AND SO IT BEGINS………

I think I'm gonna be sick!

Hooking up at last!

Thursday, December 1^st, starts like many days when we are beginning a trip.  This time “going” means 130 miles to Hard Labor Creek State Park west of Atlanta where we have committed to volunteering at their golf course for three months. We pack last minute items to the trailer and  move the cats (Hope and Sophie) into their traveling cage. They aren't too happy about this and Sophie immediately claims the litter box as her "place".  Let 's hope this isn't a preview of "things to come".

We get a later start than we wanted due to all the last minute things we had to do.  One of the cardinal rules of this lifestyle is never arrive and set up after dark. Well, we arrive at the site about 6pm and it’s already dark. So much for cardinal rules! Bear in mind that this is only the second time we do a set up with our new trailer.


Our "yard".

Since we had camped here 2 years before, we knew the "lay of the land" and had the trailer in place and leveled before too long.  Then we discovered that we did not allow enough room to open the bedroom slide.  As we finished the second positioning and leveling, the trailer slid off the hitch stablizer about 6 inches - back in the car and let's try again.  The third time was the charm and we were able to level and slide successfully . It wasn't a perfecxt job, but considering the darkness and our frayed nerves, it'll do for now!

Next part is connecting the utilities. Electricity – OK! Water – no water! Turn on the furnace – no heat because the propane tanks are empty! AARGH!  No propane means no cooking on the stove or heating hot water.  Lydia had planned a celebratory dinner which was not happening!  We plug in two electric heaters, heat a can of soup in the microwave, and and go to bed. Cats walked all over us all night since this was their first experience with the new trailer.  The next morning Jim checked in at the Pro Shop and they sent someone to turn the water on (the powers that be hadn't told them we were coming).  Then it was a trip to get the propane tanks refilled in Madison.  Finally, after completing our rookie mistakes, we're fully operational ... almost!

We still had no tv service so Jim set to work installing our satellite dish. Two-three hours later including a call to DIRECTV tech service, we have TV. That's good, but we get no network channels. On Saturday the DIRECTV tech rep tells me that we cannot get the local network channels in our area since we are piggy-backing on Lisa Ann's account and they are in Texas!  We watch the SEC and Big Ten championship games on the DIRECTV  sports mix channel. For those of you who don't know, it's a screen with 8 small screens - about the size of a cell phone!  Can you say eyestrain?


Home Sweet Trailer

While all the above is happening, we discover a water leak inside the trailer. Jiim could't fix it, so he spent most of Monday driving to local hardware stores looking for help. The correct fix is not possible due to a lack of the correct part, so he "MacGuevered" a plan B and we're back in business again. Also, on Monday we decided to sign up for DIRECTV on our own and they are scheduled to install it on Wednesday afternoon.

Besides all the above, the rest is good. The volunteer job is easy. Basically, Jim “works” 2 hours each morning, talking, drinking coffee, and moving out 25 golf carts. Lydia is still trying to find where to stash everything and then trying to remember where she stashed it. We're preparing to head back to Bent Tree this weekend to meet the movers and (hopefully) have everything moved to the storage unit.  Wish us luck!