On RV Toilet Paper

I think I promised another social hour story.

There are a few things which RVers don’t talk about much in public.  One of those topics is toilet paper.  It is difficult for the nonRVer to get their mind around black tanks, gray tanks, sewer hoses, sewer donuts, and toilet paper.  Among RVers, however, this is a hot topic of discussion, especially if you have just purchased your very first RV.  The host of our 4 o’clock social hour not only brought up the subject of toilet paper, he also had a demonstration and hands-on activity.  Now just hold on a minute before you get too grossed out (or excited); it was not whatever you are thinking.

New RVers always have the question of what type toilet tissue is safe for the black tank.  This information is readily available for the seeking.  Our owner’s manual even provides a lengthy list of what can and cannot be deposited in the black tank.  For example, under no circumstances are wet wipes or even Kleenex to go down that hole.  Our manufacturer suggests the use of nothing except toilet tissue clearly marked as “safe for RVs”.  The goal here is to use a product which will disintegrate in the tank as much and as quickly as possible.  There is a test which can be done to determine if the tissue you want to use meets the RV standard for disintegration.  It was this test which our social hour host conducted with the help of his audience.

We use the brand in the second jar from the left.

He had several of the popular brands of toilet tissue which he enclosed in a quart canning jar filled with water—one brand per jar.  These jars were then passed to the attendees to be shaken for a few seconds.  It is obvious which brands of tissue will be safe for your black tank.  There were two tissue types which were included in the test which are rarely found on your grocery shelves these days, but were very familiar to this audience “of a certain age”—a page from a catalogue and a corn cob.

There was a substantial rain this morning which began in the predawn hours and continued until mid-morning.  We were glad of our decision yesterday not to try to travel today.  Instead, we enjoyed coffee, bagels, and fellowship with other RVers at the clubhouse this morning.  We had a relaxed day of internet surfing, reading, sudoku, and phone conversations with various family members.  A good day all round.

We are rested and, with clear skies in the forecast for tomorrow, we will hitch ‘em up and move ‘em out toward Texas in the morning.

Show and Tell at the Quilting Circle

Among the many craft groups that meet regularly at the clubhouse, is a small group of ladies who enjoy quilting.  Yesterday afternoon at the social hour, one of the quilters announced that this morning would be “Show and Tell”.  If you had a quilt, or a piece of a quilt, or even a quilting idea, yours or anyone else’s, bring it along and share with the group.  I decided I’d take the quilt off my bed, which was a gift to me from my Aunt Betty.

Aunt Betty's quilt

As a child, I spent a great deal of time at my grandparents’ home.  I do not remember a time when there was not a quilt in progress and most of the time there were several.  My grandmother taught me, as well as all her daughters and most of her granddaughters, to quilt.  I spent countless hours at the quilting frame.

My Aunt Betty is the only one of the many females who continued (I should say continues) to make quilts.  Betty is quite an accomplished quilter and has been asked over the years to teach quilting classes for various groups.  One of her favorite patterns to make is the “log cabin”.  The log cabin is a very versatile pattern and quilts can look totally different simply by varying the arrangement of pieces.

The quilt she gave me several years ago is one of her variations on the log cabin pattern and it is hand quilted—not such a common thing these days.  I took that quit to the quilting meeting today to share as a tribute to Aunt Betty, as well as to my grandmother, who taught us to quilt.

Running into Old Friends and Making New

We had a few chores on the list so we stuck pretty close to home today.  Our only adventure away from the campground was a Wal-Mart drug run this morning.  I took the opportunity to purchase a couple small stackable wire shelves in an effort get my cabinets a little more organized.  We got back home in time to do our walk around the campground.  We have learned that the distance of one lap around the park parameter roads is 1.5 miles.  We did 2 laps today and need to make that a priority every day.

Boat dock at Big Daddy's

We got a wonderful surprise at the clubhouse last night.  As we were enjoying our baked spaghetti meal, Gene got a tap on the shoulder.  We were shocked to see it was Tony, whom we had met at Two Rivers Campground in Nashville in November.  We had a great visit with Tony and his wife, Diana, after the meal and are looking forward to spending a little more time catching up with their travels while we are here.  We knew they were coming this way, but we certainly didn’t expect to see them since they had left Nashville a full month ahead of us.  Their story had the familiar ring of many we have talked to at this park—they got here planning to stay only a few days and have been here for 5 weeks, so far.

This afternoon, we went over for the 4 o’clock social hour and afterwards went out to dinner with new friends, Norm and Linda and Don and Gloria.  We went to a small, family run local fish and seafood place—Big Daddy’s. We got a few tips on places to see while in Texas and a few pointers on the RV lifestyle in general.   The food and conversation were both excellent and we thoroughly enjoyed getting to know these folks better.  We’re not leaving until Sunday, so I’m sure we will get to chat with them a few more times.

We don’t have a plan for tomorrow.  Whatever it is, I’m sure it will be great and will probably include a little socializing with friends.

A Throwed Roll Experience

The rains came as predicted overnight.  But it hasn’t been a steady rain all day; there have been dry times.  Gene took advantage of one of those times to continue rubbing on the Montana.  It is a never ending process to keep the outside clean and polished.  We had so much rain during our stay in Nashville that he didn’t get as much done as he had hoped.  It is long overdue now and is taking some real elbow grease.

This is only the second time we have stayed at an Escapee park.  They have many activities and camping options which we are interested in learning about.  This morning we went over to the clubhouse to meet a few people and ask a few questions.  They were just finishing up breakfast.  We had eaten at home because we thought you had to sign up for meals in advance.  That is only true for the Tuesday and Thursday evening meal.  Now we know.  There were several folks still there from breakfast and a craft fair/garage sale was also getting started when we arrived.  We were able to meet several new couples, whom we hope to see again in our travels.  We finally got to meet Norm and Linda Payne.  Gene has used the information on their website for several years to learn about the RVing lifestyle.  Hopefully, we’ll have the opportunity to visit with them again before we leave.

Photo of a journal page

While Gene rubbed on the Montana, I started work on my next major project.  Once again it has to do with digitizing photographs.  For several years, I kept handwritten journals of our activities.  Living in such a small space prohibits carrying around all that paper.  This past December I finally got the last of those journals transcribed to word documents and copied to CDs.  All I have left now are 4 spiral bound journals which are a combination of the handwritten account and the photos, postcards, and patches that go along with the written text.  I guess the best way to describe it is an elementary form of scrapbooking.  It certainly isn’t as elaborate as the scrapbooks we think of today.  I have struggled with what to do with these journals.  While we were in Nashville, a friend mentioned that her husband was preserving old photos by taking a digital photo of the paper picture.  That sounded like a solution to my journal problem.  The main problem I have is light.  Inside it is too dark not to use a flash, however, the flash creates a glare on the glossy finish photo.  Outside on a sunny day, the sunlight is too harsh and also causes a glare.  Today is perfect.  With the overcast skies I can photograph my photograph in front of a window and get enough light without using the flash.  I have included a couple pictures of our trip the Mt. Whitney in California, the highest point in the lower 48 at just under 14,500 feet.

For lunch we went to Lambert’s.  They are famous for their throwed rolls and before we could even tell them how many was in our party we had been thrown hot rolls right out of the pan.  All during our meal, rolls were flying around the dining room.  Also making they way around the dining room (thankfully not in the air) were the “pass arounds”—fried okra, macaroni and tomatoes, pinto beans, potatoes and onions, and apple butter and molasses for the rolls. The food was good, not outstanding, but it was all about the experience.

On our way home we stopped by the seafood market for our first pound of fresh shrimp which we are having over pasta for dinner.

We plan to go to the 4 o’clock social hour this afternoon the meet a few more people and the rest of the afternoon and evening we will kick back and relax.

Escapees Park, Summerdale, Alabama

We made the run from De Funiak Springs, Florida to Summerdale, Alabama this morning.  It was a pleasant ride, but not uneventful.  Most often Gene will fill up the truck when he doesn’t have the Montana attached to the back.  It is just so much easier and less stressful that way.  Today, however, the plan was to stop at a truck stop just 25 miles from the campground.  We had a half tank of fuel, so no problem.  The rationale for not fueling up yesterday was because it was a 20 mile round trip drive into town.


The problem, which we did not anticipate, was that the truck stop was closed—as in gone out of business.  Lucky for us, the road was 5 lanes across and had virtually no traffic.  It was easy to make a U-turn, even with the behemoth in tow.  I sat with the Next Exit Guide in my lap until we got to the closest RV friendly diesel pump.  The Next Exit Guide is a fantastic resource.  It lists all the interstate exits and includes what services are available at each exit, such as food, fuel, and lodging.  It indicates where hospitals are and Wal-Marts.  For fuel, it states whether or not they sell diesel and places which will accommodate RVs are listed in red. We use it a lot and it certainly did come in handy today.  The next fuel was only 50 miles down the road, but by the time we got there we had worked ourselves up into a nervous state with visions of it too being out of business.

An unusual rig we saw at the Welcome Center

Peanut and I waited in the truck at the Alabama Welcome Center as Gene went in to gather up brochures for places and/or attractions we might like to visit while near Mobile and Gulf Shores.  Like most RVers, we pay attention to other RVs we see along the road. I have included a picture of a class B and its unusual tow which pulled into the Welcome Center while we were there.

We finally made it to our destination about noon.  We will be staying here at the Escapee campground in Summerdale for at least a week and I suspect we will add another week.  There are several things we want to see in Mobile and Gulf Shores.  This is a large park comprised of two areas.  There are 75 sites which are used for folks like us who are here for 1 night or even for the winter.  Then there is what they call “the village” area where RVers have bought the lot and built a small dwelling.  Tomorrow I will try to get a few pictures of that area.  As you can see from the picture of our campsite, it is huge.  All sites are back-ins and they are all as wide as ours.  We have neighbors on both sides, but you can hardly see them in the photo.  All sites are grass and most have a tree.  This is a popular winter park for many snowbirds.  And no wonder; for Escapee members the price is only about $11/night.  The calendar they gave us was full of all kinds of activities from computer classes to line dancing.  They also prepare a couple meals each week.  We didn’t go tonight, but they were having pork tenderloin with vegetables for just $6 per person.  Like all Escapee parks, they have a daily 4 PM social hour.

After we got settled and had a bite of lunch, we made a grocery run.  The nearest supermarket is Wal-Mart which is about 10 miles from here.  I wish it were a little more convenient, but it was a very nice store and brand new.

We are still working on what we will do tomorrow, but whatever it is will probably be in the Gulf Shores area.