Catching up ...

It's been a long few months with many speed-bumps along the way so I thought I'd bring everyone up to speed.

As we left you in September, we pulled the rig out of camp in South Haven Michigan. The party was over and we finally had to face the music and return home to repair all the water damage we had incurred last July. Leaving our new friends and comfortable surroundings was difficult but the park was soon closing for the season; but it was still a little sad. The bright note is that we have reserved the same spot for next summer so it's something to look forward to.

The short 3 hour trip was uneventful and arriving home to the mess we left was a little bittersweet. We unloaded the coach and began planning our next steps. I would be taking the coach back into the shop for some paint touch up and some new shocks. I thought it wasn't handling quite as it should with a little too much road feedback into the steering wheel. As it turned out they put all new Bilsteins gas shocks on and what a difference it made. It felt, I suppose, like a new coach now. The unfortunate part was that I was test driving the new shocks on a rig headed for winter storage. The remodeling will take us into December so our November departure date was out the window. If there is any money left after the new kitchen and two new bathrooms, we might be able to drive it around the storage barn a couple of times. We did strike a deal with the storage people to put the rig right next to the exit door so if we can stay under budget or the 'ship' (A.K.A. lottery) comes in, we can head to warmer climes. It stills hurts to see all the rigs heading south these past few weeks but the good thing is we will have made some much needed repairs and we'll get to be home with our families for the holidays.

We're about 40% through our remodel with the completion of the new hardwood floors tomorrow. We've had them in previous homes and missed them so this was great time to do it.
The master bath will be gutted tomorrow leaving us with no bathroom facilities in the house. The main floor half bath was gutted last week. Slowly they have pushed us into the only two rooms left in the house that will not have anything done to them, but losing the master bath was the last straw. So ... we're headed to a motel for several days so at least we can take a shower and sit in a real chair rather than a camp chair. However all the inconvenience will soon pass and we'll return to a new house, forgetting all the mess and the constant stream of plumbers, carpenters, electricians and painters that flow in and out of our house these days.

On another subject....

I'd like to get some dialog started with those of you who might read this blog on some of the travels you've made (or are planning to make). Looking at the world map on the right of your screen, many of your are scattered around the globe and are seeing and doing things that many of us have only dreamed of. Our readers are from as far away as Australia, India, Chile, Finland, and even Chicago. I know some of you have visited such exotic places as Fiji and China and have even worked on Russian icebreakers in the Arctic Ocean. So lets hear your stories and see your pictures. You can remain anonymous if you wish and I can only imagine what great stories many of you have to share. So add a comment below or drop me a line and I we will figure out a way to pass your stories and pictures along to others.

Still livin' the dream and hoping to hear about yours.

Phil & Sharon