Eureka! (Springs, AR) 10-14-11

     I was going to say that it will probably take a while for us to get back into the swing of being on the road, but the truth is, we slipped back into our lifestyle very quickly and effortlessly.  Already our plans are changing daily- just the way we like it.  If we really wanted to stick to the plans we made, of course, we would, but we usually enjoy the fact that we can change them at will.   Our original idea was to go to Branson, MO and meet up with some friends, but they didn’t go to Branson.  They went to Eureka Springs, AR instead.  And so, here we are in  Eureka Springs, relaxing and having a great time with our Escapee friends.
   The other night we all made a dish and congregated at our trailer to enjoy an awesome Mexican dinner, complete with Margaritas ( of course) and something different that we all tried.  Paul and I love to cook with Hatch Chilis, and we found, along our travels, a wine made with them, so we bought it.  We finally opened it the other day and all 6 of us tried it and decided that it wasn’t terrible!     

    Eureka Springs looks like a very interesting little town, but Paul and I have only done a drive by type of exploring.  Maybe some other time we’ll spend a day walking around investigating what the town has to offer.  The terrain here is very hilly and the roads are very “twisty” which makes for an interesting, if not challenging, drive (especially at night).  I love this little suspension bridge, but I am glad Paul does the driving. There wasn’t much room for the dually on this one!

   Yesterday we ventured up to Branson for the day, which was about a 60 mile ride, but with these lovely roads, it was almost an hour and a half drive. We had tickets to see “The Six”. the #1 show in Branson for 2011.  The Six are six brothers who perform together, using only their voices for not only the singing, but all  the instrumental sounds. The show was pretty good, since I think we are all easily entertained!


      Once the show was over we had to check out the Tool store whose reviews said it was “SO MUCH BETTER than Harbor Freight Tools”.  I am not sure any of us would agree with that, but each of the guys did leave the store with a bag of stuff, so I think they enjoyed the hour they spent in it!
    We topped of the day with a trip to Branson Landing and dinner at the White River Fish House.
Today the weather has changed drastically, from 80 degrees two days ago, to 37 degrees last night.  It’s still in the 40s out there today, and the wind is whipping!

DRV factory (10-11-11)

                                                                 Two weeks prior to our appointment at DRV, we emailed them a list of issues with the trailer, so they would have an idea of what would be required when we got there. We also requested that Scott work on our trailer, if possible.  He did the work the last time we were there and we were very impressed with his abilities, attitude and knowledge.  He worked hard to make sure we were satisfied with his work.  Sure enough, when we got there, Scott was waiting for us, with our list in his hand.  One of the things I like about DRV is that they let you hang out in your trailer all day while they work on it, as long as you don’t get in the way.  For us, that means that I sit around all day and Paul follows Scott around, helping him, making suggestions, and asking for scraps of wood etc. for future projects.
One of the problems with the trailer was an area that had apparently been fixed by the factory before we got the trailer, but the gel coat was missing on the fiberglass exterior, which meant that it would age and yellow at a different rate from the rest of the trailer.  Our brilliant idea was to add a new paint “swoosh” in a dark color (DRV calls them “eyebrows”), instead of trying to fix the gel coat.  So, now we can say our trailer has a custom paint job!

 

 

One of the other things we needed them to do was to find our speaker wires for our outdoor speakers.  It took Scott a while, but he did find them, so now we have our outdoor speakers!   

All in all, it didn’t take them as long as we thought to get all the fixes done.  It was a little frustrating that we had so many issues, but now we feel pretty good about the trailer.  I had to laugh at one point, as Paul told Scott that one of the creative solutions he had for a problem was fine with us, since we’re “easy going”.  Scott looked at me, and I looked at him and I give him credit that he didn’t laugh out loud.  I will say that Paul IS easy going in some ways although anyone who knows him knows how meticulous he is as well.

Anyway, we have left the factory and have made it as far as Missouri.  We are headed to Arkansas to spend a few days with some fellow fulltimers.

Winding down in Michigan (10-8-11)

        As they say, all good things must come to an end.  We are entering our last few days of our 5 week stay in Michigan. Since the wedding we've spent a little time with the kids , but more time with friends.  We had a great time last Sunday- we went for a 15 mile bike ride with Rick and Karen, then went to a pub to watch the Lions win against the Cowboys! We've had dinner with some friends and lunch with others. 
      As usual, Paul's been busy modifying things.  Since he has access to more tools here he is taking advantage of it. Friends of ours gave the kids a dining room table and chairs, but the table was really too big, so Paul cut it down for them. And of course he did it in such a way that they can still add the leaf in when they have guests!  He swapped out our shower set up and installed the new Delta  (pretty nifty) set up that we paid big bucks for.  We can control temperature and water pressure separately now, which makes a huge improvement! Since we have the sewing machine, he cut down the comforter from a king to a queen and modified the bottom sheet to be able to add a bungee cord (to keep it tighter). The last time I used a sewing machine, I was 14, so I sure am glad he likes to sew! 
       Now that we’ve  taken care of the last of the doctor appointments and both got a clean bill of health, we will take the final steps to become Texas residents by switching our health insurance and our official address with Ford Motor Company.  Then the only thing left to do will be to get my driver’s license, once we get to TX.
      Yesterday we met a couple who are interested in buying a new Mobile Suites.  They live in the area, so I had invited them over to take a look at ours, in a more relaxing environment than an RV dealership with a salesman standing over you.  We spent two hours showing them around and just chatting. It was actually fun for us.  They are still in the “note taking” stage, one that I remember too well, and have yet to tour the factories, so they aren’t quite ready to make a final decision.
     In the next few days we’ll try to see Jess and David  a couple of times before we leave, and we’ll go through the trailer to make sure everything we want back in storage made its way there.    From here we head to the DRV factory to get more work done on the trailer, and if we can get out of there fast enough, we hope to meet up with some friends in Branson MO.  After that, we may head to Hill Country in TX, or, we may go the other way and head to New Orleans again.  We’ll see!  I look forward to being back on the road with no plans whatsoever, but I know that i will really miss my daughter.  I got used to having her around!