9/5/2017

An RV day from…….

Today we rose early to drive to Milwaukee, WI to pick up the motorhome from the engine shop where we had warranty work completed. We left early so that we would have time to stop in Dousman and get water from their artisan well. We have saved 9 gallon containers to fill with water. We were lucky and thee was not a line at the well!

After getting our water we headed for the Cummings shop to pick up the motorhome. Everything went great for the first hour of the drive home and then BLAM the front passenger tire blew and took the front side off the RV. It also blew the tiles off the steps on the inside of the RV! What a mess! Duf was amazing controlling the RV and getting us off the highway. 

Surprisingly Duf was very calm and called our insurance and they helped us find a place with an RV tire. RV tires are hard to find, most places have to order them, but we found a place with a used Michieln tire he would come and install so we could drive there and get a new tire. While we waited Duf unhooked the Jeep and got us some lunch. The installer arrived 25 minutes later, installed the tire, and we were on our way 30 minutes later. 

I followed Duf in the Jeep so that we would not put any undue stress on the new but used tire. We were on highway 43 going about 60 mph and BLAM the front tire on the drivers side blew! I saw it blow and it was just like in the cartoons when you see the air come out. Pieces of the finder flew across the highway and hit passing cars. The RV veered to the left and into the other lane a bit but again Duffey amazingly controlled the RV and got off the highway.

Again we put out our cones and called the same tire man to bring us another tire. He found it hard to believe our bad luck, found another used tire, and sent another guy out to install the tire. Before the installer arrived a police officer came and parked behind us with his lights going and traffic did use the left lane so they were not so close to us. The officer also took Duffey’s license and ran it and found nothing! This time it was an hour before the installed arrived and 40 minutes before the time was fixed. The officer was kind enough to stay with his lights on all the time we were there.

Again Duffey drove the RV and I followed in the Jeep. We drove to the Flying J in Roscoe only to have our bad luck continue. Their fuel pumps  were not pumping and their water at the dump station did not work! We decided to leave the RV there for the night and try again in the morning.

Nappanee, IN

We had to drive to Nappanee, IN today to get the inverter for our motorhome repaired. The inverter weighed 180 pounds so it was going to be hard to ship.  Duf decided it would be easier to take it out and drive it over to IN. 

We left home at 2:30 and hit downtown Chicago around 3:30 AM. We thought we would miss all the rush hour traffic, but we were wrong, it was just like mid-day in Chicago. I hate traffic and the tension so I slept and Duf successfully fought the Jeep through the traffic made up mostly of semis. When we got to Indiana we hit construction and roads closed with detours, but we still arrived in Napanee about 4 1/2 hours after leaving home.

Upon arriving we found Solar Energy Systems right away but the sign said the office was closed. We drove around back and Al, a Amish guy, came out and spoke with us. He told us the office was in a big meeting, but he had heard Brian talking about our part and he was sure he would be the one fixing it. Since Al was just waiting for the meeting to end he took the inverter in to diagnose and begin working on the problem.

While Al was working we had a delicious breakfast in an Amish restaurant. After breakfast we walked all around town checking out the Epic Art Adventure traveling Statue display. The statues were amazing and looked like real people doing normal things.

While we were on the hunt to find all the statues Al called to say he had fixed our inverter and we could pick it up.

We returned to SES and Al brought out the inverter. We had to pay the $795.00 but Entegra said they would reimburse us. Al asked if we had noticed the new statues around town and we discussed them. He told us a funny story about his wife. His wife drove him to work the other day, in their buggy, and she saw the guy taking a picture and wondered if he was taking a picture of an Amish person, they do not like this. Al said he acted real tough and pulled their buggy over as if to confront the photographer. His wife was getting upset, but then she realized it was a statue and hit him in the arm! 

When we left we noticed Al’s horse and buggy parked in the parking lot right along with the cars.

On the return trip We hit Chicago around 1:00 and it was just as busy as it was at 3 AM and the traffic was still mostly semis. Again, I napped as Duf fought the traffic. We were home before 2:30.

 Cheapest and tastiest breakfast for two ever!

The word Budget should have been the clue

On our way home from FL in March a lady without a license, driving a car that was not hers, and with minimum insurance drove across three lanes to hit us. The highway had access to drive across and she was texting and just blew across two lanes and in front of a semi that almost wiped her out slamming into the side of our motorhome. 

When we arrived home our insurance said they would take care of us and then get what they could from her small insurance policy. She destroyed the back 20 feet of our motorhome, aqua hot, running lights and one tire.

The Insurance has premiere vendors and we were informed that if we took it to their premiere Coach Care vendor in Janesville, WI the work would be showroom condition and with a lifetime guarantee. This sounded great and against our better judgement we took it to this vendor. The vendor is Budget Truck and Auto Repair and the word Budget just did not sound like a quality place. Boy were we correct.

It is now September and we are still trying to get the coach fixed. The basement doors they replaced are crooked and dented, the paint is a close match but has dust specks, bubbles and runs, the entire job is faulty. We were told things would be checked, but when we asked they forgot to check the aqua hot and forgot to balance the tire and on and on. 

Last week we met with Budget and our Insurance rep and when Duf asked if that was the BEST JOB they could do Alex said No but he felt it was what the insurance company desired. The insurance representative did not like this response. Duf clarified by asking, “So you are saying my insurance prefers you do a bad job at full charge?” Alex realized he was trapped and shrugged.

The following day the Insurance Representative met with Alex at Budget and went over things. They got on the same page and he informed us Alex would call later that day. We waited two days and finally Duf emailed the Insurance Representative to inform him Alex had not called us. About an hour later Alex called and said he had been busy, but he could schedule us in two weeks and would need two weeks to fix the RV. 

I told him that would be fine, but Alex kept asking me if I would have enough time to pack to go to Nashville for our first grandchild. I assured him I only needed hours to be ready to leave and we wanted the appointment. Alex suggested we might be cutting it close more than once and I got the idea that maybe he hoped we did not return to Budget. I took the appointment.

We are down to the wire with no faith in Budget. I am encouraging Duf to call a place we took the other RV and had quality work completed. I feel if they could get us in the insurance would have to pay them to fix Budget’s poor job.

Home and Football

August 25, Friday

We got up at 3:30 AM so that we could leave by 4:15 and it was already 85 degrees outside! We headed to the Mesa airport and were shocked at the amount of traffic at 4:15 in the morning. We observed many construction workers already working and figured they must get off before the sun comes up and the heat cranks up.

On the way to the airport we stopped at Einstein Bros Bagels for my first delicious bagel sandwich. I now love bagel sandwiches!

Our flight was on time and it was scheduled to take 3 1/2 hours and it only took 2 1/2 hours. We were flying at over 512 mph! 

We arrived in Rockford and stopped at Aero for lunch, came home and showered, and headed to Hononegah for the football game against Guilford. Phil had been a loyal Guilford student, football quarterback, teacher and coach until at the end of last school year when they decided to bring in a coach that was a friend of the AD. They let Phil and the other coaches go and hired the AD’s friend and then the friend decided to not take the position so they were forced to find someone else because the fired coaches were to mad to return. Phil ended up getting hired at Hononegah as a coach and loves it so far. The JV game was a blow out with Hononegah scoring so many points that they had a running clock and Honoegah played all their players and even took a knee so as not to continue to score. The varsity score was Hononegah 56 and Guilford 14. Phil felt sorry for the players but felt really good that he beat them.

We started the day at 3:30 in 85 degrees and ended the day after the football game at 61 degrees with a beautiful moon and start and a twinkle in Phil’s eye!!

DDD Restaurant and visit with Cousin

August 24, Thursday

We began the day at line dancing and walking 12 times around the gym; 6 laps one way and 6 laps the other way so our legs will not get uneven! After our walk Grandma danced a bit and then we left. We went to an investment place so they could sign some papers and then we went to lunch at a DDD restaurant named Thee Pitts Again. They had amazing BBQ ribs, chicken, brisket and turkey. With the bill they give Jelly Belly jelly beans! Cute idea and tastes great.

After lunch we drove to the White Tank Mountains and drove all around the mountains and took pictures. 

At 4 we met my cousin Tammy and her husband Keith at Luke AF Base for a tour. Keith was a Colonel in the AirForce and has been retired for a few years The tour was quite interesting. After the tour we headed for a Brewery, that had recently opened, for a delicious dinner. It is always great connecting with family and when the family is as large as mine we seem to have someone everywhere!

Luke AFB

August 23, Wednesday

We took a ride around town and then tried to have lunch at a DDD restaurant, but it was not open until dinner. Natalie wanted to visit a yarn shop and it was down the street from the closed restaurant so she was able to purchase way to much yarn.

We found a place to eat and then headed for the runways outside use AF base and next to the rose fields. We parked along the road and the jets came in to land right over our heads. What a rush it must be to pilot these jets. This area is also lined with huge fields of roses that have guards so that people do not steal the roses.