Change of Plans & Weather

We had planned on moving out on Wednesday morning but a few events have come up and we have modified our plans.  Wednesday weather forecast didn't look that great with winds in the 25-30mph range and I really don't like to drive in weather like that.  All you need is a stronger gust to hit us broadside and the motor home acts like a sail on a boat.  The closer to the next campsite, the worse the weather forecast was.  Since we don't have a time schedule, we decided to wait until Friday to leave the park.  As they say, RVers schedules are written in jello.

This afternoon we went from a sunny sky with puffy clouds floating by to small rain showers.  It looked worse than it was but it cooled down and we got some nice photos.  They don't do justice to what it really looked like, but I thought I'd share them with you.

It was raining on the Rincon Mts in the background and it looked like it was coming down in force.  I love the smell of rain on the hot roads and soil with all the ozone particles in the air.  Life is good.

Grant called us today to tell us that his short story on Gettysburg was selected from his school to be included in a book of stories.  His school is part of an international system with schools in 14 countries around the world.  After reading his story it isn't a surprise that it made it to the finals.  You can read the story in a previous blog of mine if you are interested.

Short-Story-By-Grandson Grant  

His proud mother wrote this on her Facebook page.

4,000 submissions from
35 schools spanning
14 countries and only
30 winning short stories....and
Grant is one of those winners!
SO happy for him, and so very proud!

I see where Ron & Dee C. are spending the night in Santa Rosa, NM after driving most of the day.  It is a 500+ mile drive to Santa Rosa and it looks like they are in a hurry to get back to the cold weather in Illinois.  Hey, slow down and see some sights out there you guys.  Plus, now I have to actually go out and buy the newspaper if I want to read it.  You would have thought they had planned ahead and this burden wouldn't have been dropped on me.  Some people!  Have a safe trip you two.


That was our day, how was yours?

Tiffin - Red Bay, AL Day 1 & Grant's Birthday

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANT

Our grandson Grant is celebrating his 12th birthday today and Larry Jr. & Jane will have a small celebration with him.  Later this month there will be a bigger celebration and we hope to be there for the event.  We will watch the fun, but not participate in the strenuous part of it.  Laser tag.  I would be "it" from the first second.  Hope you have a great day Grant and we will see you soon. 

We were put into a dry camping spot last night since the campground is full of others waiting for service.  There are some people just camping here and not waiting for service, but their numbers are few.  

The Tiffin service guy came by this morning and went over our job list.  There are a couple big items and a number of simple items that need to be repaired.  He said they have an express service and they assign two techs to work on the unit for three hours and go down the list in the order we want the jobs completed.  In addition, there are three tasks that Tiffin is doing on the units when they are in the shop which don't count toward the three hours.  Confusing?   Well, if we don't take the express service, we could be here until Memorial Day and I'd like to avoid that.

Even with the express service, it may be early next week before they can get us in for the repairs.  That gives new meaning to "Express" but it is what it is.  The slow pace of living in this neck of the woods most likely contributes to work being done in a timely manner.

One good thing about being in the campground is that you get to chat with other Allegro Bus owners and pick their brains on what to look for and expect.  I've already talked to a neighbor down the line and he's been a wealth of knowledge since he's owned three Tiffin products and is very tech oriented.  Now if I could just remember all these helpful hints and recall them when needed.  Looks like a notebook will be necessary to keep track of the hints.

We found out an easy way to remove the covers from the a/c intake vents and cleaned all the filters in the morning.  Pine Sol was used and now we have a fresh pine smell in the RV.  Makes me want to go camping! 

We got a call at 12:30 and they had a full hookup campsite waiting for us.  We are right on the old runway and sitting here with about $25 million worth of luxury motorhomes.  Whew, that is a lot of money.

We ate out at a local steakhouse in Red Bay this evening and had a nice meal.  I had the catfish filets and Gerry had shrimp.  Yes, I know it's a steakhouse, but we preferred the shrimp and fish.  The waitress said that about 70% of their business comes from Tiffin RV owners and they come from all over the country.  We ordered a Key Lime Pie for takeout and just finished it off.  It was great.

The first night we were here we parked very close to the warehouse at the Tiffin service area and couldn't get any tv reception over the air.  Since we moved, we have picked up over 10 stations, including CBS which has Gerry's favorite shows, NCIS, NCIS LA and Golden Boy.  What a relief for her.