Edgewater Resort

We met our dads and friend at the storage building around 10am. It was already hot and luckily, everything was in the storage building by 11:30. I don't know how, but it all fit. I am the Tetris queen! Well, except for a few larger items that we are going to sell or give to family. We kept the winter clothes near the front but most of the other boxes are pretty much inaccessible (because I'm not moving all the crap that has piled up in front). We dropped the moving truck off (Yeah!) and headed for The Edgewater Resort. Mike's family had a place close to here when he was younger and the family reunion was going to be held across the street. It wasn't really what he remembered but it served our purpose. The downside was that it had 30/20 amp service and the lake was really low. Family had already set up camp so we visited a while. Tracy and Phillip came over and are going to spend the night tonight, Fri, and Saturday.

Third day

Even at 9am, I-35 was really busy. And after the construction we encountered, we decided to take a different route. We went through a few more towns but it was worth it and a made for a nice drive. One benefit of owning a motorhome seems to be that you can use your own bathroom and not have to stop at a convenience store. We pulled in to Fredericksburg, TX in the afternoon and set up camp. Soon after we hit the pool. We are very happy to be here. I am more than ready to drop off the moving truck tomorrow. However, I'm not looking forward to unloading it in the storage building.

Mississippi to Texas

I forgot to mention that yesterday I filled diesel fuel at a truck stop for the first time ever. It was a truck stop but I was the only one there filling up. I couldn't figure out how the pump worked and the girl working inside had to come out and tell me to lift the handle on the pump on the other left side of the RV in order to make the pump on the right side turn on. How strange! Diesel sure does stink.

Today we drove from Vicksburg, MS to Hillsboro, TX, which is south of Dallas. We pulled off the highway once to fill gas at a gas station that advertised diesel fuel but was not a truck stop. It was a bad mistake! I was afraid that Mike would get stuck and not be able to turn the RV around and I had trouble getting into position to fill diesel. It was a stressful situation that I will try to avoid from now on.

The driving seemed to go by a lot faster today. Dallas/Fort Worth traffic was a little hectic, especially since we hit it at around 6pm. Of course, the biggest challenge of the day came at the end of the day. After we started heading south on I-35 we encountered some road construction in the form of concrete lane barriers. One time, an 18-wheeler started to pass Mike just as the lanes narrowed and there was a concrete barrier on each side of the two lanes. It was really scary to watch and Mike said it was worse to experience it. We parked at a Wal-Mart for the night and went for some Mexican food and a much needed Margarita.

Last minute details

We had a meeting with the realtor this morning at 7:30 to discuss some final paperwork wording regarding the roof that needs to be replaced. So nice of them to wait until the last minute. Because of this we didn't leave town until 10:30. As we were about to leave, we noticed that we still had mail in the mailbox. Apparently, the change of address forms had not gone through. Great! So we called the post office and tried to get them to hold our mail at the post office until the COA went into effect.

We hit the road and the moving truck took a little getting use to. It was much better driving on the highway then trying to drive it through the little neighborhood streets. We stopped a few miles after heading south on I-65 to weigh the RV at a truck stop. We estimate that it weighs 22,420 lbs and the gross vehicle weight rating is 24,000 lbs. When we weighed, the holding tanks were empty and Mike was the only passenger. I guess we'll have to figure the weight of the holding tanks in to the mix when we're going to travel with them full. Right now, we don't plan to carry much because it will reduce our fuel economy.

Around 3:30 in the afternoon, somewhere in western Alabama, we had to pull into a rest stop because our Even Brake was not functioning. We called Camping World and the manufacturer and after about an hour and a half, it still didn't work.

We decided to overnight at the Isle of Capri Casino RV park in Vicksburg, MS. I won $10 off a slot machine and paid for my own dinner. Hopefully, the rest of the trip will be easier. The first full day of driving is behind us and we both feel pretty comfortable driving our vehicles. By the way, I-20 through Jackson, MS is not good. More than once, I felt the lap belt on the seat belt restrain me from lifting off my seat. I hate to see what the back of the moving truck looks like.

Movers arrive

Today is Monday. Last night we were up until 3am wrapping furniture and picking up the odds and ends. The night before we had to make a late night run to WalMart to pick up some plastic storage bins. The movers arrived at 9am and started hauling all the boxes and furniture down the hill to the moving truck. I went out to get some donuts and on the way back, they were moving the armoir (our heaviest item) down the hill. It was so nerve wracking! It seemed that any moment they would lose control and it would tumble down the hill, taking out the movers at the same time. Somehow we filled up a 26ft moving truck. This is troublesome because the climate controlled storage building we rented is 10 x 15ft. Everything went pretty well with the movers. Later we precleaned the house for the cleaning girl to do the final cleaning tomorrow morning. We're sleeping on the Aerobed tonight and hope to be on the road tomorrow by 8:30am.

Hectic

More packing. Each day, I think that we have made progress, but there just seems to be so much more to do. The next day is busier than the last. Good thing we got rid of so much stuff. We should have gotten rid of more! We picked up the moving truck today. A 26ft diesel Penske moving truck and I'm supposed to drive it. When I stand next to it, the top of the wheel is above my waist and I can't see in the door window. it should be interesting. I'm a little nervous but I still think it will be better than driving the RV with the jeep in tow.

As a going away gift, my department at the hospital gave me a gift certificate to a restaurant in town. We are going to use it tonight to have dinner with some friends. Mike thinks that we don't have time for it but it will be fun anyway.

Busy day

Pack, pack, pack! We went over to a friend's house for a barbeque this afternoon. We had a great time but couldn't stay too long. Too much to do. On the way home, it started raining pretty heavy. The vents and some windows on the RV were open so we made a mad dash home. We made it home before the rain got there and were able to close things up.

Let the stress begin

Today we started the big move. Up and down and up and down the drive way to load up the RV, which was parked in front of the house. We only had an extension cord run from the house so we had enough power for fans but not the A/C. It was tolerable so we didn't turn on the generator. It rained in the afternoon which gave us a little break from the driveway but not from packing the inside of the house. We ran errands and returned the cable/internet box. We met some friends from work at a local Mexican restaurant and had a really good time. It was a little harder to get motivated to pack after a couple of margaritas.

Sold!

Today was my last scheduled day of work. I'm excited but sad to leave my friends. Over the next few days, we have some dinners/parties set up to say our farewells. After work, Mike and I went to pick up the RV from the repair shop. Last time it was there, they took off the TruCenter steering and this time they replaced it with a stability steer or something like that. We filled gas again. Yikes! The gas pump would only let you fill up to $75 so we had to run our credit card about 3 times.

I found out today that the couple with the contract on our house sold theirs so that's exciting. Talk about a major weight lifted! Plus just yesterday, we signed up with a Realtor in our neighborhood to take over the sale of our house. We had to call her and tell her nevermind. Tomorrow starts the big job of moving into the RV and packing up the rest of the house. I'm not looking forward to it.

Time is getting short

Well, we got the RV back on Tuesday about an hour before the satellite guy came. It took a little while but we got the Direct TV working. The popping noise is still present. The dealer took the TruCenter steering off due to a manufacturer defect and so Wednesday it goes back into the shop to have a different steering stabilizer installed and to re-examine the pop. I'm ready to start moving in. 3 more days fulltime days at my job. The weather forecast for next weekend, when we'll be packing the MH is isolated thunderstorms. Let's cross our fingers for good weather.

Errands

Today was a day full of errands. Not many posts lately because I'm trying to work a little more and stock pile some money. Anyway, the day started at 7:15 when we picked up the RV and took it to the local dealer to have the King Dome satellite looked at. It wouldn't pick up the satellite when the Direct TV guy was here a few weeks ago. Also, there was a mysterious "pop" when we drove it. This being our first motorhome, we weren't sure if it was supposed to do that, so we had the dealer check it out. Then we ran some errands and checked on the health insurance coverage. Mike and I had a regular eye exam (mostly to take advantage of the insurance benefit before we lose it.) It was strange to walk around with dilated pupils. I have always had perfect vision and it was very different to not be able to read my cell phone or the menu at the restaurant. Good thing I always get the same thing. good ol' #5 plate. Yum. At the end of the day, we checked on the RV. Satellite is fixed and the RV is now at the Workhorse shop to check the chassis for the "pop". Right now, it is of unknown origin. Hopefully, they will have more information in the morning. Tomorrow the Direct TV guy comes back. Will we have a motorhome to install it in? Stay tuned.

By the way, the Satellite internet dish is now set up in the garage. Notice the photo of Mike putting it together. It looks odd to me. I hope it works as well as we hope. Two weeks from today we should be on the way.

House update: the other couple has decided against a bridge loan. That means they have three weeks to complete the sale or it's back on the open market. We will not be signing another contingent contract.

Gadgets

I'm loving my new GPS map software. I've planned out the route back to Texas and can't wait to try it out. We've got our movers and rental truck booked. Three more weeks until the big move.