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Published: December 22nd 2006
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Final US run
Not a view I usually see. Our last night in the Rig was spent in the Jungle, which, after weeks in Wildwood, was really nice. .
After a busy morning filling, emptying, refilling and sterilising tanks (for those of you who like the technical details, that’s the black, grey and fresh, a total of 160 gallons each time) in preparation for shipping. We eventually arrived at our last destination a little before dusk.
This is a new site for Bernarr (our shipping agent) to work from, and he is trying to clear the land, as currently, it is still very jungly.
It was a beautiful clear starry night. Graeme stepped outside and met up with an Armidillo, he called me out to see him but he had pottered off into the undergrowth . We could hear critters rustling around all around us. but were unable to see them. We searched using a torch but they remained elusive, tantalisingly near but well hidden. I had been hoping to see a 3 dimensional, living, breathing racoon before we left as I had only seen about 2,000 squashed ones on the roadside. These creatures are definitely the US equivalent of the UKs unfortunate hedgehog. Perhaps this would be
Packing up, the first time!!
I know it's christmas but it is the
first time I have had to wrap a 3 foot tire. my last chance. However despite scrabbling around in the undergrowth ourselves, it was not to be.
The next day we set to, packing everything up and preparing the rig for safe shipping.
The main lesson for the day was, DO NOT pack away all the tools first.
RVs screws have a rather strange sort of head and we own one screwdriver that fits them, (we have never seen another one). Earlier in the day Graeme had said “we mustn’t lose this, pack it somewhere safe”.
So, having tightly packed up the bays, Graeme then asks “where is the square headed screwdriver”?
I looked at him and then into the bays in disbelief. I knew it was in there somewhere!!!
After hours of packing, sorting and cleaning we were almost ready. Then, suddenly we thought about the temperature at home, how cold would it be? At the last minute we decided we needed to “winterise” the rig. This entails draining out all the water and tipping in 10 gallons of anti freeze and pumping it through the system…… To do this, you have to empty the water heater. Where is the access to the water heater tap? Through a
It was a 2 margarita day!
Graeme refulling for the next lap. very small gap inside the bays!!!!! Deep breath, out comes all the stuff again. It’s now getting dusk; perhaps I will see that racoon after all?
Eventually after at least 10 final glances and checks we took a last look at our home of the previous 18 months and drove off……… Separation anxiety set in almost immediately.
The next day we checked the long term UK weather forecast, it read, “high possibility of snow and freezing weather for Jan & Feb”, excellent, time well spent after all.
We considered staying in a nice smart resort hotel, but as we sped along the I4 I glanced in the back of the car at a huge heap of “stuff,” loose shoes, carriers bags, luggage bags, guitar, papers etc etc. We could not face the thought of dragging it all through a huge hotel lobby, up in a lift and along a long corridor only to reverse the situation in 2 days time. So we pulled up at the Days Inn, booked a room, parked about 30 meters from the room , opened the door and just threw it all in….perfect, all executed within 5 minutes.
It was
a fitting choice really, because, in a way, this is where it all started.
We stayed here with Trish & Neal a few years ago. Whilst here we took them to see “Lazydays”, a huge RV retailer, to show them what an American motor home looked like.
On the way back they were really enthusiastic and said “now we understand why you want to do it, we think you should”
We thought about it, decided we had talked about it long enough, and on return set the plan in motion. So it really was a full circle.
After a month of indifferent weather Florida decided to be kind to us this last week, teasing us with clear blue skies and temp in the 70s.
We were reintroduced to the English tourist. Whilst sitting having a coffee watching the passers-by, you could guess immediately who the Brits were, here’s the clues, shaved heads, (male, female and kids!) tattoos and smoking. The women were wearing rather small tight clothing on rather large pale bodies and the men sporting a very nice selection of football shirts! Its all coming back to us now……..
My Mum always taught me it is only good manners to write to say thank you when you have visited someone. So ………
We would like to say a big “THANKS” to all the people ( you know who you are, there’s too many to list) we met along the way, that helped us in so many ways, enjoy the time we have spent here. A special thanks to a few, Roger and Kate our “surrogate parents” and Postmasters, Margie and Ian (get better soon Ian, don’t forget to give those nurses a hard time!!) and to Kathe. Oh, & happy birthday Buddy
“Return from travels” party to be held in January, Usual “cast” invited, see you all then.
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anonymous
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What an experience! I have travelled with you since the beginning! (I found your first blog just when you wrote it) I hope you will continue writing more when you travel again. Happy Holidays!