May 15, 2012 -- departure from South Portland

Wow! It has been a busy couple of weeks getting the camper ready. We actually moved in about the last week of April but had been living without running water (except for the flush, which does not require clean water). In between what felt like constant rain storms we managed to de-winterize the pipes, sanitize the onboard drinking water tank, de-clutter our cabinets and wash all the clothes and bedding that were stored in the camper over the course of the winter, refill our propane tanks and get furnace and stove working. Fortunately, no critters hibernated in our home (guess they preferred the woodshed next door) so cleanup was not too difficult. Huge thanks to Mom for the use of her side yard, kitchen, washing machine, dryer, garden hoses and outdoor electric outlets so that we could get everything done. You made our lives so much easier! Showers were predicted this morning but luckily they held off as we completed the final preparations of hooking the trailer up to the truck (which we did on the first try I might add) and so spirits were high as we started our trip. Our first stop was Cabela's in Scarborough. After three weeks of our living in the trailer, Charlie-In-The-Box “had to go.” We used their free sewer dumping station and hit the turnpike many pounds lighter. Once under way, I think we finally remembered to be tired from all the work of the past two days. We did not get far before pulling off for what we thought would be a rest and a snack at a truck rest area near North Andover, MA. Then it started raining, and since we did not have far to go on this first leg of our journey, we decided this would be a good place to put our feet up and relax for awhile. We ended up staying the night. For a truck rest stop, it was amazingly quiet (that, or we were both too tired to hear anything).