2023 Trip to the Spring Fling, Day 2

 I'm getting tired of having "interesting" trips! About half way through today's drive my truck started overheating. It was fine at 55MPH on level ground, but any faster or any hill moved the temperature gauge out of the middle & towards the top. It never hit the red, but I did get a message on a long hill - "Engine power has been reduced due to overheating".

We limped our way to the campground at 55 MPH, even slower on the hills, and when we arrived I called the nearest Ford dealer; have an appointment for tomorrow at 10:00AM to determine the problem.

Other than that, an uneventful drive. We arrived around 3:30 and set up in the sites - Deluxe sites that include a gas grill, glass table with 4 chairs and a couple of loungers as well as a wooden deck overlooking the pond. Of course it is also a deluxe price at $75.00 per night. Anne & Guido are in site 48 & I'm next door in 50, the same sites we had last year. Other than the wooden decks, the sites are full hookup on dirt. Easy access between them.

Me in Site 50

The Guidos in Site 48

I did a speed test on the various internet connections - Verizon at 11.5Mbps down, .4Mbps up and AT&T at 43.3Mbps down & 24.9Mbps up, both with the MIMO antennas connected. The campground has free internet - 1.4Mbps down & 1.6Mbps up. Since I have unlimited AT&T data, I'm going with them.

Spring in New Hampshire is a bit cooler than on the Lake in Oswego. While frost is predicted at home, I live close enough to Lake Ontario that it probably won't happen. Here the prediction is for a freeze with 27°F from one source & 31°F from another. We are going to take a chance and leave the water hoses connected.

Dinner was a salad & burgers.

Until next time.

2023 Trip to the Spring Fling, Day 1

 I finished packing the trailer & left around 10:00. I decided to take the Thruway just to see how much is now costs when towing a trailer and to see if they do automatically refill the coffers from my credit card. Won't know until tomorrow since there is at least a day lag.

A bit of a detour getting to the campground because of closed section of road, but I arrived around 2:20. Saved about half an hour taking the Thruway.

For the first time in history, the Guidos beat me to Broken Wheel! Of course they only had 47 miles to drive since they were visiting with their grandchildren in the Albany area.

We are in sites 25 & 26, water & electric sites on grass for $35.00 per night. For those interested, Verizon clocks in at 8.2Mbps down & 1.4Mbps up.

The Guidos in Site 25

Me in Site 26

The Guidos had leftovers, so for me it was an Amy's Enchilada with Rice & Beans dinner.

Until next time.

2023 Trip to the Spring Fling, Page 0

 Sunday, May 14, 2023 - Home, 0 Miles, 0 Miles For The Trip

Once again it is time for a trip to New Hampshire and the Spring Fling, a fiberglass trailer rally at the Chocorua Camping Village KOA. As usual, I will be meeting my friends Anne & Guido on the way, and camp next door to them at the rally.

A bit more to do to get the trailer ready this year since I stayed in Oswego over the winter rather than my usual trip to the southwest. I uncovered the trailer at the beginning of the month, managed to find a couple of dry, warm days to wash & wax the trailer, and made a few minor repairs. I replaces the ANL fuse that Escape provided with a Class T fuse that better protects the inverter, and replaced an intermittent remote for the inverter.

Lots of "other than trailer" projects here at home. My front yard is (well, was) filled with ash trees (19 of them). The Emerald Ash Borer has finally reached Oswego, and over half the trees are dead. I got a couple of estimates, and now they are all gone. Still waiting for the grass to start growing, then I'll plant a couple of fruit trees to replace them. 

No More Ash Trees

I added a raised bed garden next to the rear deck - while the large garden out back is still fenced (barely) it is too large for my current needs and something closer to the house works better. The asparagus is already started, and I'll plant some tomatoes, beans & cucumbers when I get back from the Spring Fling.

Raised Bed Garden

I'm finishing off loading the trailer using my 4 page packing list. There are a number of items I still use that will have to wait until Tuesday morning, and I'll pack the truck on Monday, but other than that I'm ready to go. For those interested is statistics, the starting mileage on the truck is 60,477, will have a bit more when I leave, and the trailer is at 43,123.3 miles. I've slept in the trailer 978 nights.

Until next time.

2022 - 2023 Trip to the Southwest, Day 11

 November 2, 2022, Home, Oswego, NY- 274.8 Miles, 1408.7 Miles for the Trip

I left Jonestown around 9:30, and arrived in Oswego at 2:30. Not a bad drive even though it was longer than usual. The traffic was good with no stop & go even at the single lane sections. 

Home

My AT&T phone is back in action. Not sure what was wrong with it, although I hope it was a dead battery. It was on the wireless charger, but just to be sure I plugged it into a standard phone charger and an hour later it was able to do a reboot. I had already tried restarting it 15 times, so either I have an intermittent problem or the wireless charger didn't work. Since it usually works fine, and the phone has never died overnight sitting on it, who knows. In any case, it is good to have all my apps back.

When I arrived in Oswego, my brother Dave had just dragged the leaf grinder from the garden to the driveway. Since it hasn't been run in over 20 years, we tried, but failed to get the engine on the grinder to start.  Tomorrow we need to stop at Harbor Freight for a new engine.  We loaded it in the truck & unloaded the stuff that had to come out of the trailer.

After that it was off to Price Chopper for dinner & beer. Dave will be staying for a few days since he is temporarily being kicked out of the house he is staying in. He is in the middle of moving from Nantucket Island to the Catskills, living with a friend until the house he is purchasing closes.

Overall, an unsuccessful trip, at least to the Southwest. I did have a good time for the most part at the Hungry Mother, and, of course, after canceling all my reservations for the trip, feel better, but I still think I'll be more comfortable at home, at least until I get my stomach problems under control. So, it is time to make the adjustments for a winter in Oswego. I did that in 2020, and since it was one of the milder winters in recent times, I survived it. Let's hope that this winter is another comfortable one.

I don't have anything on the books until the Spring Fling in May, although if there is a mild spring I might be able to do a trip to the south before that.

Until The Next Trip -

2022 - 2023 Trip to the Southwest, Day 10

 November 1, 2022, Jonestown KOA, Jonestown, PA - 176.1 Miles, 1133.9 Miles for the Trip

It may well be a good thing that I'm canceling the trip. First my keyboard is dying, and this morning my AT&T iPhone 13 Pro was dead. It was on the charger so the battery was up. If I call it with my Verizon phone, my laptop answers, my trailer radio mutes, & my voice comes over both, but nothing on the phone. A few of my apps are duplicated on the Verizon phone, but only a few. So, if you want to contact me, you need to call my other phone, the 0182 number. Depending on what time it is when I hit Syracuse, I may stop at the Apple Store. Tomorrow is a longer haul than my usual at 275 miles, and I'm meeting my brother at my house in the afternoon.

As to the drive, it was all on I81. Heavy traffic at times, but no rain. I arrived at the Jonestown KOA at 1:45 & was guided to my site, #53, a gravel & gray mud (but a concrete pad) pull through, full hookup site for $58.50. 

Site 53, Jonestown KOA

After setting up I went for a walk around the campground. I stopped at the office and no food. Evidently, the campground has new owners. No license for food, lottery tickets or alcohol. Looks like I won't be having one of their pizzas, but something out of the freezer for dinner. 

Dinner was an El Monterey Chicken Enchilada meal.

Until Tomorrow -