We still don’t have Wi-Fi connection and our AT&T cell phones and hot spot do not work in Forest City, Iowa (I knew we should have gotten Verizon).  Regardless, we’re writing the blog in the hope that it will get to you, the reader, eventually.

We finally left the nest and went off on our own. Since we don’t have a convenient address to receive mail in the States, we are waiting in the general area for the license plates to be delivered to the RV dealership.  It is beautiful here in small town, rural America and we are enjoying the quiet and scenery.  We can understand why people would want to live here; when taking a walk or shopping, everyone who passes us by, whether walking, running, biking, or driving a car, says “hello” and gives a big smile – hard to believe but true, never once were we not greeted in a happy manner.  Maybe there is a Pleasantville out there.  We have been told that Forest City is a Winnebago town (the factory is one mile from the dealer), and people really do appreciate those of us who have chosen to buy here.

We have set up camp in the Forest City campground; there are woods and trees, rivers with people fishing, and an easy two-mile hiking trail which we walked twice today.  After all the running around we’ve been doing over the last week – since we arrived in the States – this was a welcome change.  We may decide to spend Shabbat here.

We’re still getting used to the van; there seems to continually be new things to learn.  For example, I ended up taking a cold shower today because I accidentally turned off the hot water heater, oops.  At least I took the first shower so Sima didn’t have to suffer.  Regardless, our routine is starting to work out.  One thing that seems to working for us is that after I wake up, daven, and make coffee, I take a walk outside the RV, so Sima can have use of the van.  I like the quiet walk with a cup of coffee in the morning.

Right now the biggest challenge we have is water conservation.  These past two days we have used about 2/3 a tank of water (a tank is 26 gallons), a day with showers, cooking, dish washing, etc…  In most cases, we will be in a campground with full hookups or an area with fresh water and a dump station to empty the black and grey water tanks, but there will be times when we won’t have easy access to these amenities.  We need to figure out a routine to be able to last three days without having to deal with filling/emptying tanks.  We will practice and experiment until we get our water protocol mastered.

The surroundings, as mentioned, are beautiful.  We saw hundreds of geese walking around, sharing the golf course with the golfers.

A small waterfall, lakes, and the Winnebago River are all part of the Forest City campground. We’ve struck up some nice conversations with other RVers, mostly retired folks like ourselves, who are happy to share tips and information.

Sima and Bill

After spending a delightful five-day stay in Chicago, seeing family, shopping, and spending Shabbat, we flew to Mason City, Iowa, in a single propeller, 10-seater plane that reminded me of Clyde Crashcup (anyone remember him?).

While in Chicago, we bought some kitchen items (pot, frying pan, and other cooking implements) that needed to be “toveled,” which we did there.  We packed some Shabbat needs: grape juice for several weeks, rolls for the first Shabbat plus a box of matzot, tea lights for the entire trip, and a havdala set.  We also bought a bread maker machine, for delivery in Mason City, so we can make our own challot.  (We will be “toveling” the pan and a few additional things when we can.)

Actually, the flight was pretty good – very smooth with beautiful scenery: fields for as far as the eye could see, with an occasional building or car (the advantage of flying so low).  It is often thought that the great “middle” of the United States is boring, but we think that there is something astoundingly beautiful about the bounty that miles and miles of fields represent.

We were picked up at the airport by a driver from the RV dealership who took us on a side tour: to the site where Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper, and Richie Valence crashed just after takeoff from Mason City in the 50s, after performing at the Surf Ballroom.  The building is full of memorabilia from all the famous name acts over the last 70+ years.

Finally, we made it to Lichtsinn RV where we were introduced to our new 2018 Winnebago Travato.  We had ordered a 2017 model, but Winnebago changed their model year after we placed our order, so we lucked out at no additional cost.  Not having linens, food, and other necessities, we spent the first night at a motel, got a good night’s sleep, and returned to Lichtsinn the next day for a four-hour orientation on how everything in the RV works. (I don’t remember lectures in grad school being that long and that intense.)

Afterwards, we unloaded our luggage into the RV and were surprised at how much room there is for storage.  We then went to the local version of Walmart for linens, then to Bill’s Family Foods (I had to shop there, the name appealed to me).  While at Bill’s, we played one of our favorite traveling games: look to see what products with a hashgacha we could buy.  The CRC (Chicago Rabbinical Council) Kosher Guide app was immensely helpful, as it introduced us to Blue Ribbon Kosher, out of Minneapolis (Forest City is near the Iowa/Minnesota border).

Again, we loaded up the RV, and again, we were very surprised – there was enough storage space for everything.  We were now ready to spend the first night in our RV – granted it was still on the dealership lot.  This was a good thing, though: the more we used the RV, the more we realized what questions we needed to ask the next day. That night, there was a powerful thunder and lightning storm and we were comfy and cozy, a big confidence builder.

Day 2, June 14 – Breakfast, more learning about RV usage, filling the fresh water tank, dumping the black and grey tanks.  We then received a tour of the Winnebago factory where we watched them build Travatos from beginning to end – an interesting tour which we enjoyed very much, and which left us with a great deal of respect for the RV we chose.  Next, you guessed it: more shopping, more storing, and I think we now have everything we need to go forward.  Sima cooked our first meal this evening, and we are now relaxing, listening to Mozart on the stereo.  Small space, but we don’t feel crowded.  A lot of thought went into the creation of this home on wheels.  Soon we will leave the nest and head out on our own.

Note: We will be adding photos (hopefully) soon.

Bill and Sima