Borrego Springs, California: We brought the Petit Peregrinus to our house yesterday afternoon and plugged it into 15 amp overnight, loaded her up with meals and clothing for two nights. We weren’t five miles from home this morning when the CHECK ENGINE light popped-up on the dash screen. (Insert dirty word here.)
I called My Brother who has, well let’s just say several, Mercedes Sprinter chassis vans/campers. He felt it would probably be something minor. (But if the CHECK ENGINE light is flashing, that means stop the engine NOW. Our warning light was solid.) Since we were going one hour away from civilization to our Maiden Voyage campsite, he suggested we take it to the Mercedes dealer. So we phoned Mercedes and drove 30 miles toward civilization to the dealer in Palm Springs. They took us in immediately, plugged their computer into our engine, discovered it was something minor (a valve adjustment?) and we were once again pointed to Borrego Springs. One hour. No charge.
So DT’s big plan to get to the RV park, and get the satellite TV dish up in time to watch the Ducks v South Carolina NCAA basketball tournament game, did not happen. I had successfully started the SiriusXM dash radio previously, so we listened instead. Ducks did win, advancing to face Creighton Saturday. (Randomly, Duck coach Dana Altman’s last job was at Creighton - 1994-2010.)
After checking in at The Springs at Borrego RV Resort, we began the usual RV set-up procedures: leveling, putting slide room out, hooking up to electricity, water and sewer, putting out the awning and launching the satellite TV dish. Everything went well, but these common tasks took a while as it was our first time. We will get the hang of it eventually. Not today. All systems did work though - so that is always a good thing.
slamming into our sliding screen door!
We have a premium back-in site. I think premium means we get a picnic table. Good thing, as there is room in the basement for only two folding chairs. No table.
As is our custom, I prepared a teeny (4x6) lasagna for our first-night-o-the-trip dinner. It was a ground beef Bolognese, with ricotta (thinned with cream and a bit of nutmeg). There was also a little hand-shredded mozzarella. Parsley garnish from our kitchen garden.
It was delicious (though a bit crispy on top... but isn't that often a good thing with lasagna?) and I may have figured-out the convection-microwave oven situation. Caesar salad was also served and we dined outdoors. It was 85 degrees in Borrego Springs today. (Sorry, I know so many of My Dear Readers are getting feet of snow this week.)
I opened every drawer and cupboard and have yet to find a dishwasher. Dishes were washed and dried by hand.
Tomorrow, we golf!
Until my next update, I remain, your camping correspondent.
Your dishwasher is named Dave.
What fun ! This mini RV (compared to your large estate on wheels )
has a very nice look. I trust your going to enjoy it immensely.
Your lasagne looks yummy. Kudos to you for you always
plan ahead with great meals !
Congrats on the new rig! It must be a substantial difference in almost every way. We rented a much earlier version of your rig, but it didn’t have stabilizers – you have no idea of what a difference that makes! (If someone even rolls over in the over-cab bed, the entire rig feels like it’s on the high seas!).
Will you be able to tow the Traverse behind it?
It is a teeny RV, but does have stabilizer jacks. We would/could not tow the Traverse behind the new rig. We still have the Jeep Cherokee, but feel it is also too heavy. We are going commando.