Harvest Time

An Illinois cornfield just after the harvest.

Camping at Sullivan Marina and Campground

Our little home away from home, parked on site A22 for the weekend.

Terri and I spent a gorgeous weekend at a campground on Lake Shelbyville in central Illinois. Kayleigh's (Jake's girlfriend) family has an amazing camper parked there full time and hosted us for the weekend. Our campsite was quiet and roomy. Backing in our little trailer and setting up camp went very smoothly. The campground is on a bluff overlooking Lake Shelbyville and we could see it just through the trees behind the camper.

The weather was clear all weekend with only a crescent moon so we were able to see plenty of stars both nights.

Mom, son, and one of the dogs enjoying the day from the back of the boat.

On Saturday, we were treated to a day on the lake. The sky was blue and the water was refreshing.

We tied off with another boat in the Findlay Marina cove. It was peaceful and we even saw a bald eagle soaring above us.

Mostly we just floated on our pool noodles and talked about everything and nothing.

A suprise visit from an Apache helicopter as we were heading home.

As we were heading back to the dock after a full afternoon with new friends, we were buzzed by an Apache helicopter. The pilot got close enough that we could see him! Then he crossed in front of us and took off. It was quite an exciting end to our day on the water.

Once back on land, our host and boat captain, Jim, made a delicious shrimp and pasta dinner on his new Blackstone griddle.

After all that sun and a great meal I could barely keep my eyes open. I set a goal to stay awake until eight. I made it-- even got a second wind back at the camper and played a game of backgammon before heading off to dreamland around ten.

All in all, a great weekend.

Just like the brochures

Have you noticed that ads for RVs all show a solitary trailer on the edge of a lake with majestic mountains in the background? The reality in most campgrounds is a very different scene. In fact, many are so crowded that they look more like parking lots than campsites.

Well, we were lucky to find this campground. Though it looks like we are boondocking, we are actually connected to 30 amp electrical service and water! It was a relaxing and quiet weekend just sitting back and watching the redheaded woodpeckers zip around.

Yes, we will go there again.

RV-ing

And so we have entered the world of “RV-ing.” 

New truck, new (used) trailer. Having never towed before I was a little nervous. Terri was even more nervous than I was. I told her the only thing I was nervous about was that I wasn’t really that nervous. Everyone had told me that with the truck we had and the anti-sway bars, we wouldn’t even know the trailer was behind us. That helped a lot.

We made it out of the parking lot and onto the interstate just fine. But I WAS noticing the trailer behind us. It was not the perfectly smooth ride I was expecting. There was a weird hesitation every so often. We couldn’t tell what it was from; Terri thought it was just us feeling the trailer go over bumps after we had felt it in the truck. I thought it was a more pronounced feeling of the slight “herky-jerkiness” I felt driving the truck to work when it was cold. Then it happened.

BAM! It felt and sounded like we hit a deep pothole as we were cruising along at 65 MPH. But there was no pothole. And then I noticed the little orange wrench light on my dash that had the message “See service manual.” So Terri grabbed the owner’s manual from the glove box and began looking for the service manual section or any explanation of the orange wrench. Nothing. 

Next she grabbed the iPad and started searching for info. Again, nothing. She found a forum and read of some other similar experiences. Then the truck started losing speed. I thought maybe the cruise control went out, so I pushed on the accelerator and the RPMs went up, but no increase in speed. It was as if we were in neutral.

I signaled and pulled onto the shoulder. Terri had read that someone suggested turning off the truck and restarting it. We did and we were able to drive again. Whew! I did not want to be stuck on the side of the interstate with our trailer. We had a long way to go to get to our destination and were only 50 miles in. We wondered if we should keep going. We decided we would continue and see what happens. About 30 miles later it happened again. I asked her to find the nearest Ford dealership. She did and we got off at the next exit and drove about 20 miles to get there only to find out that the service department had gone home for the day..

The way I plopped in the chair across from her, I think, conveyed my frustration or disappointment or exhaustion or despair or all of the above to the very kind sales lady. We scheduled a Monday morning service appointment and she told us about a state park not far away where we could camp. And she gave us her cell number and told us to call if we got stuck and she would come get us. Wow! If you need a car and live anywhere near Glasgow, Kentucky, go see April Ponder at Gillie Hyde Auto Group!

So we called ahead to to the park and were told there were plenty of sites available. We entered the park and somehow drove right past the big brown sign with big yellow letters that said CAMPING AREA  and ended up at the marina. I could not enter through the entrance because a semi had it blocked. So I went in the next opening and drove to see if I could find a spot where I could turn around and exit. I was able to maneuver between two trucks with empty boat trailers and got out of the parking lot. 

We found the campground and talked to two very nice ladies, Ginny and Kathy. We explained what we had been through and they gave us a map showing the site layout and were even kind enough to x-out those that were taken. They said to go ahead and find one we liked and come back and pay later. Or pay tomorrow. We saw many available sites, and settled on the one we liked best. It only took between two and seven tries, but I got the trailer situated where we (Terri) wanted it. Then we realized our water hose would not reach to the water supply. Abort. We did not know exactly what we were going to do but we knew we needed firewood and the office was about to close. 

We drove back to the camp office to get firewood and Terri described our water supply predicament to Ginny who eagerly offered us a site in the overflow area. She took Terri for a ride in the golf cart to be sure it was something we would like. It was amazing! There was a huge open field and two sites with water and electric boxes. We drove out there, unhitched, leveled the camper, and went to hook up the power and— not a 30 amp connection, only 110 volt household receptacles. Oh, no! is kind of what I said.

Before moving to the other site, I walked over and checked the box. Yes, there was a 30 amp connection. So, after somewhere between two and 11 attempts, I got the trailer back on the hitch and moved it to the other site. We got leveled, unpacked, set up our new summer home, and started a nice fire.

As we did on our maiden tent voyage, we enjoyed the simplest of camper meals: hot dogs and baked beans. Though I must confess, we cooked the beans in the microwave this time!

Ah, the RV lifestyle. 

By the way, the truck repair was done in a day. It turns out a transmission wiring harness was not clipped into the frame properly at the factory and was resting on the exhaust system. When it got hot, it melted the insulation around 19 wires. Gillie Hyde Ford took good care of us that day!

Camping

Terri and I have been tent campers for a few years now. Our love for the outdoors, exploring new places, and the sitting by the campfire lifestyle have been a source of mental refreshment. The unpredictable weather has really dampened our enjoyment though. (Yes, that pun was intended.)

Last year Terri started just looking at used travel trailer campers online. It escalated and became her sport. Then she found THE ONE. It was loaded with features and one of the popular new “vintage” models. The eating area in this one looked like a 50’s diner. It was offered for sale by a private seller about 700 miles away from us. But first we had to get a vehicle that could tow it. We were moving ahead.

She was so excited and we started to look at tow vehicles. We found a used Jeep Grand Cherokee that we believed would work and asked the used car superstore to have it shipped to the location near us. A friend who has had a few trailers over the years told me I should be careful and look for soft spots from water damage around the slide out area. Hmmm. I joined a Facebook page for owners of this type of trailer and read several complaints from owners. Then I watched a couple maintenance and repair videos. This was starting to look VERY complicated. Then, when I asked the Facebook group about towing, it nearly started a war. Some people told me the Jeep would be fine but one guy strongly cautioned against trying to tow anything with that car. And then they started debating each other. It was all I needed to get scared because I had no idea what I was about to do.

Abort! I said to Terri. I have no idea how to tow. We don’t have a car to pull the trailer. And we don’t even know where we’re going to park it! So we called off the car transfer and shelved the idea of buying a camper for the time being.

For weeks Terri would keep going back to that ad for THE ONE and then show it to me. I liked it too and went to the site looking for the ad and stumbled upon a listing for a smaller trailer that had all we needed and no slide out. It was at a good price point and had a lot of nice touches added by the original owners. I showed her that ad and she fell in love with it. But we still needed that tow vehicle.

We contacted the travel trailer seller and agreed to buy it. We sent a deposit and made plans to drive the 500 miles to pick it up. We even made reservations to camp at a state park halfway between there and home. We made all the arrangements by texting with him while he was on an oil tanker in the Gulf of Mexico! 

If there was one thing I learned about getting the tow vehicle it was to be sure to get the tow package, not just a towing hitch receiver. The package has increased transmission cooling and other features designed to keep towing from doing serious damage to the vehicle. I looked for used vehicles with the tow package and could not find any. Then I considered a truck. I’d never owned a truck, but thought this would give us the towing capacity for this trailer and the larger one that we will probably want in the future. (That is how this process goes, right?)

I spent about a week researching and doing my pre-shopping and found two vehicles that had the necessary towing capacity. Both dealerships were nearby. We spent a full day Saturday between those two and drove home that night with a 2018 Ford F-150 that would not fit in our garage. (The garage has some shelves that will have to be modified or removed and it will fit.)

This was getting very exciting. I was getting used to driving a full-size pick up truck and Terri was taking full advantage of her Amazon Prime membership getting the things we would “need” for the new experience. (You know, throw pillows and just the right comforter and pillow shams too because they come with the comforter.)

At last the big day arrived! We would pick it up on Saturday at 10 AM. We left after work on Friday to drive as far as we could and got within an hour of the destination. It had been a long day and sleep came easily enough.

We checked out of the hotel and picked up some groceries for our maiden voyage. The seller showed us the various features and he and his wife led us to a shopping center parking lot where he took the trailer off of his truck and I put it onto mine. He had included anti-sway bars and helped me install them. They took off, Terri and I had lunch, and then we hit the road. We were driving down the interstate pulling a trailer. We had entered a new world!

Honesty tested

Remember when you were young and your parents taught you that taking something that doesn’t belong to you is stealing? As you grew up, you also learned that if you got too much change at the store you should give it back. Or if you ordered just a hamburger and were given fries too, you let them know. That message was hammered home as we were repeatedly told, “It’s called being honest.”

Well, Terri and I were tested this week. We ordered one of those bed in a box memory foam mattresses online. Almost a week after ordering we still had not received it, so I called the company. The rep agreed that we should have received it by then and told me she would get things moving. She gave a new tracking number and the mattress arrived two days later.

This company gives a 100 night risk-free trial but we didn't need that much time. After sleeping on it for three nights, we agreed it was too firm for us. We discovered they have a store about 35 miles away, so we went there and ended up liking one of the other models they sell. We told the salesperson that we wanted to exchange the one we just bought. He explained that it would be better if we called the company, request a pick-up of the original, and place a new order for the one we wanted. We were able to take care of all of this on the drive home.

Two days later I got a delivery confirmation text from UPS. When I pulled into the driveway and saw TWO boxes on the porch I had to laugh because, when I got the new tracking number for the original order, I said to Terri, "Watch, we're going to get two mattresses." And here we were with three-- two of the original model, and one of the second choice!

Now this was a pretty valuable piece of merchandise that was left at our house for which we were not billed. There were probably several ways we could have profited, or we could be honest and let them know about the mistake. In a well-timed coincidence, someone we know had posted on Facebook the previous day how Amazon double-shipped her order and she was going to keep it. Terri and I talked about how that is not how we were raised and it really isn't the right thing to do.

I’m proud to say that we never considered keeping that mattress. I called the company, explained what happened, and the rep initiated a UPS pick-up for the next day. To our parents: You did well, we passed the test!

Tightly cropped pickles (and doorknob)