Even those of you who love autumn probably take it for granted as it rolls around once a year like clockwork. The past four years, once the calendar said Sept/early Oct we’d head south with barely a wave good-bye at the chill that was creeping up on us. How special this year to be in CT to watch the leaves turn, tumble and crunch under our feet and tires. Weather concerns? Not us. Too windy? Oh, I didn’t notice. Rain? Well, I do have a rain jacket.
Much of this fall-ness occurred while we watched from our front window, heads bent and bodies contorted in dogged pursuit of a new tile floor. This new flooring (Armstrong Luxury Vinyl) would cover the entire floor except for the bedroom. I’ll skip the long story of tile acquisition except to say that in the end we bagged a great deal on-line from Abby Carpet in Weymouth, MA.

Nine boxes of tile with grout and adhesive- where’s Wrench when you need him?

The old carpet came up easily but revealed that we’d have trouble up by the helm seats where the plywood stopped and the metal began; uneven with the plywood of course. Days passed as we prepped and that didn’t include old tile removal which we’d do as we went.

The old tile had faux grout and hid dirt really well

Ten days later we laid and grouted the last six pieces; all that remained to do…. Ahhh would it never end? Yes, finally and boy a million bucks couldn’t have bought a better looking floor. The Captain adds another notch to his Russ-of-all-trades cap.

A slide test revealed a big problem- a long screw under the dinette seat

Thicker tile meant trimming the door jamb- just what we need, more tools

Two of the heat register openings were best cut by hole saw, then Dremel

So many days would pass until we could grout that we taped the openings to keep out debris

I was the hair dryer pro

Before we embarked on the floor another dreaded item on the to-do list required attention; register Annie at CT DMV. Virginia gives you a 30 day temp plate which was generous (compared to CT at 10 days) but we needed to get our CT plate before Oct 8 and before becoming immersed in tiles. Thursday, Oct 2 we gather our paperwork, checkbook and feeling very confident, we take Bonny to Old Saybrook DMV arriving at 8:40. Soon we learn why the line is not moving; on Thursdays they open at 9:15 because they stay open later. The time arrives, we get a number at the counter after stating our business, take seats and 20 mins later we are called; not bad. The clerk spreads out the papers and promptly ruins our day, “where is the title and VIN Verification?” Boy if we didn’t feel like idiots, especially when we said we didn’t have a title from the dealer. And no, DMV no longer gives you a ticket to return later to the front of the line.

Officially Connecticut Camper

Panicked we rush out, call the dealer and are certain that we didn’t get anything other than the VA registration paperwork. The entire ride home we’re checking those failing memory banks; I mean wouldn’t we remember that? Turns out yes we had the title filed safely and forgotten. But the worst part was that we had to take Annie somewhere to have the VIN certified because we’d bought her out-of-state. A nearby auto dealer was on the “list” and the route was free of too-low train underpasses (several along Amtrak’s route are much less than 12ft). We hustle to stow stuff, bring in the slides, get un-hooked from electric, water and septic and take off. Ok, all set, right?

Before we’d gotten out of the campground a car flags us down; “your awning is still out!” Today is not our day, but once again it could have been worse, this was just the tiny awning over the door and a mistake we plan never to repeat. One hour and $10 later we are back to our pad with VIN cert in hand, stuff lunch down our gullets and zoom back to DMV, ever thankful it’s only 12 miles away.
This time the line is loooonnnggggg, so we take our number and run errands, making it back with still a 20 minute wait. The clerk smiles and nods, we smile and nod. He says the amount we owe, we stop smiling and nodding and with eyes bulging inquire, “why so much?” Oh, vehicles over $50k are subject to a luxury state tax. Right. Not boats though. Back home we give Annie her new plate and vow not to give CT another penny for that planned vanity plate.

The ladybug super- highway

They loved the area by the side front window

October is ladybug month and once they burst on the scene they don’t leave. Every warm, sunny day found them covering the rig inside and out. And I’m proud to say that not a single lady was purposely harmed during their visits or during my removing them to a better place, aka outside!

October also contained a few chilly days, allowing me the chance to prepare stew for the first time in years. Russ handles the grilling, but we draw the line at cute, furry creatures!

I am enjoying my cast iron pan

so peaceful

The shuttle makes its way from the truck/bus lot to the RV lot

I wrestled the laptop away from Annie to write this next post. I wish the reference to the sun was indeed the warm and bright ball up in the sky with me basking beneath it, but that is not the case. The sun is Mohegan Sun (which has the potential to be on par with the real deal) our boondocking spot of choice for two nights to celebrate my birthday. Not that I didn’t greatly enjoy visiting the nearby RV supply store or spending quality time at Lowe’s, it’s just that dinner at Ballo’s topped off by free canolis scored a wee tad higher on the “how I’d like to spend my birthday” scale.

Cheers!

Mohegan Sun has two free oversize lots; one for trucks and tour buses and the other for RVs. They aren’t very level but we managed not to topple over the edge that looks out over the Thames River. You must complete a form to get your permit for an initial 7 night stay which can be extended once. The security guys are so eager for something to do that you are barely into the lot when one stops by. They are very nice and swing through often to be sure all is well. The free property shuttle bus makes the rounds every 15 mins; no sense waiting to throw your money away, so get right in there!

The waitstaff gets “RESPECTed” at Johnny Rockets

We chose the Cape (no, not Cape Hatteras, or Cape Lookout, but the Cape of all Capes) for a simulated getaway that would have the feel of “away” at only 120 miles and was a place we hadn’t visited in quite some time (by land). Our week at the low-key Dunroamin’ RV Park was mostly about getting to know our new home, ordering like drunken sailors from Amazon and restocking our pantry…with a dash of sightseeing tossed in for good measure.

An odd feeling to look down at the canal we transited less than two months before

This young guy was a hoot as he led us through how to make a glass-blown ornament at the Sandwich Glass Museum

One of the many beautiful displays of blown and cut glass

A huge display showed the river (blue) that eventually became today’s canal (dark). The yellow shows the first attempt.

We stopped at the Cape Cod Canal Visitor Center, housed in a former Coast Guard boat house and learned more than we could ever remember about the canal and its history.

Our big day out took us east along Rte 28 from Sandwich to Chatham where we worked our way back as far as Hyannis before jumping up to Rte 6 and Sandy Neck Beach for a taste of a north-side rocky beach.

Chatham lighthouse- note the light got caught in the act

Chatham Beach looking out toward the surf-lined tricky entrance to the small harbor

The local vessels navigate with ease

Hundreds of dead horseshoe crabs lined the south shore beaches

Mother Nature creates spooky sand at Sandy Neck Beach

Our day out took us past the Cape Cod Mall and the plethora of shopping centers nearby. Our eagle-sharp eyes spotted a Not Your Average Joe’s in the mall and after noting a Pier 1, Kohl’s and Home Goods we decided to return the next afternoon for a healthy dose of home-stuff shopping culminating with dinner at Joe’s. Not only are the drinks and entrees delicious but the bread with cheese/garlic/EVOO is a meal in itself. So we had seconds, and when we had our remains boxed up (oh that sounds weird) our waiter insisted on giving us an entire fresh serving of bread and dipping oil. We ate like kings for days. 🙂

At the end of the month our firmly entrenched in Vermont son drove down for a few days to check out the new ride/home/escape vehicle and spend time with us and friends. We quickly put him to work helping clear out the second storage unit we’d rented for one month.

The perfect plate frame for Benj; excellent choice Lily

The door stuck so every time we had to take a hammer to it

Did you know that October is “get serious” month? No? Guess it falls to us to lead the way then. Work (for Russ), projects and more projects as we slowly give Anne those promised spa treatments with a few extras to make living aboard more pleasant.