SO HERE WE’VE BEEN

July, August, September 2018

After our adventures in Canada and the U.P., we grounded ourselves at Camp Turkeyville RV Resort in Marshall, Michigan towards the end of July.

We thought about a trip around Lake Superior or across the U.P. and up to the boundary waters in Minnesota, but we had made plans to attend the Michigan-Nebraska game on September 22 in Ann Arbor with friends, and we would have had to back track over 1,500 miles to make the game should we have taken that route.

To all our followers we thank you for your support in reading through the more than 20 blogs since we left Pennsylvania in May, and your loving comments (especially you Mr. Syntax and Graham-er!) about our adventures.  We love being able to share our time on the road with you.

There are 2 major reasons that led to our decision for an extended stay.  Reason 1 for our grounding in Marshall, and simply put, was because we had traveled over 5,000 miles since mid-May.  It was time to stop, provide Aimee with some maintenance, get a set of tires for the Jeep, and take stock of what we had learned about ourselves as full-timers and about our relationship with Aimee.  Reason 2 was the availability of tickets to 3 Michigan home football games, a chance to see the Bullock and Block clans, perhaps a last chance to visit with my mother (she’s 90) and one of my best friends (diagnosed with cancer), plus a visit with my sister, her husband and my niece and family (we had never met my niece’s children).  Marshall is located within fairly easy reach of Ann Arbor, Yellow Springs, Bloomington, Michigan City, and the Chicagoland area.

Two months might be a bit too long, but what did we know when we made our plans?  It sounded good.

During the first part of this journey started so long ago we kept very, very active and had a daily plan of activities and sights to see.  Even when it was raining we sought out local activities and discovered gems like the Gander Aviation Museum.  What would be available for us in Marshall, Michigan?  How about over 35 hiking trails, kayaking, and museums; joining Anytime Fitness, a chance to see a sitting US Supreme Court Justice, and being welcomed as transient members of a synagogue; minor/summer college league baseball, a blueberry festival, a world-class outdoor sculpture and japanese garden; the world’s best turkey sandwich, dinner theater, curiosities in Detroit; truly taking time to explore Ann Arbor, buying bikes, going to beer festivals (listening Jim and Roma?), and, oh yeah, did I mention Michigan football at the Big House?

We’ll catch you up more thoroughly about how wonderful the time has been in this area in later blogs, but for now a list of what we learned during this honeymoon phase of our adventure.

1. No matter what the GPS tells us, it takes an hour or so longer to travel between campgrounds.  The GPS doesn’t factor in things like potty breaks (don’t ask), lunch breaks, finding a gas station that we can handle with the total length of Amiee and our toad, and the limit on speed with what seems like the never-ending going uphill roads.
2. We have a budget, but only as a guideline – the budget cannot be the singular focus driving our retirement.  It’s taken time to figure this out and find some ways to relax about finances.  Brian admits to now only occasionally fretting about money, but he’s getting better – really!  We worked hard for a long, long time, and need to enjoy ourselves – damn it!
3. We were on a mission to visit Newfoundland and a couple of particular sights in Nova Scotia/New Brunswick, Canada as well as the U.P.  Everything else was a stop along the way, and those stops were based on how long we were willing to travel (no more than 4 hours) or the distance (about 200-250 miles).  Our general agenda for those short stops became a travel day followed by a day for local sightseeing.  In many cases it was really too little time to thoroughly explore the local area and it’s uniqueness.  We’re retired and what was the damn hurry?
4. Temperature control presented an interesting learning curve since a motorhome is a big metal box.  We have 2 air conditioners/heat pumps on the roof and a propane furnace for days below 36 degrees fahrenheit (or if we need a quick warm-up).  One air conditioner/heat pump each in the living room and bedroom.
   • There were sunny days in Nova Scotia when the high temperature didn’t reach 50 degrees fahrenheit, but we had to use the air conditioner from the middle of the day until the sun went down to keep the inside temperature to the mid to upper 70’s – that’s how much Aimee absorbed the heat from the sun.
   •   The bedroom unit has to be off overnight – the blower can be adjusted to low or high, and the vents can be positioned easily.  Even with the blower on low and vents repositioned it was too much during sleeping hours.  The good news?  Depending on need, the living room unit keeps us plenty cool and warm overnight.
   • As a metal box, we do cool off in even the worst summer days once the sun goes down (not talking about Death Valley hot here!)
5. We found that there was no use for a watch and Brian honestly hasn’t worn a timepiece since May 23, 2018.  What time is it has little if any real meaning anymore.
6. We can live together in a very, very small space.  And even better?  Not only are we still desperately in love with each other, but we actually like each other and enjoy each others company 24/7.
7. We miss being able to reach out and touch our friends and family, but via Skype or Facetime they’re sorta close by.
8. The quality of the food prepared hasn’t changed much since having a full-sized single-family home kitchen with an assortment of 20+ years of accumulating cooking stuff.
9. The Instapot is truly a modern miracle; the convection oven is capable, the propane grill (thank you Scott and Tracy!) and a 3-burner cooktop so far gets the job done.
10. We’ve learned to be smarter shoppers since the refrigerator holds about 1/3 of the fresh foods of our home appliance.  However, the freezer is un-naturally large.
11. We’ve not found a grumpy camper at campgrounds visited.  Quite the contrary; campers are a relaxed, easy-going bunch of folks who love swapping stories (Brian gets a whole new audience!), and they are more than glad to lend a hand or give advice.
12. Whether doing laundry, grocery shopping, visiting museums, working out, working on this blog or planning the next leg of our adventure on rainy days, or hiking, biking, kayaking, exploring outdoor exhibits, etc., on nicer days, we have found we need to be busy every day.  A “what are we doing today” has become  an important part of this adventure, and a good part of keeping us sane.  We’re not the kind of people to “soak up some rays” or spend time with a good book while the sun is out.
13. Brian smiles every time we’re actually “on the road again” on the way to the next destination.  He really does like driving Aimee.
14. This is somewhat ironic to say, but all those cooperative team skills we used (and sometimes taught) while gainfully employed translate perfectly well to the Barbara&Brian team.
15. We are more of a partnership now than ever before.
16. It took a while for us to know when enough is enough, and to kick back and take a break.  The next part of our travels we plan to extend time in some locations, and to not be at quite such a “gotta get somewhere” pace.
17. We’ve used Atlas Obsecura, the Road Less Traveled, Road Food, and checked out the advice of locals against any of the “best things to do in “x”” websites to figure out what to see in any location.  BUT we won’t go someplace just because; we choose places because we are interested.
18. It’s taken awhile to have some idea about regular maintenance for both the coach as well as the chassis, and to schedule the follow through with what is needed, when it is needed.  Barbara is putting together a spreadsheet to keep us on track.
    • But for now what we know is that for the chassis it’s pretty much whatever we’ve done historically for any other vehicle ever owned.  There is one exception though.  We check the tires and tire pressure before breaking up camp and hitting the road.
    • But for now what we know is that for the coach we have found out that being level extends the life of the refrigerator; lubricating slide mechanisms and using a rubber seal protectorant on the slide seals is essential; cleaning and waxing Aimee will extend the life of her exterior and help to keep window seals in good shape. It’s taken awhile to feel ok to go up on the roof and check the roof for debris; we now add 2-5 gallons of water to the black tank prior to dumping if it’s not particularly full and we’re ready to break camp.  We haven’t done this for awhile but adding a small bag of ice to the black water tank between stops and draining immediately at the next campground will help clean things out and reduce odor.
19. We take a minute or 2 before pulling out and make sure we have completed everything on our mental breaking camp checklist.  Double-checking is ingrained into our routine.
20. We were asked by a very dear friend several important questions whose answer gets at the essence of what we’ve learned.  Paraphrasing, those questions are: how were we getting along with a minimal amount of stuff; were we missing everything we might want being at our fingertips; did we mind using the same sets of towels, dishes, bedding, glassware, clothes, etc.; did we find it necessary to personalize our space; do we feel we are home?  We have friends that are much more experienced RVers than we are who have to have a home base – the bricks and mortar dwelling that they’ve lived in for the past 35 or more years.  We have other friends who have been out on the road full time for the last year or so, and decided from the beginning to personalize their living space with art, pictures, new window treatments, etc.  It’s up to the beholder.  In all seriousness we feel that stuff doesn’t define home for us; we have more than we need at our fingertips, and our experiences have been rich beyond what we believed them ever to be.  We have changed out one stock picture for a National Parks map given to us by Graham and Leigh.  We have embraced the adventure, the challenges we anticipated, and those we can’t anticipate.  It has directed us to think about home in a new way.  We’ve decided that home is simply wherever we are as long as we’re together.
21. We’re having an absolutely splendid time, and if we would’ve known things would be this wonderful we both would have retired much earlier.

Stay tuned for what we’ve been up to while stationary.

Barbara and Brian