Another Oops!!

BIG RED GETS A HITCH
Following the failure of our old hitch in the accident, we decided to upgrade. $3000 later, we had one of the most sophisticated 5th wheel hitches on the market installed in Big Red. “Why so much?” you ask? Because it is capable of hauling 20K pounds of trailer, (the gross weight of our RV is 15K), has both hydraulic and air bag shock absorbers, and weighs about 300 lbs. This bad boy will be the last part of our rig to fail.

SONNY’S HOMECOMING
About mid-June we received a phone call from the Sunnybrook factory that Sonny was all better. We made plans to depart Crownsville for a three-day road trip to Indiana to pick him up. Within three months after the accident it was a joy to see our Sonny good as new. Not only did they repair the accident damage, but remember that tree Jay ran into in January? They fixed that too!! The previous owners had a tire blow out which had torn up some of the underbody insulation which was also repaired. Jay did most of the driving since Chris was a little gun shy having been at the wheel during the accident. The cushioning of the trailer’s reaction to bumps and dips in the road by the hitch air bags was worth every penny we paid for it.

JAY WAS DRIVING THIS TIME
Our ecstasy of having Sonny home was short-lived. Two-days after we arrived home, Jay ran some errands. While pulling out of a parking lot Big Red was broadsided by a young woman who was driving a very small car too fast. Her driving inexperience resulted in panic and she steered right into him. Words cannot describe our devastation. Although Big Red was drivable, the left front wheel was canted and we had to get him to a repair facility ASAP. The repair projection was two weeks and we figured we could handle driving a rental car for that long.

About mid-July the shop called us and said that all the originally appraised repairs were done but during their extensive test drive they found another problem. The frame was bent. The majority of the impact was on the left front wheel with very little body damage. The area on the frame, where the suspension components attach, was bent. It was also the location where a frame machine would connect in order to bend it back into shape. Our hearts sank as we knew when a frame is bent the vehicle is totaled. Our beloved Big Red, which had taken over a month to locate and a trip to Florida to retrieve, was going to be scrapped?!?!?!?!

Not so fast!!! We were told that they now have the capability to replace frames!!! Yippeeeeee!!!!! The projection time for the repair was an additional two to three weeks. The frame had to be ordered from a supplier in Detroit and shipped to the repair shop which took at least a week. Then they had to unbolt the entire body, engine, suspension and anything else that was attached to the frame, slide out the old one, slide in the new one and reattach the truck: A truly labor-intensive task. See photos, which the shop staff took, of the process at this link. www.imagesbychristine.com/gallery/Big_Red_new_frame

The repair shop begins the disassembly.

Three weeks turned into more than a month and Murphy reared his ugly head again. The truck repairs were completed but the shop could not install the hitch. The RV repair shop they hired to do the task kept the truck in their cue an additional two weeks before completing the installation. A final test drive revealed the need to replace bearings on the right front wheel and finally Big Red was ready to come home.

Meanwhile we’d been driving an iridescent blue PT Cruiser rental car – which Jay hated. He did not look forward to extending his association with it not only once but twice, but had no choice. We had possession of Big Red on August 31st - almost 8 weeks after the accident. Chris was so excited, she actually gave Big Red a hug. With a sigh of relief, we could now complete the final stages of our Odyssey departure.

Summer Vacation???

Not a moment of our “summer vacation” was spent not working on the house or our new Big Red truck. Including weekends, from the day we arrived home in early April, after our accident in NC, until the day we left the driveway on September 8th, we:

- spackled and sanded over 250 nail holes, inside and out
- patched 20 sq ft of concrete on the driveway
- power washed entire outside of house, patio, front walk and portion of driveway
- removed over 300 stick-on, glow-in-the-dark stars from Kevin’s bedroom ceiling
- primed and painted over 1600 sq ft of walls and trim inside and outside
- removed old caulk and recaulked a tub and separate stall shower
- etched and applied two coats of paint to 500 sq feet of concrete floor
- installed a new light fixture
- replaced the kitchen and a bathroom floor
- removed, painted and reinstalled bathroom vanity and shelving unit
- removed, painted and reinstalled doors to different bathroom vanity and lower kitchen cabinets
- removed and reinstalled base and wall cabinets in basement to enable painting the wall behind them
- steam cleaned 350 sq ft of carpet
- sanded and applied 3 coats of polyurethane to 130 sq ft of hardwood flooring
- steel-wooled and wiped down shower stall walls three times and applied two coats of epoxy paint to same
- mounted stair well handrail
- installed carpet runner on full flight of stairs
- repaired front door threshold
- replaced water system expansion tank
- transplanted over 90 plants
- weeded entire yard and survived multiple bee stings
- fertilized entire yard 3 times
- packed up and moved the entire contents of the house into a storage unit and the RV

For your enjoyment, the following are stories of some of our experiences above.

GALAXIES GALORE
When Chris’ son, Kevin, was a young boy he received a gift of several hundred glow-in-the-dark stick-on stars, planets and galaxies, which he promptly stuck all over his bedroom ceiling and fan blades. More than 10 years later, we were tasked with removing them prior to repainting his room. Now, one would think that scraping them off with the swipe of a putty knife would work. Nay, nay!! These little puppies had to be removed one at a time. Jay pried them up with a razor blade scraper, peeled them off the scraper with his fingers, then held them in his hand until a sufficient number had been accumulated to warrant a ladder descent and a trip to the trash can. To add to the difficulty, due to Jay’s bifocals, he had to hold his head waaaayyyyy back to keep the ceiling in focus so that he could find them. The almost pure white stickers blended into the white ceiling and after a while stickers and ceiling blurred together requiring numerous and shortly spaced breaks. A night time quality check was required before slinging paint. Visualize this if you dare. Jay, in his all together and armed with a flashlight, entered the barren room devoid of window coverings, and discovered to his amazement, multiple galaxies still clinging to the ceiling. This bizarre ritual was repeated three consecutive nights before all celestial bodies were removed. We felt that photos of Jay would not be well received so, omitted them.


BEE STINGS

Most of our front yard is carpeted with a dense periwinkle ground cover which is shaded by magnificent, tall oak trees. The abundant squirrel population hoards most of the hundreds of acorns the trees shed each year, but escapees do germinate and take up residence in the periwinkle. One of Chris’ annual gardening tasks is to weed out the baby oak trees. This is no small task as even an 8” tall plant can have a tap root equal to its height, requiring considerable digging with a trowel to remove and minimize disturbing the surrounding plants. Given the number of baby trees this summer, she decided to use a chemical brush killer to hasten the process. Enlisting Jay’s help, she waded through the periwinkle cutting off the tops of the Oaks then, with an eye-dropper, Jay would apply a few drops of the herbicide to the freshly cut “trunk”, thus minimizing the broadcasting of toxic chemicals over a large area. Aside from the occasional weeding foray, the periwinkle is undisturbed by foot traffic. Unbeknownst to Chris and Jay, bees had constructed two ground hives. Do you have any idea how territorial bees can be when one unwittingly disturbs their abode? Multiple bee stings later, we located their hives and thereafter gave them a wide berth. Some baby oaks survived to live another year.

FLOOR FOLLY

Due to a mold infestation years ago, we removed the old carpeting in the basement leaving it bare concrete. Before renting the house, we felt compelled to put some type of covering on it but most remedies seemed too expensive or too labor intensive. Paint seemed to be the most practical solution. However, unlike walls, you don’t just prime, then paint. Concrete requires etching. It’s like using sandpaper on bare wood. Muriatic acid is the etcher of choice but the fumes are capable of asphyxiation and since there was only a stairwell to provide air circulation we sought another solution. Home Despot, (sorry, Depot), to the rescue; or so we thought. We gleefully found a concrete cleaner/etcher, that we were told, did not have the deadly fumes of Muriatic acid.

We decided to do only 2/3 of the total floor area to begin as we needed to access other areas of the basement. Taking the standard precautions of covering all skin surfaces with rubber boots, long pants, long-sleeved shirts, goggles, gloves, respirators and plastic poncho (for Chris) we set to work mixing the solution, and scrubbing the floor with a stiff-bristled brush as directed. After the allotted etching time, we began to rinse off the chemical. We rinsed and we rinsed and we rinsed and rinsed again. At first we just brought the hose downstairs to dilute the mixture and suck it all up with the wet vacuum. But, each time we thought we had disposed of the chemical, more bubbles would appear in the damp concrete. That’s right, bubbles. Remember the product was a “cleaner”/etcher. Like Tim the Tool Man, we decided we needed “More power!!!”. So, down came the power washer. Two hours later, we gave up. What bubbles remained embedded in the floor would remain with the house forever. Needless to say we resorted to the Muriatic Acid for the remainder of the project which was finished in less than 1/3 of the time. Sometimes the old ways are still the best ways.

Chris, almost completely covered in protective garb with scrub brush and vacuum in hand.

Clear plastic was taped around the baseboard and up the walls to protect them from chemical and water spray.

Jess' Graduation and Truck Tales

The rest of April was spent working feverishly on the house. Little did we know that all those wax-on, wax-off muscles would be used so vigorously as we move from room-to-room, cleaning, patching holes, sanding, painting, etching concrete, renovating a bathroom, replacing fixtures, a new kitchen floor, weeding and power washing the exterior. We live in a really neat neighborhood. All of our non-valuable things we want to get rid of are set by the road next to a sign that says “FREE”. They magically disappear within days. Thankfully the summer heat has not yet set in and we can work in comfortable temperatures and the house is looking great!! So, if you know someone who is interested in renting a really nice house in a water-privileged community, have them give us a call!!

Chris managed to get a few days in Chicago doing some photography and trade show work that helped to fund the repairs.

The daily cost of a rental car began to add up so we started our search for a replacement truck. We soon found that all the used trucks, that filled our specifications, were not to be found. Zip, zero, nada! Even new trucks were few and far between. Melaleuca, Inc. has, as one of the perks of membership, a vehicle savings program that finds new or used trucks and usually gets a good discount over what a private party could negotiate. We’ve purchased vehicles through them twice before to great advantage. They, too, could not find our special truck. The search continued.

As you may recall, we were taking care of Max and Little Miss while Jessica attended OCS in New London, Connecticut. The end of April found us heading north, with Max, for the graduation festivities. The reunion of Jess and Max was fun to watch as they cavorted on the floor. One must remember that Jess had been living in an environment likened to one notch from a prison for 17 long, cold, dismal weeks of officer boot camp. Rolling around on the floor with her best buddy was a welcome relief from marching in the snow and having every movement scrutinized.

Jessica and Max messing around.

The cool, soggy weekend passed quickly and soon it was Tuesday night, the 5th of May, when we attended the formal, graduation dinner/dance at a nearby casino. A good friend of Jessica's, Jaime Trout, flew from Mobile, AL to attend the dinner and graduation. Chris and Jay actually cut a pretty decent rug on the dance floor.

Jay, Chris and Jessica at the graduation dinner/dance.

(Photo by Jaime Trout)

Jaime and Jessica at the dinner/dance.

The next morning dawned warm and sunny and was perfect for welcoming 84 newly minted “Butter Bars” into the Coast Guard. Everyone looked very spiffy in their dress white uniforms with all the new gold showing proudly. Kevin and his wife, Sarah, drove up for the ceremony and he presented the commission to his big sister. Even Jay got all gussied up and participated while Chris got some great photos.

Jessica walking to her seat in the Coast Guard Academy auditorium next to her friend Gus.

The graduating company taking the oath.

Jessica recieving her commission from her brother, Kevin.

L-R: Adm. Kunkel (ret), Kevin, Jessica and Jay

The happy, proud family after the ceremony.

L-R: Sarah, Kevin, Jessica, Chris and Jay

Back home to continue the search for a truck and more home improvements. Finally, just as Jay was about to panic and actually buy a new (read expensive) vehicle, the Melaleuca guy found the perfect 2007, one ton, diesel, extended cab, long bed, 4 wheel drive, Duramax Allison transmission, pickup truck with towing package. We wanted a GMC again but had to settle for a Chevy. We were not overjoyed about the bright red color but by this time we were so desperate to find a vehicle with the important features that we couldn’t be fussy about color. As it turned out this truck was top-of-the-line and loaded with leather interior; 12 position, heated, electric seats; in fact – everything you can think of is electric and automatic. While driving, we spend half our time discovering new “goodies” that we just never dreamed of having in a vehicle.

Oh, did we tell you the truck was located in Florida? So, on Friday, May 15th, Southwest flew Jay to Jacksonville where the dealership picked him up in the new truck. An hour’s test drive later, he was at the dealership, completing paperwork and preparing to drive it home the same day. Jay dreaded the long drive home since, in Ol’ Blue, his hip would hurt after an hour’s driving. He was impressed with the truck within the first two hours on the road. The infinitely adjustable seats allowed him to drive the 19 hours home – pain free.

After two weeks of driving it, we are in love with “Big Red”. It is comfortable, powerful, beautiful – did we say comfortable? It is more than a truck. We have pre-programmed lumbar support and seat position, gas and brake pedal and outside mirror settings for Jay and Chris individually. Believe it or not we even have the upgraded Bose, surround-sound, eight-speaker stereo system tuned to – are you ready for this – our now favorite WMZQ Country radio station. All we need is a gun rack mounted in the rear window. Chris has never been a country music fan but is finding, if she can get past the vocal twangs, that the beat of the tunes is more to her liking than the current rock/pop/hip hop - yuk. Yee Haaaa!!!

Big Red at the dealership in Florida.

With Kevin no longer at our home to receive and forward our mail, we were forced to obtain a mail-forwarding service in Florida. Since we bought the truck in Florida it was easiest to register it there. To that end we are changing our residence to FL after we rent the house.

Trailer Troubles

The insurance adjuster found an RV repair company in Winston-Salem, NC who made arrangements with a trucking company to transport Sonny back to “Mommy” (the factory) for repair. We had only days to pack up all of our valuables and necessities. In addition, the factory needed all of our belongings, in the bedroom and basement areas, removed for the repairs to be completed. More than half of everything we loaded into Sonny had to go back home with us via a one-way U-Haul truck. To make this even more interesting, we had to coordinate turning in our rental car and picking up and loading the U-Haul to coincide with the arrival of the low-boy tractor trailer at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, April 7th. A massive cold front roared in the night before. Stressed from the urgency of packing, lack of sleep and the looming income tax deadline we loaded the truck on a blustery, cloudy, 50 degree morning. With Little Miss discontentedly howling in her pet carrier, we waited for the arrival of the tractor trailer - - and waited - - and waited. It arrived two hours later than scheduled due to a mechanical failure and repair (do you see the writing on the wall?).

Chris loading the final items into the U-Haul. Notice Little Miss' carrier to her right.

Little Miss in her carrier. We put her in last so that she could look out and feel not quite so "caged".

The Winston-Salem company sent two employees, Dustin and Daniel, to load Sonny onto the low-boy since it is not the truck driver’s responsibility. They too waited and passed the time with Jay playing catch with Max, while Chris stayed warm reading in the truck. We all expected that the low-boy would come equipped with loading ramps. Not to be. As a matter of fact Donald, the driver, said that he’d never towed this particular trailer before and that it was “quite old”. In other words, we had an antique trailer transporting our beloved Sonny a thousand miles to be repaired.

For those of you who have never had up close and personal experience with the mechanics of a low-boy trailer, perhaps we should describe how it normally works. We’re sure you’ve seen them on the road. They are the trailers that haul large construction equipment and tall, oversized loads. Imagine a long, shallow “u” shaped trailer where the bed of the trailer rides very close to the ground and the front and rear portions angle up to form platforms over the wheels. (This will make much more sense when you see the pictures below.) The front, gooseneck portion, detaches at the trailer bed level to allow the cargo to be driven onto the trailer bed. It is then reattached in order to tow. Disconnecting the gooseneck is normally a 10-minute process. It took the 3 D’s over two hours to beat the rusty hulk into submission.

The tractor-trailer hired to take Sonny back to Indiana.

1 PM: With the gooseneck dangling from the rear of the tractor, Dustin and Daniel set to work on creating a ramp from the 2x12’s, and other assorted lumber, they had brought with them. As they propped the planks in a variety of rickety configurations it became more apparent to us that a disastrous situation was in the making. (The military term for this is not printable here but it begins with gaggle.) At this point Chris couldn’t take it anymore and in her sweet, demure, gentle way, told them “We don’t want this to become a candidate for the Darwin Awards.” Donald quizzically peered at her through his round, wire-rimmed glasses trying to understand what she had just intimated. She saw the wheels turning in his mind. Finally he began to chuckle – he got it. Chris explained to the other two D’s what the Darwin Awards were and told them that a Lowe’s and Home Despot were a few miles up the road.

2 PM: The two D’s went shopping. Returning almost two hours later with lumber, and a brand new electric circular saw, they went to work building ramps that resembled the Bridge over the River Kwai. No Darwin Awards that day!!!

Dustin on the left and Daniel on the right positioning the ramps they built.

5 PM: The RV park roads were laid out in a skewed grid type formation with water and electric hookups protruding from the grassy areas in between. It so happens that a set of utility posts was directly in line with the front of the trailer about 50 feet away. Daniel’s truck, when hooked to our RV, is just about 50’ in length. If you do the math, it was impossible to line up the truck, RV and low-boy trailer in a straight enough line to easily get one onto the other. Add to this the fact that the RV wants to crab sideways, because of the bent axles, and you have a loading situation that just doesn’t work. Attempt after attempt was made to line up the RV wheels with the ramps without success.

With the ramps in place, Dustin directing Daniel as he backed the RV toward the trailer.

6 PM: The feat was accomplished only by twice backing the RV to a certain point, disconnecting it from the truck, straightening the truck in line with the RV, then reattaching before the RV was finally aboard the low-boy. But that wasn’t the end of it. Once aboard Daniel remarked that, when fully on the low-boy, the stern of the RV may hit the rear fender area of the trailer!! Chris muffled an expletive and, in the most controlled voice possible, under the circumstances, questioned “I thought all the measurements had been done ahead of time and that there wouldn’t be any problems with the trailer!?!?!!?!?!?” Daniel explained that the low-boy trailers were capable of being extended up to 5 feet. Our question was, “How do you do that when the RV is already loaded?” At this point, Jay took control and said, “Chris, let’s go. It’s getting late, we have a long drive and we need to get on the road. They have the RV loaded. Donald has signed for it and if they need to work until midnight, they’ll get it done. We don’t need to be here. Let’s go.” As frustrated as Chris was with the situation and desiring to monitor the loading until it was completed, she had to recognize the fact that Jay was right and she had to let go and leave for home. As it was we probably wouldn’t get home before 1 a.m. Reluctantly, but somewhat relieved we saddled up and rode off into the night. We breathed a sigh of relief when Daniel called a few hours later and told us that the loading was complete and the truck was ready to depart after the driver got a good night’s sleep.

Sonny loaded onto the low-boy. More position adjustments would be done before lashing it down for transport but, this is how we left it.

At this point, Dear Reader, you might think that all went well. Oh, how wrong you would be. Multiple times during this entire evolution, Chris and Jay took turns offering to measure the total height of the RV and the trailer from the ground. Willing neighbors, in the RV Park, offered to help with the measurements. Each time one or more of the Three D’s assured us it would not be necessary and they had it all under control. Two days later, when the trucking company called and began the conversation with small talk, Jay and Chris knew something was up. Sure enough, when Jay was asked “Uh, was there any damage to the top of the RV in the accident?” We knew immediately that their measurements had been faulty and it hit an overpass on the way to Indiana. The good news is, we got a brand new air conditioning unit, complements of the trucking company. Somehow bad things always turn out for the better.

The drive home was uneventful. Little Miss continued to howl her discontent when checked on and with no dog food handy to satisfy Max’s hunger, we discovered how much he really likes Quiznos cheese steak subs. While rolling into our driveway in the dark of night, Chris’ spirits were raised by the site of her front yard blooming with hundreds of cheery daffodils. If we have to be home for a while, spring is the best time.

The daffodils are waning by the time this photo was taken but imagine most of the front yard ablaze with bright yellow, white and orange blossoms.

ODYSSUS INTERRUPTUS

Our departure from sunny Florida, on Sunday the 29th of March, went as planned. Chris’ friend, Donna Evans, and her seeing-eye-dog Traci (a black lab that Max liked to hang out with) came along so she could visit friends in the DC area – in fact we had organized a party for all of us to attend when we got home in just a few short days. The truck was a little crowded with three adults up front and two large dogs behind in the extended cab but we had lots of laughs and good conversation as we headed north. By the time we spent our second night together, in South Carolina, we had worked out our routine for dishes, make-up (not Jay) and walking dogs so we didn’t get in each others’ way.

Monday afternoon, the 30th, we had just re-fueled and switched drivers, and crossed the North Carolina borderline on I-95. The weather was perfect and after dealing with construction and bouncing around all morning on the terrible South Carolina roads we remarked about the smooth North Carolina road surface and were speculating on how far we might get before we quit for the day. Traffic was light and Chris was driving in the right lane on cruise-control at 65 in a 70 mph zone – that way everyone could pass us and we didn’t have to do a lot of lane-changing. Just cruise along and enjoy life…

About 8 miles into North Carolina a flat-bed semi passed us and pulled right in front of us, filling our safety zone completely. We didn’t worry about this because they go much faster than we and, in a short time, open up the space quickly – usually. Just after getting in front of us he went over a little hill. As Chris followed she suddenly saw nothing but brilliant, red taillights. The net weight of our 33’ RV is about 13,000 pounds. Add another ton of personal belongings and stopping it, going down a hill, at 65mph is no easy task. To Chris it all happened in slow motion; seeing the lights, standing on the brakes, watching the gap to the truck growing smaller, praying that the RV didn’t whiplash, and that another vehicle didn’t run into it, cringing at the sight of the hood crunching into the flatbed and finally coming to a stop. She was in a bit of shock. The radiator fan was howling and Jay had to tell her to turn off the engine. Within a few moments she had enough presence of mind to inquire as to everyone’s state of health and exit the truck with Donna and the dogs. Jay was already out checking the damage and talking with the truck driver. The driver said he saw us coming and pulled onto the shoulder of the road once we made contact. Truck parts and the rear bumper of the semi trailer were strewn over a hundred feet behind us.

We found out later he had talked to other truckers up ahead and learned that, due to construction, the two lanes were merging into one and he wanted to be in the thru-lane. Logical thinking but disastrous execution. Fortunately, by the time we made impact we had slowed to less than 20 mph which lessened the severity of what could have been a fatal event. The airbags didn’t even deploy. The good news is that none of us were hurt worth mentioning. The bad news is that Donna got a little more “adventure” than she’d planned, Ol’ Blue, our GMC truck, was totaled and our lovely trailer was damaged to the point that it could not be towed on its own wheels. Both axles were bent and the trailer wanted to crab sideways, which is a little hard on tires – and other things while towing.

Here is a link to a photo gallery Chris put together for the insurance appraiser and Sunnybrook factory. www.imagesbychristine.com/Odyssey/RV_wreck The first few photos are of the damage to the truck, hitch and front of the RV. Later ones show interior and other exterior damage, none of which look that bad, but parts got bent and skewed so that doors don’t close properly and the bedroom bump-out doesn’t bump out all the way. Click on the green button to move forward and the red button to move backward through the gallery.

The following days were spent at a nearby RV park with Donna making arrangements to continue her journey north and Jay working with the insurance company to determine if our Odyssey had suddenly come to an end. We felt the truck was easier to replace than the trailer. If the trailer was totaled, so was the Odyssey. The appraiser supplied a preliminary estimate for repairs contingent on a final estimate from the Sunnybrook factory that would do the work. The problem was how to get the trailer to the factory in Indiana when it couldn’t be towed!!

March Surprises

In early March Mother Nature flipped the “spring” switch and the days were consistently warmer. The waxing supplies were once again being utilized during the slow-paced “work” days and we continued to spend our down time turning the pages of interesting novels and magazines. In fact, Chris had read at least two books by mid-month in contrast to her not having read even one book in the last two years. Jay was overjoyed to at last have finished reading his 2006 historical naval and aviation publications.

Looking forward to enjoying this lifestyle for many months to come – the serenity was shattered by a surprise e-mail from Kevin. He and Sarah had been looking at homes in the price range they could afford to buy, just to see what was out there; good for them, bad for us. They found a townhouse they liked and the sellers accepted their offer.

We were stunned!! Knowing we could not afford to continue this serene lifestyle and support an empty house, our future plans dissolved before our eyes as we groped for a solution. Chris was in turmoil and Jay was in a wild rage!! After a few days we finally agreed that it is better to have happened now rather than later when we could have been in Utah and would have had to travel thousands of miles back to Maryland to prepare the house for lease or sale.

We were disappointed that a two year rental agreement had imploded into a two month tease. The beauty of the arrangement with Kevin and Sarah allowed us to minimize the painting, repairing and complete packing up of our household goods required to rent to someone else. We were faced with leaving Florida when they were moving out at the end of March; at least two weeks earlier than we’d originally planned.

In the midst of all this we managed to squeeze in a fun visit with Jerry and Linda Paxton (Chris’ ex-brother and sister-in-law) at Bok Tower Gardens. The carillon tower and surrounding gardens were built by Edward Bok, editor of the Ladies Home Journal magazine from 1889-1919 and Pulitzer Prize winning author.

Photos below are of the tower and gardens with Jay standing beside a HUGE succulent plant.

Just as Jay was beginning to touch the ground from the last “high hover” e-mail, another arrived on Friday, the 6th of March, informing us that Kevin and Sarah were getting married on the 9th. Jay was speechless and Chris didn’t know if she should laugh or cry.

Hasty flight arrangements for Chris were made to leave very early Sunday morning. Naturally, the alarm was accidentally set for PM but we did wake up only 30 minutes later than the planned 3:30 AM reveille. We were not too concerned since we had planned a safety margin and could still make the arrival at the Tampa airport, an hour’s drive away, in time for her 6:30 flight. Keep in mind that we’d had no radio, TV or newspaper for several months and were quite content in our “glass bubble” lifestyle. Although someone had mentioned the time change earlier in the week, it didn’t occur to us to plan for it at the time. Sunday morning, when Chris picked up her cell phone and noticed the time was an hour later than she’d thought panic set in. Fortunately she had packed the day before so, we threw everything, including Max, into the truck, prayed and headed for Tampa. Even poor Max could feel the tension in the truck as we careened down the highway looking for police laying in wait behind every tree. Checking her bag and a slight delay at security caused her to streak, in stocking feet, through the empty terminal to the gate; boarding just before they closed the door for takeoff. Whew, Max and Jay had to pull over to the side of the road and gather their composure before driving home.

The wedding went well and though it was a simple courthouse ceremony, they had the very finest professional photographer, that doesn’t do weddings, in the free world.

The happy couple!!

Chris with Sarah and Kevin.

Shortly after we arrived in Florida, Jay was excited to learn that a Shuttle launch had been scheduled for early February. We’d planned to drive to Cape Canaveral and find a viewing location close to the launch site but the dates were rescheduled so many times that we decided to view whatever we could from the Bushnell area. RV park residents told us that we could see the launch from the top of our RV!! So, not expecting much of a show, we climbed up – camera-less. Big mistake!!! We thought we’d see something akin to a jet contrail since we were over 100 miles away. Considering the distance, what we saw took our breath away. We could literally see the fire from the engines belching a huge, thick, white cloud of smoke and the separation of the booster rockets. Chris finally scrambled down to retrieve her camera and took a few photos of the lingering smoke trail as it turned to soft shades of red and orange with the light of the setting sun.

Smoke trail of the Shuttle Launch of March 15th as seen from the top of our RV in the Sumter Oaks RV park in Bushnell, FL.

Lastly, we fit in a visit with Joe and Rose Kennedy and Art and Edda Ross. On a beautiful, crisp, sunny day, the Kennedys took all of us out in their power boat and we cruised a river near their home in Homosassa. The manatees were prolific and visible just under the surface of the water. Navigating around them was tricky and essential to protect them from injury from the propeller blades. We learned that this river is one of the political hotspots where the residents are fighting against the boat speed safety laws that are in effect to protect the manatees. Many of them have multiple, deep scars from boats that have run over them. It is sad that some people can only focus on how fast they want to go and the fun they want to have over the well-being of another creature.

L-R, Rose and Joe Kennedy, Art and Edda Ross and Jay Crouthers in front of the Kennedy's home in Homosassa.

The month waned and we thought we had a handle on all the surprises tossed in our path. Little did we know that March was going to end with a BANG!!!

Sunny, Waaarrrmmm Florida?

At the end of January we arrived in Bushnell, Florida to temperatures in the 80s and finally had tee-shirt, shorts and flip-flop weather – for 12 hours. The next five weeks was a weather rollercoaster of freezing nights and semi-tepid days with a few rain showers thrown in. Mind you we were well aware of the sub-zero temps and freezing rain and snow the rest of the country had been experiencing. It’s just that it wasn’t what we’d envisioned our winter in Florida would be. But the adaptable creatures that we are, we rose to the challenge and adjusted our schedules of home-based projects and visiting friends, making an already short month vanish in a blur of activities.

Unfortunately our first week was marred with news of the passing of Bill Meininger, a dear friend of Jay’s from his Coast Guard days at Cape May, NJ. His death was completely unexpected and cast a shroud of disbelief over our entire week’s activities. Not thinking he would need a suit on the trip, Jay flew home to retrieve one and attended the funeral in Virginia.

During the two days that Jay was away, Chris was ecstatic to discover a sewing machine in the RV park activities center. She set about creating taupe colored covers for her photo scanner and printer and the stark white TV trays to better blend them into the trailer décor. Upon his return, Jay upgraded the water system with an accumulator tank to keep the chattering of the water pump to a less discernable dull roar. We discovered that our wax-on/wax-off muscles were at an advanced state of atrophy. After washing and waxing the truck we had to take off a week to heal and decided to schedule alternating work and play days of visiting friends.

We decided to stay at an RV park in Bushnell because it is centrally located to friends who live in The Villages, Sarasota, Tavares and Dunnellon. The month was spent traversing the area to visit them all.

The Villages is a planned community of over 70,000 people, 35,000 homes and 32 golf courses, (providing enough facilities for the most popular pass-time of retirees), and is located about an hour northwest of Orlando. We visited several of our friends who live in the community and all of them say they absolutely love it. The list of activities offered each week is immense and each housing section has its own recreational center complete with swimming pool, shuffle board, lawn bowling, pickle ball and tennis courts. Shopping centers complete with movie theatres, boutique shops, restaurants and needed services abound both inside and outside the immaculately manicured community. Some call it Disneyland for old people.

Chris with her friend, Donna Evans at a lake in one of the shopping areas at The Villages.

The primary mode of transportation is golf carts that the residents use not only on the golf courses but you find them at the shopping centers inside and outside the community! These are no ordinary golf carts. Some are powered by small gasoline engines and are licensed to drive on county roads, some are powered by electricity. Carts of every shape, size and color you can imagine zip by on the specially made paved paths that run adjacent to the roads. We really got a kick out of the diversity we saw from 4-seater models with fronts like Rolls Royces to sporty little numbers styled after Chevys from the 60s.

A few samples of the types of golf carts to be found in The Villages.

Egrets are found in landscaping around the large, shopping center buildings where ponds are nearby.

In mid-February we filled larger bowls with water and food for Little Miss, loaded Max and an overnight bag into Ole Blue and headed to Sarasota, about an hour south of Tampa, to visit a high school friend of Jay’s, Darrel Wade and his wife Alberta. Sarasota is the former winter home of the Ringling Brothers circus and currently the home of The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art (http://www.ringling.org/) which houses an art museum, the Ringling home, two circus museums and the Historic Asolo Theater. While visiting the city we found Max’s Dog Bakery and just had to take a photo of Max in front of it.

Max and Jay at Max's Dog Bakery in Sarasota, FL.

We then visited mutual friends from our separate boating days, Dave and Ruth Taisch, who live in Tavares. The town is situated south of Ocala National Forest amidst 5 huge, fresh water lakes. Dave and Ruth lived on a sailboat and cruised the Caribbean for several years in the early 90s. They then traded their boat in for a land yacht and travelled the U.S. until they settled in a beautiful home on Lake Harris a few years ago. We travelled across the lake in their beautiful, completely restored, 1960s vintage, 20’ inboard power boat to have lunch at a lakeside restaurant. Gator bites was a new, culinary experience for us in the form of fried, alligator tail. One might say they tasted like chicken - - the new-new white meat!!

The Taischs engage in a most unique hobby and have devoted the last two years working on a backyard project associated with it. They are creating a train garden. It covers an area at least 30’ x 30’ and, when completed, will contain four separate train tracks that wind inside, around and over each other. The trains are housed in a one-car garage size structure adjacent to the tracks and they will exit and enter the building via a small doggie door. The ties and hand-bent, 3” wide tracks rest on foundations of poured concrete. They have most of the concrete foundations in place and are beginning to position the ties and tracks. The final phase will be the landscaping. We thought it was such a unique project. We’ve seen many indoor model trains with buildings, landscaping and lighting but never one of this scale out of doors.

A week after visiting the Taisches we headed northwest to Dunnellon. Art and Edda Ross, whom Jay knew from when he was stationed in Puerto Rico, live near the Rainbow Springs State Park (http://www.floridastateparks.org/rainbowsprings/default.cfm or http://www.floridastateparks.org/rainbowsprings/docs/brochure.pdf ) which was holding a Cracker Festival. This gorgeously landscaped park is the only two-time winner of the National Gold Medal Award for State parks in the country. It contains the headwaters of the fourth largest freshwater spring in the state, producing over 400,000 gallons of spring water per day which creates the Rainbow Spring River. Paved paths, lined with azaleas and other cultivated plants, wind through the park, skirting the edges of the spring waters, passing waterfalls and open areas used for the festival and other events. Vendors at the festival sold hand woven, wool clothing, hand carved wooden bowls, and other items indicative of the Cracker era.

Photos of the headwaters of Rainbow Springs and waterfall at Rainbow Springs State Park.

Shallow pool at headwaters of Rainbow Springs with small fish. Sandy round areas are where springwater is bubbling out of ground.

No one really knows where the term Cracker came from, but most agree that it is the term used to describe the Florida cattlemen of the 19th and early 20th centuries. They used a whip to manage their cattle and the cracking sound it made became their moniker. There are other opinions on the term as noted here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_cracker or search Google with the keywords “Florida Crackers”.

Cracker vendor who has made a chair seat out of neckties and a typical Cracker camp.

The next day we visited Webster. Now Webster is a bit of a legend in this area and only about 5 miles from our RV park. Every Tuesday afternoon, the RV park hosts a jam session where the park residents and other locals get together in the recreation building and play music. One of the songs they sing is about Webster’s Flea Market. It is held at the county fairgrounds every Monday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. and it is M-O-N-S-T-R-O-U-S!!! The two parking lots alone cover the ground of 4 football fields. The flea market consists of well over a thousand booths, under cover and in the open, with everything you can imagine from fresh produce, kettle corn stands, antiques, topless sandals, guns, auto accessories, tee shirts, ball caps, do-it-yourself satellite dish kits, and did I mention antiques – vast quantities of antiques. You name it they’ve got it and more. Having been to flea markets in the past, Chris was ready to go in a couple of hours. Not Jay!! He had never experienced anything like it and we stayed until the end and beyond. He just could not believe the expansiveness and diversity of the event.

Webster Flea Market

Jay perusing a table of World War II relics.

The pressing of humanity was a fantastic test for Max and he was just a gem. Everyone who saw him stopped to pet him, young and old alike. He was unflustered, calm, his normal good self and was alert enough to score a hot dog someone had dropped.

A little information about the area:
Bushnell is located on the western side of central Florida, which is very different from the coastal, white, sandy beaches and azure seas most people envision as Florida. Sumter Oaks RV Park is situated between a large cattle ranch and a cement mining company which is entirely obscured from our view by a forest of huge Live Oaks, dripping with Spanish moss. Large Live Oaks throughout the RV park shade our and other trailers; sometimes a little too much considering the cool temps. In keeping with our experiences so far in encountering unusual creatures, the RV park has two resident Sandhill Cranes whose squawking can be heard from one end of the park to the other. Their tameness allows us, and even Max, to get surprisingly close.

Cranes at the RV park.

The locals have told us that the Florida cattle industry is second in the U.S. to Texas and has become the #1 industry in the state. Orange production has declined to second place mainly due to a mold that attacks the orange groves. If an infected tree is discovered all trees within at least a 100’ radius of it are destroyed in an attempt to control the mold infestation. A larger number of oranges are imported from South America than what are currently produced in Florida.

Cows on the ranch adjacent to the RV park.

By the end of February we had settled into a comfortable, relaxed routine between work and play. We made new friends, learned many “tricks of the trade” from the “old hands” at full-time RVing, visited dear friends and, in general, enjoyed our time until it warmed up enough for us to head north in late April; but an e-mail from Chris’ son, Kevin, potentially altered the rest of our two-year Odyssey.

Back to the Cat!!

The loss of Little Miss continued to cast a pall over our entire adventure. We decided to return to N. Carolina and invest a week in the effort to locate our missing family member (actually Chris decided to return and Jay went along with her not believing we would ever see Little Miss again).

The RV park in N. Carolina is over 600 miles from Tallahassee. So we decided to make it a two-day endeavor, stopping at a Wal-Mart in S. Carolina Monday night. Lucky for us we were listening to a radio station and heard a forecast of snow to begin at midnight. Now there are several things that we really have no desire to experience in life and one of them is towing a 5th wheel trailer in the snow. Our road fatigue rapidly changed to an intense desire to get to Rock Ridge before the snow. We decided that setting up the rig, in the drizzle, at 10 p.m. was not fun. But it was hilarious compared to waking up the next morning to 4” of new snow and freezing temps in the 20s.

We stopped for fuel and a Quiznos in S. Carolina and feeling really badly that Max had not eaten since breakfast, Jay split his cheese steak sub with him. Has anyone ever seen the speed that an 85 lb. black Lab can consume a steak sub? Happily, Jay did not lose any fingers in this exchange.

We spent all of Tuesday listening to the propane furnace try to keep the trailer at a habitable temperature while we watched the snow fall. The scenery was beautiful, but if we’d wanted winter weather we would have gone skiing. The forced lay-day did allow us to print up fliers, complete with a photo of Little Miss, and plan our strategy for the next day.

Wednesday the 21st was sunny and cold as we ventured out searching all the animal shelters in a three-county area and local vets in case someone brought her in for a check-up. We then passed out fliers, to all homes and businesses, in a fairly wide radius in case the cat had ventured far.

Our campsite two days after the snowstorm.

The next morning, while Jay was walking Max, he found cat tracks in the snow traveling from one wooded area to another. We tried to follow them but they criss-crossed and mingled with deer and other critter tracks so often, that it became impossible to find their point of origin. Later, while Jay was paying for more nights and propane, the managers of the campground loaned us an animal trap that they use to keep predatory critters under control. Armed with the sighting of recent tracks and the trap, Jay actually expressed hope in finding Little Miss after all. We set the trap, baited with tuna, in the woods where Jay first saw the tracks and continued contacting local animal shelters to see if anyone had found a gray tabby.

Friday morning was bright, and at least above freezing, but alas the trap was empty. Saturday morning we caught a possum. Not knowing the recipe for possum soup, we let the creature go. Meanwhile, Chris was reading everything she could find about lost cats on the internet. It didn’t help our morale to learn that 80% of lost cats are never found. We did read about a spray (Feliway) that would help to erase human scent and provide a cat friendly environment. Expensive stuff, but at this point, 5 days into our search, we were becoming more desperate to find her. With fresh tuna and the spray, Jay reset the trap Saturday afternoon and we tried to stay warm while we worked on updating our blog.

The trap was set in the woods beyond the trailers.

As was our routine, Jay walked Max about 10 p.m. As he passed the opening to the woods, green eyes and pointy ears appeared as he scanned the trap with his flashlight. He knew it was a cat and immediately ran Max back to the trailer as fast as he could since the dog is of NO help in these circumstances. Through his gasps for air, Jay relayed “I think we got her!” to Chris and sprinted, you got it. . . . back to the cat! Now, running is not Jay’s strong suit so, by the time he made it back to the trap, he nearly passed out from excitement and lack of oxygen. Sure enough Little Miss was in the trap and not very happy about it either. Jay was just emerging from the woods with the trap when Chris arrived, hardly adequately dressed for the frigid temperatures, to see if our booty was Little Miss.

The reunion was tearfully emotional and the next few hours were spent scratching and petting a very happy cat (once out of the trap she wouldn’t leave us alone). Little Miss had lost much of her weight, only skin and bones, but very clean and with no injuries. We’ll never know where she hid and what she ate for three weeks but no one ever saw her and she apparently stayed within a couple hundred yards of where the trailer had been when she got away.

Little Miss getting reaquainted with Jay.

Since we were paid up until Monday morning we decided to stay Sunday to regroup and plan where we were going next. We all needed the relaxation anyway. You have no idea how stressed we were the entire time Little Miss was gone.

Monday morning the 26th, was overcast and cool but a good day for traveling south. As Jay opened the door to take Max out for his morning walk there were three, big, ugly, ducks just outside the trailer.

Spying them, Max immediately lunged for and briefly caught one before Jay even knew what was happening. In the process Jay lost his grip on the leash and Max bounded after anything that moved. The ducks had fled the area and Max discovered a Blue Heron minding his own business in a nearby pond. He streaked through the pond after it but couldn’t even get close as the bird took flight. For the next ten minutes he ran amok through the woods and cow pasture. It’s too bad the ostrich was not in residence as it would have been amusing to observe Max’s reaction to a bird thrice his size.

See, there really is an ostrich in the pasture!! Behind her is the pond Max bounded through.



Jay alerted Chris to the crisis and gave chase. Eventually deciding it was futile to chase a 3 year old, physically fit, in the prime of his life, Lab, Jay returned to the truck to retrieve the tennis ball which is the total focus of Max’s life. Meanwhile Chris threw on enough clothes to spend the day stalking the dog, grabbed a chew toy and exited the trailer. Fortunately, Max was cantering back home. Chris waved the chew toy, he bit down and just before he turned and ran, she planted a boot onto the leash. Another search and rescue mission avoided.

With Little Miss in the trailer and Max locked in the truck, we beat a hasty retreat to warmer latitudes.

Below, a content kitty and all of us back together again.

Tallahassee

We finally got to Florida on the 9th of January. Aaaahhhhh Florida - the land of warm sunshine and palm trees where we can trade our winter wear for t-shirts and flip-flops. NOT THIS YEAR!!! We must have brought the frigid weather down with us because it became too cold to enjoy the out-of-doors just after our arrival.

Talle is where Jay’s daughter, Lori, lives and is a courier for FedEx. Since she has to apply for her vacation time in May for the whole year, we had planned this week together for many months – which is why we left the cat in North Carolina. We hoped that someone would find her and we would return to pick her up after our visit with Lori.

Lori and Sue just moved into a new house with all the fix-up, make-a-house-a-home projects required by this transition. They found time to take us dancing and to a Florida State University women’s basketball game. It’s been years since we’ve taken the time to go dancing and Jay had not been to a basketball game since high school. Yes, basketball had been invented then . . . we thoroughly enjoyed both.

We shared several meals together (at their place and ours), caught up on lots of stuff and, since it was the first time we’d stopped anywhere for more than three days, it gave us a chance to get a few projects done on Sonny. Unfortunately it was way too chilly for Jay to install some upgrades to the water system. Perhaps one day we’ll actually find t-shirt weather.

The week went all too quickly and Chris refused to leave before she saw some of the Tallahassee area. We spent some time doing a walking tour of the city complete with restored State House and historic homes. There are four driving tours and as smitten as Chris was with the number of ancient Live Oak trees and Spanish Moss, we chose the Canopy Roads driving tour. Go to this link http://www.imagesbychristine.com/Odyssey/TallahasseeFL_TrailGuide.pdf to view the four driving tours and explanations about what lies along them if you are interested.

This link www.imagesbychristine.com/Odyssey/Tallahassee/index.htm will take you to a gallery of Tallahassee photos beginning with the restored State House and the inside of the dome, which is now a museum. The photos of trees and homes line a seven-block long park on Park Avenue in the heart of the city. Most of the homes are now offices for attorneys and other professionals. Old Magnolia Road, the tree-lined dirt road, is part of the Cotton Trail we drove as is the old, Bradley’s Country Store which has been family owned and managed for over 50 years.

After an enjoyable, relaxing ten days, we said our goodbyes and headed . . . . . . . . . . . back to the cat!!

Savannah

Finally some warm weather!! After stopping at the Savannah Visitor Center, we arrived at the Skidaway Island State Park on Monday, January 5th accompanied by sunny skies and soothing, soft breezes carrying the warmth of the south. We took a lay day to wash clothes, clean up Sonny and in general relax for a few days and regenerate.

Our primary reason for visiting Savannah was to visit a former cook of Jay's when he chartered his sailboat in the Virgin Islands. Rubi McGrory, and her husband Bill, live in the historic district of the city in a wonderful old home which, like we all do with our homes, they are in the process of renovating. Rubi's artistic talents have the perfect playground of 10' high ceilings, spacious rooms and elevated patio to transform it into a fun, functional abode.

Jay’s Comments:
For those of you that know Rubi from my chartering days, no explanation is needed. For all the rest of you I must take a moment to introduce my “Gem of the Caribbean” who came to me in my hour of need. I had just fired the very worst cook in the Virgin Islands with no replacement in sight. Meanwhile Rubi had come to the islands, straight out of college, to cook on a competitor’s boat which turned out to be a sham. The befugalties of life brought us together and we found we were made for each other. Her warped sense of humor dovetailed with mine and we spend the next year and a half laughing our way through a multitude of adventures and many wonderful charters. I adopted her as my 2nd daughter and we’ve been best buddies ever since. Video available upon request.

Rubi has a whimsical artistic talent and is currently working on a Masters degree in art. Our arrival in Savannah coincided with final preparations for a textile art exhibit, that was organized by Rubi and her classmate Karin, which had blossomed beyond their wildest expectations. With our experience at hanging Chris’ fine art photography shows we were able to give her some helping hands. In typical Rubi fashion she rewarded our efforts with an original creation of a pillow complete with truck and trailer appliqué.









Chris is a lover of architecture in general, and especially of old homes. Savannah is an architectural photographer's dream. Breaking her vow to not photograph for at least the first month of the trip, she could not restrain herself from leaving the camera behind when we toured the city on the second day of our stay.

In keeping with our goal of sharing our travels on an educational level, Chris has photographed the informational signs which describe events and features of the city throughout its history as well as city sights. A gallery of the images is here - www.imagesbychristine.com/Odyssey/Savannah/index.htm. Photos that relate to the sign's subject matter appear next in the gallery.

Please keep in mind that these are "snapshots", i.e. taken on the fly and not representative of Chris' best work.

Because the gallery images may not be large enough to actually read the content of the signs, a slide show, which enables one to view the signs large enough to read, has also been created. The drawback is that you need to download the entire 16MB file in order to view it. If you are so inclined, the link is here - www.imagesbychristine.com/Odyssey/Savannah/savannah.exe.

See below for an explanation of some of the photos.

Slide Show Notes:
Each slide stays visible for about 3 seconds before it transitions to the next one. If you want to play each slide for a longer or shorter time, use the instructions below. You will need to halt each slide if you want to read the information on the signs.

Savannah slide show instructions:
Pause – hit space bar
Resume – hit space bar again
Next Slide – page down key
Previous Slide – page up key
Close the show - escape

Explanation of photos:
We started at the Savannah Waterfront. It is a relatively small city, by east coast standards, and has a rich history of Native American, Revolutionary War, slave trade and Civil War events and of course, the king of southern commodities, cotton as explained in the signs.

The statue of the waving girl is of Florence Martus who used to wave to the ships as they came into the harbor. The story about her goes that she was in love with a sailor that sailed away and she faithfully returned to the quay hoping for his return. Of course the alternate version of her story is that she was a little daft in the head.

Forsyth Park is a huge rambling park in the center of the historic district. It's pathways are sheltered by ancient Live Oak dripping with Spanish Moss and its 100 plus acres is surrounded by magnificent mansions and precious Victorian dwellings. One imagines they are strolling amongst the gentry in pre-Civil War spendor.

Savannah's cemeteries are as intriguing as it's homes. We visited the Bonaventure Cemetery, which lies outside the city on one of the many water channels in the delta. Contained in family plots surrounded by low, weathered, concrete walls, headstones carried names like Toloula. They were embelished with flowers, angels and crosses, with the ever-present Live Oaks standing silent watch.

The Stitch Spectacular show: Karin is shown with the show sign, then a couple of pics of the show itself, and the last one shows Rubi (on left) and Karin with one of the show pieces.

The final photo shows the wonderfully wooded, spacious campsite we had at Skidaway State Park. The best yet!!

Chris loved the historic homes and southern ambiance of Savannah and was reluctant to leave. But knowing that we would return for a longer stay, in warmer weather, we departed for Tallahassee and a visit with Jay’s daughter, Lori.