Four Weeks & Learning Curves!

Four weeks!

Yesterday was Sunday, August 26 and we observed four weeks since launching full-time! Where did those four weeks go? Admittedly, it is absolutely fantastic to not be madly downsizing and fretting over what to keep, donate, or sell. The full-time RVing lifestyle feels like a good choice for us. We are incredibly grateful to be engaged in this lifestyle. One of our tenets is that “Life isn’t about the stuff, but about the relationships in life!” Thus far, it’s given us opportunities to see many family members and friends.

Yesterday was a leisurely day spent having a phone call with our daughter and son-in-love, having lunch with Steve’s aunt, going to “Incredibles 2”, walking a nice paved trail along a river and recreation fields (rugby, soccer, and baseball), and reading. We remarked that this was the first day of some “normal” activities and not spent driving to the next campsite or having a packed schedule.

Learning Curves!

Our learning curves keep us smiling for the most part. We thought that we’d share a few that we’ve encountered thus far.

A current learning curve is trying to really grasp the size of our gray water tank. This tank captures the dirty water from our kitchen and bathroom sinks, and shower. Despite our efforts, the sensor lights on the gray tank indicate that we are filling it faster than we realize. Today to slow the use of our gray tank, Steve showered in the city park’s shower house. I washed dishes in our tubs that we’ve used for tent camping. Thus far the black water tank, which is from our toilet use, seems to handle our usage. We head to the campground toilets when it is feasible.

We are better mastering the hitching and unhitching process. The largest learning curve has been the weight distribution hitch. We’ve had a sudden “POP” sound take place when we’ve made a tight corner. The one sway bar popped out of position twice. After some research, Steve adjusted the braces onto which the sway bars rest. Fortunately, we’ve kept a nice range of tools, so adjustments could be more readily made.

Using phone apps has been helpful in many aspects. Love’s App worked great to provide a Love’s near us for refilling one of our LP gas tanks for the first time two weeks ago. We’ve also used Gas Buddy many times to locate diesel for the truck, although the prices given on the app often change for a station several times each day. The KOA (campgrounds) app works like a charm. We’re not staying at too many KOA’s, but when we need to book, it’s an easy app to use. Anticipating travel on county or state roads between Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Nebraska, we wanted to be mindful of low clearance bridges or underpasses. The RV Parky App is working well for identifying these areas. Our height with the AC unit is 11’ 6”. We also use the Good Sam Club’s website. Unfortunately, they don’t have a Good Sam App, which we find a curiosity.

We gave up our Cuisinart 12-cup coffee maker when we downsized. First, space is precious in our abode on wheels. Secondly, we may not always have electric hookups that support having an electric coffee maker or grinder! We moved to making French Press coffee. It’s delicious. The learning curves related to making French Press are using a manual grinder, which is frustrating for Diane due to her thumb arthritis, and not having 10 or 12 cups of coffee to gradually drink over the course of a day (our former habit). 😊

Just as we did with our former residences whether in homes that we owned or rented, there are learning curves. We shall see what other curves pop up unexpectedly as we go along!

We are still on our Midwestern Loop and over the next week we’ll make our way back to Colorado for two and a half weeks. The Midwest has provided some picturesque views and for the most part quite green!

~ Happy Trails to you!
“Living Life at the Speed of Sanity”

Diane & Steve