No Place At The Inn!!!

As we approached our Walmart destination, our locator book (once again) did not provide us with accurate directions so we had to retrace our steps. But we finally found a level spot to park our coach and then did a little shopping (as usual)
My family met up with us and we had the opportunity to show them around our new home. We celebrated this visit with a bottle of champagne which my sister had brought for the ocassion. We all went to dinner at O'Charley's which was a great place to eat. They are known for their honey rolls which I must admit were fab. So much so, the waitress packed a few extra for us for breakfast the next morning. We went back to the coach for more schmoozing when all of a sudden there was a knock on the door. There was a Walmart security guard who informed us that we would not be able to spend the night because of a drug and prostitute problem they were having with truckers who spent the night at this location.
So.......when we made our goodbyes to my family, we also made our goodbye to this Walmart location. Fortunately, we found another one which wasn't too far away. Lee unfortunately could not find a level place in this parking lot. He did the best he could (which was fine) and we both fell asleep instantly (readying ourselves for another day on the road).

Georgia On My Mind

Our visit in Red Bay was a great opportunity for us to see just how the Tiffin company took care of its customers.
We were also able to take a tour of the factory which was fascinating. Our tour leader, Red, was in his early 80's and had been with the company for years. What a sweet guy!!!! He knew tons of facts about how the coaches were made and we found out that only 100 Zephyrs were made annually compared to the Allegro product. What an awesome experience to see the coaches built from the ground up (literally).
After a quick breakfast we said our goodbyes to our new friends and promised to keep in touch. Now we were on our way. Lee and I took a look at the atlas and noticed that we would be heading to Atlanta. This was great since my sister lived in Marietta and the possibility of hooking up with her for dinner was looking pretty good.
I called my sister and made plans to meet up at the Walmart in Stockbridge, GA off of I-695. This was going to be a special time for us since we had not seen each other in over a year and a half.

Finally....Red Bay, Alabama

We finally made it to Red Bay, Alabama which is the home of the Tiffin Company. We needed some warranty work done before heading to Florida.
What an incredible operation!!! They have their own private campground area with full hookups so you can live in your coach while waiting to be called for your appointment. We were scheduled for what they called a "3 hour Express". We had our list, waited patiently, and were taken the day after we arrived. Yippee!!!
We met some other RV owners in the service bay area who were watching the work being done on their coaches. It was a fascinating process. Service bay after service bay of Tiffin coaches; every coach with a different issue or concern. Meeting these other owners was a treat for Lee and myself. It made the experience much more fun for us.
Because there really wasn't much to do in the evening in Red Bay, it was not unusual to go out to dinner with our new friends and commisserate together on the completed or uncompleted work of the day. The restaurant selection was very limited. One popular hang out was Swamp Johns; an old converted gas station.
I do believe that there is nothing more fun for an RV owner than to talk about your coach. Everyone has a tale to tell!!! You are with your special breed of comrades who truly understand what you feel when things go right and wrong. We learned quite alot of information during this trip which I know we will pay forward in the future as we continue our life in the slow lane.

Walmart Locator Book

After filling up our tank, we drove for a few more hours and then decided to stop in St. Clair, Pennsylvania. We used our Walmart Locator Book to find a Super Walmart parking lot to spend the night. We found one which was only about four and a half miles off of 81. Lee and I believe in Easy on, Easy off locations.
We were very pleased with our choice since it was a quiet location and it had alot of perimeter parking for our coach.
The great thing about Walmart parking lots is that once you set up, it is fun to shop in the store for last minute incidentals. One caution about this particular store; it did not sell alcoholic beverages. I was very disappointed since I forgot to pack beer. Oh well. There is always tomorrow and always another Walmart!!!

Thank Goodness for CB Radios

As we made our way down to Red Bay we finally needed to stop and get some diesel. We stopped at a service area in Middletown, N.Y. only to realize that it could not accommodate our 45 foot motorcoach. Now you have to understand that I did not know that the Low Fuel Signal light had been on for about 10 minutes. I now realized why Lee seemed very distressed over not being able to stop at this service area.
What were we going to do?? We were both unsure as to how much diesel we actually had left in our tank. Were we going to find ourselves stuck on the highway on empty?????
I suggested to Lee that he contact some truckers on the CB Radio to find out the location of the nearest gas station that could accommodate us. Luckly, a trucker responded and told us about a service area off of Exit l on 84. Yippee, only 10 miles away!!!! Okay...this seemed to be working out. However when you only get 6-7 miles per gallon, we were not too sure that we would make it. Then to add insult to injury, we had to go up hill making us use more fuel. But just when you think it is all over, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Our "light" was that the last three miles to Exit 1 was all down hill and we could coast all the way!!!

Off to Red Bay, Alabama

Well, I am glad to report that all renovations both to home and driveway had been completed to satisfaction. With regards to the driveway, we had to excavate in order to develop a contour at the head of the driveway. Bringing in structural fill of crushed stone accomplished the desired parking goal. All's well that ends well, I say!!!
So..... here we are on the road again happily driving our new rig. Our goal after warranty work in Red Bay is to bring our coach to Florida. I must say that as I reviewed the items that we had originally purchased for our day-to-day living in the coach, I was very pleased with myself. All I had to do was pack up our clothes and purchase groceries. So, it was pretty slick. (Helpful hint: duplicate your staple items in your coach such as toietries, cleaning supplies, etc. It makes packing day a breeze!!)
As with all new trips of the season, there are always quirky things that occur. Our quirk for this morning was finding my passenger side cup holder filled with a brackish colored water. Now where could that have come from?????????????????
There were no other signs of water near or around the area. Lee and I would have to check this out further when we arrive at a WalMart parking lot somewhere in Virginia or West Virginia.

You Want to Stick What Where????

After being parked on the street for about a week, we found it necessary to try to park our motorcoach on the existing gravel driveway as a temporary fix until such time as we could have the upgraded work done on the gravel. We really did not want to take advantage of our neighbors any longer and felt this was a means to an end for the time being.
In order to do this, we had one of our friends sit on top of the coach in order to lift up the telephone wires since they hanging lower than we would have wanted. We had another friend watching for any bottoming out which was a major concern due to the pitch of the driveway. Lee was backing her in as carefully as he could. We all held our breath and were relieved when our new motorcoach was sitting in its new home at least temporarily.
We would not be physically moving our coach until we scheduled some warranty work at the local dealership. Our original thoughts were that we were going to be able to live in our coach during our household renovations. All our bathrooms were ripped out. It would have been an easy fix to live in the coach. Now that we were unable to make any "dumps", we had no choice but live in a hotel for a few weeks.
With our son's upcoming graduation, warranty issues to be addressed, day to day monitoring of renovation progress, upgrading our driveway situation, and the general day to day "stuff", we had alot on our plate.
It was time to think about Florida and our Life in the Slow Lane!!!!