Category Archives: Paul Goldberg Blog

On the Road, Paul Goldberg Blog

A Myriad of Small Repairs

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This will be mainly of interest to Rvers and others who follow my Perils of Paul series. With any property one is inclined to accumulate minor failures which are more aggravation than serious failures, what I call show stoppers. This will also function as a reminder to me of what has been done that I can take off my list.

We left Colton RV rather dissatisfied with the way work was not completed on a timely basis and some jobs were missed altogether. Given that and other needs we determined to spend some time in Red Bay AL where our motorhome was built. Not only is there a factory service center, but there are many vendors who have worked in the factory and have set up their own repair and modification shops in the area. The ecosystem for Tiffin built RVs is deep and strong.

We arrived on Tuesday before Thanksgiving and found the place almost deserted. Many people from the Northeast make a pilgrimage to Red Bay on their way to Florida. During the “migration” it is hard to get a place to stay and the wait for first-come-first served access to service can be weeks. Nobody, well very few people, wanted to spend four days in a campground with all the service facilities closed. We planned on that. The first surprise was on arrival on Tuesday I called Chris Berry, cabinet maker, to let him know we were in town and he showed up to get the work done within two hours. He got most of the work of replacing worn latches in what I thought was an unreachable space done in 30 minutes and carted off a drawer that needed resurrecting. When he returned with the drawer I mentioned that the design of the cabinet with the trash pail was a nuisance, first one had to open the door then reach in and pull out the slide holding the pail. Two actions where one should be sufficient. Within 15 minutes he had dismounted the door and mounted it to the front of the slideout with the pail. It is taking us some getting used to having it be so simple now.

Next up was the service bay, with no advance notice they called for us to get the coach into a service bay “now”. It was a scramble but we got there and the step cover switch was replaced and the paperwork for mechanical service was forwarded to a different bay for service on Monday. They start work at 7 AM so we were ready for the call when it came at 8. Oops and oops. They noted propane leaking from the regulator so I had to return to see them demonstrate the leak and authorize the replacement. Next the turn signal mechanism needed to be replaced but they didn’t have that specific part anyplace in Red Bay. I drove the coach back to the campsite with no turn signals. It is a small town and everyone knows where you are going anyhow. The defroster now also works.

But there is more! That night the temperature was headed into the low 20’s and we knew we would be dependent on the propane furnaces to keep us warm and the water system from freezing. It was working fine when we went to sleep. At 3 AM I noted it was getting cold. The furnace was running but blowing cold air. I turned on the gas range to see that there was propane flowing. . . there wasn’t. The tank gauge showed half a tank. We learned in the morning when we returned to the bay that the gauge was stuck. I should have noticed that it had not changed in a week, but we had not been using the furnaces. Anyhow I filled the tank and still could not get things to light. Back to the bay again. During his diagnosis Jesse had loosened a connection and had failed to tighten it. Now with heat and hot water we parked next to the bay to wait for the delivery of our turn signal mechanism which arrived as promised and works as promised and we happily headed back to Red Bay Acres to wait a day to have four new slide toppers installed. These awnings have been exposed to the elements for 8 years and were looking really shabby.

When we had a house we had similar failures, water heaters, furnaces, garage doors all failed, but no one took that amiss. When similar things happen to RVs some people think it is really terrible. Carol and I just think it is part of the lifestyle we love and enjoy. Even the failed furnaces resulted in comfy snuggling until it was time to crawl out of bed. We have learned to smile in acceptance and get on with our lives.

As I post this we have stopped for the night in Rocky Springs Campground on the Natchez Trace Parkway for the night and moved on to Abbeville LA and Betty’s RV Park Where we will be for 2 or 3 nights.

On the Road, Paul Goldberg Blog

The Plan So Far

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Our travels have been mostly uneventful. Our departure from Colton RV in North Tonawanda was delayed because they “forgot” to install the new leveling jack we had been waiting for. Then when they did install it they discovered they needed another part! It arrived the next day – our departure day – and Tiffin had shipped the wrong part (or Colton Parts ordered the wrong part).  We left, determined not to use the affected jack until we got to Red Bay. 

We had a delightful stay with Malena and Dan and dinner at Con Mole (outdoors) Saturday night. Unfortunately Dan could not be with us as he had mounted Tivoly bareback pretty much to everyone’s surprise, particularly Tivoly’s. Dan’s “dismount” left him flat on the ground in some pain. He spent the next 16 hours in ER where he was “imaged” to determine that there was no serious damage and sent home, arriving at 5 AM.  

We left on Monday as planned. Dan was stiff and sore but otherwise in good spirits. Our trip was mostly uneventful save one crazed FedEx driver who forced me onto the shoulder and the usual car drivers who are unable to see a motorhome in their path. We stopped at Racoon Valley RV park a SKP park near Knoxville TN before continuing on to Red Bay AL., known to Tiffin owners as “The Mother Ship”.  

It was Tuesday before Thanksgiving and the campgrounds were at less than 50% and so was the Service Center. The normal arrival ritual is a visit by Norris to determine what services are needed and to estimate how many weeks to expect to wait. We had contacted Chris Berry, an outside vendor, to repair a cabinet. We expected to see  him no earlier than Wednesday, more likely next week and were surprised when he called to let us know he was on the way. The main cabinet work was completed  within an hour and he took off with a drawer that needs to be rebuilt.

Wednesday we were awaiting a visit by Norris when the phone rang at about 1:30 with instructions to bring the coach over to Bay 10!!!! Since we had set up for the long weekend, we had to do a rush preparation for sudden departure. I think it took us 15 minutes to get underway. There was more than the usual rattling of pots and pans as we rolled down the road with Carol following in the Jeep.  (check Ann Carol’s FaceBook page for a picture of what we found on our return) The coach was in the service bay no more than 45 minutes when a call came to come and get it. One of four minor fixes had been completed and the rest needed a different service bay, besides it was 2:45, closing time. Now we wait for a call to go to a mechanical bay on Monday any time after 7 AM.  Guess we will get up early and prepare to move the coach early. I don’t expect the work to take more than a couple of hours so we will be back on the site to receive our drawer and a cleaning crew  who we have contacted to deep clean the interior.  I still need to consider what other work I may want done while we are here.

Not sure when I will post again. the plan from here at this moment is to drive the Natchez Trace Parkway again, one of our favorite roads.  For a story from 2003 about the Trace click on this link and scroll down https://goldberg-online.net/journals-blogs-whatever/cross-country-2003-xc2003/

In Rochester, Paul Goldberg Blog

Rolling Cross Country in a Time of Covid, Again

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We are doing it again, driving cross country to southern California, only we are 8 months into the pandemic and trying to get away from Rochester winter. In the past we said good by to friends and family, “we’ll see you next summer.” The big difference is we will see many of them as regularly as we have while in Rochester and on the same glassy screen as all our interactions have been. 

Over the years as we would arrive in a town we would call the people we knew there to say hi or plan  a get together. Somehow we seldom called from across the country if it wasn’t family or really close friends.  Today we are checking in with Rochester people even though we will be no further away even if 3,000 miles intervene.  Times are indeed strange, will we ever resume relaxed actual gatherings? Is the Escapee hug a thing of the past? Even family hugs are limited and based on sharing a bubble. I attended a funeral in NJ. Interesting, if not for the live feed I doubt we would have driven to NJ for the father of a friend. Our nephew, the rabbi, is doing funerals and Bar Mitzvahs on zoom and in small group and socially distanced events. Shiva is a zoom gathering and the Bar Mitzvah party is too. 

Our initial plan is to pick up the coach in Niagara Falls on Wednesday and return to Rochester where we will finish loading the food for departure on Thursday. The plan is to arrive in Charlottesville on Friday and depart on Monday for a two day drive to Red Bay Alabama. I hope to have some minor cabinetry work done and leave by Dec 1. That departure will be set by the availability of the woodworker. The work shouldn’t take more than an hour since he has the tools and worked on building these coaches.

This feels like planning a Jazz Fest evening of concerts. We have a plan and will be able to report on what actually takes place, after the fact. Last year our run down the Natchez Trace Parkway got short circuited by what turned out to be minor failure. This year we will try it again.

In Rochester, Paul Goldberg Blog

Wheels Must Roll

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We have been wandering around our apartment since October 8 with very little non virtual exposure to the outside world beyond trips to the grocery store, pharmacy and doctors. We had one great visit with grandson Josh and Rohma in Highland Park near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. It was 80 degrees and we had a picnic on the lawn.

After that it was back to routine until October 31 (yesterday). It was crisp and clear and there was still some color to be seen. We couldn’t make up our mind where to go but both of us wanted the wheels to roll even if it was only in the Jeep. As we left the parking lot I decided to go north. Eventually making our way to Lake Avenue (sorry for many of you the route description will be meaningless, use this map if you want to follow along). Eventually we saw a sign for Boxart Street which leads to the Genesee River at Turning Point Park. This is a bluff above a wide spot in the river where small southbound freighters, mostly carrying cement, must turn since the falls prevent further navigation. The parking lot was overflowing so we backed out and continued north on Lake Avenue until the lake got in our way. 

We pulled into the large Charlotte Beach parking lot and pulled up to the river’s edge and found easy parking. Although it was not quite 50 degrees and there was a breeze, we agreed we needed to walk out on the pier, a walk we have done throughout our lives.

This pier, west of the river, has been rebuilt so many times in our lives it is hard to remember, winter often wreaks havoc with ice and storms. There used to be a large lighthouse at the end, now there is an automated light. The east pier is being reconstructed this year.

Having reached the lake, west of the river, it seemed logical to continue west. First we drove Beach Avenue lined with lovely homes facing the lake well above the water. Eventually we found ourselves along Edgemere Drive lined with smaller homes that are threatened with high water every ten years or so. I won’t go into the battle between those homeowners and the international organization that monitors and controls lake levels. This road peters out and we joined the Lake Ontario State Parkway, thank you Robert Moses, still heading west. We stopped briefly at Braddock Bay Park where there is no action at the Hawk Counting Platform – wrong season – and the rest of the park was quite empty. We continued on to Hamlin Beach State Park, also pretty much closed although we were able to enter the park and drive around. The camping area is closed and gated so we couldn’t explore. 

We turned East now. retracing on the Parkway all the way to Lake Avenue where we continued East on to the Colonel Patrick O’Rouke Memorial Bridge over the river (he was a local hero at Little Round Top in Gettysburg also see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_O%27Rorke#Civil_War) this brought us into Durand Eastman Park still along the lake. It was time and we turned south on Sea Breese Parkway which feeds into 590 (not an Interstate here). A quick stop at Wegman’s for essentials – ice cream – and we headed home after a satisfying 2 1/2 drive. 

We were reminded how wonderful it is to wander with no destination and no timeframe. We look forward to getting back on the road in GeeWhiz sometime soon.

Paul Goldberg Blog, Update on Carol

A Birthday Post

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Carol is preparing dinner, I have had a busy day and I have completed another trip around the sun. At a guess that almost sums up the day, the 78th celebration of my grand tours around the sun. 

First: Carol is preparing dinner! 9 day ago we arrived in Rochester with Carol spending much of her time on the couch behind the driver. I was happily devoted to being her caregiver and helping her in and out of the brace and her clothes, and see that there was food for her to eat. Today the brace and the cervical collar are history. She is up and about most of the day taking time out to remember that she was flat on her back for almost 2 months and it will take time to regain her full spunk, which she will! Oh yes, the red is back in her hair

Second: today was Max’ bar Mitzvah. Since most of you haven’t a clue Max is my sister’s eldest grandson, ergo our grand nephew. We were supposed to be in Boston for this event. Obviously everyone had to resort to plan B or was that plan C. The event was held in a backyard in Cambridge and we joined the group attending on Zoom. My sister zoomed in by car and was present for the ceremony and then zoomed back to Vermont. Max was very poised and gave an interesting drosh (teaching) on the beginning of B’reshit and the impact of the virus on the world and his family.

Third: We started the day with Torah Study at Temple B’rith Kodesh, virtually, with Rabbi Barry H. Block, Author of the Mussar Torah Commentary  A Spiritual Path to Living a Meaningful and Ethical Life  It seems hard to believe but he offered a way of understanding the stories of Eve and of Cain and Able from a very different perspective. 

Dinner is now slow cooking as I write this. 

People do keep asking how long we will be in Rochester and when we will be back in Jojoba Hills SKP Resort. I have no good answer. I expect that by the time we leave Rochester we will know who will be president on January 20, 2021. I expect to take our time as we cross the country. I think we will be able to celebrate New Years in Jojoba Hills. We will leave when the coach is fully repaired and Carol feels able to take a shift at the wheel from time to time.

Oh yes, David Lovenheim and I spoke for my birthday which we have done for I cannot remember how many years. We also spoke on October 1, his birthday. It’s a thing 🙂

 

On the Road, Paul Goldberg Blog, Update on Carol

In Rochester

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The subject about sums it up. 

We had a long but uneventful drive from Cheval Noir Farm, the new home of Dan, Malena, Tivoly and Galopin, to Yogi at Shangri-la in Milton PA.  Everything worked out as planned and the site, number 117, was perfect. It is a nice long pull through with easy straight entry and nice and level. The exit is just as easy. Carol was tired from being in the coach moving for so long. 

This morning we took time to collect much of the food in the coach so we could leave it clean and have it available to use in the apartment. I had worried about the reserved space I had in storage since the reservation was made in June and I had not heard further from them. When I pulled up to the gate, the code I had been given months ago worked and there were excess spaces available. After transferring food, electronics and some other stuff we headed for the apartment. On the way I realized I had left the primary wifi source in the cabinet. When we arrived at the apartment I realized I had not left charging cables for all our gear. Back to the coach on Friday.

Carol was fine and sat up in her brace, most of the ride, only lying down with it off for the last 60 minutes as she prepared for the transfer and the ride in the Jeep. We are now happily ensconced in the apartment looking forward to 14 days of medical appointments and quarantine. Carol is dreaming of getting rid of the brace and cervical collar. To be frank so am I. 

The colors were magnificent and became more intense as we drove further north. No pictures as we were intent on completing the drive.

In Virginia, Paul Goldberg Blog, Update on Carol

Together

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On Friday, as planned I went to the rehab facility and worked with the therapists and nurses to get trained on what I need to do to help Carol continue to heal while we stay on the farm and then as we head for Rochester. 

I am no longer lonely, I am busy and I am loving it. My biggest job is helping her in and out of the “turtle shell” AKA Star Wars  Storm Trooper shell. AKA torture device designed to keep her back and neck rigidly aligned while they heal. I also am doing meal prep, she helps more and more each meal. We have been taking walks around the farm, further each outing.  Today she is complaining about being tired, we have taken several walks and she stood around watching while Dan and I spotted the hen house, she helped with meal prep too No wonder she is tired. 

Malena and Dan are super busy preparing to complete the move. The horses are in their new home and the chickens just arrived. There is enough in the house so they can eat and sleep, the rest will arrive as we make our planned departure on Wednesday. 

There are more pictures and a couple of video’s that I will make available when I am not falling asleep. This picture is looking North from the middle of one of the pastures. The motorhome can be seen just past the house.

 

In Virginia, Isolation, Paul Goldberg Blog, Update on Carol

Feeling or Events

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I’ll start with events. I drove the coach from Hungrytown Hollow Road to Simmons Gap Rd. An almost uneventful 40 miles until I cut the turn into the driveway short and dropped the right rear wheels into the ditch. The saving grace of it was a neighbor farmer who stopped by took a look and ran off to get blocks and such. An hour later we had lifted the wheels onto cinder blocks and I was able to drive the coach out of the ditch! I called the wrecker that charges $750/hour and suggested he head back home. A mighty thanks to Steve. It was beyond a random act of kindness and I have no idea how I will ever be able to pay it forward.

Carol is unhappy primarily because a woman who had been a sister to her before Alzheimer took her away, died. The loss is final. Also she learned today that she has to wear her turtle shell for two more weeks. I am still picking her up on Friday. I still plan to head to Rochester on the 7th. we will cope.

I have been feeling a bit lost these days. Although our sons have never let me feel alone, I miss having Carol by my side. I have so many online activities, from JCATs to our weekly zoom with classmates David and David and their spouses Toby and Terry. There is no way I should have time to feel lonely. TBK services for the holidays on YouTube were marvelous, but at the end of the services the screen went black. Where are all our friends we raised our families with sitting in the same seats year after year. Where is the opportunity to come down from the service with a bit of chit chat and catching up with people we haven’t seen in a year. During the service where was the rustle of pages and clothing and people sitting near me to remind me that I am not alone. Here I was actively davening (praying) standing alone in my motorhome or for one service with the delight of having my son Dan join me for the service, but IN MY MOTORHOME. I know all those attending experienced this in some way. It was far better than not attending, but for all the wonderful work the Rabbis and staff put into the preparation and delivery, and it was wonderful, it could not make up for the aloneness. 

Carol will be with me on Friday, with her brace, and we will neither of us be alone, or if we are it will be in the life we have chosen for ourselves together. A few days here in Virginia for Carol to get to see the new farm and then to the cozy comfort of our Rochester apartment for a while visiting at a distance with great friends and getting GeeWhiz restored to its roadworthy self. Then back across the country to our other community for the winter, and maybe a trip to Sicily, if such a thing can ever happen again.

In Virginia, Paul Goldberg Blog, Update on Carol

Progress Report 9 Very Brief

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Carol is in Rehab and the PT and OT are working her hard. She is happy with the work and seems to be enjoying the progress. That is all about Carol.

Malena and Dan closed on their new farm “CHEVAL NOIR Farm” (Malena corrected the spelling, I got it wrong). They own two black French Canadian horses. Now they are in the throws of packing and discarding and I am mostly staying out of the way. Moving day is sometime next week. 

More when there is more and pictures to follow, when I take them.

In Virginia, Paul Goldberg Blog, Update on Carol

Progress Report 8 – Waiting

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Since the last post not much has  happened other than healing, which is good. We have been told within the past hour that Carol will be moving to Rehab tomorrow, Thursday 24 September. 

Carol has been walking up and down the corridor several times a day with aids escorting her and sitting up for meals and to converse. The cervical collar and the brace continue to be uncomfortable , necessary annoyances. Some day . . . darn I had a wonderful cliche in mind, but I’ve lost it. 

In the midst of this, Malena and Dan are preparing to close on their new farm and to move in just after Yom Kippur. At some point I will be moving the coach to the new place in Dyke Virginia, about as far north of Charlottesville as Covesville is South. We scoped out the utilities and it should be easy to get set up, Dan is arranging for an electrician to install a 50 amp outlet near the coach. 

More when I have more to report.