added a post on our maiden voyage

1 files changed, 48 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/published/2017-01-15_wilds-of-winder.txt b/published/2017-01-15_wilds-of-winder.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bb98f80
--- /dev/null
+++ b/published/2017-01-15_wilds-of-winder.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+A couple weeks back we thought we had a buyer for the house but it fell through last minute. It was enough, however, to get everyone excited at the prospect of actually hitting the road. And then that hope was yanked away. 
+
+To make up for that we decided it was time to do something of an exploratory trip, something to help us discover all the little things we needed to do to get everything livable in the bus. 
+
+The house fiasco happened to coincide with a few days of warm weather so I packed up the bus and we hit the road for a short trip out to Fort Yargo State Park, a lake that sits, more or less, in downtown Winder, about 30 minutes from our house.
+
+<img src="images/2017/2017-01-12_144535_fort-yargo.jpg" id="image-271" class="picwide" />
+
+Surprisingly though Fort Yargo ends up feeling like you're more out in nature than you really are. And it worked out well to camp ten minutes from a tasty Laotian restaurant since I haven't actually hooked up the propane system yet and cooking consists of balancing a Coleman stove atop the Travco's actual stove. It worked well enough for breakfast. On the whole it was a bit like tent camping in a 27ft fiberglass shell. The bus ran well, as well as I expected on the way out. Right as we pulled into the campground it started to hesitate when I accelerated, but I managed to get it parked reasonably level and pushed that out my mind for a couple of days.
+
+<div class="cluster">
+<img src="images/2017/2017-01-14_073712_fort-yargo.jpg" id="image-284" class="cluster picwide" />
+<span class="row-2">
+<img src="images/2017/2017-01-13_070019_fort-yargo.jpg" id="image-277" class="cluster pic5 caption" />
+<img src="images/2017/2017-01-13_061421_fort-yargo-01.jpg" id="image-276" class="cluster pic5 caption" />
+</span>
+</div>
+
+We pulled in around 2 in the afternoon and the ranger at the visitor center apologized for the fact that the lake was in the process of being drained. I didn't say anything but I was thinking, *you just created possibly the largest mud flat my kids are ever going to see and you're apologizing?*
+
+<img src="images/2017/2017-01-13_114931_fort-yargo.jpg" id="image-280" class="picwide" />
+
+We found a spot that backed up along what would have been a little inlet, but was currently just a sandy, muddy ravine. About two minutes after the engine shut off everyone was in the mud.
+
+<div class="cluster">
+<img src="images/2017/2017-01-12_150254_fort-yargo.jpg" id="image-272" class="cluster picwide" />
+<span class="row-2">
+<img src="images/2017/2017-01-12_153248_fort-yargo.jpg" id="image-274" class="cluster pic5" />
+<img src="images/2017/2017-01-12_153249_fort-yargo.jpg" id="image-275" class="cluster pic5" />
+</span>
+<img src="images/2017/2017-01-12_153143_fort-yargo.jpg" id="image-273" class="cluster picwide" />
+<span class="row-2">
+<img src="images/2017/2017-01-13_144257_fort-yargo.jpg" id="image-281" class="cluster pic5" />
+<img src="images/2017/2017-01-12_152620_fort-yargo_MEg0j6p.jpg" id="image-285" class="cluster pic5" />
+</span>
+</div>
+
+We had intended to only stay one night, but Fort Yargo was running a two nights for the price of one special, so, why not? The first night was a little bit of a rough bed time, it's hard to fall asleep when you're excited and everything is new. By the second night it just felt like the way things are and the kids were asleep by their normal bed time. We sat up by the campfire, but if you look closely at the breakfast images above, you'll noticed that it's still dark out. That means we rarely stay up much later than the kids.
+
+<img src="images/2017/2017-01-13_084959_fort-yargo.jpg" id="image-279" class="picwide caption" />
+<img src="images/2017/2017-01-13_192213_fort-yargo.jpg" id="image-282" class="picwide" />
+<img src="images/2017/2017-01-13_193237_fort-yargo.jpg" id="image-283" class="picwide" />
+
+Then we had to go home and yes, the stalling while accelerating thing did come back to bite me. I spent some quality time with the bus in a parking lot messing with the carburetor. Eventually I gave up and called Progressive road side assistance, which was a mistake. Progressive refused to tow to a mechanic of my choice and wanted to send me to a Ford dealership that didn't have the slightest idea how to work on a Dodge RV. I know because I called them[^1]. What a bucket of fail Progressive turned out to be. Really hope their insurance is better or we're screwed.
+
+Eventually I managed to coax the bus into running and together the bus and I limped home. It turned out... well, you wouldn't believe me if I told you so I'll just say I'm not sure how I did it exactly, but I did. Now she's headed in for a new carb, exhaust work and a new muffler. After that, I think it'll be time to get back on the road, whether the house is sold or not.
+
+[^1]: Needless to say I have since cancelled Progressive roadside assistance. After asking around on some RV forums I decided to go with AAA Premier RV assistance. It ain't cheap, but it lets me pick the mechanic I want and that could potentially save thousands by stopping some idiot from messing up the bus. Seems worth the extra money.