Each
year as CC and I begin our travel season, we decide on a theme. Last year it
was “National Parks in the West”, and the year before it was “Coastal - Across
the Gulf and up the Atlantic”. This year CC chose “Family and Friends” as our
focus, and since our last posting, we have been busy doing just that.
While we
stayed at Whispering Hills RV Park outside of Georgetown, KY, we got to know
the park owners, Pat and Monica. They are good, hardworking people, and their
personalities closely matched ours, so friendship was inevitable. They joined
us for a few “Happy Hours” with water bottle in hand; understandably no adult
beverages for them while on duty. We finally managed a dinner together off
site, and had a wonderful time and got to know them better. If you’re ever in
the Lexington area, we highly recommend their campground.
Wow, the
fourth of July is already upon us; what happened to June? A longtime friend is on
assignment working in West Virginia, and living in Pittsburg, PA. We made plans
with him and his wife to meet for the holiday. Zanesville, OH was not our first
choice, but since we were late in making plans, the Greenbriar Resort in WV was
already booked. Oh well, we are more interested in getting together than we are
about WHERE it is. We stayed at a cute little place, Wolfie’s Campground, while
our friends took up residency at a nearby hotel. We had a great time with Terry
and Janice, and thoroughly enjoyed the time we spent with them.
While in
Zanesville, we made plans to get together with our “Winter Texan” friends from
Ranchero Village, Gary and Becky, who have lived in the area all of their
lives. We had lunch at a little lakeside biker bar and then they turned their
attention on playing tour guide to a couple of freeloaders. Thanks, Gary and
Becky; we had a great time. See ya in Weslaco!
Now
where to? CC and I really have no firm travel plans this year. So, we got on
Google Maps and go through our Family and Friends list, and decide to head
west. The morning we left Zanesville, the front leveling jacks on the rig were
not completely retracting. They were up enough to drive, but not up enough to inflate
the front air bags on the chassis, which would make driving nearly impossible;
definitely NOT recommended. I crawled underneath to see if I could identify any
problems, cleaned the ram shafts completely with WD-40 and wiped them almost
dry, leaving a fine film on each ram, thinking this would solve the
problem…..It didn’t. Finally with a
little coaxing from a make-shift pry bar, I was able to get them up and silence
the “jacks down” ringing bell, which sends a signal to the front air bags to
inflate.
We
stopped in Richmond, IN at Grandpa’s Farm Campground the first night in route
to see our friends in Troy, MO, Carl and Carla, also “Winter Texans”. The
following morning, same scenario with the front jacks. Living this lifestyle,
we live by the mantra, “Our plans are written in the sand”. New destination HWHCorporation in Moscow, IA via Troy, MO. HWH manufactured the leveling jacks and
slides for our motor home, and going directly to the factory will ensure they
are repaired correctly the first time.
After
another travel day we pulled into Camp Lakewood RV Park in Effingham, IN. As we
move westward, the temps are definitely increasing. After we got set up, I
asked CC if she wanted to go to the pool and cool off, she replied, “They have
no pool; only a lake”. OK…….turn down the AC. As we prepared to depart the
following morning, our jacks showed no improvement and needed “coaxing” again.
We arrived in Troy, and after some severe
“jockeying”, managed to get set up at Carl’s shop; as some would refer to as
his “man cave”. Our visit was short, but enjoyable, as Carl and Carla were busy
shuffling grandkids from Iowa to Missouri to Kentucky and back again. CC and I
both agreed with their style of grand parenting, spoil ‘em rotten, and then
give ‘em back to their parents. LOL After all, isn’t that what grandparents are
for? We had a great visit, and enjoyed some great food, libations and laughter;
did I mention laughter? See you two in Texas, if not before.
Working with HWH in Moscow, IA, is great; they
are a pleasure to do business with, and really take customer service to the
next level. Too bad the majority of RV Dealers don’t follow suit, for if they
did, this lifestyle would be enjoyable 100% of the time. Dealers just want to
sell you something, get your money, and then say, “The hell with ya!” We called
HWH on a Thursday, and set an appointment for the following Monday. We arrived
about 10:30 am, and were told by the service technician that the seals were bad
in both front jacks. The cost to re-build would be $311.50 each plus one hour
of labor. HWH called our extended warranty provider, and they agreed to cover
the cost, less our $100 deductible.
Since we are traveling on I-80, and we have a
couple of issues that need to be addressed on the rig, we decided to call Leach
Camper Sales of Lincoln, NE, right off I-80. By contrast with the great
customer service we received at HWH, we have an appointment with Leach, from
whom we purchased this rig, along with their $7,000+ “Priority Service”
Extended Warranty, and were first told the earliest they could get us in would
be August 6. That’s three WEEKS! Sure didn’t take ‘em that long to take our
money in August 2011. “Priority Service”….my ass. They finally shuffled some
things around, and said “How about July 30. Will that work?” To which I
replied, “Not really, but you’ve got me by the family jewels, so you’re the one
calling the shots. What about that VIP Priority Service you promised?” Long
pause, and finally they responded, “Well that’s the best we can do.”
CC found a highly rated RV Park just west of
Des Moines in Waukee, IA. We checked in for a week at the Timberline Campground,
and after set up decided to go for a swim; finally a pool and none too soon, as
the heat index is approaching the century mark.
Tonight, we have plans for pizza with Winter
Texan neighbors, Dick and Judy, who spend their summers nearby. Tomorrow, more
frivolity with another set of Texas neighbors, Walt and Wendy, who still
maintain a Spring-Summer-Fall home about 20 miles south of the campground.
Thanks for taking the time to stop by. Until
next time, take care and stay well…………….
