Withdrawal symptoms from being "connected"

We've been gone from home for three weeks today and will be back home day after tomorrow.  For not being nearly as connected all of the time as some folks, it's been a little rough sometimes not being able to be connected at all.

We're used to being able to go on-line at any time and connect with family and friends via e-mail or chat.  We're used to being able to pick up the phone and - with our nation-wide calling plan - be able to call anyone we want to whenever we want to.

However, going camping - even camping with in a fairly nice fifth wheel camper - means sometimes doing without connecting, at least for now.

Granted, sometimes you have internet access in some of the campgrounds, and, more often, phone service is available fairly often as we travel.

We were in one location that was fairly remote in a hollow in Southeastern Minnesota that had wireless internet access - no phone, but we did have internet.  That was a little unusual.

We've stayed at two KOA campgrounds on this trip.  We had internet and cell phone service at both.

We've stayed at two members-only campgrounds near large cities, Kansas City and Omaha.  Neither campground had internet access and phone service was marginal, with calls liable to be dropped at any moment.

While we were in Nebraska, Karen sat in a parking lot at a recreational area talking to her sister while I walked around taking pictures.  Later that day, I just happened to check my phone while we were wading in the Platte - something I hadn't done in 40 years - and I had service, so I decided to call our daughter to tell her what we were doing.  Since I was also carrying my camera and a camara bag, that wasn't a smart move... kerplunk!

Fortunately, it was the cell phone and I grabbed it before it had gone more than 6 inches deep.  (If you know the Platte, in most places, 6 inches is deep!) Believe it or not, the phone is still working.

So back to withdrawal from being connected... We're sitting in a branch of the Mid-Continent Public Library east of Kansas City that has wireless internet access. Karen has finished with all of her e-mail and on-line forums and is waiting for me to get done - she's a typist and I hunt and peck. Hunting around to find someplace that has wireless internet is not something that I would want to do on a regular basis.

This trip is almost over and we'll be back home soon, with no connection problems, unless it storms.  On our next trip, we're currently considering making a stop in Montana to get a internet satellite system, along with training on how to set it up, and then it'll be easier to stay connected - when we want to be connected.

I just spend 2 days at a "Field Day" event.  Now, understand that for us Ham Radio types "Field Day" means we get together and find a field somewhere, Set up a station, quickly, without the  benefit of the power grid or, in many cases, anything else.

The radios are run 100% off batteries, generators or "other" non-power line power (Solar, Hydro, Whatever, even HUMAN power)

I ran 2 complete satations off my motor home,,, one of them partially mine.

We had a real nice Field day this year.  We had Hot and Cold running water.  We had indoor plumbing (Actually the site had that already) we had AIR CONDITIONING (not a site standard item) and we had INTERNET.. Yes, High speed INTERNET, Usage log says I hauled down around 15 Meg (One of my computers is never online here at home but long about 3am it did it's updates, has not updated for a few months,  Most of the updates are security and it uses a different type of security most of the time)

Yes we had Internet.    For more on how find a message with "ron's internet solutions" in the sig and click on the link.

Ron installed my internet    (EDIT: I see you need only look DOWN to see a message from RON as his is the next reply)

Sounds like you are having an enjoyable trip.  Hope the trip home is just as enjoyable.  Have a safe trip.

For not being nearly as connected all of the time as some folks, it's been a little rough sometimes not being able to be connected at all.

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Mike, some of us older RVers who can't live without our computers actually remember back when we had to look for cell towers and pull off the road so we could send and receive our emails.  Even earlier we had to find a landline and then we had a little modem gadget that we had to place against the mouthpiece so the signals could be sent and received.  Goodness, we were pioneers and didn't even know it!  ;D  We also had to be out of sunlight because we couldn't read the screen to do our thing.  I can remember people staring at us as we went from telephone to telephone, no doubt wondering what on earth we were doing.

We went through some communication withdrawal last summer up in Newfoundland when we went for days at time without cell phone service.  Interestingly, the town of Heart's Desire is where the first transatlantic cable came across from Ireland and that town today has no cell service which we found a little odd

ArdraF.

ArdraF said:

We went through some communication withdrawal last summer up in Newfoundland when we went for days at time without cell phone service.

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Ardra

Actually, we stayed pretty much in touch thruout Newfoundland last summer. Outside each town was a sign board with icons showing the facilities available. Nearly every town that we stayed in where we wanted internet connections had the @ icon letting us know there was an internet connect, usually free wi-fi. Our friends and family are aware that, when we travel, it is usually easier to contact us via email as opposed to cell phone.

Traveling this summer up the west coast from the Sonoma Valley to mid-Oregon now, we've found free wi-fi in nearly every campground we've stayed.

Connected again!

We made it home a little before 4 this afternoon.  Before we got on-line, I ran to town to pick up the mail, mowed about an acre and a half of grass and weeds and had supper while Karen unloaded stuff from the camper and fixed and ate supper.  We did pretty good.  ;D  We were home almost 4 hours before we got on-line, though Karen did call her mother and our daughters to let them know that we had gotten home.

Glad you made it home after an enjoyable trip.

Glad that you and Karen are home after a safe trip. Could you give us an update on Toni? Hope she is doing well under the circumstances. We're still praying for her.

Yes we would really like an update on Toni.

Alaskansnowbirds said:

Glad that you and Karen are home after a safe trip. Could you give us an update on Toni? Hope she is doing well under the circumstances. We're still praying for her.

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Thanks for asking about Toni.  She is back in Arkansas at a rehab center in Fayetteville.  She has been fitted for a wheelchair, which is being provided by the Arkansas Spinal Cord Commission.  Her grandmother's house is going to be modified to make it handicap accessible. 

Her spinal cord was not severed as we had been told, but the nerves for everything below her waist were severely damaged.  The prognosis is that she will regain little or nothing in the future.  However, one of the people at rehab told her that, with her injuries, she might be able, at some point in the future, to be fitted with some sort of braces that could allow her to walk after a fashion.  While that may be a possibility some day and we would really like for it to happen, the likelihood is remote.

Karen had a long talk with her sister Mary (Toni's grandmother) when we were camping near Omaha.  Needless to say she is going though a very rough period.  She was pretty close to Scott, the third oldest of their eight brothers, who had been wheelchair-bound for almost thirty years before he passed about ten months ago. She's also been raising the three granddaughters for quite a few years, though she only got legal custody fairly recently.

One of the things that Toni told her was that she really misses her Uncle Scott and that she wishes he were here to help her through this.

Karen is planning to donate one of her quilts to be raffled off by the Boys and Girls Club, with the proceeds going to help Toni.  (click here to view quilt) She was planning to sell it through the Historic Arkansas Museum, but wanted to do something meaningful for Toni. 

Thanks for the update Milke.  We will continue to hope and keep Toni in our thoughts prayers.

Thanks for the update Mike. We'll keep Toni in our prayers.