Great Weather and WiFi

Any day that starts with seeing a Great Egret on an early morning walk and ending the day with a bike ride with the dog alongside is a good one.

Yesterday (Day 4) was a "get it together" day at Clarko State Park in Quitman, MS. I got the water system operating after winterizing it. You always worry about problems due to freezing and we had one split spray nozzle -- which was easy to replace. I washed the truck and the Airstream, taking off months of salt and crud.

There were only a few campers at the state park so we had the place pretty much to ourselves. The birding was wonderful (see my birding blog) -- and the dog could run free on the miles of back trails and roads. She went nuts with the many squirrels around -- chased a wild turkey, and had her nose down in an armadillo hole until I pulled her away.

Today, we had an easy trip down Highway 59 to I-12 and ended up at Fountainbleau State Park in Mandeville, LA. It sits at the northern end of Lake Ponchartrain on an old sugar plantation. Louisiana parks have WiFi which is a big help -- we can only do so much with our iPhones.

I got the bikes unloaded from the chaos that is the back of the pickup, hooked up the Springer system, and took Penny for a spin around the park. She gets a wonderful workout and is snoring beside me on the couch.

We are going to stay here for a couple of days -- do some bike riding and birding -- and then head on to Texas. Weather is nice -- today got up to 70 but it will be in the 50's tomorrow. However, reading the weather forecast that my Vermont friends are facing, mid-fifties sounds pretty good.

This state park is about half full with many people who stay for weeks -- with big rigs. We are the only Airstream here.

3 Days on the road & gonna settle down tonight

After waiting out the storms and dealing with the electrical problems noted in my last post, we launched early Friday morning with the temperature holding below 10 degrees. The first trick was to get down our snowy driveway. I took it easy, in first gear, but halfway down, the truck and trailer all started sliding with brakes full on and I just got it down and around the corner and could then slow down on the sanded Wood Road. Fortunately, it was very early and no one was coming down the hill in the dark. Once our heart rates slowed, we trundled down through sleepy Montpelier and had an uneventful drive down to Bethel, Killington, and up over Mendon Mountain. Roads were dry, snow flurries were minimal, and traffic was light.

The first day brought us down to Albany and then down I-88 to Binghamton. We then join the rat race south with truckers headed home on Friday and driving like crazy. With gas stops (we paid $3.30 a gallon at a ripoff joint on I-88) every 180-200 miles, my debit card was getting a workout. We made it as far as Chambersburg and stayed at a Walmart in very cold conditions. There was a Hoss’s restaurant on site so we ended up having a good dinner storing up calories for the night ahead.

The Airstream, when operating on battery power, is heated with a propane heater up at one end. It’s not easy to get the sleeping end heated when it’s 15 degrees so it was not the most comfortable night we’ve spent. We tanked up on coffee in the morning and were again on the road before seven.

Saturday is a good day to travel. The truck traffic is reduced as is commuter travel. We were out of Pennsylvania at once and zipped through the ends of Maryland and West Virginia and then spent a lifetime in Virginia. I-81 has some pretty scenery through this stretch and we thought we’d got out of the snow cover -- but after an hour of bare ground, we came back into where last week’s storm had dumped a lot.

Knoxville is a tough city to negotiate, even on a weekend. The merging of interstates, the ever-present trucks, and some event at UT made this trip through town stressful. We decided to stop at the Walmart in Athens, Tennessee, having called ahead for permission.

I had talked to a local cop patrolling the parking lot -- just letting him know we would be there overnight, with permission. We had a nice chat about Vermont and he told me to call them if we noticed any problems. Well, for a bit, I thought we’d have to take him up on it. For an hour or so, several hot cars seemed to be doing laps around the parking lot with loud engines, tire squealing, and lots of sitting, idling, and whatever. The scene quieted about 9:00 and I later figured that the kids were waiting for buddies working in the tire/lube section of Walmart.

Today was a relatively easy Sunday drive -- if you call driving 370 miles hauling a trailer easy. The traffic was ok and we negotiated Chattanooga and Birmingham and then encountered a stretch of concrete highway that was hell. It reminded me of the NY Thruway where decades of truck traffic had trashed the right lane, leaving the left lane relatively smooth. The road was horrible -- I was very concerned about the trailer tires. So, we drove 20-30 miles primarily in the left lane -- watching the mirrors as best we could. Of course, we then hit construction and had a twelve mile stretch with only one lane -- the right one -- and it was painful. The truck and trailer did ok in spite of the thumping.

The rest of the journey, through Tuscaloosa and into Mississippi, was easy. We have stopped at a state park in Clarksdale where for the first time, we can activate the water system and have power. There’s no one here -- just a couple of families -- and it’s a good place to bird and run the dog. We’ll catch our breath for a few days before moving on to Louisiana.

The park in just south of Meridian, Mississippi. I learned to fly jets at NAS Meridian many years ago and we live in Meridian during the height of the civil rights movement. We were sort of insulated from the events but did get a taste of southern attitudes from our neighbors -- so the airfield has good memories for me but the town still leaves a bad taste in our mouths. We may check out the air station while we are here -- just for nostalgia’s sake. And find a wifi hotspot.

Ready, Set, Wait Another Day

As is the case before most major trips, we were up very early this morning. I had plowed the driveway yesterday (we got nearly a foot of new snow), and cleaned off the trailer. I had a lot of trouble getting it into place and whacked a piece of ledge submerged in the new snow. Finally, we spent all evening finishing loading.

We were ready to launch at 6:15 A.M. In a last minute check, we found that the trailer lights didn't work. Shades of day one last year -- except it wasn't along I-81! I realized that in the struggles to extricate the trailer and get it moved into the driveway, I had trashed the electrical connector to the truck. It was at first depressing, especially since it was dark, snowy, and windy. Then the truck lights were wacky -- brake lights staying on, turn signals inoperative. That improved once I disconnected the broken connector.

I was able to back the trailer on to flat land in front of the garage and get unhitched. First, I tried to tape the broken connector up with electrical tape -- in 15 degree temperatures and wind with Mary holding the flashlight. No way, Jose.

So after thawing out, I went downtown and bought hand warmers first (enough frostbite the last few days) and then a new plug and some truck fuses. The next several hours was spent wrestling with 7 frayed leads and set screws -- plugged it in and.... nothing. I dug out the Ford manual, studied the fuse layout, and replaced a 20 amp fuse. Running lights! The right turn signal worked, left not. Aha, the fuse -- I replaced it, tried again -- nothing (but a blown fuse.) I knew I would have to take the plug apart again so I went to to warm up and have coffee. I wrestled the plug apart, got the left turn wire reconnected and carefully put it together. Tried it .. nothing. Oh yeah, the truck fuse was blown again. I took the cover plates off, found the fuse .. which was again blown, and replaced it. Finally, after about four hours plus, things were working.

By now, it was approaching mid-day and I had not been impressed with the road conditions during my earlier trip. We were tired, stressed out by the hassle, and decided to wait until tomorrow morning. The forecast is better, we'll double-check everything once more tonight - and should be good to go. Now I've got to haul in some more snow-covered firewood and take Penny for a long walk. She's been "clingy", knowing something is up but not completely sure she's going. She'll go if we go -- and tomorrow the internet/cable gets disconnected so we'll be out of here.

I guess I'm glad that all my learning last year on systems and replacing stuff helped. However, doing electrical work in biting wind is above my pay grade. We need to get the Airstream, and ourselves, south pronto.

Bringing a Boat Along This Time

On the trip last year to the Southwest, we were surprised at how many times we were next to bodies of water: the Gulf of Mexico, Falcon Reservoir, Choke Canyon Reservoir just to name a few. It made us wish that we had our kayaks along. I have been thinking about the drag of two kayaks plus the Airstream and asked my brother Barry, a seasoned Airstreamer, what he and Mica did for a boat since I knew that they had paddled in Florida and along the Gulf Coast in their travels.

He told me that they often carry a small canoe -- that they would worry too much about the expensive kayaks during a trip -- but then said, "Why don't you take our folding kayak - it'll just be sitting down cellar this winter?" I thought about it, did some research on Folbots, and took him up on the offer.

So yesterday, he drove over and dropped off the big bags of equipment and gave me a tutorial in our living room. (I had pulled an operations/assembly manual off the internet and done some reading, knowing my struggles in the past in putting together tents.)

He walked me through the process and I took some photos of specific steps but we will see. Everything is marked and it seems straight-forward but I am going to assemble it one more time by myself downstairs before we load up. Even then, I suspect my language will attract a crowd at the campground down south when I first lay out the parts and hope to end up with a boat. It also will be the first time that Mary and I have paddled a kayak together. Stay tuned.

Getting The Airstream Home

After a Thanksgiving trip to Maryland sans Airstream, we returned for a week in Massachusetts to do some child care and retrieve the trailer.

Not surprisingly, mice had taken up residence in the 'Stream, leaving little piles of insulation and droppings here and there. I had set traps but they weren't tripped - in fact one had the peanut butter licked off and mouse "calling cards" all around. The dog was very interested in a wall where undoubtedly the culprit(s) resided.

With sub-freezing temperatures, staying in the trailer was more of a challenge but the new propane heater did a nice job. The dog and I stayed comfortable, especially at the end with the heating unit, but we were going through propane pretty fast.

I did a little birding (see my new vtbirder blog) and celebrated Mary's 70th birthday with Jen and family. Watching the weather, we left for home a day early since snow was forecast for our original travel day.

It was cold and windy hooking up and of course, the trailer had not moved in several months. I noted that the right turn signal on the trailer was not working but decided to press on -- it was daytime and the weather was clear.

Monday mid-day is a good time to travel. It seems like the trucks are still loading and there is mainly local traffic. We made good time up through New Hampshire in spite of pretty stiff winds. The Airstream handles wind quite well.

I noted a warning signal on the trailer brake controller - "H05" - but had no idea what it meant. (The manual was back home.) It would flit back to .C. for connected and then back but everything was handling ok so we pressed on. It was too bitterly cold to troubleshoot along the highway.

As we descended the final hill into Montpelier, the brakes started acting a little strange - grabbing a bit. I cautiously wove my way the last eight miles, wondering what condition our driveway would be in. Our road was rutted (from early thaws) and the driveway had several inches of snow, but there's no way to pause -- you make the sharp turn and start climbing. Saying "hang on" to Mary and the dog, I gunned it up in 4 wheel drive and while it was a little exciting, we made it up and around the large rock and were home.

With snow on the way, I got the Airstream blocked and unhitched and settled in place until we leave in mid-January for Southwest.

I believe that I have some shorting issues again in the pigtail connector. It's way to cold (0 degrees this AM) to work on it right now but I need to pick a day where the temperatures moderate a bit and check it out. We don't need failures like we had last year.

'Nother Cold Rainy Trip to MA

Yesterday, after an early morning lending committee meeting at the community land trust, I came home to finish packing and hook up the Airstream for a trip to Massachusetts. It's our grandson's tenth birthday and our daughter's was the day before.

I had tried to take a short nap after an early lunch since we had a long trip ahead but all I could do was think of the trick of getting backed into Jen's driveway off a relatively busy road. It's more than a 90 degree turn and rather tricky -- and having several cars waiting in line and watching is never helpful. I decided to get up and get going.

The light rain started just as I got ready to maneuver the truck to hook up. It's been a while and I was taking my time but with several layers and a raincoat, finished up relatively dry. Still always get grease on my hands from either the ball or the sway bars.

We got the gear and the dog loaded and negotiated our steep driveway. At the bottom, the rear bumper always gets hung up and scraps dirt for a bit -- adding a few swear words to the start of the trip.

The drive down was rather easy -- traffic light but steady -- with some low clouds and fog hanging over the high parts of I-89. The weather got better into New Hampshire, as did the foliage. The photo was taken at the Sutton, NH rest area.

With five miles go go, I started visualizing the backup process -- where I would stop the truck, which way the wheel went first, etc. I briefed Mary on her role as observer, director, traffic cop but we both decided to stay cool. Well, either I'm getting better, or getting lucky, but the trailer was angled in off the road right away, letting traffic move -- and with just a little geeing & hawing, I got the Airstream situated in the wooded parking place. Voila.

So, we've got the catalytic heater going and the inside temperature is manageable. I've got a little water in the system but I'm not using it. I'll winterize either this weekend or next trip down. We are going to leave the Airstream here in MA since we have several trips more in the coming months.

Planning The Winter Trip

As the trees lose their leaves here in Vermont, we start thinking about heading out once again this winter to the Southwest. So it's time to crank up Google and Mapquest and lay out some options.

This year, I want to head toward Pensacola first to revisit the place I started my flight training decades ago. The Naval Air Museum, which I visited briefly many years ago, is high on our list of must-see places. I was in the NAS Cubi Point Officers' Club in the Philippines during several Vietnam deployments and the Cafe at the museum has a replica of the bar and many of the hundreds of squadron plaques.

The start of the trip, now planned for early January, is probably the toughest part of the journey. Not only will the Airstream be winterized with anti-freeze in the systems, the weather is often dicey. There are some high spots on I-88 between Albany and Binghamton and the stretches of I-81 until you drop into the Harrisburg area can get a lot of wind and snow. We're planning to watch for a weather opening and drive to Harrisburg the first day -- perhaps the longest drive.

Right now, I've got stops planned at state parks at Warrior's Path State Park in Tennessee and Oak Mountain State Park in Alabama. We're planning to stay for a while at Fort Pickens campground on the Gulf Islands National Seashore. Weather and conditions permitting, we'll use that as a base for visiting Pensacola sites. With a wood fire going behind me, it's kind of nice to think about -- three months from now.