Gal-Gone-Camping

Hello Friends, Welcome to my blog!

Meet Etta Mae II

In this post I’m going to talk about my second van camper, the one I have now–the Etta Mae II. I will share the details of her along with a very memorable adventure. This lady is a white 1992 Ford Econo Line E-150 high top conversion van with baby blue cloth interior.  She has blue, gray, and a touch of red striping on the exterior which has started to fade and wear away, but the paint is still in great shape; no peeling at all.

The front portion has two overhead windows which provide excellent natural light and makes it resemble a Roadtrek. One time while camping in Lexington, KY, http://www.kyhorsepark.com a couple camped across from me walked over to check out my van which they thought was a Roadtrek. I was so honored! To think my old 1992 Ford hi-top looked like a Roadtrek motorhome was flattering indeed!

High Top Conversion Van Comparable To Roadtrek

If you are not familiar with this RV, http://www.roadtrek.com it is a Class B motorhome that is not much longer or wider than a high top conversion van, but has a bathroom and kitchen along with all other standard RV amenities. It came out in 1980, but originated from the Home & Park Vehicles Limited model in 1974, designed by Jac Hanemaayer, who bought the company.  Since then Roadtrek has developed a full line of these mini-motorhomes built on Mercedes, Chevy, and Dodge chassis. Roadtrek was bought out by Erwin Hymer Group in 2016.  There are many different models, but any new one is going to cost you $70-100,000 or more, depending on the package.  You are paying for the ease and convenience of that compactness. They certainly hold their value.  I just saw a 2002 that was priced at $27,995, and even a 1984 model was $10,000!  The high top conversion vans are the next best thing–in my opinion, and I will talk more about this in the next post.

Back to describing the Etta Mae II…she has accordion style window blinds that cover each window, whereas the other one had curtains.  I prefer the blinds.  Another low mileage beauty, with around 88,000 when I bought her, but a couple years older than my first one.  (“I’ve got a couple more years on you babe and that’s all…” One of my favorite tunes by my 2nd favorite country music artist ever!  You will find a clue as to who my #1 favorite singer is on the home page. Everything is a song with me!) This van also has those magical mood lights in the ceiling but no overhead storage at all.

Van Deja Vu!

I bought her in March of 2013 (my birthday month again, just like the first one. A van is a great gift to give yourself!) in Pike County, KY, at a lot that is no longer there.  She was 21 years old and I got the same looks and wondering thoughts as before…Hmmm, let’s hurry and sell this old has been to this silly old has been!  It sounded like a perfect match to me!  This “new” RV set me back all of $3,500 and I drove her home without any incidents, except for knowing that my dad would roll over in his grave if he knew his daughter was driving a Ford!

Mishaps Will Happen

The Etta Mae II and I have been on several adventures.  One of my favorites was last September to Hershey, PA to attend one of the largest RV shows in the country; held at the Giant Center, right next to Hershey’s Chocolate World!  This was about a 7 1/2 hour trip.  I went solo, as I usually do, and I had her checked out before I left, as I always do.

After being cleared for takeoff, I packed up and headed out, feeling free, excited, and happy to be on the road again in my second home, my “vamper.”  (I don’t know if I’m the first person to use the terms vamper and vamping, but I’m claiming them anyway!) About halfway to Hershey, in Morgantown, WV, traffic slowed down.  A flatbed truck carrying lumber had lost its load.  When I resumed speed, I noticed a sound in the van that did not sound good at all.  At first, I thought it was a piece of edging around the right front wheel well that was loose, but didn’t think it would make that much noise.  So, I got off at the next exit where I could safely get off the road.  All the gauges were reading normal.  I checked under the hood but didn’t see anything loose, broken, or leaking, but when I started the engine up, there it was again; a loud sound like something was about to fall apart!

So I called AAA http://www.AAA.com which is a godsend, and when the driver got there he looked under the hood and said the serpentine belt was broken.  I was embarrassed that I couldn’t tell that it was broken and made a mental note to myself to learn how to spot such problems.  Fortunately, I was only about a mile or so from a garage, so the AAA guy towed Etta Mae II and me there.  For the new belt and labor, it cost $139 and put me behind schedule a couple hours.  Now I had a decision to make.  I was halfway to my destination.  Should I go on or should I turn around and go back?  I thought about it for a little while.  Everything else with the van had been fine, and I knew if I went back I would be sorry, so I resumed my journey.  This was supposed to be an adventure and I needed to learn how to react and stay calm in any given situation.

Don’t Be Intimidated, Get The Facts

By the time I got to Harrisburg, PA which is less than 15 miles from Hershey, I ran into roadwork, it was getting late, and I was exhausted. I did not want to try to find my campsite in the dark, so  I decided to stay in a motel, get a good night’s sleep and head to the campground the next day after attending the RV show.

Morning brought a beautiful new day and a refreshed, excited, country gal ready to explore.  The Hershey Park Campground http://www.hersheyparkcampingresort.com  is located before you get to the Giant Center where the RV show was being held. I thought I would stop and have a look around and see where my campsite was.  I turned onto the road leading to the campground and the first thing I saw was vey large, very expensive, Class A motorhomes–the kind that look like tour buses.

Getting over the anxiety

Now I write from the heart and will always be completely honest with you about all of my experiences.  I think it’s very important that you understand everything about life on the road including the reality of it all; even the emotional part.  Here is one that I’m a little ashamed of…I immediately felt out of place and embarrassed to drive the EMII into that resort campground.  From a distance my vamper looks ok, but up close she shows her age. (Amazing how much we have in common!)  I even thought they might not let me stay if they saw her!  I let my anxiety override my head.  Instead of investigating further to find what I’m sure were less expensive, more worn RVs, I decided not to camp, but stay in the motel I stayed in the previous night.  I have regretted that decision ever since, but I learned a valuable lesson:  Don’t think less of yourself or your “RV,” and don’t assume anything.  I had a little bit of that feeling again just recently when I stayed at a private “resort” campground where there were lots of big rigs with golf carts.  However, I drove the EMII right in there, and now I’m over that feeling.  The owners were very nice to my family and me, and it turns out that my money spends the same!

Hershey RV Show–A Must See!

So, I continued on to the Hershey RV Show http://www.prva.org/rv-show/consumer-info and oh my goodness!  If you ever get a chance to go…GO!  It was amazing!  The Giant Center is huge; hence the name.

There was every type of RV you could imagine surrounding the outside of the building. Inside and outside were tons of vendors with so many different products associated with camping, RVing, mobile living, traveling, etc., and even seminars from many organizations.  I was so excited, I couldn’t believe I was actually here!  I’m pretty sure I walked off several pounds, and there was no way I was gonna be able to see it all.  I did have other business to attend to…I was in HERSHEY, PA ya know!

Right next door to the Giant Center is Hershey’s Chocolate World http://www.hersheypark.com and Hershey Park, so I took in as much of that as possible–literally.  Maybe there is such a thing as too much chocolate, cause I think those pounds I walked off at the RV show returned by the end of the day!  You can read all about Hershey, PA and my chocolate adventure in the Destination Everywhere tab.

Lessons Learned

This trip was a great learning experience.  The lessons I learned were: (1) Mishaps are going to happen sometimes on the road, it’s inevitable. (2) I had to put that fear behind me.  (3) I won’t be intimidated by the rich rigs and won’t be embarrassed by mine. (4) Get the facts before deviating from the plan.

Nice folks are everywhere!

A big shout out to the Howard Johnson Inn on Eishenhower Blvd. http://www.expedia.com in Harrisburg, PA.  They have very reasonable rates and such nice folks.  I got turned around on my way there and one of the guys on the staff guided me in on the phone.  A big thanks also to Hershey Park Resort Campground for refunding one night of my deposit.  I told them about the setback I had on the road, explaining that repairs took longer than expected.  I did not tell them why I didn’t stay the second night.  I was embarrassed to tell them I was embarrassed!  Info on the campground can be found on the Campground/Sites tab.

Another lesson I learned on this trip…with each adventure you grow as a person.  By the way, I did not win the GeoPro camper.

Until next time…Don’t Wait to LIVE!

See ya down the road…

Catrina