Month: November 2020

I need an attitude adjustment. Betty & I arrived at our winter campsite two weeks ago, and it’s a great spot! More like a provincial or state park than a private campground, our site (#191) is large, quiet and private. Tall trees and shrubs border our angled site, with neighbouring RVs on staggered lots, rather than on top of each other in a grid pattern. So what’s my problem?

Before I share my problem(s), let me relate how we got here.

So what’s the problem? This is where Betty says I need an attitude adjustment…

The title of this post could have been:

RELENTLESS RAIN

or

ACHING ARTHRITIS

or

CORONAVIRUS CONTINUES

or

DEPRESSING DARKNESS.

Our overlandish odyssey has taken us to 39 states and 9 provinces so far, with all having advantages and disadvantages. On Vancouver Island, Betty & I love that the temperature rarely drops below freezing, and snow is not a common sight. But the rain…

I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis last summer, and a rheumatologist in Winnipeg has been testing which medications are effective for me. Unfortunately, the meds I am currently taking are not working, and the damp climate is making any movement much worse. I will be unable to attend my next appointment with her in early January, due to the Coronavirus.

Ah yes, the Coronavirus. While we are sufficiently sheltered in our campsite, Betty & I have watched with consternation the continued growth of this pandemic. Months ago we booked flights back to Winnipeg for Christmas, but have now just informed our kids and grandkids that we will not be joining them this year. Likewise, we have not been getting together with friends and acquaintances on Vancouver Island, and it feels sad to have to maintain this level of isolation. But we know it’s short-term pain for long-term gain.

Finally – although I’m sure I could go on and on, but who would want to listen when there are far worse troubles in the world – the depressing darkness. As with the rest of Canada, we are approaching the shortest day of the year. The sun rises late and sets early, but because of the majestic tall trees around us, it rarely reaches our site. The lights are on in our motorhome for most of the day, but it’s not the same as experiencing the consistent sunlight we had in Arizona last winter!

OK, that’s enough belly aching. I’m sure I’ll get used to the rain; find a better treatment for my sore joints; celebrate a COVID-19 vaccine; and enjoy the lengthening days after December 21.

In the meantime, Betty will still be encouraging my attitude adjustment. Wish her well as she practices patience in putting up with her curmudgeon husband!

Cheers!

This post can be seen as an addendum to the last whine with its list of alternative alliterative titles. If you don’t like whine, please feel free to stop reading now. LOL

We all have good days & bad days. Sometimes it’s good weeks/ months/ years and bad weeks/ months/ years. It’s all relative, but it seems like 2020 has been a uniquely bad year as a result of the ongoing coronavirus. And for us, it sure seems the past few weeks have brought more than their fair share of frustrating little fixes.  Here are a few of the almost daily repairs:

• When we attempted to leave Rathtrevor Beach Provincial Park, one of our rear automatic levelers wouldn’t retract. A mobile RV repair tech got us back on the road three days later, and we now have four new solenoids to install the next time this issue arises.  ($175. for service call, $260. for 4 solenoids (incl. shipping, taxes & duties) and $120. for an additional 3 nights in the campground.)
• One of our Smart headlights burned out & needed replacing. ($40.)
• One of our Smart TireMinder tpms sensors broke off – somewhere on the road. It is surprising that the remaining broken tire valve held air until I could get to a tire store for repairs. (The valve stem replacement was $50., and the tpms replacement was another $50.)
• Our heated winter water hose sprung a leak, as a result of high water pressure in our campground. I have since installed a water regulator, & hope to have repaired the hose. ($20. for new hose end & adaptor. If I had to replace the hose, it would be another $150.)
• While not technically a “repair”, Telus informed us that we had each used up our 15G of data, at least a week prior to the end of our billing cycle. While we are not usually high data users, we had been researching local outlets needed on our travels. I added another 3G, but somehow it disappeared in two days. As a result, I was unable to update our blog until yesterday, when our new monthly cycle began.
• Living Forest ran out of rental propane tanks (there is no mobile propane fill-up for motorhomes in the park), so we had to order a 100 lb. tank from Rona, and are still waiting for it to be delivered. ($200. for new tank) 
• Our repaired windshield wiper still needs an adjustment to prevent it from running off the window and then slapping back on. If this continues, I’m sure something is going to break!
• Since we got new front brakes installed in Penticton, we have had a vibration from our front left tire. I now have an appointment at a Nanaimo tire store for March 31/21 to have it diagnosed and repaired.

Those are just a few of the grinding little daily issues from the past few weeks. I know all of these pale in comparison to what others are going through, so that’s enough whining for now. Time to switch over to the other kind of wine! Hope you have the patience and stamina to put up with whatever comes your way, and that your days see more sweetness and light, rather than darkness and gloom…  (Betty says for me to keep working on that attitude adjustment. Lol)

Cheers!