Let the Dream Begin

My sister Karen texted us with "let the dream begin" the day we signed our side of the settlement statement. It seemed appropriate.

We had our home built when we got married. For both of us this was the longest we had ever lived in one place. We had put a lot of time and money improving the home. We built a monstrous deck, affectionately known as "deckzilla," that took years to complete. We finished part of the basement, added a shed, remodeled the master bathroom, and paved the driveway to name a few projects.

So, despite the excitement of starting a new phase of our life, it was a bit tough to leave. I'm thankful one of my neighbors, Karen, stood outside and waved as we drove off. That simple act put a smile on my face.

Our first day we drove to St. Clairsville, Ohio. It's just west of Wheeling, West Virginia. We had planned to overnight at Cabela's, but online camping websites indicated that overnighting was no longer allowed. Thankfully, the Cracker Barrel in St. Clairsville, still allowed overnight parking. We used one of our gift cards and purchased a family meal that came with free breakfast bowls. We got four meals out of that purchase and a place to sleep.

However, we woke up to snow flurries and when we arrived at our destination, there were vestiges of a recent snowfall. Hmm...maybe we should have headed a different direction. Brr...

Panorama of the two houses

"I knew I should have taken that left turn at Albuquerque." ---Bugs Bunny

Hub Oil

One of the most enjoyable things in life is the last peanut from the can, overflowing with the oil and salt of its departed brothers. MMMMMMmmmmmm, that's good.

Hubs nut company makes some of the best Virginia Peanuts.

I do love to munch on them from time to time, but now I am not talking about that type of hub oil.

Our bus' steering and tag axles have oil bath bearings. I am used to the nasty job of packing grease into the front axle bearings on cars I have owned and the wheels of the pop up camper we had before the bus. Oil bath bearings are new to me.

According to the Rayco Granning service manual for my IFS1660SHC Independent Front Suspension, I have to drain and replace the SAE 80W/90 oil from the hubs once a year. We must replace the oil yearly as opposed to the 100,000 miles a year indicator.

I use Mobil 1 synthetic gear oil, and this fancy pump that I picked up in the automotive section of a big box store makes the job super easy.


It is a very simple job to drain the oil and refill the hub, but not as enjoyable as those Hubs Peanuts. MMMM peanuts.