Just some ramblings

I forgot to mention that I bought a down jacket at the Eddie Bauer outlet store on Sunday. It is very warm and delightfully lightweight. I liked another equally warm jacket, in a gorgeous woodland green color (the one I bought is a bright sky blue) but it had a canvas outer shell that would resist brambles and stickers should I be bushwhacking through deep woods - great for a hunter, but I sort of prefer trails to bushwhacking anyway. The canvas made it much heavier. I wanted something to cover my hips which meant I just about had to buy a man's jacket in Medium. Why in the world do they make warm coats for women stop at the waist?

I haven't removed the tags yet and may take it back if I happen to run across something I like better. I prefer an understated color, but so long as it is found in nature, i.e., shades of blue, green, brown, I'm ok. One thing I've noticed with the many jackets I've looked at is that the zippers won't last a year. Why in the world would a reputable company allow a skimpy cheap zipper on an otherwise beautiful garment? The down vest should arrive on Thursday and it is a cranberry (or some other berry) color, but I won't be out on any trails in it so the color doesn't matter as much.

I set the new doggie bed down for Lady to try out yesterday evening. She walked around it a couple of times, sniffing here and sniffing there, then climbed aboard. Her paws hung over the edge as well as part of her head because she is so long. It's the same with the big round bed though - right now she's stretched out on it with her head on the floor. The new bed has an egg crate type foam under the outer shell, and I hope it doesn't bother her. I don't like them myself, and would not want to sleep on one.

You may remember my dilemma about which memberships to retain, and I decided to only keep Passport America for now. Well, last night I got to thinking it over, and remembered how Good Sam Emergency Road Service towed my 5th wheel to a shop in Idaho for a temporary fix until I could get it repaired; then I remembered having a blow-out on busy I-95 in South Carolina last year. Although the tire service certainly wasn't prompt, they finally arrived and put a new tire on my 5ver so I could continue my journey.

I have an AAA membership which I have kept for years and wouldn't think of letting it go, but I'm not sure what they would or wouldn't do for a truck camper. I recently read an account of someone who had a flat tire out in the middle of the Alabama Nowhere, after dark of course, and AAA refused to come and change the tire. I guess they aren't equipped to jack up a 1 ton pickup with a camper loaded into the bed. As the story continued, it turned out that Good Sam sent someone who changed the tire and all was well. I'm not taking any chances, so last night I renewed the ERS online. It's pricey, at least I think so, but I feel better having that base covered. I noticed that my regular membership had expired, and I had two weeks to go on my ERS. I won't renew the regular membership if I don't have to as I only want the emergency coverage. I wonder, though, if I can still get the Good Sam discount using the ERS card. Most campgrounds I've stayed at don't even ask to see the card.

For my return trip I found a PA park in Boron, CA where I might stop - I've passed the turn-off to Boron many times and wondered what the heck was out there. By then I hope I'm comfortable driving that thing over bumpy back roads.

I've started packing - a couple of boxes of kitchen and miscellaneous items, and then a small suitcase. I only have the smallest in a 3-pc set - the others are in my Asheville storage. I will be really glad to spend a few days there emptying the storage room and deciding what I have to keep and what I can get rid of. If I haven't used it in all this time . . . I'm not sure how I will transport it as renting a u-Haul would limit the travel time. I moved my mom's furniture from CA to VA in 1997, and they allowed me either 10 days or 2 weeks, can't remember which. Originally they only wanted to give me a week. I had never driven a truck before and this one was about 24', plus I pulled a tow dolly with her little Toyota. I had lots of nerve in those days.

I wouldn't mind owning a small cargo trailer, but nearly everything I've seen is way too large for my needs. I'm thinking of the very small u-Hauls I've seen on the road - just a little enclosed trailer. Maybe I'll find something in Asheville. That's a few months off in the future, so there's no need to worry about it now.

Back to the packing and worrying about where I'm going to put it all.