Back To Virginia for a Short Visit

It has been awhile since our last post, so trying to get caught back up now.  We have been so busy with sightseeing and activities that we have rarely had any significant downtime or else limited connectivity.  We have now visited 7 states plus D.C. and driven about 3,500 miles.

We have also had a few challenges along the way, but nothing that we could not overcome. Just makes things interesting, I guess.  Among the issues have been continuing Norcold refrigerator cooling issue, we were invaded by ants, a credit card was comprised, our new truck was dented while we were parked somewhere, an RV park was not accessible with our large 5th wheel camper, and some low bridge clearance issues in Pennsylvania.

I’ll touch on some of these challenges later on, but first the return to our home town area in Southwest Virginia.  While there I assisted my former employer for a few days with some training and assistance.  I retired on May 5th and then returned June 12th.  It was sort of strange to return after a month off, but easy to get back into the swing of it.  In my entire work career of 44 years, the longest vacation was 2 weeks.  Anyway, after greeting my coworkers, it was back to the financial work that I know well.  Not rusty yet.

While back home we did have a 22nd birthday celebration for our daughter Audrey, many visits with her and our son Ross who also lives in the area.  Ross has recently purchased a repo home, so we spent some time painting and fixing up his new dwelling.  We also met and had dinners with friends friends Tammy and Quentin as well as Janet, Frank, Laura, and Ted.  A nice time catching up and explaining what it is like to be a nomad!  I also flew to Florida for a short 3 day trip to celebrate Mom’s birthday along with my brother Kevin.

On to the challenges.

1. The refrigerator is a Norcold gas absorption style that is designed for RV use.  It operates from electricity when at a campground with hook ups and from propane when on the road or camping “off the grid” or “boondocking.”   They are complicated and can be problematic.  We had had it serviced under warranty 3 times now due to not always being able to hold a temperature in the safe range (34-40 degrees).  When they are working they are great, but many people seem to have issues.  Since it is under warranty, I would prefer to work through their system to resolution, but at this stage I’m about ready to try some of the aftermarket methods to “hot rod” the cooling system.  We do continue to use it, but are careful to buy just enough foods for a couple of days at a time.
2. Ants – these pesky critters just keep finding their way in no matter where we move.  Although they are not getting into food, they are just very annoying.  After a couple of weeks of spraying Terro on the camper’s underside and slide seals, we may have finally gotten the best of them. We first sprayed with Ortho Home Defense and found it not effective with these little devils. The things you have to learn about RVing!
3. When preparing to leave Virginia for D.C., I discovered an unauthorized charge on my charge card account.  This is a real pain.  I had several auto pays set up with that card.  Anyway, new card issued and all payments changed.
4. Dented bumper, grrr.  I know that if you park in parking lots your truck will eventually collect some dings.  I thought that I could avoid that due to always parking in the far empty corners.  With this large of a truck (full crew cab, dual wheels plus 8 foot bed), I’m almost forced to take up 3-4 parking spaces.
5. RV park from Hell.  We just needed a night or two while the RV was being serviced at the dealer.  The park advertised and confirm they were big rig friendly over the phone, but the access roads were deeply rutted gravel on tightly twisted hills.  Can you imagine pulling this 5th wheel camper up a very steep gravel lane that is also on a tight turn with over hanging trees and a lake at the foot of the hill?  I could not, but once in the park that was the only way out.  We cancelled the reservations, put the truck in low 4 wheel drive and applied the force of the 6.7L diesel.  With rocks flying the camper did not overturn or go into the lake.  We exited right and found a hotel for the night.  And a cold beer to help with the stress!
6. Low clearance bridges.  I’ll expand on this in the next post.  No worries, we still have the roof top A/Cs  🙂

So there you have the issues that we have encountered.  We still thoroughly love the life on the road and all the exciting destinations and places to explore.  One of my goals with this blog was to provide information on the challenges as well as the good times.  Something that others may learn from and be prepared for.

Enjoy the photos.

We are currently at a Corp of Engineers park at the northern border of PA with NY, near Tioga, PA.