Last legs to home

So tune in next time to see how we do! 

Here’s what happened next! We drew a straight line on a map between Bangor and Casa Grande then looked for stops around 200 miles apart. 

We wandered thru Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Upstate New York staying at Elks Lodges at every stop. 

In Vermont the car wouldn’t start, the 6 month old battery was completely dead! We got it from Walmart but although I thought I had the receipt I couldn’t find it. Walmart said no receipt, no guarantee and without buying an extended warranty it was only covered for 3 months! We bought a new one (But not from Walmart). 

Outside Buffalo New York we let the fuel tank get down to 1/8 of a tank and when we stopped for fuel the engine wouldn’t restart. We cranked and cranked but no go. I went thru a routine for re-priming the engine where you turn the ignition on but don't start the engine, after 30 seconds the ignition is turned off. That’s repeated 6 times.

Well that didn’t work so we called the Geico roadside assistance and after a couple of hours messing about with them calling auto towing companies not RV towing ones, a BIG tow truck arrived and towed us to the Cummins dealer in Buffalo. 

That seems pretty unlucky but it was also lucky because they limit the free tow to 20 miles and it was 19 to the dealer!! The dealer also had a 50 amp hook up so we camped right there. 

 Next day they put it on the computer and they cranked it over, The fuel pressure was really low. They cranked it again and it started! After a few seconds the fuel pressure shot up to normal. It was suggested that the low fuel level let dirt in the bottom of the tank get drawn into the fuel filters so they recommended changing the filters, but they didn’t have any in stock so it would be another day before they could get to it. We had a spare set of filters! They used them and we were on our way. They worked on it about 4 hours but we only got charged for 2, a win in our books. 

Off again into Ohio (where we knock off the right rearview mirror at a very narrow toll booth), Indiana and Illinois and we started turning south. 

Mostly Elks Lodges again with the occasional commercial park to empty tanks and fill the water tank. It started getting hot! 

When it got too hot we stayed at a couple more commercial parks so we could plug into their power and run the AC without having to run the generator all night. (Which was working well until the rear AC died!) 

Missouri briefly, then Arkansas led us into Texas and onto our favorite road RT 82 that runs all along the Oklahoma State Line through Paris Texas and to Witchita Falls, which we have visited several times. 

Life was good at the Elks Lodge there but after setting off again we got to the little town of Seymore TX to fill up the rig. 

We have a discount fuel card that works in certain truck stops and the one in Seymore was listed on the app. After much messing around and driving a large RV with car in tow around the pumps they finally admitted that their pumps were broken and we couldn't get any fuel!

We then tried a regular gas station a block or two away and squeezed the rig around a tight turn to the diesel pump. Barbara came running up shouting “Stop, stop you’re losing the car!!”. I jumped out and found a guy on a motorcycle who pointed out that the whole front of the car was being pulled off by the tow bar! The motorcyclist said “You’re really lucky” and I agreed that we were as it could have happened going 70 mph in traffic with the car going off on its own into the oncoming traffic. 

He looked at me puzzled and said “No, I meant there’s a body shop right across the street!” and before we could blink the owner of the shop came over, said he could do the work and put us on the top of his list! 

Being Friday he couldn’t get to it before Monday but by Tuesday afternoon it was done and he had welded the broken tow bracket back together too! 

After the trauma of the bracket breaking (where it was bolted to the car chassis) we decided to try and ship the car back to AZ but we got all kinds of scammers calling about it. 

Peter and Donna Ward ship their car from Florida to Maine every year so we called them for advice. Their shipper didn’t do anything but East Coast but they suggested trying Uhaul for a trailer. We don’t know why we didn’t think of that ourselves but with all the stress we were experiencing perhaps it’s understandable. 

We called Uhaul and they had a trailer but then they suggested a tow dolly which was only $240 for 7 days. Problem solved right? 

Except as we left to pick up the thing our turn signals stopped working on the coach! 

Uhaul were reluctant to rent us equipment if we didn’t have turn signals but eventually let us go at out own risk and we set off with no turn signals and no right rear view mirror for the final 1500 miles!

We stayed in the right lane and were very careful when passing on-ramps! 

Mercifully we made it home after stops in Lubbock, Roswell, Las Cruces and Wilcox. 

Finally “Home” in Casa Grande and we parked the rig outside the house to unload before putting it into the storage lot at the park we stay in. 

Everything was just peachy, we made it back, put the stuff away. The cleaning crew we use had been in and made the place spotless, turned on the AC (It was 105 degrees daytime!) and we started to relax. What could go wrong now we were home? 

After a couple of hours it started to get warm in the house, then it got HOT in the house. The AC had died! I put in a call the AC guy everyone in the park uses and left a message. Luckily it cools off fast once the sun goes down and Leroy the AC guy showed up early the next morning and fixed everything in a couple of hours. 

Finally we had things under control and all we had to do was drive the rig down to the end of the block and put it in storage. 

Except that when I started it up the “Jacks Down” light and alarm started going off! I knew the jacks weren’t down so I hit the button that lifts them up just incase they had somehow dropped a little while the rig was parked. 

Nothing happened, the alarm still was going off, the light was still on. I got out to look at the position of the jacks and there was a big puddle of hydraulic fluid under the rig! A hose had burst. Luckily it was still driveable so we put it in storage and called to make an appointment at the local RV place (and they are pretty good too).

Absolutely floored by the run of bad luck we’d had we relaxed and set to get back to our winter routine, all that trouble was behind us. 

We had 2 cars at our disposal. The Ford Edge we’d towed all summer and the Cadillac Escapade I use to haul my RC planes around in. The Cadillac was parked under the car port and plugged into a trickle charger so it was ready to go when we got back. 

Except when I tried to start it it was dead. The trickle charger had died at some point and the battery had discharged itself. The battery was toast, $200 for a new one! 

Anyway we’ve been back since October. I don’t want to jinx things by saying that nothing has gone wrong since. The RV is in being worked on. Both cars seem to be working. The AC in the house is working and it cooled off into the 70’s during the day. Hopefully we are done with bad luck for a while.

Maine and trouble

 

There, we admit it and we loved it. All too soon we were on the road again to our final destination for this trip Maine.

Then things started to go wrong.

Leaving New Hampshire I started what I thought was the start of a cold or perhaps flu. That fuzzy, hot/cold just not right feeling most people have experienced.

By the time we got to Augusta Maine I had all the symptoms of the vertigo I had back in January. Not as extreme as then but I had a couple of spinning around events and I had difficulty walking. Driving was out of the question. Barbara was there to help of course Bless her.

I still had the physio exercises memorized from the last time but of course as the symptoms went away I had stopped doing them. I started them again and called my doctor back in Casa Grande for a referral to a Vestibular Physiotherapist in nearby Waterville ME at “Back in Motion”.

It was 2 weeks before I got an appointment but Kelly gave me a variation on the “Eppley Maneuver” I had been doing, and which wrecked my neck last time. She also gave me some exercises involving fixing my eyes on a point and moving my head in various directions. All of which helped.

No miracle cure though and we were forced to stay nearly 4 weeks in Augusta as I slowly improved. Taking short walks around the parking lot as often as I felt able.

Thank goodness we had chosen to stay at the Augusta Elks! Friendly people and camping with 50 amp electric when the weather was hot and sticky, so we could run the air conditioning, really saved us. They have a dump station and fresh water fill right there too which helped.

As I improved I managed to walk a little further so we made sure to get our Lobster addiction attended to! We even managed a couple of hours at the Maine Lobster Fest in Rockland but I was exhausted afterwards.

Maine Lobster Fest Entrance

Our favorite crustacean

By the fourth week I was fit to drive a little and we moved to the Waterville Elks about 25 miles up the road which was conveniently close to the Physiotherapist.

We had never been to Waterville and explored the local places and restaurants including a side trip to the Skowhegan State Fair which tested my walking ability. I was pretty happy that I managed to last 4 hours with stops along the way.

All the fun of the Fair

State Fairground Entrance

Pretty soon it was time to make a move to Bangor where we had reservations for 2 weeks at Pumpkin Patch RV Park.

You may remember this as where the Lobster Rally was held.

https://banbrv.blogspot.com/2016/08/lobster-fests.html

https://banbrv.blogspot.com/2021/08/the-objective-has-been-reached.html

Unfortunately the rally was discontinued when the local Escapees Chapter couldn’t find anyone to step up and lead it. Sad, but we see it happen more and more in the clubs and organizations we belong to.

Its still a great place to stay though and our friends Peter and Donna Ward who we met earlier this year in Florida spend their summers here. 

https://banbrv.blogspot.com/2024/05/start-of-new-adventure.html

Peter graciously took it on himself to drive us around and show us some of their favorite places, which naturally involved Lobsters!

Barb Donna and Peter

Peter and Donna were born and raised in Maine and although Donna likes Lobster, Peter doesn’t. We treated him to a steak while the other 3 of us pigged out on our favorite dish!

Peter enjoyed his steak

Donna set to enjoy you know what!

This was a 2lb model!

Just as things seemed to be going well we got a call from Peter and Donna. They had contracted COVID.

The next day I had symptoms and tested positive. Barbara didn’t!

It’s kind of difficult to isolate from your spouse in an RV! Barbara, bless her, volunteered to sleep on the long sofa in the living area whilst I got the bed!

We called our doctor in Casa Grande and they phoned a prescription for Paxlovid thru to the local Walmart. This is supposed to shorten the COVID symptoms and help in general.

After taking it for 5 days I felt great, like I’d never had COVID at all. The terrible weariness was gone and we went out (Suitably masked) and had an enjoyable day walking in the fresh air. A miracle cure!

Except the following morning I woke up as bad as I had been at the worst part of the infection. No energy, cough, feeling miserable.

After a couple of days we decided to go to a local Urgent Care center and they looked me over and X Rayed my chest (I thought I might have pneumonia I felt so weak). Then they told me about “Rebound COVID”.

Apparently about 20% of people taking Paxlovid have exactly the same experience as I had. After taking the last of the drug they get a day feeling great then plunge right back into the symptoms. I was one of the lucky 20%!

We established when I had finished the drugs, and that I had no fever. They told me that although I was still testing positive that I wasn’t infectious and I could start going out again.

Best news for Barbara is she could sleep in a bed again after almost 2 weeks!

All this had resulted in our 2 weeks at Pumpkin Patch lasting 4 weeks! They are such a great set of people, although we had to move a couple of times within the park, they found us a place for the 4 weeks and even penciled in a further week should we need it.

Every day one of the park people drove by in a golf cart and when we were out sitting in the sun they would stop and ask how I was feeling and hoping I would be feeling better soon.

Such warm and friendly people, this place has always been special to us and now it is even more so.

Eventually I got over the major symptoms of the COVID which just left the vertigo! I had felt so bad that I had stopped the physio which made my recovery from the vertigo take a couple of steps back.

So that’s the sad story of the last almost 8 weeks, only 2 of which we have really got to enjoy experiencing Maine. We have managed to make a serious dent in the lobster population however so we take that as a plus!

Monster Lobster Roll!

Time has come to start our return trip to Casa Grande. It’s going to be 2 weeks later than we had in mind when we arrived, but hopefully it’s not too late in the season to cause any problems.

We spent a couple of hours discussing a possible route back, taking a more direct line between Maine and Arizona. We also have limited our daily mileage for the first 7 or so stops until I find out how I do driving.

I’ve been driving the car and that seems to be OK so I’m not too concerned. The start of our route will be country roads for about 300 miles thru Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont and with the Autumn colors about to happen it may be a spectacular drive.

So tune in next time to see how we do!

Which way next?

 

We just got on the Interstate and went North into New York State and a town called Vestal near Binghampton. More relaxing and exploring.

Does it get any better?

Well it might have to get worse before it gets better sometimes and this apparently was one of those times!

An American dart board.
Solid wood with wooden darts too.

We had a bad experience of PA roads a couple of years ago when the extremely rough going broke the rear suspension completely in two. We were saved by Dave and Gloria luckily.

https://banbrv.blogspot.com/2021/09/2009-monaco-cayman-broken-trailing-arm.html

Not wanting to repeat the experience we decided to take the Interstate north into Upstate New York to an area we hadn’t so far explored.

As we got further north the mountains got higher and the climbs steeper for the coach to climb.

I glanced down and saw a red warning light flicker while climbing some of the steeper hills. It went away as soon as I let off the throttle.

This is usually a sign of low fuel pressure and might indicate a blocked fuel filter which we hoped was the case but doubted because we had new ones installed before we left AZ and we had only done about 4K miles since.

The nearest Cummins Diesel dealer was in Syracuse NY so there was a chance to find what the problem was and explore Syracuse at the same time!

One of the good things about Cummins dealers is that they may have the ability to let you camp there! This was one of that did and we gratefully plugged into their 50 amp power supply.

The technician plugged in his computer and confirmed low fuel pressure under heavy load but found the fuel filters to be fine. He spent a whole day going over the fuel system and found several small problems and a software update for the ECU which when added together were the cause of the issue.

We spent another night there as it was late in the day before he had us set to go, meanwhile we learned about the Erie Canal and how it affected the Westward expansion of the USA.

An Erie canal boat is very different from an English canal Boat

We also discovered the Elks Lodge in Liverpool (NY)! A pretty place on the Erie Canal, full of friendly people. Our joy at finding another Liverpool was increased when we read the Lodge history and discovered that when the Elks took over the property it was called the Downing Tavern! Coincidence at it’s best!

Liverpool Elks looking over the water

From the Erie Canal we decided to head North East which would head us towards Vermont, New Hampshire and our final destination of Maine. It would also allow us to follow the St Lawrence Seaway along the Canadian border.

A Lighthouse on the Seaway

Not a bad view from the rig at Jacques Cartier State Park

We had been at the other end of the Seaway in Sault St Marie some years back and lived for a short while on a town on that Seaway in St Catherines Ontario Canada. Tracking along another part of it seemed like a good idea.

https://banbrv.blogspot.com/2018/08/the-huron-circle-route.html

We were now in school summer break time and rapidly approaching the July 4^th Holiday. About the only time we make reservations if for Holiday weekends and especially the 4^th which gets very busy.

Some research came up with a couple of NY State Parks along the way, and when I got onto their booking website we found them to be very reasonably priced at $30 a night for water and electric with a dump station on site.

The first park was Jacques Cartier SP and the second Robert Moses SP. Both were well maintained, very picturesque and busy! We enjoyed them immensely especially Jacques Cartier where we had a view straight out the front window looking over the Seaway.

A bulk carrier heading west to Hamilton Ontario 
enters the lock.

The Seaway itself was excellent and we explored the locks, dams and museums, then watched ships passing thru the lock going to Hamilton and St Catherines Ontario. Kind of closing the loop for us.

Another ship ready to exit the lock.

We spent a couple of weeks in the area before crossing into Vermont and exploring the Newport area. A couple of brew pubs and a dinner cruise on Lake Memphremagog (no idea how you pronounce that!) were just right for us!

Very scenic lake front in Newport VT

We keep returning to this area which is generally referred to as New England and is made up of the most North Easterly States, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts. I don’t think there is an “Official” list, and I probably insulted the inhabitants of several states!

Mountains, rivers, pretty towns and villages this area has it all.

We crossed the Northern part of Vermont and onwards to New Hampshire where we wanted to return to the Lincoln/Woodstock area where we met up with Barbara’s brother and sister in law several years ago.

https://banbrv.blogspot.com/2016/10/waiting-for-visitors.html

Clarke's Country Store has everything for tourists

Performing bears

Steam train rides, all great fun.

We weren’t disappointed and rode the Steam Train, drove up Mt Washington and reveled unashamedly in the whole tourist experience.

Cable car ride to the top of Cannon Mountain NH

A little hazy but pretty

We even hiked to the top observation tower.

There, we admit it and we loved it. All too soon we were on the road again to our final destination for this trip Maine.

Back to Maryland

 Another 2 day stay turned into a week before we continued up 340 into Maryland. East lay Baltimore and Annapolis where we lived for 25 years, so lots of catching up to do!

We were here last year in October for Mike and Holly’s wedding, yes the same Mike and Holly we stayed with a few weeks ago! We caught up with them for breakfast again, they were riding their Harley’s. 

Holly and Mike out riding

I delight in seeing them enjoying motorcycling together and at the same time I’m more than a little jealous as I haven’t ridden a motorcycle in 10 years now.

Mike got me back into motorcycles way, way back when I first started to work for JJMA. I can’t remember when that was exactly but it must have been sometime in the early 90’s. He rode a very tired Yamaha Venture Royal into DC everyday. One day I was walking from the parking lot towards the office and he rode in. I waited for him to park and noticed the back tire of his bike was down to the cords! After I gave him a lecture about maintenance and safety he asked me what the heck I knew about motorcycles. When he found out that I had ridden from 1966 to when we emigrated in 1983 he set out an a crusade to find me a motorcycle!

Eventually he found a GS1100 Suzuki that needed love and the rest was, as they say, history. Happy days.

We stopped at the Severna Park Elks for a couple of nights then the Annapolis Elks for nearly a week while we caught up with Dave and Gloria who saved us from disaster when our suspension was destroyed by the terrible Pennsylvania roads a few years ago, and we managed to meet up with them for dinner.

Dave, Gloria and the crew

Naturally our son Fred and his wife Cori were at the top of the list of people to see and we managed a couple of visits and at the same time took advantage of them when we had our mail delivered to their house.

Many bridges across the Susquehanna River in Havre de Grace MD

Time went quickly, traffic was crazy and after another fleeting visit with our favorite ex neighbors Doug and Lynn we deserted the DC/Baltimore/Annapolis mess and crossed the Chesapeake Bay Bridge onto what is called the “Eastern Shore” of Maryland.

Airplane nose art from the Glenn L Martin museum

In 12 miles we went from crazy drivers and traffic jams to quiet rural roads on Kent Island just off the end of the Bay Bridge. We pulled into the Elks Lodge there and we were immediately welcomed and made to feel at home. The planned 2 nights stay soon became a 4 night one as we explored the little towns and villages hidden away in the area.

Eastern Shore lighthouse

We suddenly sat back and we both came to the same conclusion. This is where we wanted to be. 

Boats at the Maritime Museum St Michels MD

We had suddenly and quite unexpectedly got back to our happy place where we had nowhere to go and didn’t have to be there any time soon!

Eastern shore Farm Market

Not that we hadn’t enjoyed every minute we spent with all our great friends that we’d caught up with, we absolutely loved every minute spent with you all.

Antique wooden boat at the Maritime Museum

BUT, we had been driving point to point to point, which is not our happy way of doing things.

We had difficulty deciding where to go next!

The Eastern Shore had captivated us so we headed North towards Delaware/Pennsylvania/ New Jersey.

One of our “Things” is collecting the lapel pins that Elks Lodges have for each individual Lodge. Our collection is close to 150, but would be much more except for Lodges that were closed, didn’t have pins or we couldn’t find.

Black Widow night fighter in Redding PA

We are now at the point where there are about 10 States that we don’t have pins from and Pennsylvania and New Jersey are 2 of them so we decided to clear that up!

The Philadelphia/Delaware/New Jersey area is at least as bad as the DC/Baltimore/Annapolis area for traffic but is cursed even more by the endless tolls imposed on the travelers.

Trains at the Strasburg PA Rail Museum

To avoid this and to enjoy some back roads we chose to drive to Lancaster PA where for the most part life is a little slower. There are even lots of horse drawn buggies on the roads and the local Amish people can be seem plowing behind horse teams. We have visited this area numerous times in the past when we still lived in Maryland and villages like Bird in Hand and Intercourse still bring back great memories.

Mansion in the little town of Owego NY

We quickly settled in and found 3 Elks Lodges with pins to fill in another State but we just couldn't force ourselves to drive into the traffic mess of New Jersey, so we still don’t have one of their pins! Ah Well…..

The roads in PA have already been responsible for breaking the suspension on the Monaco a couple of years back and after a wander around and a visit to an airplane museum (Yeah!! says Barb ((NOT))). We just got on the Interstate and went North into New York State and a town called Vestal near Binghampton. More relaxing and exploring.

Wandering the Blue Ridge

 So this section of the trip has been all about visiting friends, and it has been delightful!

In case you thought we were done visiting you are wrong, we had turned west and now we went a little north to visit old friends in Tazewell VA, Harold and Wanda. We learned from their son Don that Wanda was ill and getting treatment in Virginia Beach, we hope she improves soon.

Harold and Barb share a hug

Harold welcomed us and proudly showed us around his garden and the surrounding district. It’s over 20 years since we met riding motorcycles and it was good to see him again.

We stayed at a local park near Tazewell on a lake with great views. It wet my appetite for more of the hills of Western Virginia (as opposed to West Virginia which is a whole different state, but still with great mountains).

The lake near Tazewell in Cavitt's Creek Park.

We next headed for Roanoke VA which adjoins probably my favorite road in the US, The Blue Ridge Parkway.

We stayed at a great Elks Lodge that had a beautiful building, camping with an electric hookup and a full size swimming pool. The food was excellent, everyone was friendly and we loved it.

Fabulous Elks Lodge in Roanoke

We had lots of time to explore the city of Roanoke and we cruised the Parkway up to Peaks of Otter where we enjoyed lunch overlooking the lake.

Peaks of Otter looking over the Lake

On the way back we used my amazing sense of direction to “Explore in a different direction” and found ourselves in the town of Bedford and noticed signs for the National D Day Museum.

The entrance to the D Day Museum

The connection isn’t immediately obvious with Bedford being well away from any coastline, but their story is of the 20 young men who were part of the 29^th Division who died on D Day.

Dramatic statues
 

Its just a small town in the hills so taking 20 men from it was a blow felt in some way by every house in the community.

Amazing details

We toured the museum and we were impressed by the statuary in the park like atmosphere. It brought back memories of my Dad’s experiences that we only uncovered after his death.

We also sampled the beer at a few local breweries of course! And luckily there were several breweries in Roanoke as well as the good selection at the Lodge. I’m not saying any of that influenced us but the intended 2 day stay stretched to a week and we felt so welcome there. A nice place to stay.

Steam locomotives at the Virginia Transportation Museum

But move on we did.

My next favorite road after the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP for short) is VA rt 340 that ambles North/South parallel to the BRP and I81. Initially we drove Rt 11 and then got on 340 to Waynesboro and another great Elks Lodge with hook ups.

View across from the BRP

I used to camp just down the road at Sherando Lake for a motorcycle rally over the Labor Day weekend. That’s where I met Harold and his sons David and Don. Mike and took our sons there too. It’s scary to think they are nearly 40 years old now!

On the BRP near Sherando

Barbara is new to this area and I’m sure she got tired of me telling her where I had been, when and who with! Fortunately she has been enjoying the area as much as I have and I think I’ve made her  another fan of the area.

Mad Man Dan's brewery

Naturally breweries were an attraction and especially Wild Man Dan’s which was tucked away in the middle of nowhere but so full of character. We chatted with the owners and marveled that they had dedicated parking for us! Not really! They have a Bed and Breakfast there and the parking signs say BnB Parking. We parked the car next to the sign because our license plate is “BNB CAR”!

Reserved parking just for us!

Another 2 day stay turned into a week before we continued up 340 into Maryland. East lay Baltimore and Annapolis where we lived for 25 years, so lots of catching up to do!