Boot Camp's Finished...RV Maintenance...That Is

When I got home late yesterday afternoon and drove up my driveway, I thought my house looked terrible...kind of unkempt and frumpy.  This morning I spent a few hours pulling weeds out in the sun and I'm worn out. I hope I'm coherent with this post.  If not, that's why.  

I also talked to my property manager yesterday and I've dropped the leasing price by $300/month.  Apparently a number of people have been interested but were put off by the price.  Honestly, I would be put off by it too.  The last time I rented it cost me $400/month so the thought of paying what we're asking is mind boggling to me.  Someone is scheduled to look at it tomorrow.

I think the most important thing I learned at boot camp was that I've been driving around with my propane on.  That scared me when I realized what I'd been doing, especially when I thought about how many times I've filled my gas tank, not to mention riding a Washington ferry with it on.  It came up in discussions at the boot camp and there seem to be two ways of thinking about driving with propane on...one group says it's fine, another group says not to.  I tend to go with the don't drive with propane on, even though that's what I've been doing unknowingly.  What do you more seasoned RVrs think?  

Beckey, the lady who set up the boot camp, is 76 years old and a wealth of knowledge.  I think she could have done the boot camp all by herself.  She has a Class A and spends a lot of time in it with her cat. She obviously doesn't come from a big city because she'd leave her RV door wide open while we were out and about.  Her cat would venture outside once in awhile and never ran away.  I, on the other hand, always locked mine before I walked away from it.  

I pulled into the RV park right behind Beckey and picked the only spot with a tree.  I noticed when I was checking out their website that I was going to an RV park in Oregon without any trees.  How weird is that?  I got the feeling right away that the park was unfinished and it turns out I was right.  The owner is in bankruptcy and it's owned by a bank now. It's kind of sad that his dream would end so dismally, especially when there's so much potential there.  

Lucky for me, Beckey came over when I started to hook up and it went pretty smoothly.  I know I'll be able to do it on my own from now on and that feels wonderful!!  I had trouble with the water connection leaking when I was on my first outing in Eastern Washington, but not so this time. Beckey introduced me to this contraption...

and it made all the difference in the world.  Fortunately, she had a brand new one so I gave her $4 for it and don't anticipate water problems anymore.  I also had to borrow a wrench from her to tighten it.  Fortunately, I have one at home and will add it to my collection of tools I carry in Olivia. 

The night we arrived we met outside at a picnic table and introduced ourselves and  talked about how long we've been RVing.  I wasn't the only newbie!!  It turned out that there were three other vehicles similar to mine on Dodge Sprinter chassis's.  Mine was the only Winnebago View.  This picture shows them somewhat.  That's Beckey's on the right, with the wide open door.  

I was standing in front of my space when I took this picture.  So how did I end up alone?  I wondered the same thing, especially since we weren't assigned spaces and could pick the one we wanted.  I could go into how I typically seem to be on the outside looking in, but I won't.  Even though I missed out on some things after we broke up for the day and after dinner, I liked my spot.  I regret that I missed out on the other gatherings though.  

It was so fun to sit around and listen to each person's story.  Ladies came from Victoria, BC, to San Antonio, TX.  Some had toads and some didn't.  I was the only  person who left their dog at home and except for Beckey, everyone had a dog.  I also had the largest dog and I don't regret leaving him.  When I came home, he appeared shakier to me and I was glad I left him, although he wasn't.

I'm aware that I'm feeling really, really tired so I'm going to close after I show you the wonderful group of women I shared boot camp with.  I woke up at 3:30 this morning, so with that on top of working in the sun for hours, I'm worn out.  I'll continue with more tomorrow.  And here they are...

Loving the sunshine,

Jeana