It has rained every day for the last three weekends that we have spent in NH.  This is unfortunate, of course, as we have tried to show off our new traveling home to friends and relatives each of those weekends.  And I am still waiting for sun so that I can take a nice photo of the complete rig, to use in applications for workcamping positions.

But the weather hasn’t completely ruined the fun.  Last night we hosted a cookout for two couples that are dear to us.  We had to spend too much time under the awning, but we still managed to have a nice campfire (complete with s’mores) and vegetables for our steak tip dinner cooked over an open flame.  Add some wine and lots of witty banter and the result was a very pleasant evening.

And Gary, our chemical engineer friend, figured out how to light the oven.  Good to know.  That was our get-to-know-your-RV lesson for this weekend.

Last week’s lesson was the battery backup.  It began with Jett calling me in from outside with news that the outlet used by the coffee maker was not working.  I dutifully checked the breaker/fuse panel and, sure enough, one of the fuse warning lights was glowing red, indicating that it was blown.  But when I removed it and took a look it didn’t seem blown.  I replaced it anyway, but without any effect other than to extinguish the warning light.  Hmmm…

I then noticed the little sticker on the outlet that informed me that the outlet was GFI-protected.  So I began a search for the GFI, thinking that it needed to be reset.  No GFI in the kitchen.  One GFI in the bathroom, but I was unable to reset it.  Or test it.  Double hmmm…

Now it was time to test the other outlets.  None were working.  That is when I noticed the little orange light on the refrigerator that indicates it is running on propane.  So, after working the problem for about 30 minutes – and about 30 seconds before Nancy appeared at my door to tell me that the power was out in the campground – I concluded that we had lost power and were running on battery backup.

It is somewhat comforting, I think, to know that we can lose power and not even notice.  And I now know that the battery backup works, but only for the 12-volt lights.  And I know where the GFI is (and, yes, it did work once the power came back on).  It is a little weird to have the GFI in the bathroom controlling the outlets in the kitchen, but I am ok with that.

But why was that warning light on? I haven’t figured that one out yet.

But you might have to learn how to fold one.  Yeah, I bought a folding bicycle.  I decided that I needed something other than my behemoth GMC 3500 diesel dually to take to the corner store to get a quart of milk.  And when we are in Venice Beach I will be able to keep up with the rollerbladers.

It has 20-inch wheels, 6 speeds and weighs 35 pounds.  Comes with a storage/carrying bag.  I will carry it in the bed of the truck, on top of my golf clubs, next to my air compressor.

It is August 1st and it is beginning to dawn on me that in just over six weeks I will be unemployed and homeless for the first time ever. The prospect is scary. I am discarding the employment security that I have known since high school and will trade in my sensible job for a career hauling an 8-ton trailer across the country for free. I am starting to feel the butterflies in my stomach.

Not that I have much time to dwell on the future; I am too busy trying to finish all of the chores that need to be completed before that future arrives. I just spent over 8 hours preparing my desktop computer so that my son could use it.  I thought that it was nearly ready to go as I have been slowly making the laptop my primary computer all summer, but transferring or deleting the residual files and applications took a full day of effort.  Like my house, I was amazed at how much “stuff” had accumulated over the years.

My brother says I “have a 10-year head start”.  He means that the work I am doing now is the same work that most people have to do when they downsize to go to assisted living. He is right – most people have to massively downsize at some point in their lives.  I am doing it with a happier prospect than most.

But it is still scary.

Time is getting so short – just 8 weeks now – that we have started lining up our “farewell tour,” the series of goodbye parties with close friends and relatives.  My sister-in-law has taken care of the family part of the tour (or at least Jett’s family) by arranging a combo birthday/goodbye event for Saturday, Septermber 15.  This is the day we leave the campground in NH, but our first stop will be near their house, so it works out well.  As for my family, I am trying to arrange a weekend when my two brothers can come to visit.  We also hope to see a couple of close friends on weekends between now and September 15.  My older son and his family will visit one weekend.  As only 7 weekends remain (not counting the 15th) and one weekend is out (both Jett and I will be away one weekend in August), the number of goodbye events is getting pretty close to the number of weekends.

Our farewell dance card is going to be full.

$85.  That is what I paid yesterday to find out how little I know yet about our fifth wheel.  I think I have mentioned that the water heater has been misbehaving.  Nothing but hot water (in both hot and cold feeds!) one day, nothing but cold water the next.  We might have hot water for showers, then no hot water at all an hour later.  It seemed for a while that it was only cranky when using electricity, but then on Sunday we couldn’t get hot water even when using gas.  It was possessed.  With the grandkids in residence we had to take action.  So we found a guy at the campground who was a competent RV repairman.  He agreed to look at it for his standard $85 “house call” fee.

It took him about a minute to identify the problem: the water heater had not been properly de-winterized.  I *thought* that the previous owner had de-winterized the coach before I took possession.  I *thought* I had asked him about that.  Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t.  But in any case it hadn’t been done.  At least not correctly or completely.  And, to be fair to him, he was a relative newbie as well and it would have been just his second de-winterization so maybe he didn’t know how to do it right either.

Something about the bypass dohicky not being connected to the thingamajob.  I will talk to the repair guy again to get the details right so that it won’t happen again.

Of course de-winterization won’t be an issue if we avoid winter.

But I still have to learn all these things.  At $85 a pop I can’t afford to be ignorant for long.

We will be signing a lease today to rent the house.  This was the last known impediment to our Great Escape and by tonight it will be out of our way.  There is nothing to stop us now.  Or, more to the point, now we HAVE to go because as of September 1 we have no other place to live.

It is premature to give notice, but I am SO tempted.  58 more working days.  And if working wasn’t difficult enough already, I now have to submit my 2013 goals by the end of June.  Is “getting the f**k out of here” a legitimate professional goal?