Slap my butt and call me Shorty.
As hard as I try and stay current on our blog, it is becoming more difficult to
do with so many distractions that pop up at a moment’s notice. So, daily I must
choose between doing “something”, or writing about what we’re doing. With that said,
I’ll try and catch up.
A little over a month ago,
while in Childress, we encountered a problem with our HWH slide and leveling
system. Ass CC was extending the last slide out, it abruptly stopped before
fully extending. I looked at my watch and it was 3:35 pm on Friday. Both
Winnebago and HWH close at 3:30, so it looks like it will be Monday before I
can talk to anyone at either location.
Over the weekend, I surfed
the Web for answers and narrowed it down to the motor that drives the hydraulic
pump. On Monday I called the extended warranty people, and they gave me three
names of people to call. When I called them, the first said I was too far away
for them to drive on a service call, the second one only did RV glass repair,
and the third was in Tucson, and said they would be happy to look at it, IF we
brought the rig in. Right…….drive to Tucson with the slides out. NOT! Back on
the web and look for a Winnebago/Itasca dealer in route to the RGV.
Patterson RV Sales in
Wichita Falls, just slightly out of our way, said they could look at it
Thursday morning, no sooner, BUT, we would have to retract the slides manually;
easier said than done. If I had an air impact wrench, it would have been a
breeze, as it were, it took about an hour for each of the two front slides. The
two bedroom slides had to be pushed in from the outside with good ol’ brute
force. Lucky for us, there were construction workers camped nearby, and CC
sweet talked 4 of them to come over and help. Relatively easy to get in using
this method, compared to the front two.
While in Childress we had a
great visit with CC’s daughter, Letta and her family, and enjoyed cooking class
with her preparing eggplant and chicken parmesan, CC’s favorite. I’m thinking
Letta is trying to suck up to her mom???
Whatever the reason, CC loved it and we all enjoyed good meals together.
We decided to leave
Childress on Wednesday, and drive the 120 miles to Wichita Falls, rather than
get up at 5 am on Thursday, to make it to Paterson by 8:30 am for our scheduled
appointment.
After the summer of repairs
we have encountered, I was not overly optimistic as we arrived at Patterson,
and commented to CC, “plan on at least a week in Wichita Falls, before we
continue southward to the RGV.”
But every once in a while,
Murphy doesn’t raise his red head, and miracles can and do happen. I cannot
begin to say enough good things about Patterson RV. They are in my books the
best service we have experienced in almost 4 years of full-timing. They informed
us every step of the way on what repair was being done, and the overall status.
Our service technician was Darren, and was the best one I have ever known; bar
none. He had our problem diagnosed within an hour of arrival, and 30 minutes
later had the motor disassembled, and notified us the repair was a simple as
new brushes. He further elated me with information that Patterson had a good
relationship with a local company that specializes in rebuilding electric
motors.
I now believe a good, no
GREAT RV dealer can does exist. Any other RV service provider would have
told us they would have to order a new motor from HWH, wait for it to arrive in
about a week, and bring our rig back to install the new motor. But not
Patterson, they went the extra mile, and for that we are extremely grateful.
After paying our $100 deductible for the extended warranty, we were back on the
road by 4 pm. Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus!
We left Wichita
Falls and drove southward on US281 to our usual stop for a few days at Coffee
Creek RV Park, just outside of Santo, TX. We really enjoy this place; quiet,
peaceful, and a great hot tub and pool. After the last few weeks it was nice to
just relax and relieve some stress soaking in the Jacuzzi.
Braunig Lake RV
Park, just south of San Antonio would be our next home for a few days, as we
work our way to the RGV for the winter. The weather was warm and humid, just
perfect for enjoying the pool beside the lake.
Drum roll please…………………
Our travel day to
the RGV was uneventful, just the way we like them, and arrived at our winter
home in Weslaco, TX at Ranchero Village. It didn’t take us long to get set up
and make our way to the pool. The park only had 8 other campers when we
arrived, which is typical for this time of year, as most do not arrive until
after Thanksgiving.
The following day
CC decided a trip SOTB (south of the border) was in order. We spent the day
walking around town visiting our Mexican friends; margaritas in hand. After a
late light lunch of tacos, we ventured NOTB, as pool time was calling our
names.
Now, after a month,
we fell settled in for the winter, and back to our somewhat usual “routine”,
which consists of 8 am exercise, 2 pm pool time and 4 pm happy hour. Every
other hour is open to spur of the moment activities, which occur on a daily
basis. We do manage to stay busy and active, and it’s hard to believe how fast
the time flies.
Now that we are up
to date, CC promises she will be more conscientious about updating the blog more
frequently. That will happen if I can convince her that two trips SOTB per week
is not “necessary”, but I will admit those $2 margaritas are a tempting
persuasion.
Thanks for stopping
by. Until next time, take care and stay well…………………..
