28 June 2013, my last day at work. It was a happy day but also a day with a little anxiety and some sadness. Happy because after 31 years of work, I'm now free. Anxiety because after 31 years of work, no more reliable paycheck. Sadness because I am leaving a work family, one I shall miss in varying degrees. Yes, I packed up my box with all the things accumulated during my years of work and departed after many sad goodbyes.
Flashback to 24 June 2013. We tried a garage sale last weekend but the rain put a damper on any meaningful success; $68.00 for the whole effort. So here we are with a garage full of stuff and a house still in disarray with more stuff. I am getting to know the recycle facility guys by first name. The garbage company really loves us for all the full, overweight cans of late and still, it seems to grow every time we come in the front door.
In happier news, Gail has been hard at work on Craigslist. We have been able to sell most of the large
furniture and the washer and dryer. We
now have a rather nice nest egg to begin our travels or pick up some additional
things for our new 5th wheel life.
As the week moved forward, a very bright light flashed and Habitat for Humanity became our savior. They agreed to empty our garage and remove the mattress and box springs on Friday. It did occur to us that at that point we would be essentially homeless. Not able to sleep in the townhouse and the 5th wheel was still a prisoner of the storage facility. Luckily, we were able to find a nice hotel room for the night. Whew!
Back to 28 June 2013. After leaving work I arrived home to find a very empty garage and a very forlorn bed frame. Also, there were several items needing to be taken to our storage facility in Wilmington. We loaded a few boxes in preparation for the big Saturday push and went to the hotel, where we proceeded to pass out from the exhaustion of the last month.
Saturday morning arrived semi bright and shiny, and hot! We headed back to the townhouse and arranged things so we could liberate the 5th wheel and bring it to the rear of the house to load the last items; regardless of what the Home Owner's Association would say. As normal, we misjudged the heat of the day and may have lost a few pounds getting the 5th wheel loaded. There were still some things left in the townhouse and I foolishly volunteered to come back the next day and clean out the remaining things. If I had only known what lay ahead.
The trip to the campground was uneventful, though I found out I may have put too much weight in the front of the 5th wheel. The people were very cordial and the paperwork minimal, and then on to the parking spot. The roads here are very narrow and there were trucks and cars parked all over the area that we needed to back into. Gail asked a couple of people to move their vehicles and they happily obliged. Backing the 5th wheel was an experience. It took a little more than 20 minutes to get it where it needed to be...with the help of our next door neighbor. With all the recent rain, the ground was very loose and the truck and 5th wheel both sank into the ground. Finally, we got everything set up and settled in for our first night.
Sunday morning broke bright and shiny, and hot. I went back to the townhouse and started loading the truck. The truck bed has a 5th wheel hitch in its center which made for some really creative stacking. After filling the rear seat area with boxes and a 40 inch TV, I was running out of room but managed to pull it off. Back to the campground, picked up Gail and went to the storage facility. By now I've sweated out a day's worth and, no matter how much I drink, am not able to replace the loss. Gail doesn't deal well with the heat and once we started unloading the truck we both became miserable from the heat. I tend to be a little 'let's get this over with' while Gail is slightly OCD, so there was quite a bit of discussion when it came to item placement. As a result, a few things ended up in the storage facility that should not have. I may have pushed too hard... Ya think?
The next few days seemed to come and go quickly as we settled into our new home on wheels. Gail is fabulous at fitting things in many cubby holes and generally making a home out of chaos. I was totally surprised how things came together.
Over all, things have gone well with the exception of the water heater issue, solved by discovering there was switch in the outside heater unit that was not turned on; I can attest to the fact that cold showers are not recommended for anyone! The other issue was cable TV. The campground provides cable in their monthly price and ours did not perform as advertised. After calling the cable company numerous time to no avail, the owner helped troubleshoot the problem as an issue with our cable wiring. This was corrected by hooking the cable to the satellite outlet. The marvels of technology!
But the real biggie came when the owner's 77 year old father-in-law ran over our 50 amp power cable with his riding lawn mower. I was inside when this happened, mounting a magnetic knife rack, and suddenly the air conditioner quit. As I investigated further I found the power cord wrapped around the mower blade. In informing the management of this revelation I was surprised, and very relieved, that they agreed to pay for the new cord. A quick trip to the RV place in Wilmington and we were back in business.
In other news, we have been spending time with Gail's family as she babysits her 2 terrific grandkids for her daughter once a week. We took her 1998 Honda to her brother, Glen, in Greensboro, NC, and her other brother, Ken, just spent a week visiting us in Wilmington.
So far, life is good. A little calmness would also be appreciated by both of us. ...Jack
As the week moved forward, a very bright light flashed and Habitat for Humanity became our savior. They agreed to empty our garage and remove the mattress and box springs on Friday. It did occur to us that at that point we would be essentially homeless. Not able to sleep in the townhouse and the 5th wheel was still a prisoner of the storage facility. Luckily, we were able to find a nice hotel room for the night. Whew!
Back to 28 June 2013. After leaving work I arrived home to find a very empty garage and a very forlorn bed frame. Also, there were several items needing to be taken to our storage facility in Wilmington. We loaded a few boxes in preparation for the big Saturday push and went to the hotel, where we proceeded to pass out from the exhaustion of the last month.
Saturday morning arrived semi bright and shiny, and hot! We headed back to the townhouse and arranged things so we could liberate the 5th wheel and bring it to the rear of the house to load the last items; regardless of what the Home Owner's Association would say. As normal, we misjudged the heat of the day and may have lost a few pounds getting the 5th wheel loaded. There were still some things left in the townhouse and I foolishly volunteered to come back the next day and clean out the remaining things. If I had only known what lay ahead.
The trip to the campground was uneventful, though I found out I may have put too much weight in the front of the 5th wheel. The people were very cordial and the paperwork minimal, and then on to the parking spot. The roads here are very narrow and there were trucks and cars parked all over the area that we needed to back into. Gail asked a couple of people to move their vehicles and they happily obliged. Backing the 5th wheel was an experience. It took a little more than 20 minutes to get it where it needed to be...with the help of our next door neighbor. With all the recent rain, the ground was very loose and the truck and 5th wheel both sank into the ground. Finally, we got everything set up and settled in for our first night.
Sunday morning broke bright and shiny, and hot. I went back to the townhouse and started loading the truck. The truck bed has a 5th wheel hitch in its center which made for some really creative stacking. After filling the rear seat area with boxes and a 40 inch TV, I was running out of room but managed to pull it off. Back to the campground, picked up Gail and went to the storage facility. By now I've sweated out a day's worth and, no matter how much I drink, am not able to replace the loss. Gail doesn't deal well with the heat and once we started unloading the truck we both became miserable from the heat. I tend to be a little 'let's get this over with' while Gail is slightly OCD, so there was quite a bit of discussion when it came to item placement. As a result, a few things ended up in the storage facility that should not have. I may have pushed too hard... Ya think?
The next few days seemed to come and go quickly as we settled into our new home on wheels. Gail is fabulous at fitting things in many cubby holes and generally making a home out of chaos. I was totally surprised how things came together.
Over all, things have gone well with the exception of the water heater issue, solved by discovering there was switch in the outside heater unit that was not turned on; I can attest to the fact that cold showers are not recommended for anyone! The other issue was cable TV. The campground provides cable in their monthly price and ours did not perform as advertised. After calling the cable company numerous time to no avail, the owner helped troubleshoot the problem as an issue with our cable wiring. This was corrected by hooking the cable to the satellite outlet. The marvels of technology!
But the real biggie came when the owner's 77 year old father-in-law ran over our 50 amp power cable with his riding lawn mower. I was inside when this happened, mounting a magnetic knife rack, and suddenly the air conditioner quit. As I investigated further I found the power cord wrapped around the mower blade. In informing the management of this revelation I was surprised, and very relieved, that they agreed to pay for the new cord. A quick trip to the RV place in Wilmington and we were back in business.
In other news, we have been spending time with Gail's family as she babysits her 2 terrific grandkids for her daughter once a week. We took her 1998 Honda to her brother, Glen, in Greensboro, NC, and her other brother, Ken, just spent a week visiting us in Wilmington.
So far, life is good. A little calmness would also be appreciated by both of us. ...Jack
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