Saturday, April 30, 2011

Slip-Sliding away….

Back in Raleigh at the moment. Our after school plans have been to take care of a few items in Raleigh and then leave for the rest of the year.

But….

I have some serious maintenance to do on DaKotR, some medical appointments for routine stuff and med supplies for the next year. The “basement” of the house is still pretty full and needs to be emptied before we can put it on the market.  Painting is also necessary and though my son is going to take care of that and the paint is in hand, he has gotten so busy that what was to be done by now will be done… sometime.

M. has a wedding to attend today. We planned to head to the Charleston, WV area mid-week to visit with her good friend on a US visit who now lives in the UK.

It is looking more like the WV trip will be sans RV, though.  There are just too many things washing up on our home beach that need to be dealt with before we set sail for the summer.

The intent was to launch to Colorado from WV but now, the tides of necessity are shifting our Jell-O plans a bit so the WV trip will likely be just a few days and then back here for the rest of our preparations for being gone until next year sometime.

Oops! That was number 3 son on the phone. He is part of the wedding party and got lost on the way to the reception location for photos…. the wedding is not until this afternoon so let’s hope he can find the church from there. 

Actually, I spend a lot of computer time as a dispatcher for family and friends.. .even when I am out of town. “Help Dad. I am lost!”, “Dad, where the hell is Fritzi’s BBQ in Fuquay?”, “How do I get to Iam Lostlane from here?”.  This is an observation, not a complaint. Though I have always raised my kids to be independent and self-sufficient, that can have a backlash after a certain age… You just may never hear from them, again.

Sure, they all have SmartPhones and all know how to use them but a Smart phone does not have a familiar, calming voice that works with you and your situation. It never says “I’m sorry for your ‘lost” condition”.  Dads do that and maybe that need, alone, will keep us connected wherever we are.

But, I digress… These many little items and issues are tightly wedging themselves into our scheduled departure and the visit to WV cannot be rescheduled, thus, that may turn into a side trip from Raleigh instead of a “VIA” on the way to Colorado.

This is life and liberty and it’s all about working around the doctor’s appointments, repairs, tornadoes, weddings and “unfinished” business that we all have trailing behind (or sometimes, ahead) of us like the tail of a comet. We will deal with it as best we can but never let it distract us from our real objectives on the road.

ttfn

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Wrapping up and moving on..

This is our last night in the Smithfield KOA. I know that a lot of full timers don’t get enthusiastic about KOA campgrounds but I will say that this has been a completely nice experience… right up to the tornado.

With a monthly rate of $450 + elec (.14/kwh) it has been within acceptable limits for the circumstances. Smithfield, NC is not my idea of a destination unless one wants to spend many days cruising the Outlet mall. Merrily’s Truck driver training class was the justification and the cost was very reasonable to make that happen.

Now, it’s back to Raleigh for a few days to get some med stuff done, a few RV repairs (like finding where the gasoline is leaking from when the generator runs) and finish my RV tools sorting/stocking project which I left unfinished to come down here. Although I did not do much tool work down here, I did find a few things that I had previously thought I would not bother putting in the RV which would have been very helpful.. no, I didn’t mean a chainsaw…. I could have rented one if I had really been motivated to use it.

I got a full PM done on Clifford this morning. First time he has had his oil changed since 2004 (but that was only 12,000 miles ago). I get a regular oil analysis done at Blackstone Labs and they have said it was still ok so no harm, no foul).

I also had the Speedco mechanic plug replug the connector on the fuel temperature sensor that I have been getting some occasional error codes from for the past couple of years.

Interestingly, the codes have stopped (likely dirty contacts on the plug) and my mpg has jumped up 2.4 mpg.  We will see if it holds. The sensor is located on the cap of the rear fuel filter and I cannot reach it from above nor get under the truck to get to it from below. The mechanic said he was happy to replug it a few times to clean the contacts. If the codes start up again, I will just replace the sensor but at $69 I am not ready to Easter-egg it just yet.

Katie had a big seizure yesterday morning while I was heading out to get the PM done. Merrily called and I had to abort that project and return. Katie has not had one that lasted this long (2 hrs.) in over a year. She was on day 35 of no seizures.  We suspect it might have been the heartworm meds I gave her the previous day as we have previously seen seizures happen within a couple of days of her getting meds.

After the R&R (repair and replenish) in Raleigh, we are off to West Virginia and then Denver! We are really looking forward to that.

ttfn

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Graduation Day! WaaaHooo!!

My most amazing life partner. I love you.
My most amazing life partner. I love you.

This is definitely a benchmark day!

Merrily now has her Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) and is a trained professional Over-The-Road (OTR) truck driver.

8 Hard weeks of 10 hour days learning Federal Safety regulations, practicing driving, parking, backing, maneuvering obstacle courses and many hours behind the wheel out on the roads and highways, has earned Merrily a diploma as a professional truck driver.

I am incredibly proud for her in accomplishing this achievement. I went through this 7 years ago and it remains the single hardest thing I have done in my 67 years.

Merrily receiving her diploma
Merrily receiving her diploma
Uh-oh, her nose is turning red.  Tears are not far behind.
Uh-oh, her nose is turning red. Tears are not far behind.

Acceptance speeches can get emotional.

yep, there they are, right on schedule. That is the Lead Class instructor, Chris Chappell. He was also Smith and mine in 2004. Chris is a real personable guy and a great supporter.
yep, there they are, right on schedule. That is the Lead Class instructor, Chris Chappell. He was also Smith and mine in 2004. Chris is a real personable guy and a great supporter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

There she is, Ms America!  The guy in front of her is
There she is, Ms America! The guy in front of her is "Catfish" and beat cancer to go through this class.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Congratulations!

ttfn

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

She works hard for this Honey..

Today Merrily finished the truck driving class and SHE NAILED IT!!!!!!! It took 8 weeks of 10 hour days but she never missed a day of class.

She set several benchmarks.

  • Oldest woman ever to finish the class
  • Only woman of the 6 originals, to actually finish and pass the class. The rest were in their 20s and 30s.
  • Only woman to take all of her final tests right after having survived a direct hit by a tornado! (ok, so maybe this is more of a Guinness book kind of thing… but it is definitely unique.
  • She did excellent on all of the written tests
  • She says, “backing a trailer is a guy thing because none of us girls could back worth a darn!”
  • She passed yesterday’s forward obstacle course, the Coupling/uncoupling and written regulations tests with no errors!
  • She managed to hang in there while 20 of the 43 original students failed the class prior to today.  That, alone, puts her in the top half of the class. 
  • Today was the 100 question final written exam and she only missed 3.
  • Today was also her last road test, which she passed with no problem.
  • She came in exhausted but elated at 1:00 PM and we ate lunch. Afterwards, she read for a bit and then said, “I am going to take a nap…. just because I can.”  … She was always gone to school by 6:40am and was not out of class most days before 6pm.. do the math.. she was never home during “napping” time.
  • I love her immensely and forever. God has blessed me almost more than I can bear.
  • Now the fun begins for real.

For the past 60 years, Merrily has been and always will be the key to my life.

Merrily, I love you, forever.

Tornado, Tornado, Tornado

Now that I have some connectivity, I wanted to get these pictures and some perspectives about what it was like being inside an RV while a tornado raged around outside.

The short answer:  Not Fun! But…

We are still not quite sure what exactly hit us. The winds had to be in excess of 160 mph to do the damage it did but the “swirling” damage typical of a tornado is completely missing. Although it is being called a tornado, it must have been ground level wind shear. Perhaps a horizontal funnel due to the very high ground speed (60+ mph) it had. Might have just drug the tail of the twister out behind it all the way.

We see plenty of damage like this:

This is the other side of DakotR.
This is the other side of DakotR.
DSC02854.JPG
DSC02854.JPG

 

 

 

 

 

 

All the better to see it with, my Dear.
All the better to see it with, my Dear.

There were other RVs that suffered worse damage but no one was hurt.

 

Just before it hit us, Phillip, one of the workampers at this KOA, knocked on the door to tell us that it was headed this way and we could go take shelter in the meeting room. Hail between marble and jaw breaker sizes was crashing down on him and he wore only a baseball cap.

He was very lucky to not be hurt but I am sure it was still painful.  I quickly thanked him, closed the door, walked back into the bedroom where Merrily was lying on the floor between the foot of the bed and the  bedroom storage drawers. I glanced out of the side window to see hurricane strength winds blowing all sorts of stuff past us. I knew it was too late to try to leave the RV, even if it was only to jump into the ditch 20 feet behind us. 

When we parked here 2 months ago, I had made a mental note that this ditch would be a good place to shelter in a pinch.  Had this tornado been much stronger, it would have definitely been better than the meeting house up at the entrance which got a direct hit and some damage.

For a moment, a 12 inch piece of pink insulation wafted up to the window and paused momentarily before instantly disappearing from view. Must have been a little eddy current there due to the Kitchen slideout protrusion.

The good fortune for us is that we were sheltered from most of the flying debris by the heavy bush and cedar trees lining the deep drainage ditch right behind us. The trees heavily covered in vines that blew over onto the rear of DaKotR acted like a blast shield and deflected the wind up and over us.

Looking at what the wind took out from directly behind us,

Notice the cedar tree stub just to the left of the transformer. That tree exploded and pieces landed on us and clear across the street.
Notice the cedar tree stub just to the left of the transformer. That tree exploded and pieces landed on us and clear across the street.

It seems that we got some of the strongest winds in the park blew right over us. This is the only spot that they were completely gone in that whole row.

I sure appreciate the workmanship and materials of the King of The Road we have. Despite the huge weight of the trees on the back of it and on the big slideout, it did not crumple, crush or warp at all. It’s really too bad they are no longer building RVs.

I have posted a lot more photos to view in a set of time ordered albums on my Picasa site. http://www.picasaweb.google.com/emeryn I hope you find this informative.

I am keeping this relatively short to encourage more readers to read the whole thing.  I will be filling in more information about this experience in the coming days.

Meanwhile, I hope this answers a lot of your questions.

ttfn

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Hey… Anybody seen Toto?

This time it wasn’t Dorothy.. it was us!

DSC02849

Military training makes one just duck when the sergeant says DUCK!  It drills out of one the momentary hesitation to say why… even in one’s own mind.  DUCK means DUCK NOW and preferably SOONER than NOW!

If you ever hear a tornado WARNING…. go seek appropriate shelter. Don’t waste time trying to find out where it is at that moment because if it is close by, you have probably already lost access to current radar images on TV.  Cell phones, even smart ones will take time to use to try to get information.

DSC02855Trust me when I say, the time it takes for the best cell phone on the best WIFI or wireless service to find and pull in an image that is 2 minutes old can be the difference between life, death or disability.

TORNADO WARNING is the civilian equivalent of the military order DUCK! Do not try to second guess it or validate the source of 2 minute old data.

Tornadoes don’t appear at one edge of a tornado warning area and travel in a straight line to another edge. They can spontaneously spawn and die all over the Tornado Warning area. They are usually accompanied by hail in sizes from BBs to softballs and traveling as fast or faster than either. They can be slushy or rock hard and you may never know the difference if you are hit in the head by one.

DSC02920

If you think that they are interesting to see in storm chaser movies, ask yourself how big the stone was which was thrown by David to kill Goliath? It certainly could not have been traveling as fast as a single piece of hail.  Consider, too, that getting knocked out by a piece of hail immediately renders you unable to protect yourself or control the safety of yourself and your family.

Whether “stoned” to death by ongoing hail or picked up unconscious by the tornado and shaken ( not stirred) in a cocktail of rocks (yes, rocks), wood, roofing, masonry and everything else that is not part of a space shuttle launching platform, you will not survive and it will be because when you were warned, you did not DUCK!

ttfn

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Got the CDL, now for the Diploma

Merrily now has her Commercial Driver’s License in hand and is fully legal and trained to drive big rigs.

Of course, her goal was to become a safe competent driver of our own home and that, she has accomplished through this 8 week truck driver training class.copy_of_img_0532

I am sure that she could have gotten a license on her own without the class through study and some practice with our own rig. But, what she wanted was to be safe, confident and comfortable doing it and that takes a lot of hands on time behind the wheel.

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Most of her 10 hour days were spent on the practice field where they have the various field exercises setup with trucks and trailers, obstacles and simulated typical situations to learn to navigate.

Typically, 3 hours of each day was in the classroom learning terminology, technology, regulations, map reading and how to fill out log books. With the possible exception of the log books, all of other content goes to training a driver to be more aware even when a situation is not in play.

The rest of the day was spent getting hands on experience in their trucks with their instructors. That has trained her mind, eyes and muscles to reliably respond correctly in real time situations. This not something that one can get from books. Neurological patterning and muscle memory training has to be done through conscious repetitive actions and that means some long exhausting hours behind the wheel.

Prior to this class she had never driven a truck while towing a trailer of any sort. By itself, that makes for a huge confidence gap. Add to it virtually no experience backing any sort of a trailer and you have borderline panic just thinking about parking our rig.

Now, her confidence is solid and her fears are gone. Add some time on the road and she will be as comfortable handling our rig as she is running to the grocery store in our Smart car.

Congratulations, my Love!

ttfn

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Two down, One to go

Today, Merrily passed her DOT maneuvering tests (backing 100’ in a narrow channel and a 90 degree backing between two trailers).

She said that was easy compared to the equivalent tests to pass the class. They have less room, tighter limits and less allowance for slop and oversight.

She is happy. Still has just one more test to go, her on the road DOT driving test and then she can go pick up her CDL from the DMV and start driving solo on the road.

I am just about to bust a gut because I am so happy for her! This is just terrific!

ttfn

Monday, April 11, 2011

And now.. A Double Wooohoooo!!!!

Merrily passed her 10 speed truck driving certification today!!!!   Momentous occasion!

At this point, at least 6 students out of 43 were unable to pass even a single truck certification and were dropped from the course.

Tomorrow and Wednesday they will take the two  90 minute tests (one each day) for Maps and for logs. If you ever thought that truckers don’t have to be smart, this course will change your mind.

Sure, a few rogues skip by for awhile and make a bad rep for the rest but a career professional driver has to be smart or have a short career, period. 

Merrily is closing in on the end of the class… less than 2 weeks away.

ttfn

Thursday, April 7, 2011

WooHoo! Merrily qualified on the 9 speed… One more to go…

To most, this probably seems like … “….what?…”. But this is a really big deal.  In order to be certified and get her CDL, she has several tests to pass. Some are written but the hardest are the driving qualifications in the big trucks. They have 9 speed and 10 speed semis with 48’ trailers at the school and to pass the class and get a certificate to exchange for your CDL at the DMV, you have to qualify on both kinds of trucks.

She almost qualified on the 10 speed, yesterday, but due to a capricious decision by the instructor, she didn’t. Today, she did qualify on the 9 speed trucks so just one more to go.

To graduate the class, she still has to pass several different backing  tests (90 degree to a dock, serpentine offset to dock) and the 100 foot alley back (which is not as easy as it sounds). You only have about 6” on either side of your tires to work in to back a 48’ trailer 100 feet in a straight line.

She is very close, though. She has really worked hard at this course and will definitely be a better driver than I am when she graduates from the class in a couple more weeks.

I love her so much but I admire her equally so it is impossible to not be excited and proud for her.  I don’t know how many other 60+ year old women would even consider making this effort but she has and is owning the show and we are going to have an unbelievably great life on the road because of it.

WE, not just me, will travel the country, safely and comfortably and, as always, know that someone is always there to have our back

ttfn.

Good Morning Pandora!

I love Beegie Adair’s music style! Pandora (I love it, too) just pushed me a note that they have put up a new set of selections from Beegie Adair so I had to check them out.

Yep, Beegie is in there, somewhere.

Pandora, if you have not tried it, is Internet Radio thematically corrected by you for your own listening styles. it does not play just the specified artist but Pandora will find music that seems to fit the same style… Sometimes we don’t see eye-to-eye on what “same style” means but if I strongly agree, I give the piece it is playing a thumbs-up. If I really don’t want to include it, a thumbs-down click will sculpture Pandora’s selection criteria a little to better fit my preferences.

By building multiple playlists or “Radio Channels”, I can have a broad choice of music sources to match my mood. Because Pandora throws in “similar music” as well as the specific artists I choose, it gives me a taste of randomness, but not as uncontrolled as XM or Sirius Satellite Radio.

All-in-all, for a free service (yes, as usual, there is a “premium” version, too) Pandora is nice.

You can setup Radio channels that you configure for the type of music (style, artist, genre, etc.)you would like to hear.  At any time, thereafter, you can switch to that channel and start hearing that type of music.

I also really like GrooveShark which lets me build playlists of just the artist I want without contaminating the mix with similar artists. I can build playlists of pieces that fulfill my own music preferences without semi random insertions by the service.

Both have worked fine over both park wifi and Tethered phones and sound good to me. It is very nice to  not be limited to a specific set of tunes on specific CDs that I have to try to read the labels to pick from.  Heck, by the time I find the CD I want, I am too tired or frustrated to bother turning it on…. maybe next time?

Both are also available (Pandora is free but not Grooveshark) on Android phones and will let me use the playlists I built on my computer.