Waiting on Weather

Yesterday we left Red Bay at 5:30 a.m. Yes, you read that correctly! Our work in Red Bay was finished. However, we were not happy with the repair done on the shower, so we asked to go to Iuka, Mississippi, to the Waterway Plastics Company. They are a Tiffin affiliated company and make all the front and end caps and the showers. So, Wade, the Tiffin service manager made an appointment for us. They weren't actually open on Friday, but they brought someone in just to do our shower. Robin took care of us and since we were about 25 minutes early and she was already there, she got started early. We were out of there by 9 a.m. which was much quicker than we had expected.

We had a list of stuff to be done and all but one item was actually completed. Norcold has decided to change out our refrigerator. I have not had any trouble with it, but cracks are developing in the box at the bottom. The first crack encircles the hinge and it is spidering out from there. I figured they would just slap some tape on it and wait for it to get bigger. But the warranty is up in December, so they said change it out. It has to be ordered and would take 5-7 days so we will take Phaeton Place back down when we go to Florida next month and leave it for the refrigerator to be installed, then we will pick it up on the way home.

We drove up the Natchez Trace to Nashville again, my favorite drive. It was beautiful and there were some dark clouds at different places which really made for a pretty landscape. We stopped at one rest area as it started to rain and had lunch. It rained quite hard but it had subsided by the time we were ready to leave. We ended up driving all the way to Shepherdsville, Kentucky, as campgrounds along the way were either full or not too good for a 40'er with 4 slides. We are in Grandma's RV Park just off I-65. We were going to leave tomorrow, but it is quite nice here and we have decided to stay another day and head north to Indianapolis on Monday. There is a lot of flooding in central Indiana around Columbus and they were expecting more rain. We thought we'd give the weather time to clear before make that run. My appointment with the hip doctor is Wednesday, but we will have to pick up mail and will probably run some errands in Indy. We will be staying at the Glo-Wood campground north of Indy, near Fortville.

In other news, son Brandon has bought a house in Melbourne, Florida. He closed on it yesterday. We have rejoiced with our kids on their first home purchases. We know how important owning their own home is to them and it is quite satisfying as parents to see our children realize their dreams. Congratulations to both Jocelyn and Brandon for reaching that milestone!

Till next time. . .

Dale

Phaeton Place is Home!!!!!

Yes, Phaeton Place was born in Red Bay, Alabama, home of Tiffin Motorhomes. We are here for her yearly checkup and most of the items on our list were addressed today. Still have a couple things left to do and it looks like we may be getting a new refrigerator. The box is cracking on ours; looks like stress fractures and since we have the extended warranty, better to get it replaced now.

There are still building motorhomes here, although we have heard they are on a reduced schedule, but the service bay techs are busy working on coaches, so that is good.

Today we just hung around the lounge as it was probably in the 90's here and we thought the dogs would be more comfortable in the air conditioning. They both got baths last night, so that meant Neal has been mad at me all day. But he has to appreciate being more pleasantly fragranced today than yesterday. Ho ho.

We sat and talked with other Tiffin owners and the general feeling here is always upbeat. I guess that's because we want the techs to do a good job, so we try and keep things "light."

I got my kitchen worked on. My cabinets were "falling." A support block underneath the kitchen cabinets had broken and the cabinets started to sag. Terry was sure he could fix it, but he was afraid of breaking the solid surface countertop. At least if the tech broke it, he would have it to fix. It appears he got the job done without damaging the counter. We also had 3 windows replaced and some other little stuff fixed. You just can't put this much on a chassis and run it down the road without something jiggling loose. We will probably be here for another couple days.

The Pace-Stephens reunion was last Saturday. . . and it was another great time. There were 41 who signed the book this year, but we know of at least ONE (right Uncle Bob?) who didn't sign. We did vote to try and get a building next year which is air conditioned. The community building just up the hill may be the site next year if it hasn't already been scheduled. It would be nice to have it inside as it has been really hot the last couple years and we are hoping more people will get out to come if they know they will be comfortable.

We have some friends who are out in the Cape Hatteras area volunteering at a wildlife habitat and we had thought about going out there to visit when we get done here. Many of you know, however, that I fell last December and injured my hip. I struggled with it until April when my doctor gave me a cortisone shot. It isn't any better and it has been getting much worse. Last week on the boat, I hurt it again and yesterday I did the same. I try very hard not to hurt it, but a little trip or mis-step sends pain shooting through the hip and down the leg. It takes about 12 hours and lots of motrin to get to walk again with only a slight limp. I do have an appointment next week with my hip specialist in Indianapolis I had seen before. I don't know what he will find, but something has to be wrong. It may mean a change in our fall plans depending upon what he finds and what he recommends as a course of treatment. But whatever, it will be a temporary diversion and then we will continue on our way.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Bay Springs Lake, Mississippi

Note: This post was made June 6, but since I didn't have internet access at the lake, I had to wait until today to post.

Yesterday we left J. Percy Priest Lake at Nashville, but not before I got a couple pictures of the lake. Really pretty, but it was windy and very rough the days we were there.

We drove around Nashville and picked up the Natchez Trace Parkway for the run down to Bay Springs Lake (Mississippi) on the Tenn-Tom Waterway—that’s the Tennessee Tombigbee. I have pictures of this waterway while it was under construction. The first year we were married, 1971, Terry’s parents brought us down to Mississippi for Thanksgiving for me to meet the relatives. Terry and I went exploring on our own and we came over to where they were digging this huge ditch. Someday I will drag out those old pictures and show them side by side with the current ones.

We stay at the Piney Grove Campground when we are in the area as it is the closest campground to the relatives, although it is some 30 miles away. It is a comfortable campground, a COE park, so we camp quite cheaply. We have water and 50Amp electric, but no sewer.

Today we ran into Booneville, Mississippi, to Wal-Mart for some supplies and stopped off to see Terry’s cousin Shirley briefly. It is always good to see her and we also got to see Preston, her grandson. Since he won’t be at the reunion tomorrow, it was good we stopped in and visited with him.

We are back at the camp now and it looks like we are going to take a nap. Hah. That’s what you get to do when you retire. . . NOTHING, if it suits your fancy!

Till next time . . .

Dale

The Music City

We are in Nashville, arriving yesterday afternoon at the J. Percy Priest Lake, a reservoir of about 14,500 acres. It is a very nice campground, very heavily wooded, so none of our satellite systems work, but. . . hey, we like to rough it sometimes. Hah.

Last evening we drove downtown into Nashville and went by the LP stadium. This week is some sort of music festival and they are having some big name entertainment, but we are leaving tomorrow, headed to the family reunion, so we won't get in on that. We also went down to Centennial Park and I got pictures of the Parthenon, a full-scale replica of the one in Greece. It even has a 42' statue of the goddess Athena, like the original. It is quite impressive. The building houses Nashville's art museum and was built in 1897 in celebration of the town's centennial. We will come back another time and do some browsing there.

Today we shopped at Opry Mills. Found a few things we couldn't do without and then it was laundry time. Nothing too exciting about that, but when you are without full hookups for 2 weeks, it kind of stacks up. Terry left me at the laundromat and went back to feed the dogs their supper, then came back to get me. We have been sitting outside in the breeze until just a few minutes ago.

It is very pleasant here and definitely a place to return to. It is full, however, and the hosts tell us it is filled to capacity most every night. I guess that is because of its proximity to Nashville and the reasonable rates, since it is an Army COE park. The other parks closer into town charge $35-$50 a night.

Till next time. . .

Dale

The Air Chair!

Several of my readers have asked about the air chair. Here is the link:

http://www.airchair.com/

This shows exactly what these people were doing on the lake. They were flipping way high up in the air. They are strapped into the chair and wear helmets and lifejackets. Now I used to ski in a ski show, but I would not do this. I might try the chair, but no flips!

Till next time. . .

Dale

A good day on the lake.

Yesterday and today were supposed to be wrought with thunderstorms all day. Yesterday we worked on the jetski, trying to get it running a little better. We finally got that accomplished and fortunately didn't have any nasty weather. It did start lightning later in the evening, but nothing happened. I awoke about 2:30 a.m. thinking I had heard thunder. The dogs were sleeping in their pen and hadn't heard anything, but I started to hear a couple sprinkles on the roof. I knew we had not set our lawn chairs inside and so I went outside and put them both into a basement hatch. About a half hour later I heard Bailey dancing around and I got up and let him out of the pen. It was lightning and I could see it through the front curtains and Bailey doesn't like that, but he was content to come back to the bedroom and lay down on the floor beside my side of the bed. Neal never did wake up and while it did sprinkle some, there was no storm or big deluge.

Today was overcast all morning, but we decided to head out on the boat this morning and go over to Sulphur Creek for lunch. The first picture is our boat in its slip and the second is backing out of our slip behind the Sunset Dock Marina. We weren't even away from the idle zone when we saw a boat with a family and the two young boys were taking turns paddling. We pulled up within talking distance and asked if they needed help. They did; their boat wouldn't start. We asked if we could tow them into the dock. They weren't that far away, but it still would have been a couple hours before they could have gotten in. . . and if weather set in, they would never get there. So we tied them on and pulled them in. They were very appreciative and offered to pay, but I would never take money from someone I helped. I told them no, just offer the same to us if they find us stranded! The lake is so deserted right now and the marinas are hurting because of the high fuel prices. People are not boating. One of my fears was that we would get out on the lake, break down, and no one would be there to help us; so I am glad we were able to help this family.

We rode on out into what I call the "big water" and made it over to Sulphur Creek for lunch. We were the only ones in there eating, but while we were there, two other families came in. No one in the shops either. I really hate to see this because one thing you need if you are on the lake are services of some kind. . . primarily fuel, but also food and shopping. That's what makes a day on the lake so much fun.

We did a lot of riding around to other docks we used to frequent when the kids were with us. On the way to Holly Creek, we saw 15 houseboats all docked together. They were so close, you could walk across the back ends of the boats. They had a couple signs that indicated it might be a school reunion, but at the dock, they said it was a church group. I kind of doubt that was the church group because one of the banners said, "Party Animals." Ho ho.

The skies continued to look ominous the entire time we were out, with only a bit of sunshine, but we never did have inclement weather. On our way back to the dock, we saw a couple of the ski show participants in their "air chairs." It's hard to get a picture when you are moving in opposite directions. We came in and got the boat in the slip and all buttoned up, all the while listening to thunder and watching some pretty dark clouds. But here we sit some 3 hours later and we still haven't had any rain or storms. I'm not complaining, just making an obversation.

We are in for the evening now. For the first time today, the sun is out, very brightly and it has cooled off a little. A nice evening to sit outside.

Till next time. . .

Dale

A Summer Chorus!

I thought I had heard cicadas before. . . and I have. But nothing compares to the noise they are making down here on the lake. I had always heard people talk about them before and I never thought their songs were that extraordinary. But I have never really heard them like this before. It reminds me of the spaceship sounds in an old Buck Roger's movie. Kind of a metallic whirring sound. It is so loud! Today we were out on the boat and you could hear the sound over the roar of the boat engine.

Speaking of boats. . . we got out on it today! Yay! Yesterday was an overcast day with some misting and it never got up to 70 degrees. Today dawned cloudy and cool, but the forecast was for sun and 70's, so we took the weatherman at his word. At 12:30 we pulled out of the campsite with the boat in tow and headed for the ramp. We set it in the lake like old pros and took off for a leisurely drive up the Obey (won ken-o-bee) River to East Port Marina. We had the boat serviced this spring and some needed maintenance and boy does she ever run smooth. Starts right up and we had a great drive. We stopped at the marina and got an ice cream cone and then started back.

Once we got back to Sunset Dock we went inside to rent a slip so we won't have to take the boat in and out every day. Then we continued our ride for another hour or so, watching the "air chair" riders back in Eagle Creek. They were really good.

We arrived back to a more populated campground. We have been amazed at how few people are in the campground. It has been only about one quarter full, but there are a few more people now, probably here for the weekend. There are even fewer people on the lake. There were only 3 or 4 boats we saw on our way up the Obey and about that many back in the creek. We didn't pass any on the way back to the creek. There aren't even many fishermen out. I think the fuel costs are keeping people from enjoying their hobbies.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Dale Hollow Lake!

Fortunately the weatherman is wrong again, as he has been most days out of the last month. Yesterday we left the FMCA headquarters where we stayed over the weekend. It is a very nice camp and there were about 8 campers in there, so we had people to visit with. We drove on down to Obey River Campground at Dale Hollow Lake near Byrdstown, Tennessee. We arrived right at 2 p.m. and we were still dry although the rains were supposed to have started at 9 a.m.

We got to our site right away and got backed down the 200 feet to the site. It is a long way to back, but Terry is so good at it and even though there was a motorhome behind us waiting, it didn't take long. I had parked the little truck out of the way, so as soon as we cleared the drive, the traffic went on by. The site has the longest drive of any site here, but that is very useful if we have to get our boats out. We got all set up and let the dogs out. I sat out for a little bit and had the awnings out. I noticed a little wind kick up, and debated about putting the awnings in. If you have ever been here, you know how quickly a storm can come up. Actually I don't think that they come up quickly, but because of the hills and valleys, you cannot see it coming. It was clouding up and a stiff breeze came through and I decided to put everything in just in case it decided to blow hard. Just as I was putting the awning in, the wind gusted and I am glad I started when I did. The wind was fierce against the door, but I got everything in and shut the door just as the storm hit. We are backed into a site that has slopes on two sides, so we are quite sheltered from the wind, but we did have quite a storm. Fortunately, it was over in a hurry.

Today dawned a little cloudy, but 71 degrees. Not bad. Finally some warm weather. I didn't think we would ever find it. We gathered tools to change the numbers on the boats. Since we are garaging them in Tennessee, we have titled them here and had not been back to change the numbers. So we took our goo remover and a hairdryer. We wanted to do a really good job, so it took a couple hours to do both the jetski and the boat, but they are all done and the numbers look good. Maybe tomorrow I can add a picture of them.

After a quick lunch, we started hauling the boats down to the campsite. This afternoon, we took the ski out for a spin. It ran pretty rough at first, but it has been 3 years since either has been run. We did have a mechanic go through both of them this spring, but the ski just needed to be run. It ran best wide open and Terry said it needed it, so he let me go out by myself and I had a blast. After I ran awhile, I went back to the dock and Terry took over and we drove over to Eagle Creek. There we saw a guy on an "air chair." I have never seen anyone ride one like he did. Wow! He was turning flips and really flying in the air. It was pretty spectacular.

Tomorrow we plan to take the boat out. It is here at the camp and we have it ready to go. Am anxious to get out and see the lake. We stayed very close to the dock with the ski. Let's hope the weatherman is wrong again for tomorrow and we have blue skies like we did today.

Till next time. . .

Dale

On our Way!

We left the campground in Elkhart Thursday morning and took Phaeton Place to the house so Terry could change the oil in the generator. Before we left the campground, I got a call from Mom telling me she wasn’t feeling well and that we should not come down in the evening as planned. Almost as soon as I got off the phone to her, Nita called and told me they had decided to take Mom to the hospital. She had been sick all night and her blood sugar was quite high. Before she got ready to go to the hospital, Nita called the doctor’s office and they could see her in just a couple hours. So they opted to do that. That was a good choice and I’m glad Nita made that call. I got to Warsaw just as they were leaving the doctor’s office. The doctor felt Mom had an intestinal bug and gave her some nausea medication and that would allow her to keep her medicine for her sugar down. She was pretty wiped out for the day, but was able to eat some and has continued to get better. We decided to go ahead and leave Friday as planned, since Mom seems to be doing well.

We didn’t have much to pack because we haven’t been staying at the house. We live in the motorhome all the time, and it just feels like home to us, so when we work at the apartments, we use the house for our base during the day, but we go “home” to Phaeton Place at the campground every night.

We left around 11 a.m. and Terry drove the entire day. I had woken up with a headache this morning and didn’t feel like driving. Terry actually had a lot of road construction from Dayton on to Cincinnati, but he did just fine. We arrived at FMCA headquarters and we will be here for 2 nights, then on further south. We will have to find a place for one night because our reservations at Dale Hollow start on Monday. I can’t wait to get out on the boat and sun myself!

Till next time. . .

Dale

Marking Time. . .

Seems like things always move quickly when we are back in Elkhart. Last week we got the new roof on the one duplex and since then we have been doing odds and ends at the house. The house is actually an empty apartment where we store stuff. It contains the inventory for the apartments, so that is where we go during the day. We have been power washing decks, cleaning, mowing, power cleaning siding, and getting window replacement quotes. Not real hard work, but it keeps us busy. We call this our "workcamping" assignment.

Our son, Brandon, is in the process of buying a house in Florida, so I am getting his stuff sorted that has been stored in the basement since we went full time. It will be good to get some stuff cleared out and we are also going to be sending some furniture his way. After we make our annual trek to Red Bay in a couple weeks, we will return here, load up the utility trailer and make a fast trip to Florida. I hope we can get everything we want into the trailer. Mom and Dad came over while we were working yesterday and volunteered to take care of their grand-dogs, Bailey and Neal, while we were gone. This was great news as we were considering boarding them and I worry so much about them. Only two people in this world would volunteer to take care of Bailey, and that is Mom and Dad. Bailey loves Mom because she takes him on walks and he can't wait! For once, I had food available, so they stayed for supper and grilled chicken and had some steamed veggies. Really good!

Things are really hopping here at Elkhart Campground. There are a couple rallies in here this weekend and they look pretty full, but with over 400 sites, there are plenty left. Bob and Gita have worked really hard to improve the campground and have added more 50 Amp FHU sites over the years. Today Bob is working hard to get the pool ready to go. He took the cover off and it looks quite good. He said it will be ready for next weekend, but it may be too cold yet for anyone to swim.

We are sitting here on site 400, right on the end/entrance to the row. If you are in the area, stop by some evening and say hello. Most days we are off working.

Till next time. . .

Dale

And the Beat Goes On. . .

The beat started early Tuesday morning when the roofers arrived at the duplex. We had a swail in the roof after the winter and the terrific snow loads, but we were unprepared for the mess they found underneath. Two rafters had already broken and had been previously repaired, by whom we don't know. We just know it wasn't done correctly. The boards scabbed onto the rafters were too short and that combined with the decking having been run the wrong way created a very weak spot in the roof. In fact, there were several places we found problems with the decking, so the roofers had to replace more than initially thought. However, our roofer is a great contractor and he and his crew were able to make the necessary repairs. They got part of the roof torn off and papered in and came back Wednesday. The lumber yard lost the delivery ticket on our shingles, so they arrived too late on Wednesday to be of much help. The roofers got the entire roof torn off and papered in before the rain started. Before it got too wet to continue, they got a couple corners shingled.

Rain was forecast for all night and most of the day Thursday. True to form lately, they were WRONG. While it was chilly, the rain held off the entire day. . . never did rain. The roofers came in early to avoid the storms that were forecast and the entire roof was done by noon! Wow! And it is gorgeous. I will take a picture this weekend and post it. It makes the house look so much better. And we won't have to worry about snow load or shingles blowing off. I didn't take any pictures of the crew. Most of them were Amish and they don't care to have their pictures taken, so I didn't ask.

Anyone in the northern Indiana area who needs roofing done, we can certainly give a good recommendation. This is actually the fourth roof (Glenn) Miller Construction has done for us. In addition, he has done some remodeling for us during the winter when an errant (and asleep at the wheel) driver plowed into one of our duplexes at the exact center of the front garage doors, causing the doors to collapse and resulting in thousands of dollars of damage. Glenn did an excellent job of restoration much to the delight of our long-time tenants.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Fun with Dick and Jane a.k.a. Tab and Deanna

Last weekend Tab and Deanna came to camp with us. What a great treat! They were unable to make the rally the week before, so it was great to see them.

We started out right by going to Essenhaus for supper Friday night. That was delicious. We don't go there often, usually only for the rally. It is good food, but I just want to overeat.

Saturday we went to the surplus RV places in search of little things. Didn't find much, but it was fun to go look anyway. In the afternoon we went to Lunker's in Edwardsburg, Michigan. It was a big deal before the Bass Pro Shops arrived on the scene and continues to be a fun place to go. They have several different departments and a large camping section. Once again, we didn't find much, but we had fun looking at everything in the store.

Saturday night I made brownies. The guys went and got ice cream and we all watched a John Holod Alaska video. We are planning to make the trip, as are Tab and Deanna, in another year or two, so we were excited to see some of the places we will be visiting.

Sunday morning we were off to the Pancake house for breakfast and then they left for the trek back to Ohio. It was so great to see them and we hope to see them again this summer.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Rally Time!

Last week's RV Capital VI rally is now history, but wow. . . was it ever a great time. We had 28 rigs here at the Elkhart Campground and the best gathering yet!

We arrived early in the week because we wanted to get our jack fixed on Phaeton Place if we could. Charger Enterprises came through for us. They had ordered and received the part while we were in Virginia and were ready to go with it. They asked for the rig at 1 p.m. and by 3:30 p.m., she was on her way "home" to the campground. The jack is working great. . . actually they all are.

Rigs started arriving that day (Wednesday) and continued on throughout the week. I think most had arrived by Thursday, and the rally didn't start until Friday! We brought our firewood over from the house and had a campfire every night. Thursday and Friday were good weather. . . reasonably warm, but Friday night we had a little rain. Saturday dawned colder and windy, so we didn't do a lot of sitting outside. Friday morning about 30 of us made the trek to Essenhaus and had a delicious late breakfast/brunch. From there, some went on a factory tour and some of us went back to the camp. Friday night was HOBO stew night. I browned hamburger with onion and everybody brought a couple cans of veggies and we threw them into the pot. Simmered it and eventually added some long-grain rice and WOW! What a winner! Everybody complimented us on the stew. There wasn't much of a recipe, but it was good. That evening, some attendees came back to the hall for a round of Mexican Train. Terry went over to observe as he wants to learn, but I don't like dominos, so I sat at the campfire.

Saturday afternoon we spent some time getting the hall ready for the potluck and that started at 6:30. We have our dinners a little late, but most attendees spend the days exploring the area, visiting Shipshewana, Wakarusa, the RV Museum, etc., and the late time allows them time to get back for the dinner. Potluck was AWESOME. So much good food and no one went hungry. . . that's for sure.

Sunday people started leaving in the morning because some had long drives. We stayed as this is our home for the next month. We did move, however, and will be moving again next week. We didn't want our same site because it is in the rally section, so we moved onto the back row. The site we want for the month is right beside us. It is on the end and has a huge grassy yard, which will be great for the dogs. The couple there is leaving Monday, so we will move next door. We will be on site 400 starting Monday, so if you are here or happen to pass by, come by for a visit. We may be over at the apartments during the day, but will be here most evenings.

Thanks for all the rally attendees for attending and joining us to celebrate the beginning of the camping season. We had more new people than "old" attendees and it was hard to get around to visit with everyone. Hope you all had a great time. . . as we did!

Till next time. . .

Dale

Birthday Boy!

Ronan's first birthday was a success. Lots of food, fun, people, babies and one dog, Jerry, of course. Grandpa Terry took charge of Jerry for the evening, but Jerry loves everybody and he wasn't a problem. Ronan was unimpressed with his first birthday cake, but no matter. It was a spice cake with cream cheese icing. I am so impressed with daughter Jocelyn and her husband Tom. She is celiac and everything they make is from scratch and gluten free. They certainly can cook up some delicious dishes with names I cannot even pronounce, but tasty just the same. Tom's parents and brother were present for the festivities and we always enjoy seeing them.

I had the pleasure, along with Sharon, Tom's mother, of accompanying Tom to one of his voice lessons. He is studying opera. Tom is a very quiet person and it was quite amazing to hear his smooth, steady tenor voice resonating in the air. Very impressive. Keep up the good work, Tom.

The area where the kids live in Charlottesville, Virginia, is absolutely gorgeous. The trees were blooming and the mountains, while almost barren when we drove in began to leaf out while we were there. We intend to take some time when we visit to go up into the mountains. Perhaps when there isn't so much on the agenda, we can take a couple side trips and go up into the hills. We did try to go to Monticello, a place we have yet to visit. When we got there, there were 10, yes TEN, tour busses and a school bus. Wrong day for us. We talked with some neighbors later in the campground we had seen there and they said it was too crowded to see much of anything. We will go another day.

We headed home on Monday after the party and got into the Elkhart Campground to set up for the RV Capital VI Rally. We were able to get our errant jack fixed before the rally which was a great help to our being comfortable and stable in Phaeton Place.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Love that Grandson!

Well, we managed to get near perfectly level campsites on the way down here to Virginia, which is what we have to have since we cannot use our leveling jacks. I was most worried about the camp here at Misty Mountain, since the sites we like to get usually take a little bit of leveling to get perfect. As it was, our reserved site was occupied by the camp owner's "for sale" rig which wouldn't start, so could not be moved at the time. So the hostess put us just opposite on a much more level (and nicer) site. The bad part is our satellites don't work, but the leveling was much more important this time. The park has cable TV and free wi-fi, so we are getting by.

What can I say about grandson extraordinnaire, Ronan? He is the cutest, smartest little guy. I know, I know, everyone thinks their grandchildren are the cutest and smartest. . . and you know what? YOU'RE ALL WRONG! Hahaha. Just kidding. There isn't a baby that isn't cute, smart, etc. I just can't look at Ronan without thinking about the miracle of conception, growth and birth. And to think how perfect he is with his 10 little fingers and toes, etc. We haven't seen him since Christmas and I already have him reaching out to me. Course, I'm no substitute for Mom, but Grandma will at least do in a pinch.


Yesterday we walked down to the University (UVA) from Jocelyn's and stopped off at the swings. As soon as Ronan saw the swings, he starts kicking his legs and squealing. He really likes them. When we left, Jocelyn had to take him out from behind because if he sees her start to lift him, he holds on. Hah.


Today we ran a lot of errands. With Grandpa and Grandma along, it made it a little faster for Jocelyn because she could leave him in the car with us. We did make it to the mall and Terry got his walk in. Later, we drove out to the motorhome and Jocelyn and I took Ronan up to the owner's place up on the mountain. He has a little petting zoo with 3 little goats. . . one tiny baby goat. Also we met the pot bellied pig who likes to have his ears scratched. Ronan didn't care to get too close because he was making "grunting" noises all the time. He really is a social pig and I scratched his ears for him. I took a couple pictures back in our rig. Ronan likes the drawers because he could pull himself up with the handles.


Tomorrow we have to go pick up Ronan's birthday gift. We had it shipped to the WalMart store here. We got him a big Radio Flyer wagon that has a lot of features. . . not like the wagon we had as children, but one I am sure Ronan will enjoy.



Till next time. . .



Dale

Coach Care - LESS, a.k.a. The Unforgiven

Well, Coach Care-less has really dropped the ball and we are mad. We left our camp in central Indiana a day early (no refund, of course) to make it to Elkhart and Coach Care-less for a Thursday 8 a.m. appointment. We had it there parked in front of their service door on Wednesday night. What a day!

The next day Terry went over at 8 a.m. and made sure they knew what the problem was. They called around 11 a.m. to tell us that the jack in question was shot and would require replacing @ $900+. !!! Now we knew it was expensive, but we have had one replaced before under warranty and knew that their price was a bit more expensive. So Terry called Tiffin and they told him retail was just over $600. ??? AND if it is done at the plant at Red Bay they do it at dealer cost which is $400+. Well, obviously, we don't want to make a run to Red Bay just now. Terry decided to ask Coach Care-less to verify the price when they called to tell us it was done. Hah. They called back at 3:30 p.m. to tell us that they couldn't get a jack! They are built right there in Elkhart, but Atwood is "moving their plant" and wouldn't be able to assemble one until maybe sometime Monday. What? Terry said, "Forget it. I've got to be in Virginia for GRANDSON EXTRAORDINNAIRE'S birthday and I can't wait. So then he asked them what we owed for removing the jack, and the guy said . . . "Oh, nothing. It only took 10 minutes." Grrrrrrr. Terry was smokin'. Yep. If they had done their job after getting our coach in for an 8 a.m. appointment, Tiffin would have overnighted a part to Ekhart and we would have it installed. But they waited until 3:30 p.m. to tell us and by that time Red Bay was shut down for the day.

Since then we have found out a couple things. The warning buzzer on the jacks works really well. If the jack is not working, it sounds and disables ALL the jacks. If you remove the jack, it still works because it thinks it's not doing what it's supposed to and the air dumps and all the jacks rachet because it thinks they need pulled up. Grrrrrr. We got the buzzers off and aired up and went to camp Pull-Tab. Once there, Tab and Terry worked on it. Found out you cannot use ANY jacks if one is malfunctioning. Still nothing concrete, so Terry got on the Tiffin owners' forum and there someone posted a solution. Once they got the jacks disabled, he had to jump the control for the air dump and got the coach aired up. So now we are on our way. We have no levelers, so we have to find a really level site, but we are at least on track now for Ronan's birthday.

Thanks for nothing Coach Care-less.

Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.

Till next time. . .

Dale

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly!

The Good. . . Went to my doctor today for my increasingly painful hip. He diagnosed a type of bursitis and gave me a cortisone shot. Yay. I'm happy. I've had those before and I know it will work.

The Bad. . . Have to leave here a day early and make a run to Elkhart.

The Ugly. . . The right rear passenger Atwood Levelegs jack is up and doesn't know it. The motor is spinning and there is no movement. . . in other words, the wheel's turning, but the hamster's dead! The system thinks the jack is down and keeps trying to raise it. Since it is sending an error message, it shuts the power off to the entire system and we cannot lower the jacks. The techie said we were lucky they did this in the UP position. . . otherwise we would not be able to move. Yuck.

We arrived here in New Castle, Indiana, at Summit Lake State Park. Because they don't have the water turned on (actually, they did that today), we only have to pay $11 a night for 30 Amp. Not bad. Last night we visited with our friend Myra and met the new man in her life, Kent. What a wonderful man and a great couple they make! We took the dogs to their vet today and got their meds refilled. Tomorrow we have hair appointments and Terry sees the same doctor I saw today. Then Wednesday, we see our broker and Terry's cardiologist. Then we are taking off for parts north.

We have to be out of Indiana before the weekend snow arrives. Ugh!

Till next time. . .

Dale

Gorgeous even in the rain!

We gave up on the rain quitting and drove on over to Sunset Dock on Dale Hollow Lake. Everything was calm, a few people around. . . fisherman, of course. They fish this lake all year long and it normally does not freeze completely, although I believe there have been years that it has. There are quite a few boats/houseboats sitting in their slips.

We drove up to the storage lot and were very pleasantly surprised when we opened our door. We had put the covers on our boat and jet ski, then threw big sheets of plastic over that. The boats were in better condition than any time we have stored them. Not much dust, clean on the inside, just like we left them. We had put two boxes of damprid in the Wellcraft. That stuff works, but if you use it, be sure to set the can in something larger. It draws moisture and produces water. We set the containers in larger rubbermaid type containers and they were about half full of water. Then we also took long narrow containers that were perforated and put moth balls in there and placed those around the cabin and also on the gunwales of the jet ski. No vermin! So we were quite happy. Our job was simple. Took out that stuff, put the batteries in and got them ready for the mechanic. Then we went and talked with Chuck and told him what we wanted done and he is going to have them lake ready by the time we get down there in May.

He is working on a project boat right now, replacing all the rotted wood and fiberglassing in the new decks, etc. He said that the new boats are so expensive, people are fixing up their old ones. Even if it costs $10-12,000, it is cheaper than the $50-60,000 they are asking for similar new boats. I know our Wellcraft would be way expensive to replace. We did put a new engine in ours before we started full timing. The boat is still in great shape and we have taken good care of it.

We are leaving this morning and driving just south of Lexington, Kentucky. Then tomorrow we will drive on in to Summit Lake State Park, just north of New Castle. We will be there most of the week while we see doctors and vets, then it is off to Virginia for Ronan's first birthday! Yay!!

Till next time. . .

Dale

Here on top of Mt. Ararat

At least that's what it seems like. We got here yesterday, at Maple Hill RV Campground in Jamestown, Tennessee. We left Georgia on Wednesday and drove to Chattanooga for the night. We drove on here because we wanted to put batteries in the boats and check them out. We have a mechanic who is going to get them "lake ready" and we wanted to make sure they were ready for him. We had planned on going over to Sunset Dock yesterday and just as we arrived it started to rain. Long story short. . . it hasn't stopped since. We are high up on a hill. There has been some thunder and occasionally a gust, but nothing frightening. . . and nothing of that sort is expected. The high today is supposed to be 65*, so if it would quit raining, we would run over to the lake. Kind of hate to get out when it is pouring down rain.

I already had to bathe Neal once. Course, he just stumbles and falls when he gets out. I just let him roll around in the mud this morning until he got "the job" done, then carried him straight to the bathtub. He didn't like that much, but I am bigger than he is, so he is now one clean doggy. I will probaby have to repeat that scenario every time he goes out today. Fortunately Neal is smart enough when the weather is bad to only go out when absolutely necessary. So he goes out, "stops, squats and scores" in one "not so smooth" motion. Hah.

Tomorrow we start the trek for central Indiana. We are going to visit the doctors and then head for Virginia for Ronan's first birthday. A week there, then back to northern Indiana for a month.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Babyland!

Well, we did it. . . we went to Babyland. . . however, we resisted the urge to adopt. . .

What is Babyland? Why, it is the home of the Cabbage Patch doll! They were conceived and delivered in the town of Cleveland, Georgia, just a few miles up the road. Unfortunately, I had left my camera at home, so I didn't have a chance to take pictures. It didn't help that we were there on a Saturday, and every little girl in the state was in there to pick out their new adoptee.

It is a marketing marvel. The "hospital" is located in a former medical clinic and all the people there are dressed as doctors or nurses and they fuss over the thousands of dolls as though they were real babies. They appear to have a lot of fun. . . but it gives new meaning to the term. . . "get a life!" hahaha. Actually it was quite fun. Terry particularly liked the "cabbage patch" which had doll heads growing among the cabbage leaves. Rather gross if you ask me. . . but the kids all liked it.

We left there and did a little drive out in the country. It was raining, so we only got out to look in a few shops.

We passed by Lake Lanier today on our way down to Gainesville. The lake is still down a lot and boat docks and piers are out of the water. Once we got to Gainesville, we met our friends, Ward and Pat who had to take their Bounder in to the service center to have some work done. We got there just as they got the "good" news. . . a part had to be ordered and it would be a few days before it arrived. We offered to drive them back to their house in Suches so they wouldn't have to drive the motorhome back up the mountain and back down in another week. So we took them back to their house after we ate lunch, of course.

The drive up the mountain to their house was a little misty, so I couldn't get a lot of scenery shots, but I did take some anyway. There is a waterfall along a curve where the rock shears. It was small, but quite pretty. We also passed by the grave of an Indian Princess, Trahlyta. She is buried here which is close to where her tribe lived. Just north of Ward and Pat's house is a wildlife area, so we went there and I took a few shots of the mountain stream.

Tomorrow we are headed to Helen to finish shopping in that little Bavarian town and then Wednesday we are headed out. We will leave here and spend the first night in Chattanooga, Tennessee, before heading to Dale Hollow Lake.

Till next time. . .

Dale