Waiting.....

It is Thursday, and I have to wait until next Tuesday to go see my new (to me) 5th wheel and truck. It's all I can do to be patient, and after the long wait for my house to close, I'm a little short on patience these days.

I've been trying to think how I can get to SD to get the drivers license from that state, but it looks nearly impossible at this point. It is a little over 1400 miles each way, so it would be a 3000 mile round trip if I drive. I could possibly make it without running into bad weather, but it is just as likely I would face driving in snow or ice at some point. But I could take the dogs with me and wouldn't have to pay for a kennel, so driving would be the most cost effective. It is hard to get a realistic price for a flight unless you have exact dates and airports, and I don't know a thing about airports in SD except that I flew to Rapid City many years ago for a wedding. Maybe I can get by with waiting until next summer, and I may have to do that.

I'm anxious to get the rig and be on the road, finally. All in good time, I suppose.

Ahhh, grandchildren!

I am really enjoying my two grandsons since I've been here. Joshua is at the stage where he asks "Why?" to everything that is said. Justin is still an infant and is cute and cuddly, and I hold him every chance I get. I just sort of lie back on the couch and he sleeps on my stomach. We both love it!

I was relieved to find the money from the sale of my house has reached my account, and the application and check for mail forwarding service arrived in SD. Now I need to complete the deal for the rv and truck, which I will probably do next week. Life is good.

Beautiful autumn day in New York

Well I am here in beautiful Dutchess Co. NY, where the leaves are in full color and falling fast. It was cold last night but warmed up today. When I took the 2 dogs out for an early morning walk, the big one (Lady) stopped halfway down the stairs off the deck and just looked out into the back yard. I kept telling her to move it, until I looked up and saw that she and a deer were making eye contact, and when I yelled "Wait", of course she ran. The deer was much faster as Lady is a bit overweight, so naturally it disappeared up the hill and into the woods. I had forgotten all about the fact that there are a whole lot of deer and they come down through the yards mostly in the early morning and early evening. The deer also make it tricky to plant shrubs or flowers, as they usually only stay away from yellow ones, so in the spring here you see lots of forsythia and daffodils. They also avoid pachysandra, but if they are really hungry they will eat anything. As is happening everywhere, humans are crowding animals out of their habitat. In NC where I lived it was the poor bears who were being shoved out. I wish there could be reserves set aside for the wildlife, close to the developed areas, although people owning the land wouldn't like to be told they couldn't sell to a developer if they wanted to. I met a man a couple of years ago who was deeding his farm to a national trust organization, because all his daughter would do with it would be to sell it and spend the money as fast as she could. Many people in the Carolinas have farms that have been in their family for generations, and it's very sad when it gets to the point that they have to sell to a real estate developer who changes the landscape so much you couldn't recognize it, and then gives it a fancy name with the words "ridge, grove, forest" and the like.

I didn't intend to get on a soapbox today! I have just about decided that when the deal is made for the Hitchhiker II & Ford 350, I will take over the storage rental in NJ until I'm ready to go south. It is winterized and I should leave it so until I get far enough south. I had thought maybe I could find a campground in this area still open, and maybe live for a couple of weeks in the 5ver before leaving NY, but it would be too cold and I think I will just wait. If anyone has driven in or around Philadelphia, I would appreciate any comments or suggestions on possible routes. I don't want to take I-95 south, so from Burlington NJ it looks like I could cross the river and be on or close to the PA Turnpike in the northern part of Philly. I hope to take the turnpike over to I-81 in the vicinity of Carlisle PA, and then head south. From there on I should be ok except for the 10 or 12 miles that I have to drive through Maryland. Lord, how I hate the way they drive! I wish I had been able to spend the first few weeks driving in a less traveled area just to get used to it, but that's not going to be, so I will deal with it.

New York

I woke up at about 4 am this morning and couldn't go back to sleep, so at 4:40 I got up and got ready to drive. I drove about 600 miles today and arrived at my son's house much earlier than I thought I would. I didn't go over the speed limit, but in PA between the "safety corridors" and "work areas" it isn't easy to maintain any speed. I have been following Bob & Judy's blog, and they have just left PA after a visit home, and commented on the beautiful trees with their fall colors. You only see those reds in the east, and driving through PA today I marveled at the variety of yellows and reds. In NC ours were just beginning to turn. I'm making a promise to myself right now to stop and find the beauty of every place I'm in, and appreciate it while I'm there. I sure do find myself missing Dixie though!

One of the things that stood out today were the number of RV's going south - mainly Class A's and 5vers. Do they know something that I seem to be missing? Now I'm stressing over how I am going to make it until early December and then drive the 5ver south to warmer weather. Gosh, I haven't even bought the rig yet, so first things first.

On the way

My closing was today at 3 pm and I was on the road an hour later. It rained most of the way and was extremely heavy off and on, so I couldn't use the cruise control. I forgot how difficult it can be to maintain a speed without it. The speed limit was 70, but in places I had to slow down to 55 because I could feel the vehicle planing when I went faster. I don't know how people can drive 75 and 80 in the fog and heavy rain, but I'm not gonna do it! I arrived at the motel in Wytheville, VA a little after 7 pm which was about 15 minutes after darkness fell, and I don't like to drive in the dark. I will try to leave very early in the morning and make it to NY, although if it is raining I'm sure I'll have to stop somewhere.

The sale of my house went perfectly in the end, and I even came out about $1k ahead of what I thought I would net. And I still have some $ coming from the escrow account. I'll use the extra to get Pressure Pro for the rig which will ease my mind. I hear of so many folks getting blow-outs, and I certainly don't want that to happen to me if I can prevent it. The closer I get to realizing my dream the more scared and nervous I get.

It is too aggravating to try to type this on the laptop. I didn't bring in the keyboard so I'm stuck with this terrible laptop keyboard! With a little luck I'll do the next post on my son's desktop.

Two important things taken care of

Well I spent the entire morning devoted to civic duties: I spent an hour at the dreaded Asheville DMV and got my driver's license renewed. When they checked the computer they found two addresses under my name - one was the correct address, and the other one I have no idea how it got there. I checked my credit reports within the last 6 months, and none of the three had an address I couldn't identify as having used in the past. It's kind of scary, but since the DMV didn't find that I was "wanted" for any kind of crime, and since I hope to never have to apply for credit again, I guess I won't worry too much about it. The good part about the license renewal is that I no longer have the restriction on it for wearing glasses when I drive. My glasses have had the corrections reduced for the past two years, and I have a hard time driving with glasses on, so I'm glad to be legal now. The only good part about the glasses is the fact that they get very dark in the sun.

Secondly, I voted! I feel like I'm walking on air since I completed that ballot, and I feel bad for the people I know who say they will vote for the "lesser of two evils". I voted for the person I can believe in and it feels wonderful, folks!

Now to get busy on packing up and cleaning the house. I'm not sure when I will be able to post next, but soon I hope.

Countdown

In two days from now I will have shed myself of a house on 3/4 acre in one of the most beautiful locations in the US. The closing is tentatively set for 2 pm on Friday. I'm a little disappointed that it isn't earlier in the day, as I had thought about stopping at a DMV one county over on my way out of town and renewing my driver's license, which expires Nov. 14. The DMV here in Asheville is always crowded, and like most govt offices in cities, the staff are usually too rushed to be very pleasant. I just checked to get an idea of air fares from close to where I will be in NY to Sioux Falls, SD, and I would be looking at $650+, so I'm not inclined to try to do that. It is over 1000 miles and driving is out of the question since the weather could turn bad and I would be stuck. I will be taking a slight risk having SD license plates and a NC driver's license, but that can't be helped. I'll get it in SD next spring/summer.

I have made some headway in cleaning up the bedroom, but then I just moved my air mattress & pillows, plus the two dog beds, out into the living room. That allowed me to vacuum and clean out the closet. That's two bedrooms and one bathroom finished, leaving the computer room, living room, master bath, & kitchen. I have to dismantle my desktop tomorrow so that means I won't be online after that unless the motel I'm staying at has wi fi and I can get online. I decided I didn't want to have to rush around leaving here on Friday morning - don't know when the buyer will want to do the walk through. I will take it easy on Friday and have breakfast at a little diner nearby that has the best biscuits & gravy & grits that I have ever eaten!

I just want to be on my way. I want to buy the 5th wheel & truck and start to live in it. I want to learn to maneuver it well, and to drive it back here to Asheville in December to load up some of the things I've put in storage. I'd like to visit a lot of people along the way, although none of them live in a straight line to anywhere.

So I doubt if I will be able to post for the next week or so, but maybe I will get lucky and be able to use that #/@#% laptop!