August 19, 2013 "Hurry up and Wait"

While in Central Iowa, we made our way by Newton for a stop at Maytag Dairy, for some of their fantastic blue cheese. After sampling some white cheddar and havarti, those were also in our shopping basket.

Hurry up and wait, is what we are now doing. Making our way to Leach RV in Lincoln, NE for our August 6 appointment, we decided on a stop in Papillion, NE for a week long stay at Walnut Creek Lake RV Park. We have stayed here before, and even though they only have electric, the peace and quiet offered outweighs the absence of full hook-ups.

In keeping with our travel theme this year, CC planned a visit with her longtime friend, Dixie, who lives nearby. Plenty of laughter is always present when those two get together.

While in the area, Dixie and her family treated us to pizza at Big Fred’s, an Omaha tradition since 1965. CC and I ordered a small, and we had leftovers. The others in the party ordered larges, and also had leftovers times 10. Later in the week, Dixie invited us for a family meal with Nathan, Nicole, Elijah, Dixie, Noah, CC, Lindsay and Mackinsey.

On the morning of August 6, we traveled the short 55 miles westward to Lincoln for our 8 o’clock appointment at Leach’s. We had three items for them to repair; the passenger side front slide needed an adjustment (or so we thought), the door awning was not fully closing, and the fiberglass engine access door had separated from the steel frame, most likely on the roads of Indiana. Shortly before noon we were notified to door awning had been adjusted, and the engine access door would need to be removed. According to Leach, Winnebago did not use enough adhesive when they attached the cover to the frame, and the adhesive would need to cure overnight. OK, no problem. The slide was another matter. They diagnosed the problem as a broken slide roller, which was beyond their expertise to repair, and we would have to go to the factory in Forest City, IA if we wanted it repaired. The following day when we returned to have the engine door reattached, Leach presented me with the bill, and I was not a happy camper. It seems the Extended Platinum Warranty they sold me in 2011, would not cover any of the repairs, part of which was $165 to diagnose my slide problem, which they did not or could not fix. To say that I am not pleased with my experience at Leach would be an understatement. IMHO, they are just like most of the RV Dealers we have visited; maximize profits with minimal effort.

OK, more hurry up and wait. Our appointment at Winnebago in Forest City is September 9. Do we hang out around Lincoln / Omaha for the next month or move to a cooler climate? We normally spend the month of September in our old home state of Colorado, so this year will be different and we’ll do August. With that decision behind us…….westward ho! As we traveled along I-80, needing fuel, we pulled into Flying J. When we were ready to pull away from the pump, I realized the two truckers on each side of me had pulled out at an angle, fencing me in. I’m sure they were having a good ol’ time knowing exactly what they were doing, so we just sat and waited them out.

We arrived in Elizabeth, CO, and pulled into our usual spot on C and D Loop at Rick and Zoe’s RV Resort. The following morning I got up early enough to capture a shot of the rising sun.

While our time in Elizabeth was short, we had an enjoyable visit and caught up on the past years events of our mutual friends and immediate families. Dinners were always memorable with lively conversation, great food and wine.

While we were in Troy, MO last month, we tentatively made plans to spend August and/or September with Carl and Carla, playing tour guide for them in our old home state. Carl and Carla arrived in Elizabeth, and Rick and Zoe were gracious enough to let them camp overnight before our departure to Buena Vista, where we spent two days sightseeing.

The drive from Buena Vista to Gunnison over Monarch Pass had CC white knuckled, as she buried her head in her Kindle as we descended the steep, winding road. After we arrived and got settled in at our campground, Carl was anxious to experience some off-roading in the National Forest around Lake City.

After a brief two day stay in Gunnison, we moved westward on US-50 to Montrose, where the Cedar Creek RV Park will be our new home for the balance of August. We have numerous sights to see and things we want to do while we are here, so I’m sure the time here will seem short. After Labor Day, CC and I will head eastward to Forest City, IA, and Carl and Carla will continue their journeys through Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico.

Thanks for stopping by. Until next time, take care and stay well………………….

July 19, 2013 - "Friends and Repairs"

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…………….

August 25 – 31, 2011 “Our New Home”

We received a few inquires as to what is involved in the installation of a ceiling fan, and what the cost of the MCD shades were. The short answer is, they were included in the price of our new motorhome; a one owner 2010 Itasca Ellipse 42AD with only 4,100 miles on her, aptly named “Elly”.

Since we were impersonating “The Jefferson’s”, we also decided it was time to upgrade our toad to something with better fuel economy, a 2012 Chevrolet Equinox that is rated 22 in town, and 32 on the highway, almost double the MPG of the Jeep Wrangler.

Purchasing a new automobile is definitely NOT one of my favorite pastimes, but I was pleasantly surprised how easy this purchase was. I have had a GM MasterCard for 20+ years, and had accumulated almost $3,000 in earnings. GM places limits on each of their models, and on the Equinox it was $1,000. When the sales manager took my card to apply my earnings to the purchase price, he returned asking me, “Did you know you were a “World” member?” Sure, I replied (but hadn’t a clue exactly what that meant). He said, “You can use ALL of your earnings toward the purchase, if you’d like”. Now, where I come from, that’s called a no brainer. (Click on any image to enlarge)

Followers of our blog realize we have been searching for a diesel pusher and something more comfortable, since we live in our rig full time. What caused us to bite the bullet and move up? Well, it was a combination of things. One, a fellow full timer of one year, just like us, commented that he bought his third rig first; a 2010 Tiffin Allegro Bus. That got me thinking about the concept. Secondly, saving $80K on this 2010 versus the 2012 42AD, we picked out at the Winnebago Rally last month. And lastly, the unit was barely used. The speedcook oven, cooktop, outside entertainment center, Kingdome in-motion satellite system, and 2 of the 4 TV’s had never been used, as the original owner had only used it 4 times.

It only took us 3 days to move in to the new rig, and the time it took for Chevy to order and install a new base plate and receiver (for the bikes) on the Equinox was 5 days. Leach RV had almost a week to fix the little things we noticed that weren’t right, move the brake and light systems from the Jeep to the Equinox, and do the final detail, which included waxing and topping off the diesel and propane. So………..... After being in Lincoln for 2 weeks, we finally departed.

The trip across Nebraska in I-80 was like floating on air. The air bag suspension, coupled with the 400 HP Cummins, kept the ride soft and the noise in the rear; neither of which we were accustomed to in the Suncruiser. CC and I each commented that this rig, 4 feet longer that the Cruiser, didn’t handle like it was bigger at all. Do I have buyer’s remorse? Not at all. Do I think we overspent? Anytime money leaves my hands it causes me redefine our plans for retirement and this lifestyle. Are we happy with our decision? So far, so good. If momma's happy, everyone's happy.

We arrived at Tom and Trudy’s in Cheyenne, WY, around 4 pm, and were set up by the time they got home from work. They have a wonderful home on 2 acres they built about 7 years ago.

Complete with a 40 foot by 60 foot “pole barn”, as Tom refers to it, where he houses all of his “toys”; 4 motorcycles, a boat, 2 trailers, and their “baby”. I think everyone with a motorhome needs a “pole barn”, don’t you?

We had a wonderful visit, and it was great to catch up with old friends. One thing life has taught me; when you re-aquaint with good friends, time spent apart seems to disappear, and you resume just like you had seen each other yesterday. Thanks Tom & Trudy, for everything!

From Cheyenne, we bolted down I-25 to our old stomping grounds around Denver, CO. CC pushed that big rig right through downtown and out to the “burbs”, where we arrived at our friends, Rick and Zoe, just outside of Elizabeth, CO, about 50 miles SE of Denver.

We will be in the Denver area for the month of September. Only a brief side trip to Lake Powell on the tenth, for 7 days on Rick and Zoe’s houseboat, and then back in the Mile Hi City for the remainder of the month. We have doctor appointments, haircuts, and hopefully a few lunches and/or dinners with friends here in the area. As CC said as she piloted the rig down I-25, it’s good to be home. I couldn’t agree more.

Until next time, take care and stay well…………………..