MISSOULA

We are currently in Missoula Montana.  We are in a very nice campground.  One of the reasons we are here is a stupid boo-boo on my part.  When we left Medora we went through our normal hookups between the RV and Explorer including tow bar, brake light connections and the brake air line. Twenty miles down the road when we stopped for fuel Judy discovered the air line had come loose and we had been dragging it.   

  As you can tell brass doesn’t hold up too well.  After checking numerous supply houses it became apparent that this was not just any normal fitting.  So Friday morning I called SMI to order a new one.  Of course it cost more for the shipping than the part.  To be continued....

We arrived in Missoula Sunday afternoon.  It’s a great place to stock up and also to play tourist a bit.  We are staying at Jim and Mary’s RV Park. 

  Nice place, wide spots.  This is where I had the package sent from SMI.  Well the package didn’t show up today.  I placed a frustrated call to SMI only to find out that they hadn’t shipped it.  No reason, just a mess up.  But they recovered well and shipped the part out overnight with free shipping.  So now it’s in the hands of UPS not to mess up. 

This afternoon we visited a little museum at the local airport. It was called the museum of mountain flying.  I won’t bore you with all the details, but it was fun to be able to climb in and around these old planes. 

And how many of you remember Sky King and Penny.  Do you remember who sponsored their TV show in the late 50’s and early 60’s?

 

 

Tonight it was fresh veggies and ham steak on the grill.  Good eats!! Even Mollie thought so.

 

Until later.

SOUTH DAKOTANS

Last Thursday we arrived in South Dakota to spend the required one overnight before we could become residents. The next morning, with important documents in hand, and with a little bit of fear and trepidation, we got into our car and drove into Sioux Falls. We had been told that the Department of Public Safety office, Alternative Resources, and the Insurance agency we were using were all in the same complex. Our first stop was Alternative Resources, the mail forwarding company we are using.  We met the friendly faces behind the voices we had been talking to on the phone and we also picked up our mail. Then we walked a couple of doors down to the DPS office to get our new South Dakota drivers licenses. We took a number, filled out a couple of applications, and waited. Once our numbers were called, it only took  an eye test and an exchange of $40 and we each had our new licenses in hand. Our next stop was a few steps away to get Auto and RV insurance. With that completed, we were two thirds done. The final item we needed was South Dakota license plates.

Before we went to get the license plates we made a consulting appointment with Karen at Alternative Resources. We wanted to make sure we knew exactly what documents we needed to take with us to the County Treasurers office. Her help was invaluable as we ended up going back to the RV for a couple of additional pieces of information. We headed out again and drove over to the Treasurer’s office.  After standing in line for a few minutes we were helped by a very friendly rep and in about 15 minutes we had our license plates. Almost too easy!!

 

And we were right.  The hardest part of the day was putting the license plates on the Explorer and RV.  SD uses two plates per vehicle whereas Michigan only requires one.  That meant it was back to the Ford dealer to buy a front license plate bracket.  Unfortunately, last year when we had installed our SMI Airforce One braking system we naturally centered everything, right where the bracket needed to go.  After relocating the air line and the safety cable, we were able to mount the bracket and plates.  The mounting bolts on the front of the RV were rusted so we had to destroy them, while getting them out, and install new ones.  A couple of hours later in 100 degree heat, we were finished.

 

We are now in the small town of Medora, North Dakota. After traveling hard for the last few days we are ready to stay put and relax for a few days. Last night we went to the famous Pitchfork Steak Fondue and the Medora Musical. It had been raining all afternoon and we were hoping not to get rained out.  But the weather cleared and we had a great time.

 

We are in a busy campground with a steady stream of RV’s coming and going so we are hoping to move over to the Theodore Roosevelt National Park campground this morning. No hookups and hopefully no crowds.

CELEBATING OUR ANNIVERSARY AT SPARTAN CHASSIS

Tuesday we celebrated our 36th wedding anniversary at Spartan Chassis in Charlotte, MI. Not the most romantic spot but such is the life of a fulltimer.  Even though we did not have an appointment they told us they would try to fit us in.  Unfortunately they weren't able to get to us, but promised they would be at our coach at 7:00 this morning.  We set the clock for 6 knowing there was the chance they would have to bump us until later.

Good news!  At 7:15 a mechanic showed up and took our coach to one of the service bays.  We headed out for coffee and scones.  We had given them two items to work on.  The air bag problem and chassis AC.  The air bag problem was solved by replacing the Norgren shuttle valve.  If you don't know what that is don't feel bad, I didn't either.  What I do know is that it is buried underneath near the front axle and is not easily replaced by amateur mechanics.  They added freon to the AC system and found where the AC hoses were rubbing against some fittings.  They rerouted the lines and hopefully we won't have more serious problems down the road. 

We paid our bill and were on our way shortly before noon.  We made good time today got through Chicago with minimum fuss and are spending the night just north of Davenport Iowa.  It is very hot and muggy here and we were only able to get a site with 30 amp power.  This means we can only run one AC and little else.  We have already had the breaker pop 3 times, but I think we have our power management figured out now.

We are hoping to get to Sioux Falls tomorrow night.  If we can we should be able to get our drivers licenses and new license plates on Friday.  We need to prove that we have spent one night in SD before we can get our licenses, so if we don't make it tomorrow night we will be there over the weekend.

Until later.

LEMONS INTO LEMONADE

Our final week in Grand Rapids was a busy one. We had several last minute business things to finish up.  Thursday night we went to visit our friends Chris and Teresa.  They had been with us on the Central Coast of Ca. earlier in the spring and share our love of good wine.  Teresa has been battling a serious illness for several months and we were glad for the chance to see them before we took off.

Friday night our friends Stan and Kathleen took us on a tour of their new home currently under construction and then treated us to dinner. We've said it before and will say it again.  We couldn't be doing this "full time" thing without their support.

On Saturday our daughter Melissa and her girls Emma and Ella came to spend a couple of days with us.  Obviously there isn't much for two little girls to do on a 40 foot motor home.  But we did have a plan.

First Grandpa took them to see Toy Story 3 and then a carousel ride.   Then when we returned, Grandma and Melissa took them to the pool.  Grilled hot dogs provided supper, then a quick trip to the ice cream shop for dessert.  Grandma even had coloring books and stickers to occupy them until bedtime.

Sunday included a trip to the Childrens Museum and then Grandma took them to the pool again.  Jonathan, Laura and little Harrison joined us later for dinner.  Laura made a Tres Leches cake and it was even better than the version we had in Mexico.  So Grandma got a final fix with her Eastern grand kids.  In a few weeks she gets to see her Western grand kids. 

This morning Melissa and the girls left about 7:30 and then we got packed up to leave. Leveling jacks went up, but the air bags wouldn't inflate.  Now you understand the Lemons.  After checking everything, it was time to call in the experts.  First call was to American Coach.  They gave me a couple of things to try and said that if that didn't work to call Spartan Chassis.  So after trying their suggestions with no success, I called Spartan.  They have great phone support and gave me several things to try.  Unfortunately with the coach sitting almost on the ground I couldn't access the part they wanted me to check.  Fortunately the local Coach Care Cummins center was able to send someone out to help.   He was able to get the bags to inflate manually,  so we could at least leave the campground. Unfortunately the Cummins center could not fit us in for 2 weeks to fix the problem permanently. 

We also had a slow leak in a rear tire, so our next stop was a truck tire center which was only 2 miles from our campground.  While they fixed the tire we went to our storage unit to pick up a few additional items to deliver to our kids in Portland.  We went back to pick up the coach and they had it fixed.  Just a leaky valve stem.  We hooked up the explorer to head to our next destination.   Since we were located only 1.5 hours from Spartan Chassis and they have a very nice area to park and even provide power hookups, we decided to head there.  They have promised to try and fix us up in the next couple of days.  So I guess we'll just have a big glass of lemonade while we wait.

Until later.

Going,Going…Gone

The month of June went screaming by and what a month it was.

Our house was on the market for only 13 days when we received a full price cash offer. This was great, but the value of our house had gone down significantly in the last 2 years and we were not going to make any money on the sale. We just recently heard that home sales in Michigan were down in June so we feel very fortunate that we were able to sell when we did.

With closing set for June 29th we knew we had a busy month ahead of us. We contacted an estate service to handle the sale of all the stuff we wanted to get rid of.

We removed the few pieces of furniture and important items that had special meaning to us and put them into storage.Then we sat back and let the estate service handle the actual sale. We weren’t present during the sale, they didn’t recommend it, but we  heard that a lot of people showed up and bought stuff. By Saturday evening everything was either sold or removed, the house was almost empty, and the only thing in the garage was the motorcycle.

Wow, I guess this is really happening!!

Tuesday, closing day, arrived. We both half expected something to come along and delay the closing but, it too, went off without a hitch. Also that day we received a call from someone interested in looking at the motorcycle. We had it listed on Craig’s List for a couple of weeks without any bites and we did have someone put a low bid on it during the estate sale. He looked at it on Wednesday and bought it on the spot .

So we are now house-less, but not home-less. We think of our RV as our home. After all, we have been living in it full time for the past 8 months.  But I suppose now we are officially full-timers. We now have a South Dakota mailing address and when we arrive in SD next week, we will have SD license plates and drivers licenses.

We plan to get together with some of our family and friends again this week and then pull out of here on Monday.

There have been times in the last couple of weeks when we have wondered if we are doing the “right thing”, but what we do know is we are happiest when we are in our Rv out exploring.  We are very blessed to have business partners who are willing to help us live out our dream. 

We are both anxious to get on the road again, to explore this beautiful country, and continue the life of full-timers.  Today we saw a 5th wheel tow vehicle with the slogan “No where to be, all day to get there” . Sounds good to us.

Until later.

 

 

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Harrison and Chihuly

Last Sunday we spent father's day at the house going through things and packing up.  We are discovering what many other full timers have learned.  A lot of what we own is just "stuff".  While we were packing, Jonathan and Laura dropped off Harrison for a few hours while they went to see a movie.

Of course Grandma would never turn down an opportunity to hold her newest grandchild. 

On Tuesday, two guys and a small truck arrived to help move a few special pieces of furniture and some boxes into storage.  They were fast, efficient, and careful and in less than 4 hours had everything re-situated in two different storage places. 

Wednesday morning the estate sale people arrived to price everything for the big weekend sale.  It was nice because they have a much better idea than we do of what things should sell for.  Besides it was time for a little diversion from all the condo selling craziness.

You may remember that when we were in the Detroit area a few weeks ago visiting our daughter Melissa and her family we also met a really nice couple, Randy and Pam Warner.  We had offered to show them around Grand Rapids if they wanted to make the drive over here.  Wednesday was the perfect day.  Although the day started out with thunderstorms, by the time they arrived we had sunny skies.  We met them at the Fredrick Meijer Gardens.  After enjoying the Chihuly glass exhibits, we wandered  through the sculpture gardens enjoying the art, the nice weather and good company.

It was soon time for lunch, so we headed to one of our favorite spots "The Electric Cheetah".  Although it was a little noisy, the food was good.

We then headed downtown to the Gerald Ford Presidental Museum.

It's always fun to see what is so familiar to you, through others eyes.  The day ended too quickly with Randy and Pam heading back to Haas Lake.  We are looking forward to the next time our paths cross.  If you would like to see more pictures of their visit, Randy has 2 blog entries with lots of pictures.   It was a needed break for Judy and me.
THANKS RANDY AND PAM!!!

Last night we had a pre-sale at the house for friends and relatives and Judy and I were in charge of handling that.  Today the real sale started this morning at 9am.  At 8:15 there were already 12 cars lined up.  Fortunately today the experts ran the sale and they will again tomorrow.  By Monday evening everything will be gone and after our closing on Tuesday we will officially be homeless.  We met the new owners last night at the pre-sale and it made us feel good that they are really excited to get our place.  They seem to appreciate all the extra things we had done to the house and I'm sure they will take good care of it.

Until later.

GOING...GOING....

Two years ago we put our condo on the market.  Nine months later with only one showing we took it off the market.  If you have been following the real estate scene you know how bad it is.  And as bad as it is nation wide, Michigan has to be at the bottom.

When we left Michigan last October Stan and Kathleen, our business partners, were getting ready to build a new house, and having sold their house, needed a place to stay.  We offered our condo since we were going to be gone, and the heat has to be on anyway.  It was reassuring having someone looking after the place and keeping an eye on things.  When we came back in April, to be here when Harrison was born, we decided to put the condo back on the market.  After meeting with a realtor and gritting our teeth over how much we have already lost, we listed it.

While we were at Haas Lake we got a call saying we were going to have two showings.   Stan and Kathleen have kept the place in ready to show.  Kathleen had even gone out and bought hanging baskets and replanted the window boxes.  Last Tuesday we had not two but three showings.  John was scheduled to go the Indianapolis for business, and of course while he was gone we received an offer.  Several phone calls, pdf's and faxes insued and by Friday we had a full cash offer, no contingencies, no inspections.  We are both in a bit of a daze.  We now need to sell furniture, and decide if we are going to remain Michigan residents.  Closing is to be no later than the first week of July.  But you know what they say.  The job's not finished till the paperwork is done.  But so far everything looks good.

On Saturday we drove down to Kokomo, Indiana to attend our nieces graduation open house. I remember when her mom, Shannon was in our wedding.  She was three at the time.  Yes I am feeling old.

We followed John's brother Mark home on the back roads and stopped in Shipshewana to have dinner at the Blue Gate restaurant with Mark and family, and John's sister Diane and her husband Bud.  It was a busy but memorable week.

Until later.

SNOW IN MAY IN MICHIGAN?

Trees in the Willow family shed little white seed puffs in the spring time.  At Haas Lake Park there are lots of poplar and cottonwood trees which are part of the willow family.   It is so thick it literally looks like snow on the ground.  While it is not uncommon to have cold weather on Memorial Day, this year was unique.  We have had a week of 80 to 90 degree temps. 

On Friday we headed over to St. Clair shores for lunch with our daughter Melissa and Granddaughter Ella.  After a great lunch at a local deli we headed south along the lake enjoying the views of the grand old mansions in Grosse Point. 

We made a stop at the local Trader Joes  before returning in time to pick up Ella's older sister Emma from school.  They were going to have a sleep-over and Grandma and Grandpa's RV so with all their stuff in tow we headed back to the RV stopping first at Whole Foods to pick up a few items for our evening cook out.

When we got to the RV the girls were anxious to go swimming in the lake.  So before dinner it was off to the beach.  Both Emma and Ella really enjoy the water.  I'm not sure it was all that warm but when you're a kid it's never too cold. After about a half hour of swimming we headed back to have our cookout.  Supper included the mandatory hot dogs along with Mac and Cheese.  Then it was time for a few cartoons before bed.

Both Emma and Ella are early risers, so Saturday came early.  After a quick breakfast they wanted to head back to the beach for more swimming and swings.  Later that afternoon, their Melissa and Todd joined us for another cookout.  This time we had grass fed steak, and shrimp that we brought back from Mexico.  For dessert Judy baked the frozen apple pie we had in the freezer that we bought at  Julian Pie company in Julian, California back in March.

Emma decided to spend another night with us and the three of us went to church Sunday morning.  Our new friends Randy and Pam had recommended we try Oak Pointe Church in Novi and we really enjoyed the service. After the church service everyone is invited to hang around and have coffee, bagels and donuts that are available in the foyer.
Emma liked her Sunday School class but she really enjoyed the strawberry frosted donut.
After church it was back to the beach with Emma.  I think she is growing gills.  Her sister and Mom and Dad joined us mid afternoon for yet another beach trip and of course one final cookout.  I suspect both girls were asleep in the back seat before they were even out of the park.

This morning we got packed up and hit the road for our short 60 mile trip to Jackson, Michigan to visit my Mom.  We hadn't seen her since last October when we left to go out West.  We took her out for lunch and just spent time visiting.  We had a rainy drive back to Grand Rapids but we arrived safe and sound and are now back in our same site at the WoodChip Campground for the next week.

Until later.

CAMPING IN DETROIT?

Harrison's arrival was of course the highlight of last week.  We made a couple of trips to the hospital to hold Harrison and watch our son learn the art of diaper changing.

Sunday it was time to move further east.  We wanted to visit our two grandchildren who live on the east side of the state and John was going to attend a Photoshop workshop on Monday.  Our daughter Melissa lives in St. Clair Shores with her husband Todd and two daughters Emma and Ella.   The closest campground is in New Hudson, a western suburb of Detroit, about a 40 minute drive to their house.

Melissa was to chaperon Emma on a class field trip on Tuesday so we had Ella spend Monday night with us.  Normally Mollie sleeps on our bed, but when we made up the couch for Ella, Mollie curled up at her feet and settled in.  I think she thought Ella would get lonely, or needed protecting. 

One of the benefits of our modern "connected" society is that we learn about other "full-timers" through their blogs.  For example right now our friends Bob and Linda from Sacramento, who we met 3 years ago as a result of Bob's blog , are on their way to Alaska.  Although Linda does more of the blogging now we get to stay in touch as their journey unfolds.

We have been following another couple's blog, Pam and Randy Warner.  Sounds like we are stalkers, but we really aren't.  They have been full-timers for about a year and live in a beautiful Allegro Bus.  A couple of months ago we noticed that they were headed towards Michigan.  Like us they have family in the Detroit area.  They also have a daughter who graduated from the same college as one of our daughters.  And yes they are in the same RV Park as we are.  So yesterday we invited them over for coffee.  Because of our unusually warm weather we settled for something cold to drink instead.  They couldn't stay long, because of previous commitments, but we continued getting to know them at their RV last night.  I must say that one of highlights of traveling is getting to know other people.  We are not big group, big party type people, but do enjoy getting to know other people in smaller settings.

We had a great time sharing info about our RV"s and this lifestyle.  And best of all, just enjoying their company.  We look forward to our paths crossing again.

We are spending the rest of the week here.  Emma and Ella will spend Friday night with us, giving Melissa and Todd a night out and then they will join us on Saturday for a cookout.  We plan to head back to Grand Rapids on Monday, first stopping in Jackson to visit John's mom.  Next week John travels to Indianapolis for 3 days of business meetings, Judy gets to visit with Harrison, and then we start packing up to head NW towards Portland.  So I guess we'll be blogging more often as we head out on the open road again.

A BIG DAY FOR HARRISON

Today Harrison Paul Randall entered this great big noisy world.  He was born at 1:01 am this morning.  He weighed 7 lb 8 oz and measured 21 inches.

Mom, Dad and Baby are all doing fine.  This our 5th grandchild and 2nd grandson.  Harrison is the first child for our son Jonathan and daughter-in-law Laura.  This the first grandchild for Laura's parents.

Laura had a few complications when she was pregnant with Harrison, and we are so thankful that she is doing well.  Once again we have been reminded what a miracle life is, and how blessed we are.

CONGRATULATIONS LAURA AND JONATHAN ON THE BIRTH OF YOUR SON HARRISON.