“Here we go, one more time, everybody’s feeling fine, here we go now…”

A Pre-Summer Blog Tease! As the title by NSYNC says, here we go.
Z3 are on the road again! We wisely decided that we needed to get away, and booked a Memorial Day Weekend stay at our favorite Ocean View Campground. We left Thursday afternoon, around 4:30. That was not necessarily a great move, as the traffic was horrific getting to and on the Garden State Parkway. A normally 2 hour trip took about 3 hours. It was great that we had cooked and prepared dinner before we ever left – as we didn’t get to eat until much later than expected. Usually, the first set up of the season takes a bit longer than normal. And, as usual, a glitch has followed us to our camping vacation.

Last week, I led an “Ed Camp” (read “discussion!”) with some of my colleagues on the ins and outs of RVing. My first words were to always expect some kind of a glitch. Last year, we had to deal with a shattered window. In 2014, it was an unconnected sink pipe and faulty plumbing. In 2013, it was horrible road conditions and difficult driving situations. In 2012, we needed to replace the hot water heater igniter. In 2011, the lighting relay between the car and the trailer failed. In 2010, the cars transmission died. And, in 2009, we replaced 2 tires, the car battery, and the brake system. So, as Roseanne Roseannadanna said, “it’s always something”.

When we uncovered the RV earlier this week, I cleaned and dusted everything. (P.S. I NEVER DUST inside my real house!!) At that time, I noticed a small stream of water on the floor. That’s never a good sign. Long story short, our hot water heater tank cracked over the winter. Those of you who need RV translation: that’s NOT GOOD. We never got around to winterizing the RV, and this is the result. You may now begin the WHY???? questioning. Look, this past autumn was a hectic one; school starting, followed by Jewish holidays, followed by my mom not feeling well, followed by my foot surgery, followed by Mikaela applying to colleges and her senior year experiences….etc. We just never got around to winterizing. And, the one or two times I asked about it, Rich pointed out the mild winter we were having, and let it drop. Note to self and all of you – NEVER let the winter go by without winterizing! Here’s the result of our stupidity: We have no hot water, and will have to have the water heater replaced.

How does that affect our camping this weekend? Well, we happen to be at a site that’s incredibly close to the bathrooms and showers. We never had to use them before, but we knew they were spotless. Campgrounds normally charge a minimal amount for showers, so we had our quarters ready! It was a quarter for 5 minutes – which, if you’re paying for it, is about half as much as you need! And the showers are beautiful! They are clean, private, modern – and the perfect solution to our water heater issue. Back in the RV, we boiled water for washing dishes and hands and faces, and we were all good. We truly made lemonade out of a “lemon” situation. We will be having the repairs done in the next few weeks, before our big summer trip.

In any case, Thursday night was comfortable sleeping, as the weather was fabulous. Friday we woke up at a human time, and got packed up to go to the shore. Since I drove a car behind Rich on our trip down, we have a car at our disposal. (It’s Rich’s Mom’s car, and we will be dropping it off to her on our way home.) We drove to Cape May, as we never experienced the beaches there. Well, it was a crystal clear day, and we found a free parking spot. We got onto the beach (free as well), and set up the chairs and umbrella. There were others on the beach, and all was beautiful. There was just one small issue…it was COLD!! The sun was very hot, but the wind off the ocean was crazy. We stayed for a while, and then I called it quits. We drove down the block a bit, and ate lunch in a really pretty area. Then, we just walked up and down Ocean Avenue. That was perfect. The breeze felt perfect there, and we were in summer heaven. An ice cream treat in an old fashioned ice cream parlor topped off the day. We headed back to cook and get comfortable in our new surroundings.

Saturday was a very lazy day. We ate, read, slept, walked, talked to our neighbors, and relaxed. Relaxation – it’s a feeling with which I am not familiar. It is now Saturday evening, and I am in my happy place – blogging by the fire. The weather has been perfect – not too hot, zero humidity, and bright sunshine. Heaven.

Trivia question: What candy does English Toffee Ice Cream incorporate into its deliciousness? (It’s a deep question for the first blog!) Answer will be found in our first post of the summer.

Our plans for Sunday are up in the air. The forecast is uncertain, and weather will determine our course. On the schedule is a trip to North Wildwood to see the Hereford Inlet Lighthouse, and take a scenic walk along the ocean. If the weather doesn’t cooperate, we’ll find something else to do. This weekend is an easy one – the only expectation is to relax, and stop the crazy merry-go-round we have been living for months. Rich said, “Wow, this is an interesting feeling I’m having…relaxing. I don’t know how to process it.” Mikaela and I feel exactly the same. Going to enjoy that feeling – hot water or not – for another day or so.

Hoping your weekend is lovely. Take a minute to remember those who gave their lives for our country.  Enjoy the pictures. See you soon.

Marla, Rich and Mikaela