Few months away to the main trip, and we still face some important questions regarding La Poderosa, and something we could not address previously was the plumbing conditions:
- Are the water tanks working? How do they actually work? How is the plumbing? Can we rely on the RV for water usage in the desert?
Originally these were not really hard questions to figure it out, but testing these systems at a driveway would be impossible. So here was the latest plan: go to a state park with RV sites, connect the hoses and plumbing, and figure out the systems. Great, on top of that, we could possibly meet some other RV owners and get some pointers on things.
The plan is set, we reserved a site at the Salt Rock State Campground in Connecticut, bought some beers, got some pounds of red meat and got ready for the trip.
Well, we were in a great mood, despite the fact we were only able to leave Stamford around 4pm Saturday (and we had to come back next day and we had a list of tasks planned for the weekend), but once on the road, happiness was all reigning again inside La Poderosa: the sound system was working fine, the girl felt lighter after the generator removal, and best of all, we had just purchased a new grill and were about to do our very first trip around.
Our brand new Weber charcoal grill, the highlight of the evening
(Un)Fortunately, life is full of surprises, and its on you to decide if the glass is half full or half empty. At our first attempt trying to use the city water hook up, we basically flooded La Poderosa’s interior. Not good, and even worse if you consider it is carpeted and we have intensively tried to remove the mold odors out of it… Water was flowing freely inside and we had no idea what the hell was the problem. Next attempt was using the water tanks. Well, again, not so good: water was AGAIN leaking inside the RV, and the carpet was soaked. But we were able to confirm the water tank was working as well as the water pump. :)
But the night was approaching and nothing better than a nice piece of Picanha to cheer some spirits up!
The food was actually great, and that did help us forget the plumbing issues for a minute and focus on other items we needed to fix: the poker table needed some tightening, the sheets needed to be placed back, the seats needed the upholstery back, and things like that. We decided the next morning we would first focus on the easy things then take another look a the plumbing.
Here is the beauty of life, and how one failed day can absolutely be followed by a nice Sunday: it was our first time actually sleeping inside of it, and despite the fact we did not verbalized it, we both new La Poderosa wanted to make the trip with us: we were taking care of small things, tightening screws here and there, cleaning and vacuuming the water out, taking care of every small detail.. We were a family now… We knew we had to respect it, and it would respect us back.
The plumbing issue all of a sudden became a small detail: we’ve traced it back to a hose connection, and we are confident we will be able to fix it. The game is on!
Note #1: Remember in 10 years how Adriano was desperately trying to light up the grill and took him almost 1 hour.
Note #2: Remember in 10 years that I was trying to be a Smartass and show him how to light up the grill using a “fan”, but because I didn't have a fan I tried instead using the vacuum, thing is, it vacuumed the almost-lit charcoal and melted the vacuum cleaner!
Note #3: Also remember that Adriano was not able to light up the grill Sunday morning, so we gave up eating steak for breakfast. We actually even tried using engine oil and toilet paper but that didnt work. Lesson learned: we need cooking oil and newspaper for the trip!
Note #4: The plan to meet some random RV owner and ask for tips did not happen: we were literally the only people camping at the ENTIRE state park.. the previous weekend was a holiday (i am bad remembering holidays) …
