Making progress...

We are making progress, but are not finished yet…and are at the end of our second week in Red Bay!

Okay, last week we finally got to go in the bays…where the real work is done!  On Wednesday afternoon around 1:00 p.m. we got “the call”… “you have 20 minutes to go to Bay 32!”  Okay, we were ready in 15 and at the bay! 

Ted pulls into the bay and they immediately plug in the electricity.  They are huge bays and they tell us to open the slides.  They talked to us about what needed to be done and then they went to work.  One slide had a roller “fall out” when we first got the motorhome.  We wanted them to check it because in Utah they just bent the bracket back and put the roller in.  Also, we noticed that the cabinets no longer matched up at the top and bottom on that whole slide.  Ted also noticed that the roller was rubbing the bottom of the slide.  They put metal along the bottom of the slide so that the slide was protected.   For the cabinets, they said we needed to have spindles at the end of the cabinet to support the cabinets in the middle and this would be done at the cabinet bay.

Next was the bed slide rubber seal problem.  The rubber had gotten caught in the slide mechanism and ripped.  It was such a big tear, we could see light coming in from the outside!  That proved to be more difficult to get done but they finally managed to do it and we were out of there at 4:30.  The day is normally done at 3:30 so we were glad they put in overtime to finish the slide.  Since they were running late the supervisor was there and I asked where our paperwork goes from there.  He asked what else we had left and then told us we should be ready to show up at Bay 7 (Air Conditioning) when they called on Thursday, (we were second in line). 

We had the motorhome ready to go around 7:00 a.m. (just in case) and kept our eye on Bay 7!  As soon as the motorhome left I went in and asked if they were ready for us.  The guy said, sure come on in, even though he said he didn’t know if we were next or not!  The water from the air conditioner is supposed to be pumped down a tube inside the wall and out the bottom of the RV, which ours wasn’t doing!  They found the pump was not working and put in a new one!  It seems as though it is working now!

When he finished, I asked if I could go with him to the next stop, the cabinet shop, to see when they would have time for us.   The supervisor was gone but Billy in Bay 7 got the cabinet guy in Bay 25 to get us in first thing Friday morning!  So at 7:00 we were at Bay 25 and got the spindles put in and a touch up on one of the walls.  He also was able to even up the cabinets, that putting in the spindles didn’t correct!  Here is a picture of the three wood braces or spindles they added.  I think they look okay, Ted’s not so sure. 

View of spindles from the kitchen:

 

View of spindles from the living room:

So now it’s another weekend!  On Saturday Ted and I went to Fulton to Walmart and had lunch at KFC.  On Sunday we drove to Tupelo, Mississippi, about 50 miles to go to Pet Smart to get Sophie’s dog food and her heart worm medicine.  Unfortunately, they didn’t have the Banfield Vetinary service at that Pet Smart so we were not able to get her medicine.  We found a place with a patio outside to have lunch.  I went in and asked if we could eat out there, the young woman said sure.  I go to the car, we get Sophie out, a blanket to lay on, her water and her food.  Go in the patio and then I go inside.  Another lady is there and said “sorry we are not serving in the patio today”! Arrrrgh!  So we had a fast food lunch in the car and found the Starbucks, making Mom a happy woman and drove back to Red Bay, another exciting weekend!  Sophie found the drive relaxing as always.  She slept in the back seat on the way there and in mom’s lap on the way home! 

It looks like tomorrow we will get in Bay 19 (Body Shop) to have the shower buffed out.  It came with a lot of scratch marks on it.  We also have discovered a leak from our grey water tank.  It is a small leak that is going to be difficult to get to.  The water leaks into the sewer bay, but at least it is clean water!  So that will be a plumbing bay.  And we still have the tile and levels to do!  Will keep you posted on the Kercher Motorhome Saga!

More Sophie pictures.  We are in Bay 32 and she's guarding!

Finding Starbucks in Tupelo, Mississippi…”Ain’t Life Grand!”

The weekend in Red Bay, Alabama!

Friday night rolled around and we hit the 4th Street Grill Steakhouse in town.  No glass of wine...it's a dry county!  I had prime pork steak and it was really delicious.  Ted had teriyaki chicken with pineapple and said it was very good also.  We were really bad and had dessert too!  I had the carrot cake which was ok, the cake was good but icing (my favorite part) was marginal!  Ted had the brownie sundae and he thought it was delicious!

All over town they have these "sets" set up with dummies and props to imitate the town of Red Bay, like this one at the Steakhouse:

When we came home and it got dark, we had a cool moon.  It had an orange glow around it.  Ted said it was ice crystals that caused it.  It's difficult to see the orange glow but it looked like a Halloween moon to me!

So then Saturday rolls around and its the weekend in Red Bay!  We thought about a movie, hmmm nearest theater is 36 miles away (each way).  Seemed a little far.   Our neighbor here said we needed to go to the Rattlesnake Saloon!  He said it wasn't far...right, everything is far!  GPS said 23 miles and off we went.  We first drove right by it because all we could see were about 100 horse trailers and riders all over the place.  On the second pass we found the sign!  This restaurant is in the middle of nowhere!

We parked the car and there was a truck with benches on the sides of the truck bed waiting for us.  We climbed in and off we went for Mr. Toad's Wild Ride (Disney reference)!  You go flying down a hill sliding on the bench and then around a corner is a cave.  The cave has a huge opening and so they stuck a saloon and restaurant in it!  Its really pretty cool and it was a beautiful, cool fall day!

Here we go down the hill:

Patio where we had lunch, after the riders get done with their ride, this place will be packed this afternoon and evening:

Here's looking at the cave from the patio:

Here's the Saloon inside the cave:

Menu was kind of cute:

We hit the souvenir shop on the way out!  They had t-shirts, jewelry and miscellaneous stuff!  We just got some post cards!

Today we are just "hanging out".  We don't have an appointment for tomorrow but will check in with them in the morning to see when we might get in.

Having lunch at the Rattlesnake Saloon and Cave..."Ain't Life Grand!"

Currently residing in Red Bay, Alabama!

Red Bay, Alabama...never heard of it????  Well neither had we until we decided to buy a Tiffen Motorhome.  The town is on the northwest corner of Alabama about two miles east of Mississippi.  Many generations of Tiffen's are from this area. Bob Tiffen thought about building motorhomes but there was already a motorhome manufacturer in town.   When that guy went out of business, Bob Tiffen bought what was left of it which included 5 motorhome chassis'.    This happened in 1972 and the five motorhomes became his first 1973 models and as they say "the rest is history".  They currently build approximately 12 motorhomes PER DAY and each one takes approximately two months to build.

We arrived here Sunday afternoon, but let me tell you about our departure!  As I mentioned in the last blog it poured down rain on Saturday.  When we got ready to leave, one of our jacks wouldn't retract all the way again.  Ted went out and did them manually (as they taught him how to do back on August 28th when it happened before), but this time one jack remained down about two inches.  It wasn't enough to stop us from driving but it was enough for the warning alarm to go off continuously all the way to the factory...about a 3 hour drive!  Ted took off his hearing aid and that helped him, Sophie managed to sleep through it somehow and so I listened to the sound of the alarm and the music on the radio.  I think I was a little ditzy by the time we arrived!  Please ignore the slight tic I've developed!  LOL

We were not prepared for the number of motorhomes that are here for service!  On Monday there were 144 motorhomes here for service.  The campground has 79 full hookups and another 22 with water and electric or just electric!  It is amazing.  They have 49 service bays!  It is staggering.  We were dry camping (no hookups) for two days along with a bunch more motorhomes and then put in a full service site on Tuesday.  On Wednesday we had four guys in working on all of the items that didn't need a service bay such as the dinette table not be able to go down to make into a bed, night shade not working, air conditioning sensor not working correctly, some caulking in the shower and a few other items.  

The rest of the items will need to be done in a "service bay".  Our jack did start functioning by Tuesday when we changed places so they will look at the wiring to see where it is shorting out when it rains.   The water that comes from the air conditioners is pumped down into a tube and goes out at the bottom.  Our pump appears to not be working so it runs off the roof.  We also have a rubber seal around the bed slide that has torn that they will have to replace and we are having them re-grout the floor tile.  It is different colors in spots and in places doesn't look like it has any grout  at all.  There are a couple of other minor things they will need to do.  We are not sure when we will be out of Red Bay!

On Monday we went over and took the factory tour.  It is 1 1/2 hours long and you walk through a large part of the factory.  They showed us where they make all the cabinets and carpentry items, showed us the chassis and engine, showed us how the walls are put together and put on the chassis,  We went very close to a production line in every stage of assembly.  We also went on some of the other new models and looked at what they had, including the Zephyr which is the top of the line!  It was an interesting tour and they allowed us to take pictures!

Chassis (but not a Phaeton)

Chassis with engine

Chassis from a different view

Adding a wall to the chassis

Starting to fill in the chassis

Adding the water tank under the chassis

Interior walls added to the chassis (probably fire place)

Adding a few more things to the chassis

One that is being driven to the paint booth

The finished product!

They start pretty early here, employees start arriving around 6:00 a.m.  Sophie and I are usually up and out for the sunrise and the start of all of the activity going on around here.  Some of the sunrises have been really pretty!

Tiffen employees 1500 people from Red Bay and the surrounding towns.  There is a lot of activity going on with motorhomes coming and going to different bays until about 3:30 in the afternoon when all return to their campsite!  In town they appear to appreciate having us around buying groceries and eating in the restaurants!  Without Tiffen there are several towns around that would probably fail.

Sophie after a walk!

She's like, are you ready to go?

 Craig and Claire attended a wedding down in San Diego and took this cool picture!

Trent and his team, The Show, won first place at a baseball tournament in Temecula last weekend!  Trent pitched one game and they won 10-1 in five innings.  Trent is on the right, bottom row!

Motorhome life even waiting for service..."Ain't Life Grand!"

West Memphis, Arkansas

We had dinner with Shawna, Stephen, Kara and their daughter Sophia, Bill and Susie (Shawna's Mom and Dad) on Monday evening at Monical's Pizza...a tradition!  On Monday's all pizza's are $11.  We ended up with four thin crust pizza's and all of us got lots of left overs!  It was great seeing Bill and Susie.

On Tuesday night Stephen and his family came over and he barbecued hamburgers for us, with Ted keeping him company.  We had mac and cheese with them and home grown tomatoes!  Another good meal!  We had a fun dinner with Shawna and the kids, especially little Sophia!  Said our goodbyes and were ready to leave on Wednesday.

Shawna giving Sophie some love:

Sophie giving Shawna some love back!

 Todd getting ready to leave for the night shift!

It was a long drive but we made it down to West Memphis, Arkansas Wednesday afternoon.  The Tom Sawyer Campground right on the Mississippi River was really busy and we are on the back row but still have a nice view of the river.  The river is quite low and it appears to us that the barges aren't as long or as heavy as in the past.  It is still fun to watch them go by!  It is great except this year there are a LOT of mosquitoes!  From walking Sophie I have huge bits on my ankles :<(

Looking across the Mississippi from West Memphis, Arkansas to Memphis, Tennessee!

Barge traffic is constant!

Sophie and I have enjoyed the sunrises on our early morning outings!

While we have been here we got the oil changed for the first time on the RV!  We also went over to Memphis, Tennessee to get Sophie a bath!  I wanted to take her picture and I think she's looking at me saying WHAT Mom?

 Our nephew Craig ready for Octoberfest!

 His wife Claire (left) and her friend are also ready to celebrate!

We were going to the Mississippi River Museum today and it started pouring and we couldn't get out of the car so we came home and had a quiet day watching it rain.  Around 2:00 the rain stopped and the sun came out shining again!  We got a new neighbor this afternoon in another Phaeton.  When I came outside to walk Sophie, Betty asked me if we were going to or headed from the factory!  LOL  I said headed to and so they spent about an hour filling us in on things at Tiffen!  It was very helpful!

Well, today is Ted's birthday!  I need to stop blogging and make him his birthday dinner!

Celebrating life..."Ain't Life Grand!"

More eating...lots of good home grown food!

To take up where I last left off, Abe's Hideaway was a delight!  Three of us had the bourbon flatiron steaks.  They were so tender and delicious, one of the best steaks I've ever had.  Marilyn had the catfish.  Fortunately the head was cut off, it was a pretty big fish!  When we were finishing our meal we noticed it getting darker and darker and it wasn't because it was getting late.  There was a big storm coming in and it down poured with lots of wind!  Needless to say we ordered another coffee and waited until it was just raining...LOL!  

Friday morning we packed up and headed to Pesotum.  It's a small town south of Champaign.  Ted's cousin Shawna and her husband Todd have a big old farmhouse and allowed us to park in their yard.  They have electricity and water we can hook up to.  Ted maneuvered around the trees, rocks, light pole and clothesline and got us settled in!  We were greeted by Sarge and Miss Kitty, they were on guard duty!

Friday evening we went to their favorite Mexican restaurant in Tuscola.  Their two sons and their families joined us and it was a fun time!  Several of us had strawberry margaritas and they were pretty potent!

On Saturday we drove back over to Springfield to meet up with one of my former co-workers at the CPA firm.  Donna and I worked together for about eight years.  We always had a lot of fun when we were working together and it’s always a kick to catch up with her.  She had us laughing at her stories as always!

Saturday evening Todd barbequed chicken, we had fresh apples from their trees cooked with cinnamon, au gratin potatoes, and home grown tomatoes.  Everything was delicious!  Todd's son Stephen had been working on their tractor for them and got it running.  He took Kara and Sophia (1 1/2 for a ride)!

On Sunday we drove about 50 miles to Clinton, Illinois.  Some friends from Texas, John and Romola, were visiting her sister and some friends.  We met for lunch.  The first place we chose to meet was closed because they served alcohol and it was Sunday, so the government makes them close on Sundays.  We figure it might be their city government law.  Anyway, there was a popular place called the Shack.  It was pretty busy when we got there.  I’m thinking people choose it more for the price than the quality of the food.  The pulled pork sandwich and fries was $3.99, I had grilled cheese with bacon and tomatoes…$3.99!  They are famous for their burger and shakes.  Ted agreed that the chocolate shake was delicious!

Last night Todd barbecued pork loin steaks.  They were really good and we had sweet corn from their garden, some home made applesauce and some Texas toast!    For dessert we had homemade pumpkin ice cream.  It was really good, like eating pumpkin pie without the crust!

Sophie has been pretty mad at us for leaving her all the time so we are hanging out at home today with her.  We are having dinner with Shawna tonight.  Todd switches to the night shift 4:30 pm to 4:30 am, for two weeks.  He works at Cabot, one of the large employers in the area, in 12-hour shifts.  He works two days, has three off, works three days has four off.  Some kind of weird schedule like that!

We will leave here on Wednesday and make a stop in Memphis, Arkansas to get the motorhome oil changed, then to Red Bay Alabama to the Tiffen Factory.

Now for a sweet Sophie picture:

Home grown food..."Ain't Life Grand!"

We are in Illinois

We left South Dakota on Tuesday September 24th headed to Salina, Kansas.  We got there Wednesday afternoon.  We called our friends Katie and Gary and they invited us over for dinner.

Gary is my ex-husbands' Aunt's son!  After our divorce I remained close to Aunt Lucille and got to know her son and daughter-in-law!  They are great people and I'm glad we stayed in touch after Lucille passed away.  We had a fun evening and made plans for Friday.  Katie was having her church ladies over on Thursday night and Gary had a doctors appointment.  Unfortunately he has to have hip surgery on October 7th and wasn't feeling so hot.  For the last two years he was saying his hip hurt and his doctor treated him for a back problem!  Said he was just feeling his back pain in his hip.  He finally went to a new doctor and who knew right away that it was his hip.  Here's hoping the hip surgery will stop all this pain he's been having.

Friday night we went to Katie and Gary's grandsons' football game.  Cade is a Senior and plays on defense.  His younger brother is a sophomore and on the JV team but is Cade's backup if something happens to him and so he goes to the Varsity games as well.  This time they were winning by so much that near the end of the second quarter, the brothers got to play together!  In the second half Cole played Cade's position, as well as a few other second and third stringers!  Their team still won by a lot!

On Saturday we went over in the afternoon for dinner and conversation.  Sophie was happy because she got to go too!  We had a great dinner and an enjoyable evening.

We left Salina on Sunday morning and made it to Columbia, Missouri.  There is a nice little campground there and so we stayed there again.  There is a Cracker Barrel down the road so we went there for dinner because I love to have breakfast there!

We got back on the road on Monday morning and passed through St Louis, Missouri.  We were north of the famous arch but still a nice look across the Mississippi river.  It was sunny in Missouri and cloudy in Illinois...very strange!

We arrived at Lake Taylorville, a State Park.  It is a pretty good size lake and we can see it from our campsite..  We have 50 amp service and water, but no sewer...means I don't have to do laundry...the good news and the bad news!  Our campsite at Lake Taylorville.
:

The Lake Taylorville Dam:

We called Ted's cousin Bob and his wife Marilyn and met them for pizza in Taylorville.   They came over to see the RV after dinner.   On Tuesday night we headed over to their house and went to the "Cool Cruisers" car club dinner and meeting.  Bob and Marilyn are into antique cars and do rally's with the car club.  We had a nice dinner with the group, a quick meeting and were even included in their drawing but fortunately didn't win anything!  Wouldn't be good for the guests to win!

Yesterday we met them in the early afternoon and they took us to the Apple Barn.  It was about a half hour drive away in the middle of nowhere.  They had all kinds of pumpkins in all shapes, sizes and colors.  Some even had warts!  They had some beautiful Mums and the prices seemed reasonable.  They also had some home made jams (of which we had to buy some), apple cider, fudge, soups and pastries.  Both couples managed to find some things to buy!

We got back to their house and they barbecued steaks for us and Marilyn had cream corned, asparagus, baked potatoes and a salad!  Needless to say we had plenty to eat!  Tonight we are off to Abe's Hideaway for dinner...I'll keep you posted on Abes!

This morning the rains that were predicted yesterday came!  It poured around 5:45 to 6:45.  A little later the sun and the deer came out!

Must have a picture of Sophie with Dad in the blog!

Also, our youngest nephew and his girlfriend, Marissa, are having their sixth anniversary and this picture was posted on FB!  They are such a cute couple!

Visiting family and friends in beautiful places...    "Ain't Life Grand!"