Ali had this idea earlier in the week that a nice way to send us off would be with a pot luck dinner at their site. The only catch was that all the dishes had to be vegan! Our new friends have expressed some curiosity about the way we eat, and apologized for serving dishes at previous pot lucks that we could not eat, but I don’t think they anticipated actually having to eat any of it. I think they were initially apprehensive about the vegan pot luck dinner but they were good sports about it and took it as something of a challenge.
At last count it looked like we might have 12 people there and half dozen dishes to choose from. Linda decided to make the Sloppy Joe’s she served at our open house back in October. The 60 people who showed up wiped them out, so we know they are something non-vegans will enjoy. One of the reasons for her grocery run to Gainesville yesterday was to get the Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP) that serves as the hamburger substitute in this recipe. She normally buys Bob’s Red Mill brand but Publix, in spite of having a large selection of BRM products, did not have the TVP. That required an extra stop at the Earth Origins market where she found what she needed in the bulk food section.
Our major focus today, besides the pot luck dinner, was getting the coach (and us) ready for travel. It had only been moved back and forth about 3 feet a few times since we pulled in to site 439 at WCRVR on January 1st, so the engine oil and tire pressures needed to be checked. We also wanted to leave with all of our clothes clean, so my first chore of the day was doing the laundry while Linda made the Itty Bitty Carrot Cake Cookies. The laundry takes an hour and 45 minutes to do. The cookies took most of the morning.
The old adage “a place for everything and everything in its place” is more than a goal when living in an RV; it’s a necessity. Still, over the last three months some things have come out of storage and stayed out because we used them on a regular basis. It was now time to return them to their travel locations. While Linda straightened up the interior of the coach I checked the engine oil and coolant and re-packed part of the front cargo bay. When we pull out tomorrow everything has to be stowed and the dining table, counters, and end tables cleared as anything loose in the coach can slide and get broken or become a projectile in an accident.
With the housekeeping chores out of the way Linda turned her attention to preparing the Sloppy Joe’s. The recipe is from the “Hell yes it’s vegan!” website and claims to be the original/authentic recipe with the exception of the TVP in place of the hamburger. It uses ketchup instead of tomato sauce; sweet yet sharp from the vinegar.
John took the final reading on our electric meter this morning and turned it in to the office. The Sloppy Joe’s were on their own for the next three hours so Linda walked over to pay our final electric bill and return the mailbox key. Sometimes it’s the little things, like giving up a mailbox key, that most underscore the reality that your status somewhere has changed.
We have recently been unable to connect Linda’s computer to our network via WiFi, which meant she could not access the NAS where I store photographs and the files related to our website and blog. We have had the same issue with our wireless network at home and got around it by using an Ethernet connection. I was looking for a charging/data cable for my Palm Tungsten T-3 when I “discovered” that we had network cables on board. We plugged her laptop into the Amped|Wireless router and voilà; there was the network and the NAS. She was able to quickly back up files going back to mid-March. I have been holding off deleting photographs from the Compact Flash cards until I had them on the NAS and on her computer.
By mid-afternoon the coach was in pretty good shape for travel and the Sloppy Joe’s were slowly cooking to perfection in Ali’s slow-cooker. John escorted a trailer to the site on the other side of theirs, and Ali was already sitting outside, so we took that as an opportunity to give them a card and small gift; our way of saying “thank you” for being good neighbors, making our evenings at the fire pit memorable, and bringing us in contact with a larger circle of friends at the resort.
We had a chance to sit outside and read for a little while. Around 3:30 PM Linda starting taking the various components of our contribution to the pot luck dinner next door to John and Ali’s site. We took our four Zip Dee chairs and settled in with a couple of glasses of wine to chat for a few minutes before everyone else showed up around 4PM. Jim (Sunny Fox) Rowley came down and had a drink with us but did not stay for dinner. He and Janet had just returned from a week at Disney World and were very tired. Everyone brought their own libations. The mood was mellow, the conversation was good, and the food was spread out buffet style.
And what a spread we had! Linda provided the Sloppy Joe’s and buns as well as the cookies. Ali and John provided green salad, grilled bread with bruschetta topping, a citrus and strawberry fruit salad, and meatballs (for those who could not bear the thought of not having meat with their meal). Jeff and Kathy brought a vinegar-style Cole slaw. Charles and Sandy brought a couscous and black bean salad. Doug and Paulette brought a potato and vegetable salad. Jack and Silvia brought fresh cantaloupe with walnuts. Every dish was outstanding and, being mostly cold dishes, perfect for a very warm spring afternoon. The only other times we have had that kind of selection of vegan dishes was on our two Holistic Holiday At Sea cruises and at our open house last October.
As dusk set in the party broke up. We lingered a while to chat with John and Ali, but the mosquitoes and other small insects were numerous and persistent, and we finally had to retreat to our respective RVs.
The very last task before we pull the coach out of the site tomorrow will be to drain the waste tanks, top off the fresh water tank, and stow the various hoses, electrical shoreline, and water softener. Once we have the bus out of its parking place we will find an out-of-the-way spot, hook up the car, and be on our way.