Push Here, Pop There

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Thought everything was “clear for take-off” with my go-ahead nods from the doctors, but other irons in the fire are not working out. 

On the good side, Evan received the furnace circuit board and it will go in this weekend, hopefully fixing that problem.  On the bad side, I ordered a new hitch for the motorhome and it was to be here early next week.  I currently have a 3500 lb  maximum tow limit hitch that is okay.  The new one can handle a 16,000 pound load.  Reason so large is that Evan wants to use the motorhome to pull the race car with the 20 foot enclosed trailer next year, and that weighs nearly 8000 pounds. 

Got a call from eTrailer.com letting me know the hitch is on backorder and will not be here till after Christmas.  Really glad they called instead of letting me just wait and find out the hard way.  They are nice people and I enjoy doing business with them.  They are located in Missouri, so they can’t be all bad.

Now I have a dilemma!  I either go with what I have and leave as planned, or wait till it arrives and have it welded on before leaving.  Will have to make an appointment with the welding shop after it arrives and then wait for them to get it done.  Could move my leave date back a week or two depending on how things go.

Supposed to get 4-6 inches of snow tomorrow evening.  Also, it will warm up to around freezing tomorrow, so I hope to get the motorhome compartments packed while it is reasonably warm.  Be glad to mark that chore off my “To do list”.

May have a white Christmas this year if the weather continues as it has.  Below zero when I woke up this morning and that is COLD!  With the possible delay, I can use the extra time to test out my Mr. Heater propane heater and spend a couple days during a moderately cold period (20s-30s) to try out boon docking in my yard with just the batteries and no electricity plugged in.  This will test my abilities to watch TV and keep the motorhome warm with only the battery banks. 

I can make the delay be a positive thing by properly testing real travel scenarios without being in Joplin, Missouri at a walmart parking lot in 20 degree weather.  Also, anticipation and planning is a big part of the fun for me. 

Dolly ordered a 55-300 mm zoom lens for her Sony SLR digital camera.  Our old one gave out last year in the Black Hills of South Dakota.  We really need a new one to get better pictures in the wide open areas we will be visiting out West.   Lately, I have just been using my cell phone camera and that just won’t do for the landscaping and wild life pictures I want to put on the blog as we travel.

My brother, Dick skyped me today to let me know that he and his wife, Paxti are heading to Nashville in the morning to visit with his two children living there.  He will also stop by to visit Dad and his wife, Faye while there.  He hasn’t seen Dad for awhile now so glad he is able to visit him.