The Job...

Work is going great ! We've been there two days so far and have been really busy trying to get ready for the President's arrival on Tuesday, end of month reports and put things in motion for an auction coming up in September. I've spent the last two days doing some paint touch-ups, changing out light bulbs, renting out new units, cleaning some trash out of a unit so it is available to rent and counting inventory. Linda's been busy in the office with paperwork, phone calls and waiting on customers. Our assistants are great to work with...very helpful and the customers have been really nice. The roads here are horrible....really rough and the traffic is horrendous. The last two days we've had horrible thunderstorms and one hit just as we were leaving work tonight. Traffic was crawling, the streets had alot of water on them in some places and it was really pouring. Took us about 45 minutes to get back to the campground.

It seems so odd to come out of the rig in the evening and to be surrounded by skyscrapers. It's odd to be in a campground in the middle of the city.

Bye Bye Bike....

We got a call this afternoon from the insurance guy that he had gone to look at the bike. I thought he was going to go to see it tomorrow but we got the call this afternoon that he had already been there. He said it's totaled. When he told me, it was another one of those surreal, "punch in the stomach" moments that we've had too many of lately. Linda and I have both been riding motorcycles since we were young (I started at 17) and riding was one of the common interests that brought us together. She had purchased this bike just before I met her and oddly during our first in-person chat, when she asked me what would be my ideal bike, I said a Yamaha V-Star Classic and that is the one she had just purchased. We've put in a lot of great rides on this bike and it's a weird loss for us. We are so thankful that we didn't get injured, trying to get it off the road or that it didn't wreck us as it skidded but we're still sad to lose it. We've taken it all over the country these last two years and dang it, we just put a brand new tire on it three days ago. We don't plan on buying another for a while. We're gonna wait to see where our job takes us and how much time we'd have to ride. If our job takes us to large cities (such as where we are now) we wouldn't get a whole lot of riding in. We'll wait and see what happens....

Tomorrow we start work at the Union, NJ location. We are excited. We went in this morning to test out the route, driving time in rush hour traffic and pick up our key. It's a busy site and very large (over 900 units). We found out today that the President of the company will be here next Tuesday for a site visit so we have much to do in a short amount of time. Gonna be a busy couple of weeks !

The hits keep on coming......

Our life lately has been playing out like a bad country song and we're getting really sick of it. First our dog dies, then our septic tank springs a leak and then today, we lose our motorcycle while rolling down I-78 near Newark, NJ. In two years of hauling the bike safely on the lift, all over the country, and now to have this happen. Talk about sheer terror coursing through our veins....

Anytime we stop we always check the bike to make sure the tie-downs for the bike, on the motorcycle lift, are tight. We checked them at our first stop this morning and then just a few minutes down the road we stopped and filled up with fuel but I didn't check them then since we'd just stopped a short while earlier.

We're driving down I-78, approaching the off ramp for Newark, NJ. We had just gone over a bridge and there was a considerable bump going onto the bridge and coming off of it. We'd just gone over the bridge and I hear a grinding noise. I asked Linda what that noise was I was hearing. Simultaneously I looked in the side mirror and I see the bike skidding on the highway behind us, still tethered to the rig by the tie-down straps. I told Linda to stop...the bike had fallen off. Luckily we usually only drive around 58 m.p.h so we quickly pulled off the side of the road and came to a stop. Keep in mind this is a four lane highway and the traffic is just whizzing by. As we pulled off the road, the straps released from the rig and the bike was left laying in the far right lane. As fortune would have it, traffic was able to veer out around us as Linda I ran to the bike laying in the road. We always load the bike with it in gear so it doesn't roll forward or back so consequently, even though we were able to lift the 600# up, we couldn't roll it off the road. Slowing by dragging it and me kicking it into neutral (the gear shifter had gotten severely bent into the side of the engine) we got it off the road and us out of harm's way. Very scary !!

We called our insurance company and was in the process of getting a tow arranged when a state policeman stopped and came up to my window. He asked if we had arranged for towing and said we needed to get off the road ASAP as some horrible things happen along this stretch and we were in harm's way. He said the state police contract with a towing company that has to respond within 10-15 minutes or they lose their contract with them. Our insurance company said that was fine....they could come to wherever the tow company would take the bike. The roll back arrived and I helped the guy roll the bike up the ramp. Once he had it under control, Linda and I continued on to our campground. We were only 10 miles from the campground when all of this happened !

The damage is pretty much isolated to the right side of the bike. Handlebar is bent, right mirror busted, front fender scuffed up, back tail light bent, gear shifter bent really bad into the engine and side of gas tank scuffed up. There could have been so many more worse outcomes to this. If the bike had let loose sooner and gone into the traffic lanes, it could have created a pile-up. We are really thankful that we are safe. The bike can always be replaced....

Third Time's The Charm...

Well my prediction of them finishing up at 2:00 was wishful thinking. The problem area seemed to be the flange that goes into the top of the black tank from the toilet. First time they glued it, as soon as water (weight) was added to the tank the flange pulled away from the tank on the one side. After some fussing and fuming, they called in a plumber friend. Ka Ching ! Could hear the dollar signs flying through the air as he was there all afternoon. Second try....glue it again..fill with water...leaked ! As is usually the case for me with projects, must be it's a familiar formula cause the plumber cleaned it all up...applied cement for the third time..add water...and 'voila...It didn't leak ! Twas 5:00 and would have been the last attempt if it hadn't worked. Plumber says the black tank flange is a very poor design. Should be a pre-assembled set-up, possibly with a gasket on top and a threaded piece on top that when they receive it in the field they just need to screw another piece down tight and you've got it. Instead they sent a tank...no holes cut at all and all the holes had to be cut on site. Between everyone's chunk of labor, this has to be the costliest black tank replacement in Excel history. I just pray to God that the service contract covers it ! We shall see once I get all the info from Settle's. Even though I told them I need the authorization number on the bill, do you think they put it on there? Of course not. And we still have the issue of not getting the hot water heater fixed. They said they can order the part and have it shipped to me. Great ! I feel better already....can you tell it has been a trying day ?

Got the bike loaded and pulled out at 5:45. We are on the road....81 north to be exact and we have broadband signal AND cell phone reception. Things are looking up already. Will not try to drive the whole way tonight but go till we are 1) hungry or 2) tired or a combination of both.

Waiting....

It's noon on Saturday and we're waiting while the technicians get our new black tank installed. Wasn't going real well last I went outside....thrown pipe wrench and alot of fussing and fuming. Costing us time and a half for the labor but I figure it's better to get out of here so we can make money than it is to sit here till Monday and lose more work time. Turns out that they didn't order any parts to fix the hot water tank (not heating on electric setting). Guess me stressing that every time I talked to someone about what they were to be fixing didn't register with anyone. So that problem won't be resolved. Met the owner's son....nice guy...police officer by trade but works part time with his dad in the dealership. Turns out he doesn't know anything about water heaters so he wasn't any help on that problem. They thought we'd be out of here by noon but from the looks of things, my bet is on 2:00 which means we won't arrive at the Jersey City campground till close to dark. Makes me weary just thinking about it....

Virginia Ramblin....

Yep, the Frost Cafe was a touch of nostalgia with a bit of an industrial look to it. They had a very long counter over near the grill and a smaller one at the front window. In total, 28 seats at the counter. Each booth had their own little jukebox with old and new songs on it. The itty bitty black and white tile floors and red vinyl on the booths and stools added to that old feel. Cute place.... We just had a small bite to eat cause we wanted to save room for something tasty from the bakery we had spied as we came down the street. Knakal's Bakery was an old fashioned bakery, reminiscent of one that I had grown up with in Mansfield, PA. As soon as I walked through the door of this one it had that familiar smell of wonderful pastries, donuts and cakes. Linda got a coconut almond cookie that was really yummy and I got two donuts. The whole downtown area was really cute. Lots of neat shops and restaurants. I'll upload more photos here when we have a better signal.

We went back to get the bike and it was all ready when we arrived. The black clouds were rolling in so I wanted to get on the road before I got soaked. Was a nice ride back but it did sprinkle for a bit before I could get out from under the black cloud. Later on in the evening Linda and I went for a ride up 211 on the motorcycle. This is the first time, since February that both of us have been out on the bike. It was a great night for a ride..still in the upper 80's and it was very pretty riding through the rolling Virginia foothills. We took a turn and went to the town of Washington, VA. The highway marker indicated that this is the "first" town named Washington, of the 28 towns with the same name in this country. It was actually surveyed and platted by who else but George Washington on this day in 1749. It is a very small but very cute town. Only about a 1/4 mile long from one end of town to the other but it has a real historic feel to it. Glad we took the side trip and checked it out. Happy 260th birthday to the town of Washington, VA !

We continued on with our ride and stopped for some ice cream and then came home. A little while later the sky got real ominous and the wind started blowing. We made a dash for the rest room before the storm hit. (Since our black tank is off of the rig, we have to use the restroom here at the RV dealer. Kind of reminds me of staying at my uncle's camp as a child and the night trips to the outhouse out back.....fun !...NOT) Yep, it poured and kept it up for a little while. Then it stopped and we had a nice cool night for sleeping.

Hoping the parts arrive today so we can leave and get headed to NJ.

Making Good Use of Our Time...

We're still in Amissville (a.k.a Abyss-ville).I call it this because our broadband card won't work on our computer and no TV reception. Wow, talk about a dead zone. We are trying to make good use of our down time though. Currently we are sitting in the parking lot waiting for a new back tire to be installed on our motorcycle. After a couple of calls we found a bike place in Culpeper that had the correct tire. Cute name...Culpeper. Makes me think of Barney Fife, Opie and the gang. Figure while we are here in Virginia that it would be cheaper to get a tire put on than it will be just outside of New York city. ya think ? So that is our current task.

I gave up on trying to install the converter box. Without any reception it was hard to tell if I had anything connected correctly or not. I usually leave the tinkering of electronic gadgets to my son. Thank God we don't have a VCR to set or anything too complicated. I just don't understand all those "Video In", "Aux out", plugs and do dads. Must be a guy thing that he knows and better yet, understands what he is doing. I figure since our next stop is a park right outside of New York City, we should be able to pick up all kinds of stations. If we don't I'll take a crack at it again. I have it strapped in and ready to go in the tuner compartment for when I try it again.

Still waiting for the parts for our rig to arrive. Should be here today or tomorrow. When we came back to the rig, we discovered that they have water and 50 amp service available next to us so we are hooked up to power and very comfortable. Just not using the water since we don't want any weight in the grey tank for when they need to strap it up. They haven't strapped it yet but we've cut the vinyl tubing for the guys to use to "soften" where the straps will intersect with the plastic of the tank and eliminate rubbing.

We're in downtown Culpeper now and going to a place called Frost Cafe for lunch. Looks like an old nostalgic place from the outside. We'll see if that is how it really is once we go in. More later....

The Better to See You With....

Yesterday Linda and I went to get our eyes checked. I hadn't noticed any change in my vision but Linda has noticed considerable eye fatigue and trouble seeing with her right eye. After getting them checked, we can see why. Her prescription for her right eye is way off from where it should be so not sure if they messed up her prescription last time or if her eyesight has deteriorated that bad in the last couple of years. Needless to say we need to get her new glasses....pronto ! So we've been combing the Zenni Optical web site trying to decide on frames. After some coaxing we got all the measurements we needed from the sales clerk so that we can order on-line. Usually they won't give you the PD (pupil distance) measurement unless you are getting your glasses from them but after telling her that we work on the road and were leaving town the next day (all of which is true), she took the measurement and gave us our prescription. Boy, are there a lot of frames to choose from. The nerdy, thick frame from the 50's is back in style or maybe it's just a trendy variation (sure looks like the Buddy Holly frame I remember). This place has frames for so cheap compared to what I've paid in the past. The frame I'm looking at getting will be less than $66 and includes two pair of shades....Typically I pay around $250 just for the eyeglasses ! Wow, that is a big savings....Darn ole progressive bifocals add a lot to the cost. It's pricey to try and be deceptive and not reveal that one has bifocals ! My prescription changed very little and actually I wouldn't really need new glasses except that I've had these frames for close to five years and the lens are so scratched up I can hardly see through them. The biggest change in my eyesight came at age 40 when I learned I needed bifocals. Seems that the aches and pains really started at age 40 so I guess my eyes felt they needed to join the party. Since then, though there hasn't been much change in my prescription. That is a relief. Once we decide on a frame we'll get it ordered and have it sent to us in Union, NY at our next job location.

We've left Chambersburg and are now in Virginia Beach so Linda can see her daughters and grandson. Tomorrow we will head back to the rig and will await the arrival of the new black tank. We got our converter box coupon in the mail and picked that up at Target. I'll install that while we are hanging out in Amissville and see if that helps with our TV signal problem. I will also get the tubing put on the grey tank straps in preparation for the belly going back on. We'll probably play a lot of cards the remainder of our time in Amissville cause I couldn't get any signal for our broadband card and probably won't be able to pick up much in the way of TV stations. That's OK....we like to play Skip-O.

Chambersburg

On Saturday we went to a festival in downtown Chambersburg. There were many booths with lots of neat arts and crafts. A live band was playing in the town square. Linda, Boomer and I walked around, checking out all the vendors. It was a beautiful day for the event, with a nice breeze and comfortable temperatures.

This fountain stands in the town square and the street splits around it.

We've done some work on Bertha while we've been here. We washed and waxed her, then today we touched up the paint on the upright just behind the cab. It gets nicked up from items leaning against it so we bought some spray paint and now it looks much better. Since our style of camping is changing somewhat (due to moving from one job location to another quite frequently), we have sorted through some of the things we normally take with us and will leave them behind. We may be able to pare down even more but we'll see how the next couple of months go and what items we actually need to live on the road.

We will leave here either tomorrow or Tuesday and start back down to Virginia, where the rig is. We bought some soft tubing today so we can give it to the repair guys for use on the wire straps that will hold the grey and black tanks in place. It will cushion the area on the corners where the metal strap meets the plastic and keep it from rubbing. Our friend Tom gave us this idea, as he had to do repairs on his grey water tank recently. If the guys have already re-attached the straps on the grey tank I can unscrew them one by one and add this cushion to the strap and then re-attach it.

We are anxious to get to our first job assignment, in Union, NJ. We won't be able to stay at that property but think that we should be able to stay at another one that is 9 miles away. We've got to work out all the details for our arrival in the coming days.

Green Dragon

We went to the Green Dragon flea market today in Ephrata.....Amish country. There was lots of great produce....made it hard to choose what to buy. We purchased new potatoes, sweet bing cherries, sweet corn, fresh roasted peanuts, broccoli, apple dumplings and a big 'ole smoked bone for Boomer. They also had yummy baked items...all types of pie including shoo fly pie, whoopie pies, sticky buns, donuts and assorted pastries but we didn't buy any of these items. This booth, where all the baked items were, had home-made mint tea in bottles, as well as home-made lemonade (you can see the bottles there in the blue coolers on the ground). They had little rolled up cinnamon coated sticks that had a cream cheese filling inside....we had several of them and they were great !! Look at all those loaves of iced raisin bread...Yum !!
It was a fun day and we brought lots of great food home to enjoy in the next few days while we hang out in Chambersburg, waiting for our rig to get done. Tomorrow there is a festival in downtown Chambersburg that we're going to go check out. We got a call from corporate today that our next assignment is lined up for us as soon as we get back on the road.

Repairs Underway....

This morning we loaded up and hit the road for Settle's RV and Truck in Amissville, VA so they could start the repair on our RV. It was just a little over an hour to get there from the campground. Linda, Boomer and I settled in out front while they checked things out.
Didn't take long to find the source of the leak. There are two leaks....one is around the outlet pipe where it connects to the tank itself. If you enlarge this picture, look at the yellow adhesive and you'll see the crack.The other leak is in the corner of the tank. It's not a hairline crack but a pretty good sized tear in the corner. You can see it really well in this picture. The big surprise when the guys removed the underbelly was that the straps, that should be holding the grey water tank, had both broken. There were only two of them, which doesn't sound like enough for the amount of weight these tanks carry. The guys said the only thing holding the grey tank in place was the lip on the metal support bracket. Scary, huh ? They plan on putting more straps on both tanks to make sure they are firmly in place. They have ordered a new black tank and the related parts but it doesn't sound like it will arrive till end of next week. In the meantime, Linda and I drove up to Chambersburg, PA and are staying at her family homestead. Her niece, who rents the house, is currently in Florida on vacation and won't be back till next week.

We are on hold for new assignments till our rig gets fixed. We purchased a service contract for our rig a short while ago so now we'll get to see how good it is. We have a $50 deductible and the rest of the repair should be covered by the contract. All of our training is done now so our next assignment will let us put all of this training to work. Guess we'll have to wait a week before that can happen so we'll just hang out here, in Chambersburg, till the repairs are done.

We moved....

The site we've been on isn't available for tomorrow evening so we needed to move tonight to another site. Only took us 20 minutes from the time we pulled out till we were set up, one row over, in our new location.
Here's the view from our front door.

We went for a quick dip in the pool to cool off from the move. This site (C6) is a little bigger than the other one in that we can park Bertha right next to the rig. Very nice !

We started our two days of training on the Penske trucks at the Woodbridge location. Joe and Candace are really nice people. Joe is a retired cop and they've been working at this location for the last five years. We only had one truck go out today and one come in but I think we'll have more coming and going tomorrow. The process seems pretty easy and the Penske website pretty much walks you through everything. This site has 500+ storage units so smaller than Whippany. Everything is on one floor and the units are not climate controlled. When Candy toured us around the property every corner of the building (and many of the light fixtures) have taken a beating. I don't know where these people down here learn to drive but I'm really glad we didn't park the rig here. Folks seem to have a hard time navigating around the property without hitting things. Tomorrow is our last day here and then off we go to get our rig fixed.

Dumfries, VA

After checking out the Mini U site in Woodbridge, Linda and I decided it was just too tight to park their for our two days of training. The manager there had given us the name of a nearby campground....Travel Trailer Village. Based on that name I was expecting a mobile home park but it is a really cute campground, tucked away about 2.5 miles from 95. We got a 39' pull through spot on the end of a row and I certainly wouldn't want a spot any smaller. I put orange cones out at the back corner of our motorcycle lift and the front corner of our bedroom slideout so folks driving down the roads, on either side of us, don't clip us....little tight. It's a beautiful area...all wooded and the pool is smack dab in the middle of the campground (about 6 sites down from us). If someone needs a place close to DC or the nearby attractions, this would be a cute option. Also cheap...$30 for a full hook-up pull through site.

We are relaxing today....were extremely pooped yesterday from driving all day. We barely crawled the last 20 miles getting here due to the traffic on 95 below DC. Took us over an hour to cover that last leg of the trip...UGH !! Is nice to have FULL hook-ups again. This is the first time, since leaving Baton Rouge in May that we're plugged in, cooled down, hooked up to sewer, can take a full length shower (yeehaa !)don't have to be miserly, etc. I feel like we've died and gone to camper heaven !

Tomorrow we learn about Penske rentals at the local Mini U here then we need to get back to the campground and "check in" so we can move our rig to another site, due to someone coming in on Wednesday to the space we now occupy. We will not have sewer at that site so lots of long,hot showers until then :) We'll work at this Woodbridge location Tuesday and Wednesday and then Thursday morning we'll drive to an Excel dealer ninety minutes from here to get our black tank checked out. Hoping it's nothing too serious so we 1) don't have to stay in a motel while repairs are being done and 2) we can get back on the road for our next assignment. Talked to Bubby today, from the Excel dealer and he's ready for us. Can honestly say that I've never know someone named Bubby before....known a fair amount of Bubbas but no Bubby's. Hoping this Bubby knows his stuff.

Almost Done...

We've finished up our training at the Whippany,NJ site. Peggy and Roger have been awesome trainers and great hosts for us while we've been here. It was an exhausting week...our heads are filled with all the info we learned and we've got all kinds of manuals and notes with us to help us when we get to a site to do things on our own. (We also have Roger and Peggy's cell phone numbers :) We are sad to be leaving our new friends but we need to be in Woodbridge, VA for more training on Tuesday and Wednesday. There we will learn about renting Penske trucks.

We will pack the rig up tonight and head out early in the morning. We have 5 hours to drive tomorrow till we get to the campground in Dumfries, VA where we will be staying tomorrow night. We may also have to stay there on Tuesday and Wednesday night because we're not sure that we can make the turn into the Woodbridge facility with our big rig. They said they have difficulty getting in with their 26' box trucks so it sounds a little tight. I've made "just in case" reservations in case we have to stay more nights at the same campground.

Training Underway...

We have had two days of training so far in Whippany, NJ at the Mini U location here. Boomer made friends with Duke and Lobo right off the bat. They are the black labs of Peggy and Roger, the managers who are training us. We are having a great time and couldn't ask for better training. Very thorough....great personalities and fun to be around. We are loving it ! I find the reports to be very similar to ones I worked with at Penn College and the end of day reconciliation comes very easily to both Linda and I since we've dealt with end of day balancing before at other jobs. It was super easy to get "into" our site as we just pulled down along the fence and set up there...directly across from where the electrical room and the 50 amp receptacle is. Our cord wasn't long enough and the only bad thing, our first night here, was that we had to drive to Lakewood to the Camping World to buy a 50 amp extension cord. But now we have it and should be OK at any future sites and we'll get reimbursed for it from Mini U. There is alot to learn but the more we do the work the more it gels in our heads. Tomorrow we learn more about renting the one truck that we have at this location. Our training next week, in Virginia, will be on Penske trucks and one way and local rentals and what is involved with renting them. All of the customers are super nice...you can tell that Peggy and Roger have a great relationship with their customers. I have been working in the office with Linda, to learn that side of things. On Friday I will work with Roger on the outside stuff....maintenance issues and building systems like sprinklers, elevators, etc. The day flies right by and before you know it, it's time to go home for the night.

On Monday when we were getting ready to leave Linda's brothers house, we noticed that we had a leak under the rig. It appears to be something to do with the black water tank, as it is not holding any liquids. There wasn't hardly anything in the tank since we just dumped it on Saturday morning. After doing some research and talking to the Excel factory, we have decided to go to the Excel dealer in Virginia the day after we complete our training next week and get it taken care of. We are hoping that they don't need to order a new black tank as it will mean that we'll have to sit and wait 3 days for it to arrive. We're hoping it's something simpler than that so we don't have to stay off the road for too many days. This will be the first time that we've had to use the service contract that we purchased so we'll see if that covers the repairs as I think it is supposed to. We should only have to pay a $50 deductible....we'll see how it goes.

Just three more days here...will keep you posted on how our training goes.

Family Fun

We arrived at Linda's brother's house around 5 p.m. on Saturday. The party was in full swing with all the family there.Boomer was such a good boy. He got lots of luvin' over the weekend from everyone there. He was on surveillance, making sure that none of the kids dropped their food and made a mess.... I got a nice picture of Linda with her brothers and sisters. Brother John stayed behind in Chambersburg....he's not much of a traveler. Roy (Linda's brother)and Kathie's back yard makes such a great place for everyone to hang out. A large beautiful yard....a great pool for the kids to swim and play in...and plenty of places for people to sleep. We were able to park right at the curb out front of their house. Linda's sister and husband had their large pop-up camper at the top of the driveway and Roy and Kathie had their pop-up just behind the fence in the back yard...Family members came from far and wide to be together over the weekend. Some left on Sunday...others stayed till Wednesday...we left today so we could get set up at our training site and be ready to start work tomorrow. We left about late morning and made our way to Whippany, NJ. When we arrived at the Mini U location, we had a great location to put the rig but our power cord wasn't long enough to reach over to where the electrical room is. Peggy and Roger called a nearby place where they were able to get an extension cord one other time for an RV'er but they didn't have what we needed. Linda and I ended up driving 1.5 hours away to Lakewood to a Camping World store to buy a 30' extension for our 50 amp cord. Since getting back, we're beat and ready to get a good night's sleep before work. Peggy and Roger have two black labs...Duke and Lobo. Boomer has found two new chums to run with here in the enclosed compound. Peggy and I took them all out tonight and let them run around the property a bit. We are all looking forward to our week here with the Moss family.

Hitting The Road Again...

Linda is working 7-3 tomorrow and then we are hoping to hook up and head out to Lawrenceville, NJ to her brother's place, for their family get together. I have a hefty "to do" list to accomplish tomorrow while she is at work which will keep me busy. We dropped our Xterra off at her sister's house for them to keep till we come around again.

The national diesel pricing has dropped a bit. We filled up yesterday for $2.69 gal. We went back today to an area produce stand to get some more green beans and cucumbers. They had run out of sweet corn yesterday, before we got there, but they had an ample supply today so we got two dozen and processed 18 of them to put in the freezer. Turned the beans and cucumbers into summer style salads so we'll have good eatin' during the week we're in New Jersey for our training.

A friend of ours commented that I talk alot about food in our blog and it's true...I do. Food has had such a prominent role in my life and career that it surely is part of my psyche. I am very passionate about quality food and the people who create great food. For those of you who do not know much about me, I'll give you a quick history lesson. I grew up on a 125 acre dairy farm in Pennsylvania and my summers were spent working in the fields or barn. When not working I frolicked with my younger brother, riding our bicycles, playing or fishing in the stream that ran through our farm. We always had a large garden and when I was about 12, I ran a produce stand on the highway that was about a 1/2 mile from our house. I sold sweet corn (by the dozen and bushel), all kinds of veggies and any types of berries or fruit that my mom had not turned into jelly, pies or put in the freezer. My parents had the wisdom to teach my brother and I about money in that the profit we made from this produce stand was split between my brother and I to use for buying clothes for the upcoming school year. IF we had any money leftover, after buying our clothes, we could use it to buy something special like a bike or some toy we had our eye on. It was hard work and a lot of responsibility but we learned the connection between hard work and reward. We also learned how much a dollar could buy and how to spend it wisely to get the things we needed.

I got my first job when I was 16 and you guessed it....it was in the restaurant business. I went to college, after high school, and received my degree in Food and Hospitality Management. The first 10 years of my career were spent primarily working in bakeries, part of that time was running my own bakery. The second part of my career was spent in a variety of roles with Marriott Corp., Cornell University Dining Services and then at Pennsylvania College of Technology for the last 18 years as Food Service Director. So...yes, I talk about food a lot probably because I think alot about food and the food business.

I never figured myself to be the type of employee to stay and get the "gold watch" so now is the time for new adventures and for learning new skills. That is what is truly wonderful about this lifestyle. Every day we get the chance to re-invent ourselves. Try new things we've always wanted to "dabble" in, develop new skills, make new friends, see different cities and towns and just have a ball. Tomorrow is the start of one of those new adventures for Linda and I....off to a new job. Let the adventure begin !

Travelin' Food

With our TV antennae we only get a couple of stations and with summer programming we are very limited in what there is to watch that is any good. Last night, on the local PBS affiliate there were two food shows, back to back, that were really good. The first one was on food establishments that serve "great sandwiches" around the country. I missed part of the show but the part I did see was making me really hungry. A great sandwich can be one of the best comfort foods. This show covered some of the great regional sandwiches, such as po-boys, falafels, BBQ, etc. There's nothing like eating something that you can hold in your hands to consume....maybe this is part of our cave man heritage.

One of the sandwiches that looked so scrumptious was the lobster roll from Red's Eats in Wiscasset, Maine. This thing had so much lobster meat on it that it was unreal. Red's is one of those little, hole-in-the-wall places that has established a reputation for the best lobster roll in Maine. I love lobster so this place definitely goes on my list of "must stop" places should we get to Maine.




Another place that has a long history of providing great food is Katz's Deli in New York City. It's been open since 1888 and has outlasted lots of other delis that used to exist in that part of New York. They are especially known for their pastrami but all of their sandwiches looked great. All of the guys at the counter slice the meat off, just as you want it (lean, thin cut, thick cut, etc.)and the sandwiches are huge.

Thelma's is a BBQ place in Houston, Texas that normally wouldn't be the type of place I'd stop at, if I were driving by. When they showed a picture of the outside of it, it looked like a boarded up building with a handmade sign on top. I guess the original location closed, due to a fire, but a new location is open. Not sure if this picture is of the old or new location. Thelma used to be a truck driver but now serves up some of the best brisket, ribs and Q that those parts have ever seen. The portions are enormous and everything is lathered with sauce (that's what makes it so good). The catfish sandwiches didn't have one large filet on it but two, making it protrude way out past the sides of the roll. All of these places that served beef brisket made me think of our friend, Vicki, who I know loves good brisket. Here ya go, Vicki....a couple of places where you can get the "good stuff".



The other show, that was on after this one, was about hotdogs. I never knew there were so many wiener places in this country.Slots A Fun, in Las Vegas, is home to the .99 half pound hot dog. Something that was truly unique to me was this one place, called Rutt's Hut, in Clifton, NJ that served deep fried hotdogs....otherwise known as "rippers" (due to the appearance of them splitting from being deep fried). I thought deep fried oreos were a sacrilege...the looks of a deep fried hotdog takes the cake. If you love all things hotdog...go to the link above to see all the places that were featured on the show. Your vacation plans, if near any of these towns, can take in the hotdog eatery that was featured in the show and you can decide if they are truly note worthy. Maybe you'll even be near Nathan's this 4th of July where the world famous hot dog eating contest will take place. Wherever you'll be this holiday we hope that you have a happy and safe 4th of July...throw a veggie dog on the grill for Linda and I.

Today's Project...

Up until now we've used our laptop as our GPS. We have Co-Pilot software on our laptop.It has a lot of features that are RV specific (propane tunnel avoidance, height restrictions, etc.)that we have liked but when we were in Baton Rouge we bought a Garmin GPS to use. Linda needed the GPS to find nursing home locations in the middle of the night or to find her way home after a long shift in a strange town. This is the laptop holder that I had installed in Bertha...bought it on e-bay. On the trip home from Baton Rouge to Pennsylvania we tested the Garmin against Co-Pilot and couldn't see any noticeable difference in the route. Since the Garmin is much smaller we've decided to use that and I wanted to convert the laptop holder into an arm rest/cup holder since there isn't anyplace for us to rest our right arm while we are driving. I started out by taking the plexi laptop holder off and removed a couple of pieces of the black iron. Went to Lowes and bought 3 floor flanges, a 12" section and 8" section of pipe and created this base. The front floor flange was already screwed into the floor to support the laptop holder. By putting a floor flange on the 12" section of pipe, it fit nicely into one of the cup holders to provide the rear support.

I cut out the arm rest/cup holder (used our favorite cups as templates for the holes),sanded, primed and painted it with enamel.


Then attached it to the flanges with screws...


The view from Boomer's seat in the back....

We're ready to roll....got a place to rest our arm...iced tea and coffee in our mugs...and open highway as far as the eye can see....