I have made some progress on getting info into my new mobile phone. Husband found a memo program that allowed me to cut and paste on my computer from my old memo program - a good thing as I needed to transfer some shopping info before we went away. I managed to get all the contact info we might need during the trip into the phone. I made sure to copy the info about our reservations into the new phone so we would have it with us.
Of course while doing all this I was also getting our tiny RV ready for the trip. I had to make up the bed - I have mentioned before that this is an extended process involving making up half the bed as a single bed, then making up the other half by making it up on the back cushion laid flat, then sliding wooden boards between the two bench seats that form the bed, then placing the seat on this second side into place, and then - while lying on the side of the bed already made up - finish making up the second side of the bed. It takes at least 45 minutes and a hot day is not a good time to make it up. But I did. Then the night before I have to bring out everything else we need and store it - clothing, snacks, computers, etc. Think about this - you have to move everything you need for 5 days into a house and then everything has to be stored in such a way that it will not move, shift, break or bang around and make noise.
We have been having a bit of a comedy of errors on this trip - lately this always seems to be the case. On our drive here we got stuck on a limited access road near us which has no alternative for 45 extra minutes on a half hour segment of the trip. We thought it was due to ongoing (for years) construction - no, it was a car stuck in the right lane - how the heck can a car still be stuck in the right lane at least 45 minutes (and probably a lot longer than that for traffic to have backed up the way it did) with no help or decision to move the car?
There are two main ways once we are out of our home state to get to where we are going. All ways involve the tolls on two bridges in our area (which run combined almost $20 dollars even with an EZ Pass discount). One way then involves tolls on turnpikes in two states, plus a bridge toll between the two turnpikes. (This latter a new toll they dreamed up to start charging in 2016.) I suggested to husband that if we went on the trip by the second way which involves one toll for $1 (to cross the same river as the one the bridge with the new toll crosses in another location between the same two states) we would save over half the remaining tolls - each turnpike one way, plus the new bridge toll - which is collected for round trip in one direction - for us that is the “going” direction, so we would save somewhere around $18 in tolls, less the $1 toll on the alternate route comes to a nice chunk of money saved. So we went using the alternative way. Husband hates the road this uses - while it is a limited access highway there a lot of huge interstate trucks using it (saving their tolls on the turnpikes) and it involves a lot of hills, but 17 bucks is 17 bucks.
When we got to the $1 toll it had suddenly become $6.50 for “two axle RVs”. We have driven this way before to other places in this state and always paid $1 - so all the extra time and effort on the trip was greatly decreased - we will not try to cut the tolls this way again - it is not worth the extra travel time and effort for $10.
We did not really figure out where to eat lunch and thought of making a stop along the way if we had time and eating at that stop. With the time we had lost we decided not to continue to the stop and headed south towards our destination. Husband had a GPS running and also a mobile phone GPS running (sometimes I swear the 2 GPS programs are arguing), the latter is used as it is an RV program and knows which roads have to be avoided. Suddenly the mobile phone started whispering. We thought we would pass someplace for lunch (aka fast food place) earlier than we did and by the time we pulled it off it was on the late side for lunch and husband was upset at the trip so far, the cell phone problem and low blood sugar (he is Diabetic). The kid (and he was a kid) at the McDonalds did nothing to help with his being upset. Husband orders “a hamburger plain, two cheeseburgers and a senior soda”. Seems simple, right? “What size soda do you want - they are all $1 - a large?” “A senior soda” “No, they are all the same price.” So husband tells him a small soda - “Large?”. “NO, SMALL!” (Husband was upset that the soda was going to actually cost us more do this nonsense.) We ended up with a “regular”. We pick up our order, get soda and go to the table. Husband is playing with his mobile phone trying to figure out what is going on - the phone can make and receive calls with correct volume - but there are no sounds - no ringers, no alarms,etc. I open my burger - it is the burger as it normally comes not “plain”. I went up to the counter, got the manager’s attention and got a new burger - he was so involved with his phone he never noticed I was gone and why. Lunch eaten we leave to last part of our trip to here. Husband is VERY upset about his phone.
The RV park was sold as part of package of properties about 2 years ago and has changed in terms of policies and the physical access to property for the worse. Under the old management the place would be full for July 4th week/weekend. They had 3 spaces available at the last minute. We asked to book for the same Monday through Friday stay next year. No problem in the past - now the (new) staff is confused by this - it used to be “Sure”and some taps on the keyboard and we had the reservation in hand - this year “can you come back later for the reservation confirmation”. We checked the space (we request the same one) and all was well. July 4th stay there are lots of kids running around unsupervised, but we managed not to run over any of them - including the little girl from the space next to ours who seems to be around 3 or 4 and was riding a tricycle in the middle of the road in the RV park. After checking our spot we marked where we had found a level area (hoping none of the kids would take the markers - they have disappeared in the past - only at this park and only during July 4th stay). This lets us come back to just about the same spot each time we take the RV out. (Really, being level is important or doors fly open when you start to open then and stuff falls out - remember what I said about packing the RV to keep it all in place?) We also put out a sign that says we are coming back and a decorative flag to sort of “mark our territory” - although last year someone stole our flag and the cast iron holder it hangs from at - yes, this park during the July 4th stay. Most people set up their RV or trailer in their space and it stays there all the time. If they leave they use the car they towed the trailer with or towed behind their RV. We have a small RV and a relatively easy set of connections to the electricity and TV service - we carry water in our tanks and only use the water at the site if we are out on a long trip and only hook up to dump at the end of our stay - unless we are out for more than 5 days and then we will hook up, dump, and then disconnect until we are going to leave. People with most units hook up to water and the dump pipe, as well as the electric and TV service all when they arrive and leave it in place until they leave. So leaving the space for most people means they are leaving at the end of the trip, so we try to leave indications that we are coming back.
Husband played with his cell phone - he has an earpiece for it and put that in to see if worked as he would use same when we are apart from each other (the only time he actually needs to know if he is getting a text or call - from me during the trip) and that worked. When he took the device out of the phone at night it seemed fixed.
First night here we had problems with the TV and the wifi. The TV had very poor reception on channel 2 and neither of us could sign into the wifi - we have been here many times and have the page to sign in bookmarked - husband finally figured out what to do and then we did same on my computer - it rejected the info which had always worked and we had to put in a totally different set of info - at first we could not even get the sign in page to come up.
Yesterday, July 4th, we went to a large farmer’s market - it is actually a general merchandise market including an flea market across the street. We like it. Husband bought us sandwiches for lunch and we turned on the a/c (and the generator to let us do so) in the RV and we ate in it, in” air cooled comfort” (a 1940s/1950s claim of air conditioned movie theaters). I found a vendor selling some ceramic bear figurines which I collect Yes, I know I should be getting rid of stuff, not acquiring more, but I love this line of little bears and they are discontinued. I have photos of the ones I have in my cell phone - well, my last cell phone, which I brought with me on the trip and to the market just in case I saw some for sale (although I expected it to be at a more permanent vendor who sells them) so I could double check that I did not buy any I already have. (Husband will transfer the photos for me to the new phone when we get home.) Oh, did I mention they were only 25 cents each? How could I pass them by - only bought ones I liked, did not have, and were not missing paint. A number of vendors were not at the market due to the holiday and it closed early. Of course during the day his cell phone stopped having sound for ringing and alarms again. He looked up the problem after seeing how expensive the replacement for his phone would be - and apparently it comes from dirt in the ear phone jack and the phone thinks the ear phone is plugged in -? We were planning on buying a case for my new phone at one or the other of farmer’s markets here where there are many vendors for same, but apparently my phone is too rare for them to carry anything for it. I have it in a piece of felt in the case for my old cell phone to protect it until we can order something online for it.
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK -
Sometimes there is nothing which can be done to resolve a problem as we want it to be resolved. Sometimes problems just arise out of nowhere and have to be dealt with as best as one can. It sounds trit, but sometimes one just has to go with the flow.
I hope those of you in the US have had a good July 4th holiday and to those of you in Canada, I wish a belated Happy 150th of your founding.
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