Another Weeble Rule Is Born

As I have said before, some things happen to all RVers sooner or later.

This week, we had another one of those moments.

Actually, it was more like one of those moments that looked at us, cracked its knuckles, and said, “You thought you were getting good at this, didn’t you?”

All RVs have sensors in their holding tanks. Most of the time, they work pretty well. After my previous initiation involving the stinky slinky, I had made a firm decision that we were not going to have another problem in that department.

No sir.

Not this guy.

I was now an experienced RV sanitation professional.

At least in my own mind.

Continue reading “RV Camping Lessons at Loft Mountain: Gray Tanks, Dogs, and Mother’s Day”

The Great Buc-ee’s Expedition

The next morning, after a lot of careful thought and serious breakfast-table discussion, we decided to take a ride toward the Blue Ridge Parkway.

That was the official plan.

Of course, around the Weeble household, “the official plan” is usually just a rough draft before something more interesting happens.

Continue reading “The Great Buc-ee’s Expedition RV Road Trip”

Typical Thursday, Weeble Style

It was a typical Thursday morning around the Weeble household.

Well, typical for us anyway.

The Weeblemobile had been packed up Wednesday night, which meant all we had left to do was eat breakfast, toss in the last few odds and ends, round up the dogs, and head out for my final week of bowling.

That sounds simple enough, but anytime dogs, luggage, food, and an RV are involved, “simple” is really just a hopeful suggestion.

Continue reading “Typical Thursday, Weeble Style at Loft Mountain”

Clouds, Cub Scouts, and Captain Weeble’s Internet Excuse

We took a drive along Skyline Drive toward the southern end of Shenandoah National Park, partly for the scenery and partly because we wanted to check out the campsite we had booked for Mother’s Day weekend.

The plan was simple. We would stop at all the overlooks on the west side of the road on the way down, then hit all the overlooks on the east side on the way back.

At least, that was the plan.

Continue reading “Clouds, Cub Scouts, and Captain Weeble’s Internet Excuse”

What Could Go Wrong? A Campground Story (Spoiler: It Did)

By Captain Weeble

When I ended last week’s blog, I was firmly in oh boy, this could go sideways fast mode… mostly because of the sudden arrival of about 60 high school students.

We found out from one of the chaperones that the kids had gone on a hike. Not just any hike—Old Rag Mountain. For those who haven’t had the pleasure, Old Rag is a light little stroll… if your idea of “light” is a 9.4-mile loop with rock scrambles and a solid 6–8 hours of effort.

Bill and I did Old Rag many years ago. It was a great hike… and I can confidently say I would not be signing up for it today unless there was a helicopter involved.

Continue reading “What Could Go Wrong? A Campground Story (Spoiler: It Did)”

First RV Trip to Big Meadows: Weeble One Liftoff

10…9…8…7…6…5…4…3… main engine start… 2…1… We have liftoff of Weeble One.

As I write this, we’re sitting in Big Meadows Campground, and I’m the only one awake. The dogs are settled in and sleeping, and Mrs. Weeble is back in the bunk, out cold.

Peaceful… for now.

Continue reading “Weeble One Takes Off: Our First RV Adventure to Big Meadows”

This week has been all about getting ready for next week’s trip. In other words, we’ve been doing that special kind of planning where you try to think of everything you might need, forget at least two things anyway, and hope comfort wins out in the end.

One of the big questions this week was the bed. I’ve already slept on the RV mattress, and while I can sleep on it, I wouldn’t exactly describe it as luxurious. We had talked about buying a new mattress, but decided to hold off until Mrs. Weeble had a chance to try it for herself. In the meantime, I figured a mattress topper might be the safer and cheaper experiment.

So naturally, I went to Amazon and found a firm topper that looked promising. I ordered it, and it was supposed to arrive in two days, which gave us plenty of time before our trip to Big Meadows. Then, right on schedule, I got the email nobody wants to see: delivery delayed. Now, instead of arriving with time to spare, it was supposed to show up on the Monday before we leave on Thursday.

I’ve done this dance with Amazon before. In fact, I’ve still got one order out there in the great beyond that never showed up at all. So let’s just say my confidence level was not sky-high.

Continue reading “Big Meadows Trip Prep: RV Comfort, Dogs, and Starlink”

I finally made the call to the mobile RV tech this week. You have to understand that was one of those calls you really do not want to make. I knew I was going to have to explain what happened, and I already felt like a complete dumbass for causing the problem in the first place. I got hold of the tech, and we talked through the whole mess. He thought the pump may have lost its prime. For anyone not familiar with that, priming the pump basically means giving it some water to work with so it can start pumping again instead of just sitting there making noise and mocking you. He gave me a few things to try and said if none of them worked, to call him back. I also asked, just in case, how soon he could get me in if I needed an appointment.

Continue reading ” RV Water Pump Panic and Big Meadows Camping Prep”

Dog Training, Propane Runs, and RV Trip Prep

I still haven’t had time to contact the mobile tech about the water pump, although that was sitting right at the top of my list for tomorrow. I need to get it taken care of before April 23, because that’s when we head out on our first camping trip with all three dogs. More on that in a minute.

We’ve been slowly introducing the dogs to the RV. And by “slowly,” I mean they mostly stand at the door and stare into it like it’s a suspicious spaceship. They don’t exactly rush in on their own.

So far, I’ve semi-forced Sophie and Pennie to go inside. Buster, being nearly 70 pounds, is a little harder to persuade. Now, Buster did sleep in the RV once during one of my at-home test runs, so it’s not like he refuses completely. He just prefers to enter on his own terms and leave the minute he feels like it.

After some effort, I got Sophie comfortable with going in, and Buster has at least started coming aboard now and then. Pennie, though, is a different story. She stands in the doorway and gives me that look that says, “I remember the last time I got into one of these things. I ended up somewhere that was not home, and I was not thrilled about it.”

Continue reading “Dog Training, Propane Runs, and RV Trip Prep”

Getting Ready to Roll

The day finally came to head to Lebanon.

I knew I had to leave around 2:00. Since I usually work until 2:00 on Fridays, that already had me a little twitchy. I truly hate rushing. When I rush, I miss something. It is never a small detail, either. It is always the kind that comes back later and says, “Remember me?” So I made the executive decision to work only half a day and came home at 10:00.

That gave me time to load up the RV without feeling like I was competing in the pit crew finals at Daytona. By 2:30, I gave Mrs. Weeble a kiss, climbed aboard, and headed north.

Waze and Selective Hearing

The drive up was mostly uneventful, except for my usual disagreement with Waze. As handy as it is, Waze does not seem to understand that an RV is not a sporty little sedan. You cannot just bounce one over every back road, hill, dip, and goat path in Pennsylvania.

Yes, I could use an RV-specific GPS. Still, I had driven this route before and had a pretty good idea of what I was doing. Last year, when I took the trip by car, Waze sent me the most direct route. It also turned out to be the most dramatic. This time, I turned on my husband-selective hearing and only listened to Waze when it suited me. Honestly, I mostly use it to keep an eye on traffic and, perhaps more importantly, to stay informed about the local police fundraising locations.

Stealth Mode in Mel

After I arrived, I unloaded my three planes and set them on the table. Then I took my usual walk around to see what was there. Nothing really jumped out at me, so I headed back to the RV.

Mrs. Weeble has nicknamed the RV “Melly,” and I’ve shortened that to “Mel.” It seemed fitting. I drove Mel across the parking lot, looking for a nice flat spot to spend the night. My friend Tim had checked on overnight parking for me. He was told people could leave trailers there overnight. I decided that was close enough to permission. My general rule is simple: unless someone tells you that you cannot, you are probably okay until proven otherwise.

Even so, I went into full stealth mode.

I waited until dark to extend the slide-out. Then I leveled everything up, settled in for the night, fixed a little dinner, and watched something on the iPad. At one point, I decided the evening really would have been improved by a fire ring and a campfire. Still, that seemed like it might stretch the definition of stealth camping just a bit. Besides, I had not brought any firewood. After talking with Mrs. Weeble for a while, I turned in and drifted off to dreamland.

The First RV Shower Test

The alarm went off at 6:00 a.m. I got up, fired up the generator, and turned on the water heater. While everything warmed up, I grabbed the iPad, read the paper, and ate some breakfast. When I heard the water heater shut down, I turned off the generator and stepped into the shower for my first shower in the RV.

Continue reading “RV Flea Market Trip, First RV Shower and a Water Pump Mishap”