Satellite Adventures

Yesterday I hooked up the satellite that came with our RV. This is not something we would have bought, but was included by Winnebago for the Hershey RV show. When we finally opened the box last week, which had been already partially opened, we discovered that the cable was missing. I ordered one off Amazon, which was delivered over the weekend and yesterday finally decided to tackle it.

The Wally receiver was already installed and on. Now, the directions clearly say not to plug that in until after you hook up the satellite to the connection on your RV. It took me forever to figure out where the plug was without dismantling everything.

I followed the directions and got a no signal message. Sigh. I knew it wouldn't be easy. Went back up in the cabinet, unplugged Wally and tried to pull it off the velcro to see if there were other issues. I pulled up the velcro instead. First thing I noticed was the HDMI cable was not attached. Attached that, plugged in the Wally and the install process began and failed. Unplugged again, pulled up the receiver again and checked the connections. Oh, duh, the cable connection was loose. I know they advise you not to over tighten, but this was barely on. Plugged back in and finally success.

We're supposed to get three satellites. We got one. I'm sure that's because we are surrounded by trees. Eventually, another satellite connected because the channels doubled. It worked and the picture was great. So, finally, disconnected the dish from the RV and stowed it.

I'm sure if we are in a campground that is fairly bare of trees, we'll be glad we have it. Most of the campgrounds we stayed at had cable, but there were a couple that had nothing, and no local stations either.  Our trip to Perry, Georgia last year comes to mind as the TV reception was really bad. Also, it was very cold and rainy on that trip. Not that I expect the satellite to work in bad weather. But hopefully, we will get some use out of it.

Water! Not Where I Want It!

This did not happen with Wandering Wanda the Winnebago, but with Izzy the Dynamax Isata 3 on our last trip.

Due to space constrictions and the fact that we would be driving the rig for several days before landing in one spot for more than one or two nights, we used our cheap Walmart pot that uses k-cups. The first night out, I filled it with water for the first morning cup. Next morning, I put a k-cup in, set the coffee mug underneath and heard it heat up. I got about four drops of coffee out of it. That's when I noticed that the coffee mat was soaked. Yeesh. Obviously there was a leak. It was still capable of making coffee, as long as you didn't load up the water until you were ready to brew.

Not once, but twice, I forgot to put the coffee cup on the brewer. Those little drip things do not hold 12 ounces of coffee. What can I say, I am NOT a morning person. Still we persisted with the crappy coffee maker knowing that at home that our compact Keurig was waiting for us. The first thing unloaded after the pets was that little coffee maker straight into the garbage.

Wandering Wanda's Adventures

This is Wandering Wanda Winnebago. We acquired her on our trip to the Hershey RV show and have owned her now for over a week. This rig is everything we ever thought we wanted in a motorhome.

Some of y'all may remember we started out a year and a half ago in a class B. One long thunderstormy weekend was all we needed to move up to a class C, a Dynamax Isata 3. We used Izzy the Isata enough to know that it didn't have enough storage. Hubby and I both have our own mobility issues, and it was getting increasingly difficult to maneuver inside the RV, especially while traveling with our dog, Champ and cat, Mouse. The research during our last big trip which was a 17 day trip up to Michigan to visit with family and friends. We actually looked at Winnebago Vista 29VE, which we liked, and which had great storage, but it really did not have the floor plan I wanted. What I wanted was the Vista LX 27n plan, but that was discontinued. We also wanted auto gen start, which would protect us in case of a campground power outage or for when we were not on shore power, we could set it up to protect the pets from the heat. The 2020 Winnebago Adventurer has the floor plan we want and the features.

It also has a bed that does not fold and storage that goes on and on. One of the reasons I like this floor plan is that it has storage all across the back which is accessible on three sides. Love it.

We took delivery of it in Syracuse, New York on Friday, September 20th. We were fortunate to get a couple nights (each night on a different site) at the Villages of Turning Stone Casino in Verona, New York. On the day we were to check out, we checked to see if there were any cancellations. There was, but it required yet another move, to a back-in site. It took a couple tries that first time, but I did it and we had a day to chill and have another delicious meal at the casino. We really needed that day, since Friday was exhausting for all of us, especially the pets.

We left the casino park on Sunday and spent the next three nights on the road. The first day was the worst, because I-81 in New York and Pennsylvania was the absolute worst. The last night on the road was very disappointing. We stayed at a park that we had visited on the way up, and both their restaurant and store were closed due to insulating in progress. It didn't matter, we still had some food in our pantry and fridge and we enjoyed our last evening on the road. Somewhere along the way, we discovered that our lights no longer worked on our awning and on the entry handle. Still trying to figure that one out.

We hope to have many more adventures in Wandering Wanda the Winnebago!