Heading to Kansas City

I'm reminded of that old country song, "I'm Looking at the World Through a Windshield"

We loaded up and proceeded to head  north.  Now I have driven all across the United States with a road atlas and have never been a big fan of GPS and our trip back home would further my reasoning for paper over electronic.  My brother gave us good directions out of Texas and the traveling was going really quite smoothly.  We got to Shreveport and I gave in and took the advice of the GPS.  Well, it got us where we needed to go but sent us several miles out of the way to do so.  Nothing beats a good road atlas and some real study time so from now on I'll be utilizing my old practices.
We had decided to take some two lane roads and head up into Arkansas.  We had left Houston late in the afternoon and soon after we crossed into Arkansas, we stopped at a rest area and decided to have something to eat.  We chowed down like we were at a 5 star restraint, thanks to Nancy.  She had prepared several great sandwiches and some other good foods to satisfy our hunger.  Having finished eating we proceeded to head towards Kansas City.
We reached the half way point around 1100 pm or so and I was beginning to get tired.  The combination of a moonless night and the winding roads of the Ozarks prompted me to pull into a Wal Mart parking lot in Mena, Arkansas and take advantage of the courtesy that many Wal Marts offer to RV'ers and trucks, park over night and get some rest.
I was really liking traveling like this.  I had covered many miles on my bike but to just pull into a parking lot and climb into a nice, comfy bed was not something you had the pleasure of doing on two wheels.  This was indeed a very spoiling event.  I could see this developing into a real fun thing to do.
The morning came and we all awoke feeling very rested and mom was getting anxious to see her grand kids and great grand kids so we set out to make our home destination.  The beautiful day afforded my wife many opportunities to take some pictures as we drove north through the majestic Ozark mountains.

Just some shots of the Ozark drive
 

We made our way through the Bobby Hopper Tunnel along I 49. 

This drive brought back memories of the time I had driven from LeMars, Iowa to Clarksville, Arkansas hauling ice cream to the Wal Mart distribution center.  Back then ( I guess it has been a long time ago) there was no freeway.  The trip required driving on highway 71 and following its winding, mountain hugging trek.  Man I miss those times, but now with this new found freedom, I'm looking forward to reliving some of those great roads, including some of the prettiest and most crooked road roads around, the back highways of Pennsylvania, West Virginia and all throughout the Appalachian Mountains.


The Light at the end of the Bobby Hopper Tunnel

 

We arrived in Kansas City and let mom and Ruth get settled in while I detached Matilda from Brutus.  The next several days would be spent with family visits and great grandma becoming familiar and well acquainted with all her Kansas City family.  Thinking back on this entire adventure, I have come to conclude that none of this would have happened had I not stepped out of my comfort zone and made that bid.  Sometimes, in life, we have to take that chance.  Maybe you will fall, I know I have many times, but maybe, just maybe, that step will be the first in making some of your dreams become real!
(Just a teaser for the next blog and where this step has taken Cindy and I, stay tuned)

Until The Next Trip, keep looking up!
 



The Maiden Voyage Of Brutus and Matilda

Well, I made it home safely and with no mechanical issues with my prize.  I proceeded to take it straight to the shop to evaluate the safety and dependability of this newfound treasure.  I went through the entire thing, checked all the bearings, re-packed them, replaced the seals, checked all the appliances, checked the plumbing, and really went so thoroughly through the fifth wheel that I would have made a quality control inspector at the factory proud.  Now, for the next step, let's go somewhere!
I should probably begin with an explanation of the title.  My daughter insists on naming all their vehicles, and she insists on naming mine as well, so, after thinking a bit on the subject, it sounds much better to write about "Brutus" and "Matilda" than writing about the F350 and the trailer so from this point forward these two will join the ranks of "Bessie, Annie and Cici" and be known, at least in writings, as Brutus and Matilda.

Meet Brutus (02 F350 Ford Dually Diesel) and Matilda (1998 Damon Magnum fifth wheel)

My mom had loaned me some money to buy this piece of adventure so it was only fitting that the first venture out involve her and my sister.  I decided to go to Tennessee and pick them up then head south to let my mom visit her sister in southern Mississippi then we would trek westward to visit my brother and his fantastic family.  Now I had already set up a visit with my brother so he knew that Cindy and I were coming, he didn't know I was bringing Mom to surprise him.
Monday, October 21 came around and we set out to make this fantastic trip and visit with some excellent relatives.  I got the rig all hooked up, checked and double checked, we climbed up into the truck and headed out. 
We made it all the way to the interstate, a whole 4 miles before our first unforeseen obstacle made itself known.  I had gone through the truck since purchasing it and had repaired or replaced anything that I thought would cause trouble.  I had driven it to New York and back with no issues so I was sure that we would not have anything cause us stress on this trip.  The truck had been running just great, or it felt great to me, until now.  We made our entry to the interstate and no matter how much I pressed the accelerator, we just didn't gain any speed.  I knew what was wrong and had really hoped that it wasn't but deep down I knew that the high pressure oil pump had decided to retire!  This was not an expense that I was prepared for, the part alone was over $800.  Oh well, I limped the truck to the shop where I proceeded to replace the HPOP.
Now those of you that know Cindy are aware that she will not let me give up, especially when it is something that means a lot to me so when I finally finished working on the truck and got home announcing that we were just not going to make this trip, having just spent the money I had set aside for fuel. I was informed, no I was ordered, that we were going!  So guess what, I got in the truck as ordered.
I headed back to the interstate and as I accelerated to highway speed, I realized that my truck, even though I thought it ran good, now was running superb!  We headed on down the road and started having fun. 
Now Cindy had not yet slept in the RV and since we got a late start (more like 10 pm than 10 am), we found ourselves stopping at a truck stop just south of St. Louis around 2 in the morning and deciding to call it a day.  I backed into a spot, opened up Matilda, walked the dog and we both settled in for a restful night.
I don't know if it was excitement or just the internal yearning to be on the road but I was up with the sun and ready to go.  Amazingly, Cindy woke up early as well so we loaded up the truck and proceeded to head south.  We pulled into Mom's place and with the few hours sleep I was feeling a bit tired but given the time of day I had to make a decision, load and leave right away so I would miss rush hour in Memphis or leave out the next morning for south Mississippi.  It became evident right away that Mom was ready to go, NOW, so we loaded up and headed west.
I drove through and got to the south side of Memphis, just across the Mississippi line and pulled into a rest area where we made ourselves comfortable at a picnic table and had a real good meal, courtesy of the ability to carry fresh and cold food in Matilda.
Finishing our fantastic meal we loaded again and headed for my aunt's place in south Mississippi.  We got there right around 10 pm and just as we pulled into the drive, we saw all the lights inside the house go out.  Mom went to the door and knocked and knocked but no one answered.  Later we found out  that my aunt didn't make a habit of answering the door after ten because living so close to the interstate she had been honored with some really strange visitors.  She finally looked out and was joyfully surprised to see us on her doorstep.  Well, Mom and Ruth, my youngest sister, went inside and Cindy and I just climbed into the RV and had a very pleasant nights sleep.
When I woke up the next morning my aunt told me just to set up in the front yard and make ourselves at home.  This would be the very first time since purchasing Matilda that I would set it up and actually camp in it.  I got it all positioned under a nice, big shade tree and we had found our home for the week.



Brutus and Matilda at their home for a week
 

Cindy and I stayed in Matilda and Mom and Ruth stayed in with my aunt.  We had our own schedule and really had a super time visiting and staying in our own little palace.  Mornings would find us sitting on the infamous front porch, taking part in joyful conversation or sometimes just watching the humming birds come and feed.  There was one humming bird that seemed to be in charge, or so he felt.  The others would have to create a diversion in order for some to get to the nector  and feed.

One of the many regular visitors
 

 We enjoyed the stay and Cindy especially enjoyed playing dominos with all the other aunts on Thursday night, whereas I enjoyed the peace and quiet that was available away from all the ladies, thanks to Matilda!  The week was fairly uneventful, which is, of course, one of the purposes for camping and RVing, right?  We did make a visit to a local grocery store to pick up some real special and sold only locally sausage to take to my brother.  I thought it was rather expensive but after he cooked it up for us at his place, I determined it was well worth the money.

Saturday morning came and it was time to bid farewell to my aunt and head west to visit my brother and his family.  The road was calling!  We all climbed into the comfort that Brutus offered and headed out.  Our journey today would take us a short ways down I55 to westbound I10.  The highlight of I10 would have to be the bridge that takes you across the swamps and lowlands of the Atchafalaya National Wildlife Refuge.  This bridge is so long that there are emergency crossovers to allow for traffic to flow in the event of an accident or other situation along the way and it had pull outs in the event of breakdowns.  The swampland and wildlife were simply majestic to look at!



Some pictures Cindy shot while crossing the Refuge
 

 Other than the refuge, this stretch was fairly uneventful so we just kept motoring onward.  Just for informational purposes, any and all photos are taken by my wife or other passengers, I do not advocate or practice distracted driving, I know all too well the effects of such.
We got to my brothers house later that night and he had already sent me the information as to how to make ourselves at home once we got there.  We backed into the drive and plugged in.  He has a couple places around his house that are set up for RV's so it was like pulling into a campground.  Now he knew Cindy and I were coming but had no idea that Mom and Ruth were coming.  We had kept it a surprise and this would be the first time mom had been able to visit him at his house so we thought it would be a good surprise.  He works nights so Mom and Ruth had already gotten settled in the spare bed room so his first indication was when he woke up in the late morning to see Ruth sitting on the couch.  We did indeed surprise him! 


The family getting ready to head out

 We had a fantastic time visiting.  We went to a real good Tex-Mex restaurant one night and spent a day at a really nice RV resort on the river, grilling shrimp and just having a blast as a family.


Mom and Ruth

 

 

We finished up our week in Texas and then it was time to head to Kansas City to let Mom visit with some grandkids and some great grandkids.  This, too would be the first time for her to see some of the great grandkids so in all fairness, that segment of this fantastic venture will be in another posting. 
It has become very evident that this type of traveling is going to be quite appealing to both Cindy and me.  Losing our ability to see the country by motorcycling has been replaced.  We enjoyed those times but in light of the comfort and pleasure we have found in RVing, I have to admit, it sure is nice to travel in the rain and not get wet.
Thanks for reading and please comment below maybe even follow us on our adventures.  I promise that since I can transport a computer now without having to be concerned about it getting wet, postings will be more timely and more in quantity.
Frank



Sometimes Changes are Good!

I haven't written anything for a very long time, maybe because I didn't feel I had anything worthwhile to write about.  My writings up to this point have been primarily about riding and seeing the country from atop my motorcycle.  Since my accident I just never could find a satisfactory replacement machine that was as comfortable as my wing and I was beginning to feel that the part of me that yearned to travel, to see different things, to wake up someplace new was dead.  Well, I'm happy to report that none of me has succumbed to the bliss of non existence, I have discovered  a new portal to get back into traveling and seeing the nation and getting out there and really living again!

I'm going to back up to July, 2015 and tell my story.  Cindy and I have been able to maintain a good life and have been able to be happy with our meager incomes and had pretty much accepted that living in our rental home and being close to our grandkids was going to be our life from now on.  I had accepted that my  traveling days were pretty much over.  We didn't have the money to buy a trike and if we did get one, we couldn't afford to travel and with her physical pains, any type of distance travel on anything less than four wheels would not be a pleasurable experience for her, thereby not being a pleasurable experience for me.  

I was perusing Ebay one night, just dreaming more than anything, about getting a decent camper so we could at least get away once in a while.  Until just a month prior, June of 2015, we didn't have anything to even pull a camper with but I managed to purchase a used 2002 F350 Ford Dually and had hopes of maybe someday being able to travel again.  I was looking at fifth wheel units and dreaming, placing a bid here and there to satisfy my mind that I was at least trying.  I knew that I would not be the winning bidder on any of these units because the funds I had available were not near enough to buy a decent fifth wheel, but it at least kept me involved and hopeful.

This particular evening I got brave and placed a bid on a very nice fifth wheel camper that had no reserve.  I figured that it would go far beyond my maximum bid but at least I tried.  With each passing night I would check  the status of my bid and to my amazement, no one else was bidding!  The auction was entering it's final hours and the inevitable happened, I got outbid.  Without consulting Cindy, or knowing where the extra money would come from I took a chance and raised my meager bid as much as I dared, sure that I would not have to come up with the extra money anyway because, let's face it, there was no way a unit as nice as this was going for the ridiculous amount of $3800.  This was a unit that was worth, according to fair market, at least 8 grand and that would be cheap.  
I entered my final bid and went to bed, at least I was trying and that seemed to satisfy my heart's urge to once again travel.  
The morning sun began to shine through our back window and the day was forming to be a very nice day, a day to go do something around the yard or maybe fix a kid's go cart or something to just stay busy and by staying busy, maintain my sanity.  I checked my emails and about fell on the floor when I read the email from Ebay.  "you are the high bidder".  Just to clue you in on how sure I was that I would never win a unit for that price, I had not even looked to see where the unit was located.  When I discovered that I would have to go to Albany, New York to get my winning, I knew that this was definitely going to be the beginning of a new era of traveling for us!  You see, motorcycling was the last thing that Cindy and I had done together that we had truly enjoyed  up until this miracle.  During the time we had lived in a 28 foot fifth wheel before we got our rental house we had often talked about how much fun it would be to travel with one.  Talk was all we could do, we didn't even have anything to pull one with.  We never gave up our dream of someday being able to travel the country again, we just had no clue how we would ever be able to do it.
Wow, now I was obligated to travel 1800 miles one way to pick up a camper that I had only seen pictures of and had only been told that it was road ready.  I contacted the seller, a very nice gentleman, that told me over the phone that the unit was everything he had stated in the ad and he understood the reluctance I had to drive that far, spend that much in diesel fuel and not really know what I was getting into so he did something very unusual for a no reserve seller, he told me that if I got there and it was not what he said it was he would release me from the contract AND pay for my fuel to get there and back home.  This truly was a miracle that was meant to be!
I rounded up the money for the purchase, some of it was borrowed from my mom, and made arrangements with the seller to pick up the unit on Monday at 8 am.  I was as excited as an expectant father!  The auction had ended on a Wednesday and I wasn't going to get my unit until Monday!  I had a real hard time sleeping the next few nights.  This was it, our opportunity to start a new part of our lives, to travel again and do something that we both enjoyed, again!  I originally had planned on leaving early Saturday morning and heading out to Albany.  Well, Friday night came along and I just could not sleep so about 10 pm or so I told Cindy I just had to get going and she, as usual, understood.
I drove all night and crossed the Indiana state line and was finally calming enough to stop in a rest area sleep, for about 3 hours, then  I had to get going again.  I was high on adrenaline and drove all the way to the last service plaza on the New York Thruway before Albany.  I pulled in and climbed into the back seat of my truck and went to sleep for the first real rest since leaving Kansas City, except for  my 3 hours in Indiana.
I remember  the brightness of the sun as it peaked through the windows of my truck parked there in that service plaza in the beautiful mountains of upstate New York on that Monday morning.  I had set out in a truck with over 300 thousand miles on it headed halfway across the country to pickup a trailer that I had only seen pictures of, hoping that it would be the new deliverance that Cindy and I so longed for.

I drove on into Albany and the heavy rush hour traffic didn't even bother me for I was on a mission!  I arrived at the location and the seller had not yet arrived.  I went over to the unit and proceeded to look it over.  It WAS everything it had been represented to be and more!  Here was this 1998 Damon Magnum 30 foot fifth wheel camper that was ours!  It was clean, straight, and very nice, inside and out.  The seller showed up and we finalized our business.  Just as I was getting ready to head back to Kansas City, he stopped me and added yet another surprise.  He asked that I wait a few minutes so that he could go and get a new battery for the camper because the ad had stated that it would come with a new one!  Could you ask for a more honest seller?  
I obliged and was really getting anxious to get on the road.  He promptly returned with a new battery and we said our goodbyes.  I was really impressed a couple hours later when my phone rang and it was the seller asking if the trailer was pulling OK and sincerely concerned how I was doing.  That is an extreme rarity and to me, another indication that this was all supposed to be for us.

I motored on across the thruway, praising God for the miracle that had been bestowed on us and dreaming of the outings that Cindy and I would be making in this RV.  I drove until I got to northern Ohio and the excitement and tiredness of the entire event finally hit me so I pulled into a truck stop and proceeded to climb into my camper and went into a very relaxed and peaceful sleep, dreaming of the adventures to come!
We have already made a 2400 mile trip with our RV and I will be posting more on that trip soon.  One thing about traveling with in a RV, time  to write and the comfortable surroundings in which to write will abound!