The word adventure is defined as ‘an exciting or very unusual experience,’ and I would have to add that one need not leave the comfort of one’s own home to have an adventure. The past two weeks (the holidays, not coincidentally) are proof of that.

My last post described Felix’s door handle going south, and how we had to climb in through the window to get back inside every time we we left the rig to run errands. It definitely impacted our comings and goings (especially Dave’s, considering his ongoing knee issues), but it was not insurmountable and was more of an inconvenience than anything else.

We knew getting into it that parts of Felix would need replacing as time went on, given she’s 17 years old. So far, we’ve been lucky. It’s only in the last two weeks that things have been failing. And it all started when Dave commented that his “to do” list was winding down.

Without going into minute detail, our electrical system has been suspect because of such problems as the water heater not heating like it should. Then this past Sunday afternoon when we were both just sitting inside and chilling, we heard a sudden ‘pop.’ Neither of us thought much about it until a little while later when I went to plug something in and discovered the outlet had no power.

Things like this seem to happen when it’s dark. I remember times when we lived aboard our boat…we’d be anchored overnight somewhere and a storm would roll through…I’d be terrified that the anchor would drag and we would wind up who knows where?

This wasn’t that bad, but the weather forecast was predicting a nasty cold front moving through and what would we do if we had no heat? There was only about an hour of daylight left for Dave to wander around outside the rig to check whether the problem was on our end or the campground’s.

It was on our end, and after quite some time spent on studying the electrical diagrams in the owners manual, he eventually isolated the problem as coming from the inverter. He disconnected that, wire around it, and was able to get some power back on.

At least the refrigerator worked and we had heat (propane), and that was good enough for us to call it a night a few hours later and go to bed. I was grateful knowing that we had a gas stove so I could make instant coffee in the morning, It’s not my preference, but it’s better than nothing.

Monday morning was New Year’s Eve and also Dave’s birthday. We’d planned to drive into San Antonio for lunch at our favorite Cajun restaurant, Papadeaux’s. But with his birthday lunch in the city being scrapped, we settled for—and we’re grateful to have–turkey sandwiches midway through afternoon.

Yesterday, New Year’s Day, Dave fiddled around some more with the situation, trying to figure out where the failure was originating. He finally determined it was our transformer, linking the power from the campground to our 50 amp power cord.

This is where the technical mumbo jumbo ends.

Long story short, for whatever reason, Felix got a surge, and maybe a few, of 220 volts of electricity instead of 110. It fried the microwave/convection oven and possibly the control panel to our refrigerator. We discovered that yesterday when I went to scoop some ice cream to put on Dave’s birthday cake. It was very soft.

But at least the refrigerator hadn’t completely died (we think; we hope) so yesterday morning Dave focused on researching how to remove the microwave; it’s a bit trickier inside an RV because of the roof being directly overhead) but we finally managed to get it out.

I am writing this on Wednesday morning, January 2nd, and even though this new year has not started out like anything I imagined, much of what my husband and I have talked about these past 72 hours is our gratitude for what we DO have. After a good night’s sleep, we both are ready to continue figuring out our plan of action.

On the positive side (no electrical pun intended 😉), there IS electricity coming into the RV, so we had real coffee this morning. We got the microwave out of the RV without a scratch or an incident, like falling down the steps taking it out. We might not have any way to zap or bake, but we have a propane stove inside and a propane grill outside. I do have other appliances like an electric skillet and an instant pot, so we won’t go hungry. Unless the refrigerator bites the dust, too, and we lose all our food. Even then, we wouldn’t go hungry.

And I always want to remember how grateful we are that the previous owner left all of Felix’s manuals. That’s been a godsend.

As far as the refrigerator freezer goes, Dave thinks the control panel got zapped, and that can be fixed. Fingers are crossed.

Chances are that if you’re reading this, we are friends on social media, and so you know about the posts I make on the Facebook page Gratitude 365. There is no doubt in my mind that an attitude of gratitude has definitely helped tone down a situation that could have gotten and still could be very stressful, because after all, there is a chance we lose all the food in the fridge.

I’m discovering that gratitude really is a choice, and that practicing it regularly gives me a more positive and hopeful attitude towards circumstances. Somehow, someway, everything will turn out fine. I have no idea how, but I’ll find out soon enough. One day at a time.

Meantime, we’re hunkered down for what’s looking to be a cold, rainy, miserable day weather-wise. I’ll keep you posted on our further adventures concerning this situation. It should get really interesting next week…Dave’s knee replacement is Tuesday. Until then…Maria🤠

PS Dave says he’s never going to say anything about his to-do list ever again!