Wi-fi goes in tomorrow, bike and ladder arrived yesterday and have found homes. We are going to have to weigh the old girl soon or may overload her! (And possibly the Hymer as well.)
J's been sorting bits and pieces and packing stuff away. I join her tomorrow, though I have a night out with the hockey blokes that night.
We are racing toward the start line, if that analogy makes any sense. Hmm, we may be racing to the start line, but when we cross it we slow down. How does that work?
Friday 31 May 2019
Wednesday 29 May 2019
Coming together...
J came up with a solution for the wardrobe - off-the-shelf shelving...
... and I have found some insurance. Not the cheapest but we are first time owners of a motorhome which makes us a higher risk.
So what remains undone? Travel insurance and Wi-fi are the biggies. More stuff is arriving this week - a telescoping ladder, and electric bike, my own bike repairs, blah, blah. But we are getting there.
And only 7.5 hours of commuting left.
... and I have found some insurance. Not the cheapest but we are first time owners of a motorhome which makes us a higher risk.
So what remains undone? Travel insurance and Wi-fi are the biggies. More stuff is arriving this week - a telescoping ladder, and electric bike, my own bike repairs, blah, blah. But we are getting there.
And only 7.5 hours of commuting left.
Monday 27 May 2019
More dough, more Doh!
We spent some more fitting the motorhome out. We couldn't get any gas but learnt that there are two positions to the regulator. All these little things that will soon be taken for granted...
J had all the fun of driving. Her feet only just reach the pedals so that's a problem. Also, the handbrake is low mounted so she has to lean over to take it off - awkward for hill starts.
We have our new security system:
That should repel boarders.
Now we need insurance (we have a temporary deal that runs out shortly) and a wi-fi solution.
J had all the fun of driving. Her feet only just reach the pedals so that's a problem. Also, the handbrake is low mounted so she has to lean over to take it off - awkward for hill starts.
We have our new security system:
That should repel boarders.
Now we need insurance (we have a temporary deal that runs out shortly) and a wi-fi solution.
Saturday 25 May 2019
Doh! Do I feel stupid?
OK, I admit it: I have failed as a man. Who would have thought a lit fuse means no circuit? Complete emasculation! Anyway, I have been educated.
We took our second ever drive to have that seen to, and did some more shopping on the way back. Some hoses, a steering wheel lock, food, storage baskets and so on. We've had a bit of a splurge on-line as well. Topper mattress, shelving, telescoping ladder. What else? Oh yes - the most important! Our identification decals!
J finished work on Friday and had a lovely send-off even if she is going back. I've another week to go.
Thursday 23 May 2019
Tick tock
Last day at work for J tomorrow, but another week after that for me. So much to do in the meantime though. J is busy cancelling stuff - rent, power, water, etc, etc, while I am trying to find someone to do the work on [insert name of motorhome here] before we go. The nearest guy is off on holiday tomorrow but is booked through to August anyway! This may get tricky.
To complicate things Jeff is needing captions for Orsogna photos for his/our next article. Not the best timing, but at least it's happening.
To complicate things Jeff is needing captions for Orsogna photos for his/our next article. Not the best timing, but at least it's happening.
Tuesday 21 May 2019
What's that box?
It's weird looking out the bathroom window and seeing a big box on wheels outside. Weird but exciting.
We had a bit of a clean yesterday, and measured up for some bits and pieces we need to add - new shelves, bed supports. I had a look for where the mysterious blue wire might have come from, but it's an unlabelled tangle in there so no idea. With no power to the socket so we'll have to get an expert to look at it. I also thumped the stabilisers with a hammer to free them from a bit of rust. Very satisfying and ultimately successful.
Still some major enhancements to go, but time is ticking away. Wi-Fi aerial and router and Gaslow refillable LPG system to name the two biggest.
We had a bit of a clean yesterday, and measured up for some bits and pieces we need to add - new shelves, bed supports. I had a look for where the mysterious blue wire might have come from, but it's an unlabelled tangle in there so no idea. With no power to the socket so we'll have to get an expert to look at it. I also thumped the stabilisers with a hammer to free them from a bit of rust. Very satisfying and ultimately successful.
Still some major enhancements to go, but time is ticking away. Wi-Fi aerial and router and Gaslow refillable LPG system to name the two biggest.
Sunday 19 May 2019
No going back now
How exciting! This weekend we picked up our new travelling home, as pictured earlier, and now it's sitting outside our garage. Yee ha!
We drove it back from Cwmbran via a stopover for the night so we could get a feel for it. Well, we learnt something about the existing Falcon satnav: ticking motorways means use them as much as possible, whereas on both our own satnavs it meant avoid them. Since we discovered this after the last off-ramp, over the bridge to England we went, before turning around and coming straight back again. Nice view from up there if nothing else! That little detour doubled our travel time since we had chosen a campsite near to our origin.
The campsite was lovely. Lots of caravans that appeared to have been there some time, along with some that had arrived more recently, some tents,a few campervans and one other motorhome. It was in a small village which fortunately had a cafe as we had no food or drink as yet.
And then the trip home. We soon discovered that the cigarette lighter socket was no longer powering our devices. There were lights that suggested they were powered, but the batteries had run flat and nothing would run! (GoPro, satnav, usb socket.) We tried everything obvious but in the end had to use our phones. J's searching 'tinternet for a cause. We'd think fuse if it weren't for those lights...
Anyway, we did get home and J had the fun of manoeuvering it safely into our driveway. She avoided all the parked cars in our narrow streets and drive, and now we have a big white box outside our window. Yay!
We drove it back from Cwmbran via a stopover for the night so we could get a feel for it. Well, we learnt something about the existing Falcon satnav: ticking motorways means use them as much as possible, whereas on both our own satnavs it meant avoid them. Since we discovered this after the last off-ramp, over the bridge to England we went, before turning around and coming straight back again. Nice view from up there if nothing else! That little detour doubled our travel time since we had chosen a campsite near to our origin.
The campsite was lovely. Lots of caravans that appeared to have been there some time, along with some that had arrived more recently, some tents,a few campervans and one other motorhome. It was in a small village which fortunately had a cafe as we had no food or drink as yet.
We walked to the nearest pub for dinner. Unfortunately, I can't recommend it (the pub, that is. I can always recommend dinner) - my lamb shank was overcooked so like an old boot in parts (or maybe I ordered sole?). In contrast, Judi's enchillada was undercooked! Anyway, the meals filled a hole.
This morning we got to explore a little more.
And then the trip home. We soon discovered that the cigarette lighter socket was no longer powering our devices. There were lights that suggested they were powered, but the batteries had run flat and nothing would run! (GoPro, satnav, usb socket.) We tried everything obvious but in the end had to use our phones. J's searching 'tinternet for a cause. We'd think fuse if it weren't for those lights...
Anyway, we did get home and J had the fun of manoeuvering it safely into our driveway. She avoided all the parked cars in our narrow streets and drive, and now we have a big white box outside our window. Yay!
Monday 13 May 2019
A bitter-sweet symphony
A bitter sweet day today as I broke the news I was leaving work. It's always sad to say goodbye to colleagues but there's new adventures to come too.
We started to pack up the house as well as we will be storing anything not going into the van.
Van. Camper. Motorhome. What are we going to call it? We arbitrarily decided a camper was a van conversion while a motorhome was cab built or bigger, so our Hymer is a motorhome. Many travellers have a nick-name for their van/camper/motorhome but I'm not sure I can handle that. I did think Ramblin' Rowes would be appropriate signage but J thinks it's a bit twee. Waddya reckon?
We started to pack up the house as well as we will be storing anything not going into the van.
Van. Camper. Motorhome. What are we going to call it? We arbitrarily decided a camper was a van conversion while a motorhome was cab built or bigger, so our Hymer is a motorhome. Many travellers have a nick-name for their van/camper/motorhome but I'm not sure I can handle that. I did think Ramblin' Rowes would be appropriate signage but J thinks it's a bit twee. Waddya reckon?
Thursday 2 May 2019
A new adventure is on the horizon!
After quite some angst we finally have a vehicle to carry us on our journey. Today we trained 3 hours to Cwmbran to check out a 2001 Hymer B534. It was worth the trip as we have put a deposit down subject to some tidying up being done. This will be our home for 3-4 months for our first trip, and we will be learning as we go.
The vehicle comes with most of the necessaries included which is a real bonus including dual solar panels and an extra battery so we don't have to rely on hookups. We will only need to add a conversion to refillable LPG and wireless to have everything we want. (Or think we want.)
Yee-haa!
The vehicle comes with most of the necessaries included which is a real bonus including dual solar panels and an extra battery so we don't have to rely on hookups. We will only need to add a conversion to refillable LPG and wireless to have everything we want. (Or think we want.)
Yee-haa!
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