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 !

Johnson’s Rock Shop

Several friends told us that we need to go to Johnson’s Rock Shop before we leave Livingston. It’s located about 30 minutes from the park, way off the beaten path with just a few home-made signs showing the way off of route 190. A cute little old lady, in her 80’s (I’m assuming she’s Mrs. Johnson) runs the “complex”. I call it that because there are a bunch of little buildings, all clustered together in a little village-like atmosphere that each house different types of rocks.
Mrs. Johnson said that they’ve had the shop for only 38 years but have been rock hounds for 67 years. They go to Tuscon, to an annual rock show to buy the rocks they sell in the shop. Her daughter, who has recently retired, has moved back home to help her mom. She makes a lot of the chokers and jewelry. Her mom seemed to be very happy to have her daughter helping her these days since her husband has been sick off and on and unable to help her. There’s so much to see as you walk through the village.
One building was the silversmith shop, another the music shop and another was called Tammy’s Hotel. Prices seemed pretty reasonable compared to prices for similar gems we’ve seen elsewhere but when you live in an RV, rocks are the last thing to come home with. Neat place to check out on your next visit to Livingston.
Speaking of heavy….tomorrow morning we’re scheduled to get our rig weighed here in the park by the Smart Weigh folks. We went into town and filled up with gas today (dang it if gas hasn’t gone up 13 cents in the last couple days). Water tank is filled and tanks are dumped. We’re ready ! Will let you know what the verdict is.
Got word on our next assignment. Our new scheduler called and we’re going to an island below Corpus Christi….Port Aransas. There are two parks there that need to be done so we’ll be there for three weeks once we finish up next week in Arlington. We’re excited ! The parks are right along the water and the temps have been pretty nice there (especially the night temps). As good a place as any to spend January !

RV, The Movie

A pre-requisite movie for all newbie RV’ers is to watch Robin Williams’ movie – RV. This poor guy certainly gets in some predicaments with his rig, which I think his kids nicknamed "The Big Rolling Turd”. He has an encounter, of the worst kind, while dumping his tanks and I think all Rv’ers would agree, it’s an experience none of us want to go through.

A few days ago, when I was making preparations to leave Mocksville, I was preparing to dump our tanks. Our site was super convenient in that the sewer hook-up was only about 3 feet from the side of the rig. When we first pulled onto the site we weren’t able to find the hook-up and eventually did, under a bunch of dirt. (Hold that thought !) I squatted down next to the compartment, where the black and grey valves are, and pulled on the black valve. As usually happens the force of the “black water” comes roaring (yep, that’s the word that fits) out of the tank and the sewer hose (no matter how short a length it is, turns into a wild beast and starts stretching and expanding all over the place). We have a clear connector where the hose meets the pipe going into the ground so you can see the “progress” of the dump. It should flow fast, but smoothly and then taper down to a trickle. This time, it’s flowing fast but doesn’t seem to slow down…then it starts backing up the sewer hose AND then I discover that we have two holes (about the size of a pencil eraser) in the hose. Then the squirting starts except with TWO holes, it’s shooting in two different directions. While I was trying to dodge the shooting fountains (not nearly as impressive as those synchronized fountains you see at Disneyland but if someone had been watching me, probably as entertaining), I realized I had a major back-up. I made the stupid mistake of grabbing the connector to see if there was a clog or something I could “fix”…DUH !  That created a volcanic flow of brown stuff so I slammed the connector back down but not before it made a mess all over the ground. I quickly decided the proper course of action involved closing the valve. Ok…breathe….It appeared this was going to be a long process….do it in small “batches”. One hand on the valve, one eye on the connector, dodging and weaving the two fountains. It sort of resembled some funky hip hop routine you’d see on “So You Think You Can Dance”. For two seconds, I thought I had the one thousand and second use for duct tape in fixing the two holes but quickly dismissed that idea. Pull the valve…peek at connector…dodge the fountains…close the valve. Repeat….After doing this routine for what seemed like a hundred times, the tank was empty. SIGH ! Not sure what would cause the pipe to be clogged (did someone knock a bunch of dirt into it that plugged it) or did someone stuff something down it intentionally or is it just a super slow running drain. Who knows? Even when I hooked up the garden hose to flush the tank, it wouldn’t take the flow of water without backing up (and we only have 30# of pressure at our site). Pretty nerve wracking and really messy ! Can you imagine what my “dance” would have looked like if our sewer connection had been the typical 10 or 15’ away from the rig ? Oh my !!
I think I’ve been officially “baptized” as an RV’er.

Big Changes Ahead....

Today we gave our two week notice to our current employer. We've gotten a new job, as co-managers of a retirement community, and our training will start on May 2nd. This decision took much deliberation on our part because it means we will come off the road and will no longer be full-time RV'ers. We have worked for our current employer since last July and have never made it out of New Jersey, although the company owns facilities in nine other states. I know that there are many definitions of what it means to be a FT RV'er but I'm not sure going from one Mini U parking lot to another meets any of those definitions. Linda and I commented to each other this morning that it's funny how nine months in New Jersey has changed us. A new, positive change is just what we need !

Our new company is Holiday Retirement . This company is the largest provider of independent living and has facilities throughout the US and Canada. The company was started by William E Colson in 1971. When Mr. Colson became ill with cancer he sold the company to Fortress Investment Group, with the understanding that the "Holiday Touch" had to be maintained as an essential part of the company's philosophy.

We will train in Virginia Beach for two weeks and then we go to Charlotte, NC for two more weeks of training. Once we finish training, our property will be in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. This is a picture of our property. We will work with the property managers at this location...we will be co-managers. We will have our own apartment, complete with full kitchen and washer/dryer. Each facility has an executive chef who cooks everything from scratch and provides three meals a day to the residents and it's also one of our perks. We'll have full benefits...Blue Cross/Blue Shield, dental, vision and can participate in their 401K plan. Lots of bonus potential, which combined with all the other perks, sold us on accepting this new job.

It will be great to work once again in a place where we'll feel that we are making a difference. It's only when Linda and I feel that we are "making a difference" and not merely "making a living" that it means the most to us. There is way too much negativity, lying and deception, and downright rude people that we encounter in this business (I can't tell you how many times today Linda got hung up on)that it will be wonderful to talk and interact with mature adults and help them in their day-to-day lives. Will we encounter some grumpy ones from time to time ? Sure....but overall we'll be helping people to live better, more enjoyable lives. We can't wait to get started.

We're not getting rid of our RV. Taking this job will help us recover the money we lost when the market tanked in 2007...just as we went on the road. We want to get some money set aside so when we truly retire, we'll be in good financial shape. It breaks our hearts to come off the road but we've always been survivors and we do what we got to do to accomplish our goals. Our rig will be with us on-site so we can keep an eye on it and get out camping on our days off. Who knows...this new job might afford us more time to get out and camp than we've done boondockin' on blacktop for the last ten months. Anything's possible !!