We’ve Arrived in Bandera

The warranty repairs were wrapped up on our rig early Wednesday afternoon. Demontrond and Lippert did not agree on how the step should be repaired. Our RV tech said that he has found with this particular repair, that although the bolt sheared off, it isn’t as easy as drilling out the old bolt to replace it. He’s not sure if they use some sort of locktite or what but he’s found that it takes several guys on a wrench, a blow torch and many hours of hard work to get the old one out. After all of that he thinks that it weakens the strength of the metal and may pose a safety hazard. Lippert, on the other hand, won’t replace the steps but is happy to mail out the $2 bolt. Shocking, huh ? Since manufacturers will only mail parts out by “ground”, the bolt wouldn’t arrive in time so it’s being shipped to Bandera and we’ll have it installed here. I’ve alerted Class A RV Repairs that the part is on its’ way. The other items were fixed. Our awning now runs out whisper quiet and doesn’t get hung up. Speaking of whisper quiet….operation of our microwave now doesn’t require turning the TV up full blast. It’s so quiet ! The screen door on the garage entry door doesn’t bind and actually latches. The ramp door bracket has new bolts and the screws were replaced on the slide out arms so they actually bite into the wood. Great stuff that we are glad to have done !
We left the repair place to head to Tommie Vaughn Ford for the safety recall. By the way, in Texas, there is a $200 fine if you are caught talking on your cell phone. I can totally appreciate that situation as being a major distraction when driving. I think a law enforcement officer might have frowned upon my actions and found fault with what happened as I was leaving the RV lot. You remember that we had purchased a new storage cart that holds our printer. It does have locking casters but when you drive across something that closely resembles a ditch, the laws of gravity take their toll on something perched on wheels. Like a lunge from an outfielder trying to catch a ball going over the fence, I saw the stand and printer from the corner of my eye as I tried to cross the “ditch”. Over it went and I managed to catch it while still navigating the rig into three lanes of traffic. I wasn’t sure what to do with the whole monstrosity I was holding in my right arm so I laid it against the table that had been propped up against the front of the unit….in hopes of preventing such an accident (obviously it didn’t work). The stand looked like it was frozen in mid-air….drawers half way out….leaning against the table. Printer was on its side…wedged between the table and the couch. I left it there until we got to the Ford dealership. I needed my arm back so I could steer the rig. The entry into their lot wasn’t any better ! Linda was ahead of me and looking back in the rear view mirror she thought the rig was going to tip over when I drove up into the lot. The steep drainage things they put along the sides of the streets, that vehicles have to cross, is ridiculous ! Once I parked at Tommie Vaughn’s, we discovered that we had forgotten to secure another storage cabinet in the garage. It was surely a day for messes.
Philip came out and gathered the VIN #  and mileage and went to check into the safety recall. When he returned he said he was sorry but it was still too soon. Parts have not been shipped to dealers yet and the letters are just going out to owners. He said that usually recalls entail a “look and see” approach, to see if there might be a problem and IF they need to replace a part. This is a definite replacement recall but he feels confident that we won’t have any problems till it can be replaced. We’ll probably wait till we head to Oklahoma City and get it done then. If the indicator cable broke, it only impacts me knowing what gear I’m in. I will still be able to shift between “Park”, “Drive”, “Neutral”, etc.I just won’t be able to see that when I look at that display. It doesn’t affect the cable going to the transmission. No sweat…..now I know what to expect if it did do something.
So we left the Ford dealership and started out for Bandera….4.5 hours away. By this time, it was 3:30 or so. We were tired and hungry so we drove a little while till we got to a Flying J. We filled up on gas, got propane and ate dinner at their Denny’s and used the 29% off coupon for their Leap Day special. It took some “discussion” with the manager to get the discount since he insisted we print the coupon and we told him that since it was a mobile app, why would there be a requirement to print it. It doesn’t make sense. After some more “discussion”, he made it happen.
We left Denny’s and drove about an hour and then stopped at a rest stop for the night. It was a very warm night and also a very noisy one. The noise level in the loft bedroom is quite a bit more than we ever experienced in the 5th wheel bedroom. Neither of us slept very well and we’ll rethink a rest stop for future night stopovers. Further down the road, when we left this morning, we saw those picnic areas off the road and realized those would be a much better option. The parking is end to end and not side by side. We’d only have to deal with the engine noise from one rig to keep us awake and if we were lucky enough to be at the tail end, it would be quiet. Note to self: in some instances, it’s good to be in last place.
We arrived in Bandera about 11:30, had lunch, got showers, dressed and hit the road selling. It was a beautiful day today, in the 70’s. Boomer is in his glory with our camp site. We are parked right alongside the donkey and steer pasture. We ate supper to the sounds of the steers mooing and the donkeys braying. He loves it ! He will certainly enjoy himself while we are here.

Making the Best of it….

Well it’s day 3 at Demontrond RV. The approval, from Thor, came through yesterday afternoon and our service tech was supposed to start work on our rig mid afternoon. When there hadn’t been any sign of him by 4:00 I went back in and asked Jeannie what was up. She had been under the impression that he was working on our rig. She went to find Mike, our tech, and Mike told her that he was going to “knock all of the work out” today. I stressed to Jeannie that we still have to go to the Ford dealership to get the safety recall dealt with and we need to be in Bandera on Thursday to start work. She said she understood.

Come 5:00, as supper time was approaching, Linda decided to do some grilling. What better place to do some tailgating than in a big ole parking lot full of RV’s. It sure got the attention of all the workers as the smell of the marinated veggies was wafting through the air. I put Adele’s CD on and cranked up the outside speakers. Linda went over and invited the other couple, who is staying on site, to join us for supper. Marg and Burt are traveling health professionals. He is a home based physical therapist and she is a home hospice nurse. They brought their chairs and plates over and we had a nice meal of veggie burgers, grilled veggies, cottage cheese and cut up pineapple. Their two schnauzers also came along to visit. They have a house in the state of Washington but go out in their motor home, to work, 6 – 9 months out of the year. We had a nice visit with them and stayed outside until it got dark. It was a great way to pass the time while waiting for our rig.
It’s now a little after 8:00 a.m. and I know Mike comes in at 8. Guess it’s time to go see what time he’s going to get hoppin’. Hope all of you have an awesome Leap Year day. Make the best of it !

Lake Medina

On Friday Linda and I needed to go meet with four parks that we work in the Lake Medina/Bandera area. We had three of these parks last year so it was great to see the owners/managers and chat about how their year has been. At Lake Medina, the welcome wagon was there to greet us. The owners horse was standing in the middle of the road and I could only get it to move when I rolled down my window and called it. He came over to the car and stuck his head in the window. Then another one came to Linda’s side of the car and stuck his head in Boomer’s window. Boomer wasn’t impressed…he was whining to get out and play with the cows. Apparently, he’s not into horses. The cows weren’t interested in him though.
At the Lake Medina RV Park, we drove down to the boat ramp area to look at the lake. Wow, we were shocked how low the water was. Luckily the rain we had the night before had put a little bit of water into the lake but it’s so sad to see how low it is. I wish I had pictures from last year to show you the difference. We’ve heard that overall the water table is down something like 50’. Crazy, huh !
The town of Bandera was gearing up for their annual Mardi Gras event. The town and rv parks were packed with people. We watched these “cowboy taxis” loading up at one of our parks and heading to one of the watering holes next to another park that we do. Need a designated driver ? They’ve got you covered. Don’t have to worry about parking or getting pulled over for a DUI. What a cute idea.
We’ll be in Bandera in a couple of weeks to start work on the parks there. Anxious to see our advertisers and check out what has changed in the area. On first glance, driving around town, we already saw two new restaurants that have opened.

Is this Texas or Pennsylvania ?

Ok..it’s 8:00 p.m. and it’s 43 degrees outside and supposed to be 33 by morning. What’s with that ? We’re in Texas, land of winter warmth and no snow. I don’t like it. Am now debating what to do about the water supply. Disconnect it….leave it and let it drip. Crap ! We shouldn’t have to make these types of decisions in Texas. Been so chilly and windy that we haven’t even had the trike out since we’ve been here. Hoping that once we get to Montgomery, TX that we’ll have a warm spell and can get the bike out. Keeping our fingers crossed.
On the flip side of that, in the land of warmth…Hawaii…look at these cookies Linda and I have been enjoying. Special cookies that a friend of ours sent us from Hawaii. Some of them were dipped in chocolate. Notice I said “were”…they are all gone now. We practiced restraint as best we could but we love shortbread cookies so it was really tough. Each individually wrapped to maintain freshness. Yummy stuff !
Thursday night Linda and I had dinner with her cousin and his family. She hasn’t seen him since they were kids so we had a great time chatting with them and had a wonderful dinner. Rob and Karen’s two kids, Kyle and Marissa were there and Marissa’s boyfriend. We had a really good time and hope to get together again…perhaps in Bandera.
We are going to drive to Whitsett tomorrow to meet up with our friends, Bobbie and Jim. They are working their first gate guard assignment. Each one takes a shift, since it’s a 24/7 assignment. This will be our last chance to see them till later in the summer so looking forward to spending a little time with them.

Chillin'

Remember last week when I posted about Pike's Place restaurant and the great meal we had ? Well, out front there is an antique store and we went to call on them the other day. The antique store is connected to other buildings by a courtyard, of sorts, and there is all sorts of things going on out there. I found this kitty and his bodyguards taking a snooze in the afternoon sun. There was a HUGE pot belly pig running around, along with a whole bunch of guinea hens. Quite an interesting view from the back door of the antique shop !

Today we're just relaxing around the rig. We'll wrap up our meetings with the three campground owners next Wednesday and start "packaging" our jobs and get them in the mail Thursday.
   Got a few rain drops (all of maybe 20 or so) from a black cloud that passed overhead. Hoping we get more than that since it's so very dry here but not looking promising. Tomorrow we're going to go to Mac and Ernie's to experience their food before we leave the area. They are only open on Friday - Sunday so tomorrow will be the day. Looking forward to having their famous Coconut Cream pie !

Bandera

We packed up and left Lake Medina RV Resort this morning....the cattle and horses saw us on our way. We moved over to one of the other RV parks that we are working on and we'll be here for close to two weeks while we finish up the project.
   We are loving the weather...It's 10:00 p.m. and we have the windows open...it's in the 70's...supposed to hit a low of 60 overnight and then in the low 80's tomorrow. There is also a great breeze blowing which makes it super comfortable in the rig.

Isn't this little guy cute ?

We knew that the area, of the park, where we'd be wouldn't have sewer but when we arrived the owner said to put an adapter on our sewer hose and let the grey water run on the ground. Wasn't sure what the adapter was but once we got set up, I went over to a neighbors rig and looked at their sewer hose. It was just a twist on cap that has a screw on adapter for a garden hose. Went to the local hardware store, where they stock some RV supplies, and picked one up for $3.99. We've never had one....never had need for it before. Now we have one.....and the tree next to us is getting a drink every time we take a shower.

    Boomer is loving it here. It's like a little farm. Two donkeys, three steer and several horses. And that's before the herd of deer show up in the morning. From what we've heard and read, there are a lot of deer that come through the park.The donkeys like human interaction. They come over to the fence and start braying.....took me a couple of minutes to figure out what the sound was when I first heard it this afternoon. We can see the pasture from our front door so Boomer will enjoy watching the animals.

   Down at the end of our row is a Space Craft 5th wheel that looks like it's been very well taken care of. It's also huge ! When we stopped by the park last week, the owner was sitting outside and we asked him about it. I think he said it was 48' long. He has a HDT, with matching paint scheme. Very nice looking set-up....four slideouts and in super condition. I'm hoping that we'll learn more about it and maybe get a peek inside.

Bandera,Texas

Jail

Yesterday as Linda and I were driving through the back streets of Bandera, we came across some of the historic buildings in town.  Here are pictures of the jail and courthouse and some information about the industry in the area from early days.
 

We took Boomer up to the dog park, here in the campground, to let him run around after supper. Once the sun starts to set, the herd of deer come out. Here's a glimpse of them....

Old Courthouse

I took a picture of Bertha and our rig nestled in amongst the trees here at the park. I also took a picture of what looks to be a new Carri-Lite 5th wheel that is near our rig. Look at that full wall slide out...Must really open it up inside. Very pretty color too with the full body paint.