.........Flying Map..........Phase II ..................Driving Map29Sep11 - Asheville, NC
Ken: Hitching rides with folks that have to go to work put us at the plane soon after 0830. Briefed, filed and headed east. As we were climbing out, I glanced down to change frequency on the radio. When I looked up, there was something in our path. It took me a long second to realize it wasn't a distant plane, but a very near and large bird. Climbing roll to the right as I watched the bird tuck and dive meant we all (bird and Ken/Nikki) got to live to continue our journeys. 7500' should have given us both terrain clearance and radio/radar coverage. As we neared the mountains, the clouds closed in. The current controller (Knoxville Approach) suggested climbing to 8500' to improve both, and he checked with Asheville to verify they had scattered clouds. So we continued VFR on top, staying high until about 15 miles from the airport. Steep descent around the hills, extended downwind to let a Dutchess land, and we were down at Asheville. Took a bit to find the FBO (signs still up in their old place - couldn't see the new place from there), arrange tie down, get Hertz to bring the rental car over from the terminal, and load up the car. Sub-compacts all gone, so we have to do with a Mitsubishi SUV for the same price. Drove across the street to the Budget Hotel we'd picked. Lady tried a bait & switch on the rates, and Nikki got her dander up. We declined and headed in to town to see what we could find. Planted the car next to a park and walked around a bit. Found a nice Italian place for lunch. After lunch we drove to their new and impressive Chamber of Commerce & Visitor Info Center, where the visitor concierge (!!) found us a good deal at a Super 8. We joined the Trolley Tour of Asheville, and it was a fun and interesting way to get an overview of the areas we may want to explore more. Off to the motel to check in, then drive a bit of the Blue Ridge Parkway. This is the longest (569 miles!) National Park in the country. We did 10-15 miles, then turned off on a side road to Weaverville (another 15 miles of equally narrow, beautiful driving) where we found a Greek place for dinner. Main roads back to the hotel, and we're planning tomorrow, as well as some of the next month.
30Sep11 - Asheville
Ken: We got up, breakfast and over to the Chamber of Commerce building before 0830! We hoped to get on the 0900 Segway tour of downtown. Alas, they were booked for the whole day. So we bought tickets to the Biltmore Estate ($10 off when done through Visitor Center) and
drove down there. It really is a fascinating and lovely place. The mansion itself is awesome. The grounds (8000 acres!) have many beautiful gardens, about 10 miles of roads, a couple of centers away from the mansion, etc. We spent half a day doing a very quick tour of the mansion and immediate gardens, then had a fantastic buffet at the Deer Park restaurant. Drove out of the Estate and to the Riverfront Art Area. Lots of galleries in old industrial buildings, but many of them were closed or renovating. By then our feet were giving out, so we elected to spend some time driving in the country. Our friends, Carla & Stan from Fairbanks, have recently bought a 
retirement home near Asheville, so we called Carla to get the address, put it in the GPS and drove there. Carla's son, Jared, and his family had already bought a home in the same neighborhood. So we stopped at Carla & Stan's (blue roof in photo), then drove up the hill to find Jared walking their young daughter. He was startled to see familiar faces from Fairbanks. We ended up talking until Rebecca came home from work, and staying for hamburgers. Got out of their hair and headed back to the motel. We spent some time finding an RV park near the RV rental place in Charlotte, so we can have a night or two of exercising everything to be sure it works and we know how to run it. Then we'll likely head for the coast with both RV and plane (details yet to be determined).Nikki: These mansions are a great opportunity to see art collections, and how they were displayed for daily use. The advertising about these collections was true, and seeing them was well worth the admission. I took some reference photos that should turn into nice paintings.
1Oct11 - Charlotte, NC
Ken: Weather great! Filed and away on the 45 minute flight from Asheville to Concord Regional near Charlotte. Nice FBO, courtesy car available, and we headed out to get lunch and the RV. The small garage that is the outlet here for Cruise America had been doing this only a few months, so they were still learning the drill. The RV is a 25' Class C, with 125,000 miles on it. It's not in pristine shape, of course, but quite functional. Cruise America offered it as part of their 40th anniversary celebration for $40/day and $0.40/mi. Depending on how many miles we drive, we have lodging and transportation for under $100/day! Plus we get to cook/eat food to our liking. Took us some time to get the RV outfitted completely and ready to head away. Nikki drove it back to the airport and I followed in the car. We drove the RV out to the plane and loaded everything but survival gear in from plane to RV. Headed to the Charlotte Motor Speedway RV Resort. Big joke with us -- 400+ sites, cordwood arrangement, full hookup, and walking distance to the speedway. Luckily, there was no race this weekend! But it gave us a chance to exercise all systems, get laundry done, and get a good night's sleep before heading out the next day.
2Oct11 - Santee, SC
Ken: We'd chosen a state park in South Carolina to check out, and it was less than 3 hours drive for her, an hour for me. Santee-Cooper Regional airport is in the middle of several golf courses, and the approach to 02 was over the bays of the lake (lots of boats at docks along the shore line). Everything locked up (it is Sunday), but I had a weak WiFi connection at the plane, so spent my
waiting time checking mail, etc. Nikki found the airport (after a few misdirections from my preliminary GPS programming). Here's the view from inside the RV beside the plane. Headed for Santee State Park. A diversion to a USFWS 
wildlife area was interesting, but visitor center was closed. GPS took us on the shortest route back to the interstate -- glad the road was solid the whole way. Found the State Park, registered and set up the camper on a lakeside spot. Lovely campground, left fairly natural. Only 
a few others here, most of whom left before dark. We have water and electricity at the site, and a dump station on the way out. Plan two nights here. The lake is infested with alligators, there are a 
variety of poisonous snakes in the marshes (this one likely not poisonous), the variety of birds is large, and it's a really lovely spot.3Oct11 - Santee
Ken: To bed early, but I awoke around 0230 and couldn't get back to sleep. So I got up, fixed some hot chocolate, and finished a book I was reading on the Nook. Nearly 0600 when I got back to bed, and I didn't awake until 1100! Nikki was outside painting, so I checked out a boat tour we
wanted to do. Only available Wed/Fri/Sat, and we'll be gone by Wednesday. A walk to the store to get info and coffee for Nikki. She finished the plein aire painting, "Alligator Fall", while I got on the internet connection at the store. She's hoping to complete & post a painting a day, so watch for them. We did some hikes today.4Oct11 - Beaufort, SC
Ken: Up fairly early and on the road to the Santee Airport, via Santee Post Office to get an important mail out. Nikki dropped me at the airport and headed for Beaufort County Airport. I paid my tie down, filed a flight plan and headed out on the 49 minute flight from Santee to Beaufort. Beautiful flight over coastal waterways, many islands, swamps, etc. Tied down and got the courtesy car to try to find a Walmart while waiting for Nikki. About the time I was close to where the Walmart should have been, Nikki called that she was at the airport. So I drove back and turned in the car. The state
campground we picked was beyond the airport, at Hunting Island. Checked in and found our spot. Immediately changed into swim suits and headed for the beach. Nikki settled in to paint this beach scene while I played in the shallow surf. Gentle sea breeze and probably high 60's temperature! Lovely evening.5Oct11 - Beaufort
Ken: Nikki had reserved space for us on a pontoon boat tour of the waterways in the morning. Three hour tour wandering among the islands in the ACE Basin.
Lots of birds, dolphins fishing right next to our boat in a very narrow channel, one small alligator, plantations, swamp grass, etc. When that was over, we drove into Beaufort to check out the historic downtown. Visited several galleries, including one featuring Gulluh art and history. Returning to the campground, we diverted to check out the Penn Center -- a school for freed slaves built right after the Civil War (a.k.a. "the war of Northern aggression" around here). Drove some more of the smaller roads. Back on the road to the campground, we saw a porch with a bunch of African style baskets for sale. Drove past the campground on Hunting Island to check out the next one, Fripp Island. Turns out it's a gated community and we could only enter with a realtor or as guest of a resident. So we turned around to return to our camp site.6Oct11 - Beaufort
Ken: Nikki tried to catch the sunrise over the ocean, but didn't quite make it up in time. She did another painting, sitting at the table outside our RV. This is the view from our RV. We packed up and drove
back in to explore Beaufort some more following suggestions from friendly neighbors. Stopped at the baskets and had a delightful talk with Jery, who, it turns out, has pieces in the Smithsonian! She's a painter, also. After a bit of bargaining, Nikki bought a really unusual basket Jery calls "The Elephant Ear Basket". The porch she works on is the front of "Gullah Grub", a restaurant with local foods. Highly recommended, and we came back for dinner later. Tried to do the museum we'd been told about, but it's no longer a museum, just visitor center. We did find a walking tour of historic Beaufort, and bought tickets. Found internet and paid some bills while waiting for the tour to start. Another interesting history tour, discovering lots about both history and recent activities. A lot of "Forest Gump" was filmed around here, as were several other films. Pat Conroy did much of his writing in a house we saw, and these were the settings for some of his works. Dinner at Gullah Grub included a crab chowder that was one of the best soups either of us has ever had. A squash casserole was lovely, also. And back to the camp.7Oct11 - Savannah, GA
Ken: Nikki did catch the sunrise this morning. Then we left the plane at Beaufort and drove the 2 hours to Savannah. Checked in to the KOA campground south of town, made some phone calls for reservations on town tours, and drove in to downtown Savannah. Herding the 25' RV around is a bit different from being in our Sienna! We finally found a place to park it and walked the mile to Segway Savannah. Yup, another Segway Tour -- two hours around old Savannah. We got lots of history and a good orientation to the town. Walked back to the RV and got info on parking closer to the river front for the evening Ghost & Headstone Tour. Scored a good parking spot, walked down to the river front and found a good place for dinner. Spent half an hour strolling the very interesting river front, then back to join the tour (this one sitting in a trolley). Then back to the KOA campground so I can catch up on the blog while Nikki does laundry.
8Oct11 - Savannah
Ken: Slept in, made it to town about 1100. Found parking and got on the tour bus. 90 minute loop with lots more info about historic Savannah. Interesting how little overlap there has been among the three tours we've taken here. This tour is a hop on/off shuttle, but we stayed through 12 stops, then got off to explore the Market area and get some lunch. Really, really good crab cake meal! Explored a number of art galleries and studio/gallery combinations. Then on the bus to get back to the Visitor Center and Museum. We were saturated, so didn't do the museum. Drove out of town while searching the Garmin for a Barnes & Noble. Found one and drove there to get Nikki's Nook fixed one more time. Shopped for baby gifts for the new addition (Kevin & Jerrica's Clio) before heading back to the campground. Internet access here requires a different access code for each device, so we're sitting at the table trying to get Nikki's notebook and two Nooks connected. Mine is obviously working OK. Tomorrow we head north, but I've heard it's supposed to rain and that will determine what we do with our time the next few days.
9Oct11 - Carolina Beach, NC
Ken: Most interesting day. We drove back to Beaufort Co, dropped me at the airport and Nikki headed off to our planned destination of Ocean Isle, NC. I paid tie down, briefed and filed, and headed north at 1500'. I got past Charleston before encountering rain and clouds sufficient to divert. Flying past two towers taller than my altitude, and finding no quick route around the clouds, I decided to put down and wait a bit. Mt. Pleasant was nearby, so I landed there. Called Flight Service to close the flight plan, then called Nikki. She was already well north of Mt. Pleasant, and the weather was projected to clear. So I killed some time, then headed out to try again. Within 20 minutes I was able to climb to 3500' for the rest of the flight. Following the coast made for some lovely views, but I'd left my camera in the RV! Landed at Ocean Isle and parked at a tie down. Before I even got out of the plane, Nikki drove up. Tied the plane down and we drove off to check out the two campgrounds showing here. Yuch! So we decided to keep on moving north, and we both headed toward Wilmington. It was a 30 minute flight for me, almost immediately in contact with Wilmington Approach. I didn't even file a flight plan with FSS. Flying 1500' was very bumpy. Jets landing were reporting significant turbulence and wind shear. So I was quite cautious in my approach/landing. Very bumpy, but otherwise no problem. Tied down, and didn't have long to wait before Nikki found the FBO. We headed down the outer bank to Carolina Beach, and a state park. Lovely camping area, no utilities. We picked a secluded spot, registered and settled in for the night.
10Oct11 - Carolina Beach
Ken: This was a kick back day. I don't think Nikki got outside the RV for more than a few minutes. She painted while I puttered. I walked the mile or so back to the Marina to extend for another night. Other than that, we read a lot and relaxed a lot. Didn't even fire up the generator for AC power -- just relied on the coach battery for the few lights and device charging.
11Oct11 - Wilmington, NC
Ken: We had planned to get all the way to Kitty Hawk today. Weather decided otherwise. Rained most of the night and most of the day today. Low clouds. We left the State Park and drove to the airport, but the briefer didn't have good news for me. So we decided to spend the day shopping the RV sales lots to see what is available in smaller units. Spent some time in three different lots. Found several interesting deals on used units, but we were both taken by a new Class A unit from Thor, called the ACE. It was designed after extensive market surveys in what consumers want, and combines the best of the Class A & Class C designs. You can check it out online. Nikki has been online pricing them around the country, and the deal here is anywhere from $10K to $30K lower than she's finding elsewhere. So we're "discussing" while planted in the Wilmington KOA.
12Oct11 - Wilmington
Ken: Well, Nikki has a new travel toy!! After much discussion, we decided to go back to see what the terms on the ACE would be, and when we could take delivery. We spent the whole day (12 hours!) at Rex & Sons RV Sales (highly recommended from us after today), producing financial documents, taking a test drive, signing papers, etc. At the end of the day, we were left with only the walk through before taking possession. That could take 2-4 hours, so we elected to do that in the morning.
We now own a brand new 29' Class A motor home. Here's the first look (cell phone pix). And the trip has taken a significant change in plans. Now we have to get the rental back to Charlotte and see if there's any chance of getting a refund on the unused days. Getting back to Arizona will be quite different, also. More to follow.13Oct11 - Charlotte, NC
Ken: Back to Rex&Sons to get our orientation. Spent a couple of hours there with that and finishing up final paperwork. Called the RV rental guy and he said we could get a refund for unused days. So we packed up both rigs and headed for Charlotte. GPS tried to take us through a dead end at the very last minute. The fellow said he'd wait for us, and we finally got back to the shop. Went through the return, got some refund for unused miles, but we'll have to talk with CruiseAmerica to try to talk them into a refund for unused days! Then we did something we've always been amused at -- parked in the Wal*Mart parking lot for the night. We shopped for a lot of items needed to outfit the ACE, our new coach. Some is redundant to contents of the TrailManor, but we need to live in this one until we get it back to Arizona. Here are views from the bedroom looking
forward (left) and from the cab looking back (right). We plan to sell the TrailManor and Sienna - as a package if possible, separately if not. Anyone interested?14Oct11 - Kinston, NC
Ken: Up early and we had our first time traveling with both of us in the ACE, returning to Wilmington to get the plane. We heated lunch in the microwave in the ACE, parked in the FBO lot. Then Nikki drove off toward Kinston while I prepped the plane. They were out of fuel and I had to wait most of an hour before I could fly away. I had just locked up the plane at Kinston when I saw Nikki drive in. We are now settled in our first park site with the ACE. It's a nice city park on the Neuse River, $12/night with full hookup. They have a local natural history museum, outside interpretive areas including on fairly complete Alosaurus skeleton embedded in stone on the ground, a fossil digging area, play areas for kids, picnic areas, etc. Very impressive park for such a small community.
15Oct11 - Onley, VA
Ken: Started the day by sleeping past alarm. We packed up the ACE and tried to retract the slide out. Nothing! Tried all breakers. Called Rex&Sons, but no one there to help. I'm guessing the multiple tries at leveling last night had torqued something askew. I finally turned off both battery disconnect switches to see if I could reset anything. That worked! We were finally able to ready the ACE for travel and head for the airport. Left it in the parking lot for the overnight. Usual drill, then off to Virginia to spend a night with Paul Plishka and his wife, Sharon. 1.5 hour flight was dead calm at 5500', nice tail wind gave us 155+ ground speed. Over Norfolk, across the Chesapeake and up the peninsula to Accomak Co Airport. Paul and Sharon were there in 10 minutes to take us to their place for a great lunch. Drove around exploring the two coasts (bay & ocean), spent time in Turner Studio & Gallery (lots of wonderful bronze castings), and back to hike around Paul & Sharon's 35 acres. Fire in the portable pit and shishkabob on the grill on the back deck, lots of chatter over dinner, and I crashed in the middle of conversation in the "Africa Room".
16Oct11 - Kinston, NC
Ken: After breakfast, Nikki & Sharon set up to paint by the cactus garden. Paul, his son Jeff and
I drove to the airport to do some aerial photography and site seeing. Spent half an hour at 1500' up the bay side, down the ocean side and around the Plishka farm. I know Jeff was ecstatic over the flight, and Paul got a batch of photos of their farm and the surrounding area. Back to the farm, then the five of us went to the bay side for lunch. To the airport, said our goodbyes, and headed back toward Kinston. I'd sent e-mail to a grad-school friend, John Munday, to see if we could drop in to say "hi" on our way home, but he hadn't responded before we took off. Tied the plane down, headed the ACE to town and parked at a laundromat. E-mail from John that he and Judi were driving from Chesapeake to Myrtle Beach that day. Called the cell phone and we worked out a diversion for them to drive through Kinston about dinner time. We scouted restaurants and parked at one about 15 minutes before they came in to town. Maybe 43 years since we'd seen each other (though we'd had infrequent e-mail contact), so lots of catching up over good Mexican dinner. Had to get them back on the road to get to their time-share in Myrtle beach, and us back to the park. Our first time backing the ACE into a spot in the dark. We just took it slow, with lots of spotting by Nikki. We're hooked up, and both working on our computers.17Oct11 - Rodanthe, NC
Ken: We had water running from under the slide out! Figured we'd overflowed the holding tank, and drained both. 55 minute flight, 3.5 hour drive, from Kinston to Manteo. Clear, smooth, lovely at 3500'. Dare Co. Regional Airport is a few miles away from Kitty Hawk and its First Flight Airport. But First Flight is Park Service and limited to 24 hour tie down. Also, Manteo is closer to the route Nikki drives to get to the camping space for tonight. We plan to spend at least a couple of days exploring Kitty Hawk, and the string of islands (Outer Banks) south to Cape Hatteras. If this weather holds, we should have lots of images to share and for Nikki to paint from. Dinner & grocery shopping in Manteo, then down the islands to Rodanthe and the KOA. Lots of debris along the road, reminders of serious storms here. Planted the ACE and started setting up. Nikki ran some water in the sink and we had more leaking. Took a while to find that the flex hose from kitchen sink to holding tank had come apart. Took a while longer to figure out how to reattach. With the slide-out extended, the hose has a lot of pressure sideways at the downstream end, which pushes the fitting out of alignment. I was able to loosen the captive nut, insert the flex fitting and tighten the captive nut by hand. I can't find a way to get at this any way but up from the bottom of the slide-out, through a rubber baffle. And I can't get tools in there to do more than hand tighten. I'd like to get at it from above, but the cabinet floor doesn't obviously come out. Time to call someone who knows...
18Oct11 - Rodanthe
Ken: Slept in a bit. Unhooked and drove up to Kitty Hawk. Lunch in the ACE in the Wright Brothers Memorial parking lot. Spent most of the afternoon there, climbing Kill Devil Hill to walk on and around the monument, walking the markers for the first four powered flight distances (120' to 852'), examining an exact replica, listening to a talk on that first flight and the Wright brothers, exploring two museums. Back to find dinner, then repark the ACE in the dark. I'm getting comfortable in driving it, though it requires constant attention to keep it between the lines on the road with the variable winds, dips and bumps in the surface and passing traffic all conspiring to move it around.
19Oct11 - Manteo, NC
Ken: It started raining before I went to bed last night and it continued in sheets and buckets until mid-afternoon. For a while it was almost dark out. The wind was so bad at one point we retracted the slide out to keep the fabric guard cover from being threatened. We spent all that time enjoying down time in the ACE. Their internet access was down, so nothing online. Did some route planning, and decided it was time to head west. In fact, if the weather holds, I'll probably high tail it to AZ (~2 days), and Nikki will drive ACE the most direct path back to AZ (6-7 days). When the clouds parted and there was even some clear sky, we packed up and headed to another campground closer to the airport. Checked in, then drove back up to Kitty Hawk to a Radio Shack to get an external hard drive to leave in the ACE. Further up the road to a Wal*Mart to get a few essentials (fly killing stuff - they are driving us crazy in the ACE), and have dinner at a Subway. Back to the campground to park and get back to work. Internet access here!
20Oct11 - Concord & Hidden Lake, NC
Ken: [My computer is a zombie and I can't do much till I get home. Sorry for the silence.] Nikki dropped me at the airport and started her long drive to Tempe. I took some time to finish flight planning my six legs to Chandler. Finally got away from Manteo mid-day. The runway ends at
the water, so I had to cross the channel while climbing out. Relaxed when I crossed the opposite shore. Serious head winds left me with 90 kt ground speed. By the time I made my first stop, I didn't have enough daylight to make the next leg. So much for 2-3 legs per day. So I got the shuttle to the Hampton Inn for the night. Meanwhile, Nikki drove late, found Hidden Lake, a funky campground somewhere well off the interstate in the middle of North Carolina, and battened down for the night.21Oct11 - Crossville, TN
Ken: I was actually up and away in decent time. Thought I would get at least two, maybe three legs. First stop was in Shelbyville, TN. I'd drawn the great circle route from Manteo to Chandler, then picked small airports with fuel 2.5 to 3 hrs apart. It wasn't till I was approaching Shelbyville, that I realized how close I was to Murfreesboro. Turned on the Blackberry as usual, and found a message from Nikki that the problem with the drain had happened again, and that she planned to stop at Crossville, TN for the night. Since that was only 30 minutes flight back, I decided to call it a day and rejoin Nikki for the night. Quick flight, short wait, and she picked me up at the airport. The KOA nearby was a really nice one, in rolling hills, sites with a little space between. I did a couple loads of laundry while Nikki fixed dinner. Nice to cuddle asleep together.
22Oct 11 - Elk City, OK & Little Rock, AR
Ken: Two great legs today. Clear skies, absolutely calm air most of the time. Stop in Clinton, AR, for fuel was VERY quiet. Nice little strip nestled in low hills. Not a soul around the airport. Gas
pump run by an aircraft salvage yard, and there were a couple of acres of banged up aircraft across the road. On to Elk City, OK, arriving just before 5pm. The only reason I caught the operator is because another airplane arrived for fuel just ahead of me. Got fuel, borrowed the courtesy car and found a Motel 6 for a bed and a little Italian restaurant for dinner. Nikki drove through Little Rock, and found the KOA nearby. Over 400 miles today!23Oct11 - Temp, AZ & Elk City/Clinton, OK
Ken: In the air before 0900, to Double Eagle II airport NW of Albuquerque. Another calm air
day, with slight tail wind! More and more wind farms around the country. Double Eagle II is where I had the annual done in the spring of 2010 before flying the plane back to Alaska. Fuel, lunch in the cafe, and off to Chandler. Approach at Phoenix seems reluctant to put me through the Class B airspace (has happened before). So coming over the last ridge of the mountains to the east I had to put the nose down to about 1500 fpm to get below the TCA. Once down, I had to contact Mesa-Gateway tower to transition their airspace, then get to Chandler tower to land. Amazing number of airports in close vicinity, each with their own control tower. I was in time to catch the airport manager and rent my tie down space for the winter. Took a cab to Tempe and I was finally "home". Josh and Rose arrived shortly after I did, and I drove our Sienna over to where he parks his 18 wheeler while here, and fetched them "home". Nikki made it to a KOA just east of Elk City, OK. Not sure how she's doing it, but she's staying about a day behind me.24Oct11 - Tempe, AZ & Santa Rosa, NM
Ken: I spent the day checking on maintenance for the ACE, cleaning out the plane & arranging for an oil change for it, and getting info on possibly having someone work on my computer. Josh & Rose had a bunch of errands, too. So we reconnected for a really nice dinner together. I spent the evening trying to work on the computer. And Nikki kept the wagon rolling, making it to Santa Rosa Lake State Park, NM.
25Oct11 - Tempe & Show Low, AZ
Ken: Continued to work on the computer much of the morning. Then off to take an oil sample kit to Chandler Aviation, before they do the oil change tomorrow. Back to Camping World to see what they recommend for an RV-centric GPS. Met Josh and Rose at Best Buy to look at trucking- and RV-centric GPS models. Then to a little Greek place for dinner. Nikki made it to Fools Hollow Lake State Campground, a campsite near Showlow.
26Oct11 - Tempe
Ken: Nikki met me at Camping World about noon. We got the ACE signed in and being worked on. Off we went to get some lunch and a bit of shopping. Not a lot to report on today.
27Oct11 - Desert Rose Baha'i Institute, Eloy, AZ
Ken: More errands. Got a call early afternoon that the work that could be done now was finished. Waiting on factory parts for the rest of the work. So we got the ACE back to Bev & Dave's. Loaded it up with all our stuff, hooked up the TrailManor, and caravaned down to Desert Rose just north of the Eloy airport. It was well after dark when we got the rigs in place, and we didn't hook anything up. Off to Eva's restaurant (we'd enjoyed it on a previous trip) for good Mexican food, then back to crash.
28Oct11 - Desert Rose
Ken: Began the work of moving out of the TrailManor and fully into the ACE. It's amazing how much stuff we had stashed in nooks and crannies of that little trailer home. Sorted out what moved in to the ACE, what we'd leave with the TrailManor, and what was trash. Three large garbage bags went into the dumpster that night! I drove in to Norris RV in Casa Grande to set up an appointment on Tuesday to get some work done on the TrailManor prior to advertising it for sale. Nikki kept slogging through the sorting and packing. About 1730 both of us hit the wall. So I suggested a movie. Grabbed a bite at an interesting little place in the mall with the cinema on the east side of Casa Grande, then saw "Ides of March". Back to a really good night's sleep in the ACE (we'd moved the memory foam pad from the TrailManor to the ACE, and it really makes a difference).
29Oct11 - Desert Rose
Ken: More work moving things into the ACE. Then off to Casa Grande for lunch at a GREAT Chinese Buffet. Then to Coolidge to the Wal*Mart Super Store to hunt for storage containers, throw rugs that fit the spaces, etc. etc. etc. On the way back to Desert Rose we stopped at a roadside produce stand and loaded up fresh fruits and vegies at great prices. Then more work on the ACE. We're beginning to get a preliminary organization. I mounted a magnetic knife rack by the stove, and a hook in a closet for our hand vacuum. Nikki went in their pool for a bit, then took some time to begin a training book, videos, etc. on Adobe CS5 -- the upgrade from Photoshop Elements she's been using for a few years. I'm beginning to see the end of what I'm needed for here. Time to book flights home (and back at Christmas).
30Oct11 - Desert Rose
Ken: Online to get tickets. Boy do prices change rapidly! I'm headed for Fairbanks on Wednesday (2Nov), returning 25Dec. The rest of the day, we just kept working through all the stuff we need to either pack or dispose of. Didn't leave here all day. The Eloy airport, a mile south of us, is the most active parachuting center in the world (according to them). There is a steady stream of Twin Otters, and one Casa, taking off, climbing until they are almost too small to spot, dropping 4-8 jumpers, and plummeting back to land for another load. Along with the aircraft noise, we can hear the flutter of fabric as they fall and open their chutes. Once in a while we even hear a "yee haw" (or similar vocalizations). As I write this at 1730, the sun is almost to the horizon, it's probably in the mid- to high-70's, the local NPR classical station is playing on the sound system, Nikki is cooking some of the fresh vegies we got yesterday, and life is very relaxed.
31Oct11 - Desert Rose
Ken: Today we cleaned the TrailManor inside and out, and washed the ACE!! The ACE was the easy part, about 45 minutes for the two of us working together. The TrailManor took the whole day. But it cleaned up really nicely. Treated ourselves to the Chinese Buffet again, as a reward for getting the job done. Tomorrow the TrailManor goes into a shop for some repairs, then it's ready to be shown.
1Nov11 - Desert Rose
Ken: In to Casa Grande with the TrailManor - delivered and set up at the shop. To Chandler Muni to unload the plane and prepare it for winter storage. To Camping World for more stuff for the ACE. To Bev & Dave's to do laundry. Bike to the shop for a new tube. Lunch. Back for laundry. More shopping. Back for laundry. And back to Desert Rose to pack for travel.
2Nov11 - Desert Rose & Fairbanks
Ken: Finished packing, and headed to Phoenix airport for my flight home. With a long layover in Seattle, I finally made it home about 2200 (thanks to Misty for a ride). Nikki is now on her own with the ACE at Desert Rose and the TrailManor in the shop. Thus begins Phase III of 2011 - Fall...
