Frank & Rene
We will be on the road as of November 2012
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Day 1 - Stopped for the night!
Up at 5 and on the road at 6! We are now quite exhausted after exiting Long Island and managing the traffic on the busy I-95 corridor and around the DC area! We will finish this first leg tomorrow in Wilmington, NC at my daughter's house and we will see Baby Sofia for the first time:-)
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
SURVIVING SUPER STORM SANDY
Rene and I had left Nickerson Beach Campground for good right after our Columbus Day weekend Halloween event. We had spent the entire 2012 Season there, but we had to bring the RV in for service in preparation for our departure in November for the start of our Alaska Road Trip. It was in the shop for two weeks and we got it back the Friday before Super Storm Sandy was suppose to hit Long Island. We were happy that it was back with us, as it was parked in my Dad's driveway where it was away from any large trees!
When Sandy hit on Monday night we lost power and didn't get it back for 12 days. Lucky for us that was the worst of it. Dad's house only sustained some minor damage to a rain gutter, which we immediately repaired after the storm passed. However, the heavy wet snow from the Nor'easter the following week damaged his Dogwood trees in the front of the house. (See Photos of the snow storm.) We gave them a severe pruning and they should return to good health in the Spring. Oh and you missed all the fun you could've had helping us remove a foot of heavy wet snow from the roof of the RV!
The neighbor down the block had his RV parked in his driveway next to the house and was not so lucky with the strong winds. A large tree was blown over from an adjoining yard landing on the RV and the house causing serious damage to both. I wanted to go over and take a picture of it to have for the blog, but I felt that would only ad insult to injury. (See photos of my Dad's neighborhood and you will get the idea.)
The Lido Beach / Long Beach area was hit pretty hard with a multitude of damage to its 2.2 mile Boardwalk, businesses and residential properties. The Nickerson Beach main parking lot is being used as a temporary dump site for debris cleanup. (See Photo of the beach parking lot.) The Campground appears to have survived, although it had been evacuated prior to Sandy's arrival. The only thing between the campground and the Atlantic Ocean is a very long beach and a very large sand dune. The beach goers complain all Summer about the long walk to the water, but that is what probably saved the Park from major destruction.
I sold my 2004 Dodge Dakota pickup, since it was going to sit for a year in the driveway while we were away, and used that money to fund the repairs that needed to be done to the RV before hitting the road. Here's a few of the things we had done for the trip: New tires, New shocks, New ball joints, Front wheel alignment, New rear brakes, New steering damper, New Banks Trans-Command module, Engine tune-up, Oil change, Tranny Service with new synthetic fluid, Rear end service with new synthetic gear oil, Broken bolt repaired on exhaust manifold and Non working tail light repaired. Oh and a New York State Inspection! I think that is about it. Needless to say, there was no money left over from the sale of the truck!
We also had a number of things that we did ourselves recently that involved cleaning, sanding, scraping, sealing and painting on the outside. We are still working on getting some wax on the entire RV! Does anyone want to come over and help! I didn't think so! But that doesn't include other things that were done on the interior over the last year. We installed a new microwave, new roll up shades, changed some of the valance material, added new curtains, new cab over cushions, a new kitchen faucet, new vinyl flooring everywhere except the bedroom where we replaced the carpeting! Outside we installed a Go Power 95 watt solar panel kit, 2 MaxxAir vent covers and 4 MaxxAir window vents. Also cleaned and resealed the rubber roof!
Last, but not least, today we had a new Kenwood Stereo installed with an ipod jack to bring the sound system up to date, along with a couple of new door speakers. We replaced the old AM/FM Cassette player that came with the RV back in 1994. Anyone want some old cassette tapes? Believe it or not, we still have a few items left on our "To Do" list, but most are just cosmetic, except for the "Trouble Shoot the Tank Sensors"! The Grey Water sensor works, but the Black and Fresh Water do not! We will just have to work on it along the way as we are scheduled to depart on November 17, just a few days from now! Can't wait for our "Endless Adventure" to continue!
FP & RG
When Sandy hit on Monday night we lost power and didn't get it back for 12 days. Lucky for us that was the worst of it. Dad's house only sustained some minor damage to a rain gutter, which we immediately repaired after the storm passed. However, the heavy wet snow from the Nor'easter the following week damaged his Dogwood trees in the front of the house. (See Photos of the snow storm.) We gave them a severe pruning and they should return to good health in the Spring. Oh and you missed all the fun you could've had helping us remove a foot of heavy wet snow from the roof of the RV!
The neighbor down the block had his RV parked in his driveway next to the house and was not so lucky with the strong winds. A large tree was blown over from an adjoining yard landing on the RV and the house causing serious damage to both. I wanted to go over and take a picture of it to have for the blog, but I felt that would only ad insult to injury. (See photos of my Dad's neighborhood and you will get the idea.)
The Lido Beach / Long Beach area was hit pretty hard with a multitude of damage to its 2.2 mile Boardwalk, businesses and residential properties. The Nickerson Beach main parking lot is being used as a temporary dump site for debris cleanup. (See Photo of the beach parking lot.) The Campground appears to have survived, although it had been evacuated prior to Sandy's arrival. The only thing between the campground and the Atlantic Ocean is a very long beach and a very large sand dune. The beach goers complain all Summer about the long walk to the water, but that is what probably saved the Park from major destruction.
I sold my 2004 Dodge Dakota pickup, since it was going to sit for a year in the driveway while we were away, and used that money to fund the repairs that needed to be done to the RV before hitting the road. Here's a few of the things we had done for the trip: New tires, New shocks, New ball joints, Front wheel alignment, New rear brakes, New steering damper, New Banks Trans-Command module, Engine tune-up, Oil change, Tranny Service with new synthetic fluid, Rear end service with new synthetic gear oil, Broken bolt repaired on exhaust manifold and Non working tail light repaired. Oh and a New York State Inspection! I think that is about it. Needless to say, there was no money left over from the sale of the truck!
We also had a number of things that we did ourselves recently that involved cleaning, sanding, scraping, sealing and painting on the outside. We are still working on getting some wax on the entire RV! Does anyone want to come over and help! I didn't think so! But that doesn't include other things that were done on the interior over the last year. We installed a new microwave, new roll up shades, changed some of the valance material, added new curtains, new cab over cushions, a new kitchen faucet, new vinyl flooring everywhere except the bedroom where we replaced the carpeting! Outside we installed a Go Power 95 watt solar panel kit, 2 MaxxAir vent covers and 4 MaxxAir window vents. Also cleaned and resealed the rubber roof!
Last, but not least, today we had a new Kenwood Stereo installed with an ipod jack to bring the sound system up to date, along with a couple of new door speakers. We replaced the old AM/FM Cassette player that came with the RV back in 1994. Anyone want some old cassette tapes? Believe it or not, we still have a few items left on our "To Do" list, but most are just cosmetic, except for the "Trouble Shoot the Tank Sensors"! The Grey Water sensor works, but the Black and Fresh Water do not! We will just have to work on it along the way as we are scheduled to depart on November 17, just a few days from now! Can't wait for our "Endless Adventure" to continue!
FP & RG
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