Down to Hours!

Location: Catskill, NY (High 47, Low 37)

To say there’s a little excitement around here is an understatement. Tomorrow is departure day!! And the weather looks decent – tomorrow, and for the rest of our trip this week. If all goes well, we will be heading out tomorrow morning for PA. By the end of the week, we will be stopping in South Carolina for a little over a week. Just looked at the long range forecast for South Carolina, and those highs and lows look…oh, so nice!!

Yesterday was a bit more low key. We stopped over to my sister’s for a quick visit, and Harry took the pressure pro sensors off the tires before our trip for service today. We were going to try to sell the car before we left, but decided not to cram one more thing into this few days. So we left the car at my sister’s office and took the plates off. We will sell it this summer when we get back here.

We also had a nice visit and lunch with our friends Greg and Beth, who we met through the Heartland Owners Club. The picture was taken with my phone and it came out a little blurry for some reason. Thanks for a fun time guys!

Today we have a bunch of errands to run in Albany. Harry is enjoying the thought this morning that he doesn’t have to go to work, but we are still getting going at the same time. We are both looking forward to being down in South Carolina and having some time to relax and hang out! Won’t be long now!!

We leave TOMORROW!!

A Fun Day

Location: Catskill, NY (High 44, Low 36)

Yesterday was the occasion of our delayed Christmas celebration in MA.

We had fun opening our gifts, and then playing with our little guy for a few hours.

 

Schaun is at the age where he does not like to have pictures taken, so I had to sneak a few when he wasn’t looking.

We had a great time, but it was too short. We are looking forward to being able to stay nearby for a longer period of time next summer when we get back up here.

The only part of the day that wasn’t so great was the driving. It was foggy the whole day in both directions. This was the view we had. Luckily most of the time it wasn’t a close fog, so we could at least see in front of the car. But still, not a fun traveling day.

I checked the weather for our travels this week, and it looks good. I’ve had a few comments about hanging loose, not setting up a schedule…that will come! When we get down south. Right now, we want to get things done and get out of the icebox – before it gets out of the defrost cycle we’re currently in!!

TWO days left (or One day and Twenty some odd hours)!!

One Month

Location: Catskill, NY (High 38, Low 23)

It was one month ago today that we packed up our fiver and pulled out of the driveway for the final time. We have made it through a month of winter temps, and two snowstorms. The only time that I really found challenging was when our temperatures went below zero, mostly because of the frozen water line. Our fiver really does hold the heat very well. But, we are still looking forward to getting somewhere where the weather is warmer and the sun is shining. And, judging by our weather forecast for later next week, we are getting out of here in the nick of time.

Harry’s last day of work went great – although he said he was bored. Guess he didn’t have too much to do, go figure! It’s over now though, and he is on vacation/retirement.

We are definitely planning to leave Tuesday. Weather looks good, and it will still be relatively warm then. Monday will be our running around day. I have a list of last minute things we need to get done, and Harry has scheduled an oil change for the truck. I have excitement butterflies in my stomach. This is IT!

Two days….21 hours….to takeoff!!!

Unofficially Retired

Location: Catskill, NY (High 43, Low 26)

As of today, Harry will be not quite retired, but done with work. His official retirement date is about one month away, as Harry hits that magic age on February 8th. However, we are lucky that Harry still has some vacation time and personal time to use up, so he will be using that over the next month, so that we can head for someplace warm sooner rather than later.

Last night was another get-together, as we met some former coworkers of Harry’s for dinner. We had a lot of fun listening to stories as the guys reminisced about the old days.

We have a busy weekend coming up. Tomorrow we are heading to MA for our postponed Christmas celebration. Although we are sorry that we missed the actual holiday due to our car troubles a couple weeks ago, the weather is going to be so much nicer tomorrow – almost 50 degrees! Should be a great day for a road trip. Then on Sunday, we are meeting some friends (fellow Heartland rv owners) for lunch and some chatting. So we are looking forward to a fun weekend!

As of right now, we are still planning on leaving on Tuesday. I have been watching the weather, and we contemplated changing the date. But the chances of precip. have gone back down to only 30% and the temps look decent, so if it stays like that we will probably stick with our original plan.

Harry now has ten hours left until he is DONE with work…and at this point…we have three days and some odd hours now until we get wheels on the road.

Windy Night

Location: Catskill, NY (High 43, Low 15)

I have figured out one thing that I like less in our fiver – wind! Last night was a night of gusty winds, and we kept waking up throughout the night. We can hear it flapping the slide toppers, and feel a little movement of the slide when the hardest gusts hit. Not fun. We even lost power for a couple minutes, but it came right back on. The winds are supposed to calm this morning, and I will be glad!

We have been enjoying our nice balmy days. We are hoping that the ice that was on the roof will be all melted away by the time we hit the road on Tuesday.

Harry has only two more days to work. He has been spending his week doing odds and ends, and his boss checked in with him yesterday, wanting to make sure that everything he does has been parceled out to someone else. He already cleaned out his desk, so tomorrow he will just have to put on his coat and walk out for one last time.

Only four more days and some hours until we get our tires on the road and start searching out some warmer weather. We are almost there!

Ticking Down

Location: Catskill, NY (High 39, Low 10)

Our winter stay up here in NY is almost at an end. We have only a few days left. So far the long range forecast is looking pretty good. I went ahead yesterday and set up our first stay…at Twin Grove Campground in Pine Grove, PA. Our trip to PA will be about four and a half hours, so not too bad. Check-in time begins at 3 pm, so that will give us a lot of prep time in the morning. We will probably aim to leave around 10:30.

Today marks four weeks that we have been at the campground. We had a few mechanical issues while we were here, but other than that, we feel like we have settled in very easily. The only thing missing is being able to get out and walk or get some other sort of exercise. We are hoping to be able to rectify that situation once we get somewhere warmer.

I did a load of laundry yesterday, and for me, I think that was one of the best additions we made. I love being able to throw in a small load and not have to think about finding a laundromat and carting all our stuff there. I have had great luck so far with not having wrinkly clothes (except for one load) – and I think I have learned the trick – keep it small and get it out right away.

Harry is on his way to work – he has 22.5 hours left!! We hit that road outta here in FIVE days!!

January Thaw

Location: Catskill, NY (High 37, Low 15)

I don’t know if this happens everywhere, but most winters up here in upstate NY, we have what’s called a January thaw. It’s usually just a short respite of mild weather before the real cold comes in! But we are extremely lucky this year that it looks like it’s going to be the weather we experience our last week before we get the heck out of the icebox! Today for instance…our average high is 30 degrees, but we are going to have a balmy 42 instead. Sounds awesome to me.

After checking out the weather forecast for our route for next week, we will definitely be leaving on Tuesday, going as far as our first stop in Pennsylvania, where we will stay on Wednesday for what looks to be some rain, and then continue on the next leg on Thursday. Our first two days will be long driving days for us – of 5, 6 hours. That’s about as long as we can do with the “kids”.

So far this has been a week of eating out, dinners with friends before we head south for a few months. Last night was another one, at a restaurant in Albany. And I am very happy that I have not gained a pound back.

 

Just about time for Harry to head to work for his last working Tuesday…and six days until we hit the road!!