We Love Lucy!

Last week we posted an article about our new RV and that we would be taking her on a “shakedown” trip to the North Carolina mountains to work out the kinks and familiarize ourselves with her features.  We just returned from that trip on Friday morning. Helen (adorable wife) and I were unsure about a name for our new home away from home, so we temporarily referred to her as Gracey II until we found a name that suited her.  After some head scratching and a few test names, we settled on Lucy just before we left and we’re excited to tell everyone that we LOVE Lucy!

A trip to our mountains this time of the year can present a few challenges with the weather, so we kept an eye on the Weather Channel earlier in the week hoping that things would turn in our favor.  Finally, we got a favorable forecast with no temperatures below freezing during our camping trip.  We loaded up more than enough stuff for two nights at the Happy Holiday Campground in Cherokee, NC. I towed Lucy with Butch (our truck) while Helen drove her car. She would leave from Cherokee for a week of babysitting our granddaughters in Charleston.

Although the weather was cloudy and overcast for the entire stay, we didn’t mind a bit. Our campsite backed up to the creek, and the campground was nearly empty. The stream to the rear was calming though swollen somewhat from all of the recent rain. The view to the front (shown below) was equally serene. Views like these are the reasons we love RVing.

Good weather might have given us a few more options during the time in Cherokee, but we were there to work on our new trailer and will save the hiking for Arizona. I went to work as soon as we unhooked because Lucy needed de-winterizing.

Helen started on the interior doing “nesting” things.  She is a pro at organizing a kitchen and the cabinets.  Most of the things we brought over from Gracey were still in boxes and crates and needed a permanent resting place.  Lucy is six feet longer than Gracey with so much more cabinet, closet, and storage space that we found plenty of room for everything we brought. Nevertheless, I’m confident that we will push it to the limit when we leave on a three-month journey in March. This trip gave us plenty of ideas on how to organize and store additional food and clothing.

By the afternoon of the next day, with much of the interior organized, we planned to work on the storage space underneath the trailer.  This area we refer to as “the basement.” As luck would have it, the rain fell in buckets mixed with heavy, wet snowflakes. Neither of us felt motivated to work outside in that mess so we did what anyone would do in that situation.  We decided to go to the Casino.  Maybe bad luck with the weather meant good luck there.

In the end, our luck wasn’t exceptional, but we did do well enough to pay for dinner. We returned to Lucy with a bag of KFC and watched the Lady Volunteers lose a basketball game. Helen and I did have a better evening than the Lady Vols.

The next morning, I was up early to prepare Lucy for the trip home and cook up a stack of pancakes for Helen before she left for Charleston. The rain had turned to a foggy drizzle, then moved out as she was about to go. I had plenty of time to clean up, hook up, and hit the road.

 

The shakedown trip helped out a lot. Lucy needs a few items tweaked back at the dealership, but nothing major.  The thermostat for the HVAC acted up a bit and probably needs replacing, and some of the door locks are way too stiff for old hands like ours, but that’s about it. I’m grateful we had this opportunity instead of discovering these problems somewhere on the road less traveled.

The pictures scattered throughout this show some the interior of Lucy.  We are very excited about her, the coming year, and the trips we planned. I hope you’ll join us on the journey.  We love Lucy and can’t wait for her to begin…Easin’ Along.