My heart is full! Took my ‘08 Winnebago View, affectionately known as BESSie, more than 2,500 miles through Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland and Virginia to spend time with my kids, grandkids and the tribe! It was everything I dreamed of! Cuddled with Clahra, my new granddaughter for hours, learned that the 5 year-old Connor is a chess whiz and held impressive conversations with Zach who exhibited a level of awareness beyond many adults. National Campground in Zanesville, OH was a delightful setting to camp with my son, Aaron and BenJen where we grilled hotdogs. Though I reserved a spot at Papatasco State Park in Maryland and Westmoreland State Park in Virginia, I ended up staying with the kids or Boondocking near them. Lesson learned.

The most difficult day was the first. I blew a tire near Farmer City, IL. Fortunately, it happened just a few hundred feet from a rest stop, so was able to get off the Highway. The blast damaged the storage compartment and broke the brace that secured the tail pipe. A kind RVer used zip ties that lifted the tail pipe and helped locate Walkers Tire Center. They opened early the next morning and with the purchase of four new tires (in addition to new front tires last season), BESSie, the RV, my is wearing a full set of new shoes.

The oil light came on intermittently during the journey home, but with a bit of sleuthing and some expert advice from Brad at O’Reilleys near Hilliard, OH and reading some posts on Facebook, I learned that the sensor detects minor overfill.

I am so pleased with how this machine performs on the road and you can expect to read more about our future travels!