After returning Alex to his parents and spending another week at Dan and Malena’s it was time to move on if we were going to keep up the rest of our schedule. Besides Saturday, Dec 3 had been exhausting. We started with Cory at a soccer game followed by a team lunch at a pizza place. We wandered the Charlottesville Main Street Mall and shopped at Alacazam for Chanukah presents. Finally we met Alex at his choral concert at 3. Following that we went back to the soccer pitch to pick up Cory and take both boys home so to the parents could meet cousin Steven Berbeco who was driving in rather unexpectedly to spend the night. We had a great time with the boys and around 10 or so Malena, Dan and Steven appeared. This was not the time to go to sleep, yet, as we needed to catch up. In the morning we had a round of goodbyes and followed Steven down out of the Hollow headed n similar directions.

We went on to Baltimore to see our friends Alan and Bunny Bernstein who had moved into Alan’s late mother’s house four years ago. We had seen them only sporadically in Rochester since their departure. It was great fun to see them on their home turf and to enjoy their guided tour of Jewish Baltimore. We certainly will need to give Baltimore more attention in the future. During the second night there it started to rain and I woke up with nightmares of mud because we were parked on the lawn at their direction. Having slogged through more mud than I care to think about at conventions and on the roads in Alaska, the sound of rain on the roof while parked on lawn was alarming. After a wonderful breakfast and a warm send off, I started the coach and started to back it down to the driveway. As the rear wheels reached pavement I turned the front wheel slightly and applied the brakes gently resulting in a slide sideways of about a foot. No damage to any trees or shrubs nor to the coach, but the lawn will require some attention to repair the ruts.

As we rolled out we knew we had three and a half days to cover 1,000 miles or so. As I write we are 800 miles along after two days, in Brunswick Georgia. We have not decided where we will pause tomorrow night, but we should have made the decision before we start the engine in the morning.

We have added some complications to our travels. We are looking to make a stop in Alabama where cousins Ellie and Eddie Holtzman will be visiting their daughter Joy and family. Eddie is not well and we don’t want to pass up the opportunity to see him. We will then have to make serious tracks across the south to get to LA by 1/10/2012. Still not sure where we will spend New years Eve. Liberty TX is not out of the question (see last years post if you don;t know why that would be fun).

For whatever reason I cannot seem to edit the Williamsburg post and the video of Alex was not working so here is the video:

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

The trip from Rochester to Covesvilles was not quite as planned.  Dan got sick and could not fly in to drive the Prius.  We decided to go back to Plan A which was to take turns driving the coach and the car with Josh riding  along and maybe driving the Prius with me as copilot.  We made a remarkably on time departure and got to Main Tire Exchange in Dansville, NY early only to find that the only tech capable of doing an alignment had been sent out on an emergency road service call.  While we waited another tech pulled the coach into the service bay and determined we had a loose bearing on the wheel that had had the worse tire wear..  Apparently that was the source of the wear.  By the time he had that tightened and put back together the alignment guy had returned.  He set up the equipment and determined within minutes that nothing had changed since the last time he had seen the coach and we were on the road again by noon.

We continued on to the Yogi Bear Shangri-la on the Creek in Milton PA with me driving the coach and Carol pushing the Prius.  We are not partial to this type of campground, but with three on board we needed to be able to pull out the slides for comfort and having hookups really made sense.  In the morning we rolled out in the same configuration.  After stopping for propane at the Carlyle Flying J we had an “incident.”  Neither Carol nor I are quite sure what happened, but the driver’s side mirror was removed from its rightful place and left dangling from it’s electrical connections.  Carol saw me swerve away from the passing truck and we conjecture he must have drifted into my lane.  My first indication of the contact was the sound of the mirror breaking away.   A brief stop on the shoulder allowed me to tape the mirror to the side of the coach so I wouldn’t lose it.  Then came the fun of driving with no mirror.  Fortunately we had radios with us and when I wanted to move left I could ask Carol to block for me and let me know when it was safe.  Fifty miles of that was enough and we pulled into the first available rest area so I could make further repairs.  By a miracle the glass had survived the impact and the primary damage was to the head of the mirror.  I was able to remount the mirror arm and with a liberal use of grey tape I was able to secure the mirror in a usable position and we continued on to Covesville with no further incidents.

Unfortunately Carol did not want to drive the coach with the taped up mirror and she was not comfortable with Josh practicing his driving under the conditions so he didn’t get the on road experience we had hoped to give him. Upon arrival I went online and found that the manufacturer of the mirror was still making the exact model and had them in stock.  I ordered one for second day delivery and planned to install it myself.  After crawling under the dash I determined that the entire installation amounted to driving four screws to mount the mirror and two plugs under the dash to power the adjusters, heaters and turn indicator.  This seemed to be quite an easy task.  Yesterday, Wednesday, when the mirror was due I crawled back under the dash to actually prepare by unplugging the two plugs, a seemingly trivial task albeit performed while lying on the floor contorted around the driver’s seat reaching over my head.

I tried three different tools to cut the one tie wrap used to secure the harness.  This was made difficult because I could not get leverage to slice it with a knife nor could I get the scissors under the wrap because of the angle.  I finally got it loose only to discover I had dislodged two other cables from places I had not noted.  One came from the control switch for the leveling system and after two tries and several uncomfortable minutes I was able to reset it on the circuit board so the levels worked as always.  The other was a red wire with a half circle on the end.  I traced that to the controller for the supplemental brakes in the car.  Since the black wire from the controller went to a screw on the frame it seemed clear that the red wire needed to be connected to a power supply and there was an open slot on a fuse block just in reach of the wire.  I will know tomorrow when I connect the car to take Alexander with us to Williamsburg whether I made that connection right.  If not it will be a simple matter to stick it in the other side of the slot.

I need to wrap this up and go help prepare for Thanksgiving Dinner.  A highlight will be a Skype video call with Malena’s sister Tafiline in South Africa.  Also her father, David, will be with us.  He was supposed to be going to Iran this week, but the security situation and visa problems are keeping him safely state side.  I look forward to the chance to spend some time with him face to face as we have have had many interesting conversations via email over the past year.

Carol has been working on her images and has them posted at imagekind.com.  Here is a message she sent to her blog list:
Hello all;

[This post was written in early August and I just found it in my draft bucket and realized it never got posted – it is out of sequence here and chronologically it fits before “Rolling East” and after “Our Exit from Alaska]

A fair amount of time and miles have passed since I last sat down to write.  We are sitting just outside Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park still in Canada by about 30 miles.   We are preparing to drive over the border to stay near an entrance to Glacier NP for a couple of days.  Have to see those glaciers before they disappear altogether, which is predicted for 2022.

Backing up to Jasper redux.  As I noted when we came through Jasper in May we had not been able to go to Edith Cavell Mountain on our first trip because our rental RV was too long, at 28 feet, to make the climb.  In may we could not make the trip because the road was closed waiting for the snow to melt.  This time, as soon as we got the coach setup on site we disconnected the car and drove up Edith Cavell Road to the viewing area and trail heads.  We did not have time for nor were we prepared for a major hike, it was already 4:30 PM.  We did take a shorter circuit which took us to the edge of the Edith Cavell Glacier Lake and a great view of Angel Glacier up in the bowl above us.

The very next morning we hooked up and pulled out of Whistlers headed south on the ice Field Highway with Okotoks set into the GPS.  We were returning to visit the Hoggs and get the hitch looked at since there would be plenty of service shops in the Calgary area.  Tony of RVMD who is a friend of the Hoggs, met us at the campsite as we were setting up and took one look at the drop hitch and receiver and started wondering how we had made it that far.  He found broken welds and  other signs that the hitch was already in failure mode.  He made arrangements for us to go to The Welding Shop in Calgary the next morning (at 8 AM a 45 minute drive away).  The welder who looked at the hitch could not believe that we had done such damage to the drop hitch without ripping the receiver off the coach.  I explained that we needed a drop hitch or some other way to lower the towbar’s connection to the coach so everything would be level when hooked up.  He proposed lowering the receiver itself by the requisite amount.  First he put in a new crossbar as low as he could then he had the receiver welded to the bottom of the crossbar instead of directly into it as we were used to seeing.  It took half a day and it is beautiful and the tow bar is level when attached to it. 

During our visit we also treated the Hoggs to dinner at a wonderful French Bistro they love in nearby Okotoks, we also had a happy hour the lead into dinner on the second night.  Then we rolled on south.

Although out intended first stop was Parks Canada Waterton, we saw signs and Milepost said we were passing “Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump”.  Had to stop there as we had read about it for so many years.  It is part of a ridge line where bison grazed and for over 5,700 years the natives had herded the buffalo into gathering areas above the ridge and after separating out the number they could handle they would slowly herd that group towards the jump, in only the last quarter mile or so would they stampede them so they would rush over the cliff to their deaths.  The name is derived from a story that a young man in the tribe waited under the brim of the jump to see the bison fall.  When the bodies were cleared in the food processing they found that the bison had fallen back into the declivity he was in and smashed his head.  We were assured by a docent from the local Blackfeet tribe that this story was apocryphal, made up when the park was being created in the late ‘70s or early ‘80s to make the place more fascinating.

We crammed that in before lunch and then headed to Waterton/Townsite where we found all the Parks Canada campgrounds were full.  We drove a couple miles back up the road to Waterton Springs Campground.  Here we experienced a new combination of available services.  We have electric and sewer but the water is not useable as there is a boil water notice in the office window.  Fortunately we came in with a full freshwater tank.  Shortly we will move and I hope to able to post this by tonight or tomorrow.

The rest of the drive to Rochester from Cleveland was uneventful and even anticlimactic.  The thumping from the out of round front tires became annoying and both us kept both hands on the wheel while under way.  The audio book we were listening to took over from the route and the scenery.  We agreed that this last stretch felt like 250 miles too much.  We rolled along US 20 through Ohio to the Pennsylvania border where we picked up I 90 to avoid Erie.  As we approached NY we got back onto US 20 and managed to stay with it, detours and all to I 390.  By this point the GPS was off and we were driving from memory.

We decided not to stop at Graycliff which we will leave for another trip, it is a Frank Lloyd Wright compound on Lake Erie.  It was plain that we would not arrive in time for the extended tour and abbreviated tour did not seem to warrant the deviation from US 20.  Not to mention the idea that I could not get in touch with anyone to be sure they even had room for us.  That will have to be a car trip from Rochester.  Anyone for a day trip?

Home in the stick house.  It feels strange to have so much indoor space.  It seems strange to have unlimited water and no worry about sewage.  It is strange not to face the limits of 30 amps of electricity.  We miss those limits.  When we stand in our enormous five headed shower for two we feel sinful in the waste of water, but we love it.

It is good to see friends we haven’t seen in either 9 or 4 months.  We miss our road friends.  We miss the road, already.  We will be back on it in November.

Some statistics for those who are interested.  we drove 16,695 miles in the coach since last November 18.  We burned 2,504.547 gallons of gasoline which makes the average miles per gallon 6.666.  We spent just under $5,000 for campsites in 267 days on the road (I took out the 20 days we spent in Rochester in May) or an average of $18.49 per night.  60 of those nights were free.  From Okotoks AB to Okotoks AB was 6,186 miles.  Okotok is about 3,000 miles from Rochester on the route we took.

Other thoughts a week after settling in to 1482 East Ave for a while.  We entertained 46 friends at our 3rd Annual Labor Day “Picnic”.  Not sure we could pull that off in a campground.  We became far more aware of waste of resources having lived with the limits I cited above for nine months.  Is it really necessary to let the sink run when there is no immediate need for water?  Not only does it waste fresh water, it taxes the sewage system as well.  Try living with 100 gallons of fresh water and gray water capacity of 60 gallons for a week.  We do when we are in the desert.  Try limiting your use of electricity to what can be contained in 2 deep cycle 6 volt batteries plus whatever the sun chooses to give you through photovoltaic cells on the roof.  Or watch the volt meter drop if you try to run the microwave and any heater when you are limited to 30 amp service, in case you don’t know your house has at least 200 amp service.  Oh and consider that to run the gasoline generator to make up for excess need costs at least half a gallon of gasoline per hour, just a couple of bucks an hour!

These are not complaints, we never felt that we wanted or needed more.  We learned to live within the limits and be grateful when we could hook up in a full service campground and take advantage of full flowing water.  We choose to limit ourselves for the pleasure of being away from everyday services, we do not consider it a hardship.  If we, did we would drive down the road to a place that offered all the amenities.

I am blathering.  I am not ready to close this piece because it will signify the end of a glorious nine month adventure that is really just a small piece of the glorious 47 years of our marriage.  We look forward to resuming the road in November.  Who knows where it will take us?

We made it through Chicago or rather around Chicago.  We were of faint heart and elected not to try to trace US 20 through the surface streets of Chicago and environs.  We came through Rockford and continued south to I 80 and, despite dire warnings from a trucker we bypassed the big city at around noon with no effort and nary a stop.  Easing on to the Indiana Toll Road (I90/I80) we continued on to Elkhart arriving just after Duncan RV Repairs closing time of 5 PM.  We were delayed 12 minutes at the toll booth when a trucker got stuck in the Zoom Lane without a valid pass and no one could get the gate to open.  We backed the coach and car, with me holding the steering wheel of the car, about 20 feet to clear the barrier and use the other lane.

We parked in our assigned slot #6 and rapidly realized that there was a major rail yard across the street and next to the repair facility is a scrap metal recycling yard that was on 24 hour schedule.  It was noisy although free.  We seem to have joined a long term club “Waiting for parts at Duncan RV”  One couple who work part time for Fantasy RV arrived a week before us and parts for their refrigerator arrive a day late and then fail immediately so new ones must be ordered.  Almost everyone needs glass repair, Duncan’s specialty.  We didn’t on arrival, but after our first day in the shop where they only did an oil change and lube, we too need a new driver side windshield, a stone chip turned into a crack before our eyes. . .

Days pass, it is now Friday, we arrived on Monday afternoon.  We have camped at Elks and Walmart, only staying over in Duncan’s lot Wednesday night in hopes of getting some work done first thing in the morning.  The new windshield is fine, but the tape needs to be removed and everything cleaned up.  Oy, the gasket is not right, “its OK we have it in stock and there will be no cost.”  Finally at 11:30 we leave the grounds for the last time, we hope. We have a new driver windshield and new topper awnings on our slides with new hardware to keep them from rubbing as well as fresh oil in the engine.

Next stop Sam’s Tire on the road to Cleveland.  We arrive at 11:50.  The Michelin truck has come and gone and they have forgotten our XZE 245/70R 19.5 LRG tires!  I express myself in words best not repeated and we set out down the roads on tires I have not trusted for the past 500 miles.  Only 800 miles to Rochester.  Here’s hoping they hold together for the trip.  So far they are showing no signs of overheating so I guess we are OK.

We resume our travels on US 20 with the GPS complaining bitterly “take the next right – recalculating” trying to get us into the OH Turnpike.  Finally, as we tangle with Toldeo, OH traffic and complexity we succumb to the siren song and get onto the Interstate.  Can’t wait to see the toll bill.  Having decided that Google knows best, we follow blindly into a back entrance into Punderson State Park that is marked “Authorized Vehicles Only”  Oops!  A groundkeeper greets us and explains that the road does indeed go through although it is a bit narrow and has some low hanging wires.  Oh and he acknowledges that many vehicles including semis have made this same wrong turn thanks to GPS.  We loop around out onto the main road and following his directions find our way to the main entrance.  When we called earlier we were told that all the full hookup sites were taken but there would be no problem getting a 20 amp electric site.  A review of the campground map shows there are 5 fhu sites (fhu = full hook ups) and 195 sites that mostly have 20 amp.  There are plenty of open sites so we settle down in this surprisingly beautiful state park just east of Cleveland.  We will stay at least two nights while we visit the Slepians and catch up on some sleep.

We may make one more stop before Rochester although we are only about 5 hours out. 

From the excitement of discovery along 20 in Nebraska to a long drag across Iowa where we only stopped for two nights, one in Sac City.  It surprised us how the nature of the route changed at the state line.  Our first disappointment was right at the line, South Sioux City in Nebraska meets Sioux city IA.   We followed signs and GPS to a water front campground in South Sioux City only to be met at the entrance by clear evidence that the camping area was still underwater from the flooding in June!  There was no room to turn the entire rig around without some backing and filling which meant disconnecting the car, maneuvering and then reconnecting.  We are getting good at this, second time in two days. 

We decided to cross the Missouri into Sioux City, IA  and visit the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Site on the eastern bank.  It is right next to a casino which was fortunate as the Interpretive site is currently underwater.  In neither case was there any signage to tell the unwary stranger about the flooding, sure we knew the area had flooded, but that was two months ago and we would have no idea that these specific sites were involved.

As we tried to figure out how to continue east we learned that I 29 was closed due to flooding to the south, someplace, the information was not particularly useful to us and we struggled with 2 GPS and maps to return to US 20 in a very industrial part of Sioux City.  We located a public campground outside Sac City, Hagge Park, which was almost full, but had one clear site for us.  It is a beautiful, quiet place and we were sad to move out in the morning, but move we did.    We stopped at Walmart in Cedar Falls, IA for the night. The only truly memorable stop in Iowa was Fort Dodge at the recreation of the original fort, well of a fort that might have been but never really was.  The recreation has stockade walls that never existed.  Given our experience with the Missouri in Sioux City we were concerned about trying to find anything in Dubuque above the Mississippi, but found that the area was in much better shape, flood wise in any event.  We decided to press on to Grant River Park, a Corp of Engineers park on the river above Dubuque in Wisconsin.  By now we had contacted cousin Mimi in Madison and decided to venture off 20 for a family visit.  Grant Park is lovely, right on the river with extensive area to explore.  It is, however, bordered by a busy freight line with a grade level crossing at the entrance to the park.  Having crossing bells, and whistles within 100 feet of your window may be fun for serious train buffs, but it does make for disturbed sleep and conversations broken while waiting for a 100 car coal train to clear the area.  We moved on again in the morning. 

Our first extended stop in eight days is Mendota Park in Middleton, WI just outside Madison.  We have been here twice before to visit Cousin Mimi.  We have enjoyed Shabbat together at the home of a member of their congregation who welcomes guests four times a year for Shabbat dinner and experience.  We enjoyed the Shabbat immensely and on Saturday we went to Madison’s wonderful farm market and after a kayak on Lake Mendota we enjoyed the bounty of the farm market.  Great corn and other vegetables as well as fresh rainbow trout for Mimi and me.  Sunday, as I write has been quiet.  Weather permitting we will attend an outdoor showing of the 1920’s silent “The Golem” with live music performed by Yid Vicious.  I may report on that in a later post.

Tomorrow’s plan is to move on to Elkhart IN, assuming we can get through Chicago, where we plan to stop for some routine maintenance and six new tires for the coach.