Hello again,

One of the reasons we decided it was time for a new RV is that we (read Linda) wanted some more space. The 30' rig worked well when we were doing a lot of moving around. However, we are now spending more time in set locations. So having more room in the living area makes life more comfortable. The addition of two opposing slides makes a big difference. We still have Mel's desk (fully loaded as you can see from the photo). I have more counter space in the kitchen with an island. That was shown in the last post. I also had room to add back in a dining room table that we did not have in the last RV. With the addition of 5 feet I was also able to add a stacking washer and dryer. All the comforts of home.

Anyway when designing the RV I had a space between the refrigerator and Mel's desk. I was originally going to put a recliner in the hole but I decided it would stick out too far into the room since the slide out was only 18" deep. So I came up with the idea of a window seat. It has worked out well as a nest for the cat. Her bed has a window view and the hole down below gives her access to her litter box. The seat has a 110 outlet to accomodate her heating pad and her self cleaning litter box. This lady travels in style.

MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEARS

Everyone is probably wondering where we are and why the heck they have not heard from us. Some of you have even gone so far as to write and ask if we have falled off the earth (or the bar stool somewhere in Mexico). Sorry to say we are not in any place exotic. We are still in Junction City, KS attempting to take delivery of our New Horizons RV.

I last wrote after Thanksgiving indicating that we had moved into the RV. This picture was taken a few days later when we had an open house. We were happy to be in our new home although by that time we had amassed a check list of 73 items to be fixed. Some we small others not so small. We had numerous issues with the various electrical/entertainment units. The satellite TV worked in the LR but not the BR. The over the air antenna did not work at all since it had not been installed. The one that did get installed was faulty so another one had to be ordered. The furnace was not balanced between the BR & LR. There was a 10 degree difference. The icemaker did not work, etc ... So we presented the list and waited for the elves to appear. Some days they were there and others they were not. Part of the problem was that by that time there were 3 other new RVs that were being delivered and they had issues too.

Finally after 2 weeks I blew up and went to the head man who finally got action. By 12/17 we thought we were ready to go. The last thing Mel wanted to do however was weigh the RV loaded. Turns out we were close to our limits without any water. So no go. At this point we are waiting for new axles and a new hitch. So here we are until mid January.

The good news is that we love our RV and the weather while cold as been sunny for the most part. As I listen to the weather back home and in southern California I am glad to be in Kansas a the present time.

I am fighting with the blog at this time so I will post the pictures separately and see how that works.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ONE AND ALL.

Not everyone gets to have Thanksgiving dinner in a service bay on a picnic table. I must say however, that the ladies did a nice job of decorating complete with flowers and candles.

As you might have guessed we are still in Junction City, KS. I had hoped by this time to send you pictures of the new RV. However we are not quite ready to do that. So instead you get pictures of our Thanksgiving companions. There are three couples stranded here during the holidays. We did not do badly however. We had a turkey with all the trimming, washed down with wine and champagne.

But to bring everyone up to date. We left Federal Way on the 13th (fortunately ahead of the snow). Our first couple of days we encountered clear skies and roads. Then we hit Wyoming. As I feared the weather caught up with us there. Wyoming is high. Our campground, for instance, was at 6900 feet. Add to that it has typical plains weather which includes winds which go across the land with no barriers. Well it snowed during the night. Not much just and inch or so. Does not sound bad until you realized it was 20 ish and that the winds were gusting 40+. That is not a good combo when you are pulling 15,000 # behind you. We had to decend a very high and nasty pass between Laramie and Cheyenne. There were warnings for light trailers. We decided we were not light, but we did wait until 10 am before leaving assuming that the road crews would sand and the trucks would clear the roads. That worked for the most part. However, wind and any snow can make for some very restricted visibility. We made it through (very carefully) and were glad we did not wait for another day. The weather did not improve, but got worse. The new truck performed like a real trooper. The rest of the trip was cold, but uneventful. We pulled into Junction City late on the 18th. And here we still are.

The RV was suppost to be ready on the 19th. Well we have been through this before and we knew better. Even so it has been very frustrating. The rig has been in and out of the paint shop several times. When it is there nothing else can occur. Also there was a snafu on the backsplash tile which required the installed tile to be removed. We are currently waiting on the installation of the new tile. While all this is going on in the shop, we wait. The first time the rig was pulled out of the shop was yesterday. That gave us four days to load the RV before it goes back in the shop on Monday. I was very happy not to lose this time. It is going to take me time to figure out where to put everything since the storage space is different. Lots of challenges.

Anyway we did not get the storm that hit the PNW. Our weather here has been cold at night and clear during the day. It actually hit 50 today. I hope it holds. With luck we may make it out of here by next weekend. Our next travel challenge will be NM which is also high. So we do not want snow yet.

Happy holidays to all. We will keep in touch.

Current news

Can you believe it! We are on the road. I am writing you from Pendleton, OR. Yeh!!! That may not sound too exciting to most folks, but after all we have gone through it is news. What finally happened with Chevy is that they authorized the dealer in Bellevue to take a starter out of a new truck they had on the lot. Apparently to get a starter from the assembly line requires the assembly line to stop. Not a good thing. I sure hope that the dealer gets reimbursed because they were great. Anyway we had a frantic Friday loading the RV. Then we got on the road at 8:00 this morning. For those of you who know my habits, that is an unearthly hour.

So we are on our way. The weather today was cold and clear. No snow on the roads, no rain. Let us hope it holds. Most people would not be excited about going to Kansas, but to us it means that we have finally achieved our objective. It is only three days back to the southland from there so I will relax. My major concern about moving this time of year is the weather. The area of most concern is Wyoming/Utah which is mainly at 6000-7000 feet. Not a good thing in November.

So keep your finger crossed,

Linda & Mel

Guess what? It is Monday 11/8 and we are still in Federal Way. It's not for lack of trying. But luck is not with us currently. When I last wrote we had gotten our new Chevy 3500 duramax diesel and Mel was in the process of outfitting the truck with a new hitch and running boards. The truck was in the shop last Monday to get the do dads. When they went to drive the truck out of the service bay it would not start. This is a bit unnerving with a truck that had only 200 miles on it. The good part (if there is a good part) is that we were still at home and not out in Rupert, ID. The truck got towed to the dealership in Bellevue eventually. (With all the rain we had on Monday the tow trucks got stuck in mud). They then reported to us that the starter unit and fly wheel were broken. They had teeth missing. The dealer put out a call for parts and by Friday everything was installed but the starter. This truck is so new and the engine new that there we no parts yet available. They are going to have to get a starter from the assembly line and for that they need to go up the line to get authorization. As of today there was no word.

So here we are. I have been loading the RV by taking carloads of stuff over to it. I am still hoping to move by next Saturday but who knows. I have rejiggered my schedule to get to Kansas in 5 days, but that is not allowing for snow delays. In the meantime I work in the yard keeping up with the leaves, as weather allows, and wait.

Think good thoughts. We will let you know when we know something more.

Linda & Mel

Hello all,

I am a newbe at this blogging thing so I thought I would try the site out before we left home.

No we are not yet in the desert of El Golfo, but we do have hopes to be there by December. The picture is of our travels last year in our little Razer. Which we hope to see soon along with some sun. This fall has set records for rain. It reminds us why we go south.

As most of you know we are headed to Junction City, KS to pick up a new 5th Wheel before we head south. Thus the delay. Of course with a new RV you need a new truck (Chevy 3500 duramax diesel). It is being outfitted as we speak. So we should get out of here by Nov 7th if all goes well.

We will keep you posted.

Bye for now.