Beginning of a New Year

Season of Thanksgiving & Beginning of a New Year

January 4, 2018

As I began this we were wrapping up the Thanksgiving Holiday so we trust each of you didn’t eat too much turkey, mash tatters, cranberry sauce, stuffing and pumpkin pie.  And we certainly hope if you dared to venture out on Black Friday that you survived and got all the deals you were looking for.

(Yes it’s a little dated but we have been busy)

As Paula and I take a moment to reflect on our first year as full time RVer’s were have a lot to be thankful for. We are most thankful for a God that has created all the wonderful places that we have been able to enjoy this past year. We are also thankful for living in this great country where we have the freedom to make a decision like we have to become full timers and travel around this beautiful country. We are also thankful for our families and friends, who regardless of where we travel will always be a part of this crazy adventure.  We are thankful for our health and welfare. And lastly, we are extremely thankful for each other as for the past 10 months we have spent almost every hour of every day together. We are still speaking and are making up for some time lost that we spent apart over the past almost 26 years because I was either working weekends being called out, on a late-night surveillance operation, on a trip to Texas to work on a case, or spending weeks of training/instructing at the academy.   God has truly been good to us and we can’t wait to see where our next adventure will take us.

Quilt some of our travels made by Tammy Bengtson

Well let’s see if we can get caught up from the whirlwind that the last 5 weeks have been. We left Nashville and had to stop in Charlotte at the Camping World to get a few maintenance issues addressed. This was supposed to be a one-night stay but it turned out to be a weeklong adventure. On that Sunday night as we stopped in Charlotte we discovered we had an extremely hot wheel on the trailer. Now this is never good, and between the heat and the odor it had to be a wheel bearing or a brake issue. So, after determining that there was no fire we set up and thanked our lucky stars (God) that we arrived safely.  The next morning, we went to see the service department and they determined that we had an adjustor on the right rear wheel brake that had come loose. The heat had melted the magnet on the electric brake so a new part had to be ordered. They also ordered parts for our warranty issues. So, after a few bumps in the road they got our brake repaired late Wednesday night. So, you might ask where did you guys stay during this time and I would say this is the advantage of having your house with you, because we spent 3 nights in the parking lot of camping world. Needless to say, we got to know all the service guys pretty well.

Shew something got hot

So, after the delay at Camping World we finally arrived in Ringgold on October 26. We set up the camper at our longtime friends Jack and Gayle’s house in Ringgold.  The next 5 weeks were a whirlwind as we had a number of doctor’s appointments to attend, invitations to meals and we tried to visit with as many people as we could fit in during this time. We also spent the week of November 13-20 working at the Operation Christmas Child collection center in Danville. Thanks to all of you that cooked and or invited us out to eat a meal. The food in Ringgold is still by far the best in the country. It was great to see everyone that we were able to see and sorry that we didn’t get to see more people but we will have to catch you on the next trip to town.

2017 Pittsylvania  Baptist Association OCC collection week Danville Va 

0n November 27 we pulled out of Ringgold headed south. Our first stop was at Camping World located in Concord North Carolina to get the repairs completed that they were supposed to have ordered parts for on our first visit. Upon our arrival they took us right to service slot 18 and said they would begin the work immediately. Paula and I went out to run some errands and upon our return we learned from our service guy that the seal ordered for our camper had been received but they couldn’t find it so the parts department was trying to find one for us. And no other work had been done on the trailer that day. So, we again set up camp in the parking lot and spent the night. The next day was quiet the interesting as I have never seen so many grown men ducking and weaving to avoid my wife as she was trying to inquire on the progress being made on finding our air conditioner seal. It got so bad that the parts guy had a melt down and walked out one afternoon. Funny thing is we never got mad or raised our voices but nobody in the parts department would man up and admit that they made a mistake. Finally, by Friday they had located a seal for the air conditioner and taken care of all the repairs except for replacing a landing gear that they had bent last time we visited in October. The part had to be sent from the factory so we had to hang out over the weekend in the camping world parking a little longer which we have become quiet used to by now.  Now this is where our stay took an interesting twist. On that Friday night we had dinner and watched a little TV. Paula wanted to watch some 20/20 special on Prince Harry’s engagement which I had nooooo interest in, so we moved to the bedroom where she could watch her show and I could go to sleep.  I don’t know how long I had been  asleep when she awoke me and said someone was trying to get in our trailer. From a deep slumber I leapt from the bed to the floor and grabbed my pistol and made my way toward the door. As I cleared my head I heard a voice outside identifying himself as security. I explained to him that we were having repairs done and that the store knew we were camping in the lot. He apologized as he was not told. Tensions eased and he went about his checks and I went back to bed. Sunday night we came back from getting dinner and the security officer rode by as we started into the trailer. He stopped and talked to us again and he apologized for startling us but he wasn’t told we were there. He said it startled him as well and he was afraid he may get shot for trying to open our door. At this point I noticed that he was an armed security guard. Scary thing is had he come in it would have been a shootout at Camping World service center and we would have both been justified. Shew glad it didn’t come to that.

Views from Myrtle Beach State Park

After a week at the Camping World lot and all repairs completed we headed for Myrtle Beach State Park where we were volunteer/host at the nature center. This was working with Ashley’s long-time friend Ann Wilson at the nature center. Ann is a special person who is crazy about protecting the outdoors and educating the public on what to do to save our environment and wildlife. She also deserves a lot of credit for being a very positive influence on Ashley’s life while Ashley worked at the park while attending Costal Carolina. The host was just for December and this required us to work 25 hours a week for a free campsite, it is a win win for the State park as they get some minor projects completed and we get a place to stay. Paula did some computer research and helped me out on some painting and wood working projects that I had to do.  Ashley was also on the east coast for a wedding so she was able to stop by and spend 3 days with us during which time we celebrated our Christmas. It was great seeing Ashley and we are both so proud of the young lady she has become living her dreams out in the Alaskan Frontier.  After Ashley left for Alaska, Paula then left and traveled to Asheville NC to visit her Mom and sister who had traveled up from Florida. WoW it sure was quite for 5 days.  

Snug as a bug in a rug

We trust each of you had a wonderful and very Merry Christmas.

As a point of reflection, it’s hard to believe that almost 26 years ago Paula and I were married just 22 blocks North of the State Park at Hurl Rock Beach Access on the beach. Just the two of us the Pastor and two witnesses and 200 cheering vacationers from the adjacent oceanfront hotel balconies.

We also meet up with Chris and Ruby Young for dinner one night before we left Myrtle Beach

After completing our 3 weeks in Myrtle Beach we headed out New Years Eve toward Florida. As we started around Charleston SC on I-526 we began to climb one of the high bridges over the Ashley River when it happened. With a loud thud we lost power and had no turbo on the truck. Now keep in mind this was on an interstate bridge about 100 feet above the water and no where to go. We were able to limp off the Interstate and needless to say spirits were pretty low thinking that we had major issues. We quickly found a campground just south of Charleston and close to two Ford dealerships.  Being New Year’s weekend, we got a site for a couple of nights planning for the worst.  After setting up for some reason I decided to investigate the source of the problem keep in mind I am not a diesel mechanic and don’t claim to be one.  After doing some research on the internet I found several people that had experienced the same problem and it was an air cooling hose that came lose. I opened the hood and to my surprise I found the top air cooler hose had come lose so I was able to reattach it and tighten the clamp back. I then tried the engine and everything appeared to be running fine. We decided to try and go to one of the Ford dealers on Tuesday to get a real mechanic to check and make sure everything was good. We had heat food and cable TV so we spent New Year’s Day warm watching college football and eating football snacks. I also talked to Ashley and Tristan who is a mechanic and he thought that once the hose was back on everything would be good. I also talked to my friend Dennis Wilson who had a similar issue and he also confirmed that the hose attachment would solve the problem. So that afternoon I drove the truck and the turbo was working truck was running smooth and we felt confident a disaster was diverted. Thanks to these two guys for their knowledge and input.

So, with the forecast of snow and cooler temperatures we decided Tuesday morning to make a run for Florida. Which we did.  The truck ran great and we beat the snow and ice that shut down I-95 in South Carolina and Georgia.

2018 has us spending January and February in Cedar Key, March and early April in Arizona and then we will return for our second season in Yellowstone from the end of April till September.  We are not sure after that so stay tuned for further updates.

Reflecting on our past......
Pondering our future........

Stay Warm wherever you are…

So, with that happy trails and we wish each of you a

 Very, Very, Happy New Year.

Until Next time

Ramblin Ruis

Allen and Paula