When we picked up the motorhome (MH), we were delayed by a day. But, eventually we had possession of it and “used” it in the driveway. We “used” by trying every switch and light; using the TV and the radio (maybe even listening to a CD); we used the microwave, stove top and the oven. We even had the laptop and were on-line (ok, so we were in the driveway and could use our own wireless router to connect – but, we were using it).
But, this is not the way a MH is to be used. It is to be “lived in”, used away from home in some exotic location, or at least more than 20 feet from the front door. That was to be this weekend’s adventure. Going away someplace (still within 15 miles, but away nonetheless). But, again, we have been thwarted. It is predicted to be the worst weekend of the fall season, with rain and very heavy winds. Perhaps, it is a hold-over from our boating days, but high winds always raise the caution in us. So, we will not be truly “using” the MH this weekend. I know we will be checking those switches and lights, maybe even listening to CD’s and watching football. But, that is not the way a MH was intended to be used.
Oh, well there will be other weekends, like next weekend. Then we will really “use” the MH.
Friday, October 27, 2006
A Note from Pepper and Oliver
Hi, my name is Pepper. I am a female calico cat that is 2 years old. My brother,
Oliver, is an orange and white cat. We are from the same litter so we really are brother and sister. We love each other a lot and, like all siblings, we fight a bit, too. One of us always starts something. I don’t want to say who always starts it because I don’t want to get anyone in trouble!!
This week, our owners brought a new “thing” home for us. It is this big box that sits in the driveway. If we get up on some of the windows sills, we can look out at it. It is really big for a box. The other night, they put us each in our carriers and took us out to that big box. It was sort of frightening and fun at the same time. I got right out of my carrier and looked around. There are all sorts of interesting things to see. Oliver seemed really frightened – he did not want to get out of his carrier. He finally did.
Then this big box started moving. I am not sure I liked that; I know Oliver did not. He got up on the back of the sofa and held himself up between the sofa and the window behind it. He wouldn’t come down and look around with me. Finally, the box stopped moving and I could continue my investigation. But, Oliver just sat under the sofa and would not come and play with me. So, I looked around about and climbed up onto things – did you know that a lot of the things in this box look just like things we have in the house – strange. But, I felt sorry for Oliver, so I kept visiting with him under the couch. After awhile, our owners put us back in our carriers and brought back to our regular house. We were happy to be home!!
The next night – last night, I saw them take out the carriers. I thought maybe I could investigate the new box more, so I got right into my carrier. I think I saw Oliver go hide under the bed. I was right: I got to go into that new box. Boy, there are lots of things to see in there. I walked up all around some nice flat surface – it has a wheel sticking out of it. But, it looked like it would be a great place for a nap in the sun – maybe we can go into the box on a sunny day. Anyway, I think I heard my owners call this a “dashboard”; I don’t have any idea what that is. Oliver finally joined me. He said that he found some treats at the edge of his carrier and he was hungry so he stopped to eat them. And suddenly he was in the carrier being carried out to the box. I was glad to see him.
But, he still didn’t want to come out of the carrier. He just sat in it, with his head tucked into the corner – hoping that the big box would go away, I guess. I have never seen Oliver like this. Actually, I do remember once that he hid his head like that and turned his back to some people. We were both kittens and some people came to see us. I got right out of our basket-bed and went to see them; but, Oliver turned his back and buried his head. I think he really liked these people – they were the one’s the brought us to their house and he seems to really love them now. I guess I just don’t understand my brother!!
He is always the one that jumps up on things and climbs up over the kitchen cabinets. He finally talked me into doing that just last month – it took me almost 2 years to get up there.
I can’t say I like if up there, but Oliver does. For some reason, Oliver just doesn’t want to check out this new box we have. I finally talked him into walking around with me and he did. He seemed to be having a good time. Then something scared him. One of our owners opened the outside door and went out. It was really dark outside; maybe that scared Oliver. Or maybe it was the noise that the door made when it closed. But, he ran back under the couch and just stayed there. Eventually, we went back into our house with our owners. I had a fun time, but I worry about Oliver. Maybe he just needs more time to get to know this new box.
Oliver, is an orange and white cat. We are from the same litter so we really are brother and sister. We love each other a lot and, like all siblings, we fight a bit, too. One of us always starts something. I don’t want to say who always starts it because I don’t want to get anyone in trouble!!
This week, our owners brought a new “thing” home for us. It is this big box that sits in the driveway. If we get up on some of the windows sills, we can look out at it. It is really big for a box. The other night, they put us each in our carriers and took us out to that big box. It was sort of frightening and fun at the same time. I got right out of my carrier and looked around. There are all sorts of interesting things to see. Oliver seemed really frightened – he did not want to get out of his carrier. He finally did.
Then this big box started moving. I am not sure I liked that; I know Oliver did not. He got up on the back of the sofa and held himself up between the sofa and the window behind it. He wouldn’t come down and look around with me. Finally, the box stopped moving and I could continue my investigation. But, Oliver just sat under the sofa and would not come and play with me. So, I looked around about and climbed up onto things – did you know that a lot of the things in this box look just like things we have in the house – strange. But, I felt sorry for Oliver, so I kept visiting with him under the couch. After awhile, our owners put us back in our carriers and brought back to our regular house. We were happy to be home!!
The next night – last night, I saw them take out the carriers. I thought maybe I could investigate the new box more, so I got right into my carrier. I think I saw Oliver go hide under the bed. I was right: I got to go into that new box. Boy, there are lots of things to see in there. I walked up all around some nice flat surface – it has a wheel sticking out of it. But, it looked like it would be a great place for a nap in the sun – maybe we can go into the box on a sunny day. Anyway, I think I heard my owners call this a “dashboard”; I don’t have any idea what that is. Oliver finally joined me. He said that he found some treats at the edge of his carrier and he was hungry so he stopped to eat them. And suddenly he was in the carrier being carried out to the box. I was glad to see him.
But, he still didn’t want to come out of the carrier. He just sat in it, with his head tucked into the corner – hoping that the big box would go away, I guess. I have never seen Oliver like this. Actually, I do remember once that he hid his head like that and turned his back to some people. We were both kittens and some people came to see us. I got right out of our basket-bed and went to see them; but, Oliver turned his back and buried his head. I think he really liked these people – they were the one’s the brought us to their house and he seems to really love them now. I guess I just don’t understand my brother!!
He is always the one that jumps up on things and climbs up over the kitchen cabinets. He finally talked me into doing that just last month – it took me almost 2 years to get up there.
I can’t say I like if up there, but Oliver does. For some reason, Oliver just doesn’t want to check out this new box we have. I finally talked him into walking around with me and he did. He seemed to be having a good time. Then something scared him. One of our owners opened the outside door and went out. It was really dark outside; maybe that scared Oliver. Or maybe it was the noise that the door made when it closed. But, he ran back under the couch and just stayed there. Eventually, we went back into our house with our owners. I had a fun time, but I worry about Oliver. Maybe he just needs more time to get to know this new box.
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Home At Last
This afternoon the dealer delivered the MH. We went for a short ride to the beach parking lot where we drove around some. It was interesting lining up with the parking slots and trying to aim the motorhome at one. Fortunately, the parking lot was empty. That is, until a man came to roller blade. He had a dog on a very long leash. Not only were we afraid to hit the dog, I believe the man was quite concerned for his own well-being, as well as his dog's!! That' s when we decided to head home.
Getting home was not the problem; getting into the curved, somwhat circular driveway was! We got it into the driveway, which was itself an "Adventurer" given the 90 degree turn we needed to make. The "fun" will be backing it out.
We brought the cats onboard and made supper. We ate, but they did not. Ms Pepper is generally the more timid one and Mr. Oliver is Mr. Macho. While neither of them was excited, Pepper was out and about, checking everything out. She found some windows that she liked and walked around quite a bit. Oliver, on the other hand, found a spot under the sofa and was a hiding there for the entire time. I suspect they will get better as time goes on. We, and they, just need a little more practice.
So we can say that our first "trip" was a success. Now we just have to go somplace other than the driveway. How many trips did we make into the house? We couldn't count them.
That's all for now, but, we hope there are more "Adventures" to come.
Getting home was not the problem; getting into the curved, somwhat circular driveway was! We got it into the driveway, which was itself an "Adventurer" given the 90 degree turn we needed to make. The "fun" will be backing it out.
We brought the cats onboard and made supper. We ate, but they did not. Ms Pepper is generally the more timid one and Mr. Oliver is Mr. Macho. While neither of them was excited, Pepper was out and about, checking everything out. She found some windows that she liked and walked around quite a bit. Oliver, on the other hand, found a spot under the sofa and was a hiding there for the entire time. I suspect they will get better as time goes on. We, and they, just need a little more practice.
So we can say that our first "trip" was a success. Now we just have to go somplace other than the driveway. How many trips did we make into the house? We couldn't count them.
That's all for now, but, we hope there are more "Adventures" to come.
Like Christmas with the Grinch
As I fell asleep last night, I had a thought. Going to pick up the motorhome, yesterday, and having to come home without it was like waking up on Christmas morning and being told that all the gifts that Santa sent by DHL were delayed and would not arrive until the next day. So I guess we get to celebrate Chrstmas again today!! I hope this does not turn out to be like Groundhog Day- twice is enough!!
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Almost Got It Home
Well we went to do the inspection and pickup of the MH today. When we arrived they told us they were expecting a needed part to be delivered this morning and that it would only take a short time to install it.
So a mechanic spent some time introducing us to our MH. He introduced us to the engine compartment and how to check all the fluids. The oil dipstick is about 3 feet long!!! He then showed us how to control the furnace, AC, generator and other systems. That took about an hour and a half for this introduction.
We then set about checking things on our own. We made coffee and baked something in the oven. We ran the furnace and got the temperature up; then the AC to cool it down. We ran things on both shore power and the generator. We turned on lights, fans and anything else we could turn on. We put on the TVs and radios, played CDs, DVDs, and video tapes.
Sometime around noon the salesman came back with the mechanic. I think I said something like "this can't be good" and I was correct. The needed part would not arrive today. So we continued checking things, made lunch, and checked more things. We had checked just about everything we could and about 3PM we started cleaning up and left for home.
We both think this is going to be very good. We were comfortable in the MH and got the hang of operating most everything. We are down to only a few things that we know we don't know and these are minor. I'm sure there are some things we "don't know that we don't know"; but hopefully these are not significant.
The dealership folks have been real nice; the salesman has been great; and the service people that helped us today were very nice. With any luck we won't get to know the service folks very well at all!!
They are going to deliver it tomorrow afternoon; assuming the part shows up in the morning. We will then take it for a spin around town; that should be exciting. We are planning on a short trip this weekend. We will likely use that time reading all the manuals and learning how to level the MH on the jacks.
So a mechanic spent some time introducing us to our MH. He introduced us to the engine compartment and how to check all the fluids. The oil dipstick is about 3 feet long!!! He then showed us how to control the furnace, AC, generator and other systems. That took about an hour and a half for this introduction.
We then set about checking things on our own. We made coffee and baked something in the oven. We ran the furnace and got the temperature up; then the AC to cool it down. We ran things on both shore power and the generator. We turned on lights, fans and anything else we could turn on. We put on the TVs and radios, played CDs, DVDs, and video tapes.
Sometime around noon the salesman came back with the mechanic. I think I said something like "this can't be good" and I was correct. The needed part would not arrive today. So we continued checking things, made lunch, and checked more things. We had checked just about everything we could and about 3PM we started cleaning up and left for home.
We both think this is going to be very good. We were comfortable in the MH and got the hang of operating most everything. We are down to only a few things that we know we don't know and these are minor. I'm sure there are some things we "don't know that we don't know"; but hopefully these are not significant.
The dealership folks have been real nice; the salesman has been great; and the service people that helped us today were very nice. With any luck we won't get to know the service folks very well at all!!
They are going to deliver it tomorrow afternoon; assuming the part shows up in the morning. We will then take it for a spin around town; that should be exciting. We are planning on a short trip this weekend. We will likely use that time reading all the manuals and learning how to level the MH on the jacks.
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
What is in a Name?
It would seem that our blog name has nothing to do with an RV, traveling or anything else. That's true! But, why the name?
A few years ago, we - we are husband and wife - were bitten by the Argentine Tango bug. We love the dance. We don't often get to dance it, but we do every change we get. And we take as many lessons as we can, and we need a lot!!
Milonga has several meanings in Spanish. It is a type of tango, very spirited and usually very quick. We love this particular form of tango. It is also a "dance party".
So it is our desire that our new motor home become a place of contentment and enjoyment, a place were we can do a milonga whenever we want. That is, my house of milonga or, in Spanish, mi Casa de Milonga.
For many years in the past we owned and used a sailboat. They were fun summers on Long Island Sound, or over to Block Island, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. We loved it. But, situations forced us to get back to land. This motor home, in a sense, is our return to sailing - it is a land yacht.
In the boating world, it is customary that you name you boat. If this Winnebago Adventurer was a boat, we would name it "Mi Casa de Milonga". So, why not name a motor home. We are not sure, but we will find out!
A few years ago, we - we are husband and wife - were bitten by the Argentine Tango bug. We love the dance. We don't often get to dance it, but we do every change we get. And we take as many lessons as we can, and we need a lot!!
Milonga has several meanings in Spanish. It is a type of tango, very spirited and usually very quick. We love this particular form of tango. It is also a "dance party".
So it is our desire that our new motor home become a place of contentment and enjoyment, a place were we can do a milonga whenever we want. That is, my house of milonga or, in Spanish, mi Casa de Milonga.
For many years in the past we owned and used a sailboat. They were fun summers on Long Island Sound, or over to Block Island, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. We loved it. But, situations forced us to get back to land. This motor home, in a sense, is our return to sailing - it is a land yacht.
In the boating world, it is customary that you name you boat. If this Winnebago Adventurer was a boat, we would name it "Mi Casa de Milonga". So, why not name a motor home. We are not sure, but we will find out!
Now that we did it, what do we do?
It seems that deciding to purchase a motor home was the easy part. Now, we have to be sure that it is a "good" motor home. We have to prepare for a PDI - pre-delivery inspection. We get to check everything out and be sure that it is in tip-top condition.
For a motor home, this involves many things: the engine, the chassis, and the "home". Does the Air Conditioning run (It's late October and it is not very warm - how do we know?) Are the tires ok? Does the engine start? What about the stove, the refrigerator, the faucets. And on and on and on. We have a 30 page checklist. Can you get through that check list in one business day? And still have time to drive the motor home to its "home"? I am not sure. But, we will find out soon!!
Speaking of the "home", will it fit in the driveway? Do we need to cut some tree branches? Not sure, we will find out, though.
It may turn out that deciding to buy the motor home and inspecting it and getting it home are all the easy part of this adventure. The hard part may be figuring out how to use it!!
We used to sail and a motor home has to be easier than a sailboat - right? Here again, we will find out.
Finding out "stuff" seems to be what we are doing right now. BTW, we bought a Winnebago Adventurer - I guess because we thought we would have adventures!!
For a motor home, this involves many things: the engine, the chassis, and the "home". Does the Air Conditioning run (It's late October and it is not very warm - how do we know?) Are the tires ok? Does the engine start? What about the stove, the refrigerator, the faucets. And on and on and on. We have a 30 page checklist. Can you get through that check list in one business day? And still have time to drive the motor home to its "home"? I am not sure. But, we will find out soon!!
Speaking of the "home", will it fit in the driveway? Do we need to cut some tree branches? Not sure, we will find out, though.
It may turn out that deciding to buy the motor home and inspecting it and getting it home are all the easy part of this adventure. The hard part may be figuring out how to use it!!
We used to sail and a motor home has to be easier than a sailboat - right? Here again, we will find out.
Finding out "stuff" seems to be what we are doing right now. BTW, we bought a Winnebago Adventurer - I guess because we thought we would have adventures!!
Sunday, October 08, 2006
Well We Did It
We are now the proud owners of a 33 foot motor home.
It will be a couple of weeks before we actually pick it up; and then we will go for a short trip at the end of the month.
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