Tuesday, December 12, 2017

Chapter 22 Go North Young Trailerites!




We had discussed the belly pan of our trailer at length.

Why is this important?  A lot of vintage trailers were not made with waterproof underbellies.
 
"What?!", you say?

Our Shasta Compact had exposed wood framing and a plywood deck that had a spray on tar like substance which had peeled over time and I had to redo it.

The Boles that we have now had a tar paper over insulation and there were sections that had not fared well over the decades.  Brittle and hanging open in places with insulation wafting in the breeze was not the look I was going for.

The previous new belly pan was done in large sections and supported by bare pine sticks and taped together.  Even though this was done at an RV Dealership, the results did not smack of quality.  Especially, after it was removed once, in search of a plumbing leak then reinstalled not as well as the first time.

What I had originally wanted was to cut sections of the belly pan material, which is somewhat akin to corrugated cardboard but made of vinyl, into sections and combined with a layer of insulation foam board moon pie style and installed.

This way the pipes, electrical conduits, and framing would be accessible without the removal / re-installation process. 

It took weeks to do but it goes from frame to frame and is roofing sealed around all the edges.  No more hangy down poopy diaper belly pan!





We brought the trailer home and I immediately got my creeper.  I had so much fun wheeling around under the trailer!  Well, that is until I got my hair caught in one of the scissor jacks...

There I was, enjoying the clean, water tight results of my design underneath the camper and by sheer chance, I looked at the tire and something caught my eye.

A large bulge on the inside wall of one of the tires.  "That can't be good!", I thought.

I called Buddy, and he said, "That's not a leaker, that's a blower..... you'll have a blow out.  Bring it in."  I did.


 I did have a spare but not a replacement for it which is only important as there is a tire mount with a cover on the back of the trailer that would not look cute empty.



A search that was too long yielded a matching tire so, we put the two new ones on the trailer and the good used one on the spare mount.

I also had a little craft project I did just for fun.....




This all came down to the wire for the most epic of trips, round trip from Little Rock to Quebec City, CN.  I had poured over maps and camping sites for what would be a month long excursion.

The day we left was a bright cloudless first day of Autumn.  Bird chirping and my Chihuahua, Lucy was beyond excited.  Dave was comforted by his heated seat with one more stop, the bank.

I strode in as usual, content in the knowledge that we had worked very hard paying all the bills twice before we left and scheduling carefully our client load so that no one would suffer in our absence.

Deposit. Good. Pay the credit card. What? The last four digits had changed.

OH LORD IN HEAVEN I KNEW WHAT THIS MEANT!

I got back in the truck and began calling the 800 "Customer Service" number.

Four and one half hours is how long it took.  From central Arkansas to Kentucky I was told due to an internal security breach within a retailer's database I had purchased from, I had been issued a new card.

"But I have just left on an extended vacation and will need the use of my card", I said.

"Oh, you're old card may still be used for 10 days." the Rep prefuncted.

"That's not acceptable." I stated firmly.  

"We are going to be gone a month and I won't be in any one place long enough for you to send me another card, you will have to extend the use of my present card until I return," I added matter of factly.

Well, this unleashed a flurry of activity.  Supervisors, transfers to other departments, call backs, confirmations and denials, procedures and exceptions.  It went on for hours.

Then it was fixed.  Then we stopped at Walmart.

DECLINED.

Another barrage of phone calls all with the distinct pleasure and stepping through their "enhanced" security procedures. And just in case you haven't experienced this yet, be prepared to be shocked at the information BIG BROTHER has on you to ask and make sure they are talking to YOU. 

It all culminated at a Loves Truck Stop in Kentucky after dark.

Dark.

I hate setting up in the dark. But, I was going to clear this up or else.  While I was on the line to the umpteenth Rep, dear Dave was sent inside to make a purchase with said card to thereby verify it's ability to do it's job.

He purchased a two dollar candy bar and it was approved.  Another hour after we had been declined at the gas pump.

Yeeeeeeeeesh.  I always say, "I have fortunate people's problems."  It was just a pain and a Royal one.

We made it to the campground and as many campers know, they generally are not well lit.  Pitch was the color of the lighting here and the campground was concentric.  After circling in the dark on the inner loop twice, we found the way to the outer loop and our spot.

Ugh.

"Oh well, I guess our vacation will start tomorrow", I told sweet Dave before rolling over to sleep.



We were somewhere in middle Kentucky and by lunch we stumbled by a wonderful down home BBQ spot and had some good southern cookin"

I was so good, Dave died.....



There's something I don't understand about travel nowadays.  When I was a child, it was a big deal when traveling to some new state, you pulled over and took a picture by the state sign.  On our trip, we found places where we could and where we couldn't.

Why do Welcome Centers not have a place to do this? Consistently, like all of them?





 An afternoon stop in West Virginia yielded some antiquing and a respite from the road.




We were on to Baltimore, MD and had beautiful weather all the way, if not a little warm for late September.

We poked around Harbor Place.  I remembered all the development was new back in 1980 when I had skated with The Ice Follies and Holiday On Ice.  I was off to find The Lord Baltimore Hotel to reminisce about the good ole days.  There it was, as majestic as ever!







I had a skating lesson with the incomparable Nathan Birch during our stay.  This man is a genius and so very kind and patient with an ailing old skater like me!


The next day we were off the New York City!

Let that sink in.....

New York via New Jersey on I-95 north.... towing a trailer...... into Jersey City on The Hudson River.

If you travel in the north east, here is the best advice I can give..... bring cash.  Tolls are everywhere.  I was appalled at the absolute gall being charged to drive on those roads in their condition!  Once we saw the Manhattan skyline what wasn't a bump was a hole.  We felt like we were piloting the Mars Rover!

Our exit was a paper clip, not a hair pin and we missed it on the first try and had to get back on and pay the toll.  Then exit and get back on the other way and pay the toll.  On the second attempt, we made it through but impressed with Jersey City, we were not.  That is until we got within six blocks of the Hudson River and everything changed for the better.  Thank goodness!  It was quite the experience getting to the Liberty Harbor RV Park.  The only one within a ferry ride to Manhattan.  Water and Electricity only and just a gravel parking lot but a great location.  A ferry stop is just steps away by a marina filled with a gazillion pricey yachts.

The next day was spent in New York proper with an easy hop on the ferry and with one change, we were in Times Square.  We have been to the city many times and this was by far the easiest way to get around.  Lunch at The Stardust Cafe and off to The Schubert to see Bette Midler in "Hello Dolly" which was fabulous.



While waiting in line to enter the theater, we began to visit with a pair of elderly couples in front of us.  They had all worked in New York their whole lives and retired to the country only to do more in the city than when they lived there.  Which begged the question of us, "Where are you two from? I hear an accent...."  Smiling, we said, "We're from Arkansas."  "Oh how nice, you flew in to see the show?" a lady questioned.  "Well, not exactly".... I paused glancing at Dave and grinned. 

"Where are you staying?" was the next question put to us.

Still smiling, more largely now, I turned to face the four of them and said, "We're staying in a trailer...... in Jersey."

Pie eyed and mouths agape the four of them stood there stunned.  I said, "Perhaps, since we have the time, I should explain....  "Please do!" came the quick response.

I told them all about the trailer and our trip we were on to Canada sharing pictures of the restoration plus the finished product.  They were impressed and delighted saying, "For a minute I was concerned for you but now I see you're traveling first class."

That was nice.  And funny!

We did a little shopping and had dinner at Rosa's Mexicana which is always a treat for us, since the late 80's

We headed out, with some difficulty, the next morning.  It's just as challenging to get out of New York as it is to get in.  How people ever did this before GPS I will never know.  A convoluted path led us to the George Washington Bridge, which we had to pay to cross, and very nearly lost the front tire to a widow making pot hole..... no, CRATER just before making the bridge.  The freeway stayed horrible all the way to Connecticut.



A brief stop in Riverside, CT took us to Dorothy Hamill's home town and the rink the city built that is her namesake.




Back on the road after playing "Fan Girl" we stopped in Mystic, CT and had...... you guessed it!  The pizza that made the movie famous.... Mystic Pizza!






The night would see us in Foxboro, MA at The Normandy Farms Campground.  This is the finest place we have yet to stay in and that includes Disney's Ft. Wilderness Resort, FL.  Professionally run, immaculately clean and well appointed.  Beautiful trees and landscaping with a great park store and amenities.  Put it on your list.

From there, we made several day trips.  To Plymouth to see The Rock and all the way to Provincetown.




                        A trip into Boston to skate with friends.





A lovely dinner party with my skating peeps hosted by my good friend, Karen and a wonderful trip to Newport, RI to see "The Cottages".  I decided to make this an event and dressed the part much to the delight of the docents on duty and several of the people taking the various tours.  One person said they thought I was a ghost..... another said I looked like I stepped out of Downton Abbey..... while someone else said I looked like I "belonged".  I found it humorous how people would part and let me walk through and wait while Dave took pictures in various rooms.  Here are some of my favorites..... 
 




The Cottages are really palaces and mansions of incredible detail and opulence. I was in heaven.  We spent all day and only saw four.  There were people from all over the world touring these magnificent structures.  If you think you have to go to Europe to see castles, you would be mistaken.  Just go to Newport, RI.



As much as I would have loved to move in, we had places to go.  So, off to the coast of Maine we went.  Our base of exploration was Camden and we took a road trip to Bar Harbor and had a ........wait for it.......wait for it.... a lobster dinner!






                                    Bar Harbor



 

We were seeing more fall color the further north we traveled. The trip to Quebec was lovely.



We parked the trailer for three nights while we stayed at the Chateau Frontenac.  We loved the old world charm of Quebec City.






Then is was on to Montreal.  It was a dreary trip in the blowing rain but Notre Dame was beautiful!





We left Montreal and drove south to the good ole USA.  The color in the Adirondack National Park was lovely and we had weather to match.




We spent the night near Cooperstown, NY.  No, we are not baseball fans.  It just so happened, The Fennimore had an exhibition of Dick Button's Figure Skating Memorabilia / Art Collection and we enjoyed it immensely!









      Dorothy Hamill's Dress!  What a lovely surprise!

There were so many lovely little towns and farms along the way....






When we left for Hershey, PA it was a gray day that turned horrible wet.  Apparently, a hurricane that came aground in Mississippi was now barreling up the east coast.  It found us.  Every bridge was under construction, the freeway was under construction, and every 18 wheeler east of the continental divide was on our road.  Poor Dave, he was crisp fried. But, we arrived safely at the KOA Harrisburg.  Any campground can have a sense of discovery...... what we discovered was an office staffed by teenagers and professional, they were not.  I was not of the mind to give a lesson so I just breathed deeply and soldiered through.  We were next to a small river and the rain had stopped so I fished a little and caught a small bass.  I thanked him and threw him back.

The next day found us at Hershey's Chocolate World...

and Dave died.



You should have seen the looks on the people's faces who took the picture!

The next day we stopped at Gettysburg.  It was interesting to a point but I can't say we enjoyed it.  Avoiding 5 and 50 year olds in the museum engaging in mock battle, something I detest, we made our way to the "Food Saloon".  Well, the name was a precursor to the cuisine.  The main sitting area was stuffy and hot so, we elected to dine alfresco. It was pleasant outside and we were delightfully alone.  That is save for the yellow jackets we had to shoo with regularity.  After a little while negotiating my broccoli cheese soup in a bread bowl, I looked up to see the only African American man we had seen the whole time we were there and his young son exit the building and sit across the aisle from us.  He looked at his son too young to grasp the situation and said, "That was intense, wasn't it?"  His son fidgeted his electronic device and absently said, "Uh huh."  After a moment the man caught our eye and he said the same thing to us.  And we replied, "Yes, it was."  I couldn't help but wonder what his take was on all of this.  I was shamed our country even had slaves and that it was another 100 years before a once enslaved people could vote.  All the opposing arguments in the museum were horrifying and I knew this man had just seen all of it.  We both sat and finished our lunch without another word.  The man pondered when leaving as his young son skipped beside him.  I very nearly cried.

The next leg of the trip was hindered by three major accidents and backups on the freeway we were traversing so, we got off the beaten path and used GPS to our advantage.

Off the freeway was some beautiful scenery in Virginia...




We arrived after dark in Natural Bridge, VA to a tightly packed KOA and awoke the next morning to a chicken begging for tidbits so, Dave obliged. 


The next stop was the Anchor Down RV Park outside of Knoxville, TN.  I had found it by way of a trailering Facebook group and it looked nice.  Plush textured concrete pads with outdoor fireplaces and great views.



Looks idyllic, right?

No trees.  And a loooooooong list of RULES.

It was clean, professionally run, but packed to the rafters.  They had a Halloween theme running every weekend in October and the check in staff seemed very concerned we had missed the "Trick or Treating" that had just concluded.    

I wasn't.  

We were tired and it was unseasonably warm.  You can tell by the photo, it was evening and we were racing the receding daylight to set up.

I spied them across the way..... 

I think I'll call them Camping Toads...... or Vacation Vultures..... The people that sit in their lawn chairs with a beverage of choice adding to their ample waistlines who not so nonchalantly elbow each other directing their collective attention to our backing in prowess and or setting up technique.

Uh oh.  It was bound to happen.  Here comes one.....

This Bozo proceeds to say, "Do ya mind if I ask ya a few questions while you're setting up?"

"Yes, I do mind.  I'm hot and tired.  I need to finish this quickly so I can get into the air conditioning and not lose the light,"  I blurted.  Dear Dave shot me a glance first of surprise that morphed into well it's already out there and I don't disagree accept you could have been more subtle. After thirty two years of marriage we can read each other's minds.

I was too hot and tired for subtlety.

The man's eyebrows made a track over the back of his balding head and looked stunned.

Whatever.  

You'd think from his expression I had cussed his mother or something.

I remember being kinder about 1000 people ago.

NEVER INTERRUPT PEOPLE SETTING UP UNLESS YOU OFFER TO HELP

I can tell you how this generally goes....

He'd ask about the trailer:  is it new or one of those repros, what year is it, where did we get it, how long we've had it, where can he find one, how much did it cost, how much did we put in it, how far have we towed it, where do we store it, does it have a bathroom, are you planning on selling it, is it all original, how many do you have, where are you from, where have you been, where are you going, do you like your tow vehicle, what size is the engine, do you go to rallys, where do you store your stuff, do you like your scissor jacks, is this 30amps or 50amps, what kinda dog is that, and on and on and on.....??????????????????

Until..... the Coup de Grace of questions...  

Can I take a peek?  

Usually while you have a sewer hose in your hands.... let a perfect stranger rummage through your trailer while you're outside hooking up. Yeah. Right.

Which is what they all want in the beginning anyway.

And if he did get to peek, he'd holler at his whole clan and here they'd come to see and anyone within ear shot would also come and then one by one the entire group would ask.... wait for it....ALL THE SAME QUESTIONS THE FIRST BOZO DID AND NO ONE WOULD STAY TO HELP YOU SET UP IN THE DARK.

There.  I said it.

I love Vintage Trailer Rallys, where you can share information at an appointed time, when you're already set up and relaxed. Where people have paid money for a ticket and value the experience. These people had no idea how long we had been on the road (I'll give them that) and how we were one stop from home and I was in, as you have probably guessed, no mood to entertain.

I do not like to show my trailer disheveled.   I will say I'm not as bad as my mother.  She would clean house for three days before company came and the first words out of her mouth when they arrived would be, "Please excuse the house, it's such a mess."

Our last night was something of a lark.  It just turned out, the half way point to home from where we were was Lauretta Lynn's Home and Campground.  I must say I thought it a hoot to stay there.  I was never a fan but I know most of her songs and saw the movie Coal Miner's Daughter.  I don't dislike her but I do use Crisco so, that puts her in the plus column in my book.  Remember the slogan, "It'll do you proud, every time."? Well, that commercial was shot in Lauretta's kitchen.

We took in the tour which included her Antebellum Mansion, Butcher Holler House, and Museum.  We had a great time and it was well worth the trip.  She has kept everything and has it on display.  It's a time capsule and a tribute plus an unexpected delight.







4,850 miles later, we arrived home from this wonderful excursion.  To this date, this has been our longest trip both on the road and the calendar.

We were happy to be home at the same time treasuring our memories.

On the way home we noticed the valve lifters rattling in the engine of our truck.  It was time for a new truck but we had hoped to put it off a couple more years.  Being stranded is never high on a camper's list of thing to try, just to see if it would be fun.

We would wait, but it wasn't long before we were shopping for a new tow vehicle.