Getting short...

 

Yeah, you "shrink" with age.  I think your spine compresses, which contributes to all those aches and pains that come with "the golden years."  But, that's not what I mean... our time here is getting short.  I was ready to roll (in my head) long before our planned departure day, tomorrow.  Not that we haven't enjoyed our time here... just that Mother Nature made it more of an effort for everything, mostly due to all the rain.  To emphasize that point: yesterday, the day started with sunshine... we both commented that seeing some sun was nice for a change; seems that most mornings in this location have started with fog.  I guess that shouldn't be a surprise since we are so close to The Great Smoky Mountains National Park... that "smoky" name is due to fog, not actual smoke.

The coach has been cleaned and waxed (thank you, Joan).  Much of the patio stuff has been put away.  The fresh water holding tank has been sanitized and is ready to go; the black and gray holding tanks will be dumped tomorrow morning when we put the utilities away.

Today, we will clean and put away the camp chairs and patio mat.  If you remember that stake holding one corner of the catio not coming out, I had asked a young man who works here in the campground if he had any suggestions for what I could do to get that out: he said, "I'll come by and take a look at it."  He did; and brought a large pry bar with him.  Even with that, he had to put his young back into it... "Respect to whoever pounded that in," he said, looking at me.  I pointed at Joan.  ;-)

I'll lube slide tracks right before we put the slides in.  Bikes will get strapped down today.  Last thing tomorrow before we roll will be backing the motorhome to the cargo trailer and getting that hooked up.  Oh, and stopping to pay for a month of electricity at the office on our way out.

We're wondering how Murphy will do when we start the motor and hit the road again?

--------

Psychic...

Two days ago, Joan said that I should get the fresh water tank ready to go "just in case the water goes out."  The cable TV here goes out every time there's a thunderstorm or heavy rain... but, the water has never gone out.

I started the sanitizing process on the tank before she even said anything, but I generally don't fill the tank until just before we're ready to roll, or a day ahead at most, to make sure I'm putting absolutely fresh water in there.

Yep - you guessed it: this morning when we were cleaning up, the water went out.  We heard neighbors asking each other, "Do you have water?"  If you asked us, the answer would be "Yes!"... it was our holding tank of nice fresh water.  So, we could clean up as usual.  We turned on our water pump and went about our business.

No, I don't think she had any advance knowledge about the water outage... she just knows.  It's why we're so good together: she is psychic and I am psychotic.  ;-)

--------

One last run on the scoot into town... I was craving one more calzone before we leave.  Joan ordered it online, I rode in to get it.  On the instructions, Joan put: "Please cut it in half and put it in two smaller boxes - I will be picking it up on a motorcycle."

I got to the place early, and they had my calzone ready in just a couple minutes... in one large box.  The woman working at the front counter let out a big sigh and rolled her eyes when I told her - "It needs to be in two smaller boxes; it should say that on the instructions."  Sure enough, there it was.  And the two boxes fit just fine under the seat of my Burgman (along with a styrofoam cup of marinara).  It was still warm when I got back to the coach... and tasty!

We had strapped the Xmax down in the trailer earlier; the Burgman joined it when we were done with the calzone.  The sky had turned dark gray on my way into Maggie Valley - I was relieved to get the scoot into the trailer without it getting rained on!  The patio mat has been pulled up and put away. 2 of the 3 patio chairs are put away.  The rest of the stuff to go into the cargo trailer is stashed.  One chair (Joan's) and the catio remain, so Murphy could get a bit more outside time... and now, that is getting stashed.

Really close.  There will be a flurry of activity in the morning after we shower; I will get our utility stuff put away and we'll get the cargo trailer hitched up.  We're planning on doing about 250 miles tomorrow, and we gain an hour - I'll be glad to be out of the Eastern Time Zone so prime time shows and Jimmy Fallon are on at the "right time."  ;-)

The "naked" patio...

 

And the distance back to the cargo trailer...