FIRST TRIP IN ALBATROSS

Well, we finally got this show on the road. Say hello to Albatross, which is looking strangely brown in the rear in this low sun. It's actually grey, silver & white, like it looks on the side. We attended our first "Caravan" of LazyDaze rigs this past week out at Lake Perris in the Moranga Valley (south of Riverside, north of Murietta, if that helps). 143 rigs attended, so it was quite a gathering. "First-timers" like us (there were two others) get the royal treatment and are made to feel instantly at home with the group. There are subgroups within the overall Caravan Club, and we were hosted by the "Past Tentsers," comprised of former tent campers like us. It was our below-freezing-gale-wind-sleeting-rain last tent excursion to Yosemite that convinced us it was time to go the RV route, so the Past-Tentsers was an appropriate host group. Four days later, after great potlucks, bawdy joke sessions, much-needed advice on the rig, and a variety of good-natured people, we decided that the P-Ters were for us. We hope to see them all again in future Caravans. Leveling is a challenge at Lake Perris, as the campground parking was laid out by someone not exactly conversant with a transit or level, or operating same under the influence.



That's our rig on the upper left, sporting nifty ramps provided by Larry Ward from his apparently endless selection. Others required more "creative" solutions. We settled in quite nicely as there were both electric and water hookups to make things easy. No satellite service yet, but we got one station (badly) from Palm Springs and got to watch UCLA beat Kansas to get into the Final Four. Now that Stanford is out of it (again), we can root for the Bruins. We really like those three picture windows that surround the rear couches. The coach next to us was owned by John and Ilene who are full-timers in their rig. Ilene teaches art and crafts and put on a class for painted silk scarves. Loni was in seventh heaven and turned out a very nifty piece. Here's the class hard at work. We spent some time attending various welcoming meetings and technical talks, including one by the Club's resident tech guru, Terry Tanner, delivered in what I thought was a dead-on impersonation of comedian (etc.) Ben Stein. On Saturday morning we got our Club rig number (which is 2928, if you happen to see that while on the road), and were intoduced (along with the other first-timers) to the entire group at the general meeting that afternoon. Loni and I tried a cross-country scaling of the local mountain behind the park, but what looked easy in the macro distance proved in the micro to be a mess of mesquite, steep and slippery slopes. We bailed at a relatively low altitude and walked to an adjacent campground where there was a rally for those tiny teardrop trailers that were popular in the 30's and 40's. Some were beautiful restorations, and some were pulled by equally beautiful classics like '56 Chevies, etc. We had a very fine potluck the last night and, as the wine loosened some tongues, a joke-telling session ensued. My goodness. I thought this RVing stuff was middle America. These folks belong on stage at the Comedy Club in West Hollywood. Sundaytmorning we made our goodbyes and collected contact info and pulled out for the next adventure: dumping tanks! We pulled in line and tried to observe what the experienced types did. Yikes. No gloves? Our turn arrived and I started with the hoses and valves while Loni read the instructions through the bathroom window. Of course, she was on the wrong page for a different procedure and I'm wrestling with a dumping python that wants to do its own thing as . . . stuff . . . rushes out. Fortunately, the end stayed in the hole and mission accomplished. Drove 80 miles back to home through Sunday traffic (everyone heading for the beach) and parked it at home for the night so we could unload food and clothes and I could wash it the next day. I'll never complain again about washing the minivan.

The ALBATROSS Has Landed!

Well, this has been an eventful month. On the 9th, we went out to the factory in Montclair and picked up our new LazyDaze motorhome. Spent about 4 hours getting the nuts&bolts tour, about 15% of which I retained. Now, is this the fresh water intake or the waste valve? Hmmm. Good thing Loni was taking some notes. After spending hundreds of dollars on "extras" in the LD store, we were on our way. I'm amazed that they can just hand anyone the keys to something as big as a bus and let you drive away without any training. Ours is the smallest they make, but it's still 8'3" wide (go measure a city bus) and 23.5' long. LD's other two models are 26.5' and 30'. It's not the length that is a pain, but rather the width. It takes up the ENTIRE lane, and the mirrors stick out even further, adding another foot of effective width. Yikes! We left at about 12:30, and went about 60 miles across the heart of L.A. on a Friday on the 60 and the 10 freeways. L.A. cognoscenti will appreciate the "Yikes." I pretty much picked a lane and stuck to it. Let the other drivers evade ME! Here we are picking it up. (Click on photos for larger views)

They give you about enough gas to get off the lot, so the first stop and first grimace were at the gas station just before the freeway. Don't know what gas is going for elsewhere, but California might as well be Hawaii! Gas is well over $3/gallon for regular. The Albatross holds over 50 gallons, so, well, Yikes again!

We temporarily parked it across from us on a small deadend street, but it can't stay there permanently as it would be a nuisance for our neighbors. Our driveway can't handle it either, so it'll be in storage about ten miles away (as the crow flies). Storage, even outside and without any services like we have, is not cheap in L.A., especially on the West Side. The "Albatross" name is only partially tongue-in-cheek. :)

Loni's spent the last week or so shopping for things to put in the thing, so we're now loaded up with cookware (better than we have had all these years at home), dishes, cutlery, silverware, linens, towels, containers, etc. etc. Not to be outdone, I've been out "investing" in hoses, power inverter, tools-for-the-road (love those sales at Sears), leveling blocks, etc., etc. Amazing how many things you just can't do without. Of course, since we sprang for the satellite dish on the roof, you have to get a new LCD t.v., right? That one's on hold for a while, since we want a small one (about 17" or so), and the current small ones for the most part don't have digital tuners, which will be de rigeur come January 2009 (I think that's the latest demise date for analog broadcasts). We don't yet have Direct TV anyway, so its not a priority item.

We chose the layout of this model because of the wrap-around picture windows in the rear. If we have to be inside because of weather, at least the view will be great (assuming I've parked it in the right direction). The windows are heavily tinted and from the outside it just looks black-- can't see anything inside during the daytime. There are two 6'+ couches along each side, that convert into either twin beds or pull together to make a king-size (the back-rest cushions form the balance of the bed). There's also a queen bed over the cab. The kitchen has a 3-burner stove, a microwave, and a small oven for road-cookies. The bathroom has a real porcelain toilet, and there is a nice stall shower with an integrated sink. Ahhh. No more freezing our buns off in a tent in the rain and wind and hoofing it in the dark to the public facilities! (See our post re Yosemite!)

We haven't spent a night in it yet, but will take our maiden voyage this week for five days to Lake Perris, which is out in the boonies near Murietta Hot Springs. It's a state campground adjacent to a manmade lake (which, I understand, is shrinking considerably in our current low-rain cycle, the worst in recorded history for these parts). We'll be joining a LD "caravan" of other LD owners, probably a hundred or so. I'm sure we'll be the newest of the new, and we'll take advantage of the experienced owners to figure out how to operate everything. No laptop yet (the previous one died after only two years), so we'll have to post about the trip when we get back. After that we're scheduled for a long (6 weeks or so) outing to the Utah parks, which I've never seen.