Organizing 101 or Honey, Where Did You Put My...

Walmart & Target love RVer's. The amount of stuff we purchased to outfit and supply the coach is incredible. All this for a home that has ~400 sq feet of space and a lot less storage than most master bedrooms. All those fine looking cabinets you see in the coach pictures; most of those cabinets are only 10-12 inches deep. There are some cabinet doors that open only to find no, zero, nada, zip storage; the cabinet door is only there to give it a 'balanced design'.

Spent a quiet day at the RV park while the car was being turned into a 'Toad'. Toad comes from the term "towed vehicle' (I guessing here so I'm 100% sure I'm right). The CR-V was at Surwic Hitch all day having a base plate installed and an auxillary braking system installed. The braking system is not required unless car is over 5000# (CR-V is ~3800#) but it's a safety feature worth having. This way, when you hit the brakes in the coach the brakes in the toad come on as well; otherwise, only the RV's brakes are stopping all the weight (RV+toad), not good.

In any case, it meant a day without the car so we organized the coach. We did so well, now I cannot find many of the basic items we require. Oh well. Tommorrow we drive the coach to Surwic to have the motorcycle lift installed and the tow bar installed.


It will take all day so MLA and I will be exploring Memphis and seeing the sites. Graceland is our first stop. This was Elvis' home when he was alive and is now a museum/monument/meal ticket to his legacy. Elvis no longer stays here since he is doing a world tour. I based this on how many Elvis sightings still occur to this day. Plus someone has to be running his thriving Elvis Impersonator School.

When we were in Muscle Shoals, AL, we found out the area is known as the Hit Recording Capital of the World. Back when you needed a recording studio to record music, some of the best studios were in the Muscle Shoals area. How about this list of hits:

- Percy Sledge's "When a Man Loves A Women"
- Wilson Pickett's "Mustand Sally"
- Aretha Franklin's "I Never Loved A Man (the Way I Love You)"
- Etta James' "Tell Mama"
- Clarence Carter's "Patches"
- R.B. Greaves "Take A Letter Maria"
- the Rollong Stone's "Brown Sugar"
- the Osmonds' "One Bad Apple"
- the Staple Singers' "I'll Take You There"
- Bob Seger's "Old Time Rock & Roll"
- Mac Davis' "Baby Don't Get Hooked On Me"
- Rod Stewart's "Tonight's the Night"
- Willie Nelson's "Bloody Mary Morning"
- Simon & Garfunkel's "My Little Town"
- Dorothey Moore's "Misty Blue"
- Shenandoah's "Sunday In The South"
- Z.Z. Hill's "Down Home Blues"
- Bob Dylan's "Gotta Serve Somebody"

Wow; maybe they deserve the name Hit Recording Capitol of the World. Of course, today anyone with 5-10K can build a sensational digital recording studio in the basement.

Lastly, one of the favorite sons of the Shoals was Sam Phillips. Not familiar with ol' Sammy? He helped launch the careers of Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, and Charlie Rich. How would you like to have 10% of that?

BTW - many consider Sam Phillips the Father of Rock & Roll. I'll have to check in with a few of my friends who are music fanatics and see if they agree. In any case, this must have been one great party town 'back in the day'. Today, it is not. Trust me on this.

See ya.

Coon Dog Cemetary

That's right, a Coon Dog Cementary, rather, I should say the 'World Famous' Coon Dog Cementary in Mississippi. Over 200 coonhounds buried here with a celebration held once a year at labor day. They take this seriously. One fella buried his dog here and the Coon Hound Hunter Association found out it was not a coonhound, made the man dig it up and bury it elsewhere.

After that we toured the Tiffin factory. I found it fascinating; MLA did an excellent job of hiding her yawns, except when there was a chance to go thru the top of the line Tiffin, called a Zepher. It's a beaut; 45 feet long, tag axle, 500 HP Diesel, top-of-the-line everything and retails for ~$450K. Lady has excellent (and expensive) taste -- guess thats how she got me ;>) -- told her HP stock would have to hit at least $100/share for us to get a Zephyr.

In the afternoon we arrived in Memphis and picked up our new coach. We are now camped somewhere in Mississippi, listening to an emergency alert broadcast for a Winter Weather Advisory for snow, sleet, freezing rain, and ice until noon tomorrow. Excellent. Still trying to understand the different systems. Have heat and lights using LP and 12V power; no luck in getting the shore power to work just yet.

There are literally 12" of printed material: Owner's manuals, warranty documentaion, wiring diagrams, etc. All very good except nothing directly addresses the shore power issue. Oh well, I'll make some calls in the am.

All in all, an excellent start. The coach is everything we hoped it would be. Should have seen me driving; this thing is HUGE. Only two u-turns on a 10 mile trip to the campground. Lesson learned: Locate destination on GPS before putting this beast in gear.

Tommorrow we start getting the tow gear and motorcycle lift installed on coach and base plate on CR-V.

See ya!

Detour Within a Detour -- That's retirement for you

On our way to Memphis we decided to detour to visit the Tiffin factory in Red Bay, Alabama. Just before Decatur, AL we see a sign for "Big Bob Gibson's BBQ", winner of 7 first prizes at the Memphis in May BBQ Championship. And the 2007 1st Place winner for Pork at the American Royal.

Wow! Sounds like this justifies another detour. Just to confirm the idea that our agenda is rather, ahem, 'loose'. Only 6 miles out of our way; the GPS dials in the location and ten minutes later we are looking at menus in Big Bob Gibson's BBQ shack. Here's the lowdown:

- Hype (10 out of 10) 8 major awards, lots of Blue ribbons, etc
- BBQ Sauce (9 out of 10 ) Spectacular taste
- BBQ Ribs (7 out of 10) Falling off the bone delicious
- Pork BBQ (2 out of 10) Dry, crusty; no amount of BBQ sauce could revive
- Originality (8 out of 10) Unbelievable White BBQ sauce for Chicken and Pork. Wow!

Overall, just a 5; look for another less advertised location, preferably in a shack that looks as if it's about to fall down OR buy the sauce at www.bigbobgibson.com and add to your own meat.

Spending the night in another motel, this time in Muscle Shoals, AL. Motels no longer hold the allure they once did, especially when we are so close to having our own portable hotel suite. Weather front has moved through and is blowing everything not nailed down plus a few things that are. Blew down signals at an intersection. Mary Lynn asked if it's tornado season. Of course I replied its the wrong time of year (added the words 'I think' just to keep her close to me).

In any case, tomorrow we take a tour of the Tiffin factory in the am and begin the Pre-Delivery Inspection in the afternoon. Should have updated pictures for you soon.

Also, a few of you have asked for pictures of Killer and her spike collar. I'm on it.

Happy Trails to all.

Welcome to Bulls Gap ???

Left Maryland today to pick up the coach in Memphis, TN. Crossed over the Virginia/Tennessee border and ~30 miles later decided to get off the road. Best Western welcomes pets, so Dobbie the Wonder Dog is in her glory. Put her spike collar on and call her 'killer' just to keep the other guests guessing. You have to do something to make a miniature Dachshund stand out. She doesn't help out much by hiding behind MLA or myself whenever someone is around.

Our hotel is in Bulls Gap, TN. Makes you wonder how a place gets its name. Bulls Gap. Who's bull? Who's Gap? Won't even hazard a guess. Lots of steak houses around so you kinda get a clue on who lost the battle....

Leaving the kids behind today was tough. Miss them already. Everyone wanted to take us to dinner or have a 'farewell' party except our kids (excuse me, young adults, not a teenager among them any more). I betting our kids 'farewell' party started as soon as we drove out of sight.....

BTW: Spent big part of the day traveling I-81 South thru Virginia; what an incredible beautiful country. Said a private prayer for the kids and families of Virginia Tech when we passed thru Blacksburg. VT signs of support everywhere. Go give your loved ones a hug or a call; life is too uncertain and too short to do otherewise.

Signing off from Bulls Gap TN

10 Pounds of Stuff in a 5 Pound Bag...

Another great 'farewell' dinner last night, this time with Skip & Dawn. I've known and worked with Skip for over 20 years and we've been friends with Skip & Dawn as a couple's since before they were married. I've been trying to get my buddy Skip to buy a Harley for at least 5 years. He finally buys one late last year and now we're leaving for extended travel. Oh well - we'll make up for it in April when we get back.

Tomorrow's Monday, January 28th and we leave for Memphis. Decided to get on the road whether the coach is complete or not. We can travel and see the sights from the car until the coach is ready -- just have to stay in hotels until then. In any case, it allows us to get going. Sooo, we spent the day doing the final packing.

Should have bought a UPS Delivery Van instead of a Honda CR-V. Never seen so much stuff.

- Kitchenware stuff
- Clothing stuff
- Personal care stuff
- Tools/hardware stuff
- Media stuff
- Computer stuff
- Medical stuff
- Map stuff
- Dog stuff
- Snorkeling stuff

We can get it all in the car if we use every nook and cranny, use the space under the seats, let the air out of the spare, etc- no problem. No problem, that is, as long as whomever is not driving is willing to be strapped to the roof. Actually, thats not really a problem either - at least for me. Mary Lynn hates to drive.

Saying Good Bye

Had a great dinner last night with Ellen & Dave, long time friends and neighbors from our old neighborhood.

Ellen has a great ability to make you laugh until your belly hurts. She has an effervescent personality and you never want the evening to end.

Dave's smart and one of the best people I know at solving problems in a simple and practical manner. His job is to develop systems to destroy mines for the US Navy; people's lives depend on his ability to reliably destroy these mines -- and the simpler and cheaper the design the more likely his solutions get deployed everywhere they are needed.

When Dave's son Kevin was young, he ended up in a full body cast when he broke his back by falling from a jungle-gym. Only Kevin's head, hands and feet stuck out of this body cast. Funniest thing you ever saw was Kevin strapped into the van, his body flat as a board, with one arm and his head sticking out of the window, coming home from the hospital waving to everyone in the neighborhood like someone in the Macy's day parade.

Dave built a three wheel cart to help get Kevin get out and about -- great design and very innovative. Kevin used it a lot at first but then taught himself how to walk in that full body cast - straight legged & wobbly until he could lean up against something - you had to see it to believe it. Kids are amazingly resilient and resourceful.

Saying good-bye, even though its only for a couple a months is a strange feeling. Everyone's excited and anxious to 'stay in touch'. And yet, there have been times when we've gone much longer between seeing each other when we've lived a couple of miles from each other. Somehow, just knowing you'll be on the road and unable to get together makes all the difference. Makes you immediately wonder why you didn't get together with friends and family more frequently while you can -- somehow life gets in the way of living.

Getting together tonight with Skip & Dawn for another 'farewell' dinner; we'll see if the same feeling develops......

Still planning to leave Monday for Memphis after confirming with the factory the RV will be completed on time -- can't wait.

Brrrr, Even Colder Weather & Possibility of Snow

Gotta get out of here... soon. Weatherman must get paid by the snowflake; never seen someone so happy about snow in the forecast. And even happier about the 'arctic chill' settling over the area giving us the possibility of single digit temperatures.

National forecast not much better. Have to go all the way to Miami to get to ~80 degree weather.

Spent the day inside, comparing insurance policies for the RV - boring. Reminded me of a work meeting that was so boring my boss leaned over and asked me to kill him and end his misery... I would have except that I was kind of hoping he would put me out of my misery. Armed only with two sharp pencils we found ourselves in a weird Mexican standoff trying to get the other person to make the first move.

Still, a bad day in retirement is better than a good day at work.... MLTTDOBIBHBOLN

Still Set.....

Found out motor home is still at the factory and will be sent to the dealer by the middle of next week. Hate the delay however we want the coach built and tested right.

Mary Lynn is like a kid at Christmas; she can't wait to get going. We have our AAA TripTiks, Maps, GPS, Campground directories, and every kind of RV book you can imagine: How to... guides, Journals from other RV'ers, Maintenance & troubleshooting references, Most scenic roads, Best of America, etc.

We have packed kitchen wares, tools, camping equipment and whatever else we can fit in the CR-V. We have packed and re-packed our clothes. Still unsure if we have too much or too little. We are trying to err on the 'too little' side; we figure we can buy whatever we need 'on the road'.

Only problem is, we use the internet to buy everything we can; we bought our first Harley on eBay over 8 years ago. That said, where do you have items shipped when you are moving from campground-to-campground????

Oh well, we'll figure it out. Hope to see you on the road....

Ready, Set ....

Last year we received a surprise offer of early retirement. Even more surprisingly, we decided to accept. Traveling by RV during retirement has been a dream of ours for many years. Deciding to spend our children's inheritance, we began our RV search in earnest. We purchased a 37 foot Tiffin Allegro Bay in mid-December. We leave later this week to pick the RV up from Davis Motorhome Mart in Memphis, Tennessee. Our plan is to spend several days doing the pre-delivery inspection and outfitting the RV. Most importantly we'll have the motorcycle lift, tow bar, base plate, and auxiliary braking installed by Surwic Hitch in Memphis for our 'toad', our Honda CR-V.

Then we'll head south to New Orleans to visit Mary Lynn's sister Debbie and her husband Richard. Since we'll be on the gulf coast while in New Orleans, after a few days we'll decide to turn left towards Florida or right towards Texas based on the weather forecast -- warm and sunny wins.

No reservations, no plans, no worries....