The Dark Side of Living in an RV

Our adventure this past year has been tremendous.  We took on a life-changing challenge and have thoroughly enjoyed the places we’ve been, the great people we’ve met and the new experiences we’ve had, but it hasn’t all been without it’s frustrations.  Every story needs balance.  It’s not sunshine and lollipops every day, so let me tell you about the other side of the coin without being too much of a downer.  Just a reality check.

The man who sold us our RV told us, “You will have things go wrong.  It’s just a fact of life when you own an RV and drive it or pull it down the road.  It’s like going through a hurricane and an earthquake.”

Most earthquakes only last a minute or two.  Ours can last 6-8 hours.

We left Tucson and made the longest drive so far, 600+ miles to Midland, TX where we spent the night. We made it to Denton the next day and made arrangements to drop our house off at the dealership the next day for more warranty work.  By this time, we have now been back to the dealership 9 times in less than a year.  Interestingly, none of the issues we’ve had have kept us from occupying our house or pulling it down the road.  It’s just a never-ending list of things that keep failing.

As Jane pointed out to the service writer at the dealership, “In the almost one year that we’ve had our Redwood, there has not been one single day that something didn’t need to be fixed.”

We picked up our rolling estate Friday at 5 and went to a local campground to spend the night before heading to Arkansas where we planned to spend two weeks, including Thanksgiving, with family.

When we got to the campground our bedroom slide would not slide out more than two inches before stopping.  I did everything I knew to do and gave up.  We slept in tight quarters and the next day headed for a Camping World up the road because I knew there were no techs at the dealership on Saturday.

They thought a slide motor had failed, but couldn’t work on it until after the holidays.  Yes plural, like after New Year’s day.

OK, we kept going and got to Arkansas that night.  We checked with a local RV dealer and he also thought it might be a slide motor, but had the same issue, booked for weeks.  During the next two weeks, at least 3 other problems developed on top of having a bedroom that was smaller than usual.

Special thanks to my sister Kathy for loaning her car to Jane while I had to go to Baltimore for a trade show.

So, we changed our plan, which was to go directly to Florida from Arkansas and drove back to Denton to the dealership, a 700 mile detour.  We left our unit with them and Jane went with me to San Antonio where I had a work assignment for the week.

We got back on Friday and went to the dealership to get our house and head for Florida.  Everything had been fixed, they said, and showed me each repaired item.  “As soon as we get her buttoned back up, you’ll be ready to go.”, said the service writer.

But, the bedroom slide would not go in!  Previously, it wouldn’t go out, now it wouldn’t go in.

The tech messed with it for 45 minutes and couldn’t solve the problem.

Praise the Lord for our friends Vicki and Dale Revercomb.  They were away on vacation, in Florida of all places, and told us we could stay at their house while ours was being fixed.  So we did.  Expecting to be ready to go by Tue/Wed, we didn’t pick up our house until Friday.

It was such a blessing to be able to stay in comfortable quarters and not a hotel room. I made a great friend with their dog, Gentry, and we watched the Cowboys beat the Redskins in an amazing comeback win on Monday Night Football.  So, a special shout out to our friends Dave and Becky Mead who are the most loyal, rabid, crazy Cowboys fans we know.  Who else takes his girl for a tour of Texas Stadium and then gets down on one knee (ON THE STAR AT MIDFIELD) to propose?  Better times are ahead Cowboys fans, hang in there.

We took off from Denton and about 30 miles down the road, I started getting a low tire pressure alert on my TPMS (Tire Pressure Monitoring System).  After stopping three times to put air in one of the trailer tires and even changing out the core of the valve stem, I was still having problems.  The next day I took it to a tire store in Natchitoches, LA where they discovered a faulty valve stem.  We got that fixed and headed down the road.

Another blessing came along when we reached Gulf Shores, AL, that night and were able to spend the evening with Vicki and Dale and their daughter, Jennifer, and her girls in Perdido Key, FL , just 15 miles away.

Well, we made it to Florida and we’re back at Manatee RV Resort, where we spent last March.  More good news, they just put in a new Pickle Ball court two weeks ago!!! Woo hoo! And a thank you goes to Jane’s sister, Jimmie, for loaning Jane her bike while we’re here.

About the RV, we’ve written a nasty email to the manufacturer and we’re in the market for a good Lemon Law attorney. J

But, what I’ve chosen to take away from all this is that we’ve had family and friends to stand by us during the frustration and utter exasperation.

We’re too stubborn to give up (44 years of marriage should be proof of that) and we look forward to the day when everything is repaired or replaced. 

We’ll be here in Ruskin, FL until the end of March.  We’re enjoying the 70-80 degree temps.

And on that note………..Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

Tucson, AZ

We arrived at Voyager RV Resort in Tucson, elevation 2800+ ft., and the first thing we saw was the sign proclaiming that it was voted the best in America.  We checked in and were led to our site which was a back-in spot (have I ever mentioned how much I love pull through sites? 'Cuz I really do!)  and it became clear immediately that this was going to be a very, very tight fit. 

(We've been in tighter spots)

The people on the next site were sitting outside and had to move their truck so we could get in.  The man who led us in was giving Jim directions so I finally sat down with the couple next door and got acquainted and tried not to watch the proceedings until the backing was done.  Then we set up housekeeping for a month in Tucson.

The park really is great. It is exclusively for people over 55.  During "season", there are 300 different activities in which to participate.  We got here on October 8 - a bit early for most things to be going on but we found things to do.  I have been taking a water exercise class.  We went to a baked potato/salad lunch.  We attended a church service followed by a covered dish lunch.  AND here is the biggee!  Jim left one day telling me he was going to watch some pickleball and see what it was all about.  I thought "right, he's going to watch".....when was the last time Jim watched any sporting activity without participating?  Well, he played that Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday, etc.  The next Monday, he bought his own paddle and he is totally hooked.  Now he is wondering how he will cope with leaving here and not being able to play. 

So the couple next to us - the wife is from Scotland- and the couple across from us -the wife is from Germany- have been great.  We have become friends and we all met( on the new deck the couple across the street just had built) for coffee/tea yesterday afternoon.  The German lady, whose name is Angie, by the way, made incredible pastries to go with the tea.  It was great to sit and visit with people who have done so many different things and been so many different places. 

Jim says he could imagine retiring here someday.  Many people have said they get bored in retirement......well.......as someone told me soon after we got here, "If you get bored here, it is because you are boring".   I would love to try out the ceramics class, the ballroom dancing class and the stained glass making class and Jim would play pickleball till he drops.  So we will keep that in mind for the future. 

One of our trips from here was to Tombstone. Tombstone is still a functioning city.  People live and work there.  We visited the site of the Gunfight at the OK Corral.  A small area and the shootout itself lasted about 30 seconds.  Not exactly as depicted in the movies.  Then we went to the Boot Hill cemetery where some of the victims were buried, along with quite a few others.  Sometimes the markers are poetic and some tell a story.  There are many that just say "Unknown".

We visited Old Tucson one Saturday.  It was where MANY old westerns were filmed as well as "newer" films like The Three Amigos and several years of Little House on the Prairie.  In fact, it was built specifically for the purpose of luring film companies to the desert to make movies.  Then we went to the Desert Museum.  Sounds a little weird, but it was great.  Animals, plants, acres of desert life on display.  Speaking of the desert...in its own way, it is really beautiful.  And the mountains, well I never knew I liked mountains so much.  Now I wonder how I went so long without them being around.  They're gorgeous and fascinating.  We also went to the Saguaro National Park in the foothills of the Rincon Mountains.  The park is named for the saguaro cactus.  OK, we didn't do any real hiking there since the brochure mentioned the three kinds of rattlesnakes, mountain lions, bears, and killer bees in residence.  We stopped a few times and walked a short way into the cactus, but didn't go far from the truck. 

Here comes the noon stage.

Hop on the 3:10 to Yuma

The 3 Amigos was filmed here








We met a man here who full-timed in an RV for awhile and, once again, we were able to get helpful advice about living this lifestyle.  I don't remember if I have ever mentioned the type of RV we have.  It is a fifth wheel, Redwood, model 38GK.    We tow it behind a Ford F-350 super duty pickup.
The trailer is 41 feet 5 inches long and looks even bigger when we are hauling it down the road.  It is a residential model----made to be lived in.  We have a full sized fridge rather that one of those RV refrigerators.  I have two large pantries with pull-out shelves and a dishwasher.  We have two TVs inside and one outside.  We have central heat and air as well as a heat pump and a fake fireplace that puts out heat.  The microwave oven is also a convection oven and I am learning to cook with the convection.  We got a Dish Tailgater so we have satellite TV everywhere we go.  So we are not exactly roughing it. Right now we are sitting in our recliners watching a movie after having dinner at the park's restaurant. 
 .

Jane is the one wearing the yellow shirt (doing her cactus imitation) at the national park.

They call this the cactus forest.







We leave Thursday for the long trip back to Texas (briefly) and then on to Arkansas for Thanksgiving.  Brian is taking a vacation with friends for Thanksgiving then coming to Florida to spend Christmas with us.  It can get cold here in the desert and we are looking forward to the warmth of the gulf shore of Florida.

Arizona really is GRAND!

Arizona – Sept/Oct

We thought we’d check out potential places to stay in the winter/spring of 2016-17 when we hope to maybe catch some Rangers spring training 4 miles from the RV park.

 

The Rangers and Royals share the same facility.  And there are about 13 other teams that hold spring training in the Phoenix area.  They also have winter ball here for prospects / rookies / etc.

On Saturday we drove up to Prescott Valley to see our dear friend Rob Bryant, whom we hadn’t seen in several years.  He became our tour guide and took us to Jerome, where we had lunch and then on to Sedona, the second-most visited place in AZ.  The first is the Grand Canyon.

 

 Everybody needs a 10 ft. cigar store Indian in their house.  He's a great security guard.

We enjoyed a great day of sight-seeing, but the best part was catching up on what’s going on in our lives and families and, of course, playing games.  Pool (Rob won), backgammon (Jim won) and rummikub (Jane won). 

When you've been used to seeing north Texas for 40 years, this landscape is captivating. I just couldn't stop imagining all the old western movies that were filmed in areas like this.

 

 

 

We moved to Phoenix Metro on the north side of Phoenix and on Friday night, visited Chase Field where the Diamondbacks played the Astros.  It was significant because the Rangers were losing and we needed the home town team to win (playoff implications!).  We cheered them on to a 21-5 loss.  But it was the 8^th MLB park we visited this year and they have a beautiful facility.  Even though it was 91 degrees outside, they opened the roof and it was a very comfortable 75 inside.  Next to Marlins Park, in Miami, it was the most impressive we’ve been to this year.

 

 

 

The big panels on either side of the video board are closed in the above picture.

 

Then, they opened the roof and those panels opened.

 

 

 

The next day we decided to pack a bag and drive up to the Grand Canyon.  We didn’t have a plan, didn’t have a room reservation and didn’t know if we were going to stay or drive back the same day.  After seeing scenes like this . . . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

....we decided to stay and come back for more the next day.

But deciding wasn’t all that was involved.  Every hotel where we stopped was completely full.  This was in a tiny town outside Grand Canyon Ntl. Park.  Also all the campgrounds inside the park were full.  Lot’s of folks visiting Grand Canyon in the fall. We found a room at a little place that hadn’t had one single update since 1970.  But it was clean and worked out fine.  For all of you who have been to Grand Canyon, you know what I mean when I say it’s right up there with seeing the ocean or the Rockies for the first time.  You just say, “Wow!!!”  The first day we walked the south rim which is an hours long excursion.  The second day we hiked down the mule trail into the canyon to the 1 ½ mile rest station.  We decided that was far enough because we knew the hike out would seem much longer.  We were right.   Taking a mule sounded like fun, but you have to make a reservation a year in advance.

Jane found a nice resting spot, but had to climb up about 20 feet to get to it.

 

 

 

 

When God decides to get creative, it’s truly awesome.  If this is what he’s done with the place down here on earth, heaven is going to be mind-boggling.  And yet, I feel like I’m not ready for that one.

On Monday we bug out for Tucson, where we’ll spend the next 30 days before going back to Texas and then Arkansas again for two weeks.  Followed by our migration to Florida where we’ll spend Dec – Mar.

Summer's End / London

Sept 21 –

Since our last installment, we returned from Arkansas and camped near the dealership, got more warranty work done and went to San Antonio where I worked a trade show.

We returned to Dallas and packed for our trip to London.  We left the RV at the dealership for the two weeks we were gone, which meant we had to completely empty the fridg so Brian got some food items he didn’t even know he needed. 

We spent a wonderful two weeks and two days with Chris, Angie, Caleb and Hannah.  We went to the Natural History Museum, played wiffle ball outside behind the apartments introducing a six year old boy (he told me he is more than 6 and a quarter and more than 6 and a half, but not 7… Imagine that in a little boy British accent) who lives in the apartment complex to baseball, went to the park and played games inside when it rained. Did you know that Chutes and Ladders is Snakes and Ladders in England?  We also got to walk with Caleb on his first day of school starting year 1.

 Playing in the dirt is so much fun.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Baseball (wiffle ball) in the back garden

 

 

Gram & Hannah dancing

Mmmm a milk shake

 

 

 

First day of school

 

 

 

 Hannah in her Princess Sophia shirt


                           Grampa & Caleb wrestling

This is one handsome boy!

 

 

            Gram & Hannah enjoying each other's company

 

 

 

We got back and prepared for our trip to Colorado Springs.  We spent a night in Amarillo (by the way, Jane drove for a couple hours.  It was her first time to pull the house down the road and she was great.  Not only do I have a woman who can drive a one-ton dually, but she can pull a trailer too!  What a woman.) and got to Colorado Springs the following day.  We had a great week up in the mountains.  As we got closer and closer to the mountains, it made me realize how we overuse the word awesome.  The rockies (not the baseball team) are truly awesome.  When I look at God’s creations, I realize how awe inspiring his handiwork really is. 

We took in Garden of the Gods, Seven Falls and went to the top of Pike’s Peak and of course, made it to Coors Field to see the Rockies and Padres.  At Seven Falls, we walked up about a million steps to the top of the falls and found a large water pipe.  What??  Turns out they recycle the water that flows from the mountains down the falls so that they can be open all year without worrying about the water freezing.  Seven Falls Park is now owned by the people who own the famous Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs.  Also at the top of the falls, we were told to smell a tree.  Well, the bark of the Ponderosa Pine smells just like sugar cookies!!  If any of you already knew that, why did you never tell me?  At the Rockies game, we were waiting in line to buy our tickets when a nice couple approached me and asked if we needed two tickets.  I said yes we do, and she gave me two FREE tickets.  Their boys had stayed home to watch the Colorado vs. Colorado State football game and, being season ticket holders, they had two extra…..18 rows up from the Rockies dugout.  Well, that was really cool! 

We saw miles and miles of train cars carrying coal in Colorado.  It is the 7th largest coal producing state in the U.S.

 

The Rockies have a really nice park.  Yep, had to take a sweatshirt to this game.  Got a bit chilly.

 

     Oh, yeah did Jane mention we had really good seats.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Garden of the Gods

 

 

 

 

Seven Falls

 

 

 

 

 

 

                          Wind chill below freezing at the top

 

 

We had dinner with Zach and Katie (can’t believe we forgot to take a picture) to catch up on their recent move to Denver and how things are going.  The kids are fine.  Zach has already bought skis and Katie is studying hard. 

We also caught up with a friend, Chris, from my previous job, and his wife Julie at the 16^th Street Mall, which is a really cool place in downtown Denver with great shops and restaurants and huge pots of gorgeous flowers all along the streets.

We left Colorado Springs and spent a night just outside Albuquerque.  We arrived in Surprise, AZ, just northwest of Phoenix, where they were forecasting monsoon rains and flash flooding.

OK, now we know it’s us.  In Illinois, we had two or three bad storms with tornado sightings.  In Kansas City, we had flash flood warnings off and on for a week.  When we came back to Texas, more flash floods.  In Arkansas we had to evacuate the campground because of rain  and now in Phoenix, which gets less than 6 inches of rain a year, more rain and flash floods.  The rain, however, never happened here in Arizona and the weather has returned to its customary HOT.  You know, they say it’s OK because it is a dry heat.  Well, 100 degrees is 100 degrees, dry or wet.  But the desert and mountains are beautiful.  The view from the passenger seat of the F350 was spectacular on the drive from Colorado to Arizona. 

Except for an Indian reservation in northern Arizona, the state does not “spring forward” or “fall back”.  For some reason, this time change has really messed with our minds. 

This is an “over 55” park and has amazing amenities.  Jim and I have frequented the fitness center which is huge and very well equipped.  Not sure one week of fitness will help but it won’t hurt either. 

No trouble finding the TV satellites in the southern sky at this park.

As you can probably tell, Jim and I “tag team” the writing of this blog so some of it is from his point of view and some from mine.   But he gets to choose the pictures so now it is his turn again.

 

 

 

We'll spend two more weeks here in Phoenix, then a month in Tucson before heading back through Texas to Arkansas where we'll get some work done on the vacation house, spend Thanksgiving with the family and then down to Florida Dec. 1 to spend the winter in Ruskin again. 

Arkansas!

August 6

Well, we did indeed get to spend time with old and dear friends while parked in Aledo, Texas at Cowtown RV Park.  The park was very accommodating.  When we got all hooked up, we noticed we couldn't open our front awning, so a guy came the next morning and lopped off a bunch of tree limbs until we could open our awning.

 

I had lunch with Wanice and as a bonus, she took me to visit her sweet mom, Janice Lane.  I had worked with Janice before I met Wanice and I have known Wanice for almost 40 years so I’ve known Janice longer.  What a treat! Wanice and Mike, Dale and Vicki and Jim and I went to Steve and Debbie’s house for dinner one night.  There were a lot of years of friendship gathered there that night.  Wanice brought a picture taken at her house in April, 1980, of the four of us pregnant so we all lined up and took another picture of the four of us today.  All the babies are grown and have babies of their own now. 

 

Brian, Jim and I went out for lunch on fathers’ day and then we went to an indoor go cart track.  Jim and Brain are all about driving fast.   I started to take a picture of the final board showing where they finished and Brian told me to wait because he would be at the top next time……and he was….the next two times.  The boy likes to speed!

 

We also took in a Ranger game while we were in the metroplex. 

 

When we left Texas we were driving into a storm so we stopped for the night in Oklahoma at WinStar Casino.  They have an RV park and the first night is free.  Well, we only needed one night so that worked out great! Then on to Fayetteville, Arkansas, or as Jim said, “returning to the mother ship”. Jim and I lived in Fayetteville for the first three years of our marriage while he attended and graduated from The University of Arkansas.  On this trip, we contacted some friends who live in Springdale and had dinner with them.  Don and Jim went to high school together in Mountain Home and I worked with Don’s wife’s mom at Wal-Mart Stores in Bentonville when it was a very small operation, 1971-1974. Her mom was Sam Walton’s secretary for many years. 

 

And now we are at Lake Norfork in Arkansas.  This is the lake where Jim’s mom and dad owned a marina while Jim was in high school and Jim’s whole family fell in love with this lake.  We camped here many times with our kids over the years always meeting up with other family members.  I must say I am REALLY glad we are not in a tent this year.  The rain has been relentless. 

 

We camped first at Cranfield Park.  On July 10, we were to go to Fayetteville for a wedding of the son of some old friends from Fort Worth.  That morning a park ranger came to our door and told us we had to be out of the camp by 3:00 that afternoon because the lake was coming up so fast that the only road in and out would be under water by later that day.  Most of the people packed up and went home.  Well, that isn’t an option when you are camped in your home.  Kathy, Jim’s sister, called her church and asked them if we could park in their parking lot.  So we packed everything up (which seems to take a couple of hours no matter how many times we do it) and parked at the church.  Then we packed all the food in coolers and an extra freezer at Kathy’s house, and went to the wedding.  Saw some great friends there and spent the night at a hotel.  Returned to the RV the next day but couldn’t move to our next camping spot until Sunday.  So we camped for a day or so with no hookups AND under attack from some renegade ants who came inside and started making their homes in our carpet.  Then we moved to Bidwell Point Park and, in spite of the rule allowing only two weeks at one park, we have been here for four weeks……….due to the fact that the spot we had reserved at another park was also under water. Did I mention the relentless rain?

 That's the road to the campground, which was cut off by rising water.

We have been quite busy during our time here. Jim, of course, works every day, family from Illinois came for a week,

The gang by the lily pad

Jake wondering, "How am I able to float without a noodle?"

"Pops" and little Millie fishing

I got food poisoning and was sick for a week and a half, we (OK, Jim) stained both decks at the vacation rental we own here with Jim’s sister,

 

 

his sister and I painted the kitchen cabinets in the vacation house, we went to karaoke night twice at the Elks Club (Jim does a mean Garth Brooks), we spent as much time as possible on the lake, Jim learned to drive a zero turn lawn mower,  we all worked one night to paint the building where our nephew has his business, 

and we went to Branson, Missouri.  We attended three shows in Branson.   All were really good.  There was one that was a show of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons songs.  Three of the singers and all of the dancers were from the UK.  The young man who did the high notes was quite amazing. 

Oh yeah, and while in Arkansas we did another thing…..ate at Arby’s.  Not a big deal, right?  EXCEPT that we discovered peach green tea.  SO yummy.  Now we are hooked. If you haven’t tried it, by all means, do!

It is a bit strange being in the same place for so long,


but we wanted to spend some quality time with the boat and, fortunately, it has run perfectly.  We have been docking it at the marina that Jim’s parents owned all those years ago.  It is still owned by the people who bought it from them in 1971.  We've had some beautiful days, gorgeous sunsets and moonlit nights.  That's what keeps bringing us back.

 

 

Today is our 44^th wedding anniversary.

 

Tomorrow we go back to Texas where we will leave the truck and the RV and fly to London to see our precious grandbabies and those two people with whom they live. J  It has been six months since I have seen them and I am suffering severe separation anxiety. 

 

And, honestly, we don’t know where we are going after that.  We know we will be back in Arkansas for a while in November to do a bit more work on the house and on December first we begin our winter sojourn in Florida where we hope to keep warm.  We had planned to go to Colorado after London, but we are having trouble finding an RV park with availability.  So there may be some wandering going on for awhile.  We’ll let y’all know where we end up.  Maybe at YOUR house. J