Things I've Learned On The Way To The Sewage Dump

RV'ing with a sense of humor and persistence is key to successful "glamping"
The ubiquitous "Blue Boy" Sewage tote. The key to boondocking

As gratifying as it is to aimlessly wander North America, we've come to know that "stuff" (insert your own four letter word) happens.

1. When you are retired cash flow can be an issue. My wife is a master at shuffling bills. When you're between Eagle defecations and running low on green stuff she keeps us afloat. Somehow?  Humor doesn't often enter into the equation though.

2. We have had eighteen different electrical problems (no, really) since beginning this adventure. Our coach is a 2005 Newmar Northern Star.  I believe that all of these problems are systemic from a single power surge at the very beginning of our journey.  We were "practicing" full timing when this happened.  To endure stuff like this you need to have a "positive" attitude and keep yourself "grounded" (pun intended) when making electrical repairs.

In my case, being severely color blind I always take photos of things before I disassemble and reassemble equipment, switches and receptacles. Or, I have Martha confirm colors of wiring before attempting replacements or repairs. I really hate asking because I know she is mulling the virtues of a color blind old man wiring stuff in her house.

3. When dealing with minor but intermittent fresh water leaks always look at all the possibilities no matter how small they may be. Maybe eliminate one suspect at a time. I have threatened to put food dye in my freshwater tank to see if its coming from the fresh water tank or the city water side. Martha thinks this is a stupid idea...wonder why?

4. Get used to buying things twice or more. We have purchased and fried a coffee maker, a rice cooker and two ceramic disc heaters due to our electrical problems. Now I am seriously considering those "extended warranties" for appliances . I know they're supposed to be a gimmic to make money for the store but....

5. Be sure to stock fuses for your 12 volt system. Have at least one of each size fuse on hand. They will be needed. Ask me how I know.

6. Tire pressures and tires are really important when you drive a 38,000 pound vehicle. Make sure your on-board air brake compressor is optimal and tap into it so that you can use an air hose to air up tires. Having a tire pressure monitor is very helpful so you can watch pressure and temperatures while in motion. But nothing compares to checking the pressures manually. Now, I need to order one of those weeding cushions to kneel on while I check them. I hate getting old.

7. Keep a "Blue Boy tank" aboard for when you boondock. It is a convenient means to transport grey and black water to the sewage dump. If you don't know what this is google it. Oh, and after you dump into the blue boy you have the envious task of toting the thing around the campground. Hey, it's a crappy job.

8. Disposable gloves are your friend. They keep the nasties off your hands. If you tote your waste to the dump (see #7) make sure you have a spare pair with you when finally get to the dump. It's an enigma really. You need a pair to dump into the tank, you need to remove them to drive or manually pull the cart to the dump and then you need another pair when you get there so you can dump without exposing yourself to the sludge.

I actually saw a guy take his gloves off stuff em in his pocket then put the same pair back on at the dump. Ummm, dude you reversed them when you pulled em off. The nastiness is now on the inside of your gloves co-mingling with your fingers. Just sayin

9. Boondocking is a "Thing". This simply means no service hookups. No water, sewer or external power. When boondocking fresh water, battery power and sewage management are your friends. You quickly learn to take "Navy Shower" , Yes, there is actually a written procedure, who knew? When I offered to send that procedure to Martha's email she declined.  I guess I will still make frequent trips to the dump.

If you are a newbie to boondocking you will find that "grey" water will always fill up first. Sewage takes a while. We have thirty seven gallons of black tank and the same for the grey water tank. The stick point is that when you flush the toilet into the black tank, the more water you use the better it is for your black tank to keep waste from sticking to the tank when you dump. So in a nutshell you have to balance how much water you use to flush. So, among all of the other hats you wear when RV'ing, you get to become a "wastewater engineer."  I'll stop on this subject for now because no matter how you sugar coat it, its still a "crappy" subject.

10. Generator runs and battery management is another course you have to take. It'll take some time before you are adept at learning how much generator time is enough. Of course it all depends on the loads you put on the coaches twelve volt system and how many things you are running. Now you are a consulting "electrical engineer."

We like a movie in the evening so we try to time our generator runs with our TV viewing. So far, we've managed our boondocking to occur at enroute locations like Walmart or National Parks. At Walmart your generator won't bother anyone because your noise is competing with rap music blaring from cars in the parking lot and kids running through the parking lot with loud exhaust.

National parks are quite different. All of them have specific generator run times. Usually from 9am until 10 pm. This means that you can run the generator to top off batteries anytime during this time frame. Even though generators can be run during these times you still get some folks that just don't like generator noise.

Thankfully, these people are readily identifiable because they will be the ones that walk their dogs on 90' leashes and let their dogs take a crap in front of your entry door while they stand safely 90' away.

Cape Hatteras National Seashore and Cape Point Campground

Cape Hatteras National Seashore and Cape Point Campground

Martha and I moved from Assateague Island National Seashore to Cape Hatteras National Seashore on the 25th.  The new campground is one hundred and ninety sites strong. None of them have water, sewer or electric. They do however, have paved pads.  Our 40' Coach, tow dolly (tucked under the front)  and our car parked sideways across the the front all fits but just barely.

Our Campground Review

Cape Hatteras National Seashore - Cape Point Campground - RATING - 5.5

WIFI - No
AT&T - Yes
VERIZON - Yes
SERVICES - No Electrical Service National Park Generator Rules, No Sewer Hook Up, No Water Hook up. Sites are almost level so setting up is easy.

COST - $10 Nightly with my Access Pass  -

DISCOUNTS - 1/2 price with "Access Pass", "America the Beautiful Senior Pass" and the "America the Beautiful Pass" provides free access into the park.

REVIEW - 190 sites with picnic tables and fire pits (you can only cook in the fire pit and extinguish upon completion. Not open fires for any other purpose). Dump and fresh water are about a mile North of Cape Point Campground. Dump and fill water on your way into Cape Point. Do not attempt to fill up at the bath house spigots, the Camper Host will immediately intervene (He's a crabby old bastard). Also, be aware that your car, RV and trailer (if any) must all fit on your RV pad.


The beach is spectacular and if you pick the right spot (Off season) you will have it to yourself. Kitty Hawk, The Wright Brothers Museum are nearby,

There is fresh water in the campground but all spigots have the screw end cut off them to keep people from connecting a hose taking water from them (nothing in the park rules state you cannot take water from these spigots). I was about to use my water bandit to fill our water tank and an over zealous park host volunteer came over to insure that I had to go out to the sewage dump where I could use the fresh water spigot there to fill our tank. The dump and fresh water are nearly a mile from the campsite...ugh. Oh well, we turned around and got water and then came back.

(Click on any photo to enlarge it and to be taken to a slide show of the photos in this blog entry)

All around us is vegetation that anchor the nearby dunes. There is abronia, red verbena, beach bur, salt bush and sea oats.

We have seen deer and have seen the tracks of some very large deer. I saw a couple of rabbits this afternoon but other than that the place is inhabited by crabs and sea birds.

Yesterday we visited the Cape Hatteras Visitors Center and saw the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse then went to the Graveyard of The Atlantic Museum in Hatteras.  The museum is a very interesting place. I pride myself on know a lot more than most people about WWII, but I learned at the museum that battles that took place just offshore from Hatteras.

World War II was fought off the coast of the OBX (Outer banks) Islands.  A German U-boat  torpedoed the 337-foot-long U.S. freighter, City of Atlanta, sinking the ship and killing all but three of the 47 men aboard. 

The same U-boat attacked two more ships just hours later. Less than six weeks after the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, the hostilities of the Second World War had arrived on America’s East Coast and North Carolina’s beaches. This was not the first time that German U-boats had come to United States waters. During World War I, three U-boats sank ten ships off the Tar Heel coast in what primarily was considered a demonstration of German naval power. But by 1942, U-boats had become bigger, faster, and more deadly. Their presence in American waters was not intended for “show” but to help win World War II for Germany.

German U-boats also plied the waters off the Cape during WWI sinking at least ten ships.

You can see a listing of the ships that have sunk off the coast by by nature and war by clicking this link: List of ships sunk off the North Carolina Coast.

The Windswept and Beautiful Shores of the Atlantic.

We continue to like this place and this campground even though we are boondocking. We have no power, no water or sewer hookups. We came here four days ago with 105 gallons of water on board and we are getting so good at military showers and scant water usage that we still have three quarters of a tank of fresh water. I will eventually have to take grey water to the dump site but I think fresh water will hold out for the full seven days and black water will be close but doable.

Sunsets here are rather spectacular even a half mile inland.

                  

                    (click on any photo for a larger image) 

There is a quiet about this place that sort of rattles you. It is desolate and unoccupied at this time of year. 

There are over 190 campsites at Cape Point Campground and there have only been 6 or 7 other campers here on and off the entire time we've been here. 

It is interesting to feel this kind of isolation knowing that only 4 miles away is a thriving tourist mecca.

The dunes make this place special. We are situated on a thin thread of land that defends the North Carolina mainland from total destruction during a hurricane. It puts conservation of the dunes out there in full frontal view for you to ponder. It makes you understand how this complex eco-system works. It drives home the threat of global warming and the threat that sea poses on the land and its occupants. 

The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse

Here on Hatteras they call the lighthouse "The Sentinel." It protects mariners from the treacherous shifting sands of Cape Hatteras and marks the way back to civilization for the landlubbers. 

This the second location for the same Hatteras Lighthouse.  The brick structure was moved 2900 feet from it's former location due to the sea encroaching on it's foundations. The US Coast Guard decided it was more fiscally feasible to move the lighthouse than to build a new one. In Hatteras they say that it was "rescued from the edge."  Indeed it was on the edge of collapse if it hadn't been moved. The lighthouse was built in 1878 from more than one million bricks.  In 1999 engineers and contractors moved it to it's present location to take it away from the edge of the sea.  

It is the tallest lighthouse in North America and stands an impressive  208' and weighing 5,000 tons.

To gain perspective on how they moved a brick lighthouse check out the video in this link.  Visit the National Park Publication on the move by clicking this link.

The Day we Arrived at Cape Point the ocean seemed angry but it was still quite beautiful

The sea is always there. It is relentless, restless, beautiful, bountiful and dangerous 

We are insignificant in comparison

We are at the edge of it's vastness  

"Graveyard of the Atlantic" Museum in Hatteras. 

This museum is about the shipwrecks that are just offshore of the barrier Islands. Many famous ships were sunk here because of running aground on the shifting sands off Hatteras and through the actions of warfare during the Civil War, WWI and WWII.

Among those stories and exhibits  were historic tales such as the sinking of the Monitor (nicknamed "cheesecake on a raft") during the civil war. It was found in 2000.  Two years later its gun turret was brought to the surface and is undergoing conservation.  It's a lengthy process and is still in progress.  You can learn about it and the rest of the Monitor here.

The Battle of "Hampton Roads"

The battle of "Hampton Roads" was significant because it was the first time the Monitor and the Merrimac had met in battle. Both Ironclads fought a valiant battle but neither vessel had the advantage and they pounded each other for about three hours before nightfall and low tide intervened. They would never meet again in battle but the confrontation had worldwide impact. The worlds Navies knew that the Monitor's turret and heavy guns allowed them to fire in all directions. This allowed a better offense and defense This innovation affected how war ships were built for a hundred years.

The confederacy called the monitor "Cheesecake on a Raft"

Sources  NCPedia, "Graveyard of the Atlantic Outer Banks"

The museum had other artifacts  and information to view as well.

Life Saving Service were  used by the US Coast Guard Life Saving Stations from 1878 to roughly 1900. These brave men would row to the aid of sinking ships and pick up survivors.

If you ever get near Cape Hatteras do yourself a favor and just go. It is too beautiful to describe, it's towns are tourist traps that most will willfully give into, yet the national park is isolated and disconnected from the touristy part of Hatteras.  The island is too interesting to ignore, it is worth every ounce of the energy, money and time that it takes to come here. 

A few random thoughts as November approaches

1.  We have done a fantastic job of following the weather.  Other than a few days over 80 and a few nights under 50, we've managed to stay in that perfect zone with highs in the 70's and lows in the 60's for five months running.

2.  This month we started experimenting with National Parks that don't have any hookups.  That leaves us with our water tank, our generator, and our black and gray water tanks to rely on.  This is our second week, and I've noticed a few things already:
a)  It isn't that hard, as long as Chuck is willing to take the wastewater to the dump station every few days.
b)  I'm learning to skip showers (thanks to that perfect weather so I don't sweat until I need a shower to survive)...and am glad I kept my hair short so it only sticks up a little.  I'm also learning to wear hats to cover up the bad hair....which is kinda funny because I think hats make me look goofy...so you know how bad my hair must be some days.

c)  It's interesting to push your own limits.  How long can I go without a shower (so far, no more than 48 hours), how little water can I get by with when I do shower (still sucks to leave soap in your hair), how few lights can we put on to save batteries, can I stand a bathroom with a "yellow, let it mellow" rule (sometimes I just have to flush anyway).
d)  I fantasize about an hour long super hot shower, but other than that, it's not that bad.

3.  It's weird to stay at an RV park where most of the sites are seasonal....especially when the residents only come on weekends....so you are basically in a ghost town of empty RV's all week.  I much prefer the empty parks during the week...it's not nearly as creepy.

4.  We can still spend as much money as we make...and often more....we've been praying to the RV gods to let our electrical system work.  I have learned WAY MORE than I ever wanted to about how inverters, transfer switches, AC, DC, and all things RV power distribution related.  I vote it just WORKS and I can ignore the technicalities and go to the beach.

5.  The beach is awesome.  We have been near a beach or at a beach for the past 2 months.  I am not interested in going inland, yet inland we are heading in a week or so.  Beaches change personality as you go from one to the other, or sometimes the same one is different because of lighting or weather.  I am calmed by the ocean, no matter the weather.  I'm happy to be at the beach in sunshine and warmth or cloudy and cool.  Still pretty skittish if there's tropical weather approaching, though.  That's when it's nice to know that your house is on wheels and you can easily escape.  By the way, it's also nice to say....let's stay here at the beach for another week! :)

6.  I spend most of my life in my pajamas.  I rarely get dressed until I'm ready to go somewhere (which is usually after noon) and I usually am back in my PJ's by 7 or 8 pm.  All the work I do is online, so my clients don't care.

7.  The one thing I miss the most so far is interacting in a meaningful way with other people.  I have mentioned this before, but I take a long time to warm up to people and decide if I like them.  I hear voices and immediately have opinions about a person....(rarely positive)....I am trying to not be judgmental....but...I also know that people take energy, so I want to spend my energy on something worthwhile.  When I was doing massage, it was easy.  Every person I touched, talked to, or was near...was there for a specific reason that resonated with my soul.  I am still trying to figure out how to find those people in my current world.

8.  Patience.  I thought I had it.  I'm still working on it.

9.  The problem we're having is, despite having lots of time in most places, we really want to go back and do more.  We've already said we'd go back to Wisconsin, Rhode Island, Maryland and here at the Outer Banks.  And we haven't even started on the rest of the USA, or Canada and Mexico.  I'm hoping we stay healthy enough to do it all....at least twice!!!

10.  Well, crap...there has to be a 10.  A list of nine things just will not do.  Oh...I've got it!  10.  I'm finding that no matter how retired I am, I still have the same bad habits.  I sleep late, spend too much time on Facebook, and don't prioritize well.  I am, though, finding that if I stay in one place long enough....and if I get a little rain or cold weather thrown in....I get bored enough to address one of my long-term projects and actually enjoy the process....now if I could get myself to do that when the sun is out and I'm at the beach....nah...probably won't happen.

Fort Monroe, Virginia - "Freedom's Fortress"

Martha and I visited Ft. Monroe yesterday. Ft. Monroe National Monument is a decommissioned military installation located in Hampton, Virginia at old Ft. Comfort which is at the southern tip of the Virginia Peninsula.

We took a ninety minute walking tour of the Fort and learned a lot from our visit.

Credit Virginia Places and Virginia Parks and Tourism

Source: Library of Congress, The Mayflower at Old Point Comfort, VA (c.1907)

A History Lesson 

In 1607, the English colonists who later founded Jamestown discovered the point of land that is known today as Old Point Comfort. On April 29, 1607, English colonist George Percy wrote, “rowed over to a point of land where we found a channel and sounded six, eight, ten or twelve fathoms, which put us in good comfort. Therefore we named that point of land Cape Comfort.” The following year while trading with the Kecoughtan Indians, John Smith studied Cape Comfort and considered this “little Isle fit for a castle.” Likely taking Smith’s advice, Cape Comfort was fortified the following year in 1609 with Fort Algernon.

While exploring the Chesapeake Bay region, the Colonists named many rivers, towns and geographic locations. New Point Comfort, in present day Matthews County, Virginia was named and Cape Comfort became Old Point Comfort, the name it is known by to this day. During the winter of 1612 Fort Algernon accidently burned and was completely destroyed. Several attempts were made to erect a permanent fortification at Old Point Comfort but they were built inadequately and only maintained when there was an immediate threat to the Colony.

The first Africans that were brought to the North American colonies arrived through Hampton Roads at Old Point Comfort in 1619. Colonist John Rolfe noted in his diary that in August 1619, twenty plus Africans arrived at Point Comfort on the ship White Lion. Rolfe did not explicitly state where the Africans originated, but recent scholarship suggests that these Africans may have been from the Portuguese colony of Angola in West Central Africa. The Africans that arrived at Old Point Comfort were sold for food and supplies.

In 1730, Fort George was constructed to be a permanent fortification at Old Point Comfort. The masonry fort was destroyed however, on October 19, 1749 by a powerful hurricane. With the destruction of Fort George, Old Point Comfort was once again unfortified and the entire Chesapeake Bay was vulnerable to attack.

The War of 1812 and the Construction of Fort Monroe

In 1813 during the War of 1812, Old Point Comfort and the 1802 Old Fort Comfort Lighthouse became an observation post when it temporarily fell into British hands. As a result of the British invasion and specifically following the burning of Washington, DC Fort Monroe was constructed as part of a coastal defense strategy developed by the U.S. Army. Named for James Monroe, the fifth President of the United States, Fort Monroe’s construction began in 1819 and was completed in 1836. As a young lieutenant, Robert E. Lee was stationed at Fort Monroe from 1831-1834 and directed the final phase of construction. From Fort Monroe, Lee for a time oversaw construction at future Fort Wool as well. The largest stone fort ever built in America cost nearly two million dollars to construct, covered 63 acres of land, and took over 15 years to complete.

The Civil War and Old Fort Monroe

From 1861-1865, most of Virginia became part of the Confederate States of America; however Fort Monroe remained a Union stronghold throughout the war. During that time, the fort became the birthplace of the Civil War-era freedom movement when 3 enslaved men escaped the Confederate Army at Sewells Point and fled in a small boat to Fort Monroe. Union commander General Benjamin Butler refused to return the slaves calling them “contraband of war.” General Butler’s contraband policies led to the Emancipation Proclamation and earned Fort Monroe the nickname “Freedom’s Fortress” or the “Freedom Fort.”

President Abraham Lincoln visited Fort Monroe and spent 4 nights in Quarters 1 and the USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia fought their epic battle off the shores in Hampton Roads well within view of the Fort. Following the war, former Confederate States of America President Jefferson Davis was incarcerated at Fort Monroe in Casemate 22, currently part of the Casemate Museum.

Historical Facts

• The Fort was also home to Lt. Robert E. Lee and his wife Mary Custis Lee. During his time at the Fort he was responsible for large engineering projects during the Forts construction.
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• The Lincoln Gun resides at the Fort. It was cast in 1862 and was the first fifteen inch Rodman gun. It was the most effective gun made to date.
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• The Algernourne Oak resides behind the first quarters built at the Fort. It's named named for the first English fort (Algernourne) built on the site in 1609. The Oak is over 400 years old and still thrives.

• Old Point Comfort Lighthouse was constructed in 1802 and was designed by Elzy Burroughs, a native Virginian. It is the oldest continually active lighthouse along the Chesapeake Bay and is maintained by the US Coast Guard.

First Africans in Virginia

On May 23, 1861, three enslaved Virginians named Frank Baker, Shepard Mallory and James Townsend fled from their master, a Confederate colonel who had put them to work building rebel fortifications, and sought protection at the Union-held citadel. When their owner asked for the return of his “property” under fugitive-slave laws, Union Gen. Benjamin F. Butler declared the three men “contraband of war,” classifying them as captured goods being used for military purposes by the enemy and thus subject to legitimate seizure. 

Within days, dozens and then hundreds more African Americans came for safe harbor within what they soon began calling “Freedom’s Fortress,” and Butler’s decision was soon ratified as official policy by Congress and the Lincoln administration. Soon, these refugees, known as “contrabands,” were contributing to the Union cause in myriad ways, sometimes even joining the federal troops in battle. Before the Emancipation Proclamation took effect a year and a half later, tens or even hundreds of thousands of fugitives had escaped bondage throughout the South, and even many conservative whites had come to accept that slavery’s days were numbered.

The Place Where both Liberty and Slavery were Born

Fort Monroe is America’s own Cape Coast Castle or Gorée Island. Indeed, it is more than that, for here liberty, as well as slavery, began. A historic place of epic proportions.

Repurposing of the Historic Fort Monroe

After the Fort was decommissioned in 2011 the Fort Monroe Authority was formed for the purpose of utilizing the buildings and repurposing their use. It is now a thriving and beautiful community complete with businesses and all of the creature comforts that one expects in a residential setting.

The Lookout Tower

The first quarters built on the Fort. It is undergoing renovation at this time

One of the remaining gun batteries

Beaches

The Moat

The Moats in 1905 - Credit Ft. Monroe Authority

The Aircraft Carrier USS George Washington at Norfolk Ship Yard for midlife refueling and critical updates and refitment's

We enjoyed our visit to the decommissioned fort. It is admirable that the Ft. Monroe Authority has retasked and repurposed the Fort into a beautiful residential setting. If you get near by all means visit this history rich facility.  

Stay tuned. Martha and I leave for Cape Hatteras Island National Seashore in the morning.  

Assateague Island Treasures

Despite many RV challenges and expenditures in the last 5 days, Martha, Jake and I have arrived at Assateague Island.  What a wondrous place. Wildlife everywhere. Deer that are completely unafraid of humans, beautiful egrets, seabirds of all descriptions and wild horses everywhere (and so is the wild horse crap).

We are just beginning to explore this beautiful place. It's a wondrous place which explains the park's popularity. Once again, it seems that off season visits are the thing to do here. As we gain knowledge of the area I will post more photos and more information about the Island.

The photos below need no explanation  Enjoy.

  (Click on the photo for a larger photo slideshow)

Horses feeding on the marsh grass

Sunset at the Beach