Matthews RV Adventures: March 2020

First off, we know the world is crazy right now and everyone has some very challenging things happening. We hope everyone is healthy and getting through these interesting times with some creative changes to our daily routine.

We had always planned to do a dry run trip this weekend to practice towing the Nissan with the tow dolly. The original plan was a trip to Pleasant Hill, IL to visit grandparents/family and then to St. Louis to visit with friends and hit the casino for some fun and games.... Well, COVID changed a few things, but we decided to press on anyway. We left just before the shelter in place order in IL, but we figured we'd shelter in place on wheels. For those that don't know, we found a home for Sierra the cat and are traveling with Hamilton the dog, and Stella the cat.

Undaunted, we detoured to Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area, KY and met up with our friends, the Campbell's, in their RV for a night. We figure we can all practice social distancing around a campfire? Here's a recap of how our weekend has gone so far...

Day 1
11:00 am - Hit the road
1:00 pm - Pick up RV. Buy, learn and hook up tow dolly. - So far so good.
1:15 pm - Pulling out of Pontiac RV ... Is the Nissan still there?? We hope we hooked it up right!
1:30 pm - Walmart stop #1 - Nissan's still there. Phew. Pick up food and basic supplies for the weekend. Realized it's a horrible time to be at Walmart... hoarding central.
2:30 pm - Hit the road
2:40 pm - Rest area stop #1 - Where's Stella the cat?? There are a lot of nooks and crannies in this vehicle.
2:55 pm - Found cat under the subfloor of the recliners and back on road.
4:00 pm - Driving going well. Rest stop #2. Smooth sailing. Researching places to boondock (lot w/ no RV electric or water hookups) and decide on Cracker Barrel in Mount Vernon, IL w/ ETA of 7:30 pm... right before dark.
5:30 pm - Neil decides he needs gas NOW (tank quarter full), sees sign for BP and exits. NEEDS to be BP to save $.15 per gallon. Finds out that it is 1 mile off highway. Throws mini tantrum, cursing BP's everywhere for false advertising, and hastily chooses a new BP in the app and tells Anne to set the navigation to the station.
5:45 pm - Realizing new BP is 30 minutes off course - much farther than 1 mile off the highway. Seeming unlikely that we will arrive before dark. Sweet.
6:00 pm - Arrive at BP and appears closed, but the pumps appear to be on.
6:10 pm - Nope, not working... Neil curses BP's everywhere again. Luckily, there is a gas station across street. Not BP, who cares, we paid $1.90/gallon. BIG GAS TANK.
6:45 pm - Pass multiple BP gas stations with cheaper gas, right off highway.
8:15 pm - Walmart stop #2 - Realized we needed some bathroom RV supplies (RV Toilet paper & toilet deodorizer) since we never used our RV toilet before. No TP... surprise, surprise!
8:30 pm - Flying J's trucking stop - They have septic safe TP!!
8:45 pm - Arrive at Cracker Barrel. Probably should have eaten dinner earlier, but we are done driving for the day.
9:00 pm - Realizing leveling system is not working. The power outlets aren't working. We have no water. We hope the cat's still here. Thermostat has a mind of it's own and buttons do not work. EEK!
10:00 pm - One by one we figure out each of the issues by looking at manual and youtube. Time for a cocktail and some TV. Wait... TV won't turn on.
10:30 pm - Figure out that we need the generator on for TV and it's loud, but we're in a Cracker Barrel parking lot off the highway, so who cares? The RV parked next to us is using theirs too. Sweet.
11:00 pm - Watching TV and settled in. Life is good.

Day 2
9:00 am - Slept ok, both animals sleeping on bed with us. That's a change.
9:05 am - Decide not to deal with cooking and order Cracker Barrel breakfast to go. Do you always get biscuits and gravy with every meal?
10:30 am - Ready to hit the road. Realized running low on drinking water and we forgot to pack even 1 tool. Sweet.
10:35 am - Walmart stop #3 - Pick up water, tools, and vitamins (to protect us from our 3rd Walmart trip in 24 hours).
10:40 am - Clearance to Walmart is 12 ft... can we make it? Decide better not to risk and park across street in empty Staples lot at least a quarter mile from the entrance Nissan looks a bit janky on tow dolly. Does it matter if it's off center?? We decide Neil will deal with tow dolly and Anne will get supplies at Walmart.
11:00 am - Anne walks a quarter of mile back to RV with a case and gallon of water and other supplies. Nissan is off the tow dolly. Neil could have picked Anne up. Sweet.
11:30 am - Neil gets Nissan hooked up to tow dolly. Both back straps are a little loose. Is this normal? Seems ok.
11:35 am - On the road and watching the Nissan on the back camera. All is well.
2:00 pm - Stopped at Patti's 1880's settlement in KY. Check in at the campground isn't until 4, so have lunch and walk around. Looks a little cheesy, but also a little cool. Everything is closed and it's a ghost town (thanks COVID). Enjoyed lunch - it's pretty nice to have your house with you.
4:00 pm - Check-in at campsite. Campsite is still open, but all amenities are closed because of COVID. Also, bathrooms will be closed tomorrow because of COVID. Sweet. Glad we have a toilet and shower on board and full hook up at site.
6:30 pm - Finally figured out hooking up water, sewer, electric, hot water heater, and leveler (with some help from the locals and our one Walmart tool). Neil curses himself again for the 15th time for not bringing tools. Have firewood. Have semi-unpacked.
7:00 pm - The Campbells have arrived! It took Neil 2 hours to hook up our RV. It takes Chris 15 minutes to hook up their RV. It's all about experience I guess.
11:00 pm - We had an awesome time visiting with the Campbells! Lots of laughs. Hamilton and their dog Hans were fast friends. The campfire was awesome, but smoky. We all tried to stay 6 feet apart. It was awesome to have such great friends and experienced campers to hang with on our dry run!

Day 3
We had a great nights sleep. We are feeling settled in and things are getting more organized. We are feeling good about this being our home for the next 4 months, kind of like another honeymoon,except on wheels!

Time for breakfast and coffee and saying goodbye to the Campbells. Coffee is made. We forgot coffee cups. Sweet. Thankfully the Campbells have some extras and hook us up before they leave!

Now that we have the little details mostly figured out in our new home, we decided that it was time to get out into nature for a hike. We hiked 5 miles around Honker Lake in the Land Between the Lakes, KY through some muddy terrain and a little rain (ok maybe a lot at the end - Anne was running for the car). We saw an Eagle's nest and flowers/some signs of spring. Hamilton made it the whole way and only stopped to pee on 117 new things.

Back at the camper, lit the oven for dinner with only 1 youtube video - Sweet! Amazing dinner with pizza, Caesar salad and a bottle of rose wine. Cheers. That's where we are now. Heading back home tomorrow and feeling much more confident about our RV trip. Got a long list of supplies to bring, but all is looking good. Thanks for reading, promise that they won't all be this long... until next time.