As fulltime RVers, we get to see all kinds of wonderful things and all over the country, and we visit places most people can only dream of. But not every day is about playing tourist. Some days we just keep busy with life in general. Yesterday was such a busy day for us, even though we were not traveling or out sightseeing.

Terry’s parents, Pete and Bess Weber, were fulltimers for several years, and now that they have settled into a house in Apache Junction, they keep their motorhome on a leased lot at the Hon Dah RV Park, here in the White Mountains. Yesterday, they drove up to get their Pace Arrow ready for the summer, and we spent most of the day helping them with that chore.

After the water, electric and sewer connections were hooked up, and Pete had purged the water lines of the winter antifreeze, we got their car unloaded. Then Pete and I raked a winter’s worth of dried pine needles and debris from their patio and the rest of the lot. Meanwhile, Terry and her mom were inside putting things away in the cabinets and closets.

A winter storm had knocked over their tripod mounted TV dish, and before Pete hooked up his signal finder meter, we just pointed the dish in the general direction of where the neighbor’s dish was, and went inside to see if by any chance we had gotten lucky. Unbelievably, we were locked onto a good strong signal! Then Bess had to call Dish Network to reactivate their motorhome’s receiver, since it had been on hiatus all winter long. 

I’m sure glad we live in our Winnebago year around and don’t have to move in and back out every few months, because by the time we were finished, we were all tired!

After we caught our breath, the four of us went to Red Devil Pizza in Pinetop for an early dinner and some more visiting. Red Devil has absolutely the best pizza in the region, as well as great sandwiches and pasta. Terry and her mom had lasagna, I had an Italian sub sandwich, and Pete opted for the fish and chips, and it was all delicious.

After we parted ways at the restaurant, Terry and I stopped at my friend Jim Lewis’ book store, so I could have Jim adjust my back again.  It sure is great having a bone cruncher in the family!

Then we were off to my daughter Tiffany’s place in Show Low, where she had a package of mail waiting for us from our forwarding service. We got our mail and our grandkid fix, but didn’t stay long because it was close to their dinner time.

Back at the Elks lodge campground, Miss Terry cut my hair and trimmed my beard, because I was so shaggy that I was getting very close to violating the city’s leash law. I have reached that point in my life where, even though I have lost most of the hair on my head, by the time we get my ears and eyebrows mown, it takes just as long.

We had a quiet evening, catching up on some e-mail and watching TV before we called it a night and headed for bed.

Thought For The Day – Save the Earth, it’s the only planet with chocolate.

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Yesterday was our last day in Apache Junction, and as much as we enjoy visiting with Terry’s parents, Pete and Bess Weber, we’re ready to get back up to Show Low, where it is a little cooler, and we can get another grandkid fix.

I spent part of yesterday doing some bookwork and maintenance on our subscriber mailing lists, and logging in several vendor registrations for our Eastern Gypsy Gathering rally in Elkhart, Indiana.

As of now, we have less than 20 of the 50 amp full hookup sites left, and twelve 30 amp full hookup sites. We still have quite a few 30 amp water and electric sites, and lots of 20 amp water and electric sites, but the folks who wait too long to register, and then expect full hookups, may be disappointed.

While I was doing that, Miss Terry installed another set of the Levolor window blinds that I mentioned in yesterday’s blog. These went on the small window in our bedroom, and I think they look pretty good.

A few people asked me if the blinds would rattle going down the highway. I don’t think so, since they come with metal brackets that attach to the wall or inside the window frame, depending on your installation. The bottom of the blinds slide into these brackets, which holds them securely and prevents any movement or rattling. At least that’s the game plan, we’ll know for sure after we actually do any traveling.  Plus, there is room for the blinds to pull up snugly in the header at the top of the window, where it is unlikely they can rattle.

Today we have an 8 a.m. appointment at Camping World in Mesa to get the problems with our inside dual wheels corrected, and hopefully we’ll be out of there in a couple of hours. Then we’ll head back up the hill, as local folks call it, to Show Low.

We have our choice of two routes, either U.S. Highway 60 east to Globe, and then the same road north through the Salt River Canyon to Show Low; or we can take State Route 87, the Beeline Highway, north to Payson, and then State Route 260 east to Show Low. The first route is the more scenic, with the dramatic drop down into the Salt River Canyon and the climb back up, but the route through Payson is a little easier and the road is better most of the way.

Since we came down through the Salt River Canyon, I’m leaning toward the Beeline Highway going back up, just for a change of scenery if nothing else. But I never know for sure which way I’ll go until I get there. That freedom is one of the advantages of the RV lifestyle. We usually don’t have to travel by any certain route, or be any certain place, unless we want to.

We have met a few fulltimers who are so rigidly locked into schedules that they never leave themselves any room to explore whatever comes up along the way, or even  to have a buffer in case bad weather or mechanical difficulties interrupt their trip. Most folks like this either loosen up and learn to roll with the punches, or they realize that fulltiming isn’t for them and they eventually find themselves settled down, either in a long term RV park setting, or back in a sticks and bricks house.

Thought For The Day – Everything worth knowing leaves bruises.

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When I first heard about Apple’s new tablet computer, I have to admit that my first reaction was “So what? I already have a desktop computer, a laptop computer, and a netbook computer. What can the iPad do that they can’t?” Then I saw my first iPad, and my immediate reaction was “I want one!” 

As it turns out, there is not much you can do on an iPad that you can’t do with another type of computer, but there is a lot that I can do with an iPad that I don’t do on my other computers. Things like relaxing on the couch and surfing the web at the same time, or checking my e-mail while visiting the in-laws, or reading USA Today for free while waiting in the van while my wife is in the bank or grocery store.

The iPad comes in two versions, either a WiFi only version, or a 3G model (capable of accessing the internet via AT&T) which also is WiFi capable if you are near a WiFi hotspot. Both versions come with either 16, 32 or 64 gig of storage. I wanted the 64 gig 3G model, because one of my big reasons for wanting an iPad was for internet access away from our motorhome. Getting one proved to be a challenge, because every store I contacted was sold out. I finally put my name on the list to reserve one at the Apple Store in Tucson, and less than a week later it arrived.

I am no fan of AT&T, and I really wish the iPad was available on the Verizon network, but so far there is no verifiable indication that will happen anytime soon. So it is what it is. AT&T offers two different monthly pricing plans for the iPad, either 250 MB for $14.99 or $29.99 for unlimited data. You can change your plan at any time, but forget the cheaper plan. It’s a joke. I signed up for it, and in less than 24 hours I was at my limit, with no movies or music downloaded, just web surfing and checking e-mail. 

I was disappointed to discover that my iPad would not work with our Cradlepoint MBR1000 router right out of the box. So much for Apple’s “just turn it on and it works, first time, every time” reputation. I called the Apple Store, and they asked me to bring it in to see if they could figure it out. As it turns out, there is a setting on the Cradlepoint that I need to change, which the Apple tech assures me will remedy the problem. Since I switched to the unlimited plan, the conflict with my router is no big hassle, so I’ll wait and have one of my tech buddies talk me through changing the router’s settings, so I don’t mess up and lose Miss Terry’s WiFi access in the process. On AT&T, here in Apache Junction, the iPad works quickly, and I have no complaints.

UPDATE: After I originally posted this blog, my friend Greg White talked me through resetting the router, and now the iPad works fine on WiFi.

The first thing one has to understand about the iPad is that it is not a replacement to a computer, if you need all of the things a computer can do. I see it as a supplement. If I am at my desk, I may pop onto Facebook to see what’s happening, or answer an e-mail, or look around the internet, but to me, my desk is where I work, so I find myself feeling guilty if I goof off too much, and before long I’m writing a blog or a story for the next issue of the Gypsy Journal. With the iPad, I can park myself on the couch and play.

So if an iPad isn’t a computer, what is it? Well, it’s a great e-book reader, for one thing. I had an Amazon Kindle, and though I loved the concept, most of what I wanted it for were reference books. I discovered that photographs and charts look terrible, and are hard to see on a Kindle. On the iPad, they look great. I was also thrilled to learn that, besides Apple’s online book store, there is a free Kindle app, and once I downloaded it, all of the books I had purchased for my Kindle were still in my Amazon library, and I downloaded them to the iPad. Cool!

Being a career newspaper man, I am a news junkie. So I love the free USA Today app, which allows me to read my newspaper on the iPad. I can also read the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and a ton of magazines on it.

The iPad comes with a great street map, and the 3G model has a GPS chip built in. I can view maps in traditional street view, or Google satellite view, and the GPS feature allows me to find local businesses wherever I am. When I click on a business, I get the address, phone number, and other info, along with turn by turn directions.

We love music, and our iPod has thousands of songs on it. I can download those same songs to my iPad, and buy more from the iTunes Store.

For gaming, the graphics are fantastic, but I doubt that I’ll be playing games in the iPad. I have also seen movies on iPads on display at stores, and the picture is great. There is a Netflix app that allows you to download all the movies you could ever want to watch.

I could go on and on about all you can do with an iPad, but you can get most of that info online with a quick Goggle search. So instead, I’ll tell you a little about the features I like and don’t like, from a user standpoint.

First, the iPad is heavier than a Kindle, and your hands get tired pretty quickly if you are holding it like a paperback book. But if I prop it up on my chest while laying down, or on my stomach while sitting in a chair, it’s fine. (I knew I grew that stomach for something!) In the van, I prop it on the steering wheel and again, no problems.

I have heard that because the iPad doesn’t support Flash, some websites will not load right, or won’t come up at all. So far that has not been a problem, and I have been able to access and view every website I wanted to, including my own websites, the Escapees forum, Ancestry.com and many others. I can also follow links in websites with no problem

The glossy screen is also a fingerprint magnet, and in direct sunlight, the screen will give a lot of glare. There are screen protectors one can buy to remedy those problems.

I like the touch screen, and being able to make type and photos larger whenever I need to. For these old eyes, that’s a real plus. I am also very impressed with the iPad’s battery life. Apple claims 9+ hours of constant use on the 3G models, and 10 hours on the WiFi only models. I have found that to be true so far. I charged the unit up when I brought it home, and have about 40% of battery power left 36 hours later.

The speaker is so so at best, and while there is a jack for earphones, I don’t know how much I’ll use the music feature, since I can just slip my much smaller, lighter iPod into my shirt when I go for a walk.

I downloaded the free Weather Bug app, and I am very impressed with it. The graphics are excellent, and the GPS tells Weather Bug my location for up to the minute local weather info. One reader e-mailed me that they found its live weather radar very handy a few days ago when they were on the road and dodging thunderstorms and tornados in Oklahoma.

Other standard iPad features I really like are the notepad and calendar. Yes, I have both on my Blackberry, but my eyes older really need a bigger screen.  I also appreciate the fact that, unlike a laptop computer, the iPad does not get hot, no matter how long you use it.

There are other features, and thousands of apps that I am looking forward to exploring further, but based on what I have seen so far, I am even more impressed with the iPad than I was at first glance. I see it becoming my primary tool for media consumption, information access, and  web surfing. Like an American Express card, I won’t leave home without it.

So, is the iPad the newest must have gadget for every RVer? I don’t know, but it sure meets the needs of this RVer, and I’m glad I have it!

Thought For The Day – Suburbia: Where they cut down all the trees, and then name streets after them.

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Did I mention that I really, really hate getting up early in the morning? I’ve never been a morning person and never will be. I have never minded working long hours, I just always wanted the night shift, not the morning shift. But I was still awake at 6:30 a.m. yesterday morning. That’s two mornings in a row when I was up with the roosters. Will the madness never stop?

The guys at RV Renovators were on duty at 7 a.m., and they had one heck of a job getting the Norcold refrigerator in our Winnebago Ultimate Advantage loose enough to tilt forward so they could do the recall upgrade. Miss Terry had to empty the unit before they started working on it, and it’s a good thing she did, because judging by this picture it all would have been in a big jumbled mess otherwise. Fortunately, RV Renovators had a refrigerator and a separate  freezer that we could store everything in to keep it from spoiling. 

The techs had to almost crawl inside the access panel opening in the side of the motorhome to get the job done. By late morning they had the upgrade finished, and we started putting everything back inside the refrigerator. Then Miss Terry noticed a problem. The refrigerator would not ignite on propane, and kept giving us an error message. Oops! Now what?

A couple of techs tried to diagnose the problem without success, so they called in Bob, the “old timer” at RV Renovators. It only took a few minutes for Bob to figure out that the air tube directly over the burner was full of crud, and with all of the jerking and pounding to get the refrigerator out, some of it had fallen down and blocked the gas valve. They cleaned it out, and voila, the propane fired right up and we were in business.

For most of our many years as fulltimers, we have had a residential refrigerator, so there is a learning curve to RV refrigerators that we are still working on. Bob told me that the refrigerator burner air tube should be cleaned every year to prevent this kind of problem. I didn’t know that, did you? 

With that problem out of the way, we were ready to go. I would feel confident in recommending RV Renovators to anybody in need of RV service or repair. They took very good care of us, and we will call on them any time we’re in Arizona and need work done. Thanks Cinda, Jesse, Bill, Bob, and everybody else for all of your great service.

From RV Renovators, we drove a few miles east to Apache Junction, where we took a site at Happy Days RV Park, a nice Passport America campground with 50 amp full hookup back-in sites on gravel, with a concrete pad at each site. The place is pretty empty, but we’re only going to be here a few days while we visit with Terry’s parents.

Once we were hooked up and settled in, we drove to their house and spent some time with them. It’s always nice to have family time. By then it was late in the day, and we were both pretty hungry, so we hit our favorite Chinese buffet in this area, #1 Eastern Super Buffet. Even though we don’t live here, we’ve been there so many times during the last two winters that the staff knows us when we go in. I would rate it up with the top four or five Chinese buffets we have found nationwide.

Between two nights with little sleep, and getting up early, along with a full tummy, by the time we had finished eating, I was barely able to keep my eyes open. Terry drove back to the campground, and we had a quiet night watching TV, I wrote my blog, and we were in bed early. Or at least early for us, anyway.

Thought For The Day – There is no shortcut to anywhere worth going.

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As much as we love the fulltime RV lifestyle, we have never gotten over the hurt when it is time to say our goodbyes and move on down the road. We have had a wonderful week visiting with my cousin Beverly here in Tucson, but sadly, it is time to go.

There were tears all around yesterday evening when we said goodbye to Beverly. We promised her that we will return again next year when our travels bring us back to Arizona, and we’re already counting the days.

Today, assuming the predicted winds are not too bad, we are headed for RV Renovators in Mesa to get our Norcold refrigerator recall work done. After our experiences with an RV repair shop in Kingman, Arizona, and another in Show Low for this work, I have to be honest and say that I was a bit skeptical last week when Lucinda, at RV Renovators, said she would do her best to get the part we needed and get our work done by Friday of this week.

So I was very surprised, and pleased, when she called first thing yesterday morning to tell us that the part was in, and we could come in anytime to get the work done. A lot of folks have told us that RV Renovators are great to work with, and obviously they were right!

They tell us the recall work will only take an hour or so, and when that’s done we’ll go a few miles east to Apache Junction and find a Passport America campground near Terry’s parents’ house for a couple of nights, so we can visit with them.

From there, we’ll head back north to Show Low and see if we can’t spoil our grandkids a little more. I want them to be absolutely, adorably frustrating to their mom and dad when we take off for our summer travels. I tell my daughter that it’s payback for all of those sleepless nights my kids put me through when they were growing up.

Actually, Tiffany was a pretty good kid, and she’s grown into a fine young woman. (I have to say that, or she might leave her girls with me once I get finished spoiling them.)

I’ve had my name on the list at the Apple Store in Tucson, and they said they would contact me if the 3G iPad I want comes in before we leave town. Miss Terry is betting that they’ll wait until we get to Apache Junction before they get a delivery, but I’m holding out for it not happening until we get back to Show Low. I’d break down and just order one from Apple online, but my daughter is working during the day, and I don’t want some delivery driver leaving it on her doorstep.

Thought For The Day – When you do a good deed, get a receipt, in case heaven is like the IRS.

Click Here To Register For Our Eastern Gypsy Gathering Rally!