Close to Home

As we left off in our last posting, Harvey was in for some relatively serious surgery. He had leaking arteries (hydraulic hoses) and we decided to have the major ones replaced. We didn't know he'd be in surgery for over 30 hours and over 4 days.

When you're having those kind of issues it's always heartwarming to get a small gift to make you feel better. We thought a little updating would make Harvey feel better and get Grannies backside off the chair slats. Sort of killing 2 birds with one stone.

The manufacturer of one of the best RV swivel recliners, invented and built by an Amish family, is near here so we went and got a couple. You can see how it perked Harvey up! You can see out the front window we're still ensconced in the repair shop.

It gets boring real quick sitting in the waiting room so we left our phone number in case and went for a repeat tour of the RV Museum here in Elkhart. You may recall we went a few years ago and blogged about it so we're not boring you with all the details again. On a Good Friday there weren't too many people out but we did meet this shy couple.

Finally, after a few anxious moments, Harvey was declared fit to travel. We're all glad to be moving on.

After being cooped up in the service bay for days, it feels good to be able get out and go for a walk and breath fresh air. Paint fumes start to get to you after awhile.

Harvey seems back to his old self. The slide works great and the jacks are all down. I guess all the time and money was worth it.

Well, this kinda looks like the previous photo but we're actually near Flint Michigan, our next stop. So we're on our last stop before home. Darn cold and raining but not as bad as Mannheim; ice rain and windy. Great to be heading home, NOT!

We're near Frankenmuth so instead of sitting inside Harvey in the rain, we decided to go see the worlds largest Christmas store and then go for their famous chicken. It was fun to walk through all the Xmas decorations and listen to the music.

They did acknowledge other holidays, for example this giant easter egg. It was too cold to be outside enjoying the decorations so off to lunch. Chicken and a hot coffee. An exciting last day of traveling before we settle down back at home.

The last days drive was a bit cold, wet and windy and oh yeah, don't forget the fog. No problem though, I've driven in a lot worse and Canadian traffic just seems friendlier for some reason.

We managed to arrive safely in Mannheim and get somewhat set up before company started to show up. Boy, you go away for 6 months and the grandkids have grown. Who'da thought?

Kyles first job was to get us connected to their internet and then he had to get ready for his job at Boston Pizza. Another change, he had no job prospects or any desire for a job when we left. The grandkids are growing up. Well, we're back and settling in. This will be the last blog for awhile.

More Northerly Now

Our next stop is Amarillo Texas. Still a desert region but definitely a bit colder than our previous stops. We've stayed here before; it's a nice park and convenient.

I showed you some bad units back in Hemet but none as bad as this. I think it's some Okies trying to get to California. Jed Clampett and his family I believe. Poor buggers.

The other thing we like about this park is a nearby steak house will come pick you up in a limo and take you there. Makes us feel positively important. After I saw the picture I realized that I totally missed the bulls horns on the front of the limo. Rats!

Anyway, I took a selfy at our table. Great steak and authentic western decor.

I mean, how could a giant rocking chair not be authentic. They advertise they are the home of the free 72 oz steak. You have to eat it, a baked potato, a pile of beans, a salad and biscuits within a hour otherwise it's $75.00. They have a sample as you come in the door. I've seen smaller turkeys. Not for us, we struggled to work our way through a 12 oz ribeye. Delicious and doable.

At Amarillo we found that one of the hydraulic lines for the slide had sprung a leak so we couldn't use the slide anymore. I arranged for it to be looked at in Elkhart IA but we needed to get there quickly so no more dawdling. A quick stop at Chandler Oklahoma. Just long enough to clean the Texas bugs off Harvey and on our way.

We travelled a few miles on Route 66 (the mother highway) to get to the RV Resort and a few more to leave so Harvey got to drive on that most famous of roads. Imagine at one time this was the main east west road in America. Must have been a lot less traffic.

This is a rarity for us, staying in the back of a motel. Full service sites and close to the highway but just seems weird somehow. Anyway, we're in a hurry and this works. It's called the Country Hearth Motel in St. Roberts Missouri just in case you're headed that way.

Next stop is in a nice RV park with a lovely lake; not that we had much time to admire it. We're in Champain Illinois and it's our last stop before we get to get Elkhart and our repairs. You'll notice in the last few photos the slide isn't out and the Jeep stayed attached. I prefer a more leisurely drive home. We'll have to explore more another time.

We managed to take the time to admire a beautiful sunset. Little did we know that it was a portent of a huge wind storm overnight. I was praying that it would die down by morning, which it did, thankfully. The next day was windy, cloudy and cold. It felt like it might snow. I miss Hemet!

As planned, we arrived for service at America's #1 coach service specialists. Lets see how good they are. Only the best for Harvey.

The day turned a lot nicer and we got set up with power and water. We'll be going in the shop tomorrow. Hope for the best.

Poor Harvey, crammed in with all those other sick RV's. I decided to have all the important hydraulic lines replaced. After all, they're 15 years old and we've had 2 fail in the last 2 years. It looks like 7 in total; this is major surgery. We'll be here for a few days. Lets hope our next blog will show Harvey back to his old self. It's sad when one of the family is out of sorts.