Leaving Home--Wednesday, January 28, 2009

We started packing on Monday. We have 3 lists: 1 for ‘going away’, includes things like cancel the newspaper, stop the mail, get someone to cut the grass/shovel the snow, etc; 1 for things that are already in the RV; and 1 for things we need to take to the RV. Problem is that we aren’t as neurotic as we should be about the last two, keeping them up to date. So sometimes things that are supposed to be in the RV aren’t, and things that we should take to the RV are already there. For example, we have a thing for our bed called a Travasak. It has zippers along the side; thing a big sleeping bag. But it has sheets that Velcro in on the edges so they don’t slip around. Couldn’t find the darn things. I ended up taking along another sheet but hoping that the right sheets were in the RV. They were, so now we have an extra pair of sheets. Rather have them than not though.

It really didn’t take us 2 days straight to get ready. We had to plan the trip, finalizing some dates and deciding if we needed to make reservations. As it turned out, we couldn’t get into the Gulf State Park Campground in Gulf Shores, AL. Full up. So we made reservations at private RV park. We are also planning to spend 4 days on Jekyl Island and when I tried to get reservations on line they said to call the park and maybe they would have a space. Well, luck held, they did. So we have 4 days on Jekyl Island reserved. The rest we will wing and hope.

We also spent time loading books onto iTunes so that we could load them on to the iPhone. Taking disks and books back to the library. And all the other things that one decides suddenly need to get done because you are going to be gone for a month.

We gather all the stuff in the front room. Got to find a better way, though, perhaps keep doubles of things and put them aside for the RV. We are getting better at it, but we have a long way to go. It is a bit different when we go away for a month than when we go away for a week.

We begin packing. Three inches of new snow means that I shovel the sidewalks before anything else. First the bikes go in. Last thing in are the batteries. We took out one of the seats and collapsed the back. Amazingly we fit everything in. Tucked the open wine in a small space behind the seat. Took along bourbon, vodka, beer, and Baileys. Also took a case of Squirt because it’s impossible to find outside of Chicago.

It’s 32 degrees inside the RV. I’m surprised it’s that high because it’s 11 outside. Norb has devised a method so that we can both lift the truck battery at the same time. It’s the coolie method, a long board that goes through the battery handles and a screw and a screw driver on either side of the battery handles to keep them from sliding along the board as we carry it. We lift, hoist, carry it to the front of the open engine compartment. Next step, we ease the wires out of the way. Ease isn’t exactly the word because everything is stiff from the cold. Okay, we push the wires aside. Ease in the battery. Norb attaches the various wires, climbs in the cab, crosses his fingers, and starts the RV. Yay!!! Next come the house batteries. More of a challenge. Have to pull the RV out of the space because the snow is up to the base of the steps and getting the brackets that hold the battery in place means lying on the ground. Who wants to lie down in a foot of snow? Once we get out into an open area in the parking lot, we are back in business.

We get those in with a comparative minimum of difficulty and that means we can turn on the heat. I start unloading the car and loading the RV; Norb works on the bikes. The foam topper for the bed is hard and stiff. I decide not to try to unfold it for fear it will crack into pieces. I retrieve the Travasak; joy of joys, the sheets are in there. Everything goes into its place. By the time we leave, the house has warmed up to 55. It’s a little space so it warms up fast, folks.We pay for our month’s storage and hit the road a little after noon.

Traffic is relatively light and the only problem is the sun glare off the snow. Once you get out of the metropolitan areas there are fields on both sides, white covered, gleaming in the bright sun. Why does the glare make you sleepy? We stop for lunch at Wendy’s. My usual Wendy’s buy is chili, baked potato, and a frosty—each 99 cents. Would you believe they have raised the prices to $1.39 each?

We change drivers about halfway and I bring us into Springfield and Marilyn and Dennis’ home (Norb’s sister and brother-in-law). Seems that the decision to stay a few days in Springfield is a good one because there are serious storms south of here.