Maybe that title should read “Blue has been in New York for almost a full week!” We got home last Wednesday and have been so busy, an update has not happened! But when last we visited, we were in Indiana.
We experienced Blue’s first fill-up. Ouch. But we knew this…and we can get a lot of miles out of those TWO tanks of diesel. (Thanks Tom for getting us started!)
If you can’t read that, it says $291.01.
As we left Indiana, Jim decided Blue needed to have all his “fluids” changed. Sounds painful, doesn’t it? But since Blue had been sitting mostly idle (but not neglected) for a few years, it seemed prudent to start with a known baseline. So…may I introduce you to Speedco? Drive in and OVER a long pit, three young men jump out, Jim “supervises”, and I sit in the coach doing some work. Within 45 minutes, it’s done. Oil change, filters, etc. I found the time very relaxing.
We visited West Branch State Park in the Akron, Ohio area. The park is situated around a man-made reservoir. It was a quiet two days. Not having a Toad (i.e. towed-vehicle) limits your movements.
Sunrise in West Branch State Park
But we enjoyed the time (the park is supposedly a zoo over the weekends). And during that quiet time, I finally conquered the mystery of how the television’s antenna worked. It was just a matter of educating myself over what the little green light meant. I kept my geek cred up there.
View out the coach window. Ahhh.
Next was a quick overnight stop at KOA in the Allegheny National Forest in Pennsylvania. It was so quick, I don’t have any pictures!
But then it was time to head home. First we hit the New York State Thruway…time to see if that special motorhome EZ-Pass we got worked correctly (it didn’t, thanks NYS).
Blue’s first trip through a New York Thruway toll booth!
Another couple of hours and Blue was finally introduced to his new home.
Blue coming up the driveway!
We got home to hear a scarcely 2 hour old message that our new Jeep Grand Cherokee (aka our Toad) was in. So off we were to pick that up. Check out below how nice that RV/car combo looks. And also notice our driveway has a turnaround and how the leveling pads (in the red circles) JUST span the turn around! The extra cars will be parked on the grass for a few days.
Since getting home, we’ve been playing catch-up and working on the RV a bit . We discovered water in the rear pass-through compartment, it turns out an inexperienced guy at the factory put the overflow drain of the newly moved water-tanks (due to the bedroom remodel) over the pass-through. The result? Water dripping into the pass-through compartment. Jim had to do some re-plumbing. This is the before picture for those who might notice such things. The back of the coach is to the right.
The big bedroom reveal will have to wait a few more days. The counter top for the night stand will arrive tomorrow, so Jim will be installing that yet. Then we’ll put the mattress in and see how the transformation from bunk beds to queen sized bed looks.
It will be a while before another post. We just moved Kid #2 home. Kid #1 comes home on Wednesday. I head out of town on Wednesday for a 5 day business trip (Quilt Market trade show…real painful…NOT). Then we go to Long Island for a dear friend’s college graduation. Then we send Kid #1 back to Chicago and Kid #2 to Finland to study for the summer. We need to hang home for a few weeks. But after that, expect another trip!
One more thing…we’ve giving tours of Blue to those interested. Betty Anne…I’ll be in touch in a couple of weeks. Bring Diane with you!
Okey,dokey. That is one big rig with your “toad.” Must be a challenge to go around a corner.
Well, let’s just say, don’t get in the way when we DO come around a corner. 🙂