We were so excited to be back in our RV. We apparently had two wires that were arching and creating a short. They also replaced the transfer switch. We now have all our electricity working. We asked the repairman about the voltage on the chassis batteries and he said they don't work on that part of the RV. He assured us that it would probably come up as we drove the RV. So we hooked up the car and left. The voltage did come up at first but as we headed up towards Sedona it started to drop. We had also listened to the weather report where they were saying a big storm was headed for the Phoenix area with 1 to 3 inches of rain and snow at the 8,000 foot level. Since we were going to Flagstaff on our way to Interstate 40, we wanted to be sure and be in front of that storm. We made it to Gene and Betty's house and quickly moved our food back into the refrigerator. We took off and decided to go as far as we could as we watched the voltage continue to drop. We made it to Flagstaff and turned the RV toward the east on Interstate 40. We didn't want to get stranded so we pulled into an RV park at Meteor Crater Road. We plugged the RV into electricity and it all worked. It was cold and started to sprinkle. We hoped by being plugged in that it would also charge our chassis battery.
The next morning we closed everything up and unplugged the electricity. The batteries had charged, but not much, and as soon as we started driving the voltage once again started to drop. This was so frustrating and nerve racking. We finally made the decision that we were going to pull into an RV park in Holbrook, AZ even though it was only 10:00 a.m. We had hoped we could get to Albuquerque, NM because there was a good RV repair facility there. But, it didn't work out that way. Once we were parked in our site and plugged in, Larry made a few phone calls. He found a facility that sold school buses and also repaired them. They said for us to bring the RV in and they would look at the problem. So we unplugged and drove a couple blocks to their facility. They decided that the chassis batteries were not good and that the alternator would have to be replaced. This would now be our fourth alternator in this RV. Pretty crazy!!! The service man said that he could get the batteries but they could not find our alternator in town. We quickly called the RV factory and requested that they FED EXP an alternator to us in Holbrook. They said they would. So we went back to our RV site and spent the night hoping that everything would work out the next day.
In the morning, we drove our RV over to the repair facility and found out that the alternator would not arrive until 10:00 a.m. We gathered up our laundry and went across the street to get it done. After the laundry was done, we drove to the market and bought our groceries. When we went back to the RV, they were all done. We were so excited. Hopefully everything would now work. We still had to get to Moscow, Iowa by December 3 to have our hydraulics fixed for the basement drawers.
We left Holbrook around 2:30 p.m. and hoped to arrive in Albuquerque for the night. We got to our RV park around 5:30 p.m. It was foggy and dark but we found our site and plugged in. Hooray! Wow, we couldn't believe that we made it and that everything was working. We had a drink and sat down to relax. The wind started to blow and the rain started to come down. It poured and the wind blew so hard but we didn't care because we were safe and sound.
We got up the next morning and the sun was shining and the rain had stopped. We were amazed that we could luck out so well with the weather. We spent the next night in Oklahoma City and then to Osceola, Iowa. In Osceola, we stayed at Terribles RV Park and Casino. It was 23 degrees with a little snow and ice on the ground. The shuttle came to our site and we went to the casino to register. By registering for a players card, we got $10 off our site fee and also got $10 to use in their slot machines. We went to the buffet and had a nice dinner and then went to gamble. I lost the money the casino gave me and Larry won at black jack. So the evening didn't cost us a thing. The next day we drove to Moscow, Iowa to make our appointment at HWH right on time. As we drove down the Interstate 80, we kept seeing trucks and cars off the road flipped upside down or spun around. Apparently, a few days prior to our arrival, they had a heck of an ice storm. It guess it was lucky after all that our RV had an electrical problem or we would have been right in the middle of that storm. The parking lot at HWH was covered with ice. We drove in very carefully and unhooked the car. It was so slippery. They opened the garage door and we drove the RV into their garage. They looked at the problem and said that they would have us out of there after lunch. Again, we were anxious to get out of there because another snow storm was coming. When we went to their waiting room, we met another couple that was there with their RV. We were informed that HWH took all their guests to lunch everyday. So at noon, a van arrived and took us to a restaurant close by the factory. We were accompanied by a driver and a good sized man, wearing a knit cap, flannel shirt and jeans. While eating our lunch, we had many discussions about RVs, repairs and, of course, politics (we were in Iowa after all). During the course of the conversation, it became apparent that the man with the knit cap on was the President of HWH. No one would have guessed it. He was down to earth and very personable. It was a fun lunch and free too. When we got back to the factory, they were all done with our repairs. Finally, we were done. It was around 2:30 p.m. and we thought we might be able to get all the way down to Columbia, MO. The clouds were starting to gather and the wind was starting to blow. We felt we had to get as far south as possible to get to warmer weather. We pulled into our RV park in Columbia, MO at around 5:30 p.m. We went to our site and set everything up. It was around 40 degrees and felt it was so warm after dealing with 23 degrees. We were going to be able to stay in this RV park for 9 days. That is a long time for us. We came here because Rachel (our granddaughter) attends Missouri University. She plans to show us the campus and her sorority house and then we will leave on December 13. We will caravan to St. Louis, Mo where we plan to stay for three weeks. We found out from Rachel's mom where Rachel worked and planned to surprise her on Friday night.
In the mean time, the next day we ran errands and finished our Christmas shopping. Larry bought some garland with multi-colored lights. When we got home, we put on some Christmas music and strung our garland around the ceiling of the RV. Then we hung some our favorite Christmas ornaments from the garland. We put our fiber optic tree that we have had for so many years. It looked so neat and made us really feel the Christmas spirit. On Wednesday we finished our Christmas cards as we watched the snow falling down. It was so perfect. We could really enjoy the weather, finally. On Friday we did some more errands and arrived at the B12 Bar and Grill around 6:00 p.m. for dinner. As we walked through the door, Rachel was standing behind a counter talking with some other servers. She looked at us and said, "Oh My God! That looks like my grandparents." She came over and gave us a big hug and couldn't get over that we were there to see her. How long had we been in Columbia? Did my Mom know you were going to be here? The questions went on and on. We definitely had surprised her. We had a few drinks and a nice dinner. We got to talk to her a little bit and planned to see her in a few days after her finals were over.
We had to buy new jack pads since our other ones broke right in half. The coach was sinking into the mud and leaning so far to the left that we had to do something. It was raining and we had to move the RV back and then put the new jack pads down. It was wet and muddy and guess who got the chore of putting jack pads under the RV. I was a mess when I got done but the RV is now level and that was definitely better. Last night it sleeted and when we woke up it was all white outside. The ice is every where. We plan to stay home and watch football all day. What a wonderful life.
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Mid November 2007
Arrived in Indio, California on November 15. We drove by car to Mexicali the next day. Larry had an appointment at the hospital there to have an adjustment on his Lapband. He had been having a lot of reflux and wasn't able to eat hardly anything. They took exrays and found that the new pouch had stretched and wasn't holding food right. So they did an adjustment and put him on liquids for a week with Nexium. He felt better right away. We drove back to Indio where we had lunch with our friends Phil and Harriet. Seems like we never run out of things to chat about. A couple of days later we drove to Redlands, California and met Larry's brother and sister-in-law (Bob and Doone) for lunch and a movie. It was great to see them. We hadn't seen them in a long time and we had lots to catch up on. We went to see the movie American Gangster. Great movie - very violent and intense. We drove back to Indio and prepared to leave the next day. That night our generator came on even though we were plugged in. We kept shutting it off every time it came on. Finally at 4:00 a.m. we got up and decided we had to get out of there before we woke up everybody in the park. We hooked up our car and headed for Phoenix.
We only planned to stay in Phoenix one night so we tried to stay at a Walmart but it was just too crowded. We went to an Elks Club and stayed there instead. We had no hook ups and our batteries were not holding a charge. We made an appointment with an RV repair place in Phoenix for the following Tuesday. Since it was Wednesday before the big Thanksgiving weekend, we couldn't get in for repair before Tuesday. So we decided to go ahead and drive up to Sedona to have Thanksgiving with our friends, Gene and Betty.
We had a nice drive up to Sedona even though the volts were dropping. We got to another Elks club and plugged the RV into electrical power. We went and had dinner with our friends and then came back to our RV for the evening. Right after we arrived, our neighbors came knocking on our door. They were not happy. Apparently our generator had been running the whole time we were gone and the diesel fumes from the exhaust were doing them in. We explained our problem to them and apologized for the fumes. We fixed the generator so it wouldn't come on again and went to bed. We were reading in bed when all the lights went out. We lost complete power. Couldn't even start the engine. It was a very cold night. The next day we packed our bags, the food out of the freezer and refrigerator and moved in with our friends for four days. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner. Betty had marinated the turkey in a brine solution and then BBQ it. It was delicious and moist. The next days were filled with hours of bridge, eating and watching football. We had such a good time and they made us feel right at home. Thank you Gene and Betty for being such good friends.
The following Monday, we went back to our RV. We called AAA to come and jump the engine batteries. They arrived with a big truck and it couldn't get between the RVs to jump the batteries. So they called a smaller truck out. We got the engine started and had to run it at 2000 RPMs for one hour so we could charge the house batteries. We couldn't get the slide outs in and when we called the factory they reminded us that we had manual switches. Hooray! We got the slides in. Now we had to get the jacks up. They wouldn't come up because of the electrical problem. So, we called the factory that makes the jacks. After 45 minutes on the phone with a technician, we were able to get the jacks up. Hooray! Now all we had to do was hook up the car and drive down to Phoenix. We called the RV repair place and explained the situation that we had to bring it in early just to park it some where. He said OK and off we went.
We made it to the RV repair place. We already had our bags packed - so we grabbed our lap tops and went to a Comfort Suites. Two days later they called to say the RV was fixed. We checked out of our room and moved back into the RV. Now we had to go back up to Sedona to pick up all our food from Betty and Gene's house.
We only planned to stay in Phoenix one night so we tried to stay at a Walmart but it was just too crowded. We went to an Elks Club and stayed there instead. We had no hook ups and our batteries were not holding a charge. We made an appointment with an RV repair place in Phoenix for the following Tuesday. Since it was Wednesday before the big Thanksgiving weekend, we couldn't get in for repair before Tuesday. So we decided to go ahead and drive up to Sedona to have Thanksgiving with our friends, Gene and Betty.
We had a nice drive up to Sedona even though the volts were dropping. We got to another Elks club and plugged the RV into electrical power. We went and had dinner with our friends and then came back to our RV for the evening. Right after we arrived, our neighbors came knocking on our door. They were not happy. Apparently our generator had been running the whole time we were gone and the diesel fumes from the exhaust were doing them in. We explained our problem to them and apologized for the fumes. We fixed the generator so it wouldn't come on again and went to bed. We were reading in bed when all the lights went out. We lost complete power. Couldn't even start the engine. It was a very cold night. The next day we packed our bags, the food out of the freezer and refrigerator and moved in with our friends for four days. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner. Betty had marinated the turkey in a brine solution and then BBQ it. It was delicious and moist. The next days were filled with hours of bridge, eating and watching football. We had such a good time and they made us feel right at home. Thank you Gene and Betty for being such good friends.
The following Monday, we went back to our RV. We called AAA to come and jump the engine batteries. They arrived with a big truck and it couldn't get between the RVs to jump the batteries. So they called a smaller truck out. We got the engine started and had to run it at 2000 RPMs for one hour so we could charge the house batteries. We couldn't get the slide outs in and when we called the factory they reminded us that we had manual switches. Hooray! We got the slides in. Now we had to get the jacks up. They wouldn't come up because of the electrical problem. So, we called the factory that makes the jacks. After 45 minutes on the phone with a technician, we were able to get the jacks up. Hooray! Now all we had to do was hook up the car and drive down to Phoenix. We called the RV repair place and explained the situation that we had to bring it in early just to park it some where. He said OK and off we went.
We made it to the RV repair place. We already had our bags packed - so we grabbed our lap tops and went to a Comfort Suites. Two days later they called to say the RV was fixed. We checked out of our room and moved back into the RV. Now we had to go back up to Sedona to pick up all our food from Betty and Gene's house.
November 2007
Arrived in San Diego on November 1. Spent a wonderful evening with Doug and Lorie. We had dinner at a very nice restaurant in downtown, right across from the Court House. Needless to say, on a Friday night, it was packed with attorneys celebrating their week of work. It was a little noisy because of the crowd, but the food was wonderful. After dinner we walked down the street to the theater and saw Jersey Boys. What great music and entertainment. At the end of the show they offered back stage tours for $50 a person which went to the Aids Foundation. So we decided to do that too. One of the acting Jersey Boys gave us the tour and he was so informative. We saw how all the curtains and back drops came down, the various costumes and how the San Diego stage was one of the largest stages on which they performed. Every time they move from one city to another, they have to rehearse like it was a new play because of the different stage sizes. It was a wonderful evening.
We got lucky and was able to go see Kelsey play tennis in her high school tennis tournament. This is her first year in high school and they have already moved her up to Varsity. We had not seen her play tennis before so it was quite a treat.
We went to a cute little Italian restaurant with Rick, Patty, Kelsey, Alicia, Justin and his girlfriend. The food was great and the conversation never stopped. It was a lot of fun and way too much food.
The next day we went to see Kelsey play softball. She had to play two games back to back. She is the catcher and does a fantastic job. No one steals a base on her because she has a strong arm and will get them out every time. They lost both games but the score was very close and the games were exciting to watch. We said our good byes and headed for northern California.
Arrived in Novato, California to visit Jon, Denise, Benjamin, Zachary, and Sam. We had pizza at their house the first night. It was fun to see them all again. The next day we picked Ben and Zach up from their Karate practice and took them to the show. Then that night we had hired a limo to take Jon and Denise out for their anniversary. The limo first picked us up at our RV park and then we drove to Denise's house. It was pouring down rain and I was thrilled not to have to drive in that traffic and weather. We got the whole family in the limo and then dropped the kids off at a friends house. The driver then took us to a wine bar in Sausalito. The wine bar had recently opened and was owned by an Englishman. Since Jon was also from England, the owner came over and introduced himeself and welcomed us to the bar. After our wine samples and cheese and crackers, we left and headed for our restaurant. The restaurant was in Berkley. A small restaurant but excellent food. We took our time and enjoyed every bite. Even dessert. We then went and picked up the kids and took the Rooke family home. The driver then took us back to our RV. We all had a great time and it was fun spending time with Jon and Denise without interuptions from the boys.
Ben and Zach had a Karate tournament the next day. We arrived around 10:00 a.m. and we left before it was over at 2:00 p.m. Both the boys are very good. Ben got first place and Zachary got third place. They are at different levels and compete in different groups. The competition in Zachary's group was very close. We were very impressed with both boys and how intense they were in their movements. Later that night we had dinner at Denise's house. Her Mom and stepdad came too. Denise cooked all night and made us a fine gourmet meal. We watched a football game together and brought a visit to a close.
Our next drive took us to Chico, California to visit Angela, Shane, Cole and Brody. They boys are three and Brody is almost two. They have a new puppy named Boo. He is just like having another little kid around. The next day we went into town to do some shopping. When we got back we played with the kids in the back yard. They love to swing and Brody doesn't always hold on. One time he let go of the rope and went flying right out of the swing. Fortunately he didn't hurt anything. It just scared the heck out of him. Shane and Angela are in the process of planting an almond orchard. They have 40 acres to plant and have just completed the well. The well had to run for so many hours until it ran clear. They have someone coming to install the irrigation lines and another company to plant the trees. Hopefully the trees will be planted by the end of January or mid February. Very exciting venture for them. We had a great visit, lots of food, laughs and relaxation.
We left Angela's early in the morning and headed for Indio, California.
We got lucky and was able to go see Kelsey play tennis in her high school tennis tournament. This is her first year in high school and they have already moved her up to Varsity. We had not seen her play tennis before so it was quite a treat.
We went to a cute little Italian restaurant with Rick, Patty, Kelsey, Alicia, Justin and his girlfriend. The food was great and the conversation never stopped. It was a lot of fun and way too much food.
The next day we went to see Kelsey play softball. She had to play two games back to back. She is the catcher and does a fantastic job. No one steals a base on her because she has a strong arm and will get them out every time. They lost both games but the score was very close and the games were exciting to watch. We said our good byes and headed for northern California.
Arrived in Novato, California to visit Jon, Denise, Benjamin, Zachary, and Sam. We had pizza at their house the first night. It was fun to see them all again. The next day we picked Ben and Zach up from their Karate practice and took them to the show. Then that night we had hired a limo to take Jon and Denise out for their anniversary. The limo first picked us up at our RV park and then we drove to Denise's house. It was pouring down rain and I was thrilled not to have to drive in that traffic and weather. We got the whole family in the limo and then dropped the kids off at a friends house. The driver then took us to a wine bar in Sausalito. The wine bar had recently opened and was owned by an Englishman. Since Jon was also from England, the owner came over and introduced himeself and welcomed us to the bar. After our wine samples and cheese and crackers, we left and headed for our restaurant. The restaurant was in Berkley. A small restaurant but excellent food. We took our time and enjoyed every bite. Even dessert. We then went and picked up the kids and took the Rooke family home. The driver then took us back to our RV. We all had a great time and it was fun spending time with Jon and Denise without interuptions from the boys.
Ben and Zach had a Karate tournament the next day. We arrived around 10:00 a.m. and we left before it was over at 2:00 p.m. Both the boys are very good. Ben got first place and Zachary got third place. They are at different levels and compete in different groups. The competition in Zachary's group was very close. We were very impressed with both boys and how intense they were in their movements. Later that night we had dinner at Denise's house. Her Mom and stepdad came too. Denise cooked all night and made us a fine gourmet meal. We watched a football game together and brought a visit to a close.
Our next drive took us to Chico, California to visit Angela, Shane, Cole and Brody. They boys are three and Brody is almost two. They have a new puppy named Boo. He is just like having another little kid around. The next day we went into town to do some shopping. When we got back we played with the kids in the back yard. They love to swing and Brody doesn't always hold on. One time he let go of the rope and went flying right out of the swing. Fortunately he didn't hurt anything. It just scared the heck out of him. Shane and Angela are in the process of planting an almond orchard. They have 40 acres to plant and have just completed the well. The well had to run for so many hours until it ran clear. They have someone coming to install the irrigation lines and another company to plant the trees. Hopefully the trees will be planted by the end of January or mid February. Very exciting venture for them. We had a great visit, lots of food, laughs and relaxation.
We left Angela's early in the morning and headed for Indio, California.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Phoenix, AZ - October 14, 2007
Well, not much has changed in Phoenix. Still hot and dry. Larry had some lab work done and then we drove up to Lake Pleasant (20 miles north of Phoenix). We were very lucky and got a RV site with a view of the entire lake. The lake was very low. After we were there for two days, the winds came up. 30-40 mph winds that shook the RV constantly. That was about the time that the fires started in California. We watched the new constantly since we have two sons in El Cajon (San Diego) and a brother and sister-in-law in Lake Arrowhead. We would get emails from the boys that their cars were packed and ready to go. Then Bob and Lorna had to evacuate. We thought the wind would never stop. We couldn't even imagine tryinng to fight a fire in wind gusts up to 60 mph.
I had left my flips (thongs) out side and the wind blew one of them away. I went out side one morning to walk around and see if I could find it. I started walking toward the lake and suddenly something moved. It was a little ground squirrel. Out of no where, came a hawk - wings folded in - diving down toward the ground where the squirrel had been. The hawk was about 3 feet away from me. It was an incredible sight. The hawk flew up in the sky again and circled right above me. Oh no! Am I next? I didn't find my flip. However, the next day the man next to us was walking to the trash. On his way, he bent over and picked up my shoe. I just happened to be looking out our window when I saw him with my shoe. I went out and said, "wait, you have my shoe." I told him that I had been looking all over for it and thanked him for finding it.
We drove back to Phoenix and went to all our doctor appointments. We both came out with flyng colors. Found out that the fires were settling down and all the family members and their houses were OK.
Left Phoenix and drove to Algodonas to have our teeth cleaned. Larry was relieved that he didn't need another implant. Yeah!!! On to San Diego to spend some time with Rick, Doug and their families.
I had left my flips (thongs) out side and the wind blew one of them away. I went out side one morning to walk around and see if I could find it. I started walking toward the lake and suddenly something moved. It was a little ground squirrel. Out of no where, came a hawk - wings folded in - diving down toward the ground where the squirrel had been. The hawk was about 3 feet away from me. It was an incredible sight. The hawk flew up in the sky again and circled right above me. Oh no! Am I next? I didn't find my flip. However, the next day the man next to us was walking to the trash. On his way, he bent over and picked up my shoe. I just happened to be looking out our window when I saw him with my shoe. I went out and said, "wait, you have my shoe." I told him that I had been looking all over for it and thanked him for finding it.
We drove back to Phoenix and went to all our doctor appointments. We both came out with flyng colors. Found out that the fires were settling down and all the family members and their houses were OK.
Left Phoenix and drove to Algodonas to have our teeth cleaned. Larry was relieved that he didn't need another implant. Yeah!!! On to San Diego to spend some time with Rick, Doug and their families.
On the Road Again - October 2, 2007
When we arrived back at Yakima, WA, the RV was ready. They had fixed everythng except the problem with our basement drawers. They suggested that we go to the HWH factory in Moscow, Iowa to have them fix it. We said OK and got on our way.
Our next destination was Salt Lake City, Utah to stop at the MotoSat factory to have them check our satellite dish. On the way, we went through a horrible lightning and pouring down rain storm. You would see the lightning and then wham - you would hear the thunder like it was right next to you. MotoSat rebuilt our satellite dish and loaded new software into the system. Yeah! Now it works much better. We decided to stay in a new RV park that wasn't too far from the MotoSat factory. Larry went into register and it took forever. They ended up charging us $48 for one night. We couldn't believe how expensive it was considering there was no cable hook up and the pull through was designed in such a way that you still had to disconnect your car to get to your hook ups. Larry plugged in the electricity and nothing happened. We immediately thought that it was our RV again. We then started to disconnect the car from the RV so we could move the RV back to reach all the hook ups - but the car wouldn't start. It was dead. Larry called AAA to come and start the car. In the mean time, the manager drove by and we told him that we couldn't get any electricity. The manager checked the electrical post and said that their was power. Larry preceded to tell him that the design of the lot was bad and that they were charging too much money. The manager got mad and suggested that we go down the street to the KOA and he would refund our money. We said that we would be happy to do that as soon as AAA arrived. AAA arrived and found that our battery was shot. So he installed a new battery and we got the heck out of there. When we arrived at the KOA, we plugged into the electrical post and the electricity worked just fine. All in the life of a full-timer.
Our next stop was Acoma, New Mexico. Also called Sky City. The RV park is owned by the Acoma Indian tribe and includes a nice casino. There were 119 Alpine coaches all parked together in the RV park. We had lunches, dinners and a tour of the Sky City Pueblo. We were lucky on the tour because we arrived first thing in the morning and there were only 7 people in our tour. The later tour had 75 people. The pueblo is the oldest continuously lived in pueblo in the U.S. There are still 13 families that live there and there is no electricity, water or toilets. They have a generator that they run once in a while. The families enjoy the peace and quiet so they don't use the generator unless they have to. They haul all their water up to the pueblo in bottles in the back of pick up trucks. They have a few port-a-potties scattered around the pueblo. The women own the homes and the land. The men govern and make the rules of the pueblo. The houses and property are handed down to the youngest daughter. When a daughter marries - her husband then builds her a home and she owns that house. Sounds right to me.
The Acoma tribe still practices their Indian beliefs and also Catholicism. The guide said that they don't use the confessional because they don't have any more sins. The Spanish people were very cruel to the Acoma tribe in the early years. They would take their children and send them to Mexico as slaves. They insisted that they practice the Catholic religion and forget their own beliefs. It is a wonder that any of them survived.
Three days later, we arrived in Albuquerque, New Mexico for the Hot Air Balloon Fiesta. Since we were with such a large group of RVs, we got VIP parking. We were located right above the field where they launch the balloons. It was an easy walk to the field so we could be right next to them. We also could sit in our RV and watch them go right over the top of us. The first morning, the big cow-shaped balloon went up but couldn't stay up. He came down right in front of us. The front legs hit a RV and the back legs were hanging over an iron fence which had sharp points at the top. They had to get a lot of people together to lift the hind quarter over the fence. Then they needed a lot of space when they deflated it. It was great to watch. You just never knew when they would come crashing down near you. At night, they would have the glow. The balloons are inflated and tethered to the ground. It is a beautiful sight. After the glow was over, they put on a fireworks show that lasted at least 25 minutes. The best part was that we could watch the entire fireworks show from our RV. We were very lucky on the weather too. It was in the 80s during the day and the wind came up in the afternoon. So the balloons were able to take off into our direction. The last day, the winds changed and they took off away from us. We got so many beautiful pictures (photos may be seen at www.imageevent.com/ltibbitts). We had been before, but it never ceases to amaze us. Over 750 balloons in the sky at the same time - all different shapes and colors. We had a wonderful time.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Columbia River Cruise - September 23, 2007
Wow!!! That is the first time that I have inserted a picture. Pretty Nifty!! On September 23rd we boarded the Queen of the West - a paddle wheel river cruise boat. Our stateroom was right in the front of the ship (the pointy end as they called it). Our room was very adequate (thanks to an upgrade by Mr. Tibbitts) and we had a nice deck too (no butler this time). We sailed into Portland's busy port. We sailed by floating homes that were so modern and beautiful. The captain of our boat said that he had rented one of the floating homes and really enjoyed it. He had is own sail boat which he kept docked right in front of the house. He said the only problem with living there was everything had to be hauled down a steep set of stairs or up as the case may be. That would get old for me.
We left the harbor area and headed east on the Columbia River. We stopped at various docks to take ground tours. The cruise company had their own buses which followed us up the river. We went to Indian Museums, Mt. St. Helens, The Dalles, and Pendleton. We had a lecturer on board who talked about Lewis and Clark's expedition on the Columbia and Snake River. We learned a lot and were amazed at the underground area below the town of Pendleton. The Chinese were brought in to work on the rail road and do other menial tasks. They were not allowed out at night after a certain hour. So they created their own town underground. It was amazing to see. Prostitution was also a going concern even up to 1965. Pendleton now is known for its Round Up (rodeo) each year.
Mt. St. Helens was beautiful. All the trees that have grown back in spite of the ash and lava. They have discovered that there is some nutrient in the soil now that enables the trees to grow healthy and fairly fast. We attended a lecture by one of the Park Rangers and saw pictures of before and after the eruption. People that were in the area doing lumber work and etc. were caught off guard and most of them could not escape fast enough. There was a movie that had interviewed a few of the survivors. Pretty scary stories.
As we sailed up river, we went through 5 lockes (dams). It was amazing to watch the process as the paddle wheel boat went into the locke, it would go to one side and tie up along the wall. After the boat was in and the doors had closed, the water level was brought up to the top (going up river and the water let out going down river). After the water was in, the doors would open and out we would sail.
We continued down the Columbia River until it connected to the Snake River. There were a lot more trees in this area. I even spotted an Eagle. We docked at Clarkston, WA. There we got on a jet boat and went 50 miles on the Snake River. Beautiful scenery and homes that you can only get to by boat. We turned around at the point where three states convene. Idaho, Washington and Oregon. It was amazing. On our way back to Clarkston, we made a stop at an old ranch that is now used for weddings and meetings. There were wild turkeys and white tailed deer. We had cookies and punch and returned to our boat.
We left Clarkston on the paddle wheel boat and started our return trip to Portland. We had to go through all the dams again. We had beautiful weather until about two days out of Portland. Then the wind blew about 60 miles an hour and the rain came down. The boat was very smooth and just kept on going through the winds. Once we reached Portland, we continued on to Astoria for one night and then our boat returned us to Portland.
It was a wonderful trip and very educational. The room walls were paper thin however, and our neighbors woke us up every morning around 6:30 a.m. talking out on their deck. Then the maid would run the vacuum at 6:45 a.m. in the hall way in front of our room. Also, breakfast was served from 7:00 - 8:00 a.m. Needless to say, there was no sleeping in on this trip. We met two couples who were our dinner mates every night. They we very nice and we hope to see them all again.
Well, after having 7 days of luxury and fun, we had to drive back to Yakima and deal with the RV situation. We hoped that they were done because we needed to be in Acoma, New Mexico for an RV rally on October 6th.
They Don't Mak'em The Way They Used To
Well, I certainly thought that I would post on my blog more often that what I have done. Sorry about that, I will try to do better.
We left Sisters, OR on September 11 and went to Coberg, OR. We had to get some more work done on the RV. It only took a day or two so we were able to meet some friends and play golf in Eugene, OR. It was a nice course - not too difficult and we didn't get rained on this time.
We then headed back to Chris and Tanya's thinking that we would stay there for a few days until we left on our river cruise out of Portland, OR. But, as luck would have it, on our way to their house, we discovered that our alternator was not charging properly. This is the second time that this has happened with this RV. We were scheduled to go to the factory in Yakima, WA on November 4th for other repairs. Larry was so upset that he called the VP of sales at WRV and told him that we were about to drive the RV off a cliff because of all the problems that we have been having with the RV. So, the VP scheduled us in the factory right away. We spent one night at with Chris and Tanya and then headed for Yakima.
It was a very stressful drive. We kept watching the voltage going lower and lower not knowing where we would end up. We got as far as Toppenish (45 minutes from Yakima) and red lights and buzzers started going off. We just had to stop because the RV just wouldn't move. Larry called AAA to set up a tow. While he was on hold, he decided to see if the RV would start again and it did. We were able to make it across the street to an Indian Reservation RV park. We were so relieved to park the thing. Whew!!! We made it. It started to rain after we got hooked up - we didn't care at that point because at least were were plugged into electricity and knew the batteries would charge enough to get us to the factory parking lot. We both needed a drink at that point.
The next day, we made it to the factory. We gave them our long list of problems and packed up the car with a few clothes, etc. and headed for Idaho. We took three days to tour some RV parks in Idaho and Washington for future RV lots to buy. After three days of touring, we went back to the factory.
Upon returning, we found out that they were not done with our repair work. We decided to leave the RV again. This time we drove towards Portland, OR because we had reservations on a Paddle Wheel River Cruise. Good By Factory!!!
We left Sisters, OR on September 11 and went to Coberg, OR. We had to get some more work done on the RV. It only took a day or two so we were able to meet some friends and play golf in Eugene, OR. It was a nice course - not too difficult and we didn't get rained on this time.
We then headed back to Chris and Tanya's thinking that we would stay there for a few days until we left on our river cruise out of Portland, OR. But, as luck would have it, on our way to their house, we discovered that our alternator was not charging properly. This is the second time that this has happened with this RV. We were scheduled to go to the factory in Yakima, WA on November 4th for other repairs. Larry was so upset that he called the VP of sales at WRV and told him that we were about to drive the RV off a cliff because of all the problems that we have been having with the RV. So, the VP scheduled us in the factory right away. We spent one night at with Chris and Tanya and then headed for Yakima.
It was a very stressful drive. We kept watching the voltage going lower and lower not knowing where we would end up. We got as far as Toppenish (45 minutes from Yakima) and red lights and buzzers started going off. We just had to stop because the RV just wouldn't move. Larry called AAA to set up a tow. While he was on hold, he decided to see if the RV would start again and it did. We were able to make it across the street to an Indian Reservation RV park. We were so relieved to park the thing. Whew!!! We made it. It started to rain after we got hooked up - we didn't care at that point because at least were were plugged into electricity and knew the batteries would charge enough to get us to the factory parking lot. We both needed a drink at that point.
The next day, we made it to the factory. We gave them our long list of problems and packed up the car with a few clothes, etc. and headed for Idaho. We took three days to tour some RV parks in Idaho and Washington for future RV lots to buy. After three days of touring, we went back to the factory.
Upon returning, we found out that they were not done with our repair work. We decided to leave the RV again. This time we drove towards Portland, OR because we had reservations on a Paddle Wheel River Cruise. Good By Factory!!!
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Birthday Celebration
We camped out at Chris and Tanya's this last weekend. Their daughter, Rylee, and I share the same birthday. Angela and her two boys came up from California to join in the celebration too. We had a wonderful time. We went to watch Rylee's first soccer game. She did a great job and we know she is just going to get better at each game. Then that night we had a pizza party and celebrated Rylee's birthday. The kids had a great time playing volleyball, jumping on the trampoline, riding the merry-go-round and standing on their heads on the lawn. Even Grandma jumped on the trampoline.
On Sunday, we put everybody in the RV and drove about an hour north to Kah-Ne-Tah. An Indian reservation with an RV Park, casino and three swimming pools that warm hot springs feed into. The water was warm and it wasn't too crowded. We swam for a while and then went back to the RV and had lunch. Then returned to the pools. They had a big slide for the bigger kids and a little slide for younger kids. We wore the two little boys out good.
On Monday, Tanya took me to lunch and then we went to Rylee's classroom to take cookies for her birthday celebration. We all had dinner together and crashed early. We all were exhausted from our busy weekend.
We are now back in Coburg/Eugene. They have received a part for us and we hope to get everything fixed in a couple of days. Our friends from Brookings, OR just called and are heading our way. So maybe we will get a little golf time.
Hope all of you are doing well. We are enjoying our life and think of all of you often.
On Sunday, we put everybody in the RV and drove about an hour north to Kah-Ne-Tah. An Indian reservation with an RV Park, casino and three swimming pools that warm hot springs feed into. The water was warm and it wasn't too crowded. We swam for a while and then went back to the RV and had lunch. Then returned to the pools. They had a big slide for the bigger kids and a little slide for younger kids. We wore the two little boys out good.
On Monday, Tanya took me to lunch and then we went to Rylee's classroom to take cookies for her birthday celebration. We all had dinner together and crashed early. We all were exhausted from our busy weekend.
We are now back in Coburg/Eugene. They have received a part for us and we hope to get everything fixed in a couple of days. Our friends from Brookings, OR just called and are heading our way. So maybe we will get a little golf time.
Hope all of you are doing well. We are enjoying our life and think of all of you often.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
We can't believe we actually stayed in one place for almost 10 days. The Elks Club RV Park in Salem, OR turned out to be a great place. We are about half way between Portland and Eugene, OR. We went to the club one night to have a few cocktails and dinner. Turned out that they had live music and we had fun dancing the night away.
We had hoped to reorganize our basements but discovered we had a big hydraulic leak. It squirted oil every time we put out a basement drawer or lowered our leveling jacks. So we decided not to open the drawers unless we absolutely needed something.
We went to the car races on Saturday night. The track is a 1/3 mile dirt track. They had all different categories and the drivers were very competitive. It was really fun.
One night we went to a Minor League Baseball Game in Salem. The Volcanos are a AA Minor farm team for the San Francisco Giants. They are very good and lead the league. They beat Eugene 12 to 5.
On Monday, Labor Day, we decided to pack a picnic lunch and head for Wilamette Park. The weather was great and we wanted to see the carousel that was handcarved and painted by local artisans. The carousel has 42 wood carved horses. It was absolutely beautiful and the kids were having a great time riding it.
We went to another area to have our picnic lunch and play a game of Skipbo. I had visions of a wonderful fun picnic - spending some time outside. Well, the bees decided to come and check out our turkey wraps. Larry wasn't happy about the bees intruding on his lunch. He was about to take a bite of his wrap and just happened to look and see a bee buzzing around inside the wrap. After we would sneak a bite - we would quickly have to wrap them up in foil. What a pain!!! We decided to finish our game and then we would leave. Larry went to put his arm down on the table and didn't realize that there was a bee sitting right there. His arm squished the bee and the bee fought back. Stung him good. Now, Larry really isn't happy. My wonderful idea of a fun picnic in the park was quickly turning into a disaster. Then the bum came to visit. He was amazing. Dressed fairly nice and attached himself to another table. He took out a couple of pages of newspaper and spread them on the bench. Then he unfolded another page (which had been folded many times) and laid it on top of the table. Then he put his jacket and nice leather bag on top of the paper. He took out his bottle of water and his partial bag of chips. He was very neat and tidy. After I beat Larry at Skipbo (just had to say that) we left. Oh well, it was a good idea - but the bees won.
We are now in Coburg, OR. Had to get our oil leak fixed. Then we are off to Sisters, Or to visit our Son and his family. Our daughter, Angela and her two boys are driving up from Chico, CA to help celebrate my birthday and our granddaughter's birthday which are on the same day. We are not sure how we are going to get there since there is a really bad fire just north of Sisters.
After the birthday celebration , we plan to head north into Washington and Idaho. Our cruise out of Portland isn't until September 23. So we have plenty of time to go exploring.
Hope all of you are healthy and safe. Love you all
We had hoped to reorganize our basements but discovered we had a big hydraulic leak. It squirted oil every time we put out a basement drawer or lowered our leveling jacks. So we decided not to open the drawers unless we absolutely needed something.
We went to the car races on Saturday night. The track is a 1/3 mile dirt track. They had all different categories and the drivers were very competitive. It was really fun.
One night we went to a Minor League Baseball Game in Salem. The Volcanos are a AA Minor farm team for the San Francisco Giants. They are very good and lead the league. They beat Eugene 12 to 5.
On Monday, Labor Day, we decided to pack a picnic lunch and head for Wilamette Park. The weather was great and we wanted to see the carousel that was handcarved and painted by local artisans. The carousel has 42 wood carved horses. It was absolutely beautiful and the kids were having a great time riding it.
We went to another area to have our picnic lunch and play a game of Skipbo. I had visions of a wonderful fun picnic - spending some time outside. Well, the bees decided to come and check out our turkey wraps. Larry wasn't happy about the bees intruding on his lunch. He was about to take a bite of his wrap and just happened to look and see a bee buzzing around inside the wrap. After we would sneak a bite - we would quickly have to wrap them up in foil. What a pain!!! We decided to finish our game and then we would leave. Larry went to put his arm down on the table and didn't realize that there was a bee sitting right there. His arm squished the bee and the bee fought back. Stung him good. Now, Larry really isn't happy. My wonderful idea of a fun picnic in the park was quickly turning into a disaster. Then the bum came to visit. He was amazing. Dressed fairly nice and attached himself to another table. He took out a couple of pages of newspaper and spread them on the bench. Then he unfolded another page (which had been folded many times) and laid it on top of the table. Then he put his jacket and nice leather bag on top of the paper. He took out his bottle of water and his partial bag of chips. He was very neat and tidy. After I beat Larry at Skipbo (just had to say that) we left. Oh well, it was a good idea - but the bees won.
We are now in Coburg, OR. Had to get our oil leak fixed. Then we are off to Sisters, Or to visit our Son and his family. Our daughter, Angela and her two boys are driving up from Chico, CA to help celebrate my birthday and our granddaughter's birthday which are on the same day. We are not sure how we are going to get there since there is a really bad fire just north of Sisters.
After the birthday celebration , we plan to head north into Washington and Idaho. Our cruise out of Portland isn't until September 23. So we have plenty of time to go exploring.
Hope all of you are healthy and safe. Love you all
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Feeling Pretty Clever
I have just created my very first blog. I hope to write interesting facts about our daily travels. Some day when I feel really smart, I will try to incorporate pictures. This blog is meant to keep our family and friends informed of our whereabouts and information about the wonderful things that we have seen and done.
We are currently staying in an RV park at the Elks club in Salem, OR. The weather has been in the 80s and mid 50s at night. We are planning to stay here for a week. Need to organize our four basement drawers and catch up on some cleaning chores.
Tune in for the next episode
We are currently staying in an RV park at the Elks club in Salem, OR. The weather has been in the 80s and mid 50s at night. We are planning to stay here for a week. Need to organize our four basement drawers and catch up on some cleaning chores.
Tune in for the next episode
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