Tag: possibilities

I Did It —– All by Myself!

A work trip doesn’t need to be  hotels,  no pets and no privacy.  My new adventure was to drive the silver coach all by myself.  We have a small 2007 Sportrac that is only 4.5 liter engine.  We have a twenty-foot Flying Cloud Airstream.  I really had to convince my hubby that I can and will take out the rig all by myself.

I bet lots of women wonder why the guys have all the fun.  They get to drive all over the place.  I am not Miss Daisy!  hmpf!!!! Women are great drivers and we all need to share the fun.  Enough said.

At the time of this adventure my hubby was stationed at an Army base three hours from our home and I was given temporary orders to an Air Base for my reserve duty.  This is also three hours from our home.  So different orders and different locations!  Great reason for me to take the rig out by myself and be able to take the doggie too.

Hmm winter weather with rain.  The challenge was Hwy 17 in wet weather or an alternate route Hwy 129, flat, a little curvy and two lanes.  Safer in silly wet road driving.  Not a bad choice, Gunny and I were cozy and ready for any contingency!  Well Prepared.

I took us approximately 3 hours from door to door.  Not bad as we traversed a commute mess, toll bridge and the main gate to Travis, AFB.  We checked in, drove to our space and had personal, very experienced ground guides help us slide right into our home.  Took us less than 30 minutes to set-up and be cozy.

Very easy way to report for duty, then relax at a “home” not full of noise and lots of door noises!  Our little doggie was very comfortable too.  However, I found that our oven knob was a problem.  I couldn’t turn on the blasted oven pilot light!  So gave up and used my trusty old cast iron dutch oven.  Yummy!  I do feel like the pudgy little squirrel a little “squirrel” house!  Full tummy, warm and toasty listening to the stormy Delta breezes outside.

I did entertain a fellow officer and it worked wonderfully,  She was surprised at the clean, bright and roomy interior.  We can do it again!  I did notice however I needed to revamp my decor, reorganize the cabinets and re-think staples in the pantry.

As we readied ourselves for the return trip home I felt a sense of accomplishment!  I can do this on my own.  Not scary and I can take care of business too.  Onward we go.  Gunny and I did do  this again many times on multiple duty requirements with a big old grin on my face!

It is after spending time on a Family Camp site that I really admire and respect all our retirees.  We are a great bunch of people and  to see the active duty, reservists, retirees and families utilizing a place that they can commiserate about the times they spent defending our country is invaluable.

Very Proud To Have Served!

 

 

It Took Awhile!

Twelve months had passed since our maiden voyage!  We wanted to really travel with our new rolling home (20 ft Flying Cloud) but life gets in the way.  Wait, I thought escape was the reason behind our investment! hmmmm

Our choice of our “rig” was guided by the capability of our little Sportrac’s tow power.  We really did not know what we were looking for or how we would really utilize this trailer.  It had not occurred to us what trailer travel was all about.  We saw commercials and we thought wow what an adventure.  We would use our own linens, our doggies could go too, we could dine and relax in our own “home” while on the road.  Sounds great!  We’re in!

We visited many dealerships around not only  in California but also Nevada .  It surprised me in the feel, decor and sneezes we encountered.  Yep, I am allergic to the world!  Of course the price ranges were wild!  We had not even considered previously owned trailers either!  We compared the RV to the trailers to the vans, C class, A Class etc, etc.  A whole new world.

I really did not want a trailer after all the looking until my hubby took me to an Airstream dealership!  I did not sneeze, it was well thought out, clean lines inside and out and it did not have a formaldehyde odor!  It also had a light, bright kitchen area that had enough room for me to cook.  The really crowning touch was the FULL bathroom!  Yep the bathroom and kitchen sold the silver toaster for us!  So we took the very expensive plunge.

In December 2009 we went to Moro Bay and stayed at the Moro Bay Dunes RV park.  We were fully packed for any contingency and then some.  We only had one little doggie then and he is a traveler!  We had heard nothing but great things about this park and location.  Funny we live by Monterey Bay and now we are traveling to Morro Bay!  We plan our trips like we planned mission movement in the military!  We flunked the civilian side this time we were late by 30 minutes of our departure time.  We also learned how to properly stabilize our hitch.

Off we go!  We stop in Soledad, California 2 hours into our adventure for coffee and doggie piddle.  We arrive at 2:00 pm at the park and are guided to our site.  We were relieved to see we are in a quiet spot with few campers on our court.  Did I say quiet!?  As the weekenders began to arrive the noise level kept rising and children on bikes and trikes began roaming the area.  We realized our court had one of the few gates to the beach across a paved road!   Too many people but the view from the kitchen is a wow!Outer Banks Trip 110

The first night is almost completely dark, small slice of the moon, we take a short walk on the dunes and listened to the beauty of the surf and sounds!  We did not stay around the camp ground like photos in articles show but we did get a quiet spot to enhance our learning curve.  We do know now that we should do a little more homework about where we want to stay and what our style of travel is.

This is a great base camp point for short drives to Pismo Beach and San Lluis Obispo.  There is also a lot of surf fishing too!  The camp hosts were great and we shall return.

The Silver Suite