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Borrego Springs, CA

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

All’s well that ends well

It wasn’t exactly an uneventful 217 mile drive yesterday from Acworth, GA, to Cordell Hull Lake, TN.  I didn’t get on the road until 11:00 (very late for me) due to more rain pouring down.  The drive to Chattanooga went smoothly.  That’s where I headed off for over 100 miles onto some of those ‘blue roads’ that many others are fond of.  Me, not so much.  It was quite scenic, but the curvy, windy, steep graded roads didn’t afford me much time to enjoy the scenery. 

It was on one of those curvy grades that a great crashing sound made me jump in my seat.  Good thing no one sits in the copilot’s seat, or their arm might have been broken as the entire MCD shade mechanism fell down.  Uf-duh!  Then, five minutes later on another curve there was another crashing sound.  This time it turned out to be my pots and pans drawer flying open and spewing out its content.  It’s not like I was recklessly driving those curves either, as the folks in line behind me could attest to. 

As a counterpoint to my white knuckle drive, I stopped at a little local gas station that I could easily get into and out of to fill up.  The lady working inside said she already set the pump to just go as soon as I drove up.  I knew I’d need almost $200 in gas, so that was really appreciated.  As I went to pay, a local gentleman asked me if I wanted to see the two groundhogs he had just trapped.  “Uh, no thank you.”  I was sorry to disappoint him, but when I’m in travel mode over nerve wracking roads I’m too wired to enjoy the moment.  Guess I should work on that.

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After some nasty turns on really skinny roads in a little town, I eventually found myself in the middle of nowhere.

 

Thankfully, the sign I was looking for appeared and I let out a great sigh of relief.  It turned out no one was on duty on Tuesdays, so I had to try to find site #135 on my own.  I sure would have liked a map to look at. 

 

Obviously I found the site and backed in without too much trouble.  Sadly, I had no cell phone service, no internet reception, and after four hours of trying to set up the DISH, no TV. 

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On the bright side, this is the view from my rocker.  After another couple of hours of trying to get DISH reception today, I settled on only getting satellite 110. I gave up on finding 119.

Some folks have asked about my trucker’s antenna and amplifier, so here’s the jury-rig I did today.  Normally I put the bottom extension ladder on and Velcro the pole to the ladder.  Today I had to improvise as there is a steep drop-off at the end of the rig and there is no way I can put the ladder extension on.  My Blue Ox hitch for the toad was at shoulder height for me.  Instead, I crawled under the motor grid and used Velcro to hold the pole there.

Inside, the amplifier is attached to the inside of a cabinet below the entertainment center. 

 

I snake the inside antenna and wire to a convenient location by the window on my dining table.  I put my aircard on top of it.  I still wasn’t receiving any signal, but noticed that the two green lights on the amplifier were red instead.  I figured out that it was caused by a poor connection at the back and fixed that.  Took me until tonight to figure that out.  So now I have roaming coverage, and will try to publish this post.  I doubt I’ll be able to keep up on the blogs I like to read for the next week since Sprint is being a pain about my unlimited roaming coverage. 

So, I sort of have TV, and sort of have internet.  It’s amazing to me how it picked up my spirits so when my connectivity was partially restored to me.  When I was working, a week away from everything was heaven on vacation, but I’m not on vacation; this is my life.

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

PS.  I obviously can’t post any pictures, so I had to remove them.

29 comments:

  1. Judy, I see two beautiful pictures. Glad the shade didn't hit you. It's always upsetting when things let go as you are driving.

    http://travelinglongdogs.blogspot.com

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  2. Glad you survived today's adventure and finally, after much perseverance were able to get your umbilical to the world up and running.

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  3. Sorry you had such a trying day. But you are in a beautiful spot and I hope tomorrow will be better.

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  4. I well know about being wired when in travel mode. Also the frustration of setting up electronic communication & entertainment devices. Also know that great feeling when problems are finally solved & all the devices are up & running again. Pretty darn nice feeling allright:))

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  5. We are still trying to decide an answer to our internet on the road, seems there is no one size fits all, and so there are a lot of dead spots. The Lake where I camp is like that as you pass through the gate, cell service ends and no wi-fi. Glad to hear you made it with only minor interruptions.Be safe out there, Sam & Donna...

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  6. I think that is why I have tried to not get too dependant on electronics...I don't want the anxiety of not being able to connect. I give you lots of credit for going it alone...

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  7. Ooops ... I hear you on those winding curves. Didn't have any mishaps of your kind, but there was one short segment on our Smokies trip that was a little nerve wracking for me.

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  8. I'm glad everything turned out well for you. I know people do it all the time, but I'm a little fearful of trying to drive a big Class A. Beautiful site where you are parked.

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  9. Glad you made it safely, even if you don't have all the necessities. Having something crash when you can't get up to check it out must be scary. The last time we traveled, I mentioned to Al " I don't know how Judy does it by herself." It takes both of us and we're still wired on travel day.

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  10. We can do without TV but, oh my, take my internet away and I feel as if I've lost an arm! We must start researching wifi booster for the computers! Suddenly so much to do!

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  11. I don't like driving those kinds of curvy roads in the car never mind a MH. Glad your settled in and the pictures are so beautiful.

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  12. You made Dennis very proud...a true McGyvress in the making!..We had a place just like that in Arkansas once..had to drive 5 miles out of the park to get cell phone reception, but McGyver did find a TV satellite...Enjoy the boondocks..there aren't a lot of them left.

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  14. glad you landed safely, albeit with a few things 'crashing down around you'..enjoy the peace and quiet!!

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  15. We were driving a blue road in Utah and it was just too much for Jim right now, especially with the boat behind us. So I sent us over to the interstate and it's been much easier on him physically and on me mentally. I liked your last statement about being connected. When on vacation it was okay to be without internet and TV. But since this is our life - I need to be connected.

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  16. Beautiful place Judy. Glad the white knuckle getting there is over. Even that beautiful, I'm not sure I should put it on my list unless I'm tent camping. :-) I too find that on the blue highways I sometimes cannot enjoy the scenery for watching the narrow roads and small town lanes with parking on the edges. On the interstate at least you can just get in the right hand lane and let everyone pass you if you like.

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  17. Glad you have arrived safely. . .and we are with you on being connected. . .a necessity of the life we live! Enjoy your week. . .

    Janice
    ReadyToGoFullTimeRVing.blogspot.com

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  18. What a stress filled drive. Who wants to see trapped groundhogs anyway? Getting an Internet connection is almost like a life saving blood transfusion.

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  19. Hope that kind of day isn't repeated for you anytime soon. Glad you're settled in safely with at least some kind of internet and entertainment connection.

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  20. Our driver side MCD shade fell half down once. Dave had to hold up one end while driving. I'm sorry you had to experience that but glad no one was hurt.

    I can no longer live without internet. Sad but true.

    Glad you are safely parked now.

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  21. Judy,

    Send a link to this post to MCD. They need to know what happened. Those blinds should not come loose.

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  22. Hope the next drive goes easier:) How could you pass up those ground hogs:)

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  23. I'll just imagine all the beautiful pictures you took while driving down that twisty, curvy road at breakneck (breakdish) speeds. ;c)

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  24. We are point a to point b travelers when towing. We also like to be connected every step of the way.

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  25. I know what you mean, I hate not being connected. :(

    Beautiful view!

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  26. Hope you are enjoying my neck of the woods...if you need anything...my name is Lisa Hembree...and I'm about 20 miles from you...in Carthage...Cordell had a home here...give me a call if I can help you in any way...615-418-5229

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  27. I couldn't agree more with this sentence.

    When I was working, a week away from everything was heaven on vacation, but I’m not on vacation; this is my life.

    We have the first free wifi since entering Canada 14 days ago and I REALLY LIKE IT. Verizon broadband in Canada is $25 for 100 MB.

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