Raven’s RV
The ongoing education and adventures of two rank newbie RVers

Let’s assume, just for a moment, that we can stay online long enough to post this. ;)

You would not believe the violence of the rain storm we are currently in.

The water is flooding off the awning, and the pressure changes are weirding me out. The sky is thick with rain, the sun is hidden (and it’s almost sunset, anyway) and all over us hangs a big green dark splodge (that’s if you’re looking at the radar).

The chance of rain? 100%.

In two days’ time we have to be down south a ways so that I can go to an appointment I can’t miss. We were hoping to leave today, but it’s outright dangerous to travel in rain like this. I’m a little…concerned.

I was wondering, is anybody else out there physically affected by the weather? I don’t mean the blues that come with clouded days and rain, but a sense of buzzing and inability to concentrate from the pressure switches and constant noise?

Uh-oh, it’s speeding up again, time to hit “publish.” The rain keeps knocking out our satellite connection.

For a while back there we were filling our bird feeder, and the birds were getting the hang of it. Then one day I left the seed out. And the jays found it, pecked a hole, and had one heck of a party. ;)

It’s weird, the sense of nostalgia that accompanies places we’ve been before. This is Redding RV Park, and you can see how close it is to the freeway. Yet the views are lovely, and the road is really not a distraction at all.

There’s a rumor going around that the sun came up today, but I never saw it. Mid afternoon, we had a tiny break in the rain, so I used it to go and marvel at the puddles, sogginess, even slight mud. The earth here is sandy and thus water drains away…unless it’s saturated. Then, it takes a while longer. The smell outdoors is fresh, pleasing, with strong hints of pine.

I just looked at the forecast and see that there is a 90% chance of precipitation, tonight, maybe even thunderstorms! When the rain is finished, all the pine cones fall off. It’s amusing to watch the cats trying to figure that one out.

Alas, there will be no break in the weather, no fully dry day, until at least next Wednesday.

So, I continue with my programming, which is progressing, and reading, which is welcome, and hope we don’t go too stir-crazy, these next few days. ;)

I think it stopped raining for about half an hour yesterday. The sun came out and I ran out looking for a rainbow to no avail. Now I can hear it hissing against the roof and I know it’s settled in: It’s going to be a wet, long few days.

Still, it will be fun to experience a real winter (I may be changing my mind about that shortly) and if all else fails I can pick one of the San Antonio Realtors and figure out a winter pad.;) I hear that many RVers flock south for the winter, but we don’t really like the crowds.

Seriously, though, you can find certified expert realtors in San Antonio and other locations at this link. Meanwhile, I actually love the sound of the rain, though I have this funny feeling it will get old by March or so. :-P

Some people have more toys than us. ;)

We followed this toy hauler for a while. A toy hauler would have been ideal for us, but none were within price range (and we didn’t want a trailer). But I always kind of wonder what toys are inside when I see one.

Maybe that should be snugness…

We spent our last dry afternoon entertaining a friend of Kerry’s, Gavin. We got in some pizza and sat outdoors, chatting, watching the sky get more and more gray and feeling the temperature drop. When the first rain started to fall, awning or no awning, the party broke up and we went indoors. That was around four, it’s around eight now, and it has been pouring ever since. About ten minutes ago the power went out. (more…)

The cats are bouncing off the walls, fighting. Outside, it’s deeply overcast, the beginning of a strong rain system that is supposed to last through the weekend. I think our lovely afternoons of sitting in the sunshine are over!

I am unsettled as well, finding it hard to focus on anything. I’m a bit of a human barometer, but there are one or two other things going on as well, not least that I managed to break my beautiful search program…humph.

I have learned that when dealing with incredibly complex code, it’s a good idea to test that it still works after every change. I think the easiest thing will be if I just start from scratch, make the basic changes that need making, then work on the refinements some other time. It’s still disappointing, though. (more…)

Car repairs. Aren’t they just the pits? Not everyone is married to a mechanic, and for some even the changing of a brake pad is a challenge (looks at self). Small wonder then that people look for extended warranties… the manufacturer’s warranties only go so far, and we all know that the minute they expire something expensive will occur. (This is because Murphy’s Law and warranties for anything, be it cars, computers or cameras, walk hand in hand.)

Enter us fidelis. Their specialty is custom built warranties for vehicles up to 20 years old and 200,000 miles. That’s not too shabby, given that the average warranty is something like three years!

US Fidelis will work with you to see what’s out there and tailor the policy to your specific needs and wants. They have access to hundreds of plans and pick from those to give you the best possible service. If something goes wrong you can look forward, in most cases, to having a replacement rental, towing, and payment plans.

Do they do RV warranties? Oh yes indeed they do!

So, if you are mechanically challenged, or just hate working on vehicles (and I guess, these days, it is often impossible to do so because they are so computer-oriented)…this may be something to look into. Have fun!

We came into Redding yesterday with a view to getting a better price on propane, and stocking up on some other things too. I knew we could get propane at the campground where we’d stayed at before, so we headed over that way. As we arrived, Don spotted a muffler/welding shop and pulled over to see if they’d weld the bracket that holds the generator firmly in place (or used to).

While he did that I called the park and found out they’d closed minutes before, primarily due to these reasons: (1) We didn’t leave home until 3pm (2) Redding’s road layout SUCKS (3) We didn’t have a map (or do, but couldn’t find it) and the GPS didn’t have the roads we needed marked. (more…)