Day 2 - The Walmart Experience

Earthship Le Van Gogh 09.02.09

End of Day 1




Although I posted my blog this morning at 0700, I didn’t actually finally hit the road until about 1000. I’m so slow at getting ready to go and dumping waste and taking out the garbage and all that because the learning curve is still pretty high. It takes awhile to put things back that I’ve taken out for the evening and make sure that everything is secured tightly so nothing will fall and break. Even so, I know I’ll get better and faster as I get the routine down and I won’t be such a slow poke.

I set Miss Charmagne GPS Unit in her holder on the dashboard and turned her on. She immediately said, “turn right.” Since we were still parked in the KOA campsite I thought this was a bit premature. I stopped at Costco to gas up and I thought Miss Charmagne was going to get hysterical on me. She didn’t sound calm again until I was finally back on 101. Lord, woman, relax!

When I neared the ferry dock she repeated three times to “take the ferry.” Perhaps by then she didn’t trust me. I hope this isn’t so because a relationship such as we have is based on trust. I also noted that when we got off the ferry, to my right was a turnoff for US 5 but she insisted that I go straight. Huh. I was pretty sure that we were going to be on 5 but I went ahead with her plan. We took a very scenic and pretty route through the little town and eventually came out to, surprise! Yet another turnoff for US 5! This time she allowed me to take it and I headed to 5 N. She relaxed for awhile until I came to the final turnoff and when I got to the intersection for the street where Walmart was located, she announced that I had reached my destination. Mind you, I’m still waiting for the light to turn so I can go right but she had nothing else to say. I’d call this just a wee bit inadequate but I could see the Walmart from the intersection so I was cool. I wonder just how more precise I can get with the directions I can give her when the address has been fed into her destination. Interesting…

Oh, when I was boarding the ferry, I met this nice man who was directing me down to the bottom deck in the middle. When I was close enough to the car in front of me, he put his hand up to stop me and with the sunlight shining into the van he was able to see inside. He looked at me and I smiled and he got this delighted grin on his face and walked over to my window. I rolled it down and he said, “I really like your van!”

“Thanks,” I replied. “I’m taking it on a tour of America.”

“Wow!“ he said. His grin got even wider and he asked me if I had room for one more. I laughed and said no, there was just enough room for me and two kitties.

“Well, I hope you have a really great time!” he said with a laugh.

“Thanks again, “ I said and off he went to direct the next car.

What a sweet man and a great smile! And a nice farewell (only for awhile) to the north peninsula.

When I was all parked and set up, I grabbed my frozen food bag and walked about a mile down the road to a little roadside vegetable stand. I gathered fruit and veggies for the day (not much room for more than that), paid, and walked back, uphill all the way. Good workout! And lord, did I need it after no regular walking for the past three weeks. My back felt better for it and it was nice to get out and see the sun and exercise my body. And now I’m ready to lie down. Aaaaahhhhh.

The kitties are getting used to the routine and have settled down amazingly. Right now Fluffbutt and Chopper are both up and exploring with a lot of looking through the front windows of the van. They’ll be back for a lengthy petting and cuddling session but they both seem to be happy with the whole thing. I’ve taken them outside once when I was still at Denise and Gene’s and I’ll take them out again tomorrow when I reach the next destination - a campground in Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho. I’ve decided that while dry camping is certainly much cheaper, I do love that electricity, you know? That and the holding tanks will have to be dumped again. Sigh.

Until tomorrow and sweet dreams to all!

Lessons Learned:

That 9 gallon and 11 gallon black and grey holding tanks fill up pretty quickly.

That I drink a lot of water, as do the kitties, from my 18 gallon fresh water tank. Among other things.

You do the math.

That I need a bigger wrench to take the sewer cap off.

That I need a different cap and coupling for the sewer hose to connect tightly with campground dump stations.

That it was kind of messy because I didn‘t have the right kind.

That spillage stinks a lot.

Bleh.

That I’m sure glad I have antimicrobial cleansing agents.

That I need to buy gloves to wear when I empty the tanks.

That whenever the possibility arises, I should use someone else’s toilet.

That I'm glad I don't need to do this every day.

That I’m very glad that Fluffbutt and Chopper didn’t get seasick on the ferry ride from Kingston to Edmonds.

That I give thanks every day that I’ve never been seasick.

That even though I respectfully requested permission to park overnight as suggested by other RV‘ers, the nice lady told me that I didn’t have to ask. Just make sure I park all the way at the very end and that I would be gone by tomorrow night. Otherwise I’d get towed.

That I’m feeling just a wee bit like a leper.

That when I parked there were only two other campers but when I woke up at 0100 I was surrounded by two big honking campers.

That it’s nice to have company.

That I’m glad that I didn’t park any closer to the guy running his noisy generator.

That I should wear something to bed that I can go outside in because Security will knock on my door and check out who I am.

That I’m honest and law abiding and all that and that I promise to be gone within 24 hours. Really.

That now I’m not only feeling like a leper, but a homeless transient person to boot.

And finally that this is a whole lot of fun, dumping mishaps and psychological twinges aside!

Until tomorrow...