Then there is the refrigerator story! We originally ordered the gas/electric fridge. We had one that was a side by side and held a ton of stuff! The gas/electric arrived with a very small freezer on top, the refrigerator part was ok. We asked if they could order the new replacement RV with a side by side. Then we spoke to Mike and Sandy Adamson, friends that also have a Phaeton motor home. They have the all electric fridge with extra batteries. They had really wanted a gas fridge as well but they chose an RV off the lot. They had La Mesa put solar panels on the roof and they have been ok with it for the six months they have had it. So we ordered our second RV this way! So naturally it came with the same gas/electric fridge with the small freezer. The service manager told us that they are having problems with the all electric chewing up the batteries and he personally would not want the all electric. Of course I then asked him what I was supposed to do with all that food I had currently in my freezer that wouldn't fit in the small freezer! The sales manager then suggested they give us a freezer in the slide out for additional space. We all agreed, including Ted who had to give up some of his space for it!
On Friday we rushed around in the morning packing up the last few things and then we took the old RV to La Mesa RV where we were to sign papers, have a two hour walk through and transfer the items from old to new RV. We got there and the service department had done their checklist but not anything on our list including the new freezer. They said it had not come in. So again I ask, what am I supposed to do with all my freezer stuff.
We had originally ordered in April allowing plenty of time for them to get and process the RV and for us to repack the RV before going to an RV rally, we were hosting! Since we didn't accept the first one we were now out of time! Around 3:30 the Service Manager came out said fridge had arrived and they could get it installed! They also finished the other items that needed to be done. We then worked until an hour past closing time to empty our old RV into our new RV, and orderly enough that they would be able to drive it to Yuma the next day.
La Mesa put us up in an hotel for the night and we finally got subs delivered about 8:30 and practically fell asleep while eating them we were so exhausted. We got up early and were at La Mesa at 7:00 a.m. for our drive to Yuma. We stopped an had breakfast and got to Yuma around noon We signed the special form saying we took possession in Arizona (so we only have to pay our South Dakota 3% sales tax and licensing fees opposed to California fees, as we are residents of South Dakota)! Here we are in HOT Yuma picking up the RV!
Sophie too was excited about the new motorhome!
We took the motorhome back to Pio Pico Saturday evening. Our friend Peggy and her son Scott came over to see the new RV and brought pizza with them. The new few days are a blur! On Sunday our friends Jim and Della Crownover (long time motorhome owners) helped us get EVERYTHING out of storage and in our RV and their car...amazing! We went back to the campground and they helped us unpack on Sunday. We unpacked more all day Monday and still had 9 boxes when we started traveling on Tuesday morning!
The motor home is ready to roll so much faster than the fifth wheel and we got off around 8:00 a.m.! We made it to Kingman, Arizona on the first night. We unpacked a couple more boxes and fortunately the campground had taco night and we were able to eat without cooking or leaving the campground!
Wednesday morning we got ready to go at 8:00 a.m. again and our jacks would not go up. We waited until 8:30 and called La Mesa service, they were in meetings until 10:30. We then called the Tiffen factory in Alabama. They walked us through a few things and then told Ted how to raise them manually. They thought it might be a solenoid problem and gave us a few service numbers down the road to try.
We noted that La Mesa RV has a shop in Albuquerque, NM so we drove until 8:00 p.m. and made it to the campground across the freeway. In the morning we drove over there and found that they are not allowed to work on Tiffen products because there was already a Tiffen dealer in town when they opened shop! But, being a La Mesa customer, they would see what they could do. Of course Ted had tried to lower the jacks the night before and they still didn't work. We got there, they guy went out to look at them and they went up and down without a problem! Murphy's Law!
Good news and we were on our way to Chama, NM about a 3-hour drive. Every afternoon the clouds came in and most days we had rain, thunder and lightning and a rainbow!
When we came in on Thursday we parked in a space and then on Friday we moved to a different space. Our first space was a little tight but Ted had no trouble parking and Sophie enjoyed looking out the window!
When we moved to our new spot, we were putting out one of the larger slides and I yelled for Ted to stop. Some kind of silver thing had dropped out of the slide. It was one of the rollers. The roller looks okay and Ted can peek inside and see that the bracket looks okay but its not something we can fix. Fortunately it came back in and we will have to leave it in until we finish the rally. We have an appointment up by Salt Lake city to have it repaired!
We were in Chama until Tuesday. Thursday night I was happy to find out the plan was to go to the Cliffs restaurant. We've always have a great meal there and have been able to feed the deer. This year they weren't hungry but we still had a good meal! It was good to see everyone and catch up on what was going on. This year it is a smaller group of 12 plus the addition of a couple there in the park that joined the club!
On Saturday was the Chama Labor Day weekend arts festival. Very interesting and I got a new pair of sandals and earrings! Saturday night we cooked our steaks and everyone brought stuff to share.
We got the last of our boxes unpacked on Sunday and at 6:00 we had an ice cream social! After ice cream, the ladies played Liverpool Rummy and had a lot of laughs!
Monday morning Ted and I hosted an open house in our new Motorhome! We had pastries, fruit, orange juice, mimosas and Dom Perignon Champagne! All 14 showed up and at one time we had 12 comfortably inside at once. Not everyone had chairs but everyone seemed okay!
When I came back to the campground it had cooled down and it was pleasant enough to sit outside. So thats what Ted, Sophie and I did! We have a nice view from our site!
Later we all had dinner together in the Casino restaurant. They have a table for 10 and it's great for us. When we got back to the campground, we had a double rainbow (almost)!
In the afternoon we had "happy hour" at our place with some snacks. Unfortunately it was hotter with no breeze and after awhile the "biting" flies drove us inside...the casino! This time I was successful, came home with more money and a "happy camper"!
Today is another free day. I'm blogging and washing. Ted is going cross-eyed looking at the motorhome manuals! Tonight is an "Indian buffet" at the casino so we are all planning to attend!
Sorry it's such a long blog!
Loving our new home..."Ain't Life Grand!"
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