Rick Lang from Recreational Vehicle Safety Education Foundation (RVSEF) called me yesterday morning to tell me that he and Joyce plan to be on hand at Elkhart Campground on August 29th to greet anybody arriving early for our Gypsy Gathering Rally so they can weigh their RVs if they want it done.

If you have not had your rig weighed before, or if it’s been a while, you should seriously consider having it done. The RVSEF crew are specially trained to weigh RVs, which is not the same as pulling onto a truck scale somewhere and calling it good. Rick and Joyce weigh each axle individually and you get a report that tells you not only your RV’s total weight, but also if you are too heavy on any corner of your RV. This is important information to know, and will help you adjust your load for the safest ride and longer tire life.

Speaking of RVSEF, there is still time to sign up for their excellent RV Lifestyle, Education and Safety Conference in Bowling Green, Kentucky June 3-6. This is your opportunity to learn about RV technical issues and lifestyle experiences from some of the top experts in the industry. You can find out more about this great program at the RVSEF website.

I also got a call from Too Crazy Ladies yesterday, confirming that they will be at our rally, making custom name badges for the attendees. Red and Beth are regular vendors at many RV events, and they have built up a huge following of loyal customers over the years.

I have had a lot of people asking if Elkhart Campground has WiFi service available. Yes they do, and it’s free, so you will be able to get online and surf the internet to your heart’s content.

There has been some confusion about the rally dates. The rally starts with RV parking, registration, and welcome on Monday, August 30th, and ends with hitch up coffee and donuts Friday morning, September 3rd. The rally fee covers camping Monday through Thursday night, but if you want to arrive early or stay later, Bob and Gita at Elkhart Campground assure me they will have plenty of room.

Terry and I plan to arrive in Elkhart about the first of August, so we can get all of the pre-rally work done. Then we’ll hang around for a few days afterwards, before we leave for Hershey, Pennsylvania, where we will be vendors and I will be speaking at the Pennsylvania Recreational Vehicle Show September 15 – 19. We won’t be able to make it to the Escapees 50th Escapade, which is September 12 – 17 in Goshen, Indiana. We’ll miss being with our Escapees family, but the Hershey show drew over 37,000 attendees last year, and we can’t miss the opportunity to introduce the Gypsy Journal to so many RVers who have never seen it before.

I have to say a belated Happy Birthday to my son-in-law, Jim Robinson, who turned 29 yesterday. Jim’s a fine young man, and yesterday we took him and Tiffany and the girls out to dinner to celebrate his special day. Of course, somebody let it slip to the waitress that it was Jim’s birthday, and they did the typical thing where several of the waitresses bring out a cupcake with a candle on it and everybody sang Happy Birthday. Jim is a low profile kind of guy, so the rest of us had fun watching him squirm as the center of attention.

Hey Jim, it only goes faster from here on out.

Thought For The Day -Consciousness: that annoying time between naps.

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We had snow here in Show Low, Arizona on several days last week, and on Sunday we got two inches of the nasty stuff. I wrote in yesterday’s blog that we plan to go down to Tucson for a week or so, and it immediately warmed up to about 70 degrees yesterday! The weather is supposed to be in the mid-70s here for the next ten days. Go figure.

Yesterday I got a lot of work done on the computer, while Miss Terry hemmed up several new pairs of jeans we both bought a few days ago. I got Terry a new Bernia Bernette sewing machine back in January, and this is the first opportunity she’s had to use it. She is very pleased with its performance, and said the new machine does everything her much heavier ancient Pfaff would do, which gave up the ghost last year.

We also took some time to run into town to see daughter Tiffany and her little ones before we leave town. Terry helped seven year old Hailey with her homework while three year old Destiny spent the time doing whatever it is that three year olds do. I have to tell you, as much as I love my grandkids, there is nothing in the world that would make me want to be a parent of little ones again. I really like this stage of my life. I can go see the girls, spoil them rotten, and then retreat to the the peace and quiet of our motorhome!

As most of you who have been reading my blog and the Gypsy Journal know, I am a strong proponent of both parties in an RV knowing how to drive it. In our case, I do most of the driving, but Miss Terry is fully capable, and comfortable in taking the wheel of our Winnebago if I get tired or just need a break.

Learning to drive a big rig is intimidating to a lot of people, but with skilled instruction, anybody can do it. If you are planning to attend our upcoming Eastern Gypsy Gathering rally in Elkhart, Indiana, I have good news. Dennis Hill from the RV Driving School will be there, offering lessons behind the wheel in your own RV. Here is your opportunity to learn to maneuver that big rig like a pro.

Another great learning opportunity is just a month away. The RVSEF RV Lifestyle, Education and Safety Conference is being held in Bowling Green, Kentucky June 3-6. We won’t be able to make it this year, but Walter Cannon has put together an excellent educational venue for both new and experienced RVers. Many of the folks I taught with at Life on Wheels will be there as instructors, including Gary Bunzer (The RV Doctor), Mac McCoy (Fire and Life Safety), Jim and Chris Guld (Geeks on Tour),  Al Hesselbart (RV Hall of Fame), Dennis Hill (RV Driving School), Rick and Joyce Lang (RVSEF), Howard Payne (RV-Dreams.com), to name just a few. Log onto the RVSEF website, or call 321-453-7673 for more information about the conference.

As I said, we’re leaving Juniper Ridge RV Resort today and going to Tucson. We need to spend some time with my cousin Beverly and I have some other family members there I need to touch base with, plus we are looking forward to visiting a couple of our favorite restaurants down there, and if I can find one, I may break down and buy one of the new Apple 3G iPads.

Bad Nick is looking forward to a change of scenery too, but he took time to post a new Bad Nick Blog titled Another Dumb A$$ Report. Check it out and leave a comment.

Thought For The Day – Heck is for people that don’t believe in Gosh.

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We had forgotten from our previous visits to Yuma just how bad the local tap water is. Most folks here buy water at “water stations” like this one, which can be found all over town. You bring your plastic jugs, put a quarter or two into a vending machine, and fill them up with filtered water. I don’t think we have seen water stations anyplace else that we have traveled. If you are coming in for our Gypsy Gathering rally, please try to arrive with a full fresh water tank if you can, for your own good.

We spent most of yesterday running around getting the pizzas for our Wednesday night pizza party arranged, and trying to find somebody at the WalMart bakery who could understand that we need to order 25 to 35 dozen donuts every morning during the rally. We need to go back, because everybody we talked to was just a little bit dimmer than your average donut. I think some people work at WalMart only because they’re not smart enough to get jobs that require them to memorize lines like “Do you want fries with that?”

Back at the fairgrounds, we spent some time checking out the location of the electric outlets scattered around the property. We will only have a few 30 and 50 amp electric hookups, but we need to reserve those for people with special needs. But we should be able to hook everybody up with 20 amp service, which is enough to keep batteries charged. That’s all we’re using here next to the stables, and we’re getting along just fine. Think of it as upscale boondocking!

Several people have asked if there will be WiFi available at the rally. The fairgrounds does not have WiFi, but we have found at past rallies that there are usually a few people with internet connections who leave them open to allow others to get online. These days, with air cards so cheap and the service available almost everywhere, I don’t know why anybody would depend on hit or miss WiFi for internet access.

The fairgrounds is right across the street from the Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, and most of the day Northrop F5 and AV-8B Harrier jets are flying overhead. It is amazing to see how closely those pilots fly in formation.

I had never seen a Harrier land or take off before, and it is pretty interesting. When they come in to land, they hover and then set down slowly, instead of making a high speed landing like other aircraft. It gets a little loud sometimes as they roar past, but that’s the sound of freedom, baby!

I need to clear up some confusion on the RVSEF RV Lifestyle, Education & Safety Conference to be held in Bowling Green, Kentucky June 3-6. They have me listed as an instructor on their website because we have agreed to be at future conferences, but we will not be at the June event. We have been promising ourselves for years that we are going to slow down, and this is the summer for that to finally happen. We just want to piddle around and just let the wind and whimsy blow us where they may. But, not to worry, RVSEF honcho Walter Cannon has put together an excellent program, and you’ll find plenty of top notch instructors at the conference. Whether you’re a new RVer, a veteran road warrior, or a wannabe, you’ll learn a lot at the conference.

Thought For The Day – I want to move to theory; everything works in theory.

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The title of today’s blog pretty much sums up how I have felt for the last two days. All the while we were driving north toward Indiana, we were passing RVs going in the other direction. In the past, when we have been the southbound RV and we have spotted rigs going north late in the year, I always told Miss Terry “That dummy’s got it all wrong. He should be headed south like us.” Well, this year I am that dummy!

After spending the night at the Tennessean Truck Stop, we woke up early yesterday morning and were back on Interstate 65 a little after 8 a.m. I never like driving through Nashville, and this trip was no exception. The traffic was terrible, and on the north side of town we saw a UPS tractor trailer rig towing tandem that had rolled onto the drivers’ side. I sure hope nobody got hurt in the accident.

As we passed Bowling Green, Kentucky, where we taught for Life on Wheels so many times at Western Kentucky University, we reminisced about all of the good times we had there. The schedule was a real grind, but we miss all of our other instructor friends, and interacting with the students.

About 50 miles north of Bowling Green we hit a rough spot in the road, and suddenly a loud beeping noise startled us. Terry grabbed the PressurePro tire monitor control, sure we had blown a tire. But she quickly realized what we were hearing was our “Jacks Down” alert, and the red light was flashing on the dashboard. I pulled off the road and into a truck stop and turned on the HWH system. It showed our left rear jack was down. I checked to be sure that all of our automatic leveling jacks were in the travel position, then hit the Store button and the alarm went off. I guess when we hit the rough pavement, it jolted the system enough to give a false signal.

Back on the road, we continued north through Louisville, where traffic wasn’t as bad as I expected, then crossed the Ohio River into Indiana. We stopped for fuel at the Flying J in Whiteland, a few miles south of Indianapolis, and I was disappointed that the sign on the highway said diesel was $2.69 a gallon, but a sign at the pump said it was $2.83. What’s that about?

We circled Indianapolis on the Interstate 465 bypass, and got on U.S. Highway 31 northbound. We have driven this route so many times that I could do it blindfolded.

Blindfolded maybe, but not in the dark. My night vision sucks, so about 100 miles out of Elkhart, the sun was getting low in the sky, and Miss Terry took the wheel and drove the rest of the way. She test drove our Winnebago before we bought it, but this was her first time to drive it on the highway, and she did just fine, as I knew she would. I have been putting off letting her drive, because I was afraid that once she got a feel for the big Cummins diesel engine, she might never let me behind the wheel again! And I think I was right!

We are big believers in both people in an RV knowing how to drive it. While I do the great majority of the driving in our coach, it is an extra measure of safety knowing that Terry can take the wheel whenever necessary if I get sick, tired, run out of daylight, or just need a break.

We arrived at Duncan RV Repair in Elkhart about 6:30 p.m. local time, with just over 500 miles behind us this driving day, and 900 miles total in two days. That’s a lot of driving!

Duncan RV has several 30 amp RV hookups available, and can do any type of RV service or repair, from simple tune-ups to body work and refurbishing. Our regular hangout here, Elkhart Campground, is closed for the season, so we’ll be staying here while we wrap up our business with the bus buyer. We also have an appointment to have Duncan do some work on our motorhome while we’re here, killing two birds with one stone. Or at least in one trip.              

Thought For The Day – Was learning cursive really necessary?

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Can you believe Christmas is coming up in just over a month? Where does the time go? One minute you’re toasting the New Year and singing Auld Lang Syne, a week or two later you’re watching fireworks on Independence Day, and the next thing you know, they’re ringing bells in front of WalMart and you’re listening to Christmas carols on the radio.

I want time to slow down! I’m getting older and starting to realize that someday I’ll probably have to grow up too, but I’m in no hurry to get there!

Even the individual days seem to fly by. Yesterday we met Walter Cannon, executive director of the Recreational Vehicle Safety Education Foundation (RVSEF), and his lovely wife Amy for lunch at a nice little restaurant called Caffe Chocolat in Titusville. We had a nice lunch and chatted for a while, and before I knew it, three hours had passed!

We have known Walter for a long time, but it was nice to have the opportunity to just sit and visit away from all of the activity of an RV rally or show. We had never met Amy before, and she is a delightful woman whom Miss Terry really hit it off with.

Last year RVSEF tried to hold an RV education conference similar to the old Life on Wheels program, but downturns in the RV industry kept it from happening. I was sorry it was cancelled, because it is something that the RV world really needs. Long before we became instructors for Life on Wheels, Terry and I went there as students in our first year on the road, and it really helped us transition to the RV lifestyle.

Walter is a persistent guy, and he truly believes in the need for an educational program for RVers, so he regrouped and now plans to hold an RV Lifestyle, Education and Safety Conference in Bowling Green, Kentucky June 3-6, 2010. If you are a new or wannabe RVer, or even a seasoned road warrior, I really urge you to attend. It is a great investment in your RVing lifestyle.

When we left the restaurant, we drove a few miles west of town on State Route 50 to Christmas, Florida to check out Fort Christmas Historical Park, which includes a replica of a Seminole War fort and several old Cracker style houses.

Unfortunately, time had gotten away from us (do you see a common thread here?) and the buildings were already closed for the day. But we strolled around under the live oak trees, with their cloaks of Spanish moss draping their leaves, and just enjoyed the solitude. We hope to get back for a better look at the place while we’re in this area.

Among the things left to do on my bucket list is to see an alligator in the wild, and there are a lot of the critters here in Florida, so that shouldn’t be all that hard to accomplish. But in several trips through the Sunshine state, I have yet to see one.

A park ranger at Fort Christmas suggested we stop at a boat launch about halfway between the park and The Great Outdoors, where we are staying. He said it was not uncommon to see ’gators in the water or sunning on the banks there. We stopped to check it out, but there was an airboat firing up, and several trailers for other boats, and not an alligator to be seen. Terry said with all the noise and activity there, any alligator who might have been around had moved to quieter territory. Hopefully I’ll get to see one before we leave the South this year.

Thought For The Day – There will never be a time when life is simple.

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