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.
An RV shower is definitely smaller than a residential one. “Cozy” would be the polite word. Still, it was not bad at all. Best of all, I had hot water for the whole shower. That made me very happy. I came away feeling pretty good about the RV shower experience.
The Flea Market and the Plane Temptation
Here’s a video I found of the Flea Market.
Once I got to the flea market and finished setting up, I took another walk around to see what treasures — or future poor decisions — might be waiting. I saw a couple of things that caught my eye, but nothing I absolutely had to have right then and there.
The good news was I managed to sell all my planes by 10:00. That is always a nice feeling. With my table looking a lot emptier, I wandered the show again and came across a plane that sort of interested me. The only problem was the $400 price tag. That made it immediately less interesting.
Later, I headed back and relieved my friend so he could take a turn walking the show. A couple of flying buddies stopped by, and we talked for a while. Around noon, I decided it was time to head home. But first, of course, I made one last walk around. Because that always ends well.
Naturally, I passed by that same plane again.
Only now the price had dropped to $250.
Well, that changed things.
Suddenly, I was a lot more interested. Still, I kept telling myself the truth: I really did not need another plane. So I walked away. I got about 100 feet, stopped, and turned around. Then I went back and looked again. I was just about ready to make an offer when the little voice of reason showed up and asked, “Do you really need another plane?”
Annoying little voice.
So I walked away again.
I made it back to the table and got ready to leave. Then I started thinking that maybe — just maybe — I really, really did need another plane. I started back toward it, got as far as the table, took a deep breath, and finally decided no, I did not need another airplane.
This time, I meant it.
I got in the RV and headed home.
The Water Pump Surprise
The trip back was pretty uneventful. Or so I thought.
When I got home and started unloading my gear into the house, I noticed the kitchen sink was wet. The faucet was slightly on, too. That was not an encouraging sign. I checked the tank gauges and found the fresh water tank was empty. The gray tank was full. Then I noticed the water pump was still on.
That, as they say, was not ideal.
At this point, the pump appears to be out of commission. Maybe it just lost prime and will recover. Maybe it decided to retire without giving two weeks’ notice. Right now, I honestly do not know. What I do know is that I have no clue where the pump is located. That means there is probably a call to the mobile technician in my near future.
So if anyone sees me wandering around looking for my dunce cap, just mind your own business.
Lesson learned.
There is now a bright yellow reminder sign in the RV to make sure that particular mistake does not happen again.
That is RV ownership in a nutshell. One minute, you are feeling proud of your first hot shower. The next, you are inventing new ways to empty a water tank indoors.