Much about Nothing Pt. 2 (thoughts from the cheap seats)

Deb on occasion requests that I write a blog.  She knows that I choose to stay away from Facebook and Instagripe, but in an effort to keep that lovely smile on her face, I will take another swing at this social media thing.   

Milky Way shot courtesy of Kathryn Hyslop Photography

Star Trek had a five year mission to explore strange new worlds. While they only made it three before the show was canceled, they did give you a new episode every week.  I will try to remind the Captain of this vessel that we need to get more episodes out there.

Well, believe it or not, we are very close to a year and a half into our five year mission. While our vessel continues to transport us from one RV park to the next, it seems like we just started.  Throughout our voyage we have discovered some states previously untraveled by us as well as many exciting new campgrounds.

Our ship, a 2015 Cedar Creek 34RL, is due back at Starbase for repairs and maintenance. Really, we are headed to a well known and respected repair facility, Amish Family RV repair in Indiana, near its place of origin, the Cedar Creek assembly plant. This is a scheduled trip for us this spring for maintenance, repairs and upgrades.

We ordered and received new communicators this year. After the Klingon, meaning our daughter Katie, threw us off her cell plan, we had to open our wallets and explore strange new options. Since we received T-Mobile fairly well under her plan and now qualified for a golden years discount  (we are not spring chickens anymore), we decided to get a plan with them. Three phones with unlimited data and a 100 gig hot spot should take care of our data needs as long as we can get a signal...and 5G!

We also obtained a GMRS radio license for ten years. Seventy dollars for a ten years license that covers us both and no test required sounded like a good idea. It basically allows us to use a cb on steroids.  While the cb is limited to 4 watts the GMRS can use up to 50 watt radios. You are required to use your call sign when starting to transmit then at designated intervals (…but remember Captain Kirk always identified himself when calling the ship, like Uhora didn’t recognize his voice). We sometimes lose phone signal on back roads and in valleys. These new communicators will allow us to stay in touch through radio communications should this happen.

Our communicators have been tested at 1.5 miles and performed admirably.

While our transporter has been malfunctioning for about a year now (the corona virus), we have still been making the best of the situation. The food from local restaurants, has been replaced with comfort food made at home.  I don’t understand why it is called comfort food as my belt keeps getting tighter (not comfortable at all).

Most of the aliens we have been making contact with have been friendly, posing no threat. However, I opened the door one morning while in Homosassa and while exiting the vessel an alien creature, I believe they are known as frogs on our planet, breeched our perimeter, startling my wife in the galley. Without the benefit of a communicator I knew we were on red alert (I heard her screaming). It appears when I had gone outside for a space walk, I inadvertently crossed paths with a frog without having seen it. It was funny! With a little effort, I was able to relocate it to a more hospitable environment (outside anywhere was good enough for Captain Deb)!

We use rope lights as our deflector shields to keep critters away. Supposedly they deter rodents from seeking shelter; we will see if it works.

As the Enterprise had the Federation of planets, Deb and I have become full members of Thousand Trails, our Federation of campgrounds. This should open up exciting new opportunities to travel to campgrounds and meet other travelers that we have never seen before.

Boldly going where we have never gone before is still our prime directive. Corona Virus knocked us off course for a while. We may have to extend our mission! Stay tuned!

My friends, leave me close, as Mr. Spock would, by saying, “Live long and prosper!”