We are getting more confident with all of this- we came to a very crowded RV park yesterday, in downtown Vancouver - something I thought we would never do. The provincial parks are very booked right now though, so without at least minimal planning done, we are left with more expensive and less desirable alternatives. Lesson learned!! Instead of paying $17/night, we are paying $45, and as for scenery, all we get are rows and rows of RVs. Blech.
We also knew, coming here, that on arrival we’d have to back this puppy into a spot. We did this once before, and it was not pretty. This time, I felt more ready, having discussed with many other RV’ers the essence of the S-turn. It goes like this:
first line yourself up ahead of the turn,
turn the steering wheel opposite what you mind screams is correct
reverse, shouting your mind down, which is panicking
when you think you will surely snap the hitch in half, turn the wheel the other way
back up a little more - keep mind firmly in check-
now return to the first wrong-way of steering, and complete your reversing.
with only minor adjustments, you are magically in your spot!!
Getting this thing easily into this parking spot is a very good thing for our confidence! We are also getting better at getting our stuff secured for the trip. The major thing was the computers. We have a laptop which is easy, but also a tower, two external hard-drives, 3 speakers, and a 19” monitor. The wires and battery/powerpacks all need stowed too. I think we won’t be setting the tower up again until we get to Ontario, where we will be staying a while.
I’ll also just mention that despite previous performances, Dallas did just fine as we packed up the trailer, attached it to the truck, and piled in. She has been strangely sleepy the last couple of days, and instead of incessant huffing behind my head (mom and dad, you will know just what I mean), she spent the whole journey in a relaxed, chilled out posture, with sleepy eyes. I think too, it didn’t hurt that Kate and I weren’t wound up so tight, with anxiety stabbing into us at every turn, and white-knuckle driving. Just possibly, she might have picked up on that previously.
This morning, although our external surge-protector shows we have power from the excessively expensive hook-up out back, the coffee-percolator wouldn’t start, and tests indicate that we’re running from our solar-panels and batteries. The fridge switched to gas too. I had a mild conniption about not hearing the friendly morning sounds of the bubbling percolater until I realized I could heat water on the gas stove, and go camper-style for my morning coffee. Kate, the fix-it doctor, narrowly averted being pounced on and shaken awake by my need for the morning fix. No, I don’t have a problem, and what are you looking at?!
I’m fixed now, typing to you on battery power, and she’s still sleeping. Though I write, I can’t post this until we have WiFi again. Either this park sucks, or we’ve become a little too spoiled.
UPDATE FROM THE FUTURE --> That park did suck. There was no WiFi, so this post comes nearly a week later than it was written, from Osoyoos, where we have WiFi again.
