Kauai

Trying to come up with a title for today’s post and I just come up with nothing but “Kauai”. I suppose after I am here for a couple of days things will come to mind. I am not sure that I can title a post “air”, but it would be fitting. “Clarity” would be another apt title. Air and Clarity. Two things I am always searching for and both are here in amazing abundance. The air in this place is clearer than just about any air I have ever experienced, even with clouds and mist and humidity, as one guidebook said, breath deep, because it’s like a huge oxygen factory here in the mountains and you can almost hyperventilate just breathing. I will write about the adventures of getting here, the surprises of being here, where we are staying and what we are doing, but first, I had to just say “it is the air, most of all it is the air”

Getting Excited

OK. So Mo and I have this ongoing conversation, usually just before we are embarking on some kind of adventure. “Are you getting excited?” “No, I don’t get excited, that’s your job” So if you know us, you probably know which one of us is getting excited. Yeah, that’s me. LOL

This blog is now posted on an RV site because that’s how it started out, but when I started writing, I just wanted a way to track my travels and vacations to share with my kids and family, so if you are an RV’r, and believe me, I am following a TON of your blogs! but if you are and you see the map update with Kauai on there, be prepared, I didn’t drive to Kauai in the MoHo.

Next week will be all about Kauai, and the adventures that await. It’s still February, of course, that’s only because there’s an extra day here this year, but still February. It’s the time of year when no matter where I live I dream of green plants and velvet tropical air, and since I am still working full time, I have to actually plan to get there. Now we are in the “waiting to leave” part of the plans, and there are summery shorts and swimsuits and beach towels on the bed ready to go, even though it’s frosty every morning even here in the California Mother Lode Foothills.

Monday morning I will drive to Klamath, and Tuesday morning will drive to Medford, where we will be flying to Seattle and then a direct flight to Lihue, Kauai. Ahh, air miles, I love ’em!

Things that go bump in an RV

Traveling in an RV is an interesting experience, especially a new RV. After we picked up the new rig in Texas, we thought that since it was new, there shouldn’t be any real problems. Also, since it’s a high end rig from a reputable dealer on a Ford chassis that has a good reputation, we just assumed that things would work properly, that there would be minimal rattles, and no leaks.

Well, at least there aren’t any leaks. LOL The excitement of the travels have quieted down a bit and I have a little time to think about it all. I have read several posts from several forums that discuss the merits of various kinds of RV’s and the problems that are associated with them.

Yesterday, when the exhaust system came loose on the interstate, I began to wonder again about whether things that are built in this country really are built well, or maybe not, no matter how reputable the company. Dynamax is supposed to be one of the best, a high end luxury coach with service and amenities to match. So far we haven’t actually tested that out, but the time is coming. The most interesting part about owning one of these babies, is discovering just how easy it is for the makers to pass the buck along to someone else.

We have had a few problems. The mirrors are great, huge things that have automatic adjustments and nice views, heated for cold weather, but oops, the passenger side mirror suddenly decided to come loose somewhere in the middle of a texas highway. We stopped to tighten it, only to discover hidden bolts and a small plastic panel that said words to the effect of don’t touch this thing without a design engineer present. Called our trusty Rueben at Stahman’s RV and he gave us a few pointers about removing the door panel to get to the screw, but in the end, it’s come down to either a Ford problem or a Dynamax problem. In the mean time, Mo bought duct tape, in standard silver color, and electrical tape in a muted black tone, and taped the mirror together so it wouldn’t fall off. Hence the trip to Modesto, to the appropriate design engineer, after being informed that the local Ford dealer doesn’t work on RV’s. 60 miles later, one way, we find out that the mirror is some kind of after-market thing that was put on by Dynamax. So the mirror is still duct taped until we find someone who will do warranty work on the Dynamax. Hopefully that doesn’t mean driving back to the factory in Indiana, as I have read on a web site or two. geez.

Then, the fancy brushed stainless steel 8 cu ft refrigerator, with a REAL freezer and plenty of space, has a chintzy plastic tab that snaps shut to keep the door from flying open when you go around the corners. hmm. so the tab cracks, and Mo decides to glue it, but in the process, glues the door shut for good, and then of course the whole thing breaks. Now we have to figure out who the aftermarket maker of the fridge actually is, and it’s in that huge box of manuals that came with the rig. Of course, Dynamax or Ford probably don’t have a thing to do with the little plastic thingy that keeps the fridge door closed.

Then there is the aforementioned wooden panel above the gaping hole over the bed. Still propped up on the window shelf with several books and the stem end of a vacuum cleaner hose. Which every now and then decides that a curve is just a bit too sharp and falls with a very loud bump and slide. Note to self. Get a drill and screw that board back where it belongs. Someday. Dynamax should of course be responsible for this one, but do we really want to drive to Indiana?

Batteries. Amazing invention. Especially when paired with converters and inverters and such. Problem is, we have a hard time actually remembering convert vs invert and which is doing what when. So we have to try to remember if the inverter is supposed to be on or off when we are driving, and if the battery should be in “store” or “use” when we are driving and will it charge anyway? Yesterday while driving, the battery suddenly reads 0 charge, that is the house battery, and we discovered that yes, the battery needs regular maintenance, and yes, more often than the once a month recommended by the dealer. Both house batteries were empty, and dead and wouldn’t take a charge until Mo got out in the pouring rain and filled them. Of course, even with the nifty battery shelf that slides out so nicely, there is a cover that is screwed over the compartment that makes adding water very close to impossible without an eye dropper. But she managed, and once again the batteries worked.

Our lovely Ford chassis has some really lovely leather captains chairs, both which are automatically adjustable electronically. Very very comfortable. That is, of course, until they no longer adjust and when Mo is driving it’s ok, but then when I took over my knees were in my chest and I couldn’t manage to lift my foot to the brake. Good thing I didn’t have to stop. Thought we would get this handled at the Ford dealer while dealing with the other problem, but come to find out, the seats are also an aftermarket Dynamax thing and would need to go to them for repair. Lucky for us, Mo figured out it could be a fuse, and the Ford guy relented and helped us replace them. So at least on the trip home, I was able to use the brake.

Then, of course, there is the small matter of the exhaust system. Driving along HWY 4 on the way down to the valley isn’t exactly smooth, but we didn’t think too much when something when “whang” under the front carriage of the hood. A rock maybe? something in the road? Didn’t give it much thought after that except for this nagging thought that the engine somehow sounded louder than usual. Then some miles later, at 3am in the dark on the interstate, there is another whang and a bang and then the truly horrendous sound of an engine with no exhaust muffled at all. Now what!? Get back on the freeway. Is it hot? Is there any power? What the heck just happened anyway? It wasn’t too bad if you didn’t give it any gas, just a low rumble, but as soon as it was accelerated at all, or going up a 2 percent grade and needed a push, that big V10 engine sounded like some kind of huge joke. It was louder than anything I remember from the days when guys used to take their mufflers off of cars to sound cool. We weren’t sure if anything was getting hurt or not, so drove slowly for awhile, especially up the hills, and decided that we could get to somewhere at least. The somewhere went from Sacramento, to Redding, to the last decision to go ahead and rumble up the pass and try to make it to Klamath. Turned out to be a good decision, because the Klamath Ford dealer was actually incredibly helpful and quick and said it was just a clamp that hadn’t been installed properly and he took the rig and brought it back all nice and quiet and polite like a fancy Dynamax should be.

Most other things that bump just have to do with the learning curve of having something with so many buttons. There are tank heaters for the gray and black water tanks, but I’m not sure if they are gas or electric, and there is the question of the order of when you push the on buttons for the “use” and the “gas on” and the “auto gas or electric” for the fridge, and actually turning the fridge on. and the inverter button. We still aren’t sure about the order of that pushing.

Leveling the rig and opening the slide is another funny one. Do you level first or slide first. Brake on for both, at least that part is easy, but is it key in and to acc for the slide? or for the levelers? and which order? turns out it is brake on key off for the slide. brake on key to acc for the levelers, and we have decided to level first and then slide. LOLOL ahh the joys of a closed system, an amazing closed system actually, when you consider all that is going on in a rig like this, especially the stuff behind the scenes.

Last but not least, there are wonderful little buttons for all the doors and drawers to make sure that they don’t fly open. As long as you check to be sure they are fastened properly. and that the vents are down. and the auto functions of the Fantastic Fan are turned off so the vents do what they are supposed to do. Those things actually decide to close if you are off somewhere with your vent open and it starts to rain.

So I thought that since I am not running off anywhere particularly fabulous right away, it would be a good time to talk about what it’s like having one of these lovely things called a Motorhome.

MoHo goes to Klamath

http://picasaweb.google.com/kyotesue/MoHoToOregon

Last Monday was a holiday for me, so Mo and I ran down to the valley to get some work done on the MoHo. Didn’t happen, but we had a fun day any way. Did the Home Depot thing and even got to go to Costco, which I don’t do here in California because it’s too far away for me to justify the purchase of a membership. Got home by 3 and had time to make a great baked chicken dinner with oven fries. Amazing how easy it is to not feel guilty when your fries are baked not fried.

Mo was was planning to go to Klamath this week by herself to try to get the MoHo registered, and we kept watching the weather window, with really cold temperatures and snow. The window was pretty short and the T up there was 0 to 5 degrees, not a good plan for being in a motorhome with the water lines still not winterized. So Monday afternoon while cooking supper I had a brainstorm. “Let’s leave a 2 am, I’ll go with you, we will get to Klamath mid day when it is a warm 25 degrees, there is no snow predicted for at least 2 days, and we will get out of Klamath and back down off the mountain (Shasta) by dark. I can help drive and we can do it.”

So we did it. Left at 2 am, got home 24 hours later at 2:30 am. whew. The funniest part for me was that while the alarm was set for 2 am, so we could leave at 3, I woke up at something like 11:30, and couldn’t sleep, so we just gave up and got up and left. 3 hours sleep doesn’t work too well for me! I am at work today and my brain isn’t functioning at all. It was a fun trip, though, an adventure, with a bit of excitement added. About 80 miles from home with more than 300 to go the moho dropped something important on the freeway at high speeds. Guess the manifold and exhaust system didn’t have a clamp done right and everything came undone. Because of the time window, heavy rain in California, at the fact that it was 3 am and nothing was open, we just kept going and made it all the way to Klamath. I can’t tell you what a Ford V10 sounds like with no muffled exhaust system, especially climbing up the pass over Mt Shasta. Hysterical. We bombed into the rest areas in our new fancy rig sounding like some kind of teenager from 50’s hell. Got to Klamath by 10 am and managed to get the thing fixed right away at the Ford dealer. Amazing that they said, “oh here, let us roll her in right now”, instead of “come back a week from Tuesday” The guys were laughing when we drove it in, saying, “Hmmm, did someone drive over a snoberm somewhere?” “No, we don’t live in this stuff, we did this in California!” The question was valid, since Klamath has had a real winter this year, and the berms are piled up everywhere in parking lots and between driving lanes on the roads. Some are so high that it’s even hard to see the top of the MoHo which is nearly 11 feet.

After getting things fixed, we parked in Wal-Mart and rented a car to drive out to Mo’s house where the snow is many feet deep. That was fun as well just trying to walk up to her door without crashing into a big snow hole. Drove back to town, bought a burger and and actually got back over the pass before any more snow hit. It was a gorgeous sunny 4 degrees when we left Klamath, and pouring and 43 degrees by the time we hit the valley in California. You never saw 2 more worn out old ladies in your life. We both drove, but Mo did the last really hard part from the valley up to my house with all the hard rain and narrow roads with no shoulders and curvy stuff. I hate that awful feeling of driving and having to keep driving when I am sooooo sleepy and tired. ugh.

Thursday January 3 Home

We are driving west for the last time on this adventure, going down the curvy freeway over HWY58 Tehachapi Pass heading into black scary looking clouds over Bakersfield and fighting big trucks that smell like nasty diesel smoke as they gear down for the grade. We left Mojave at 6am knowing that we need to get to Jamestown before the big storm really hits hard. The weather service has changed the high wind watch to a high wind warning for northern and central California with winds up to 65 miles an hour in the valleys. Valleys? One storm after another is predicted with the really big ones to hit tomorrow. Let’s hope that they are right and that one more time we are just out of reach of the worst of it and safely home and parked. Sonora has rain and wind predicted for the next week. A great time to lay low.

After a good night’s sleep we woke around 5 and decided that we could leave in the dark, a good plan since as I said, we are trying to beat the big scary storm that is on the way. I may need to just give up on typing now as well, since this pavement is too bumpy to manage a full line without having to backspace and make a ton of corrections.

Ahh, back on HWY 99 going north now, passing through Bakersfield, and the road is so rough I can barely type, the air smells like oil and there a lots of trucks. California. Maryruth doesn’t like it when I say these things, but I just can barely tolerate being anywhere here anymore. Especially now, after traveling more than 6,000 miles, the contrast between most of California and the rest of the country is intense. Most of the population density in other places seems to be concentrated, and as you leave the cities you can escape the pressure. Here it is just everywhere, and the infrastructure is aging and there is more trash than anyplace else on the trip. It just feels so old and dirty . As dirty and worn down as New Orleans felt, I still didn’t see the kind of trash along the highways that I see here in California. I really don’t understand this part, all the other states seem to manage to do a great job of cleaning up highway trash except this one. What is that all about? Driving along the highway here the smells are overpowering as well, cows, onions, diesel, and oil fields. Yum.

Once more, reflection is left till the end and goes wanting. It’s the last day and we are going home. Maybe some reflections on the trip overall will come on a quiet evening at home when it’s all done. But more than anything, I have to be thankful for how safe and blessed we have been throughout this entire trip, as though angels were following us and leading us and making the way. It can’t just be coincidence for 6000 miles, I don’t believe, I do believe we have guardians watching over us keeping us safe, and even keeping me from having to do the painful loss thing that I thought I was going to have to do with Teddy. Thank you is too small a phrase for what I feel about this. But. Thank you.