Day Three- Cuba Lake

June 21, 2013

Another early morning listening to a symphony of birds. From the start this trip was designed to be a “Shake Down Cruise” with several questions to answer. First and foremost, what state is the 10 year old RV in after 2 ½ years of storage. Which is reasonable but like all mechanical things it needs maintenance. Also is the issue that it was created in the analog age so both the TV’s need conversion to digit signals. Other than that we are still getting a feel for what is needed.

Beyond the basic operation of the bus there is another question which is a major part of the “Movin’ On” book. They went thru 4 different RV’s.. 28’ Class C, 34’ Class A Gas, 39’ Class A Diesel Pusher and then back to a 28’ Class C when the bought a house in Arizona after 10 years on the road Full-Time. To start they point out that the phrase RV is too vague as it is used for everything from a Pop-Up trailer to a high price Executive Motor Home. For my purposed this also include the aquatic branch of the family as what they come down to is something that you live in either full-time or occasionally that does have a foundation.

Key questions in deciding what sort of unit you need comes down to how what you are interested in doing. If you want to travel a lot and have several generations then even the biggest Motor Home is probably not the best choice. Right now we are not using a “dinghy” (a vehicle towed by the bus) because my Ford Ranger wouldn’t work for the 4 of us. But mommy driving a Ford Explorer is a great asset for visiting once the “house” is parked.

When I first bought this there was a fair amount of discussion with a couple that had just come back from a couple of years with a towed trailer. I wanted something that could be used as a movable apartment for work but at the same time tow a boat to regattas. In fact that didn’t turn out so well as most Yacht Clubs don’t have the space for a big RV.

Our current campground is a good microcosm. From our spot I can see 7 units

• Our 34’ Class A Motorhome
• Two 5th wheel trailers about 30’
• One is the “Camp Hosts” that stay in about 3 different campgrounds over the summer for about a month
• The other appears to be here for the season, or as long as the state park allows which I think is 30 days in PA
• A conventional towed trailer
• A slightly smaller towed trailer with pop-out bed annex’s at each end
•  VW camper – he was an over the road trucker and thought about a Class A but decided he was tired of big rigs.
• Tent

On the other side of the trees there about 15 sites that a slightly closer together and the spacious site we are in and they don’t have electricity. This are all tents with a mini-van or 2 and a lot bikes.

So what are we planning on doing and how does this unit fit those needs. As mentioned before this is a house on wheels.. it has:

• 3 A/C units – 2 on the roof plus the typical engine drive one
• a "complicated"
  refrigerator that runs on either A/C or LP and knows when to switch between them
• bedroom with a Queen Size bed, sliding door hanging closet, samller hanging closest over 2 drawers and about a dozen other storage areas… plus the bed hinges up for storage under it.
• in addition to the Refrigerator, the galley has a 3 burner propane stove, large micro wave oven with exhaust hood, 2 bowl stainless steel sink on a corian counter top. There are 3 large drawers and 2 cupboards
• the primary area includes the most comfortable sleep sofa I’ve every been on, a 4 seat dinette and  swiveling Lazy Boy Recliner that has a small work desk next to it.
• audio
  visual includes a 25” TV in the main area and a 18”TV in the bedroom. The radio is fairly standard automobile unit except it has a remote switch next to the bed to turn it off.

What would I want to change.

• Update the TV’s and Internet access to satellite, the fact is that even here in Pennsylvania connectivity  is nill… yes I want to get away from it all but still need to be able to touch base and use the internet from research and planning.
• Get the grandkids use to sleeping in a tent.. this will come with time.

Short-Range Plan - For the next 5 years or so I’d like to find a Sailing (not Yacht) Club in the northeast where we can expose the grandkids to life away from the Urban environments of Federal Hill and Delray Beach. It seems that both Cuba Lake and Seneca Lake are strong possibilities but I’d also like to look at something a little closer to the coast. My thought would be to use this bus as a camp/base at the perfect club so that I could support both the youth program and race management activities. However, like the retired truck driver next door, yesterday’s drive up here (when I was the middle of a sandwich between 2 big truck rigs) reminded me that for the longer term I’d want to find something that travels easier, gets better fuel economy and doesn’t separate the kids and the adults into separate vehicles..something along the lines of a 28’ Airstream trailer pulled by an E-250 would seem to make sense.

Well we made it to Cuba Lake YC and it is everything we were hoping. Parked the RV 50’ from the water with a view straight down the lake… big surprise was the kids jumping right in the lake which is a very shallow and gradual slope… Sophie was shivering and kept saying “I'MMMMMM NOTTTTTT COLDDDDD”

Nice dinner of Tortellini and salad… and a bottle of wine

But even better is the chance to Skype with Di, Liam,Juliana…. and then a call from Ian.