I was laid off on September 2. It is now September 20. So I have had 18 days to settle in to the “do nothing” lifestyle. Except that, so far, retirement has been more demanding than work. Every day has been busy from dawn to dusk. Much of my time has been devoted to transitional tasks – getting insurance set, completing my layoff paperwork, getting our investment property positioned for remote ownership and prepping for the trip to Florida.
The preparation work includes planning the route – with great attention to low clearances as our new rig is about 13′ 5″ at the highest point, which is almost 8″ taller than Patience – and booking RV parks. I also adjusted the height of the hitch. We traveled for 3 years with the old rig using the lowest (of 4) height settings on the hitch, but were never able to get it to ride level; Patience was always “nose up” which put extra weight on the rear axle. Which, in turn, contributed to the blowouts that we experienced. The new rig, on the other hand, is definitely “nose down” at the lowest setting, so I (with great trepidation) adjusted the height of the hitch. That involved removing the 4 humongous bolts that hold it together, lifting the top portion and re-bolting. The trepidation came from the knowledge that any screwup could literally be fatal, to ourselves or others. Or, if I damaged any of the bolts, I could leave the rig in an untowable state until repaired. But it turned out to be pretty straightforward. It is now at the second-from-the-top setting; the top setting was so high it prevented me from closing the top on the bed of the pickup. At this setting the rig still rides a bit nose-down, but much less so. It should be fine.
So now the truck is fully prepared for the trip and the RV is nearly so. I want to re-pack the basement to discard some unused items and to free a little storage space. And I need to check the tire pressure one more time, as I do before each trip. But then, two weeks from today, we will be on our way. 41 days (with 12 travel days) and just over 2,000 miles to Florida, to arrive November 14.
There, maybe, I will find that “do nothing” lifestyle.
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