Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Travelin' to Tennessee

Our travel day didn't go quite as smoothly as it usually does. But first, we settled up on our electric bill, which was for 26 days. It was 144.87 (at about 14 cents + a kilowatt hour). We didn't think that was too bad for as hot as it's been, and the fact that the dual air conditioners were running almost non-stop night and day during the high 90's temperatures. Problems? We've got a rear jack that didn't come up all the way. It came up enough for the warning light to go off, so we managed to get going. It might just need some lubrication, or it might have something to do with the spring, we're not sure. It was very aggravating for Eldy, out in the heat, crawling under the rig, trying to fix it.

We're not going to miss the Houston traffic, that's for sure! Or the crazy drivers that zipped in and out front of us causing more than one instance of cardiac arrest! We consider ourselves lucky that we didn't get hit this month in Houston, with the number of times we slammed on the brakes as someone cut in front of us while we were traveling in the car back and forth on the frontage/"feeder" roads alongside I-45 or on the highways in and around Houston. Oh, well. Once you stay in the area for awhile, you start getting used to the traffic patterns and heaven forbid, even start driving like a local maniac!

We traveled on I-10 East today for much of our first day traveling towards Tennessee. Traffic was heavy with construction near Lake Charles, LA.

construction at Lake Charles
Eldy drove 220 miles, an easy drive for him mileage wise, but not so easy with the heavy truck traffic and city congestion we encountered. Glad he was driving! Every time a truck goes by us, I always think they are going to knock off one of our side mirrors, they are so close! And every once in awhile, Eldy says, "Boy, THAT was close!" It's nerve wracking to me, so I try not to watch the traffic, much to his consternation, because sometimes he needs my help reading signs. (Like today, when I missed my turn! fusses E.) Uh, er, I was indisposed at the moment, honey.
Our first stop was Kinder, LA. There is the Coushatta Casino and Red Shoes RV Park there. They are one and the same, just two different parts. We stayed there on the way to Texas, and really enjoyed it. Eighteen dollars a night for full hookups, fast free wi-fi, cable TV, spacious pull through sites, you can't beat that! Our site, 129, is a huge corner lot and has a little tree on it. If the weather was not so hot, Sparky would be sitting out under the shade of the little tree, pretending this is her backyard. :-)

We went to plug in our Surge Guard protector and it kept shutting off. We called the casino RV park office and they had a guy out to look at the pedestal in less than 10 minutes.

He checked the wiring out, and everything seemed to be fine. We have no idea why the Surge Guard kept shutting off. After he checked it, we plugged our Guard back in, and everything worked just fine! Maybe the heat gremlins were at work today, causing havoc with our travel plans. At least, they were minor ones compared to the MAYHEM that could occur with high heat and driving! We don't have All State Insurance, but we do have good insurance, just in case. We were lucky it was all little stuff today.....

Red Shoes RV Park is a little off the beaten path, but that's ok. Exit 44 off I-10 E., then 19 miles north on highway 165 until you get to Kinder..No road or highway noise.  Nice pool, nice lodge for just the RVers in the park, we really like this place. To top it off, on Tuesdays, seniors can eat at the Seven Clans buffet for $5.50, all you can eat. So we did! Sparky wanted to play a couple of dollars in the penny slots, so she did! And she won a little bit, enough to pay for her buffet dinner with a little left over. Time to quit playing while she was ahead, so she did! (With a little encouragement from her better half, chides E.)

Time to kick back and relax and get out of the heat. The guy that drives the shuttle from the RV park to the casino said that it's 15-20 degrees hotter than normal for this area. There's no escaping it, and that's true for so many parts of the country, it's just going to be an oven just about anywhere you travel in the U.S. It's even 106 degrees today in Rapid City, South Dakota! Back to the rig we went......See you on the road tomorrow......

12 comments:

  1. YUCK- that traffic is awful. Glad you made it through okay. I like the looks of where you landed - nice sites.

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  2. That traffic looks pretty normal to me, but still not fun.

    My "jack" experience? For what it's worth.
    Within the first two years of the life of our motorhome that we bought in June of 2001, the rear jacks were both replaced under warranty. Just the same, it wasn't too long (couple years) before one of the rear jacks started to get temperamental, and I think it has something to do with the distance from the pump. Possibly.
    There was no bloody way that I was going to fart around with any stupid jack, so I used to carry a length of substantial hardwood for prying, along with a suitable block of wood, and I'd just "help" the stupid thing go up.
    And yes, it may be a question of the spring. I never did find out. Didn't care. Sold the motorhome in May of 2010 so I guess we'll never know.
    Good luck with whatever you decide.

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  3. We occasionally have a problem with lour left rear jack (closest to the pump.) I have wiped it down with degreaser the spray with silicone lube. (same way I clean and lube our Roadmaster tow bar) And works just fine for a year our so.
    Worth a try. Good luck.

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  4. That is one reason we decided just to head on to Florida- it is hot everywhere. One leg of our jack system is temperamental. Sometimes it takes 20 minutes to fully retract- other times just a few minutes.

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  5. I feel better....it's pretty cool here.. only 92 today with low humidity....

    Glad you got through the traffic okay. I have heard bad things about Houston traffic. Al LOVES his air horn for those drivers that cut him off.

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  6. Yup! Eldy forgets to use the air horn, if I was driving, I'd be leaning on it a whole lot more than he does! We had dumb girl come onto the expressway yesterday right into us, Eldy leaned on the horn, and you could tell she had no idea we were there. We saw her jump. Unnerved her so much, she pulled off at the very next exit. To George, Eldy crawls under there pretty regularly and lubes the jack with silicone spray. It works a whole lot better for awhile, but then gets tempermental again.

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  7. We stop at Red Shoes RV Park every time we head into Houston. Really like that park. They are so nice and the pool is wonderful. We used the shuttle service to go to the casino. The drivers are very friendly.

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  8. I will be happy to be out of the Houston traffic. The feeder roads were so confusing to me at first and I still don't like them. Safe travels!

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  9. Thanks for the tip about Red Shoes. IF we ever get out that way it sure is a good price for the services and I love to do a little bit in the slots.

    Remember our jacks........solenoid. Not too hard to fix. Once that was done we haven't had any trouble at all until the spring broke. That's not too hard to fix either. Good luck!! Hope it's cooler in the Tennessee mountains.

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  10. Nasty traffic alright - we've never been to Houston before so I can't really say much.

    There must have been something wonky with that terminal plug for the SureGuard to reject it the first time. Maybe something was just a bit loose.

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  11. Sounds like a great park! Glad to see you on the road and having funnnn!

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  12. Electrical Management Systems are more efficient then most electricians. He probably fixed it while you were looking. Could have been as simple as a loose wire. Be Safe and Enjoy!

    It's about time.

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