Missing Our Motorhome(s) and Introducing . . .

 

Our First Motorhome, 40' American Eagle

It has been 3 full months (and a few days) since we have been "Motorhomeless".  Oh, the pain we feel...  WHY does it hurt is something I explore today...not listed in any order...

Second Home 

All of our motorhomes (3 of them) have been a second home to us.  It is nice to be on the road and yet feel like you are still at home.  The hardest part is when it breaks and you find yourself in a "Motel" for a few nights.  One thing that is very nice about a motorhome is...if you don't like your neighbors, move on...which we have done a few times.

Our Second Motorhome, 32' Jayco Melbourne

Safety Valve to escape Hurricanes

When you live in Hurricane Country, you like having an escape.  "IF" a hurricane comes to close to where you live, but does not wipe out your home, you could be faced with living with no electricity for a prolong period of time.  Frequently after a Hurricane passes, the temps climb back up into the 90's with Humidity also in the 90's which equals HELL!  Having a motorhome means you can leave before it hits, come back when it is all safe again, and all the while, living in the comfort of your second home.

Visiting Friends and Family

When we travel, we frequently are visiting friends and family.  Not only has it allowed us to spend countless months in Sacramento lending a helping hand with mom and when he was alive, dad...but visiting children, brothers, sisters, cousins, and long-time friends.  We will be always grateful for the ability to help with mom and dad, to be there when dad passed from this life to the next, but Marcia was able to visit her hometown area and see cousins and other relatives and a friend or two throughout the country also.  

Visiting Interesting Places

When we got married back in 2011, Marcia would have never imagined that she would visit places like Alaska, National Parks and National Monuments too numerous to name.  Yet some of our special memories also lay in areas around Truckee, Quincy, Gold Beach, Lake Pleasant and many others where it was just peaceful and kicked back areas.  One of the last library conferences I attended was out west, and Marcia and I drove, by car, there and back.  On the way back, on the spur of the moment, we drove over to Moab and drove through Arches National Park for a quick 90 minute visit.  As we left she had me call mom and the excitement in her voice as she told hereeverything we saw.  She had NO IDEA what laid in store for her over the next 13 years!

Our Third Motorhome, 28' Dynamax Isata

Interesting People

There have been so many interesting people we have met along this path.  Fellow bloggers, some of whom we 'wish' we knew they were in the same area, sometimes the same parking lot, as us and we did not connect.  If I start naming names, I would leave someone out...so I will leave it at that.  There were also some interesting people that we never knew until either we pulled up next to them, or they to us.  Here are just a few special ones.

Maxine from Ontario:  Maxine is/was this lady in her late 80's.  She pulled a small trailer with her little Toyota SUV or Wagon.  She drives up, pulling that trailer, from Ontario each year to Seward, where she parks in the large boondocking campground there.  She was such a wonderful neighbor.  This is where Skruffy got real sick, and we had to cut out and get to Soldotna where my next 'special person' saved Skruffy's life.

Veterinarian, Dr. Marie “Meezie” Hermansen:  One of the most important people we met because it was HER that saved Skruffy's life...her and prayers.  I wrote a blog post about her which I will refer you too...it says it all.  Skruffy’s Doctor -- Born to Fish, Vet by Choice, and a Storyteller

Unnamed Traveler:  This lady I met walking the dogs at a KOA doggie park.  I never did catch her name, but she was a talker and had stories to tell.  Her husband was a Captain in the L.A. Fire Department.  They traveled for over ten years in a large Class A gas motorhome….visited every state, every Canadian province, and even a few states in Mexico.  Then her husband got a hernia…had complications….died from it.  She downsized, and goes out for months at a time alone, despite her age of mid-70's to mid-80's…with her two dogs. She told me this story of how her husband made her change a flat tire in the Class A.  As a firefighter, he wanted her to be able to be self sufficient.  So she got that side up on motorhome's levelers so the tire was up off the ground.  He taught her how to use her leverage, along with the proper tools, to get the lugs off...how to get the tire off...how to get the good tire back on.  He, in the meanwhile, was down under the motorhome just checking things out when a CHP Officer drives up and approaches her to help.  "No," she says, "If I did that, my husband would have to kill you..."  That startled the officer until he hears this laughter coming from under the motorhome.  Her husband slides out, introduces them as his wife continues to do the work, and he explains the situation, which the officer just nods and walks back to his car and takes off.  She told me that she was around 60 when this took place...what a lady she was.

Small World Folks:  Amazing how many times we met someone who either lived by one of us, or lived by and know some of the same people we know.  Like while in Alaska we stayed at a RV Park for an extended time while Skruffy was sick.  We had her out on "furlough", which turned out to be permanent, and while sitting out in the sun one day a lady and her young daughter came over.  The lady asked if her daughter could pet the dog...I explained that she was sick, and the lady already knew all about it.  I asked where she was from, she said Blue Springs Missouri...right where my cousin Casey lived, right where mom and dad use to live, and come to find out she went to the same church as mom, dad and Cassie and her dad and my dad were good friends.  Or the time at Devils Tower when I see a couple with Arkansas license plates.  I dropped by say hello and see where they were from...it was White Hall...where my kids were raised, where one of the Libraries I was over is located (both used the library all the time) and their home was less than a mile from the house my kids were raised in.  Another took place in Bakersfield while we stayed at the Orange Grove RV Park.  Here is how this encounter went:

Asked this guy in the new truck with older 5th wheel where he was from…

    “Sacramento” he said.
    “We are headed there…” I said.  “Left Florida Wednesday night.”  Got that look….
    “Wow, that is some traveling!”
    “Yep…headed for my sister’s backyard in Citrus Heights…”
    “Well, that is really where I am from…where at in Citrus Heights?”
    “Off Antelope…” as I described the area.
    “Heck, that is just down the street from me…I live right by the old Van Marin homestead….”

We talked some more…but what a small small world this is.  He ate at the restaurants I worked at, he knew of Arny’s Corvette Body Shop on Auburn, etc. etc.  But he did not know Arny, although they both have lived within 1/2 mile of each other for years and years.
 
The Motorhomes

Above you can see the three different Motorhomes we have owned.  The American Eagle we had from November 2011 to May 2013.  After a major breakdown, and realizing that I was not enjoying driving such a large vehicle, we stepped down to the 32' Jayco Melbourne.  We had that Motorhome from June 2013 till March 2014 when it was caught up in a RV Storage Fire which turned her to ahses.  A short month later we purchased the Dynamax Isata, which we kept from April 2014 until February 2024 when we donated it.  We put nearly 100,000 miles on that Motorhome, and she was a good one.  So, where does that leave us?

Introducing the 2024 Thor Sequence 20L

Yesterday we put a $5k down payment on this Silver Sequence 20L.  It is on a Ram Promaster 21' Chassis, and if everything goes right, and it should, we bring her home on Tuesday.  This is the first Motorhome that we did not pay cash for...but we will put more than 50% down and expect to pay it off in three years (it is a five year loan through our Credit Union).  Will plan to take more pictures and post more about it next week.  The memories will continue...see you all down the road somewhere, some place.

A Year Later, Remembering the FIRE

March 25th of last year there was a fire in the Storage Facility that our motorhome was parked in.  Of course, the section holding our Jayco Melbourne.  Of course, it was a total loss…..

Here we are tucked ‘safely’ (or so we thought) in parking place C-1, next to this nice class C.  Sometimes I backed it in, as I did here, sometimes I parked straight in, as it was on that fateful night.

  

The picture to the left was looking through site B-1 to the front of our now demolished home on wheels.  The picture on the right is the view from outside C-1.  Remember that beautiful Class A we were parked next to?  Now it is hard to make out ours from theirs.  Frankly, there is was more of theirs left than ours….from the rear ours was nearly all ashes at this point.  I can still remember that feeling in my gut that day when I took these pictures just by looking at these pictures. 

Although this was a BIG setback, we replaced the Jayco with a Dynamax Isata.  Here it is back in October parked at a RV park along the Arkansas River near Little Rock.  The Dynamax is four feet shorter, so it is easier to drive and maneuver. Being smaller, we have to be smarter in what we take and how we take it.  This year we are planning to go to Alaska, which was our planned trip for 2014 until the fire.  To prepare for it, I have redone the pantry, which will be a huge improvement on how and where we can store things now.  We got rid of our short couch, and now have real nice La-Z-Boy recliners.  I have also added some small storage nets to hold some of our small items….one next to each recliner, one over the driver/passenger seats, and one next to the entry steps.  I also arranged the one storage bin which holds stuff, since the other two hold the sewer hoses while the other holds the electrical cords and hoses. 

Above we were parked just north of Albuquerque where we enjoyed the opening day of the annual Balloon Festival.  So far our little Dynamax has been in 16 states, and we have really enjoyed it.  This year’s trip to Alaska is our ultimate trip…but we have enjoyed each of the three years we have traveled already. 

In Portland back in 2012 we visited the Rose Garden.  We knew that along with the roses, comes thorns….

….and sometimes bees.  Roses are pretty, the smell is beyond words, but what comes with them are thorns and stingers.   You just got to take the bad with the good sometimes…..and how you handle the bad many times determines just how much you appreciate the good.

I Can Drive For Miles and Miles and Miles

Don’t know what it is with me, but I have always been one who can drive for miles and miles and miles (think of the song “I can see for miles…..”)  We left Houston at 5:30 on Thursday, arrived in Tarpon Springs/Holiday area at 12:30 Saturday morning after spending the night at a Flying J in Tallahassee area.  We both got a good 7 hours sleep, it was pretty quiet, a bit cold, but very comfortable.

These pictures were taken at a rest area Friday just inside Mississippi.  We did not stay long, mostly so that the little Princess, errr, Skruffy, could do her business out on the lawn.  She feels so “privileged” now days…well, I guess for the past 4 1/2 years since I rescued her…but very much so now that she gets to live with us in the condo, and she got to go help pick out the motorhome.

    

When we compare this motor home to the last, we do so with tender love because we really did like the Jayco, and there are a few things about it that will be missed, especially the extra room.  However, the Isata has a “state of the art” for 2005 sound system, including a Sirius radio (top of dash) and this neat Kenwood radio, GPS, and who knows what else it does system.  We had a GPS that we took between the car and the RV, now each will have their own.  The voice on this one is so much more gentle.  But like all GPS systems, you will find errors with them.

So how are we going to break the new motorhome in?  I can drive for miles and miles and miles!!!  We plan to leave on Friday, April 25th (mom’s birthday, by the way) to head to Houston.  After a few days of repairs, then up to Arkansas to see my youngest son, some family and friends and routine doctor’s appointment on the 6th, then to Utah for a very quick visit with my daughter Stephanie, and then to California by May 9th so that we will be at mom’s BBQ picnic on the 10th.  Getting from point “D” to point “F” in 3 1/2 days is going to be much, but I did it once in 28 hours so I know it can be done.  After that, life is going to slow down considerably….and a refreshing trip to Yosemite will also be in order before mom has her hip operation. 

Hitch-itch Syndrome

I have heard so many RV’ers talk about “Hitch-itch”…the overwhelming need or want to hitch up and go down the road.  We don’t “hitch-up” a Trailer or 5th Wheel like many, but we do “hitch-up” our car to be pulled by the motorhome.   

 
We pulled our HHR with our first motorhome too.  We sure liked that one, but it was a bit much for us.  Marcia had to use a lift to get up in it, the length and height made it harder to drive and handle….we couldn’t even tell the car was back there except for seeing it in the rear-view camera. 

Of course, our hitch was still attached to the Jayco Melbourne and went up in the fire….which leads me to the real subject at hand.  How does one deal with “Hitch-itch” without anything to hitch-up to or hitch-up with?  To compound this situation, we took the HHR into the shop for a break job Tuesday morning, after checking with the guy on Friday who assured me that he would get it in and out in one day….well, that did not happen.  Thank goodness they are only a mile away so I just walked back to the condo after dropping it off…but with the lightening and thunder rolling in, and a bit more than a sprinkle at times, it was not a fun walk.  His new promise is that it will be ready mid-morning on Wednesday.

Of course, we have been spending our time looking and looking and looking at RV’s over the Internet.  Looking for another “Class B+”, which is really a Class C but many places are calling these type of Class C which has no overhead sleeping compartment with a “van” look to them a “Class B+”.  Found a couple which are local (in Tampa) which we want to look at.  Both have two slide outs, but are shorter by a few more feet so the weight is about the same.  We don’t mind slide outs which are small, and don’t include any kitchen items, such as stove, microwave, refrigerator and/or sink.  They also need to be good slides.  The slide on my 5th wheel was not very good, the one on our Jayco Melbourne was just right.  These two look right too…but you never know until you see them in person.  We also saw a few in Houston at PPL Motors where we bought our American Eagle.  We really like that place, and they seem to have one of the better websites.  Just hate the RV websites which say, “Call for price….”  Why have a website if you are not going to use it for advertisement to its fullest?  Just does not make it sense to either of us.

Of course, I didn’t mean to leave Marcia out of the fun…she is looking too and is into it even more than I was at first.  She is pretty good with a computer you know, after all, that is how we met some 40+ months ago. 

As for the “Hitch-itch”, it has gotten to the point that I am starting to replace song lyrics with RV lyrics.

Brad Paisley's "I'm Gonna Miss Her (The Fishin' Song)" has been going through my mind....his lyrics at the end of the song goes like this:  "Yeah, I'm gonna miss her....Oh, lookie there, I've Got A Bite"

My lyrics are something like this:  "Yeah, I really miss her....Oh, lookie there, another motor home"

I could go on, but I will spare the reader…