The weather was actually decent yesterday, so when Ray got home we took a ride. We didn't go far, but we got in some good practice and prep for longer rides. So much needs to be toughened up and strengthened.
The sun was shining, the rhodies are in bloom, and daffodils. The grass is still green and the sky blue for a change. We loved it! On the way home, we stopped by a new burger place, Broiler Bay. They have nice onion rings and decent burgers.
Norman was seriously bummed we didn't take him along. He loves the ride as much as we do. But we knew we'd stop for dinner at the end of the ride, so we didn't bring him. Although I think he'd wait quietly in the sidecar.
Ray took Clark out for a motorhome lesson and discovered the slide out on the passenger side won't slide again. Totally inoperative. So it's back to the shop for the mh on Monday afternoon. What a pain in the neck that (non)slide out is! This weekend, we'll take it out without the slide working and make do. The slide that's most important does slide, so we'll have room to move around. We're going up near Concrete.
Opened the windows for the first time in months yesterday. Fresh air!
Showing posts with label motorhome. Show all posts
Showing posts with label motorhome. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
The Demand for Motorhome and Motorcycle News...
will remain unmet for a while.
The motorhome is up at the dealership again, for an extended stay to repair and repaint the part of the hood that was damaged upon delivery. The selling dealership in CA, those blaggards, finally agreed to pay the cost of the repair. We've been trying to get it fixed since October 31, 2011. Should be done the end of this week or sometime next week if all goes well. And we plan on getting out sometime in April for a weekend.
But I have to tell you, I do not miss the behemoth parked in the driveway. It's so much easier to get in and out without that huuuuge wall sitting in half the driveway. Probably easier for all the neighbors too. I sure wish we'd get to the top of some motorhome parking waiting list. (we're on 2 lists)
As for the motorcycles, it is still snowing around here and is way too chilly to go out riding without a snowmobile suit and heated gloves and sox. Brrrr! I have not seen many motorcycles out at all so far. Just wait til the first sunny, dry and slightly warm day and they'll pop out like bees out a hive.
However, I can tell you that we are planning a weekend out in the mh soon, and are planning to attend both a Good Sam motorhome rally (in the arcane language of the Sammers, it's called a Samboree) in Moses Lake in late spring and a sidecar rally in Coeur D'Alene later in the summer. We are going back and forth about simply riding bikes and taking the motorhome for hauling bikes on a trailer and for feed and shelter. In general, I don't much favor trailering bikes to an event, but in this case, the mh would be handy. Maybe I'll let Ray haul his bike and I'll ride mine. Unless the weather sux.
Jason and 2 friends borrowed the mh for a long weekend and went out fishing on opening day (for some species or other). They caught so many fish the first day they ended up throwing a bunch of fish back because they had more fish than they wanted to deal with. So wouldn't you know? The remainder of the weekend, nary a fish to be had outside of the Safeway.
Clark and 4 friends will borrow the mh during the Ides of May for an overnight casino trip. Cheaper than paying for the casino hotel, even with gas and propane refills, Clark says. And of course, they can cook for themselves, which is bound to be way better than casino food.
So, if you had a motorhome, would you buy a motorhome site in a single membership park when you already have a membership to all the parks? It would get the mh out of the drive and give us an out of immediate area meeting spot in case of natural disaster. Of course, that assumes the roads are driveable and in an earthquake, who knows? But we can buy a site in any of the Thousand Trails/NACO/Leisure Time resorts....What do you think?
The motorhome is up at the dealership again, for an extended stay to repair and repaint the part of the hood that was damaged upon delivery. The selling dealership in CA, those blaggards, finally agreed to pay the cost of the repair. We've been trying to get it fixed since October 31, 2011. Should be done the end of this week or sometime next week if all goes well. And we plan on getting out sometime in April for a weekend.
But I have to tell you, I do not miss the behemoth parked in the driveway. It's so much easier to get in and out without that huuuuge wall sitting in half the driveway. Probably easier for all the neighbors too. I sure wish we'd get to the top of some motorhome parking waiting list. (we're on 2 lists)
As for the motorcycles, it is still snowing around here and is way too chilly to go out riding without a snowmobile suit and heated gloves and sox. Brrrr! I have not seen many motorcycles out at all so far. Just wait til the first sunny, dry and slightly warm day and they'll pop out like bees out a hive.
However, I can tell you that we are planning a weekend out in the mh soon, and are planning to attend both a Good Sam motorhome rally (in the arcane language of the Sammers, it's called a Samboree) in Moses Lake in late spring and a sidecar rally in Coeur D'Alene later in the summer. We are going back and forth about simply riding bikes and taking the motorhome for hauling bikes on a trailer and for feed and shelter. In general, I don't much favor trailering bikes to an event, but in this case, the mh would be handy. Maybe I'll let Ray haul his bike and I'll ride mine. Unless the weather sux.
Jason and 2 friends borrowed the mh for a long weekend and went out fishing on opening day (for some species or other). They caught so many fish the first day they ended up throwing a bunch of fish back because they had more fish than they wanted to deal with. So wouldn't you know? The remainder of the weekend, nary a fish to be had outside of the Safeway.
Clark and 4 friends will borrow the mh during the Ides of May for an overnight casino trip. Cheaper than paying for the casino hotel, even with gas and propane refills, Clark says. And of course, they can cook for themselves, which is bound to be way better than casino food.
So, if you had a motorhome, would you buy a motorhome site in a single membership park when you already have a membership to all the parks? It would get the mh out of the drive and give us an out of immediate area meeting spot in case of natural disaster. Of course, that assumes the roads are driveable and in an earthquake, who knows? But we can buy a site in any of the Thousand Trails/NACO/Leisure Time resorts....What do you think?
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Random Stuff and Dire Thoughts
We took the mh out to LaConner in February and it was lovely. It poured rain half the weekend, but that's ok. We have a nice dry, warm mh to relax in. It was nice enough on Sunday morning that we took a walk around the preserve. There were only 60 rigs in the place that weekend, so it was super quiet. We could hear the birds and the wind in the trees and the waves on the beach. Lovely and restorative.
Jason will be taking the rig fishing next weekend. I have mixed feelings about that! I am glad to have it to share with him, but he a male and his idea of clean is not mine. I know he'll be careful with it and the fish will have to stay OUTside. He's not too sure yet where they are going, but somewhere on the dry side. Good thing we have chains for the mh...it is still snowing up in the mountains from time to time. Like all next week. They have plows up there, but do close for avalanche control. Even the sturdy Winnebago could not stand up to an avalanche. So we hope they come home safely, having hooked nothing but fish, and not each other's shoulders and rumps.
Finally, that dealership in CA has agreed to pay for the repair of the mh's hood. We got a second estimate that was even higher than the first estimate, faxed both to the CA dealer (again) and called Winnebago to complain again. Next day, lo and behold! Our repair was approved and the dealer up here notified. Those Corporate guys can surely shake the trees good. Yay! Winnebago Corporate! Thank you!
Ray and I are considering the purchase of firearms. Yep, you heard it here first. In fact, I suspect Ray will be home soon with a Ruger. I am undecided yet as to what kind of gun and even whether or not I will have a personal weapon. We are thinking it might be wise to have some "home protection" as things in this world do not seem to be getting better and occasionally, we will be sleeping in parking lots and possibly in some out of the way places where we will have no company in the form of other motorhomers or campers. And we'll still be in the house for a couple of years and who knows what might happen? (I hope you all have a goodly supply of toilet paper!)
I have seen the pictures of the devastation in the midworst. Tornadoes are one reason I do not live there any longer and do not care to live there in future! I can't even begin to think what one does when everything is gone but splintered trees and a huge pile of house debris. If I lived in the midworst, I'd surely have me one big, deeeeep storm shelter. And plenty of TP. Other than that, what does a family do to prepare for having the family home exploded by a tornado?
There are other things to prepare for though. Loss of income, disability, food shortage, snowstorms and ice storms, crop failures, electrical outages and even more. Toilet paper shortages! I know you are chuckling over TP shortages, but think about it! What's worse than being out of TP and you can't get to the store to get more because the snow is 3 feet deep in the streets and the store is closed anyway? Stores these days have just in time inventory systems, which means 3 days and the shelves are probably bare of anything edible. Sobering, isn't it?
So, are you prepared for whatever disaster is likely in your neighborhood? Have you ever even thought about it? What disasterous things do you feel are most likely for where you live? For us, we think there's a goodly chance of volcanic eruption, ice/snow/wind storms, earthquake. All those things could mean loss of shelter, water, loss of electricity and/or gas, food shortages, and the feared TP shortage. If there's no electricity, the ATMs and gas pumps don't work. If you have pets, do you have emergency supplies set aside for the pets? Can you feed yourself and your family for a week or more if something disastrous happens? Without gas and electric? If your house is destroyed or unsafe, where will you sleep? How will you keep warm?
We just received our Volcano Stove (aka Crisis Cooker). It will cook with propane, wood, charcoal. It takes about 6-7 briquettes to cook a meal with that stove. It bakes, broils, grills. And it will warm us up too. We think it's going to be fun to experiment with!
And there's your daily dose of gloom and doom. Don't just worry, DO something to prepare!
Jason will be taking the rig fishing next weekend. I have mixed feelings about that! I am glad to have it to share with him, but he a male and his idea of clean is not mine.
Finally, that dealership in CA has agreed to pay for the repair of the mh's hood. We got a second estimate that was even higher than the first estimate, faxed both to the CA dealer (again) and called Winnebago to complain again. Next day, lo and behold! Our repair was approved and the dealer up here notified. Those Corporate guys can surely shake the trees good. Yay! Winnebago Corporate! Thank you!
Ray and I are considering the purchase of firearms. Yep, you heard it here first. In fact, I suspect Ray will be home soon with a Ruger. I am undecided yet as to what kind of gun and even whether or not I will have a personal weapon. We are thinking it might be wise to have some "home protection" as things in this world do not seem to be getting better and occasionally, we will be sleeping in parking lots and possibly in some out of the way places where we will have no company in the form of other motorhomers or campers. And we'll still be in the house for a couple of years and who knows what might happen? (I hope you all have a goodly supply of toilet paper!)
I have seen the pictures of the devastation in the midworst. Tornadoes are one reason I do not live there any longer and do not care to live there in future! I can't even begin to think what one does when everything is gone but splintered trees and a huge pile of house debris. If I lived in the midworst, I'd surely have me one big, deeeeep storm shelter. And plenty of TP. Other than that, what does a family do to prepare for having the family home exploded by a tornado?
There are other things to prepare for though. Loss of income, disability, food shortage, snowstorms and ice storms, crop failures, electrical outages and even more. Toilet paper shortages! I know you are chuckling over TP shortages, but think about it! What's worse than being out of TP and you can't get to the store to get more because the snow is 3 feet deep in the streets and the store is closed anyway? Stores these days have just in time inventory systems, which means 3 days and the shelves are probably bare of anything edible. Sobering, isn't it?
So, are you prepared for whatever disaster is likely in your neighborhood? Have you ever even thought about it? What disasterous things do you feel are most likely for where you live? For us, we think there's a goodly chance of volcanic eruption, ice/snow/wind storms, earthquake. All those things could mean loss of shelter, water, loss of electricity and/or gas, food shortages, and the feared TP shortage. If there's no electricity, the ATMs and gas pumps don't work. If you have pets, do you have emergency supplies set aside for the pets? Can you feed yourself and your family for a week or more if something disastrous happens? Without gas and electric? If your house is destroyed or unsafe, where will you sleep? How will you keep warm?
We just received our Volcano Stove (aka Crisis Cooker). It will cook with propane, wood, charcoal. It takes about 6-7 briquettes to cook a meal with that stove. It bakes, broils, grills. And it will warm us up too. We think it's going to be fun to experiment with!
And there's your daily dose of gloom and doom. Don't just worry, DO something to prepare!
Monday, January 23, 2012
Dug Out, Melted, Gone
Well, we survived the Mondo Winter Storm Events in good order. Other people around Western Washington were not so lucky and loads of trees fell, closing roads and squashing homes, people, cars, and power lines. People got chased away and warned away for sledding down Queen Anne Hill. Big fines for sledding on city hills. Most of them didn't have sleds and the sled-substitutes were fun to see, but I do agree it's dangerous. In other places when there are snow warnings, people stock up on milk, bread and toilet paper, blankets and space heaters. Around here, it's huumus and salsa. Truly. It was in the Sunday paper. Ron Judd's "The Wrap".
There are still some people without power, and I am so sorry for them. It's been so cold.
It is warming up now and the snow in our yard is 99.9% gone. Unfortunately, it got cold enough to cause black ice from all the melt water runoff and even our neighbor got caught by ice this am. She escaped without injury to herself or her car, but she sure got a heart rate boost out of spinning thru an intersection. Yike!
Today has been sunny and in the mid 40s and so that's a treat for January. Norman has spent all day outside soaking up the sun. On the deck, as he does not like laying around in wet grass. He's a sensible dog and sticks to the nice dry deck.
Our downspouts froze solid and that was interesting when the rain came along. Poor ol' Ray's gloves got full of ice water before the job of clearing ice cores out of the downspouts was done. What a mess!
We're still trying to find a place to store the mh in a secure place. We don't want it in the driveway to suffer the fate of another mh we saw up at the dealership. (extreme vandalism costing the owner $70,000 to repair--and the mh was parked next to the owner's home) Better to have it inside a nice tall fence and patrolled. Golly people want a lot of money for a secure mh parking spot.
On MLK weekend we went out to Pacific Beach with Brett and Alayne. We had good times in spite of Alayne having a migrane all weekend. She was such a trooper and still played games. Brett once again, cooked and It Was Good. It snowed several inches on Friday night, and that snow stayed all weekend. If we'd planned on staying over Monday night, we would not have gotten home until the next Friday or Saturday because that's how long it would have taken to get the roads in between Pac Beach and home cleared out. That would have been fun! But then Ray would have spent vacation days on snow days that the office was closed, so I guess it's ok we came home. We were in the house all week anyway. Ray got cabin fever, I did not.
Justin has a permanent job at PSE that he starts on the 25th! Yay, Justin! I am sure it's a huge relief for him. It was for his father and I.
There are still some people without power, and I am so sorry for them. It's been so cold.
It is warming up now and the snow in our yard is 99.9% gone. Unfortunately, it got cold enough to cause black ice from all the melt water runoff and even our neighbor got caught by ice this am. She escaped without injury to herself or her car, but she sure got a heart rate boost out of spinning thru an intersection. Yike!
Today has been sunny and in the mid 40s and so that's a treat for January. Norman has spent all day outside soaking up the sun. On the deck, as he does not like laying around in wet grass. He's a sensible dog and sticks to the nice dry deck.
Our downspouts froze solid and that was interesting when the rain came along. Poor ol' Ray's gloves got full of ice water before the job of clearing ice cores out of the downspouts was done. What a mess!
We're still trying to find a place to store the mh in a secure place. We don't want it in the driveway to suffer the fate of another mh we saw up at the dealership. (extreme vandalism costing the owner $70,000 to repair--and the mh was parked next to the owner's home) Better to have it inside a nice tall fence and patrolled. Golly people want a lot of money for a secure mh parking spot.
On MLK weekend we went out to Pacific Beach with Brett and Alayne. We had good times in spite of Alayne having a migrane all weekend. She was such a trooper and still played games. Brett once again, cooked and It Was Good. It snowed several inches on Friday night, and that snow stayed all weekend. If we'd planned on staying over Monday night, we would not have gotten home until the next Friday or Saturday because that's how long it would have taken to get the roads in between Pac Beach and home cleared out. That would have been fun! But then Ray would have spent vacation days on snow days that the office was closed, so I guess it's ok we came home. We were in the house all week anyway. Ray got cabin fever, I did not.
Justin has a permanent job at PSE that he starts on the 25th! Yay, Justin! I am sure it's a huge relief for him. It was for his father and I.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Well, OK
Here we are and it's Rain Season. We are getting a good taste of it this week, with high winds and loads of rain on the way. O well, it had to start sometime.
Big news is we bought a motorhome. Yes, we did. We bought a behemoth gas sucker icon of conspicuous consumption. Tsk.
We went down to California for the CA RV Show, the largest on the west coast. We went to get in some warm weather (it was record breaking heat that week--nasty!) and to check out motorhomes so we might decided what we really liked and needed and get ready to watch for a nice used one in a few years when Ray retires. So much for that good plan.
Finding a nearly perfect motorhome (Winnebago Sightseer 33C) at a nearly perfect price, we jumped in with both feet. We are not too happy with the dealer we bought from, McMahon's. We love the RV, don't like them. I do hope they are not an indication of the quality of all Winnebago dealers! They are so slow, we still don't have the paperwork we need to register our mh here in WA. And we bought the thing mid-October! Grrrr They won't even talk to us, we just get shuffled to voice mails. Going to have to call Winnebago and complain if the dealer won't shape up.
But Winnie is a grand lady indeed, a lady of substance. In fact, she's large and heavy. It is just what we think we need for nice loooong trips when Ray retires. We still need to buy a trailer for the bikes, but all things must be done in order and in time of full wallets. Ours are now empty, as you can imagine.
We had hoped to get her out on the road just after Thanksgiving, but without a license, it's kinda hard. And what if something happened to her and we can't even prove we own her. Sigh.
And besides, Ray is still not quite recovered from his Great Hospital Adventure. So I am not sure we'd be going out this coming weekend even if we had the license. I wish we could! I think we will have to wait for the Christmas trip to Tucson. Ray's doc is not sure he'll feel up to it in another 2 weeks, so we promised we'd take our time and that I'd learn to drive it. Eek, scary! It fills the whole lane!!! For blocks!!! On the good side, the gas tank is so big we don't think we'll have to fill up but once every 2 days so I won't have to worry but every 2 days about running down gas pumps.
You had a nice little break from having to read our blog, but here it pops up again! Too bad for you, Reader(s).
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