Jane and John – we travel and we ranch!

Monday, October 26. 2009

True to form, it has been more than a month since our last blog entry – the time seems to pass so quickly.

We left off with a visit to our good friends Les and Karen in Oriental, North Carolina.  From Oriental we headed West and North crossing our route of earlier in the summer while we headed to Ohio.  John describes our summer travel route as “looking like somebody took a handful of spaghetti and threw it on a wall” – we had to backtrack quite a bit due to visit schedules we planned.

John had read about a giant scale model RC airplane show at the Air Force’s Wright Patterson Museum (Dayton, Ohio) over the Labor Day weekend, so off we go.  We both enjoy air museums and have always wanted to visit the Air Force Museum, so this was a great opportunity to see the museum and enjoy a model airplane show.

The model air show was really good – all of the models had to be quite large to be admitted to the show, we think 89 inches of wingspan was the minimum.  These ‘models’ can have wingspans of over eight feet and weigh up to the 30-50 pound range.

You are probably wondering about the cost of these models – about $1,000 – $1,500 will get you one of about 89 inches of wingspan (and about 15 pounds of weight.)  The engine on this size of model will typically run on gasoline, be a single cylinder displacing 50 cc and producing five horsepower (and it weighs three pounds.)

Then there are the true jet models.  These guys have some serious money in their aircraft.  There are real miniature turbine jet engine specifically made for model aircraft - these engines cost anywhere from about $1,000 to $5,000 (yes – just the turbine engine costs this much!)  Some of these models (typically models of military aircraft) will have two engines; some even have four or more.  The jet guys might have a model that’s worth $10,000 – $15,000 dollars!  Didn’t mean to get on a cost tangent, but at the model air show there were about eight or nine jets flying!  They sound exactly like the real thing and even the smell from the fuel is exactly the same (after all, the engines are ‘real’ jet engines.)  Anyway, the air show was quite a bit of fun and we still had to plan some time to visit the adjacent Air Force Museum.

The Air Force Museum was huge and contained extremely rare aircraft and experimental aircraft previously only seen by us in documentary TV shows.  The one complaint we had was the lack of exhibition space – there were so many aircraft, they were displayed very close together which made it very difficult to photograph just one plane.  The planes were also hanging from the ceiling, so it was all a little overwhelming – you didn’t know where to look.

After a very enjoyable visit to Dayton, we backtracked yet again headed for Delaware, Ohio for a long-overdue visit with John’s nephew Jason and family.  We last visited with them two years ago; it was going to be fun to see how the four kids have grown (and check over the parents for gray hairs!)

We have been hearing a slight noise at the rear of the coach (where our engine is located) and it has slowly been getting more and more pronounced, so we decided it needed attention.  Fortunately there was a Cummins dealer nearby, so we called them and they said drop by and they will take a look at the problem.  We drove the coach there the next day and arrived at 9:30 AM.  The tech started investigating the problem at 12:30 PM and after about an hour of trying to locate the source of the noise, they finally found the cause – we had a leaking

exhaust manifold gasket!  This was a bit of a big deal due to a lack of easy access to the engine since it is sort of stuffed into the rear of the coach.  The tech had to remove some access panels in our bedroom so he could unbolt the exhaust manifold – some bolts were accessed from the top of the engine, some from underneath.  Since the engine is turbo-charged, the turbo is attached to the exhaust manifold, so the entire assembly must have been quite heavy.  Fortunately the tech didn’t have to disconnect the turbo – he just unbolted the manifold and moved it far enough away from the head so he could remove the old gaskets and slip the new ones in (six of them.)

They weren’t finished with our repair until about 9:00 PM, so we got pretty tired and bored hanging around the small waiting room. The good news in all of this was our Cummins ISL engine was still under the manufacturer’s warranty (five years or 100,000 miles!)  We had to pay a deductible of $200, but that was fine with us.  If the engine was out of warranty, we think our bill would have been about $1,500 (labor rates for motor home chassis or engine work generally run $100-125 an hour.)

When we got our coach back, it was too late to return to the campground, so we camped out in their parking lot.  Only when we started the engine after the repairs did we realize how noisy the engine had become.  We had been desensitized to the slowly increasing noise level.  It was a great feeling to have the repair behind us and we could get back to visiting!

John wanted to fly the aircraft RC models he brought along, so from Delaware we made a bee-line to the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) in Muncie, Indiana.  The AMA has several flying sites scattered over the thousand or so acres of former farmland so John was really looking forward to flying here.  Things didn’t go so well for him.

He was flying his favorite model (Aspera) in the late afternoon and couldn’t see the plane well enough in a cloud shadow – the model was too far away and he lost orientation and down it went into the ground.  It was a complete wreck.  Not one to give up, John paid a visit the next day to the handy and nearby model shop and selected another plane.  Most of the Aspera parts could be transferred to the new plane, so that was a small benefit.

John flew the new model (an E-Flite Pulse XT 25e) and decided he did not like the way it handled – it was not like the sweet-flying Aspera.  After several flights with the Pulse, he was getting comfortable with it and was coming in for the last landing before packing it away and leaving the AMA for home.  John rolled the Pulse on its side for some last aerobatics and it tip-stalled and spun into the ground.  Two for two.  This turned out to be an expensive segment of our trip.  (Note:  John bought another Aspera after we returned home – he won’t give up!)

Thanks to our home weather station (which uploads to our web site), we noticed the high temperatures at our little ranch have finally moderated and are now in the 80s, so it was time to head home.  We are very thankful and feel very blessed to have the opportunity and the means to travel and avoid the hot Texas summers – boy did we miss a hot one this year!!

We point the coach to Harper and four days later, we arrive home.  Home sweet ranch!  It is very nice to be back; we love to leave and we love to return!  This summer we covered 7,500 total miles, stayed in about 16 different RV park, and like usual we averaged 7.8 MPG.  Thank goodness the price of diesel was about $1 a gallon cheaper than last summer!!

We’re sorry this installment has been so long, hopefully it wasn’t boring. 

God Bless and thanks for riding along with Jane and John!

Sunday, September 6. 2009

At least we got to pay for them..

This is what John said when we came through Massachusetts on the way back from New England on our way to NY State to see John’s nephew and his family.  The roads were under construction and were some of the worst we’ve been on, considering also, that it was an interstate highway and at the end of the day, we had paid $26.50 in tolls!!  Also, we have two new chips in our windshield – much appreciated Massachusetts DOT!

As I said, we went to visit Erik, Karen and their two sons in NY State.  It was a really fun time and we got to join in on celebrating one of their son’s birthdays and also Karen’s mom’s retirement!  We thoroughly enjoyed visiting and spending time with them!

We then traveled to Grayson Highlands State Park in the Western part of Virginia to do some volunteer work, and see our buddies Bob and Judy who are working there as volunteers also.  Bicycled down the Virginia Creeper Trial, which we have done before, and have hauled our bikes thousands of miles to ride … it is one of the “rails to trails” and the really nice thing about it is that almost all of it is downhill!!  Really did enjoy the cooler weather since we have been in the North East, but have had quite a bit of rain that we wished we could send back to Central Texas!

Moving on East, we traveled to Chippokes Plantation State Park, another of Virginia’s parks.  This park is located on the James River across from Jamestown and Williamsburg.  Again, we do volunteer work.  John does computer work and Jane picks up trash on the roads!  She has found her calling at last!! ;- )  Unfortunately, the nice cool weather of the mountains of West VA is not here, but it is really HOT and HUMID!!  Reminds us of Florida during the summer!!  Most interesting park with a number of old historical buildings, and most nice folks work here who we really enjoy meeting!  Daniel, the Park Manager, who used to be at Grayson Highlands State Park, the staff and his family really made this an enjoyable stay (despite the weather)!

South to Gaffney, South Carolina to the Freightliner Factory to have our motorhome dash air repaired (it quit working a week after we left Texas), and to have a new fuel tank installed.  Ever since we have owned the RV, John has been unable to fill the tank completely full without having to trickle in the last 20 gallons, so this should alleviate that problem.  We had good service and were very happy that they completed the work in one day instead of the two that had been planned!  Both were wonderful successes!!

Travel then took us North to Bayboro, North Carolina, along Pamlico Sound to River’s Edge Family Campground.  Our purpose for this visit is to see our friends, Les and Karen who we sailed with back in FL and John had worked with at AT&T.  They now are the

Long-time friends Karen and Les

owners of a puppy, Pip, and she and Sassy, our Corgi, really had fun playing together!  We had fun watching them too!!  We had a great time renewing our friendship and catching up on each others lives.  Their new home in Oriental is quiet lovely and we really had a wonderful time with our friends!

Thanks for traveling along with us!…blessings,  Jane and John

PS:  The new fuel tank is a complete success!  We can now use the high-volume truck pumps and completely fill our 100 gallon fuel tank (we generally stop for fuel when we need 50-75 gallons) in ten minutes or less!  With the old fuel tank, we would usually take 20-25 minutes.  The fueling ordeal is finally over.  Many, many thanks to Freightliner Custom Chassis for stepping up to the problem and replacing our tank even though they had no obligation to do so.  We are thrilled to have that level of support in difficult economic times.

Finally, a sunny day!!  Since we have been up in the northeast, it seems like we have had rain either every day or every other day, and overcast!  Our travels have taken us from Vermont when we last posted, to Maine, and currently New York State.

We have had reunions with two couples in Vermont that we met while sailing our boat in the Bahamas, and Caribbean, and have spent several hours rehashing old times, and sailing stories with them.  Both couples went much further with their sailing than we did -  ‘Enbar’, (Pat and Carol’s boat) sailed across the Atlantic, and ‘Jacarde’ (Jack and Carly’s boat) sailed across the Pacific!  Carol belongs to the

Fun on Lake Champlain with Jack and Carly

Mountain Fiber Folk Cooperative and the goods produced are hand made articles.  To read more about them go to their web site.  Jack and Carly took us out on their 16′ power boat on Lake Champlain and we met their grandson, Chris, affectionately renamed ‘boat-boy’!

While in Vermont, we visited maple syrup producers and bought some locally made cheeses.  Saw some covered bridges, and did a couple of Geocaches.  Our favorite campground was in St. Johnsbury where we were parked on the bank of Moose River at (appropriately named) Moose River Campground.  The owners, Mary and Gary, are very nice folks!  We visited the Fairbanks Museum which was started by the son of the gentleman who developed the platform scale in the 1800s.

It was in St. Johnsbury that we found ‘Dog Mountain‘ – basically a dog park, we learned, but with a dog chapel, and Steve Huneck gallery who developed this wonderful

Sign advertising ‘Dog Mountain’

‘Mountain’!  Sassy had a blast playing with the other dogs, swimming and even tried some of the agility course!  She did pretty well trying to keep up with the other dogs whose legs were two to three times as long as hers!!

When we left Vermont, we headed to Eastport, Maine, claimed the eastern-most city in the USA .  While in the vicinity, we drove over to Campobello Island in Canada to the Roosevelt Cottage where FDR’s parents bought some property for a summer home, and he, Eleanor and their family went for vacations.  When back in the USA at Lubec, Maine, we visited one of the two light houses in the area (West Quoddy) and heard the blowing of their fog horn.

On driving to see Bar Harbor, we decided it reminded us of trying to get down to the Keys in Florida!  The traffic was something and it was certainly crowded in town!  Drove to Acadia National Park on one of the few sunny days, and enjoyed the drive and scenery!

We are wrapping up a visit with John’s nephew Erik and family in the Endicott, NY area and tomorrow (Aug 3) we begin a two day trip to one of our favorite state parks, Grayson Highlands State Park near Whitetop, Virginia.

Next was a stop at Wells Beach, Maine for three days.  Drove over to Kennebunkport, and no, we didn’t get invited to the Bush home, but we passed a drive with a guard house, so thought that might be the place!  Traffic here reminds us of driving down A1A in Daytona Beach, but this is, after all a beach!

By the way!  John got parts for our satellite TV, installed them and we are back in business!  The dash air won’t be fixed until we get to the Freightliner factory in Gaffney, SC, so that will be awhile yet…hope it stays cool!!  There are lots of trip pictures in our gallery, so have a look!

Thanks for reading!