'12/#43 It's Home In More Ways Than One

It's been five days since we got here and we are settling in. The rig is all set up and we did some winterizing in anticipation of colder weather. We drove around town and found stores, restaurants, and propane dealers that will make our life comfortable while we are here. Then the weather changed. The day we got here it was 80 degrees and Mary was in shorts. Two days later and we weren't expecting the highs to get out of the 40's. Thank goodness for electric heaters, electric blankets, and snuggling. Especially the snuggling. There is always a silver lining.

Next adventure, Amazon.com. Monday was more of a meet and greet. It was held in the rec room at our campground. They mostly told us where the employees entrance was, gave us a new employee pep talk, and took our mug shots for our employee ID's. Our campground is walking distance to work so we were given reflective vests to wear when we walk. We also got our reporting time for Tuesday.

8:30am Tuesday morning we reported with 90 other people for safety and orientation. We walked into the building and there was machinery, rolling stock, and conveyor belts every where with the accompanying noises. It was a giant warehouse with concrete floor everywhere. It reminded us of the Post Office plants we worked in for years. The biggest difference was the lack of paper dust that covers everything in the PO. Like the PO we saw all the safety and harassment videos. There was also the usual demos on lifting, pushing, and pulling. Then we were reminded that Wednesday was our first day starting at 6:30am.

We are going to bed early tonight because 6:30 comes around awfully early. So good night from our chilly home in Campbellsville KY because....

Home is where we park it,
Frank & Mary

'12/#42 Some Things Are Not Blog Material

It has been a while since my last blog. Partly because we have been traveling uneventfully & had a nice quiet stay with friends for a couple of weeks. Also I just didn't feel like blogging. Blogging is not a job for me it is something I enjoy doing. When it isn't fun I take a break from it. Hopefully this is the beginning of a more fun stretch & I will be blogging more.

After the truck fiasco we hit the road again. Our destination was still Indiana but instead of going through Elkhart we were heading straight to the Indianapolis area. The truck thing was a major "jello stir" that put us behind schedule. We stayed with friends for 2 weeks just winding down & enjoying each others company. That's what friends are for, right? Had to get the truck checked for a minor issue but everything was OK. Larry & I went to the shop while Mary & Alice went shopping. It worked well for everyone.

We have stayed with Larry & Alice several times. Every time we are there Mary says she wants to see the covered bridges in the area but for one reason or another it doesn't happen. This time we arrived just before the start of the covered bridge festival. Larry opted to stay home & watch the dogs while I drove Mary & Alice to the festival. Think giant flea market & craft fair with a covered bridge as the center piece. We had a good time & didn't spend too much money.We left there & drove to one of the other bridges that had it's own festival going on. It seems that towns with covered bridges use this to have a fall festival of some sort to help with the economy. Whatever works, right? With all the traffic there is not a lot of bridge sightseeing. Larry says he will drive us around to see all the other bridges another time when the festivals are not going on. Sounds like a plan.

We got a call from Daisy who lives on the other end of IN. She was coming over to the festival & wanted to meet up. Being this close we couldn't say no, so it was back to the festival for Mary & me. Again we had a good time & only spent a little money on things we wanted the first time around. It was good seeing Daisy & Jen but we had to go. We only had a few days before we had to leave the Larry & Alice Family Campground & do a few chores before we hit the road again.

The road was calling & so was Kentucky. We had jobs lined up at Amazon & wanted to get there a few days early. We like to check out the area for grocery stores, laundromats, restaurants, etc & just to get the lay of the land. We will be here for 2 months & hope to make a bit of $$$ to help feather the nest egg so to speak. Monday is our first day on the job & we have no idea what we are getting into. Stay tuned to find out.

Well I hope this is me getting back into the blog so I will sign off now from our new home in Campbellsville KY because......

Home is where we park it,

Frank & Mary

'12/#41The End Of The Funk

We've been here in Rapid City for 5 days now & you may have noticed that I haven't been blogging. It's not for lack of time or blogging material. I have just been in a bit of a funk for this period of time. If you read the last blog or have kept up on Mary's FB page you know about our truck problem & you know we are stuck here waiting for it to be resolved. With my lack of diesel knowledge I have nothing to do to help get us back on the road again. Thus a sense of frustration has taken over our home.

Now you have to understand that Rapid City is a great place to visit. Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Custer State Park, the Black Hills, & Devils Tower are all within easy driving of here. Several issues stop us from seeing these sights. First & foremost we don't have a truck to drive. Next on the list is the weather. It has been cold & windy since we got here. With high temps in the upper 50's & feel like temps closer to the 40's it hasn't really enticed us to unload the motorcycle. And lastly we were here just a few years back & have seen all the sights.

On top of all that it just sucks to be stuck anywhere. This the life we've chosen & this is one of the down sides of RVing. Lately some of our friends have had their own issues such as malfunctioning landing gear, no AC, toilet issues(no details please!), & a major oil leak in the motor home. All issues that can ruin the day but we all work through. You know what they say, right? What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. I guess we will be stronger once we leave Rapid City.

We want to thank everyone who has been sending us well wishes & good thoughts to help us on our way. It really does mean a lot & helps us get through these trying times. The shop called early this morning to say the truck was all fixed & we are waiting on a ride to the shop so I will sign off now. The next blog should be from somewhere down the road but still from our home because....

Home is where we park it,
Frank & Mary

'12/#40 Cody In Our Rear View Mirror

Our last day of work at the Buffalo Bill Village has come & gone. It was bitter sweet saying goodbye to our new friends & also getting back on the road. We plan to come back next season so we should see everyone again next year. But you never know. Like I always say, "our plans are written in jello". Many of us were leaving the next morning so there was a mass exodus of RVs heading out to all points on the compass. Some go to Texas, others go to Arizona, there are a few headed to Florida, & at least 1 going to Washington. These are some of the places RVers call home. Then there are those with destinations that are not home but new work camper positions. They are going to places like N & S Dakota, Minnesota, Montana, Kansas, & like us Kentucky. Safe travels to all & if we don't see you next year in Cody maybe we will see you out on the road somewhere.

Ok, now lets talk about that jello crap I referred to before. We left Cody & headed east. All was fine until we started to climb the Big Horn Mts. The truck started to lose power & there was nowhere to stop. We were passing through towns(and I use that term loosely) with populations of as little as 10. No services & spotty cell coverage left us with no choice but to push on. Once we were out of the mountains we made a few phone calls. Mary found a shop & a campground in Rapid City S Dakota that were close to each other & could take us in the next day. With any luck we will be back on the road again soon & the jello will not have been jiggled around too much.

After limping into Rapid City we set up the rig in the dark. Most RVers will tell you that they get off the road before dark to avoid doing this as well as avoiding rush hour traffic, such as it may be in the area. Also most full time & extended travel RVers are retired so the calender has less importance than to those who have to punch a clock. It has been a long day so I will wrap this up. We will have dinner, watch a little TV, & call it a night in our home (hopefully not for long)in Rapid City,SD because......

Home is where we park it,
Frank & Mary