0053 - Florida

We hit the road early yesterday to make our way to the New Port Richey area. At first we thought we were going to have to break the trip up into two days, but it ended up being a ten hour trip, so we bit the bullet and drove all the way through. Poor Mike. Ten hours in a car is a lot different than ten hours in a truck that's towing a 39-ft fifth wheel... a lot different. Toss a cat into the mix and it's just not relaxing and enjoyable, because Gracie hates being in the cage and is very vocal about that... she's kind of been spoiled since we started letting her out while we're rolling, but even when she's out she has her moments.

Things were going okay, Atlanta was a little tense with all the traffic, but for most of the trip there wasn't a lot of clutter on the roads. The GPS seems to route us through a lot of backroads and small towns, and we can't figure out if it's because we programmed the length and height of the rig and it's accommodating that, or if they're getting kickbacks from the state parks... because we pass a lot of state parks.

Gas stations are another stressful thing about traveling like this. Not all stations carry diesel. Not all stations that carry diesel are accessible. Not all accessible stations that carry diesel have a pump available, because people in cars that don't use diesel will go for any pump that's available. Yes - this is all relevant to my story in case you're wondering.

So... we attempt to go to a BP... no diesel. We try an Exxon... no diesel. A Shell... first the asshat in front of us turned in and stopped in front of us, leaving us hanging out in the road. They had a place to go... it's not like they were blocked and couldn't move. Finally they pulled forward, and in the meantime we realized that they didn't carry diesel either. There was no place to turn around because there were too many cars, and honestly I can't remember how high the carport was, we might not have been able to fit underneath anyway (or maybe they had diesel but we couldn't fit... anyhoo). The only way available was forward. Forward ended in a very steep concrete ramp that scared the shit out of me. I thought, 'if we couldn't make it down something less steep than this on our property... how are we supposed to make it down this?' But down we went, and at first it seemed as if we'd made it unscathed...

Then Mike stops the truck, starts cursing like a sailor, and hops out. He saw the hook fly off the strap that keeps the generator tethered to the tow basket. I put Gracie in the cage and hopped out, too. Turns out, we dragged our ass down the majority of the ramp, and we damaged the back end of the 5'er. It was not a good moment. During times like that, if I focus on the damage I will become overwhelmed and just lose it. I have to start thinking of how it can be fixed. My first thought was that insurance might cover the damage, and if they did, this wasn't so bad...

The upside is that Allstate considers it a collision, and they will cover it, so at most we're out $500 - and I think it's going to be significantly more than that because the back is all one giant piece. The ladder also got scraped and probably needs to be replaced. Also good is that it didn't damage a slide or a window, and the cracked portion is not something that allows access to the interior of the 5'er, so no worrying about water damage from rain, letting heat get in, or bugs using it as a revolving door. And we have some warranty work that we've been putting off, so this is a good time to get the couch, the bed, the stairs, the closet shelf, the trim pieces, and the motor that levels the jacks repaired. See? We needed this...

On Wednesday we should be able to activate our timeshare membership, so we can take the 5'er in for service and get a cabin... it will cost us, but Mike gets a per diem that should cover it at the reduced rate (or if there is a home park nearby it will be free). That way we still have a place to ourselves, we don't have to worry about finding a hotel that takes pets... it'll be alright. I am being honest here - I fell in love with the cabin at Mountain Lakes... I want to build one that we can live in. After we get the RV in for service we also need to take the truck in for service. The transmission seemed to be struggling a lot on this trip and the fluids need to be changed out, the map sensor needs to be replaced, the lights need to be changed out... we just need to do a lot of maintenance. The truck is good otherwise, we're really happy with it.

We also ran into a nasty thunderstorm on the way in. It was another one of those times that I couldn't see very well and that makes me nervous, especially with slick roads and swamps on the side of the road. It didn't last too long, but it was long enough.

Then we get to the campsite, it's probably 8:30 or 9:00 pm so it's dark and the office is closed. I don't know who laid this place out, but it is confusing as hell. First there is a rather large residential area, and after we consulted the map we figured out where our slips were; they're basically in a field with poles sticking up and we didn't know which way to orient ourselves and the ground is not level AT ALL so the first space we tried... the RV just threw up its hands and said 'I can't do this y'all'. So we left the RV where it was and drove over to the other parking area to see what that was like - it is worse... it's more level, but it's like a pole graveyard, completely empty so there are no cues to help us figure it out. We decided to stay where we were but moved over a spot. It was a little better. Then the motor that runs the jacks started smoking... it wouldn't level the RV, it wouldn't retract the jacks. The mosquitos were sucking us dry, the ground was wet. It was not fun in any way, shape, form, or fashion. But we finally got everything situated... Mike dealt with the jacks and I tried to get everything hooked up. It was a long day and a long night.

Today is Mike's first day of work, and my first day in the trailer by myself. I have been keeping busy... I have a load of laundry going, I reorganized some storage items, took pics of the damage, did tribbles... I mean, dishes... put more water and beer in the fridge, and now I'm catching up on emails and blogging. It's only 10 am... I'm running out of busy work. I'm watching crap Mike wouldn't tolerate... mostly because I haven't decided if I want to attempt to hook up the cable or not (for one thing I don't know where the connections are out here... not loving the way this park is set up at all, have I mentioned?), and network tv doesn't give me a lot of options. I need noise... I can't help it... I still need to check in with the RV park, and then I need to call around to see who can get us in for repairs. We have a warranty company and they gave us three names to try out, and they all do Forest River warranty work which covers all our bases.

And now, the picture portion of our show...

Hard to see but this is underneath the passenger's side corner of the fifth wheel. The fiberglass is all cracked and crumpled and pulled away from the frame.

This is a better shot to show that it's cracked above that reflector, and the back end is pulled away from the frame.

Going back in time a day or two... Davidson Center for Space Exploration in Huntsville, AL, since I didn't get around to posting any of those pics.

Me and my cousin Jason... haven't seen him in about five years. It was good to catch up. Yes, he's tall. Yes, he knows he's tall. :)

Guntersville Lake