On the Road Again

 We are officially “on the road” for our summer sojourn! We did a shake-down cruise to the FMCA International Convention in March. It was cold. It rained. We were all miserable. It was difficult to deal with the puppies….but we made it. We returned home and over the ensuing weeks reevaluated what we needed to have with us, what needed to go, and what we needed to acquire. 

Scott found some amazing bins/cabinets that perfectly fit in a recessed area in the back of our closet for clothing storage. We also found some shoe bags that can be hung in the closet to keep our shoes off the floor. In the storage area below we installed some carpeting so our things don’t scoot all over the place. Scott put in some small shelves for chemicals and cleaning agents below as well. One of the problems we experienced with this particular motorhome, which has a low profile, is that the gravity feed “dump” was often lower than the drain we needed to use. He installed a pump that will “pump our dump”… even uphill!

The puppies live in a kennel when we are on the road and overnight. While traveling, it fits perfectly on the dinette table that has been lowered, as if to make a sleeping area. Once we have landed for the night, the kennel occupies valuable space on the floor…but, so be it! As they mature we may find that we can dispense with the kennel. 

We packed the RV leisurely, bringing it over to the house every few days for upgrades, cleaning and packing. We chose to leave for our first destination a day in advance, so we could be a bit more relaxed. We were ready to leave by noon. We locked the doors to the house and turned the wheels north.  We decided to swing toward the Gulf once we were north of Tampa. I randomly picked a campground near Homosassa Springs, FL for our first night out. Amazingly, I discovered that we had stayed at this same campground over 30 years ago!! 

We will be on the road from now until the end of June. After a month or so in California we will begin our return to the southeast. It will be a learning experience for all, for sure!