A Walk in The Woods

Well they say that bad weather is on the way. I say bad weather I am talking about rain. I wanted to finish up cleaning my bays out this morning but if it rains...well I'll just have to cool my heels for a while.
I woke up this morning to the roof air blowing. Not the AC just the air. It is really warm here! I am not complaining by any means just can't sleep when it is too warm. I like 68 degrees or so and I can sleep soundly. Anything hotter I don't sleep good.
They have a mile hiking trail here and Kris and I walked it. One mile through the woods is a long way when you 're not real sure where your going. I was wondering for a while if I was going in circles but then I could see the park through the trees and felt a little better. I could see it now... man and young boy found wondering aimlessly in the woods. Stories like that you always hear about and wonder how anyone could get themselves into such a fix!

We did break out into the park and felt much better. I think we will stick to walking in the park where we can see the Motorhome at all times.
Getting back today I did get a chance to get out and work on the bays. You may be wondering why I am waiting until now to clean out the underneath. Well last summer was so hot I could not bare to be outside. Fall came and I was working more than usual and then winter brought more rain and I guess I just ran out of time. Now that I am not working and just looking after Kris I have time to dig out all the junk that has built up in there.
I still don't know how all that stuff accumulated there but it did and I need to find a place for it. I have more room now than ever before and that means more stuff that gets stored...
Somewhere in Time

Enjoying the Warm Temps Here

 This morning for the first time in a month the alarm went off on Sherri's phone! What the...I raised up in bed...thinking there was a prison break somewhere. Let me explain. Sherri has one of those new I Phones and the alarm sounds like the alarm in a prison when they have an escape going on. Well you have to hear it to know what I mean.

I got on up and headed into the kitchen to make the coffee knowing she would not be too far behind me. We have really enjoyed these days of just setting around for an hour or so talking and drinking our coffee but today we know that is over.

Sherri and I did have some time to drink a cup together but then she had to get ready to head on off to work. I spent a few hours reading some blogs and then started cleaning the house. The least I can do is make the bed and wash the dishes while she is out making a living for us.
Today I have to concentrate on cleaning out the bays under the MH. I have let this project go for some time and now I have to get to work on it. I have so much to do and with this good weather I really need to get it all done...

Somewhere in Time

Moved on Down South

The trip south was uneventful and only took about 2 hours. The longest part of the trip was going the back roads to the Interstate. Once on Interstate 49 it was smooth sailing all the way to Lafayette. There we took Interstate 10 to exit 100 and proceeded south to Abbeville RV Park.
The park here is not a resort by any means but it is quite and we have room to move around. The sites are gravel and they are spaced far enough apart to extend your slides with no problem.
The electric is good and we do get good TV reception on antenna. We do not have our Dish Network installed yet so that is not available.
Sherri will have to head out to work tomorrow and she is not thrilled with that but then who would be. She only has until December of this year and then she can retire and not have to worry about getting up for work.
I on the other hand was put out to pasture by the company while Sherri holds a full time position now. They only use locals for the stores. This is their way of saving money and putting many of us out of a job...isn't that how it is going all over the USA!
Well I have plenty to do...just wont be bringing in any money. I owe so much back to the government now that I wont receive a SS check for 3 months! On top of that I will owe tax on my SS too! Wow what a deal I signed up for. Paid into a system for over 50 years and they are still taxing me and making me pay some of it back??
OK nuff of that. We got hooked up leveled up and slid out. Now we can relax...no wait we have to go to Wally World. We have never been to this one so we have to go! I wish we could collect stickers for Wally World visits. I would have many by now and maybe I could get a free cup of coffee if I traded them in?
Well better kick back and watch the Good Wife.
Tomorrow holds a list of things to get done...
Somewhere in Time

Down The Road To Marksville La

The weather is not looking too good but we have to get going

 

We were both up early this morning getting ready for the trip to Louisiana. The weather was terrible and we wanted to get as far south as possible and as fast as possible so we could dry off. We have been wet most of the time in Red Bay and we were looking forward to some dry time. I have so much to do to the outside of the MH and wet rainy weather does not play well with that.

We did not get the early departure time that we had hoped for. I had to go over to the Service Office and check out and then walk over to the office to sign out. The Service Office did not open until 7:00 am so by the time I got out of there and out of the RV park it was going on 7:45. We finished up the last few things and then hooked the Jeep up.

We were out the gate at 8:00 and across the street at the gas station where we had to wait for a woman to fill up her car and pay the bill. This seemed to take for ever but soon she reappeared and drove off. We gassed up and headed down the street to the propane company where we filled up with propane…paid the bill and back on the road.

We had planned on stopping in Jackson Mississippi to spend a night with John and Bridget but the weather was so rotten we decided to go straight through to Marksville La. This would be about a 7 hour drive and with the rain and wind it seemed like 14 hours. We went to Vicksburg where we took Hwy 61 to Natchez Mississippi and then crossed the Mississippi to Hwy 15 that took us down the river to Hwy 1. Right on Hwy 1 and 20 miles later we were pulling into Marksville.

I have to  tell you about Hwy 15 that takes you down the river side. You are driving next to the river on a narrow road that is in bad need of repair. I’ll have to say it was very interesting to see how people live in that part of the world. We could see signs of all the high water that had been there not too long ago.We could not see what people saw in living so close to the river like that but then I guess it is not too much different than people living on the coast.

It took us a little over an hour to get to Hwy 1 and needless to say Sherri was very happy to get on a good road. We pulled in and got settled in. Then it was time for us to go over to McDonalds for a burger. We then headed to where else…Wally World… for needed supplies and back home to relax for the rest of the evening.

It was a long day and we are thankful that we made it here without incident…

Somewhere in Time

Our Time Here is Over

Sherri plots out our next move

We have come to the end of our stay here at Red Bay and it is time to head south. Sherri has to be in Abbeville Louisiana for her job so we will be heading that way.

We have enjoyed our stay here and appreciate the service we received there. We pulled into Bay 27 for our final work to be done. Other than a short break for lunch they finished up in record time and we returned to site 50 after filling up with water and dumping. Tomorrow was the trip to the plant

The tour through the plant was the high lite of our time here and we will never forget it. Being a wood worker I was amazed at the woodshop and all the specialty stations there!

 

Well Time to suck em in and head um out. See ya…

Somewhere in Time

Time at Red Bay

I heard in on the roof and then when I looked outside I saw it…Rain. Yes it rains in Alabama.

Sherri and I are tucked away in site 50 here waiting to get our work done on the MH. We really don’t have major things wrong with it but they are some things that need to be seen after before they become major. I had called ahead and talked with the man in charge here and he assured me I did not need a reservation for work this time of year because they are not that busy….Wrong! The line getting in here was backed out into the street and more coming down the road. I guess everyone heard that this was the time of year to come?

Oh well as I said before I have taken the Mark Hall’s Service Center Techniques…or “How to bully your way into a service bay”.  

Sure nuff no one showed up at our MH and it was going on noon. We have no water pump and they have turned the water off here for the winter months. So here I go on the first visit to the Service Office. I found Jimmy Oliver at his deck typing on his computer. “Jimmy”, I said… “I have a problem, we have NO water pump and my Wife needs to bathe”. “If your wife could not bathe would she be happy”?

Soon I was pulling into bay 32 which is an express bay to get my water pump fixed and what ever they could get in 3 hours with 2 men. I was amazed at all the work they got done. We only have a few items to complete and we will be all done with the list.

We backed out of bay 32 and made our way to the watering hole to give the MH a drink. I was surprised that we did not use that much water in two days. It was still a good idea to take on water while we were buckled up. Back to our site and got everything back out where it goes. Now this is one thing Sherri does not like is having to take down and set up each day.

If you can’t see what I am talking about look past Kris….

We made a run to town to see what there was to see. We found a Mexican Restaurant just down the street. We stopped on our way back and ate. Not bad Mexican food at that. The view while I was eating was not the best in the world but I did my best not to look. Other than that we would go back. 

Red Bay is not long on things to see and do. We did scour the grocery stores for food. Being that we both work in grocery stores I have to say that they have the cleanest stores here.

Well that is a wrap for the day. We are just waiting for the next free Express Bay to open. I will be back up at the office…

Somewhere in Time

Comments on Red Bay

 

I have heard all kinds of stories about Red Bay from all the Tiffin owners that I read about. One of the folks that I have learned so much from is Mark Hall. Mark or should I say Dortha gives me a play by play report of everything that they get done while at Red Bay. I know that Mark does not wait for something to happen while he is here. Mark spends all his time poking around the service center to see if he can get squeezed in somewhere.

I had many people tell me that they did not get good service when they got here but with Red Bay service center techniques 101 from Mark Hall I will see how much I have learned.

Sherri got her chair at a good price. It is nice that it matches all the other furniture and we have plenty of room! The chair alone was well worth the trip up here.

We have no water so we will have to semi-boondock while we are here. This means that we will have to close up every once in a while and go get water. This should keep us plenty busy. 

Stay tuned tomorrow and see if what I have learned helps me get service here…

Somewhere in Time

Here we are in Red Bay

Sherri and I decided to go ahead and go to Red Bay since we were already in Mississippi visiting Bridget and John. It was only another 4 hours north and we wanted to get our warranty work done before our first year is up.

As I had mention before Sherri wants a new chair for the coach and they have them there at the Service Center. I will be trying to contact one of the Techs to do some work off site to our kitchen counter top.

We left Jackson around 10:00 am and made the journey north. It was an uneventful trip until we reached the check in office at Red Bay. The line was out in the street and we had to park on the side of the road to wait for the Motorhomes ahead of us to pull up. Soon two coaches pulled on into the RV park but the Motorhome in front of us just sat there. We were too close to pull around him so we had to set there. While setting there waiting for him to pull up two Motorhomes passed us and pulled into line. Well needless to say I almost lost it…but Sherri kept me calm.

We soon got in and settled in site 50 to await our turn. The weather here is good and I hope to get some things done inside and out…

Somewhere in Time

Just Writing

 

Here I sit here now with a Internet connection and nothing to write. I have to write something just to download it with this connection…what a waste it would be not to use it.

I posted last time with a picture of a fire place in my Motorhome that Sherri and I had bought at Lowes somewhere in our travels. We loved the way it looked and it did heat the entire house on wheels when we had it. One thing about it that lead to our taking it back was the noise that it started making. The little motor that turns the flame started squealing and like to have drove us mad! We hated to get rid of it but you could not stay in the room with the noise.

Now we are in search of a chair to go in it’s place. The chair in our motor coach is just too small and it does not recline. We hope to find what we want when we get to Red Bay. They have all kinds of furniture up there at the repair facility and across the street they have a warehouse full of used furniture out of rigs they have refurbished.

We will be going to Alabama soon to get our warranty work done and that will be a good time to get a chair that matches our leather seat. Sherri likes the one that is in the Allegro Bus and it will fit in our space we have. It is a recliner which means we do not have to worry with the foot stools. We did not want to have to find a place for the foot stools when we were not using it.

I will be looking for some wood trim that matches our cabinets so I can make Sherri some shelves for her linen closet in the bathroom. We would like to see how much it will cost to have another cabinet in the bath room made off site and installed.

Well this is our plan and we will see about getting it done…

Somewhere in Time

Yes We are Still Alive

 

First of all Sherri and I would like to wish all our friends out there a Happy New Year!

 

We have been real busy traveling back and forth across the state. When my sister went in the hospital in Amarillo we traveled there to be with her and my brother in law. She was in a coma that she never came out of and soon died. I would like to thank all of you that sent your prayers and well wishes to me and my family.

The funeral was in Abilene 100 + miles south of Amarillo. We drove there and spent a few days with the family and then it was back to the lake for a short stay.

As you can see we have been on the move for some time now. We did get a break at Christmas to head down to Galveston to see my other sister and brother in law. It was a bitter sweet visit…knowing we were the only two kids left now makes you realize that life is short with no guarantees.

We did have some fun moments…riding the ferry and driving around to see some of the sites. The weather was not very good and walks on the beach were short. The wind blew and the rains came but we made the  best of it.

I was disappointed that we did not get to do some of the things on the beach that good weather allows but we did have a good time. Kris enjoyed playing in the sand with his toys on the two dry days we had. He could not understand why we could not go out when it was raining…yes he is blond!

Kris and I did get to play on the beach some

The stockings were hung waiting for Santa

And sure nuff he showed up and left some great gifts

Our stay was short but sweet and we had to pack up and head north. Back to our refueling oasis at Lake Tawakoni. There was things there that needed seeing to and clothes to wash. These are things that you cannot put off too long.

We did have a great New Years eve fireworks show put on by our nephews and Kris. They enjoyed the light show and so did we. I hope that all of you did the same.

After the new years celebration we packed up once more and headed east to Jackson Mississippi to visit with our close RVing friends John and Bridget. We drove 6 hours to get there. They both met us at the Flying J where we were refueling and so we could follow them to their camp spot. We got the site across the street from them and set up camp.

Across Louisiana and on to Mississippi

Which way do we go from here?

Bridget had put a ham in the oven and they had us over for dinner. We had cabbage and black eyed peas with the ham and let me tell you…it was great.

Thank you John and Bridget for having us over…we sure enjoyed the food. They invited us to go the Bridget’s Mom and Dad’s house for a visit and a game of cards. They had us over just to beat the snot out of us…which they did! I wouldn’t have it any other way.

OK I know I have gone on too long. We will be back as soon as I can find another good signal to get on the Internet…

Somewhere in Time

Just Hanging on to a Signal!

The Internet connection has been terrible and today is no exception. I have maybe one bar and it comes and goes. I need to beef up my system but then I would rather eat so I will just find a better area for my computer.

I have to start this post over twice so I will send it on and hope that it will get to you all...

Somewhere in Time