first hill).  And testing the autopost feature.

The Shakedown

We've got the rig and it's outfitted.  Time now for the shakedown cruise.  Originally the plan was for this cruise to the Tetons and Yellowstone was to be the start of the Trip.  But then reality intervened and we realized that we could not packup our entire house in the 1 week between getting a leasee and departure.  So, we're going to the Tetons & Yellowstone and back (maybe by way of Crater Lake, or if we really stretch it Snoqualome Falls for some cherry pie).  Then we drive across the country.  2000-3000 extra miles never hurt anyone did it?  Don't tell the kids.

We scheduled 4 days for the drive figuring then we could go slow.  The first day we got started a little late.  3.30p.  But at least everything that occurred to us to pack was packed.  The traffic leaving the bay area was rough.  We rolled into Sacramento around 7p.  Dinner was awesome.  It was free pie night -- everyone who had an entree (including kids meals) got pie.  We all won.  Except me, I suppose, because Martha had a side salad, so I had to split my pie with her.  Those who are married understand.  Unfortunately, being free pie night, the place was packed and service was slow.  After paying and then filling the diesel (71 gallons! ~$240) it was dark.  And then made a wrong turn going for the RV park and had to back out in the dark on to a fairly busy street.  Martha was a trooper directing me & Landshark.  I have to get her a pair of flashlights like the people who direct planes use.  And my resentment over the pie diminished significantly.

Leaving Sacramento the next morning was straightforward.  We drove to Reno and stopped for lunch at Joe Bob's Chicken Shack.  It was awesome.  Perfect chicken tenders for the kids, buffalo wings made on site.  I can't thinkof when I have had better chicken.  Getting into and out of the parking lot was a bit bouncy, and on our way back to the highway I had to turn a bit tighter than I would have liked and heard some box hit the ground in back.  Whatever. 

We continued in heavy traffic towards the highway when Martha suddenly called from the back, "Do you know the side is out?"  I looked in the passenger side mirror and sure enough, one of the sides is half out.  Yes, an optimist may say it was half in, but the fact is that having a slide at all out while driving is not unlike the Mr. Bean episode when his fly is stuck open and he's waiting to meet the Queen.  It not only isn't done, it could get you hurt or killed.  I try turning the generator on, turning off the engine, putting on the emergency break, Martha and the three kids are trying to pull it in -- anything to get control over the side.  No dice.

The light turns green, so we take advantage of our huge size, blow off the left turn on to the highway and smoothly cut across traffic at 5 mph to turn on to the frontage road while everyone in back frantically holds on to the side to keep it from sliding further.  I reason that every other driver on the road would notice me with half of my side hanging out and just want to not be involved.  I was rewarded for my faith and we safely made our way into a large parking lot.

Going out, I find that I can push or pull the slide in easiy from the outside, and I remember how the previous owner mentioned something about pins that sheer off.  Opening the panel beneath, I find 4 pieces of metal which used to be 1 pin.  Luckily the previous owner was kind enough to leave a supply of 3 pins. With the help of our handy dandy radios, my tools and a lot of patience, a new pin was aligned, tightened and we were back on the road. 

The unexpectedly good deal I got on Landshark is starting to become clearer.  But I still rationalize that if I had bought through a dealer, the same situation could have occurred, but I would have paid more and they wouldn't have left me a few pins. 

Paul later said, "I thought when the side went out our plan was over, and I was relieved.  But then I was sorrowful." Me, I was very touched that Paul shared this with me.

During the afternoon I started to realize the joy of having so many batteries and an inverter.  Unlike every other RV I have been in, we were able to run the full electrical system while under way.  Just awesome.  The kids had full freedom to play with various electronics with no fear of running out of power. 

Our campground was pretty good, and we failed to take full advantage of the sports bar & karoke night they were hosting.  But fortunately, we were far enough from the bar not to involunarily share.  A good night's rest was had by all.

This morning was a slow start, literally.  First campground I've been at which included free breakfast (donuts!) in addition to the more standard free showers.  I wrote 3 more blog entries, showered and we were ready to go.

Cue second time I questioned the price of the rig.

Waiting to turn into traffic, the engine sounded a little light.  I finally got my opening and floored it. 
Nothing.  I didn't hear any change in the engine idle.  Without thinking how ridiculous this was to do, I leaned my body forward.  Still nothing.  I took a deep breath and changed my turn signal to the right (to loop back into the next driveway, hopefully).  Another opening and I literally stood up on the accelerator.  Standing there, and leaning forward almost touching the windshield, Landshark ever so slowly crested the final bump in the ramp and we eased up to 5 mph to loop back down the driveway.

The only thing that had changed as far as I knew is that I had filled the fresh water tank.  Great.  50 gallons was enough to stop this trip.  This could be bad.  I head back to our spot and decide that it's a good time to empty the black and grey tanks.  Hell, if this trip is over, we might as well have clean tanks.  I checked out the coolant recepticle (previously unmentioned problem which was actually my first time I questioned the price of the rig, so I'm actually on the 3rd -- and 3 is the charm...).  I button us back up and we head up the exit ramp again.  We accelerate smoothly and have no problems. 

It is a mystery. 

Hopefully it will never reoccur.

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Now that I'm selling the rig (the trip is over :( ), I realize that I should likely point out what I've learned after the year+ with the rig especially after posts which dig into the rig at all.

1.  Slides rolling out on their own.  Scary.  Really scary.  And after going to the Tiffin factory and talking with the techs, I know what happened.  The last owner never learned how to do it right, and he passed on his ignorance to me.  He told me that to operate the slides you get them close to the end (1-2 inches), and then make these quick little presses over and over and over again -- 7-8 presses is good.  That way the motor is not overloaded.  The guys at Tiffin told me that you hold that sucker down until it stops.  It's smart.  You're not.  By pressing the button over and over again, you're putting 1-2 tons of stationary pressure against a motor which needs a ton of torque to move it at all, and there's just these little sheer pins to hold it on.  And yes, they sheer.  He showed me how doing it even 1-2 times starts to mess with the pins (and he then replaced them).  Bottom line, after 30-40 times rolling slides in and out after learning that trick, I never had a single slide sheer pin break.  It compares rather favorably to the every other time I messed with the slide they would sheer off.  Moral of the story, get instructions when you get a new rig.
2.  Motoring up that incline.  Oddly, it never happened again.  Whole trip.  Not once.  My brother in law the mechanic said that when a diesel is cold, they occasionally have a tough time catching.  Bottom line, if I have a sharp incline early in the morning, I give it a running start.
3.  The coolant thing is a total mystery.  We had it happen twice more in the states (once at the actual repair shop when I went to get the repair guy!).  Once on the trip.  Once more since having been in the states.  I've learned to keep a gallon of water ready for if the check engine light comes on, and it slows my departure down by 2 minutes when it happens.

Outfitting the Rig

One might think that dropping the better part of a huge hunk of change on a RV would be enough.  But then one would be content to be part of the typical RV crowd traveling from gravel lot to gravel lot in search of a relatively flat spot to plug in and sleep horizontally.  And we definitely did not want to be those who head into the backwoods with their cruiser, crank the generator and watch Sunday football on their 42" TV.

No.  First and formost we are sailors.  Cruisers.  True, we're land cruisers, but cruisers nonetheless.  At the very least we had to have solar.  And that's where it all started.

My sailing books bought in the heyday of the worldwide trip provided some insight, but Bill Moeller's Boondock RVing condensed it perfectly.  And he was a sailor originally.  I needed solar, a solar controller, batteries, inverter, generator, shore power connection.  My eyes glazed as a looked at the schematics.  I'm so annoyed I didn't take at least one electrical engineering class in college.

But after re-reading a few relevant chapters 5-10 times, supplementing with numerous websites and the realization that each component costs from $500-$2k, I started to get it.

PV solar panels are relatively straightforward.  They take in sun and create direct current (DC) which can be used to charge batteries.  One has a solar controller connecting them to a) prevent the reverse at night (batteries draining to dimly light the panels?) and b) efficiently charge the batteries.  This rig is big, so we put on 3 150w panels.  I'm already wondering if I should have put on 4 while I was at it.  When one drops sums like the complete system, an extra 5% for one more panel is looking to have been a cheap price...  Anywho.

Solar fills batteries, not your laptop's battery, the rig's batteries.  And we've been to the dry camping battery rodeo before (where we're all crowded under one bulb and it dims out to the smell of sulfuric acid rising from the battery well).  We needed more batteries.  Lots more.  6 will hopefully do it.  They certainly have weighed down the rig by close to 400lbs.  But now we have 600 amp hours (6 @ 220ah x 6v golf cart batteries wired in series/parallel yadda yadda), which is enough to run everything but the air conditioning from anywhere from 20 minutes (oven) to all night (nightlight).  I might even get to watch the Stanley Cup without the sound and smell of a diesel engine.

But first I need something to convert all of that wonderful DC power into alternating current (AC).  That item is called an inverter.  You may have had one in your car to charge your laptop or something like that.  We needed something bigger.  Something that would power an oven or hair dryer for more than 20 seconds before melting.  A "whole house" inverter.  I stretched the heck out of my RV repair guy's understanding, but sorted out a good solution which does exactly what I want.  When it's on, I can turn on any electrical appliance and it just works.  And I now understand the schematic drawings.

Throw in a few details like a charge controller monitor, alternator/charger monitor and so on and we're all set.  My electrical system is ready to rock.  As long as we stay in North America and/or want to boondock all the time.

Unfortunately, we're going to Europe.  They're on 220v AC (usually) rather than 110v AC of North America.  After still more research I tracked down a step-down/step-up converter.  With this, I can plug shore power into a 220v circuit and it should work.  At least that's what they tell me.  We'll be sure when we're in the UK and we plug it in for the first time.

The other system which our RV research lead us to think about was the drain system.  The massive 4" mummenshanz hoses standard to the US would not work.  We needed a macerator.  BOAT (break out another thou').  Now we can run a hose into anything we can reach with our hose.  I have to use it later today for the first time.  I'm frantically writing this because I fully expect that a post about my Sani-con experience is forthcoming.

And how about propane?  That standard is different (and more convenient) in Europe as well.  Instead of the screw on ACME connector that North Americans have, Europeans have 2-3 quick release methods for the Autogas system.  Fortunately, one can buy adapters.  So, I have two of those.  Hopefully it will work.  Other, older websites, suggested rather hacky solutions that I did not like the looks of.  Especially when it comes to pressurized delivery of flammables.

Diesel and water are the same as far as I know.  Still have to order a USA round sticker (to show country of origin).

Most other of the RV systems are fine with Europe.  We did the usual tuneup stuff, replaced two tires which were fine for 5k miles, but probably not another 10-15k.  Changed the oil.  Resealed the roof.  Replaced the panel which was torn open when I ran over a post on our first trip.  The usual drill.

And today we are on day 3 of our shakedown cruise to the Tetons.  The adventure has begun.