On the road again

Well after about a 2 month vacation from the RV we are back.  We left Ruston, LA where we visited Diana's cousin Lucy and her husband Ronnie for about a week.  Two wonderful folks and we had a great time.  Now we are just south of Dallas, TX and will begin planning the details of the next few weeks.  We will be in Mesa, AZ from February 20 until March 27 for spring training baseball.  If you plan to be near by during that time let us know, we'll try to get together.

Not done!!! Really?!?

The original plan was that while we were gone Dixie RV in Hammond, LA would do some warranty work, do an oil change and replace the wind shield.  Additionally, Camping World would install 2 window awnings on the driver's side.  The awnings were our birthday and Christmas gifts to each other.  Dixie RV and Camping World are different companies but at this location they share a building.  When you walk in if you go to the left you enter Camping World.  If you turn right you are in Dixie RV.  We were assured that they do communicate and that all work could be coordinate and done.

We dropped off the RV on November 23rd with a detailed written list of items to be done and by whom.  We also said we would pick up the RV on December 30th.  While we were gone we called several times to see how things were going and if the 30th was still good.  I called on December 27th and was told they were going to try to do the windshield that afternoon but the RV would not be ready until the 2nd.  Not great news but OK, we can adapt.  So we end up in hotels for several extra nights, no big deal.

I had made arrangements to pick up the RV on the 2nd between 10 and 11 in the morning thinking we could then get to the near by campground.  We would unpack and get the RV systems up and running.  When we got to Dixie we were told they were working on it and it would be awhile.  So we decided to go to lunch.  Then we shopped for awhile the we killed some more time and returned to Dixie.  We we told that the vehicle was done and during the walk thru we found out otherwise.  First of all Diana put her hand down on the passenger seat and cut her finger on a piece of glass  The entire seat was covered in glass clearly left from the windshield replacement.  Then we learned that the heating system issue/question had not made it from the list I had left to the actual work order.  So it had not been done.  While the service writer went in to get someone to come out and clean up the glass we decided we'd check out the awnings.  A very good decision since we found that only one had been installed!  So while the RV is being taken back into Dixie for the heating issue we went into Camping World to ask about the other awning, which we had paid for in advance.  Well when the parts came in they had the wrong hardware for one of the awnings.  The new hardware was in but they could not find it!  After an other hour they found it and began the awning installation.  This has gotten to be a long story so I'll cut short.  We finally got everything done and got out of there about 5:45.  They close at 6.

This was not the way we had figured the day would go and certainly not the way I wanted to spend my birthday!  We will not be going back to Dixie RV.  Ever!

We are Homeless???

Before I tell you how two people that own a house in Midlothian, VA and an RV can be homeless, I want to talk about our recent trip without the RV.  It was wonderful.  The time with Diana's family is always fun and the stop in Amelia Island, then in Port Orange and then the cruise were all great.  The visit with my family over Christmas was very special and will be a great memory for a life time.  The visit to Brandermill church and with our neighbors and friends while in Midlothian was amazing.  And finally our trip back to the RV allowed us to see some former neighbors.  An amazing 5 weeks away from the RV.

But we are ready to get back to the RV and return to some routine.  But wait...the RV which was supossed to have all the worked completed so we could pick it up on 12/30 may not be ready until January 2 or maybe later.  What!? How can this be?  The dealer has had the RV for 5 weeks!  We want to get home!!!

You may recall from a previous post that we were getting a new wind shield due to a disagreement with a rock.  Wind shields for RVs are not like those for cars in that glass places do not stock them in their inventory.  So it is special ordered.  Ours had been ordered by December 10, maybe sooner, and so I expected no issues.  Well I called the dealer the other day and the wind shield had not arrived yet.  I called yesterday and it had arrived and they were going to try to install it in the afternoon. Time for a little side bar here; Due to the holidays, and a death of a family member of our service writer, the normal work schedule has been compromised.  Also, the person who is trying to help us is wearing several other hats as well.  The dealership has been very helpful and provided me with all the info they can.  They have even had to track things down and have called me back several times.  End side bar.

So we are in Charlotte, NC with no where to go until at least the 2nd.  And that is how we are homeless!  Fortunately we are in a nice hotel that we have extended our stay until Monday.  But after that we are not sure where we will be or for sure when we will be able to pick up our home.  We'll keep you posted.

Brandermill Church

What a blessing it was to go to our "home church" yesterday.  The Christmas pageant was wonderful, the worship was meaningful and the evening cantata was amazing.  It was great to reconnect with so many friends and to see how things have changed and stayed the same.  We hope to see many of you again over the next week or so.

We did not realize how many of you follow this blog!  We will continue our posts when it seems appropriate.  It is great to feel loved!

Cruisin'

The drive from Hammond, LA to Amelia Island, FL was uneventful and boring.  I-10 across the Florida panhandle is flat, straight and without much scenery.  But since we were in the Jeep and not the RV it was cool to be able to drive at 70 miles and hour!

The short visit with Dale and Christy (Diana's brother and sister-in-law) was great.  The trip to Port Orange to see Diana's sister, Marge and brother-in-law David was short and we had a nice time there.  Dale and Christy came down for Thanksgiving and we all ate too much....the American way.

Friday we were off on a cruise with Marge and David.  The Emerald Princess was the ship and we had 10 days and several islands in the south eastern Caribbean.  The weather was great and the excursions were wonderful.  We watched the sun rise and set from our balcony and had great scenery the entire voyage.  We had been on 2 other cruises but had not had as great a time.  Partly due to poor weather but what made this cruise so great was being with Marge and David.  I don't know about them but we had a great time.

Sadly, the cruise ended and we had to leave Port Orange.  We drove to Midlothian, VA, our old home.  As of this post Diana has been to the church for the Prayer Shawl Ministry (better known as Knit Wits) and we stopped at Bob's brother's house to visit with Don, Janice, Alex, Heather, Flannery, Kathy, Bray plus we got to meet Lilly the dog.  A fun night.

The next few days look great with a cookie decorating in our old neighborhood and lots of "getting together" with friends and relatives.  Looks like we will have a full social schedule for our two weeks here.

Vacation

OK, don't start!  I know most of you, and by most I mean all, think we are on a full time vacation.  I can't argue with that but we are taking a vacation from the RV.  Saturday the 23rd we will drop the RV off at an RV dealer and Camping World in Hammond, LA.  We have a list of warranty work, maintenance work and a few upgrades they will work on while we are gone.  We 'll be back on December 30th to pick up the RV.

First we go to Amelia Island, FL where Di's brother Dale and his wife Christy are staying at a condo.  Two days there then south to visit Di's sister Marge and her husband David for a few days then Dale and Christy will join us for Thanksgiving.  Friday Marge, David, Diana and I leave for a 10 day cruise in the Caribbean.  When we get back from that Diana and I will drive to Midlothian and visit with friends and spend Christmas with my brother and his family.  Then drive back to Hammond, LA to get the RV and resume that life style.

The inside of the RV looks like a storm came through since we have piles of clothes for each stop along the way.  We are pretty sure it will all fit in the Jeep...maybe!

Great River Road Complete!!!

On November 16, 2013 we completed our journey down the Great River Road.  This took roughly 3 months, but we took a side trip to Wisconsin for 2+ weeks and spent 3 weeks near the Twin Cities.  Several places along the GRR we saw signs indicating that one drop of water entering the the river at the beginning would take about 90 days to make it to the Gulf of Mexico.  We were not too far off of that timing.  Our approach was to follow the official GRR as much as possible unless we found roads closer to the river, then we followed as closely as we could.  Below is a summary in pictures and words of the trip.  Many places along the GRR we could not see the river at all, other places we were within a few feet.

It all starts at Lake Itasca in Minnesota.

We think Wisconsin has the most scenic drive on the river. 

 Tennessee was the only state with brown signs.

We did about half the road in the RV and the other half we parked the RV in a campground and drove the Jeep.  We drove in all 10 states that touch the river.

The river does not have an official end!  This is because south of New Orleans it begins to branch off and split around dozens of islands.  Technically it does not end until it is out in the Gulf a way.  We followed the road as far as you can by car.   This is as close to the end as we could get.

It was a fun adventure with some beautiful scenery and some just plain ugly industry.  What a blessing to have been able to do this.  Now we celebrate!!