Sunday, June 6, 2010

Winnie's first trip

Since neither of us knows a thing about RVs, we wanted to take Winnie out for a day trip, to learn how to operate everything - get comfortable using all the appliances, etc. So, on Memorial Day, we set out early in the morning to Bolsa Chica State Beach for the day. Everything was planned so carefully. Gerald assembled the little barbecue we bought just for the RV, and we brought food and drinks for breakfast, dinner, and snacks. We packed books and magazines, lawn chairs, sunscreen - we thought of everything. It was going to be perfect!

We got to the beach a little after 7 am. At the gate, the attendant informs us that because it's a holiday and they expect big crowds, we cannot open the awning, have our chairs out, or barbecue! Hmmm... Once we parked, the first thing was to get the refrigerator started. Success! The second, but really the most important thing was to make some coffee. Hmmm... none of the electric outlets worked. After reading the manual, we realized you have to either be plugged in or run the generator. Hmmm... the generator wouldn't start. No biggy, we can do without the electricity, we'll just make some breakfast. Again, get out the manual and figure out how to start the stove. Once again, success! I rather enjoyed making scrambled eggs on the little stove. Time to do the dishes. Hmmm... no hot water - even though the water is heated with propane, it needs electricity to start the 'spark'. No biggy, the dishes can wait until we get home.

All in all, the day was a success. I can't remember the last time I was so relaxed! We took the dogs out for a long walk, read, napped. We went for another long walk in the afternoon, without dogs, and picked up some beach glass and shells. We cooked our dinner, originally planned for the barbecue, on the stove.

The following day we made an appointment to take Winnie in and get the appliances checked out. $826 later everything runs fine.