Time Zone: Eastern
Today's Weather: 59ºF, rainy with a chill
Length of Layoff Stop: 3 days/4 nights
Next move: in three days
With the help of Swiffer and Shark I was right on schedule to send a very nice message. But the RV had its own message and it was determined to be louder. My floors might have said, "Look how well I turned out!" but that doesn't really compete with a hot water heater who declares, "If you think anyone is showering this weekend, think again."
I'm supremely blessed with a mother who doesn't give a crap about that kind of thing and endures pretty much everything with a grace and good humor to which I've long aspired. I never feared she'd have a bad time, showers or no, even though I was disappointed that she so immediately got to see how challenged we can sometimes be by RV living. She seemed delighted to enjoy the retreat of our waterside spot, whatever the condition of our skin and hair. And that's what makes her the ideal companion with whom to go through a water-heater breakdown.
One thing no one at a campsite ever expects their neighbors to do is to mind their own business. There are no clear boundaries between sites and you're often obliged to park so that your picture window looks directly into the bedroom next door. Even at this luxurious resort it was no mystery that our neighbors on one side were also experiencing a mechanical problem and had also called in a professional. And this other mechanic could not help but overhear the "Huh" diagnosis pronounced at our site. He was an older man, of much fewer words, driving a much more beat-up van containing much more disorganized parts. With a minimum amount effort he glanced at the exposed heap of water heater parts and indicated the ones that needed replacing.
How long will it take? I asked. Two hours, he said. How much would it cost? I asked. It'll cost what it'll cost, he said. Which, uncannily, turned out to be exactly how much it cost.
Having already enjoyed many hours of a shower-free bohemian life my mother and I decided to laze away the rest of the day's sunshine taking walks by the water and cooking up jambalaya for dinner with Jonathan (who had earlier braved an ice cold shower in order to do some vocal coaching at the theater without stinking up the place). With our option to shower restored we could now refuse it and feel decadent, no matter that the exact same conditions, under involuntary deprivation, felt like limitation and impoverishment. In the end "relaxation" was the order of the day.
Miles Driven with RV: 4568.3 miles
Days Lived in RV: 74 days
Camps Overnighted in RV: 11 RV parks, 1 Walmart, 1 Casino Parking Lot
States Camped in RV: 9 (TX, AL, TN, IN, KY, IL, NC, WV, MD)