Heading South in the RV during Winter Storm Sparta

Well, we finally did it - tried to outrun a snowstorm. We have been dying to do this all winter, and it finally happened.  We are heading south to Virginia because my dad has some work.  We have had very little work this winter, and trying to survey in snow this deep is very exhausting. So, we jumped at the opportunity to head south.

Where the front RV tire was buried in ice

Our icy walkway to the RV. We kept putting salt down, but the ice just kept growing. 

Checking the tire pressure before we left  It was 13 degrees F.

Chad with a very long icicle

We left Saturday morning. There was only a couple of days in between storms. So, this was our window. Our plan was to drive halfway & spend the night. There was snow coming in NY on Sunday from winter storm Sparta, and the weather report was all clear on Sunday in VA. 

Before we left, Chad checked everything over really good and added air to the tires as needed.  We stopped about a mile after we left to add brake fluid.  You may remember back in October that we had noticed some problems with the brakes.  Apparently the fluid leaked out gradually over time.  He says there is more maintenance required on the brakes.  He actually has a long list of things maintenance to do for the RV.  It's just been too icy and cold to do it.  He has hopes of getting everything done much easier in VA.

On Saturday evening, we stopped at a rest area to stay the night in Harrisburg, PA.  It was going to be a nice relaxing evening....until we checked the weather report.  We realized that the winter storm was actually going to hit PA & VA on Sunday.  Yikes!!  So, we decided to drive a little farther and we spent the night in a shopping center parking lot.  We asked permission and they said it would be fine.  It actually worked out good because the rest area would have been really noisy from highway traffic.  The parking lot was very quiet all night.  
 

Sunset in Harrisburg, PA

Sunday, we got up early to leave right at daybreak.  Just as we were leaving we noticed a few flurries starting.  That was a little scary.  As we continued down the highway, it started snowing harder, but we made it through that fine.  Then, there was no precipitation for a while as we drove through Maryland.  As we hit Washington, D.C., the freezing rain started.  That's when it got really scary - the worst thing in the world is to drive in ice!  Fortunately, they had trucks out on the roads salting everything.  We drove slow while everyone around us was driving like the weather was fine.  Sure enough, two miles before our exit, there was a 5 car pile up.  And, just before that, someone had run off the road and hit a guardrail.  We were so relieved to arrive safely at my parents' house. 

Parked in VA

The temperature was around 20 degrees F for most of our trip.  We actually noticed a benefit of driving in really cold weather.  The RV had a lot more power.  Why is that?  It's because the air has more density, which allows the engine to burn more fuel.  This is true for any carbureted engine.  

Related posts
Today's RV location 
Walden, NY 
Goodbye to Groton 
Our First Tire Blowout 
Our RV Life Takes us on the Road - With Work 
Our maiden "voyage"

Chad's Shrimp & Spinach Scampi with Lemon (Gluten Free)

Chad's Shrimp & Spinach Scampi with Lemon (Gluten Free)

Ingredients

16 oz. package of frozen white shrimp (You can use as much shrimp as you desire) 
1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon salt
1 bulb garlic
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
6 Tablespoons of butter 
2 lb. frozen cut leaf spinach (or, use fresh spinach)
1/4 cup white wine (pinot grigio is best)
20 thin slices of provolone cheese (7.6 oz.)
juice of 2 lemons & zest of 1 lemon
1 Tablespoon pesto  (or fresh basil is better)
Grated parmesan cheese

Variations
This is delicious with most green vegetables.  Try substituting broccoli or green beans instead of the spinach.

Thaw the shrimp under running cold water.  Or, if you're trying to conserve water like us, let the shrimp sit in cold water until thawed.  Add about 1 Tablespoon of salt to brine them.  Let sit for 30 minutes, or longer.  (You know you have the right amount of salt if you taste the salt water first and it has a pleasant, salty flavor.)

Peel the skins off & de-vein if necessary.

Peel & crush the garlic cloves.  Chop into chunks.  Heat the garlic, olive oil, & butter in a sauce pan over medium heat.  Sauté until the garlic starts to brown (about 5 min.).  Add the shrimp and partially cook (1-2 min).  Remove the shrimp when the shrimp have turned half orange.

Add the spinach, 1 teaspoon of salt, & a splash of white wine.  Sauté for about 10 min. until the spinach is heated through.

Add the provolone cheese and then the lemon juice & zest.

Add the pesto & shrimp.  Stir to combine and remove from heat.  Let sit for a few minutes to allow the shrimp to finish cooking.

Serve with grated parmesan cheese and pinot grigio wine.

Bon appétit!

Other seafood recipes

Chad's Gluten Free Pasta with Gluten Free Clam Sauce

Moules (French Mussels)

 

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Mohawk Mountain Ski Area & Round Tuit Restaurant

We have been stuck inside waaaaay too much this winter.  This past week we decided we have had enough.  We just feel like we need to be outside, in spite of the cold.  Either we head south or we do some winter activities outside.  So, we decided it was time to hit the slopes.  Chad used to go snowboarding all the time before we were married.  I never could really get good at snowboarding.  I used to be better at skiing.  But, it's been quite the long time since I went.  But, with all the snow we've had, this is the perfect time to go! 

We went up to Mohawk Mountain Ski Area in West Cornwall, CT.  This ski area is small, but fun and usually quiet.  They had all the slopes open, so that was great. Chad got to snowboard on a slope he had never been on before. They have 25 trails, and the snow was exquisite, nice & fluffy....not icy at all. It was perfect. I thought for sure I would fall at least once, but I didn't. I think it was because it wasn't icy.   They also have what they call a Nutmeg Lift Ticket - just the easy slopes for beginners.  It was nicer because that one is cheaper.

Here are some pics.....

 

The slopes

Here we are - ready to go....

The Bunny Slope

Bambi on skis

 

Click here to see a you tube video of the slopes. Click here for more information about pricing for lift tickets.  In general, Chad likes to go at night because you can get a lift ticket for $26, 4-10 p.m.

On the way home, we stopped at one of our favorite places to eat, Round Tuit. It is located south of Millerton, NY right off of Route 22.  This is one of those hole-in-the-wall places that you'd never find unless someone told you about it. We love burgers, and Chad loves trying new burgers everywhere we go. One of our favorite places to eat burgers is Five Guys Burgers and Fries. Well, we think the burger and fries at Round Tuit are even better. On his menu he has a burger that comes with bacon, lettuce, onion, tomato, and mushrooms. And, the finishing touch is his own special sauce. It's called The Original Super Burger.  Delicious!  And, it's around $10, which is still cheaper than Five Guys.  If you're ever in the area, you must try it. Click here to see the location on a map.

The Original Super Burger

P.S. You might also like Boston Burger Company.

Winter Storm Pandora in the RV

Well, winter storm Pandora has come and gone.  We were expecting to have some ice at the end of it, but it only brought snow.  We have almost 5 more inches.  This gives us a total accumulation now of bout 2 1/2 ft.  The temperature warmed up above freezing today and the sun was out, so it felt really warm.  I can't even tell you how good it felt today to have the warmer weather.  But, we must not get too comfortable because the temperature is dropping now and will be back to the single digits by tomorrow afternoon.

Chad plowed snow in his T-shirt today.  It was 34 degrees F.

This past week was another really cold week.  Chad's brother's septic froze in his mobile home.  He has skirting up and it is well-insulated underneath.  And, many other people are starting to have problems with their houses.  So, we are glad that ours is relatively easy to thaw out.  We've come up with a pretty good system now.  This week, we started using the hose pulled through the bathroom window to fill the tanks up with hot water to thaw any ice accumulation.  This past Tuesday was the worst so far.  They were almost completely frozen.  But, the hot water did the trick.  

When the lows at night are around 0F or colder, our fresh water will freeze even though we keep the thermostat for the furnace set at 60 and leave the cabinet doors open with heat blowing in.  So, we get up about an hour before the alarm goes off and turn the furnace up to 70-75.  In that hour, the water will thaw so that we can use all of our faucets when we wake up.

Some more pics before we started plowing....

Related Posts

The Great Water Dump - Frozen rinse/waste tanks

Winter Storm Juno in the RV 

Winter Storm Linus in the RV 

Winter Storm Marcus in the RV 

Winter Storm Neptune in the RV 

Leaving the RV unattended in Winter

Snow!! 

Our First Snow in the RV 

By the way, we did get a light snow from Winter Storm Octavia - but, that storm mostly hit down south.

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Chad's Meatballs (Gluten Free)

Chad's Meatballs

This week we are featuring our recipe that was published on RVwest magazine's website.  I think you will find these meatballs the best you've ever had....at least I did.

Click here for the recipe.

These meatballs go well with Chad's Marinara Sauce.  Click here for the recipe.

More Recipes:

Gluten Free Meat Pie 

Gluten Free Broccoli Casserole

Gluten Free Goulash with Spaghetti Squash

Gluten Free Chicken Francese

Gluten Free Lentil Burgers

Gluten Free Cabbage Stirfry

Orders from Amazon.com made through this site help support this site.

Winter Storm Neptune in the RV

Wow!  We are continuing to have one winter storm after another.  This storm brought with it high winds and more snow.  It has stopped snowing now, but the wind is very strong.  And, the temperatures continue to drop.  It is currently 13 degrees and feels like -5 with the wind chill.  (According to The Weather Channel.)  

The wind blowing snow

 

Our icy, snowy road

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Gluten Free Meat Pie

Gluten Free Meat Pie

This recipe was inspired by Chad's memories of his grandma's meat pies.  This recipe is not his grandma's but his own recipe, which I have to say is absolutely delicious!

Ingredients
Gluten Free pie crust (for the top and bottom of the pie)

1/2 pkg (6-8 oz) of bacon 

1 medium white onion, diced

1 heaping Tablespoon minced garlic

1.5 lbs ground beef

1/4 cup dried parsley

salt and pepper to taste
1 egg yolk (optional)

Pie Crust - We found a great gluten free pie crust recipe and it turned out very good.  Click here for the recipe.  A gluten free pie crust is very fragile, but I followed the detailed instructions on the recipe with excellent results.  We also used Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 Baking Flour.  We had to get resourceful because we don't have a rolling pin.  So, I used my stainless steel water bottle.  It worked great! 

Rolling the dough for the pie crust

Pie Filling -  

 Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Cook the bacon and set aside.  After it cools, chop the bacon into small chunks.  Drain the bacon fat and set aside.

 Dice the onion and add to the stock pot along with the ground beef and minced garlic.

Stir over medium-high heat.  We used frozen ground beef so it took about 20 min to cook.  Finely mince the beef as it cooks.  We use a wooden spoon.  Drain the beef fat and add some of the bacon fat for flavor.  Add the 1/4 cup of parsley, salt, pepper, and bacon.  Stir until everything is heated through.

Add the filling to the pie crust.

 Add the top crust and brush with an egg yolk if desired.  The egg yolk will make it brown nicely.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until the crust is brown.

Cut into slices and serve.

Bon appétit!

P.S. How to cook the perfect steak