Wednesday, February 23, 2011
WYTHEVILLE, VA – If you’re wondering how this town’s name is pronounced, it rhymes with “Smithville” – and it’s named after George Wythe, one of the signers of the US Constitution.
We’ve changed our main direction from southward to westward today, though on the map, our route still follows a diagonal southwestern line. We could see our breath this morning when we crossed the road in Winchester to the Dunkin Donuts for hot beverages to drink on the road, and there was snow along the highway and in the woods we passed. The sun was shining, though, and the countryside was lovely, with rolling hills, lots of deciduous trees, and peaceful farmland.
As the day progressed and we got further south, we realized we hadn’t seen snow for some time. For a while, though, we passed trees and grasses coated in ice – evidence of freezing rain – which, mercifully, hadn’t coated the highway at all.
Not long after that, we spotted several fields that were a true green! Farmers in southern Virginia were letting their cows and horses graze in the fields, even though most of the ground was covered in yellow grass, not green.
We picked up some sandwiches when we fueled up just before noon, somewhere south of Staunton, and pulled over at a rest stop to eat them, even though we decided not to sit at a stone picnic bench to do so; it was a bit cool to just sit, but we could definitely sense a warming trend. We strolled around a bit to stretch our legs and I distinctly heard the chirp-chirp of a robin! What a wonderful sound for a Canadian to hear in February!
The numbers on the thermometer in the truck mounted steadily all day, starting at around 37, then 40, then finally 55! It was like we were driving into spring, and what a lift that gave our spirits! The real surprise was the fleeting glimpse of a low shrub by the highway, covered with small yellow flowers! It was just one clump that covered as much ground as a sleeping bag might, but that flash of yellow was an amazing sight after yesterday’s miles and miles of frozen black-and-white countryside.
We passed so many signs describing museums and historic sites connected to the Civil War. A huge stone mansion, complete with double chimneys at either end, dominated one hillside. It was probably built at a time when slaves groomed the grounds and tended the fires inside. When we talked about the history of Wytheville with the woman at the front desk of our hotel, she told us her grandmother had memories handed down to her of families that had been torn apart by the Civil War, when some sided with the North and some with the South.
It’s lovely to chat with people around here, because they all have a wonderful southern drawl. I suppose we must be the ones with the accent, though it doesn’t strike us that way! We hear “y’all” and “mayam” and drawn out words we always thought only had one syllable. Tomorrow we’ll be in Tennessee and we’ll see if the weather will allow us to sleep in the trailer for the first time!
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Purple mountain majesties
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
WINCHESTER, VA — We’ve just come back from a homey dinner at the Cracker Barrel down the street from our hotel; it’s a chain that specializes in down home cookin’ with a country flair. We sat near a huge stone fireplace where great logs crackled and burned, warming us from our frosty walk. The walls are decorated with old washboards, snowshoes and old farm implements. A sepia photo of a wistful woman with a high collar and wavy hair parted down the middle looked over us from her picture frame next to our table.
Our journey today took us through the Appalachian Mountains of Pennsylvania, with lots of ups and downs through forested hills, where lots of snow still blanketed the ground — but not the highway, to our relief. Every now and then we’d pass a small town of square wooden houses and pretty churches with tall spires, pristine and white with fresh snow. In the distance, the mountains really did take on a purplish hue.
Our route crossed a finger of Maryland that was only a few miles wide; we barely realized we were in that state before we were out of it again.
Val was remembering the book about Lincoln that he has been reading, which describes the Civil War and some of the battles which took place in these parts. It must have been pretty tough going for soldiers in scratchy woolen uniforms, dragging cannons through snowy brush like what we saw along the way, and trying to stay warm. We saw the signs for Gettysburg, to the east of us, as we continued south. We also crossed the famous Mason-Dixon line that divided the South from the North. Just about every town on the map around here ends in "burg" - Bloomsburg, Harrisburg, Chambersburg! Other names reflect the hilly country, using words like heights, ridge, ravine, mount.
The highways teemed with semi trucks, heading in both directions, and in the early afternoon we stopped at a rest station just inside West Virginia and pulled our rig into the parking lot next to these throbbing monsters. We actually spotted one truck, missing its long trailer, that had mud flaps stamped with the name of a car dealership in Ottawa and Kingston!
The day started sunny but gradually clouded over. We noticed once we had reached Virginia that the snow was getting sparser; more stubby grass was showing on the roadsides instead of drifts. So we are headed in the right direction! There is still snow here in Winchester, but the temperatures that are forecast for the coming days are into the fifties at least.
The picture I've attached shows what the truck and trailer looked like yesterday morning, and even as we pulled out this morning, the front and top of the trailer were covered in snow. But by the time we got here, there were only two little clumps on the roof behind the air vents; the rest had blown off or melted! The box of the truck was also completely emptied of the snow we started out with. Val says he saw a plume of snow billowing behind us as we started on our way today! Never mind, just a few days more and we won’t see any for a long, long time – we hope!
Monday, February 21, 2011
Snow day!
Monday, February 21, 2011
BINGHAMTON, NY — This morning when we got up, we looked out on a winter wonderland! A thick blanket of snow muffled our truck and trailer, and after the plow passed around it, there was a tidy white wall of snow around them. In a place where the average snowfall is three inches in February, we got seven to ten. Just lucky, I guess! We had no difficulty deciding to stay put for another day.
With only a pair of loafer-style winter shoes, I was ill equipped to trudge through the big drifts at the side of the road on the way to Friendly’s for breakfast. So I went behind Val and put my feet in his footsteps – like the poor man following Good King Wenceslas in the Christmas carol! However, heat was not in the very sod, and my feet got cold and wet.
We decided to see what we could find in the mall across the street from the hotel – uncertain if it was even open on Presidents’ Day, which is today. But it was, so we looked for a place that sold boots. As we entered the mall, we passed a parking lot for strollers, where we saw several winter jackets draped over the stands. I thought it unusual that there should be so many lost jackets, in winter, in one mall. It wasn’t until we walked a bit further that we realized a number of people were keeping fit by mall-walking, and they had no qualms about leaving their outdoor wear unattended while they did so!
We found a pair of nice boots for me at Sears, which were comfy and warm and sported a very reasonable price tag. The real surprise came at the cash register, when I went to pay and found they were going at half that reasonable price, making them a real steal! Hooray for Presidents’ Day sales! I’m delighted with them, and put them to the test several times today.
We cleared off the truck as best we could, and Val managed to borrow a snow shovel to clear the drifts around the wheels where the plow had passed. Val wanted to move the rig around the corner to a cleared section of the parking lot before everything froze solid – and to let the staff clear the spot where we had been. With the four-wheel drive, there was no trouble getting going, fortunately.
The rest of the day was pretty lazy; surfing the net...reading...napping. Tough stuff. The weather channel tells us tomorrow should be much better, so we should be hitting the road again in the morning.
BINGHAMTON, NY — This morning when we got up, we looked out on a winter wonderland! A thick blanket of snow muffled our truck and trailer, and after the plow passed around it, there was a tidy white wall of snow around them. In a place where the average snowfall is three inches in February, we got seven to ten. Just lucky, I guess! We had no difficulty deciding to stay put for another day.
With only a pair of loafer-style winter shoes, I was ill equipped to trudge through the big drifts at the side of the road on the way to Friendly’s for breakfast. So I went behind Val and put my feet in his footsteps – like the poor man following Good King Wenceslas in the Christmas carol! However, heat was not in the very sod, and my feet got cold and wet.
We decided to see what we could find in the mall across the street from the hotel – uncertain if it was even open on Presidents’ Day, which is today. But it was, so we looked for a place that sold boots. As we entered the mall, we passed a parking lot for strollers, where we saw several winter jackets draped over the stands. I thought it unusual that there should be so many lost jackets, in winter, in one mall. It wasn’t until we walked a bit further that we realized a number of people were keeping fit by mall-walking, and they had no qualms about leaving their outdoor wear unattended while they did so!
We found a pair of nice boots for me at Sears, which were comfy and warm and sported a very reasonable price tag. The real surprise came at the cash register, when I went to pay and found they were going at half that reasonable price, making them a real steal! Hooray for Presidents’ Day sales! I’m delighted with them, and put them to the test several times today.
We cleared off the truck as best we could, and Val managed to borrow a snow shovel to clear the drifts around the wheels where the plow had passed. Val wanted to move the rig around the corner to a cleared section of the parking lot before everything froze solid – and to let the staff clear the spot where we had been. With the four-wheel drive, there was no trouble getting going, fortunately.
The rest of the day was pretty lazy; surfing the net...reading...napping. Tough stuff. The weather channel tells us tomorrow should be much better, so we should be hitting the road again in the morning.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Three things
Sunday, February 20, 2011
BINGHAMTON, NY — We’re settled in the Red Roof Inn here after our first day’s drive, which went very well. We got to the trailer at Long Island by about nine, with a bright sun and clear blue sky overhead. With the trailer all hitched up (on Val’s first attempt), we discovered that of the four yellow plastic chocks in front of and behind the wheels on either side of the trailer, only three would come out with some nudging. The fourth, in front of the right set of wheels, was firmly and icily embedded in leaves and earth.
So, we decided to drive over it! With a creak and a groan, the huge trailer lurched into motion and pow! That little old yellow chock shattered into pieces! Most of it stayed in the ground, but the top bit was in shards. Fortunately, it did no damage to the tires, so off we went, full of anticipation for our big journey.
The border crossing took about 20 minutes. The bridge to the US gave us a wonderful view of the Thousand Islands, stretching out on both sides. Farewell, Canada, I thought, as we approached the mainland and saw the stars and stripes flapping from a flagpole ahead of us.
Not long after we got rolling on Interstate 81, a vehicle pulled up beside us in the next lane and the woman passenger pointed at the trailer. We pulled over to see what the problem might be, and I noticed that the upper window at the front left was flapping open! I went inside and pulled the window back into place and locked it. I have no idea how it came open like that, but again, no damage done.
Whew! That was two things....what would the third thing be?? We continued south on I81, passing through Syracuse and past turnoffs for Albany and Buffalo (and even a town called Mexico!). The terrain was hilly and there was snow on the ground, but not too much. Val spotted several deer grazing by a parallel highway, but they weren’t near us, fortunately.
Our GPS, in its Australian accent, guided us to our hotel in Binghamton, perched on a hillside overlooking the town. Once we turned in to the driveway, I hopped out and went ahead to make sure there was room to drive our big rig in to the parking area. There was a nice long spot just ahead of a Mack truck, so Val pulled past it and turned in to the spot. I was watching from behind and my heart leapt into my mouth as I watched the space between the front corner of the Mack truck and the back corner of our trailer get narrower and narrower and then, at the last second, ping! The back bumper of the trailer barely nicked the front corner of the truck!! Yikes!
It was a relief to have that third thing over with – especially as there wasn’t a mark on either vehicle, and it hardly took any time for my heart to beat normally again. So everything was fine.
What will tomorrow bring? Well, there’s a winter storm warning – several inches of snow expected overnight. So...maybe we’ll see more of Binghamton than we originally thought. We’ll head out if it looks safe enough, but not if it doesn’t.
BINGHAMTON, NY — We’re settled in the Red Roof Inn here after our first day’s drive, which went very well. We got to the trailer at Long Island by about nine, with a bright sun and clear blue sky overhead. With the trailer all hitched up (on Val’s first attempt), we discovered that of the four yellow plastic chocks in front of and behind the wheels on either side of the trailer, only three would come out with some nudging. The fourth, in front of the right set of wheels, was firmly and icily embedded in leaves and earth.
So, we decided to drive over it! With a creak and a groan, the huge trailer lurched into motion and pow! That little old yellow chock shattered into pieces! Most of it stayed in the ground, but the top bit was in shards. Fortunately, it did no damage to the tires, so off we went, full of anticipation for our big journey.
The border crossing took about 20 minutes. The bridge to the US gave us a wonderful view of the Thousand Islands, stretching out on both sides. Farewell, Canada, I thought, as we approached the mainland and saw the stars and stripes flapping from a flagpole ahead of us.
Not long after we got rolling on Interstate 81, a vehicle pulled up beside us in the next lane and the woman passenger pointed at the trailer. We pulled over to see what the problem might be, and I noticed that the upper window at the front left was flapping open! I went inside and pulled the window back into place and locked it. I have no idea how it came open like that, but again, no damage done.
Whew! That was two things....what would the third thing be?? We continued south on I81, passing through Syracuse and past turnoffs for Albany and Buffalo (and even a town called Mexico!). The terrain was hilly and there was snow on the ground, but not too much. Val spotted several deer grazing by a parallel highway, but they weren’t near us, fortunately.
Our GPS, in its Australian accent, guided us to our hotel in Binghamton, perched on a hillside overlooking the town. Once we turned in to the driveway, I hopped out and went ahead to make sure there was room to drive our big rig in to the parking area. There was a nice long spot just ahead of a Mack truck, so Val pulled past it and turned in to the spot. I was watching from behind and my heart leapt into my mouth as I watched the space between the front corner of the Mack truck and the back corner of our trailer get narrower and narrower and then, at the last second, ping! The back bumper of the trailer barely nicked the front corner of the truck!! Yikes!
It was a relief to have that third thing over with – especially as there wasn’t a mark on either vehicle, and it hardly took any time for my heart to beat normally again. So everything was fine.
What will tomorrow bring? Well, there’s a winter storm warning – several inches of snow expected overnight. So...maybe we’ll see more of Binghamton than we originally thought. We’ll head out if it looks safe enough, but not if it doesn’t.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Watch this spot!
Hello friends,
In the coming days, the Zanin caravan will be on its way again, this time headed for sunny Arizona. I will be composing regular updates on our travels and adventures, and posting them whenever we can get an Internet connection. We hope you will enjoy following along! Our plan is to head out toward the end of February, but we won't have an exact date till much closer to departure time. With all the snow and storms that have hit the US lately, we will have to time our departure so that we have several days of good driving weather. So, watch this spot, and in due course, a new, exciting Zanin travel saga will begin!
In the coming days, the Zanin caravan will be on its way again, this time headed for sunny Arizona. I will be composing regular updates on our travels and adventures, and posting them whenever we can get an Internet connection. We hope you will enjoy following along! Our plan is to head out toward the end of February, but we won't have an exact date till much closer to departure time. With all the snow and storms that have hit the US lately, we will have to time our departure so that we have several days of good driving weather. So, watch this spot, and in due course, a new, exciting Zanin travel saga will begin!
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Hurry up and wait
Saturday, August 2, 2008
VANCOUVER — We’ve been here at Vancouver International Airport since 10 this morning, and we won’t be leaving until just before eight tonight. So if anyone has any questions about YVR, you know who to ask.
Our alarm went off at six this morning so we would have time to do all the last things in the camper before turning it in at Canadream. As mentioned yesterday, we had to do one more waste water dump, so when we got to the dumpsite, we were second in line. Unfortunately, when our turn came, we discovered that there was no more tank capacity for our small contribution! I went in to speak to the manager and he more or less shrugged and gave us directions to a place where we could obtain this service — without offering a refund for the service he was clearly unable to provide us.
Off we went, found the service station, paid our four dollar fee and divested ourselves of the last litre or two of waste water since our session last night. Not much further along the road was the Canadream headquarters.
What an impressive operation. We were directed into the ‘returning vehicles’ area where there was a hive of activity. Workers were stripping out linens and towels for laundering in one area while mechanics were crawling under other rigs in the garage section. Cleaners were scrubbing, dusting and cleaning every orifice and cupboard and plank inside the rigs, and in another spot campers and motor homes of all sizes were getting a thorough spray-down with pressure washers.
Meanwhile, reception crews were going over the newly arrived vehicles and finding out if there had been any problems during the rental period. I went off to the storage area to retrieve our luggage, which they had kept for us during our holiday, and we packed all our belongings. Then we went in to settle the account and no less than five minutes later we were boarding the shuttle bus to be driven to the airport. It was gratifying to see such a well-run business!
The airport was a bustling place, and, since we had all day till our flight was leaving, I asked the Air Canada attendant if there was a less busy time when we could obtain our boarding passes and surrender our luggage. He said it was pretty well this busy the whole time, so we decided to join the throng and get rid of the big stuff right off the bat.
We had a rendez-vous with my brother Johan at one, so we found a place to sit and read the newspaper for a while. He had suggested we meet at "the sculpture", so I went off in search of this landmark and discovered it not too far from our seats. It’s a replica of the work by Pacific native artist Bill Reid that sits at the Canadian Embassy in Washington DC — and is also depicted on our $20 bill. It’s a beautiful bronze statue that plenty of people were photographing.
We finally connected with Johan and set off to find a restaurant for lunch. Since our flight would be at supper time, we decided to have a decent dinner at the restaurant where there was some hope of elbow room and have something snacky on the plane. We enjoyed wild Pacific salmon one more time, and found it very tasty!
After some pleasant conversation, we bid Johan farewell and checked in past the security gate. After finding our gate and waiting about half an hour, Val noticed a change on the departure board: our plane would be delayed about 20 minutes. After absorbing that information for a while, an announcement came over the public address system that due to unforeseen circumstances, the flight to Ottawa would be delayed from 4:35 pm to 7:50 pm!! Yikes!
To kill time, I decided to go back to a boutique we had passed and treat myself to a manicure while Val immersed himself in his book. Then we went off to find a snack bar for a bite, using the meal vouchers Air Canada passed out to all the passengers. In a few minutes (we hope) we will finally board the plane which should get us in to Ottawa somewhere in the wee hours of Sunday morning. Ain’t traveling grand?
VANCOUVER — We’ve been here at Vancouver International Airport since 10 this morning, and we won’t be leaving until just before eight tonight. So if anyone has any questions about YVR, you know who to ask.
Our alarm went off at six this morning so we would have time to do all the last things in the camper before turning it in at Canadream. As mentioned yesterday, we had to do one more waste water dump, so when we got to the dumpsite, we were second in line. Unfortunately, when our turn came, we discovered that there was no more tank capacity for our small contribution! I went in to speak to the manager and he more or less shrugged and gave us directions to a place where we could obtain this service — without offering a refund for the service he was clearly unable to provide us.
Off we went, found the service station, paid our four dollar fee and divested ourselves of the last litre or two of waste water since our session last night. Not much further along the road was the Canadream headquarters.
What an impressive operation. We were directed into the ‘returning vehicles’ area where there was a hive of activity. Workers were stripping out linens and towels for laundering in one area while mechanics were crawling under other rigs in the garage section. Cleaners were scrubbing, dusting and cleaning every orifice and cupboard and plank inside the rigs, and in another spot campers and motor homes of all sizes were getting a thorough spray-down with pressure washers.
Meanwhile, reception crews were going over the newly arrived vehicles and finding out if there had been any problems during the rental period. I went off to the storage area to retrieve our luggage, which they had kept for us during our holiday, and we packed all our belongings. Then we went in to settle the account and no less than five minutes later we were boarding the shuttle bus to be driven to the airport. It was gratifying to see such a well-run business!
The airport was a bustling place, and, since we had all day till our flight was leaving, I asked the Air Canada attendant if there was a less busy time when we could obtain our boarding passes and surrender our luggage. He said it was pretty well this busy the whole time, so we decided to join the throng and get rid of the big stuff right off the bat.
We had a rendez-vous with my brother Johan at one, so we found a place to sit and read the newspaper for a while. He had suggested we meet at "the sculpture", so I went off in search of this landmark and discovered it not too far from our seats. It’s a replica of the work by Pacific native artist Bill Reid that sits at the Canadian Embassy in Washington DC — and is also depicted on our $20 bill. It’s a beautiful bronze statue that plenty of people were photographing.
We finally connected with Johan and set off to find a restaurant for lunch. Since our flight would be at supper time, we decided to have a decent dinner at the restaurant where there was some hope of elbow room and have something snacky on the plane. We enjoyed wild Pacific salmon one more time, and found it very tasty!
After some pleasant conversation, we bid Johan farewell and checked in past the security gate. After finding our gate and waiting about half an hour, Val noticed a change on the departure board: our plane would be delayed about 20 minutes. After absorbing that information for a while, an announcement came over the public address system that due to unforeseen circumstances, the flight to Ottawa would be delayed from 4:35 pm to 7:50 pm!! Yikes!
To kill time, I decided to go back to a boutique we had passed and treat myself to a manicure while Val immersed himself in his book. Then we went off to find a snack bar for a bite, using the meal vouchers Air Canada passed out to all the passengers. In a few minutes (we hope) we will finally board the plane which should get us in to Ottawa somewhere in the wee hours of Sunday morning. Ain’t traveling grand?
Friday, August 1, 2008
Endgames
Friday, August 1, 2008
TSAWASSEN — We’re back on the mainland again tonight. Our campground is just a couple of kilometers from the ferry landing, and a few this side of the Canadream headquarters where we are to drop off our camper in the morning. So it’s convenient.
We got an early start this morning so we could make the 10:15 ferry back from Duke Point, outside Nanaimo, to Tsawassen. We opted for Highway 19, the four-lane, rather than the more scenic Oceanview Road, to make good time, and much of it looked like the 401 or any other super highway, although we passed a few rivers and farms along the way, and plenty of elk crossing warnings, if not elk themselves.
We made the ferry in plenty of time, and when it set sail, it wasn’t full, so we needn’t have been too concerned about crowding on the Friday before a long weekend. It was a smooth and comfortable ride, and we were at our campsite in time for lunch.
At this point our highest priority has been to consume as much of the food we bought as possible, since everything else has to be disposed of our transported in our baggage home. So we have had some rather unusual combinations of foods to accomplish this. And really, a cream cheese sandwich with relish isn’t half bad!
Our next priority was to get the camper washed. We saw quite a bit of rain these last couple of days, so there was some dirt and waterstains to remove. The campground manager gave us directions to a coin-operated carwash in Tsawassen that could handle an RV, so we headed in to town to get that job done. It was a bit of a challenge because the hoses were a bit short, and Val had to jockey the camper back and forth to ensure we got both ends of it clean! But it is looking quite spiffy now. We’re hoping the few raindrops that fell post washing will be it till we return the rig tomorrow.
We had purchased an extra bag so we could bring back the extra stuff we picked up; in particular the camp stove we bought — which served us well throughout the trip. So we did some digging out of cubby holes and drawers in the camper and began stuffing the new bag, cushioning things with our laundry. Thank goodness for ziplock bags, to keep things like garlic powder and parmesan cheese separate from T-shirts and socks!
Our final supper was a comestible patchwork of leftovers that assuaged our hunger pangs and emptied the fridge, but would hardly go down in the annals of culinary masterpieces. After the eighth pickled beet to kill the jar, I think Val was on the verge of regretting that indulgence!
Our other attempt at careful timing had to do with the camper’s holding tanks. The idea was to do one final dump in the morning before returning the vehicle, and we almost made it. But not quite. After washing up the dishes from our unusual supper, Val opened the door to our tiny, ahem, water closet and nearly stepped into a pink puddle of water on its floor! Those final dribbles of pickled beet juice that we had sent down the drain were the proverbial last drop, and the overflow was sloshing pinkly about the washroom floor! So, we unplugged the power line, stowed the stairs and drove 20 meters to the dump site for our second last drain, a less-than-delightful chore we will now have to repeat again in the morning. Oh well, we really didn’t have a whole lot to do tonight anyway!
TSAWASSEN — We’re back on the mainland again tonight. Our campground is just a couple of kilometers from the ferry landing, and a few this side of the Canadream headquarters where we are to drop off our camper in the morning. So it’s convenient.
We got an early start this morning so we could make the 10:15 ferry back from Duke Point, outside Nanaimo, to Tsawassen. We opted for Highway 19, the four-lane, rather than the more scenic Oceanview Road, to make good time, and much of it looked like the 401 or any other super highway, although we passed a few rivers and farms along the way, and plenty of elk crossing warnings, if not elk themselves.
We made the ferry in plenty of time, and when it set sail, it wasn’t full, so we needn’t have been too concerned about crowding on the Friday before a long weekend. It was a smooth and comfortable ride, and we were at our campsite in time for lunch.
At this point our highest priority has been to consume as much of the food we bought as possible, since everything else has to be disposed of our transported in our baggage home. So we have had some rather unusual combinations of foods to accomplish this. And really, a cream cheese sandwich with relish isn’t half bad!
Our next priority was to get the camper washed. We saw quite a bit of rain these last couple of days, so there was some dirt and waterstains to remove. The campground manager gave us directions to a coin-operated carwash in Tsawassen that could handle an RV, so we headed in to town to get that job done. It was a bit of a challenge because the hoses were a bit short, and Val had to jockey the camper back and forth to ensure we got both ends of it clean! But it is looking quite spiffy now. We’re hoping the few raindrops that fell post washing will be it till we return the rig tomorrow.
We had purchased an extra bag so we could bring back the extra stuff we picked up; in particular the camp stove we bought — which served us well throughout the trip. So we did some digging out of cubby holes and drawers in the camper and began stuffing the new bag, cushioning things with our laundry. Thank goodness for ziplock bags, to keep things like garlic powder and parmesan cheese separate from T-shirts and socks!
Our final supper was a comestible patchwork of leftovers that assuaged our hunger pangs and emptied the fridge, but would hardly go down in the annals of culinary masterpieces. After the eighth pickled beet to kill the jar, I think Val was on the verge of regretting that indulgence!
Our other attempt at careful timing had to do with the camper’s holding tanks. The idea was to do one final dump in the morning before returning the vehicle, and we almost made it. But not quite. After washing up the dishes from our unusual supper, Val opened the door to our tiny, ahem, water closet and nearly stepped into a pink puddle of water on its floor! Those final dribbles of pickled beet juice that we had sent down the drain were the proverbial last drop, and the overflow was sloshing pinkly about the washroom floor! So, we unplugged the power line, stowed the stairs and drove 20 meters to the dump site for our second last drain, a less-than-delightful chore we will now have to repeat again in the morning. Oh well, we really didn’t have a whole lot to do tonight anyway!
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