Captain’s Log: RV Wanderlust 04-25-2014

• Date: 04-25-2014

• Current City: Vicksburg, MS
• Current Location: River Town RV Park
• Site Number: 99
• Wi-fi Signal: Verizon – Strong / AT&T – Very Weak
• Mission: Explore / Work

• Compliment: 2 Officers, 1 Crew, 0 Guests
• Captain: Eric Highland
• Navigator: Brittany Highland
• 1st Mate: Trogdor the Burninator

• Weather: Clear / 79°
• Precipitation: 10%
• Humidity: 50%
• Wind: 9 mph

• Fuel: 12.5 Gallons of Diesel – 1/8 capacity
• Odometer: 100,020
• Generator Hours: 4611.8

• Estimated Date of Departure: Saturday, April 26th
• Next Destination: Arlington, Texas

Special Orders: Liberal water use is authorized until Saturday morning disconnect.

Captain’s Remarks

21:00 – One look at the skies last night, and I decided it was time to secure all exterior gear. Though the weather said clear, the clouds said “maybe.”

Not taking any chances on having to carry wet material inside our basement storage on Saturday, I decided to secure our two exterior chairs, our patio rug and I retracted all awnings. All exterior items were stowed below decks and the hatches were battened down.

08:15 – I was right. It rained last night. A good sailor can read the sky and old habits die hard. Glad I got everything stowed.

09:54 – Because we plan to drive 382.5 miles on Saturday to Arlington, TX, I have secured the grey water valve to build up a collection in the grey water tank sufficient to help flush the holdings of the black water tank through the hoses upon disconnect on Saturday morning. As such, liberal water use is authorized and encouraged throughout Meriwether until Saturday morning disconnect.

We typically try not to drive more than 250 miles in one day. However, the options between Vicksburg and Arlington were limited to Tyler, TX and Longview, TX neither of which sounded appealing enough for a week.

10:07 – TORNADO WARNING: It appears that there is a severe weather / thunderstorm / hail / lightning / tornado forecast making its way across the United States for the next 7-10 days. It is supposed to come through the Dallas, TX area on Saturday or Sunday night. The bad weather is not supposed to hit until Saturday night at the earliest, so I’m monitoring the storm reports as we approach our Saturday morning departure.

In other news, I’m concerned about our 1st Mate Trogdor the Burninator. He hasn’t eaten it what seems like weeks.

We have been researching heavily and have begun a close watch on him. We have been giving him nightly baths which include a massaging of his stomach and abdomen area. These baths seemed to have helped in that he experienced a sizable bowel movement for the first time in quite awhile. We think he may have been impacted/constipated.

Now that he has had this movement, we hope he will regain his appetite. He has been drinking more water than usual due to his baths which he seems to enjoy. ~ E

Navigator’s Addendum

14:53 – First Mate Trogdor consumed three super worms – his first meal we know of in the past two weeks. Another bath is planned for tonight.

Took two walks around the campground today. Met a group of four couples who travel together. They said their group size will be 19 once everyone arrives. Told them about the RVillage website.

Met a full-timer on the other side of the campground who was out washing his grill. He has a 40″ 2000 Holiday Rambler Endeavor that seemed to have a similar floorplan to Meriwether. He commented on the awkward angle of our rig this week. It’s true – Meriwether looks like he’s ready to lift off into outer space. But inside he’s level and happy.

The gentleman told us about Palms RV Park in Dickinson, TX between Houston and Galveston. We may need to check it out for our week in the Galveston area at the beginning of June. -B