MAP DOTS

Just a quick check of the weather the past few days and I got say, it’s been pretty OK.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s feeling like somewhere between 95˚ & 105˚ during the day.  But we’re in the RV chillin like Cool Whip, so it’s not much of a concern.  By the time we drop the landing gear, it’s usually about 4pm (we keep losing hours as we head East), and the nights cool off beautifully.  It’s really quite pleasant.

Each night when we land, we’ll drop the jacks, pop-out the sides and toast the drive with quick shot of Fire Ball.  Then it’s a dog walk and dinner prep.  The old girls know the routine and are always pretty cool with the “RV” thing.  But the Doodles are still learning and it’s tough for them to keep all that energy under control all day.  Even as I write this, they’re chasing each other around the RV like NASCAR drivers (and its 11:30pm).

Tonight was retribution.  We were here 5 years ago at The Big Texan  with the kids.  (Going back to the Americana  post a few days ago, this place is #2 in my book, Wall Drug Store, in South Dakota is #1)  Well last time here, Laura went to the bar to order us some drinks while we waited for our table.  2 hours later, I don’t know what happened.  I got turned inside-out.  So much so, that 12 hours later, Laura had to drive the RV out of town to Dallas.  To this day, I swear I got roofied in the beer they gave Laura.  I don’t remember a single thing about that night.  But according to Maddie, I was an ass.  She’s got some great stories to tell…

So tonight, it was just Laura and I, a couple non-benzodiazepine pharmacologic drinks and 2 half decent steaks.  What more could you ask for?  Cheers to Texas!

#THINGSYOUSEEONTHEROAD

 

If you know us, you know we’re suckers for Americana.  The little things you do and see, that are scattered throughout this Country, are just daily life to those that do it, but they’re little treats and treasures to us.  They’re like fresh water pearls.  Not perfect or extremely valuable, but beautiful in their own unique way.  We found one of those pearls last night at Black Barts Steakhouse, Saloon & Musical Revue.

We stayed the night at the Black Barts RV Park  and when we returned back from diner in downtown Flag, our Uber driver asked us if we’d been in the steakhouse.  Our belly’s already full of pizza and beer, we thought, why not a night cap?  Well an hour later, we finished our second dinner of the night and closed the joint.

This place is classic.  It’s an old, outdated music hall with tacky decor and rustic furniture.  It couldn’t be more kitsch.  But the swinging saloon doors, singing waiters/waitresses and downright delicious steaks make this one of the funnest steakhouses we’ve ever eaten at.

The moral to the story is, alway try new things, you never know when you’ll find yourself a pearl.

IMG_8751

 

Good Morning Campers.  As the sun shines brightly upon us; we are fortunate enough to report that the RV has been fixed and we are on our way.  Yesterday was touch and go, but UPS delivered the parts early enough and the service center was able to get us up and running by 5pm.  A late night load-in helped us hit the road at 10:30 p.m. and were were able to put a couple hours behind us to get out of the cities.  We have got five hours of high desert scenery on tap today before landing in Flagstaff, AZ.  Looking forward to dinner at our favorite (and the world’s greatest) Pizzicletta followed by a cold one at Beaver Street Brewery.

Our fan clutch assembly

Fingers crossed, it still has to be installed…….

By no means am I comparing this with bi-polar disease, but the manic swings of emotions right now are off the chart.

We are scheduled to leave in the RV, tomorrow morning, with our first night on the Colorado River at Blyth.  Up until an hour ago, I was checking for flights to North Carolina, because we didn’t know if the RV would be fixed before the 1st of Aug.  How can you plan a 6 week trip, when you don’t even know if you can do it?

After several days now, of not knowing when the fan clutch assembly would (or could) be shipped, we took matters into our own hands and located the parts we needed, in AZ.

SIDE-NOTE: why can’t people do what they are paid to do?  How is it that the customer (me, in this case), can make 2 phone calls and get what I need, when the Customer Service Rep, can’t get the job done in 5 days?

So with a little help from FedEx, we might……… (dare I say)…….. be able to get the RV fixed and back to us by tomm……….., nope, I’m not gonna jinx it 😉

Hello Mr. Sunday, how are you?  Us?  Oh, we’re stressing. The RV is not out of the shop and the fan clutch that was on order, is still on order.  We’re hoping to find out Monday, if it is arriving Monday and will be installed Monday.  Because we still plan on leaving Wednesday.

Work is crazy busy, but we’ve been doing a pretty good job preparing and planning for “working from the road”.  After all, we’ve been essentially working from the road for the past 10 years.  Just never a trip of this magnitude.

Let’s get this party started.  It’s only been since forever that Laura and I fell in love with road trips and travel.  So we might as well bore you with all the silly details.

While we’re only a few days away from an epic 6+ week trip, it’s starting off with a bang.  The RV is in the shop for what could have been a major mechanical failure.  Instead it’s just a warranty claim away from success.  A new fan clutch oughta do the trick.  Maybe a drive belt too, seeings how the old one is wearing funny (does this mean the bearings might have been compromised too?).  Only time will tell.  With a little luck, we’ll find out in the middle of New Mexico, about 1pm, with the temp outside at a comfortable 120˚.  No worries, we’ve got booze, time and insurance.    Plenty to go around.

But hey, we’re 5 days away from wheels up and our Service Advisor is confident he can get it all done.  So let’s see how it all plays out in the next few days…

 

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