Give us this day our daily maintenance

My cousin Brian asked me to write about daily life in the RV.  Here's the request answered, although I do think it sounds a little like whining.....

Recipe for maintenance: Put your house on wheels, drive it down the road and shake it all day. Follow this simple recipe and you are guaranteed to have daily maintenance.

For example, yesterday Carl re-installed the shade on the cabin door, then made the passenger seat belt re-tract again. This morning he cleaned the refrigerator drain so that ice stopped forming in the defrost tray. Then he changed filters in the a/c, a procedure that requires a screwdriver. Tonight, he re-caulked the exterior where the cab and the house meet. That's when he noticed the screws in the cabin door were loose.

So you might be thinking it looks like Carl does all the work? Well, maintenance wise, that's true. When I am on my own, I let the fix it list build higher than the deductible on our maintenance policy, and then I visit an RV center and get it all fixed at once. Last summer when the A/C went, the water pump went, and the kitchen faucet knobs all came off, I met the minimum on my policy and then some. The sticky part, after finding a repair center on my route, was making two trips to the same repair center two weeks apart so they could get the A/C unit ordered and delivered.

Little things seem like big things in the RV. Particularly if they are noisy things. Two nights ago an alarm started beeping. I crawled down from my bunk and disconnected the battery. Carl opened the window, in case we were dying of carbon monoxide poisoning. Just needed new batteries, it seems. Last night the satellite clock alarm went off at midnight. It's very easy to accidentally set the alarm when pushing the light to see what time it is as you go by in the middle of the night. Carl reset the clock alarm to noon in case it happens again.  And the smoke alarm goes off anytime I use the frying pan for beef.  Maybe it has a cholesterol sensor?

There's more to RV TV than using the remote. One night Carl thought the TV wasn't working, but next morning discovered there's a filter that accidentally got turned off.  When we got to Canada the TV stopped picking up signal entirely.  Carl slept on it, and then had an aha! moment.  Canada is still analogue.  The signal going through our digital converter box was the problem.  Not that Canadian TV was something we craved:  it was either in French or World Cup coverage, and if those buzzing horns bother you in your great room, try listening to them in 120 square feet.  We caught up on some movies, like Avatar on the small screen. It's all plot on a 17 inch display. Recently I drove off with the cable still attached, but it looks like I got away with it. TV cable still works fine.

Driving the house adds stress to other components as well. We have broken three bike racks now.  The problems started when we added a storage box behind the RV and the bikes are now farther back behind the box.  We also bought a bike cover, because the bikes get really dirty without one. The cover created a sail, and bike racks started failing, two last summer and one this summer.  Luckily, Carl discovered all the failures while parked and we haven't dropped the bikes on the freeway yet.  We're now going uncovered with dirty bikes.

Daily life in the RV involves conserving water and developing a pattern of electrical use.   All is cool if the microwave or hot water heater are not on at the same time as the A/C.  We've learned to remember this most of the time. And all RV'ers learn that hair dryers are verboten.

There's other daily jobs besides maintenance, and we've reached a routine on who does what.

Carl........
Prefers to drive, except during sleepy time in the afternoon
Plans the route on his GPS ... he couldn't sleep if he didn't
Hooks up TV and finds all the channels
Fuels up, lubes up, pumps up the air shocks, all systems go
Hooks and unhooks, walks around to check before driveout
Makes a dinner salad, just like at home
Early morning Daisy pee - they are both early birds
Does his best to make me happy

I........
Decide where we are going, what sights we are going to stop to see
Drive when I want to look at something at my pace and don't want to give directions,  want to listen to music (driver gets radio control), and when Carl needs a rest
Refill fresh water tank
Hand wash the dishes (I am a fan of Dawn Hand Renewal detergent, which makes my hands feel better than before I wash dishes)
Take out the trash every day (I am amazed how much trash we create every day... we have a large carbon footprint relative to the space we live in)
Wash clothes
Empty the grey and  black water (a very special job)
Take Daisy on morning and evening poop walks
Answer Daisy's middle of the night emergency walks...this is when I fantasize the bedroom door to the backyard at home


When you live in 120 square feet, relationships patterns require adjustments.  Foremost, only one butt can be in motion at a time.  While waiting for your turn to move about the cabin, you can work on your Buddhist patience practice. You can also practice patience while waiting for your turn to stretch out on the sofa or for your spouse to go to bed or wake up or be ready to go, and a list of other things that you can imagine for yourself.  And I haven't had a private thought all summer.  In that small space, nothing is private.

As for fashion,  I like my three changes of clothes very much.  (Actually, five changes, but two are for cool weather, wherever that is.)  When it comes to groceries, we live European style....never buy too much at once, and buy as much from roadside vegetable farms as possible. The homemade pies at the fruit stands help me get in five fruits and vegetables daily and the ice cream cones increase my calcium  intake.  Healthy eating rules in the RV are very flexible.

We're not very particular about washing the RV.  In fact, we haven't done it this summer.  Lots of rain has done the job to our satisfaction, although we have considered pulling in to a fundraiser and letting the cheerleaders wash it.  Some owners like to wash their RV every night, but I think the guys outside for hours waxing and buffing are simply finding a way to have a few private thoughts.

So, Cousin Brian, does this help you visualize the nitty gritty of life on the road? 

Today's photos:  sunset in Amish Country, Pennsylvania, with tobacco (yes, Amish tobacco) growing between the corn fields and a hot air balloon overhead. 

Tilley Trivia

Carl Tilley Lincoln checked out his roots this morning at Tilley Hall in Hyde Park NY. The dates all sound right for him to be related to Charles Tilley, born sometime about 1830. In the 1860's Charles moved to Hyde Park and built tract houses for the workers of the town, most of them employed by the rich and famous in their country homes. Later he built Tilley Hall on the site of a burned declining hotel in Hyde Park. Tilley Hall housed a general store, The Oddfellows Lodge and a Dance Hall. All was prosperous at Tilley Hall until the 1980's. Eventually the site went up for sale for back taxes. In the early 2000's the current owner, Roger Larsen, got involved. It is now the site of Cranberry cafe (good coffee, baked goods, breakfast, lunch) and has offices on the upper floors.

Was Charles Tilley a brother of Admiral Tilley, Carl's great grandfather?  Admiral Benjamin Franklin Tilley was born March 29, 1848, the sixth of nine children, in Bristol, Rhode Island.^[1] During the American Civil War, Tilley enrolled in the United States Naval Academy on September 22, 1863, at the age of 15. Could there be a connection?

Hudson Pastoral

It only takes a few miles on the Palisades Parkway to leave Manhattan behind. And less than 100 miles farther north are monasteries, country homes, bucolic views of the Hudson, and history for the casual or serious presidential scholar. 

Hyde Park,  where FDR's home, burial place and presidential library are run by the Park Service, is our destination via a scenic meander along the Hudson. Nearby the Vanderbilts left a  little 56 room country mansion to the National Park Service as well.  Together, the Roosevelts and the Vanderbilts can occupy a whole day.  Of the two, I prefer the Roosevelts..... old money vs new money.....

But if I were to choose the highlight of Hyde Park, it would be the CIA. The Culinary Institute of America, housed in a former Jesuit Seminary perched on a bluff above the Hudson, is the best lunch spot in the United States.  Attentive service and preparation by the students at the Institute, culinary ecstasy ranging from elegant to cafe fare, delightful views of the red brick monastery and its spires, Hudson vistas.....I could go on, but here comes my chicken pot pie.  Ummmmm!

Top of the Holiday

Orville and Wilbur could have done this.  All they needed was a little baking soda and vinegar to lift an aircraft 50 feet off the ground.  Really, the rocket did lift off, just like the box said it would,  and landed about 10 yards away.  Miraculous!

Even more miraculous, the rabbit living at the host house for Memorial Day fun is still alive today.  Daisy may not be invited back after her attempt to catch it for dinner!  What a reputation Daisy is developing on this trip....and not for peaceful living, either.

It's back to school and work for the families today.  I am sure my great nephews Matthew and Nathan will sleep well tonight.  Scout campout, lake picnic, farm campout, flea market outing, airplane flying, bicycle riding, dog jogging, birthday party and swim party with a rocket launch made for a weekend of non-stop play. Adults will rest too, after fajitas and margueritas created by Jennifer and Nancy.

This morning as we left our weekend of family fun, Olga the grey and white tabby was begging to come back in the house.  I am sure she ate well and rested in peace all day today.  God bless Meena and Olga. Good kitties!

Predatory Instinct, New Jersey style

The minute we walked in the door at Nancy and Jennifer's, Daisy smelled cat.  Olga the gray and white tabby  made a quick escape outdoors, and Meena the brindled calico hid upstairs somewhere safe.  A few minutes later Daisy's pounding feet shook the ceiling and a brown fur blur rocketed down the stairs and into the office, Daisy in hot pursuit.  All humans sprang into action to drag Daisy out of the house. Shortly thereafter, Nancy was off to the emergency room, bleeding profusely from a cat bite received trying to extract Meena.

Twice more that evening, Daisy broke the barriers to the office.  Meena performed a cat circus trapeze act as she swung from desktop to curtain to wardrobe top with no safety net.  After banishing Daisy to the RV,  I surveyed the damage.  It looked as though someone had tossed the room looking for a treasure map.

Nancy is on antibiotics for 10 days and Meena is under house arrest for 10 days, just in case.  Meena is yowling from her basement prison, Olga is living the outdoor life, and Daisy sleeps with one eye on the basement door.  There are three fail safe barriers between her and Meena, and we humans navigate to the subterranean dungeon through the airlock system.

Worst news?  No alcohol for Nancy.  All those Marguerita's on Memorial Day that I am going to have to drink for her....poor me!

Simply wonderful

I didn't mean to be in Amish country, but I am.  There's plenty of crab shacks but not many RV places between DC and Paradise Pennsylvania, so here we are, despite plans to stop near Wilmington and color in Delaware on the RV window map.  Here near Paradise, the Amish mother and her three children drive a wagon through the campground and I buy more strawberries than I could ever eat from a young boy and girl who are too sweet to deny.  The innocent look on their faces is worth the price.

By the time we drive into the countryside after a full breakfast at one of the many Amish cafes, the wash is out to dry at every farmhouse and the ladies are mowing the lawn or off to town in the buggies.  It's hard work being simple.  The men are in the fields, just like they were late in the day when we arrived.  I see young women in gardens, picking vegetables that stock the honor system roadside stands.  We stop to buy tomatoes, lettuce, spinach and potatoes.  And moon pies. 

Less than an hour from busy Philadelphia, the world stands still.

Walking where they walked

When I stand in the sand dunes at Kill Devil Hills and feel the wind, I can almost fly, transported back to the moment when Orville and Wilbur Wright first defied gravity. Scarcely a hundred years ago in the outer banks of North Carolina, these determined brothers made history.

I get chillbumps when I stand where people from the history books walked.  In Williamsburg, I  feel the fire of Patrick Henry.   I stroll the campus of William and Mary where Jefferson attended college, sit in the church pew where George Washington attended the June 1st Day of Prayer.

In Jamestown I stand where Pocahantas saved John Smith from starving in 1608.  She was only 13 at the time.  At 19 she married a colonist and forged peace between the settlers and her father's tribe. What a legacy for one young girl.

Two rivers north, on the Rappahannock River,  my mother's ancestor, a tailor named Daniel Winstead,  born 1647 in Sussex Parrish, England,  came to the new world for a 50 acre land grant in Lancaster County, Virginia.  He was an adventurer, off to a new world, from tailor to tobacco farmer, but he did not live his dream for very long.  He died in 1671, survived only by one young son, Samuel, the first generation of my mother's family born in America.

And today, I am standing where he stood.  History gives me the shivers.