Does It Ever Get Bad? Our Top 6 Road “Incidents” & How We Survived With Our Sanity In-Tact
One of the things I’ve always attempted in my life (especially my later life) is to be positive. I’m not ashamed to say that this is a direct result of years of serious depression as a younger person. I realized (through many years of hard work) that a positive outlook is something learned, not inherent. There are undoubtedly naturally positive people out there, but my theory is that most folks have some kind of inner “demon” that they struggle with, and the only way to keep it in check (you never quite vanquish it) is to fight it every single day until it’s squashed down to just a small daily nuisance.
It’s taken me ~20 years to get here, but most people who meet me now would consider me a very positive person indeed and have no idea that I’ve ever been otherwise. My blog directly reflects that side of me -> the side that works daily to see the beauty in life, the side that attempts to see the humor in things, the side that smells the roses despite the thorns. It’s a part of my own personal journey to find happiness and to spread happiness in the world, which is not done enough IMHO.
That said it doesn’t mean that bad things never happen to us. Well, the way I look at it these days is that we have obstacles, but there’s nothing we haven’t been able to overcome with humor, flexibility and love. Many people like to know those things, I guess because it makes life seem more real that way, so for today’s post I thought I’d take off on a tangent (for me) and talk about the worst “incidents” of our 5 years on the road. This way you know it’s happened to us…and well, it might happen to you too…and yet you might still survive and learn to love this lifestyle with your sanity in-tact.
Deep, dark, foreboding…..ooooooo….well, and of course I can’t help but put some humor in there.
1/ The Mosquito Incident
One of the biggest mistakes we made RVing in our first year was to pay absolutely zero attention to weather. Part of the reason for this was that we’d been living in complete sunny-weather-ignorance on Coastal California for much of our 13 previous years together so it never occurred to us that the rest of the country might be different. For that reason we decided, in our infinite wisdom, to schedule a slow meander through the Midwest (Missouri, Iowa) in the middle of August.
Oh holy mother of all mosquito gods!
On the positive side the campgrounds were completely empty almost everywhere we went because, frankly, we were the only idiots out there. On the negative side the mosquitoes were so intense, particularly in Sioux City, that we couldn’t step outside our RV for 5 minutes before being practically carried away. Being a natural-born pasty-white mosquito magnet (as I am) did not help. Dog walks involved spraying every chemical known to mankind on all our non-skin areas before running like chickens with our heads cut off in tight circles while praying for Polly to pee. It was a “learning” experience that I hope never to repeat and prompted me to publish our flip-flop barometer by which we’ve faithfully traveled ever since.
Moral Of The Story -> The summer weather in Iowa is not like coastal California. Go where flip flops would go…
2/ The Tick Incident
Closely related to incident #1 was the tick connection. Around the beginning of Sept that same year Paul left me to fly to Florida for a family emergency. I’d been happily enjoying the trails (quite alone by the way) at Babler State Park for several days when I started feeling bad. At first I didn’t connect this to much until I happened to notice one of my many millions of freckles moving around on my leg in the shower. WTF????? A closer inspection revealed not just one but at least 30 happily moving “freckles”. I think I might have stunned most of the wildlife within a 10-mile radius with my resulting blood-curdling scream.
Several scrubs of dubious chemicals later, my skin burning lobster red I started contemplating the repercussions. My fever was growing, and when Paul got back home a few days later he started feeling badly too. When he hit 104 we drove 40 miles to the nearest urgent care clinic, now really worried about the outcome. The on-call doctor, a very down-to-earth southern lady told use that she could give us a ~$2000 Lyme test which “might or might not show anything, darlin'”, or she could just prescribe a heavy dose of $4 antibiotic. We took the latter naturally, and despite 2 weeks of utter antibiotics horror (I’ve never taken anything that’s knocked me out so badly) we survived with no long-lasting results.
Moral Of The Story -> Beware those tiny ticks, and learn to love the $4 prescription list.
3/ The Tree Incident
Having survived the bugs and made it blissfully to the Atlantic Coast (yes, this is still our first year on the road), we had squeezed “the beast” into another buggy, but beautiful beach-side campground in Hunting Island, SC. We spent a week of utter sand bliss at this place basking in the glory of having completed a cross-country trip with no major RV incidents.
At this point one could say we’d become confident in our RVing abilities, perhaps even a tad arrogant. After all we’d squeezed the “beast” into places no other “beast” had gone before -> we had become experts, suave and smooth RV specialists, skilled roadies, nimble “beasts” of the highway. Nothing could stop us now! A few days later, as we weaved our way out of the incredibly tight campground loops, waving happily to all the curious by-standers who’d come to watch the event, a curved palm tree taught us that even “beast-size” rigs can’t buck nature’s stubbornness.
Now at this juncture it should be pointed out that more wary RVers (and perhaps more importantly, those using spotters) might have noticed the deep gashes left by previous RV idiots ~11.65 feet up the tree, but in our glorified state of confidence we saw nothing but an open path yielding to our road-sweeping 400hp superiority. It was not, in fact, until a large piece of metal sheared rather dramatically off the backside of the RV that we even stopped to look. “Honey, was that our slide topper cover???”. A few months and a thousand dollars later the beast was once again fixed, but we’ve never since driven a tight campground loop without me walking in front of the RV to spot.
Moral Of The Story -> Trees don’t move even if you want them to. Learn the swing radius of your RV (front and back) and always use a spotter if you can.
4/ The Chocolate Incident
It all started with an exploding can of cocoa. We had driven high into the Colorado mountains and found a stunning campground far, far away from the things of man. It was a dreary day, heavy with the electricity of an on-coming afternoon thunderstorm (a common things in the mountains in summer) when I decided to brighten the day by making a cup of hot chocolate. Despite my many years in Science education I failed to foresee the nuclear mushroom cloud of fine cocoa that settled itself rather prettily all over the RV moments after I’d opened the can at 9,000 feet of elevation. This seemingly humorous (although not at the time) incident led, through a series of finely-connected and ultimately idiotic events, to a massive slide leak followed by (finally) the moment where we culminated our evening by crushing/ripping our slide with our own ladder. You can read the entire story HERE.
What I didn’t write about at the time was that the consequence of all this completely altered our entire RV travel plans. We spent two utterly mind-numbing days at a repair shop in CO only to be told they could not help us, followed by ~1,000 miles of travel to Oregon so we could get our RV back to the manufacturing location and (finally) get it fixed. The absolutely unexpected surprise of all this was our introduction to Oregon, a state that had (frankly) not even been on our radar of RV travels. From a can of cocoa we ended up finding a place that we absolutely love and return to every single year. Who could have imagined?
Moral Of The Story -> Flexibility in RVing plans in key. And don’t open a can of cocoa at 9,000 feet.
5/ The Personal Incident
One thing that many folks don’t inherently expect (or understand) is that life doesn’t stop when you hit the road. Illness, grief, death…all these things are part of life and will happen to you no matter where you are. I had a rather difficult personal incident several years ago which (to this day) I still can’t write about in detail, but that I managed to express emotionally on the blog. It was a period of deep grief for me, and for a moment seemed to put a wrench in all my future plans (or at least the plans I had at the time).
What astonished me was the outpouring of unconditional love and support from blog readers and others who never asked to pry deeper. Some of the stories they shared in my comments & off-line were heart-wrenching and made me realize I was in no way alone. My RVing life didn’t change that year per se, but I realized that my outlook did and the community I’d found on the road was far deeper than I ever imagined.
Moral Of The Story -> Life follows you everywhere, but if you reach out you are never truly alone.
6/ The Mouse Incident
We’ve all had nightmares of creepy crawlies getting into our rigs, but after 3 years on the road with no incident we’d pretty much dismissed this ever happening to us. Our introduction to furry little terrors didn’t happen until a lonely afternoon in one of the most remote (= can you say no mouse traps within 50 miles?) boondocking spots we’d been to thus far in our travels. The discovery of our travelling room-mates which the cats, the little lazy-good-for-nothings had entirely ignored, and the resulting peppermint-scented wonderland that became our RV is chronicled in amusing detail HERE. I’m happy to report that since that day we’ve been blissfully mouse-free and continue to enjoy the minty goodness of our solution.
Moral Of The Story -> Always travel with peppermint oil & don’t rely on the cats….
SO, there you go folks. Our life in the “raw” with all our dirty secrets revealed. We’ve had many, many more incidents such as the time I got staples in my head, or the time we were evacuated from a campground by fire, or the time we survived 94 mph winds, or our infestation of fleas, but in the interest of keeping this below 2,000 words I’ll stop it here. Will there be more incidents? Undoubtedly! But we’re going to keep on going anyway and we’ll attempt to approach our obstacles as we always have with flexibility, humor and love. I’m pretty sure we’ll make it through…..
Related Post -> The Darker Side Of FullTime RVing? 5 Thoughts To Ponder Before Making The Leap..
That was wonderfully entertaining Nina! You write such a great blog!! And, incredibly informative! Thank you so much!
Larry M from the NW
Happy to hear it was entertaining…it’s all part of my goal 🙂
Nina
Yeah, we’ve had our share of “incidents” as well. Most recently, (speaking of creepy crawlies getting into the rig!) have been the two separate episodes within a week of watching a scorpion making it’s way across the carpet.
No, the scorpions did not survive the experience. But we did!
Eeeeek. We’ve found scorpions in our shoes (outside), but never had them inside the rig. The only worse thing for me would be a rattlesnake inside the rig.
Nina
Scorpions were terrible in Florida also. Apparently, they love pine tree bark.
Yes, the full time RV life is not all roses. Jim won’t let me live down our two months of camp hosting in Missouri during June and July. Like you, we were astonished by the mosquitos and ticks, and the heat and humidity. That’s what he gets for allowing me to do all the planning:-)
And our cats were of no use, either, when we had a mouse inside the RV. It even had the nerve to come out and get a drink from the cats water bowl, but they just ignored it.
BTW, we have reservations starting March 19 for a month at Mission Bay. It’s been really hot in Yuma so we’re looking forward to some cooler temps.
You hosted in MO in June & July….whoah! That’s pretty hard-core and sounds very much like some of the stuff we did in our first year on the road. It’s also good to know your cats are as useless as ours when it comes to mouse-elimination.
We’ll still be here by the time you arrive in Mission Bay so do check in with us. It is perfect here right now & the water is next-door anytime we want to go in.
Nina
#6- I’d be really unhappy with the cats, you only ask them to do one thing and that’s a natural to them!
I gave them a good hard talking-to about the whole thing. Of course they completely ignored me.
Nina
It makes a (nice) change to hear you ‘admitting to’ and sounding slightly ‘negative’ about the odd thing for a change Nina! Great Blog! Oh and yes I too once observed a mouse walking along the lounge floor – right in front of our indifferent cat!!! We never did figure what happened to it, but I might have trapped it in the RV innards after I blocked up what I guessed was its path…
Our annoying problem on our last, 7week, trip was with ants, that kept appearing at random in various parts of the RV, even where you wouldn’t expect they’d find food (eg the bed!). Since we kept moving from one CG to another, and yet it seemed to be the “same” ants each time, we wonder if we have some on-board stowaway colony?
Does anyone have any effective tips on how to get rid of them, and keep them out? We bought some clear gel from Home Depot that they were supposed to love and take back to the nest – but of course it didn’t work! Ditto “anti-ant” powder we spread all around wheels and landing gear…
We had pretty good luck with ant traps. They’re brown plastic things with bait. Ants go in, eat, come out and die. We had an infestation in NC before we even hit the road.
We’ve been lucky enough not to incur an ant infestation (yet!). I’d give Allison’s idea a try.
Nina
Oh I so can relate to this post and all the ‘interesting’ things that happen on the way. It is good to know that real life happens to others~
Keep up the great story. Thank you.
Frederick
Life happens is a good way to put it. Sometimes being on the road makes it easier, sometimes being on the road makes it harder, but it definitely doesn’t change the flow.
Nina
Glad I’m not the only one with some first year “incidents.” Heck, the very first campground we stayed at, I pulled out without disconnecting the shore power line. Of course, it didn’t let go at the power box and, instead, ripped a nice hole in the side of the motorhome. Wonderful.
Ouch!!! That’s a hard lesson to learn. I think every single new RVer has a story like this. Part of the joy of getting on the road LOL.
Nina
Ummm.. it’s not just the new Rver… – on our last arrival at a campground I forgot to disconnect our ‘umbilicals’ when I started driving the truck away from the 5th wheel… I stopped before the main electrical cable/plug was damaged, but (a) damaged a ’25-way D-connector’ (like they use on old computer printer cables) I’d installed for my CCTV system, and (b) it also ripped out the break-away pull brake switch – like it’s supposed to do, but when I plugged the plastic pin back in again, it bubbled, smoked and burnt out! That reminds me, must go buy a new one…
Oh double ouch!!!! Yeah, even old dogs like us make basic mistakes. I’ve no doubt we’ll have more good stories to share in the future.
Nina
I appreciate that you share these things in the blog. Some of them are from before I started reading, so I looked back. It was hard to read the chocolate/ladder/slide one, because so much went wrong. (But at least you found Oregon.) And the ticks! No way, that is horrifying. I hope you manage to avoid any of these sorts of days for a good while.
The ticks were really, really bad. Back then I didn’t really write about the incident on the blog (that’s before my blog evolved to become more personal), but now it’s part of the story. I’m sure we’ll have plenty more “gotchas” in the future.
Nina
Great write-up Nina. And what a terrific attitude! Seeing as we all have to deal with life’s struggles with our day-to-day escapades (I could write a book on our problems while traveling – seems like they never stop), it’s refreshing to hear others recount their stories and know you are not alone. Thank you!
There’s always SOMETHING on the road. I remember we met an “old-timer” on the road in our second year. We were complaining about something that didn’t work on the rig (can’t remember what right now) when he wisely said to us “This is life on the road, kids. If 80% of the stuff is working on your rig, consider yourself 100% happy”.
Since that time I’ve tried to remember that quote. We always seem to have something not quite working on the rig (right now, for example, we have no microwave, our toilet is not holding water anymore and we’re having some mystery drainage problems), but hey…I’m waaay over that 80% level, so I should consider myself 100% happy.
Nina
I love the “old-timer’s” quote, wise words. Something to live life by, ain’t that the truth! Norm spends most of his time fixing things and we STILL always have things that need fixing!!
I remember some of these, including the ladder incident, which reminded me that we have a hole in one of our basement doors from a slide closing incident in Denver. Hector put a piece of white duck tape on it and we planned to fix it here, but had forgotten! OMG, we need to get it fixed before going out to the boonies again, glad this reminded us!
You could write a little book with your “incidents” too. I still think the hail-storm you experienced that cheese-clothed your slide toppers and cracked your roof (!!) was one of the scarier incidents I’ve read. Pretty darn amazing you’re still sane 🙂
Nina
A great honest post… we’ve been there, and are still “there” as I had my first black water blues incident a couple of weeks ago. A dozen showers later and I’m still smelling something. yuck.
Box Canyon Mark
Nooooooo….few things are more horrifying than black tank “incidents”….right up there with skunk encounters….and usually something you don’t forget EVER. Apart from a full dump station that we once encountered we’ve been blissfully free of black tank issues. I feel for you!!
Nina
It does get interesting, doesn’t it. Thankfully the only creepers we have ever had are the mice. And we got rid of them fairly easy. Do you put the peppermint oil around the inside of your rig as a preventative?
Yes! I keep a few plastic containers with peppermint-infused cotton balls in the bins and a few other places. So far, so good.
Nina
Love! Love! Love! Your blog! Thank you so much for sharing your experiences, your knowledge, and your talent for writing with those of us who are living the dream through you. Thank you.
Thank you Deana 🙂
Nina
Dear Nina…. Having tried to start a blog with as much information, wisdom and humor as yours has caused me many hours of thought and soul searching. Yes, we all have stories, but, my dear, I am in constant appreciation and admiration of what you continue to provide for all of us out here on the road with you. Your writing ability has so many wonderful and rich facets; your humor and self-depreciative style endures you to each and everyone of us. And, while I continue to search for a ‘style’ I know that most of all it is the honesty and the integrity of the writer that will leave is mark on those of us that continue to follow those that hit just that right note within us and constantly lures us back time and time again.
I had not red your ‘perfect moment’ post yet, so, I hiked on over and read what we (hopefully) all share at some point in our lives….perfect moments are now…and….now….and now….and by the time you reached 6 or 7 decades (or sooner) you honor each and every one with the understanding that they may never pass your way again, but they have become the person that you are.
Bless you, Nina…I may just continue to follow and wish that some day I can have a blog when I grow up…..hehehehe!
Well thank you indeed for the lovely praise. You know honestly my writing has evolved a ton over the years. At first I struggled to find my “blogging” voice and my initial year of blog posts were quite short and dry. It took lots of writing to get me to a point that I was comfortable not only expressing what I felt, but also just writing (at all).
So, I guess my advice is not to sweat it too much about trying to find a “style”. By the very act of writing (and continuing to write) you WILL find your own voice, even if it takes a while. You already write very eloquently (I can tell by the comment) so it’s all there. Just continue to practice and it will naturally evolve.
Nina
Hi Nina
We follow your blog and love your writing, whit and amazing photos.
We are now in our third year on the road and we too have had our share of DOH moments.
Mice, tics and leaks yuck, had them all but give me mice and leaks any day. Tics are the spawn of evil, never experianced them in New Zealand. Then we camp hosted at Babler State Park for two seasons Fall through Spring, just long enough to meet the Tics.
That park has a huge deer population and has a major Tic issue.
Sadly our last season their, one of our fellow hosts did come down with lime feaver and was hospilised, but eventually recovered well.
Keep writing and may the sun always be at your back’s.
Hopefully we will cross paths some day.
Rusty & Kelly Glen.
You know Babler State Park really does have a problem. I didn’t really connect everything at the time, but I’m almost certain that’s where we got the ticks. Believe it or not that’s ALSO the same park we got our flea infestation. It’s such a shame too because that park is GORGEOUS, as are the trails. Very, very sad that one of your fellow hosts contracted Lyme. That’s a truly horrible disease. Sure hope they get through it OK and manage to kick it our of their system.
Nina
Thanks for sharing! Great post of the realities of our lifestyle! And to share how awful that tetracycline is….ugh, I’m on it now from my first tick bite ever and he got me good. I can’t imagine your situation-I freaked at just one!
Oh yuck! Yeah, those antibiotics totally knocked us out. We were on them for 10 days, if I remember correctly, twice/day huge doses that just zonked us for hours. It’s waaaaay better than the alternative (Lyme Disease) of course, but it’s tough going when you’re on them.
Nina
Great idea to share the “not so great” things that can happen on the road so others can learn from our mistakes. Had a very old motorhome with lots of hole accesses for small critters. The dog watched a chipmunk eat out of his food bowl. Live trap didn’t work. But one day that little chipper sat on the back of the passenger seat dozing and I bagged it, literally, and set it free miles away. Then before rolling, and after being parked for six months, discovered the dog food stash under the doghouse on the engine. We should all do a cooperative book project.
That’s one good story…literally bagging the chipmunk snoozing in the truck. I love it!
Nina
As always, a great post, Nina. Humor mixed with life. I found myself laughing out loud at times, and in quiet reflection at other times.
Oh, and I’d guess, based upon No. 1, that we will never get to be graced by your presence on our beautiful northeast Michigan shoreline during the summer, since the mosquito, after all, is said to be our ‘state bird’! 😉
Indeed I’ve heard about that MI “state bird”. I have to admit I’d be hard pressed to put my mosquito-magnet of a body on those shores during summer. I’m sure fall is a much quieter and less blood-sucking time to visit LOL.
Nina
I would love it if everyone would do one of these posts. They remind us that these things happen to us all. I’ve had some of your issues, too, and others. Maybe I’ll write about mine, too, one of these days. We all love reading about other people’s issues, right? 🙂
Oh I’d totally love to hear your issues too. I do think it’s nice to know we’re all “human” and it’s our mistakes that make us that way LOL.
Nina
This is one of my favorite posts of all times. Its easy to be happy when things go right, but its a real test of a person’s determination to see the positive, to “be happy” when things go awry. I laughed and cried a little bit as I read through and commiserated. Thanks once again for your words.
Sue
Getting a good laugh for my blog followers was one of my goals. Life is so much better with humor 🙂
Nina
Given the number of times Paul has left you to your own devices, I am surprised you were able to whittle down your list. You are right Nina, life doesn’t stop while on the road but the friendships we have all developed since embracing this lifestyle has given us a beautiful support system.
Looking forward to seeing you and Paul again.
Yeah, it’s always tricky when Paul leaves me to my own devices. Thankfully the last few times I’ve managed to avoid the ER. Maybe I’m finally growing up?
Nina
My goodness! Those incidents are pretty common I think.
Mosquitoes are found in the Sierras in the summer, and while back packing there I got anemic I think. And there was no inside to go inside to!
No ticks. However, leeches, anyone?
Tree incident parking in a small park in Truckee. We were exhausted after the onion and smoke incidents. Pulled in and discovered a tree. Could not put the dinette slide out due to neighboring persons huge pile of junk. Moral of this one, don’t stay where they have permanent residents. Also could not eat outside due to the ground being inch of powdered dust.
The onion incident occurred concurrently with the raging fires in Northern California 2 years ago. The onion was a innocent little bit of scallion that made its way to the grey water holding tank where it created noxious fumes that made us gag and gasp. But could not open windows due to huge clouds of smoke. So getting our spot in that horrid place allowed us to shower, dump and breathe. Who needs a dinette.
The frozen to death Christmas experience and discovering folding mats are like ice rinks and yes Virginia, schnauzers skid very nicely. Then when it could not get any colder, as in 29 degrees, the power went out. The whole place.
What would live be without these tales to pass on?
Now those are some juicy tales LOL. Onion in the tank huh…I would never have imagined that would create such a noxious environment. I can just envision it….
Nina
Having towed trailers of one type or another nist of my adult life, including RVs and cargo trailers, I can relate to your stories of “interesting” occurances. I’ve had my share of situations too. Nice to see you keeping possitive about it. Abd thanks for sharing it so pleasantly. 🙂
I think anyone who’s spent anytime on the road has their list of “incidents”. Makes for good campfire stories 🙂
Nina
Thank you to the RV gods that I read your blog tonight. My husband and I have been wheeling it for 4 days – not years, months, weeks, but days! We thought we were so very smart to buy a used rig with diesel truck. Our second night, we recognized that we had a leak & finally today, the part came in and my handy hubby fixed it – aaaah, appreciation for indoor plumbing. We took our 10-year-old diesel truck to dealership for inspection (we do keep hitting our forehead with the question why we didn’t do this BEFORE the purchase?) to have an estimate for $10,000 needed in repairs – not all necessary at this time but . . . I usually view life with optimism, humor and resilience but today was tough, especially as I twisted Eric’s arm for my dream. Your blog had me laughing out loud several times. Hubby said “so it takes someone else’s misfortune to cheer you up?” Yes, I guess so! Thanks for sharing!
Ouch! It’s tough when several things hit you at once like that….and only 4 days in too! I’m sure you’ll (eventually) look back at this and laugh, but I’m glad I could bring the smile out even if it’s just for a while 🙂 hang in there. It’ll get better!
Nina
Nina, Some helpful suggestions for your readers to avoid a bad experience. Similar to your exploding chocolate can, if you enjoy a Sleep Number bed, be sure to lower the pressure before travel at high elevation. Put all your food stuffs in a plastic container. Minimizes the inevitable ant problem. And, if you get a “hitchhiker”, and decide to use sticky pads, be sure to duct tape the pads down securely. Hope this is helpful to some travelers out there.
Ah yes the infamous exploding sleep number bed, which is actually an incident we’ve experienced that I forgot to mention on this post. At the time I just assumed Paul had become a vampire and decided to sleep in a coffin.
Here’s the blog post -> Pop Goes The Mattress
Nina
LOL! We had our first mouse incident this winter at Mitrey Lake in Yuma. The mouse was making a nice home in the end cap of our TT. We put out sticky mouse traps. Jeff thought it would help to put a piece of dog food in the middle of the pad. The mouse didn’t bite, but our dog did. We had a heck of a time getting that pad out of Sam’s furry beard!
Nooooo….poooor Sam. What a story LOL!
Nina
Enjoyed reading your post, loved the cocoa can incident.
I’m never going to make that mistake again. Of course the fact that the top of the can was practically popping upwards before I opened it *should* have alerted me to the problem. But alas…we all live and learn.
Nina
After living at high elevations and flying back and forth, I’ve learned to squeeze some air out of flexible bottles BEFORE going up in elevation.
Thanks for the stories Nina, keep them coming!
I need a dopler system that shows mosquitos in an area so I can avoid it! They LOVE me too 🙁 I have to confess that I often think of the time you were solo in Desert Hot Springs and smacked your head on the rig. I’m a bad person and get a chuckle every time – and you were okay (mostly)! Thanks for the recap of your less-than-blissful incidents, and the reminder that reaching out for support can make even the worst of them more bearable.
I always joke that I have such good mosquito attraction that I naturally act as a repellent for anyone around me. Paul almost NEVER gets bitten when he sits next to me. Fun for me, eh?
Nina
Great article Nina, RVing can have some unpleasant surprises. I am thankful there are many more good times in between the not so pleasant. We always seem to get through them, however with some scars for reminders. Just yesterday I had a very large tree limb fall on my Coach’s slide. Thank goodness other than the immediate fear of the loud noise, no real damage done. I will have a very small set of natures pinstriping to remember this event.
Thanks again for sharing your experiences, I am learning from them 🙂
Tree limbs do worry me sometimes. Thankfully we’ve never had any real damage either, but we were parked next to a 5th wheel in Texas (McKinney Falls SP) a few years ago that had a HUGE limb fall down and crush the roof. The sound it made as it fell was terrifying. Thankfully no-one was hurt inside, but the rig was damaged.
Oh and we have lots of commemorative “pin stripes” too 🙂
Nina
Great post! And until I read it, and as much as I’ve read your blog in general, I never knew that you had traveled to the SE! I guess that was before we found your blog. We are actually going to Hunting Island ourselves next month – so will be extra careful now that I’ve ready your post!
Yeah our SE travels happened in our very first year on the road. We did a full cross-country coast-to-coast drive and wintered in FL. There are still parts of the FL & AL coast that I long for, plus the Smokey Mountains in fall were amazing….some beautiful country out there.
Nina
Thank you for sharing. These not-so-perfect times that are charater building are for real. We’ve had our share of bloopers and incidents in our vacation travels so we feel like we are prepared for the not so perfect times once we full-time. I had never thought of the exploding chocolate issue in the RV even though I have certainly experienced it in car trips before. So thank you for that warning.
So many people think of full-timing as worry and headache-free and is certainly isn’t but we still think it will be worth it!
Very true. Life is life….and headaches are everywhere. I DO think our lifestyle is worth it despite the headaches (for me the positives far outweigh the negatives), but other folks may not feel the same way. Fulltime RVing is definitely not for everyone, but for those that love it it’s hard to live life any other way. And it DOES make for good blooper stories…
Nina
Man, you think you are safe in old age by forgetting about all those horrible events and some young whippersnapper comes along and brings them all up. Thanks Nina. 🙂
I live but to serve 🙂
Nina
Your stories are so funny! I’m sure they weren’t at the time. We had mice our fifth month out. I was sure that was going to be the end of our rving but we persevered and are now going on four years.
Thanks for all the posting that you do. I learn something new from your blog all the time even though I don’t comment.
Those early incidents are some of the toughest since they really “test” your commitment to RVing. Glad to hear to kept going. 4 years is a fine time!
Nina
OMG, this is a hilarious and honest post! And it comes at a perfect time for us. We just made our biggest RVing boo-boo so far a couple of weeks ago — it took place in the dark in Anza Borrego SP, involved an enormous boulder, a hairpin turn, getting high-centered, and required the biggest wrecker on the planet to bail us out. Hence, we are in San Diego for a month while repairs take place. I’ve still been trying to find the words to blog about this incident.
Thanks for the great post, Nina. Readers do love True Confessions!
Whoah Laurel! That’s one epic tale of a blooper! I’m sure it’s still quite painful to talk about, but of course I want to hear it all LOL. Hope the repairs are painless, or at least as painless as such things can be.
Nina
Thanks a heap for the warning about Babler State Park! We’re from nearby Illinois, and our daughter lives in Creve Couer, MO. We’ve never stayed at Babler, but we drove through it in our toad and noted which sites we preferred since it’s pretty close to her house. I mean, we *know* lots of deer mean lots of ticks. We used to take our girls to Girl Scout camps near there and that involved a whole song and dance. (And the only person who ever got a tick bite was me…) But somehow Babler seemed safe to us. We’ll scratch it off our list and visit our kid safely while boondocking in the parking lot of a nearby casino! 🙂
Gail
I have to admit it’s a darn shame that Babler has such a big tick problem. It really is such a pretty park with such beautiful sites. I was never 100% sure it was there we picked up the ticks, but given Rusty & Kelly’s comment (especially the bit about their volunteer friend who contracted Lyme there) I think it likely was. Total bummer.
Nina
As an avid hiker in Florida, I had to laugh at “The Tick Incident”. I’ve been there and done that. This weekend we found that tick season is starting with a vengeance this year (probably because it’s been such a mild winter for us). I’m a big fan of Permethrin – it’s not perfect, but it’s probably the best thing out there for keeping ticks from making it past clothing.
I’ve heard a lot about Permethrin since our tick incident those years ago, and I have to agree I think it’s the best solution out there for clothing treatment. Thanks for bringing it up! It’s well worth the mention.
Nina
So funny….thanks for the laugh and making us realize we are the only ones with mishaps. We had a mosquito incident, ant incident, poop incident, boulder incident and malfunctioning carbon monoxide detector incident. We laugh about them now.
Ouch…malfunctioning carbon monoxide incident sounds downright dangerous! Poop incidents, while always incredibly funny after-the-fact (much, much later after-the-fact) are some of the most horrible to remember LOL.
Nina
Your Iowa experience brought a been-there-done-that smile to my face.
However, as a native Iowan, I feel it is my duty to defend our humble state. June is usually the worst month for mosquitoes, though near the big rivers, all bets are off. Mid-August is a great month to explore the central part of the state (though the humidity can be a killer). Especially the state fair, which, for years, boasted itself as the biggest in the country. I still consider it the best. Most times it’s mosquito free. 🙂 While you’re there, the state capitol is a must-visit. And though you might not think it, the sunsets are beautiful and seem to last forever. And let’s not forget the lightning bugs. It really is a slice of Americana.
Of course, a native guide is well-advised if you want to wander the endless miles of corn fields, plug your nose as you admire the factory farm hog confinements, and roll through the numerous tiny towns which may or may not still exist. (A little tongue-in-cheek. But really, just a little.)
There are many, many pretty parts to Iowa (I really enjoyed the Loess Hills) and we did enjoy the state, despite the mosquito craziness. I think our main problem was simply choosing the worst possible summer weather month to go. A month later, or a few months earlier and we’d probably have avoided the worst of the heat and bugs. One day we’ll make it back.
Nina
Reading through this post and the replies is a stroll down memory lane. Mice (Bri the cat turns out to be a good pointer), slide issues, frozen water filters (in Tucson no less),mechanical malfunctions, ants, mosquitos, fruit flies, holding tank issues, sewer hose malfunctions, hot water tank valve ruptures, yes, the list goes on. But life goes on, and we all continue to RV. Thank-you for sharing and being able to share the not quite so wonderful part of this life.
Our neighbors Hector & Brenda told us about their own “fruit fly” incident last night which had us all in stitches. Apparently they multiply like…well…fruit flies and in the plumbing too. Not so funny at the time, but very funny in retrospect.
Nina
Yes, the little beasties just seemed to keep on coming. I’m not sure whether we are rid of them or just waiting for the next hatching!
Who ever thought reading a travel blog would result in making my own shampoo, deodorant and lip balm with sunscreen – you are truly an inspiration! I use your blog as I used the library years ago, well not THAT many. For me Wheelingit is like a card catalogue to internet information on health and travel.
PS I was touched by the heartfelt blog post where you and Paul uncorked your special vintage wine.
So happy to hear this!! By the way would you be able to share the lip balm with sunscreen recipe? Sound intriguing!
Nina
I haven’t tried this yet but this is the recipe I’m taking for a test run:
1/4 c (2oz) sweet almond or coconut oil *sweet almond$
1/4 c (2oz) shea butter
1/4 c (2oz) bees wax
essential oil (I have lemon and orange)
zinc oxide 20% to oil solution (1oz=6t)
*you need to be careful about the zinc oxide – you want the kind that does not penetrate pores. Check out
soapgoods.com for more info. I ordered a POUND and would love to share OR wait until I construct my concoction and I’ll share a test sample. email me to discuss?
Cheers!
Nina
Ticks! Very bad! Lucky you were treated early. Thanks for your sharing and caring.
Yes, the exploding “Sleepless” number bed deserves a spot on “The List”. Cheers to “The Perfect Moment”. Hugs “In Memoriam” comment on May 1, 2012 if I remember…I peeked but may have the date wrong…
Yeah we were very lucky we caught the tick incident early. We never had any “bullseye” lesions, but the fever was a clear sign and prompted us to seek medical help.
And thanks for the hug.
Nina
Thanks for a good laugh!. Though we’ve lived in forested and desert areas for years, had “incidents” with the truck camper and vintage trailers, nothing struck terror into our hearts like the slide on the brand new Minnie not coming in all the way the very first time we put it back in (Dallas ice storm – some ice on the top of the slide kept it open a couple inches), or the leak in the slide of said trailer (again, caused by same ice melting). Happened one other time, but without the leak. And no leaks since. Whew!
Ice can be pretty nasty stuff in an RV. Glad to hear you’ve had no leaks since.
Nina
Loved your post Nina, and we could relate to quite a few of them. The best thing about these incidences is that they make great campfire stories. Our most unusual was when we lost our camper-trailer while we were driving, but didn’t notice for 5 miles!
I am one of those people who loves reading these ‘incident’ stories! I can relate with each one and of course have had many similar situations but thankfully, most have mostly been Jason’s fault 😉
Love this post. We’ve had a few minor experiences in our 5 years of rving and a near miss this past September when, on our second morning out (we travel for 6 months at a time, returning home for the summer) we were flagged down by another motorist as soon as we got on the interstate. We pulled over realizing something was wrong and I got out to check. Oops! Left the satellite dish up! That wouldn’t have made it under the overpass only a few yards ahead of were we stopped. Thank you fellow motorist for your act of kindness. My only defense was that it had been six months since I’d had to perform my usual “pack up to go” routine. I was much more careful after that.
We’ve also had numerous mice stowaways, but thankfully our cat does get them, leaving the tiny corpses for us to dispose of in the morning. The only rodent he didn’t manage to get was a kangaroo rat near Goblin Valley SP. We did get that out ourselves. Kitty was exhausted from that fight!
I’ve flagged down a few fellow RVers for stuff left up (usually TV antennas). I figure it’s good karma, coz I know one day we’ll manage to forget ourselves. Glad those folks saw your dish!
Nina
Great post about the struggles of depression and the virtues and benefits of being positive. I too fall in that camp and it wasn’t until I started blogging about fitness that I started creating a positive outlook.
Folks in the gym say to me all the time ‘you are always so positive’ I chuckle and say to myself, if they only knew!
Keep up the great work and as I learned some time ago, never let anyone or anything ‘rent space’ in your head!
G
Blogging, exercising and sharing positive vibes are definitely part of my own therapy. Depression is a beast you carry around for life, but all those positive feedback vibes (I liken them to doing exercise reps for your mind) squash it down. Total kudos to you for overcoming your own struggles and turning your life around to a healthy, positive path that you share with others!
Nina
What a hilarious true stories. We all have our own incidents. What is surprising is that our blog about being locked out in our RV still is the number 1 post to this day.
People love reading about bloopers. Quite funny that it’s still your #1 post 🙂
Nina