Sunday, March 12, 2018 – The truck and camper were loaded, the running lights worked but then went out. The brakes and turns worked and the running lights on the truck worked so it must be a wire came loose in the new 6-pin connector. The sun was almost up so we left Houston at 7:30 AM on the maiden voyage to the farm in Mobile, AL.
About Beaumont the drizzle to easy rains began and continued almost to Lafayette. In one place two car-haulers running close past us and I was too close the dashed white between us. They started Angel to swaying just a little and she would not stop but the magnitude was small–like she was being restrained. Gently applied the brakes and she tracked straight. No other sway incidents and I stayed on the far side of my lane when an 18-wheeler past us.
The truck did well without any fluctuation in the engine or trans temps. In OD it is slow to gain speed and any incline prevents speeding up as well as 1-2 MPH loss kicked it out of OD. Learned to judge the incline that would cause speed to drop when going over a bridge and then turn off the cruise control letting the speed drop but stay in OD. Then, on the downhill side get back to the set speed and reset the cruise control.
Target speed was 62-63 MPH when the road was wet. In east LA and across MS it is very flat with fewer overpasses and was dry so 65 MPH was easy to maintain.
Arrived at the farm and she squeezed through the driveway gate at 5:00 PM. We had three re-filling stops as I heeded the advice to begin looking for a station when at 1/2 tank so the fillups were usually about 15 gallons. We also stopped for about 30 minutes total at Atchafalaya Welcome Center to eat the sandwiches we had bought at Kroger yesterday. Total trip time including the stops was 9.5 hours.
Monday – Tried to charge the JD battery but problem with electrical supply. Went to Home Depot bought more boxes and paper to pack stuff. Met with Robbie and walked house to finalize scope. He will have final quote Thursday. Ted cut the grass until his mower would not start. Wildflower seed in the front bed is not blooming but there are strange looking plants plus known weeds so maybe it will bloom. Scattered crimson clover blooms on back of ditch.
Tuesday – Packed boxes for the Open Door charity and to store during the renovation. Assembled the LAN shelves in the grain bin to the right of the entry. Moved boxes out there as well as hung inside the bin wreathes and the angel on wires from Houston in black plastic bags. Pulled grass from the wildflower bed between the white crepes. Removed more of the Magnolia Frascati to thin it out and remove rubs.
Wednesday -This was a busy day as: met with Robin about the kitchen design;, Open Door hauled away furniture; Century Link installed new modem; and lastly Blossman Gas added 75 gallons to the tank and showed me that the plastic gauge we have should have the zero facing south. Ted and Dennis got his mower to run and then helped me load the big tube TV to haul to Best Buy for recycling.
Thursday – Leased a 10×5′ climate-controlled room at the new Airport Storage; Unit 454. Took a load of art and stuff to the unit in the afternoon. Took the big tube TV to Best Buy. Bought at Sessions Vegetable Market: an Owari Satsuma tree (grown by Turner Farms); a Blood Orange tree (grown by Star Nursery) and two Meyer Lemon trees. Planted along the west side of the driveway–opposite the Sunset Magic (purple) Crepe Myrtles–the lemons and satsuma (southmost plant) and the Blood Orange near the fence south of the Azalea bush.
Friday – Packed and loaded art, telescope and more and took to storage. Met with Robin and worked on the kitchen and utility room cabinets. Moved chrome shelves into carport storage and loaded more stuff as well as moved more to the grain bin. Took down curtains. Began loading kitchen stuff and more into TT; aka Angel.
Saturday – Continued packing and moving into the grain bin, storage closet off carport and into the rented storage unit. By the end of the day, we were exhausted but Mary had to weed the bed east of the front door. Decided there is no way to be done by early tomorrow AM.
Sunday – Finished packing and storing. Leveled the TT) and made ready for our next trip.
