Rally Tour - First Stop

It has been about a month since our last post. We have spent the time at home seemingly rebuilding our house. It was not what we had planned; it just evolved. The plan was to paint the outside of the house. The house is brick and the painting was for the trim. The painter inspected the dental trim along the roof line and found water had backed up in the gutters and had caused damage to the plywood under the roof shingles. This led to a roof inspection which revealed significant shingle decay. You see where this is going? We now have a new roof, new gutters, considerable re-grading under the deck, and new deck planking. The painting is yet to be done.

First stop is Bethpage Camp-Resort in Urbanna, VA. This is Monaco America's fall rally. This is the same rally we attended last October in Tucson, AZ. We arrived here yesterday afternoon after a pleasant drive of about 95-miles. The rally does not begin until Monday, but many folks have arrived early. We have talked with folks from Texas, Michigan, and Florida.

Yesterday had its anxious moments. We turned on the refrigerator in the coach Thursday night expecting it to be cold yesterday morning. We failed to verify that the motor was operating. We were surprised in the morning when the alarm bell was ringing - no propane. The tank was full but gas was not reaching the refrigerator or the range.

The manuals were of zero help. Ralph called our mentor Al for advice. Al said, "You have a pressure problem. The problem is in the regulator. Get a hammer and lightly tap the regulator." It worked; problem solved. Unfortunately, we then had to wait until the refrigerator cooled before we could leave. There is no substitute for experience; thanks Al.

We will be here at Bethpage until next Friday. Rally activities begin Monday and continue through Thursday night. We will travel from here to Greensboro, NC for the Monaco Harvest Come Home Rally at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex. That rally begins Monday and runs through Thursday night. We will get home Friday evening. The time in Greensboro will be dry camping.

It is good to be on the road again. We are blessed with exceptional fall weather. We need rain badly, but there is none in sight. It should be a fun two weeks.