WELCOME

Welcome. The Two Leos (My Trusty Companion and I) are glad you stopped by. I have created this site to document and share our adventures as we travel around the United States. In 2011, these travels were limited to weekend outings and vacations. We used these to explore areas which will be visited more extensively in the future. Beginning in 2012, we expanded our travels as we transition to the full-time RV lifestyle. Check back from time to time to see our wanderings.

Quote

“...not all those who wander are lost...” Tolkien, J. R. R. (1954), The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings, Boston: Houghton Mifflin (published 1987), "Strider", ISBN 0-395-08254-4

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Bikin' to Escapade

We are now in Sedalia, Missouri and will be headed to the State Fairgrounds here tomorrow for the Escapees RV Club's RV Boot Camp. Following Boot Camp, the Escapees annual rally (Escapade) will kick-off for a week. We have been members of Escapees for over a year, but this is our first opportunity to attend one of their events.

In the information provided in preparation for Escapade, it was noted that a vehicle, bicycle or scooter will be useful to traverse the distance between the RV parking area and Escapade events. So this afternoon we went shopping for a bicycle. And we made a purchase at a local pawn shop.





 It's a Huffy Cranbrook Cruiser that apears to be brand new. It cost $44, so if it doesn't prove useful, it won't be a big loss.

As soon as we got back to the trailer I unloaded it from the back of my truck and hopped on-board to give it a try. I'm not sure what happened next, but I immediately found myself on the ground on my back with my legs tangled up in the bike. So, now I have some biker battle scars.





Following the admonition to "get back on the horse that bucked you", I got back on and rode the bike around the RV park. Then I tightened the handle bars (which were loose), inflated the tires (which were almost flat) and raised the seat (which made peddling much easier), I'm now cruising much better. Perhaps I should have made these adjustments first. They say you never forget how to ride a bike once you learn, but I can attest that taking a 40 year break does make getting back on-board a little tentative. I'm sure a few days riding will remedy that.

The rest of the day we have spent relaxing in the RV, to recover from four days on the road. The trip trough Kansas on the Santa Fe Trail was pleasant with good roads, interesting scenery and little traffic. However, when we reached Kansas City, where we crossed into Missouri, we left the secondary highways and rejoined the Interstate. This was not fun. We were shoulder to shoulder with eighteen wheelers and city traffic, which was challenging. We missed our exit to US50 to Sedalia and had to head on down I70 for a way until we could find another exit. Once we exited we found a vacant parking lot where we could park long enough to study our map and determine our revised route to Sedalia. Then we headed back to the Interstate and found that where we had exited there was no entry back onto the Interstate. So we wandered around neighborhood streets till we found our way back on track. I don't mean to be critical, but Leo is USELESS as a copilot!

The RV park at which we spent the day recuperating does not have cable or WiFi. We ran up our TV antenna and have been able to receive three channels:


  • PBS
  • Create
  • and a channel that broadcasts Al Jazeera English News, and mystery movies from France and Italy with English subtitles.
Fortunately. my Verizon hotspot is getting good 4G connection so I can be entertained  by continuing to drill through the TV series Eureka. I'm now on Season 4, Episode 12. Got to love Netflix.

No comments: