November 21, 2007 Headed East

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.