There are black cattle peppered over the surrounding fields. Moo-ing and munching and looking very pastoral. And there, close to the pond, one grass green cow. HUH?!
Later, I learned that the cows like to wade in the pond put there for drinking. The pond is rather deep and green pond plants float all over it's surface. If a cow has been submerged sufficiently, when it emerges it is covered with this green material. Sort of a life sized Chia Cow.
But back to the rig. She's an older gal - 15 years - and in remarkable shape. The inside is almost perfect. The carpeting in the living room and whatever was in the kitchen area have been replaced with hardwood parquet. I would prefer strips, but I'm content with the parquet. It needs a good waxing which it will get as soon as it's cooler.
The upholstery looks new. It's blue and brownish: acceptable although not to my taste. I will use throws in colours more to my liking. Eventually, I'll have the cushions re-upholstered but not any time soon. The cloth is repeated in the centre panels of the driver's and co-pilot's seats. The dinette cushions are navy and I want to replace these covers soon - too dark. And the fabric is velour which doesn't slide. Makes it really difficult for someone to slide into the inside position.
The bathroom is huge and the shower is almost as big as my shower at home. The shower has a big window which I will cover with some kind of translucent film. (bevelled glass or stained glass pattern ?) The floor is carpeted which must go ASAP.
The living room has two opposing couches. There is also, as mentioned above, a dinette. I think I will replace a couch or the dinette with a desk/workbench. Since there is very little counter space, it might be more workable to lose a couch. Opinions anyone?
We spent the morning going through the manuals and controls. And later at Wal*Mart shopping. I was a bit concerned when we got back with umpty-ump bags of stuff and groceries, but they disappeared into the cupboards barely touching the ample storage space. The freezer can best be described as "cozy". But the fridge is OK.
The heat was wearing me down. The A/C kept popping the circuit breaker so I was limited to a ceiling fan which just keeps the hot air moving. Better than nothing but not much. There are two additional small oscillating fans that are so loud they'd wake the dead. Pass on those.
Just enough time for a honey ham and Swiss cheese sandwich, (OK, OK, two sandwiches), a room temperature shower and bed.
Tuesday we go to the DMV to register the change in title. Gave the government computer conniptions over my lack of a valid Zip code. And paid $5.00 for a travel permit - no sales tax - goodie! Then off to fax all the required documentation to US Customs for the export of the rig. Long story short, this took about 4 hours. I won't bother you with the ugly details. It's a tale too horrible for your sensitive ears.
Tuesday AM Willie, (the seller), treats me to breakfast at a local diner she likes. I had scrambled eggs and biscuits so light they kept floating off the plate. It was heavenly. Willie had a biscuit with "gravy". The guy next to me at the bar had biscuits with "gravy". It was the worst looking stuff I've ever seen on a plate: glutinous off-white sauce with brown lumps in it.
Gravy should be a rich brown aromatic slightly runny sauce that fills the room with the scent of beef or pork or turkey or whatever. Nevertheless, these folks ate it with relish. But I found it difficult to watch.
Later that day I treated her to lunch at the restaurant of her choice. Back to the diner. And there on the menu, under sandwiches, I see BBQ. Not BBQ-ed something, just plain BBQ. Thinking back to a recent thread on an RVing newsgroup that went on and on about BBQ I decided to sample my first BBQ (not my first BBQ-ed something). I guess that makes me a qualified BBQ virgin. Sandwich comes with creamy coleslaw. Nirvana. Or maybe not.
The meat is what I'd call "pulled pork". It was mixed with what tasted like bottled hickory BBQ sauce and served on a grocery store hamburger bun. Oh well, there was still the coleslaw. Or maybe not.
Now hereabouts, creamy coleslaw is a simple pleasure: finely shredded cabbage, mayonnaise, salt and pepper: optionally with shredded carrot and or onion. This stuff had cabbage - I'm pretty sure - and some kind of dressing, largish black specks and an undertaste of something that had been sitting on the counter too long. Oh well. One meal out of two ain't bad.
Departure is scheduled for the morning, Wednesday. Tuesday night nothing that runs on gas um, runs. Both the gauge on the tank and the gauge inside read 1/2 and Willie wants to go to the RV dealer Wed morning. It can't be that both gauges are wrong. OK, if you say so.
We go to her regular shop and the owner checks the regulator and valves and opines that we're out of propane (no charge, nice folks). OK. Off we go to the propane place and buy 7.8 gallons: tank capacity (allowing for head room). Back home, drop off Willie, take some pictures, make some promises about writing etc and off I go. Heading back again. Oh boy!
Ginger
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