A Different Life II

[Lily&Me]

Have been finishing some scarves and cranking out a few double-thickness hats for my donation bag....yarn stash is diminishing.

Lily has also had three walks today, me bundled up against the wind, which has thankfully died down as temps are going to be dropping.

There was actually a family in a tent next to me the past 3 nights....those are some brave souls. I suspect they had a little space heater in there.

Lots of SOB's here by the lake for the weekend, too, most of which have now cleared out.

It is chilly here, but not like home.


Maggie

[Lily&Me]

Love this.

[ColoradoLady]

That's a good one, Maggie...one I shall take to heart! (It is hard to forget one's age when the arthritis kicks in...)LOL! Evelyn.

[Lily&Me]

Yep, we all have some aches and pains at our age.....but they don't necessarily keep us from going and doing.


Maggie

[paiceman]

Maggie and all interested. One can use ANY word one wants to get the dogs to do there stuff. I trained one dog at the owners insistence the word "plane". Get Busy seems to be very easy and quick to teach. Even this morning at 0 degrees when the two want to play outside, it's Get Busy, they run to do their thing and then "inside" and back they come.

Stay warm

Bud

[Lily&Me]

17 degrees here this morning, but 3 at home.....with a windchill of -7.

We are warm and toasty in here.....CuddlDuds Microfleece....they are the best.

The sun is coming up over the lake...going to be another beautiful day.


Maggie

[ColoradoLady]

Yep...the aches and pains are with me daily....but, I don't let them hold me back too much. Once we get moving and interested in what the world has to offer, one can put most of the 'creaky bones' in the background. LOL!

Maggie, I must tell you... I have developed (hopefully) a manageable malady! I started looking at 2016 Interstates on line...out of curiosity. Now, I WANT ONE! Only problem....I have to wait till I win the lottery to buy one.....about $160 K!!! They are beautiful and with all the latest amenities in driving and safety and literally power everything.

I even went so far as to check with my bank to see if I could finance one, (and I can), but, I can't in all good conscience....justify going in debt for that much...not at my age, anyway. If I left Deb with that amount of debt, it would be quite hard on her, and that would be unfair. ?..and she is not a camper or traveler. So, I guess I'll keep the BAMBI...(unless by some miracle, I win the lottery, then one of those bad boys will be in my driveway)! LOL!

Aaah...to dream! Fun, but, not practical. Evelyn.

[Lily&Me]

The new Interstates are ridiculously expensive.

I couldn't afford to buy one, that's for sure....my 06 will be paid off this year, and I am glad of that.

The older ones were more like campers, which is what we wanted. The new ones are too tricked up for me.


So, I am south, but apparently not south enough. Warmer here than home, but last night and another night have seen temps in the teens.

A first, hanging out this far south...but still north-ish, for south....we were always on pretty much a dead heat to the Gulf Coast.... perhaps Texas, or just Louisiana and the Gulf, moseying east-ish... then working our way eventually up into South Carolina.

I thought I would do things differently this year....

Have been in night time temps in the teens a number of times over the years, never had a problem with anything freezing.

I knew it was going to drop last night, thought I had all the bases covered, but forgot to turn on the tank heater. There is also a bit of a wind chill.

Everything seemed fine when I got up, then....no water to the toilet. I always turn the pump off at night, so didn't notice it for awhile. Sink and water pump are working fine.

Outside, I could see a small puddle of clear, water-turned-to-ice, underneath the Interstate.

I turned the tank heater on for an hour or so while I went to the grocery store and did a couple of other small errands. Tried to dump when I returned to the campground.....seems frozen up.

Neither valve...will...budge.

So, back at our site, topped off with fresh water, tank heater on.....and, I wait.

Not supposed to be as cold in the foreseeable future. I will watch it and try to dump again in a day or two. It's not that full, just thought I would while I was out and about. I'm good for a few more days.

Will have to see if there is repair-worthy damage. Sigh.

Just when I think I have it all figured out....


Maggie

[Lily&Me]

I've had a long chat with a friend who knows more of such things as frozen tanks than I, who suspects this is more an annoyance than anything worse, and suggested I wait it out....trying to dump again once Mother Nature and the tank heater have thawed things out....sigh.

Good to be reassured.

I appreciate my friends.


Maggie

[ColoradoLady]

Maggie, I was initially trying to look for models more like yours and they are few and far between. Dealers in my area don't even have 2015 models, which were not much cheaper.
Just really looking out of curiosity anyway.

I sure hope you have no freeze damage. I'll keep my fingers crossed for good luck for you!
Evelyn.

[Lily&Me]

I've heard from others looking that the older Interstates are difficult to find...it's the engines, I think, which changed with the 07 models.

I never even thought about turning on the tank heater......one of those things that Doug always took care of.

I will remember it now.

There's no indication of any damage to the tank....we'll see what happens when everything thaws.


Maggie

[Gearheart]

Had a friend who moved here from Cochrane. If you want to go north from there you need to take a train or a plane. She said she came south to get away from winter. I asked why she stopped because she had not yet succeeded.

[Lily&Me]

Doug would say...."it's time to get the h--l out of Dodge"....and we're going to do just that.

More cold coming, freezing rain, chance of snow.....umm, no thank you.

We are simply too far north in the south. An experiment gone awry.

Pulling up stakes, and heading to Charleston.


Maggie

[cwf]

Well, it likely ain't boring!!!

[Lily&Me]

Nope....boring it ain't.

And, I've learned a few things.

Glad to be able to go and do....that's my story, and I'm sticking to it.


Maggie

[paiceman]

Originally Posted by Gearheart

Had a friend who moved here from Cochrane. If you want to go north from there you need to take a train or a plane. She said she came south to get away from winter. I asked why she stopped because she had not yet succeeded.

Ha, my wife, my brother and his wife took the train from I think Cochran to Moossenee and canoed and camped for a while, in the summer. Lots of bears and black flies.

[ColoradoLady]

Great decision! Camping in freezing rain and snow is for the youngsters...IMO! Heard on the news...a blizzard watch heading into the northeast, bringing up to a foot of snow in some areas. That one will be followed by another...veering farther southeast, may glance across Charleston. I do recall you saying you have good signals and TV connections at the site in Georgia, so you probably already know that. Anyway, safe travels and hope you're able to find warmer weather. Evelyn.

[Hittenstiehl]

Safe travels Maggie.

I was wondering the same thing, will Charleston be far enough. Their 10 day forecast didn't look to bad. Looks like the days its raining the nighttime temps stay nice and when no rain it drops.

Looking forward to seeing where you land as you chase sunshine.

[Lily&Me]

It was 31 degrees and just starting to rain when we got on the road this morning, so just in the nick of time.

Doug was probably whispering in my head....Maggie, you need to get out of here.

2 hours out, the sun was shining and it was 38 degrees, nearly 50 degrees by the time we got to Charleston. .

It is winter here, too, but significantly warmer than where I was. Just no reason to deal with the stress of that.

After a very long day, we are settled in at James Island CP for the next month or so. A bit pricey, but I love Charleston, and if I'm not driving that mitigates the cost a bit. Going to do it this year, then we'll see for next.

In here 12 days earlier than planned, I will have to decide what to do beyond this....may head north along the coast a bit, or add to my stay at Edisto....I don't have to decide right now, tho, do I.

The good news, after 24 hours or so with the tank heater on, and warmer temps, the tanks emptied and there is water to the toilet.

Probably more than a small bit of luck that it wasn't worse.


Maggie

[Hittenstiehl]

Glad to hear you arrived well. It looks beautiful there. Really pretty trees, water, lots of good walking spots and a senior center around the corner. Maybe they have a crochet group.

Enjoy