A week in Bayou La Batre

 Saturday 27 January 2024

    Woke to that all so familiar sound of pitter patter on the Moho one more time.  Making the best of the day we went for a drive, checked out some RV parks on our way to pick up an extra water filter.  The water here is terrible. After three or four stops with no luck we ended up at Wal-Mart.😡 Hey, they had our filter. 

    By now it was 2pm we were starved and decided to stop at the first restaurant we passed, it was closed. Second place, carry out only and finally it was the Lighthouse Restaurant. The service was so sloooow, by the time the food came out we gobbled it down without really tasting it. With our bellies full

We did have some
nice sunsets.

we took a side road that wound around the waterfront. There was just enough daylight to hook up the water filter and softener when we got back. And believe it or not just a snack for dinner.

Sunday 28 January 2024

   No rain this morning and 50 degrees and nice warm morning to walk Rudy. I woke up with a very sore ankle. Didn't hurt when I went to bed, but I could barely walk this morning.  It really hurt. Diane had to walk the dog, go to store, do dishes all while I sat at the table. And just like that, the pain went away (as soon as dishes were done).  The sun came out and it warmed up to almost 70.  This is more like it.  We had grilled steak with mushroom and grilled garlic toast.

No building allowed in this area! 

Monday 29 January 2024

Another nice warm morning. A quick breakfast and we headed over to Dauphin Island for some site seeing. First stop was the Visitor's center, Museum, Old School, town Library, coffee stop and gift shop. Yes, that was all in an old two room schoolhouse. The volunteers were the best.

We drove around the island walked briefly on the beach admiring the beach houses. Lunch was enjoyed at the Dockside Seafood Restaurant. It was a little odd the bar was upstairs, and food was downstairs. But the food was great. Then off to the other end of the island to tour Fort Gaines. It was a civil war fort which fell to the Union in the battle of Mobile. It was really quite interesting. Back to the Moho a long walk for Rudy all of us enjoying another sunny day.

The bay is full of these natural gas rigs.  

Tuesday 30 January 2024

   The weather gods are certainly smiling on us. Another great day. We made good use of the weather. We had an early lunch and headed out to tour the Bellingrath Gardens and Home estate. The gardens were hit hard with three hard freezes in week. It was still beautiful with enough blossoms to add color to the greenery. The house was amazing to say the least. The Bellingrath's made their fortune bottling Coke. They had no children and planned to leave their estate to the people of Mobile. They were very generous people even providing for their Butler allowing him to live on the estate, with a pension, until he passed. When Mr. Bellingrath passed the house was turned over to the city of Mobile, including all furnishing. It has remained unchanged. If you ever get a chance, visit the grounds.

Back to the Moho another great evening.

Shots from the garden and exotic plant house

Wednesday 31 January 2024

All good things must come to an end. No sightseeing today. I worked under the sink trying to strap the bundle of utility lines out of  harm's way as the slide comes in and out. The space is small and..... well, I'm not. Diane did laundry and made a trip to the grocery and drug store. I had tried several times but could not fix the lines. So I quit. Try it again tomorrow. Happy hour arrived a bit early😀this evening. Again today, good weather prevailed.

Thursday 1 February 2024

This week is almost over. I worked on and finally was successful securing the lines under the sink. And I had half of my tools in the kitchen brought in one at a time and ended up grinding out a flange to allow the lines to pass safely.

    Diane tracked down a shrimper that sells off the boat to the public. The lady was great explained how the best way to freeze them and went on to say down here they sell shrimp with the heads on, headless shrimp are referred to as shrimp tails. So Diane bought several pounds on shrimp "tails".

   For our last night here in Bayou La Batre we went out for dinner. The restaurant of choice was Catalina's. Not much to look at but food was great. Diane was eyeing up crab-au gratin, it was funny the waitress looked at her and shook her head 'no'. So she switched to Royal Red's a local shrimp reddish in color (no surprise). I ordered the seafood platter 'grilled'. The food came out Diane could only eat have of her shrimp. I on the other hand ate most of mine, grilled oysters (the best), shrimp, crab claws (small but tasty), crab cake (OK), catfish (took home) and both came with slaw and fries. It was great.

A great end to a weeklong stay. Tomorrow we are off to Mid Bay campground in Niceville FL.

   

9 Day visit the Burkett's

Wednesday 17 January 2024

   After spending most of yesterday in the ER, I was anxious to put the leaky bin back together. I opened the door, and the carpet is all wet again. Well crap #$%*😡. Just paid to have the problem fixed😖. I

Teresa, Buddy
with Holly

spent the rest of the morning trying to track down the leak.  After a few hours I gave up for today. We were heading over to Buddy and Teresa's.  We had the famous Buddy Burgers for a late lunch.  After lunch, Buddy and I went over to local Freightliner facility to order the new module for the windshield wipers. The stupid part was $800 plus $80 for shipping. But what do you do, just pay the bill. Back to their place and played several games of Farkle.

Thursday 18 January 2024

    The temperature was still in the 30's this morning but warming just a bit in the afternoon.  Another morning of trying to find where the water is coming from. I had my endoscope out looking under shower, under the sink and under the shower drain, nothing. 😒 By the time Diane returned from the grocery store it was time to clean up and head over the Burkette's.  Teresa made homemade crawfish etouffee.  Oh my goodness that was good.  I talked to Buddy about the water leak hoping for some incite. We played Mexican train for most of the afternoon.

Friday 19 January 2024

   Finally, some good weather almost 50 when I got up and sunny all day🌞. Yes, another morning working on the water leak. I finally decided it was behind the refrigerator. To pull it out I have to empty it out, take the doors off and remove the front of the freezer door. Not looking forward to that at all. I'm figuring at least half a day and most likely all day. 

   Time to clean up and go for dinner (Burkette's). Fish fry with french fries and hush puppy's. That is a lot of fried stuff, but it was good. The catfish was ever so lightly breaded and tasted wonderful. 

   I did manage to invite Buddy over to help with the refrigerator. He was so happy to help😁.   I did notice that the fried food they made did not bother my stomach.

Saturday 20 January 2024  

    We were up, had a lite breakfast, and got Rudy out for a walk before Buddy and Teresa arrived about 10. Diane and Teresa headed out for some shopping while we worked on the frig. While I rearranged the coolers, Buddy crawled under the sink looked around and says "right here is the leak" I didn't believe him, I spent hours under there.  But sure enough, the cold-water connection was leaking right at the edge of the frig and sink. Off to the hardware store picked up some J B Weld sealant, back to the Moho, smeared it on the leak and we were done.  I guess it is just that fresh set of eyes. What I couldn't see for four days he find in four minutes. But I'm happy. 
    In the meantime, Diane returned with groceries and story of a near death experience.  Her and Teresa had just left the campground traveling toward Walker at 55mph when a Pepsi tractor trailer ran a stop sign right in front of them. She swerved off the road and came to a stop just a few feet from a deep drainage ditch.  The Pepsi truck also stopped but as soon as she started drive off the berm he pulled out. They were quite shaken but not hurt. Thank goodness!! Thanks to AWD she managed to get back on the road. 

    Over for dinner, tonight is Buddy's special pizza. He calls it clean out the kitchen pizza. We all called it Good. Pizza with pepperoni, sausage, Canadian bacon, mushrooms, onion, peppers and of course three different cheeses. OMG was that good.

   Back to the Moho tuned on the water.....still leaking😒

Sunday 21 January 2024

   Today started 5 days of rain. Yuck. First thing after breakfast was resealing the water leak. Then off to the drug store before going the Burkette's. We took two of our deer tender loins along over for dinner. 

Rudy made himself
at home!!

Played a game of sequence before their daughter came over and then we all played a game of Farkle. 

   Back to the Moho, turned on the water and yes it still leaks.  We have been turning water on and off every time we shower, do dishes or even go to the bathroom.  I filled the water tank and we used the pump for water. Plus, I've been changing out towels under sink once or twice a day. 😔

Monday 22 January 2024

  First thing this morning I called Newmar ordered a new hose and had it overnighted to Buddy's.  It was $11.40 for the hose and didn't even ask how much to ship. You gotta do what you gotta to do. Done with that we were off to the wine store. The place was huge, I think the largest one we have ever been in. We stocked up some😁.  Just as were paying the freightliner place called my module was in.  Picked that up on the way home, stopped for a new pair of sneakers for me, hit the grocery store and we were done.

   Over to the Burkette's for salad with chicken for diner and another game of Farkle.  Seems like Teresa wins most of the games.

Tuesday 23 January 2024

   The rain continues with on and off showers all day.  We decided to stay another couple of days hoping the rain moves out. Plus, I need to install the new hose if it gets here. Diane took a chance that amazon would deliver on time and ordered TP for delivery tomorrow. We 'll see! 

   Over to the Burkette's. Dirty rice and garlic bread for diner, games and we were about to call it a night when the ups guy shows up with my hose. Oh Yea! (shipping was only $30.00, Diane was surprised)

Wednesday 24 January 2024

   Well, the rain didn't move on.  Rained hard most of the day. Flood warning then a watch back to warning.  I put the new hose on under the sink and other than my ribs hurting from lying on the edge of cupboard it went smoothly.  Checked for leaks at 10 min, 30 min, and then a hour. No leaks. 😆 Still turned the water off when we left. So much rain Buddy's driveway was flooded our feet were soaked.

Just too much
rain.

Marinated turkey breast with corn and a salad for diner.   Back to the Moho. Checked, no water leak.

Thursday 25 January 2024

   Rain continues steady again today.  We spent the morning cleaning, grocery store and packing to leave tomorrow.  It is still rainy tomorrow, but it is time to move. It is tuff packing and such in the rain. The carpet at the door is wet and we had to drag Rudy out for his walks.

   Back to the Burkette's one last time.  They never cease to amaze us with cooking and kindness. Tonight was homemade gumbo and rice.  We played a few games (Teresa won) then hugs and goodbyes. 😒😞 But time for us to move on.

Friday 26 January 2024 

  It was after 11 by the time we pulled out. Cloudy with a light drizzle the whole time we packed. All the outside stuff was soaked and by the time I was done I was wet, feet soaked and dog soaked.

  It rained almost the whole first hour or so. But, good news, the wipers worked great. Yea, who gets that excited over windshield wipers. Stop for a bathroom break, then lunch break and finally fuel stop. Even with 3 stops, rain (driving slower than normal) we almost arrived at the campground.  Just a few hundred feet from the entrance some guy laying on the horn, passes us, stops, flags us down and begins a 15/20-minute rant about the campground and how bad it is. Eventually the camp host walks up the road. The guy gets in his car drives right at her, swerves and drives off.  Never a dull day with us! Apparently, he was a disgruntled camper who was asked to leave.  All said and done we were on site set up by 3:30 PM at the Dockside RV resort in Coden AL right on the Gulf coast.  Not bad 5 hours for a 175-mile trip.

Outrunning the polar vortex

Saturday 13 January 2024

   We woke up to 25-degree temperature but at least the wind has subsided. Another 300 plus mile today again trying to keep ahead of the artic weather coming south. I wanted to leave around 8:30 to get a good start on a long travel day. As you can image, we were running a little slow. But none the less as we were bringing in the slide and bring the jacks up when I realized something was wrong, the jacks would not store properly😐. I walk outside and sure enough the left rear jack is still on the ground. Back inside deployed the jacks again and then retracted again.  Still nothing😒. Back outside and after digging around I found my hammer and prybar.  The jack was frozen to the ground. After a light beating and some prying it finally started to come up.  It was 9:45 until we left the campground and hit the road. It was a fairly uneventful drive. We did stop for lunch at a Walmart, the sun was out and warmer than it has been. We arrived at Millington Navy Base at 4:15. The fam camp on base had been damaged by the recent storms but was still open, so we settled in. We were parked right beside the commissary and Diane made a quick run.  Diane called Monique to see what she was doing, and I started to watch the weather and wondering how we could miss the artic vortex which seems to be traveling south faster than we are.

Sunset Saturday night was beautiful!!

Sunday 14 January 2024   Happy Birthday LYNNE

    The forecast was for freezing rain before 3 to 4 inches of snow, the only plan we could make work was I leave first thing in the morning in the Moho and Diane would go over to visit with Monique and catch up with me later. Rudy and I hit the highway at 9am, heading straight south temperature at the campground was 18 degrees.  Rudy is NOT a fan of traveling day after day after day so this morning he left us know he wants to stay parked for a while.
    Diane took breakfast stuff for Monique and kids and enjoyed their company while they made 

Great visit, need to
see them again!!

 breakfast, she had a nice time, good to see them all and wished she could have stayed longer.  She was on the road at 12:30. Wasn't 20 miles down the road when it started to rain and sleet. She pulled into a rest area (yes Mississippi has rest areas) when she came out of the restroom the ground was white from the sleet. Good news sleet and rain only lasted for another 10 miles or so. I pulled into the Movietown Campground in Canton Mississippi at 2:30 pm office wasn't open just a handwritten note on the door, pick out a spot and settle up in the morning. Rudy and I were pretty much settled in by the time Diane arrived.  It was a quick dinner then planning for tomorrow's trip south. 

Monday 15 January 2024

   I was up since 2am with chest pain. A heart attack I figured but didn't want to wake up Diane😁. By the time she got up the pain had subsided a bit and we decided to press on south. We were on the interstate by 8:45. Under 2 hundred miles to go but again the snow is right behind us.  Diane called Monique to see how they made out. Memphis had 3 plus inches of snow and ice and were basically closed. We got out just in time.  A good travel day.  The only snafu was when I pulled into get fuel. What appeared to me as a big concrete parking area was actually two separate areas with an 18-inch gap between.  Well, when the back tires went down into the gap, we thought we were stuck. Came right out the other side with just a few cupboard contents rearranged😕.  Fueled up and pulled into the Lakeside RV Park in Livingston LA about 10 min later. We called our friends Buddy and Teresa to say we were here but were just going to get settled in and relax for the evening.

Tuesday 16 January 2024

   Well today the cold front got us! 😒 There is not much south of Louisiana.  Woke up this morning to

The is was beautiful,
but I was glad it
wasn't on the roads.  

22 degrees and a heavy coating of ice on the trees and vehicles but not on the road. After another restless night I decided we better take me to the ER.  Not to hurry. We had breakfast and waited until 10 to head to the hospital.  It was just like always, check in, wait, vitals, wait, wait, back to an ER room wait.  Anyway, after an EKG, blood work and chest x-ray I was declared alive and released on my on recognizances😂. The good news, my heart is OK. I'm to check in with my DR when we get home. Poof it is 3pm. We get back to the Moho I walked Rudy while Diane hit the grocery store.

Finished at Newmar service center.

 Monday 8 January 2023

   The big day arrived! Very, very early in the morning.  The instructions say the service tech will be out for the coach between 6:00 and 7:30 am. Our guy (Brain) was out just after 6.  We almost made it the coach was running but we had the slides to bring in.  Cold and windy.  Brain went over the work requests and by 6:30 we were sitting in the Newmar lounge, check in time at the hotel was not until

3pm.  We had Rudy and he was not allowed out of the pet lounge, so we had to take turns walking around😒. This place is really nice, only 5 years old and has the latest equipment. Just one item is the scaffold that hangs from the posts that start at the ceiling, they pull a coach in lower the scaffold and back to work in minutes. Next was waiting.  Diane went to get us a breakfast sandwich. And we waited. After lunch we went to the hotel, checked in and I returned to Newmar to get the days briefing and picked up a few food items for in the hotel. The water leak they suspected was the shower drain and they fixed it. One item off the list. Back to the hotel Diane went for Chinese and we ate in the room then played a couple games of farkle. 

Tuesday 9 January 2023

   Rudy woke us up with the noise he heard (6am). Looked out we had an inch or two of snow and very windy. Yogurt for breakfast before I headed to Newmar to talk with Brain.  Each time we talk there is

The Moho in shop.

the good news, bad news update. Good news seal on the slide didn't need replacing, bad news, we still have a water leak.  And several other things actually went according to plan.  Seems every new item is 600 dollars. but what do you do.  By now we had rain and the wind was a howling, just in time for Diane to go pick up lunch (wings) from the Hunters Hideaway, they were pretty good. After lunch I go back to Newmar to check in.  Most of the other items were going smoothly. We need to approve a new part for the heating system, you guessed it $600.  Back to the hotel. Being in the hotel is bad enough but with the weather you can't even walk outside at all. We are having so much fun we decided to stay another day waiting for the weather to clear some. Left overs for dinner, a bully game of farkle (Diane won) 3 games of sequence (Diane won).

Wednesday 10 January 2023

   Well, no snow today but cold, cloudy, with a fine mist. 😔 I don't know how long it has been since we had a nice sunny day. After breakfast (bagels from the hotel) Diane headed over to Service center for computer training. Before the training started she talked to Brain, he told her the Moho was finished, but made arrangements with him, since we were staying in the hotel another night that the Moho could stay inside until we picked it up Thursday morning. And off to class she goes.

 

Older but a nice
hotel anyway.

  Meantime back at the hotel I'm having coffee watching reruns of Andy Griffith with Rudy, he jumps up looking around. About the same time I noticed a very foul odor, I start looking around and our heating unit was smoking. 😕😕I quickly unplugged it and notified the front desk. After checking the heater out. They would have to move us to another room. I figured if we moved it would be back to the Moho.

    Diane came back, we threw everything in the car and headed back to Newmar. Found Brain gave him the update and ask if could bring the Moho out for us. We hadn't paid the bill yet, but he pulled it out into the camping area.  I went to fill up with fuel, returned put the ladder rack and ladder back on the Moho and secure it.  Diane went to the grocery store. She returned, backed the car in our spot I backed the Moho in so we could hook it up. First time to tow the car! By the time we unloaded the car, returned everything to its place in the Moho and sat down we were mentally and physically exhausted.  

Thursday 11 January 2023

   Same old weather today, 33 degrees and drizzle. We are leaving anyway trying to beat an artic front moving in.  We were ready to roll at 8:30 or at least we were until Diane went to set the car up for towing.  Seems we have conflicting instructions on what to do.  After some hair pulling and aggravation we called the hitch place and figured it out. Cloudy and very windy we headed  out.!😙  We drove down south on route 31, a nice 4 lane road but no rest areas. Eventually I had to pull over on the side of road to use the bathroom.😐 They really could use a rest area! 

First time towing
the Equinox!

   We rolled on down the road, around Indianapolis, Diane got us onto route I-69. Well the computer forgot to tell us it was future I-69. The first 30 miles all under construction.  Red lights, one lane sections, a couple cattle shoots to go through and no rest areas! What is with this state. By now we are about starved.  Diane finds a Walmart just off the next exit.  We had to through 3 round abouts into a residential section and then we were there. We took a nice lunch break and believe or not the sun started shinning and the sky's cleared. Oh Yea.

   Back on the road. we pulled into the Evansville 4H complex and campground at 3pm (central time).  It was a long day 310 mile.  Rudy was so good, but we took him for a walk and he wouldn't get back in the Moho. Had to pick him up. A nice evening sunny and almost 50 degrees.

He wasn't getting
back in the Moho!!

Friday 12 January 2023

   The rain started about 2am with a very loud rumble of thunder.  After that we both tossed and turned all night.  Good news we aren't moving today.  Had a nice breakfast got some supplies from the grocery store.  Mostly we worked on trying to make arrangements to camp in Memphis, spend some time with Monique and kids and still get out of town before the snowstorm hits. Planning the rest of the trip south is difficult with the continuing weather changes (snow, wind, ice).  With some almost for certain, perhaps, maybe and if nothing changes 😁😃we have a plan. The rain quit around 3 just enough time to get packed and hooked up for tomorrow.

Moving south to Nappanee.

 Friday 5 January 2024

   Things are looking up this morning no rain, drizzle or snow this morning.  Diane made us a good breakfast of scrapple and eggs. The sun came out and the day was looking good for traveling. I figured after breakfast I would call the hitch guy to see when we could pick up the car and finally get out of here. 10:30 or so I call. Seems they have problem! 😕 I jump in the junker(loaner) and driver over. He talks I listen he shows me some pictures, and blah, blah, blah etc. The turn signals don't work if the lights are on in the Moho 😖. We talked for a while, he called Roadmaster, and they are all working together to fix it. He will call when it is done. 

   I made good use of the trip and went over to Lazydays and picked up a handle for the tv antenna crank. I broke ours putting the antenna up when we got here (right after harassing Diane that she was going to break it, aw 💩)

   Back to the Moho.  The look on Diane's face when I pulled back in still driving the "loaner"😢. We sat in the Moho waiting for the phone to ring, it didn't. I go back over to hitch place; they are still working on the problem. We decided if they couldn't fix it by Saturday morning we would drive the loaner down to Nappanee anyway. Then come back next week for the car. I get home, tell Diane the plan and she reluctantly walks up to the office to pay for another night, it was a long night!

Saturday 6 January 2023

   The time has come. We are leaving, heading to Newmar Service Center in Nappanee.  I was to have the Moho at the hitch place by 9am.  But as our luck goes the antenna is froze and will not turn or lower.  I go to get the ladder that was strapped to the Moho.  Guess what, I needed the step stool to reach the tie down straps.... stool is in the car. So, hanging on with one hand and one foot on the Moho ladder, I get the straps loose, remove the ladder, get a wrench, climb up and turn the antenna with Diane helping from inside.  Then put it all away. 💩 We eventually get packed and ready to roll. I started the Moho disconnected the electric. When I come in the refrigerator alarm is going off lights flashing.  Diane checks the inverter discovers it is not working. Turned it off back on same thing alarm on refrigerator starts up again. By now the hitch guy calls wants to know when we are coming over. Turn the inverter off and pulled out. Phew!

   Over to the hitch place drop off the Moho, load up the car(loaner), gather up Rudy and proceed to kill some time. We are walking around a new store when Diane gets a text. Seems the guys have been calling me, but I didn't have my phone.... the car and Moho were ready😁😁. We run back, first was a few questions about accessories he wanted to sell us, then a tutorial on the system, then Diane had a try hooking it up, then we went over car set up, and then we were finally done.  Pull out swap out loaner for our car pay the bill and we were rolling.

    Diane stopped for groceries and wine. Rudy and I drove straight to Newmar. We parked and had the Moho organized by the time Diane arrived. We sat and reveled in the accomplishment of the day.  

Sunday 7 January 2023

     Woke up this morning to about an inch of snow. ❄ A brief reprieve before the big day tomorrow.  According to the instruction the service rep will be out around 6:30 (AM)!!! to get the coach. WOW! We are planning to get a hotel tomorrow night and Tuesday night if needed.

    On a brighter note. Diane lost her nightstand cell phone cord holder on our way traveling out here.  We searched around, under and in the bed couldn't find it.  You know the feeling, where could it possibly be. All the cupboards, closets and storage areas we could find were searched. We just gave up.  Today I put on my boots to go clean snow and..... inside my boot I found it. Apparently, it fell off the nightstand and into my boot when we were traveling, and I put the boots in my closet when we parked.  We laughed and laughed!!😂😁

   Now we are waiting/planning on the big day tomorrow.  Homemade meat loaf for dinner. Yum! and off to bed.

   

Another chapter begins

Tuesday 2 January 2023

    I was up early to get the car over to the hitch place. It is less than a mile from the campground so a very short drive.  They opened at 8:00 and I was there by 8:30. They got all the paperwork in order then took our car (22 Equinox) and brought around the loaner vehicle (04 Malibu) with 165,000 miles, check

If it were my business
I would be ashamed
to call this my loaner!!

engine light stay on, smells like crap and has what appears to be mouse turds in it. 😕I didn't ask anything about it when they said I could use their loaner. We only have 3 days, so I sucked it up and drove back to the Moho.
   Diane was waiting to go to the grocery store when I returned. She looks at the car and says you have got to be kidding.  Off to the store she goes. She walks in with groceries and just gives me 'that look'.  Just a day or so I tell her.  The car is like sitting on skateboard.
   Next trip out for dinner.  Just across the road a bit about two miles to Texas Roadhouse.  Diane orders the prime rib; I order steak and shrimp.  Her prime rib was ok, and it came with fresh rolls. My steak I could not chew, several bites half chewed laying on the plate when the manager comes over to see what is wrong, I tell her, and she says that happens occasionally and leaves. Waitress comes back same outcome. 😡. We leave with Diane's leftovers she gets in the car and holds the container because she doesn't want it to touch the seat.
   And the first day was over.     Oh, and by the way cold, raining with snow mixed in.😞

Wednesday 3 January 2023

     Day two woke up 30 degrees with on and off drizzle. We had planned on going to the RV Hall of Fame and Museum, but it is closed. We really didn't want to ride in the car anyway.  Instead, Diane went to the laundromat, and I did dishes, dumped and filled tanks.  The temperature got all the way up 33 degrees and the drizzle changed back and forth snow/rain/snow. 
     For something fun we went looking for a wine store.  We drove around to three different liquor stores before we found our brand.  Good news it was cheaper than we have ever seen. 😁 Back to the Moho baked haddock for dinner.
   And the day was over.

Thursday 3 January 2023

    Day three begins the same way with clouds, cold (25 degrees) but no rain.  I took Rudy out for his

walk this morning just like always and just as we return, I noticed ice icicles hanging off the Moho. Oh great.
    Diane's mission for today is to make lasagna and stay out of the car.  She made a nice breakfast. I kept asking if she wanted to ride along with me down to Nappanee to check out the Newmar's repair facility and some hotels in case they need to keep the Moho inside overnight.  She thought long and hard (less than a second) before bellowing no way. I put it off as long as I could then after lunch she chased me out the door.  It was an uneventful 20-mile drive down to Nappanee.  There are RV facilities scattered all over the place. The Newmar repair place is closed but the campground appears to be open.  We are planning to head down Friday as soon as the car is done.  I stopped at a motel, it looks ok, and they allow pets (for 20 bucks). The only good news is fuel is cheap out here. 

Ohio was even
cheaper!!

Back to the Moho.  Diane has for the most finished the lasagna and whole place smells wonderful. Can't wait for dinner.
   The sun has not shown but for 30 minutes on the 31st. Haven't needed sunglasses for a week! The clouds wind, snow and drizzle are getting old.  We are anxious to get heading south.
   And on another note, Diane asks every hour or so if the hitch guy called. (We are both sitting in the Moho)

Getting ready to leave Dillsburg

 Tuesday 26 December 2023

    All the hoop-la is over! We went to Shane and Morgan's for lunch and to visit the grandkids some more.  Lunch was pizza and salad from Pizza Grill, both were good.  We visited for quite a while before heading back to the Moho. Time is winding down for our stay here in Dillsburg close to family. Diane rearranged things to go to storage and thing we need for the trip south. We still have a very busy schedule.

Wednesday 27 December 2023

     More packing, over to Bev's for lunch.  She made sloppy Joe's with all the fixings.  Again, we had a nice visit, talked a little about everything but mostly how fast time goes now. We drove separately Diane had some errands to run B.J.'s, Lynne's, among other places. 

Thursday 28 December 2023

    Running out of time!  We had lunch with Jen and Greg at Brothers Restaurant. We had a great time catching up.  We haven't seen them since they left Ives Run and before their accident. So much has changed in just a few months. Back to the Moho, I took Rudy for a nice walk then over to Marzoni's for dinner with the Shirk's. We got the last of our mail and said our farewells.

Friday 29 December 2023

    Here it is the last day before we pull out and once again, we have 10 things to do in 10 different places. I left first off to Mark's to drop off the kayak, over to Lorin's for a short visit, up to the storage unit, then over to visit Bev and pick up some more deer meat.  Diane was leaving just as I got back to the Moho.  She was off to Lynne's, Staples, gas station then over to Karen's where I met her to drop off the truck. It was 4pm when we left Karen's and we still wanted to visit Chase and Kennedy (Shane & Morgan too) one last time.  Back to the Moho at 5:30, Diane started packing up the inside while I ran into town for wings from the VFW. And to think we had a month to get ready.

Saturday 30 December 2023

      Finally, we are on the road to our next adventure.  No vehicle to hook up. I pulled out at 10:10. Didn't get out of the campground before Diane called, she had no key for the car. I pulled over, she walked up, got key and I was on my way.  Made to the Legion in Dillsburg when the refrigerator door

View out our front window,
a Brinkley, nice fiver.

came open.  Pulled over and fixed that, thankfully nothing rolled out. Just went under the turnpike Diane called she left her coffee cup sit on the picnic table and she was going back.   Just before lunch I hit some on and off rain showers and on top of Seven Mountains it was snow.  I had to slow down as it went from snow to rain and back several times.  Diane was slowly catching up, but I had to eat lunch alone.  It was a long nervy 197-mile drive, and I was happy when we arrived at the Love's campground just outside of Alaska PA.  Diane arrived just a few minutes after Rudy and I around 3pm.   She left almost right away and headed into Brookeville looking for a grocery store to get sauerkraut.  She said it was an interesting town, some old building and streets straight up and down.  

Sunday 31 December 2023

  We were getting ready to leave, I decided to fill the fresh water and dump the tanks.  Hooked up the hose turned on the faucet, no water. 😐 I checked the water at the next site, and it worked. So, I got out several lengths of hose and filled up with water and dumped tanks. Just as I was putting the last of the

Our site for 
New Years Eve.

hoses away there and a loud pop (I figured a firecracker) at the far end of the parking lot. Nope, it was a transformer failure and cut power to the entire place. Can't get fuel or anything.  We pulled out at 9:20, hopefully get some miles behind us before we hit the snow showers.  Diane needed gas but we were trying to make it Ohio where gas was much cheaper, she caved about 50 mile short of the boarder. We hit the Ohio turnpike and made it to the first service plaza. Lunch, diesel for the Moho ($3.65) gas for the car ($2.65).  By now the snow was falling. After about an hour it let up and we were back on the road.  When we pulled into our destination plaza, it was only 1:30. We talked it over and decided to go another 50 miles to the next service plaza.  We hit some more rain showers but no more snow😁.  Finally parked at 2:30 and settled in for New Years Eve. I sure was glad I filled the tank, the water at the service plaza was turned off for the winter.  All of the plazas we stopped at had several restaurants to pick from, not this one, just a Hardees. After searching the freezer, we decided on air fried burgers, they were delicious. 

Monday 1 January 2023    HAPPY NEW YEAR

   We have only 149 miles to travel so a hardy breakfast left over potatoes, mushrooms and eggs. We left the Genoa service plaza at 10:30 for a comfortable drive of 149 mi.  Believe it or not we had no rain or snow and even had 30 or so minutes of sunshine. 😀   We made to Elkhart by 2:15 and had all afternoon to unpack and settle in. The campground is kind of a dump, but it was the only we could find open this time of year.  First was a good cleaning for the Moho.  Three days of travel and we had dog hair floating everywhere. We finished just in time for the annual pork and sauerkraut meal. YUM! Not moving for 4 days.

Our site and one other camper, not a nice CG.