Windy Cool Mexican Train Kind of Day

I am still working with my laptop making slow progress. I got the data backed up, then tried to go into the BIOS and check some things out and get Windows Vista SP2 uninstalled. I quickly got in over my head so I will resume my conversations with the Dell help desk and my friends in India.

We also took a look at the map and plotted our route out of here toward Mercedes, TX. We will be leaving next week to get some dental work done in Progresso, Mexico. Our friends Posey and John have an appointment too so we'll go with them.

I also made reservations at Holiday Park COE recreation area at Benbrook Lake near Fort Worth, TX for the week of Thanksgiving.

The rain finally stopped early in the afternoon, so we went for a walk around East Fork Park Army Corps of Engineers (COE) recreation area where we are staying.

It was still cool so Pam went back for her hat and I picked up a wind breaker. It was a nice 30 minute walk around the campground. It rained pretty hard for a couple of days so some of the campsites were almost under water.

In the late afternoon our new friends Gerri and Mike came over for dinner. In addition to Pam's great cooking, a highlight of the evening was learning how to play Mexican train. I think it is a common form of entertainment among RVers and something we have wanted to do for a long time.

It was a lot of fun and great evening! We enjoyed our time with Mike and Gerri. They are still at MCD Innovations getting new shades installed in their Dutchstar. We may see them again this Sunday at church. Hope so!

After they left we turned on the ACLS game and watched the Angels eek one out over the Yankees to extend the series. I would love to see a California / Philadelphia series, but the Angels have an uphill battle to make that happen.

Hope your day went as good as ours, and we thank you for viewing the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Lazy Boys, Computer Repairs and Friends

We had a number of things to do yesterday. The first of which was decide what to do with my sick laptop. I tried to install Windows Vista Service Pack 2(SP2) a couple of days ago and it didn't like it. It gave me a number of rude and displays including those shown below. I ran some diagnostics and it said, "can not automatically repair itself'". Hmmm,

That sounds expensive. I called the Dell technical support line and he confirmed my fears. I have some options but not what I was hoping. At times like this, I think I may not have factored enough into the computer budget.

My immediate concern was whether or not I was going to loose recent data. I have backed up my data a time or two in the last few months, just not recently.

Next, I found a local computer shop (Quick Response Technologies) in Wylie, TX, and Bill was able to back up my data (I think). I will confirm that later this morning.

Rick, a friend and fellow blogger, (Rick & Paulette's Travels) offered some other ideas, so I will give them a try. If that doesn't work I may have to wipe my hard drive and re-image it. I hope not. We will see.

After we dropped off the computer, we went to a LazyBoy furniture store to learn about recliners. We want to replace a sofa in the Roadrunner with two recliners. When we first started looking at Tiffin Phaetons many months ago, we knew we wanted recliners instead of two sofas.

I called the Tiffin factory and they can remove a sofa and install recliners during our appointment in December. But they seemed to be quite expensive. We found a model we liked for about $700. Much better than the $1300 Tiffin factory price tag.

It is 32 inches wide and the top half (back) can be removed, so getting it into the Roadrunner would be no problem. It goes into place with some locking fasteners. It couldn't be easier. We will have a sofa removed in December during our appointment and will be all set for the new ones.

The big event of the day was seeing Brent and Betty. We were both stationed at Hickam AFB, Hawaii, in the early 1980's. Our kids were little guys back then so it was fun they could see Kelly and that she could join us. We stopped by the DART station and picked her up for the short trip out to Frisco, TX.

Betty fixed chicken, mashed potatoes and green beans. For dessert we have our choice of coconut cream or chocolate cream pie (or both). It was really a terrific meal and a good time together.

It was great to see them again and to catch up after all these years. Betty is retired and Brent is still loving his job at Richardson Community College where he is an administrator and special assistant to the vice president.

They attend Stonebriar Community Church which is Chuck Swindoll's church, who is one of our favorite radio preachers and a Christian author. We may go there on Sunday.

One of the great things about this lifestyle is being able to see old friends whom we otherwise would never have the chance to see. I think I may have said that before, but it is still true!

We got back to our Corps of Engineer park campsite after 10:00. Yikes! We did it again. We missed the curfew and the gate was locked. Not a problem though, we are only about 300 yards from the front gate where we left the car. (In June, we had to walk over a mile to our COE campsite at Benbrook Lake when we missed curfew...).

That about it and thanks for viewing this edition of the Roadrunner Chronicles.

A Few Projects Around Home (the Roadrunner)

Yesterday was a stay at home day around the Roadrunner for the most part. I was updating the blog and started having problems early with my Dell. It had trouble loading a SP2 patch and finally locked up. I will have to figure out how to get it serviced.

Next I pulled out Pam's Apple laptop and did some things on it. I am liking it more and more. Things are becoming more familiar.

Kelly is making a headboard for her bed and needed me to split a board at a 45 degree angle. She is going one piece on the wall and one piece on the back of the headboard. That didn't seem to hard and wasn't.

I don't think I could have don't without the clamps. It was no problem. Especially with a new blade in my Black and Decker Skilsaw.

Next I decided to wash the Roadrunner. It has been weeks and was pretty dirty. Before I started, I needed to get out my five short hoses and attach them together. Next I needed to put the Y-attachment on the spigot.

I have two attachments. One is plastic and one is metal. The pla

stic one leaked so I put on the metal one.

The gauge is for water pressure. I adjusted it so I could get about 51 pounds of pressure going into the coach. A good rule of thumb is between 50-55 pounds although some have it set higher than that.

Back in Sioux Falls we didn't use our gauge and it was coming full force into the Roadrunner. I believe that is the reason we sprang a leak in the shower faucet/hose connection a couple of months ago.

It took me a while to wash and rinse off the coach but it sure looks a lot better. I will need to clean the windows separately to remove any streaks I missed.

We also got the oil changed since our new Honda has 8200 miles on it and it indicated it needed maintenance. Can't beat a 15 minute oil change at Walmart for $30. Kwik lube wanted $42.

Next I got the grill out and Pam cooked some catfish and salmon that turned out great. We watched the Yankees win game 3 of the American League Championship Series. Looks like the umps were feeling the pressure too. They missed a few calls. But it wouldn't have changed the outcome.

After that it was late so we went to bed. Thanks for stopping by the Roadrunner Chronicles.

Shades, Friends and Direct TV

Yesterday we dropped Kelly's car off at the garage. Then I drove her to the train station so she could get on her way to work in Dallas.

Afterwards, we had the pleasure of meeting Mike and Gerri Jones who are currently in McKinney, TX. It took about an hour for us to get their from Kelly's house and we met them at MCD Innovations.

They were getting some shades installed in their RV and were parked on the lot. MCD has full hookups for customers which is a nice feature.

Mike and Gerri have been RVers for a few years and they invited us into their Dutchstar motorhome. They have it set up really nice and it is a beautiful home. We talked for a while and shared some stories. Both of us are regular readers and fans of Howard and Linda Payne's RV-Dreams Journal.

We have been following Gerri and Mike's Journal "The RV Life/Mike and Gerri's Journey" and it was great to meet them.

Mike and Gerri introduced us to Bobbi at MCD who talked to us about their shades and how they work. We thought about getting our done, but our frugal minds won't let us follow through. At this point, our shades work fine and the new ones would cost several thousand dollars to install. So, while we would like to do it, we can not justify it at this point in our new RV life.

Later we returned to the Roadrunner and spent some time working on getting a DirectTV signal. We are parked under a tree and figured that might be the problem.

We got a tutorial from the KingDome technician a couple of days ago on how to re-calibrate the system.

We moved a about 10 feet forward on our RV site and vola! It worked. Now we can pick up both cable and local TV. Just in time for the final games of the NLCS and ALCS playoffs!

After that, we went over to a haircutter and Pam got her hair done.

Then we went over to Kelly's, picked her car up from the garage, picked her up from the train and Pam fixed dinner. We returned to the Roadrunner well before the 10:00 curfew and finished up the evening watching the Dodgers win and Angels win.

That wraps it up today for the Roadrunner Chronicles. Thanks so much for stopping by.

Justin, Lazy Sunday and Ping Pong

We picked up Kelly and one of her roommates Shea and went to church at Watermark Community Church in Dallas. The whole congregation is twenty or thirty somethings.They are building a new auditorium and are adding to their downtown campus. It is quite impressive and a very large church. Most of all the worship and message were great. The pastor Todd Wagner spoke in the series: The Big Twelve (church doctrine and why it is important.)After church, Pam and I joined Kelly and some of her friends at Bread Winners Cafe. It had a great brunch menu.The cafe was open and spacious, well decorated and the food was excellent.
A highlight of the time there was seeing one of my favorite PGA golfers: Justin Leonard. His wife Amanda was nice enough to take our picture.Leonard has been on the tour since 1994 and done quite well. He has 12 PGA tour wins including the 1997 British Open Championship. He and his wife were very gracious. I imagine fans introduce themselves all the time. The price of fame.

Next, we went to Kelly's house, hung out for the afternoon, had dinner and played some ping pong. I used to love playing ping pong growing up. Pam joined in and gave Kelly a run for her money. Pam and I left about 8:00 and made it back to the campground in plenty of time. Curfew is 10:00. That sums up another day with the Roadrunner Chronicles.

Thanks for viewing! Feel free to leave a comment and hope to see you next time.

Fort Worth and Back

Saturday we visited Brad and Sue.  First we drove into Dallas and picked up Kelly, then went over to Fort Worth.  We ran into some high speed chase activity on the same freeway.  The police apprehended their man and had him handcuffed on the ground.   We took some short cuts that may have been long cuts and finally got to Fort Worth.  We started out east of Dallas and it took about three hours to get there.

We found Brad mowing his lawn.  Sue had some burgers on the grill for lunch.  That was awful nice of her.

After lunch we hung around and chilled for a while.  Then we went over to Sam's Club to return and item and on to Costco's to pick up a few items.

We got back to their place we were able to relax for a while.  One of the great things about this lifestyle is being able to see family and friends.  We have seen Brad and Sue twice now in the past five months.  That hasn't happened for years.  They let Kelly live with them for that last four months while she was looking for a job and place to live in Dallas.  That was very gracious and hospitable of them.

Pretty soon it was time to head back out to our campsite.  We wanted to get back before dark.

The return trip didn't take nearly so long.  We took Kelly back to her place and she picked up some things and got her dog.  Ed was glad to spend the night with us again.  We all had dinner back at the Roadrunner, watched the Yankees and Angels and called it a night.

Not too much going on for the day, but some days are like that.  And that wraps up this entry for the Roadrunner Chronicles.  Thanks for checking in.

Lake Lavon and JFK in Dallas

We are staying on Lake Lavon at the East Fork Army Corps of Engineers (COE) campground near Wylie, TX. It is a beautiful place and we are near the water. We have some great views.
However, we have a tree to deal with and will have to move forward a feet on our campsite pad to get the DirectTV satellite working. We tried a few things yesterday and still had no signal. Finally we called King Dome and they helped us recalibrate the system. It should be working when we get out from under the tree.We were glad the American League Championship Series was broadcasted by Fox which comes in fine on our digital antenna. Too bad the Angels had so many errors.

We originally were going to see the State Fair but since it was after noon before we left, we decided to go downtown on the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART).Nice train and setup. We had a couple of hours before we were to meet Kelly (our daughter) so we walked a few blocks and to found the JFK museum. We walked past Market St and Elm St and then were right at the intersection at Dealey Plaza where it happened.
I thought it was in a more open area with quite a distance between freeway on ramps and intersections. But it was not that way at all. The Texas School Book Depository is now the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza.
- There is a white X on the road (near the red truck in the picture) indicating where the fatal shot hit JFK.
- We walked around the area and saw a gentleman who was there the day (November 22, 1963). He was not an official guide but there to offer his thoughts and make a few tips.
- We went inside to the museum which was well worth the $11.50 per ticket (with a $2 discount). No pictures were allowed but you can see a lot by clicking on the link above.
- It reminded me a bit of the Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum. Another sad day in America.

After that it was time to go meet Kelly in her new office a few blocks away. Near by fans were cranking up the party for the Texas - Oklahoma game. The sign outside a local bar said 'Welcome Texas/Oklahoma Fans' but I didn't see any OU fans.
Kelly's new office is a couple of doors down from the bar.

She works for 5G_Studio Collaborative which is an interior design firm. It reminds me a lot of my brother Brad's architecture digs over the years.
She is enjoying her first few weeks there. Kelly's buiness card reads: Director of Marketing.She gave us a tour of the operation and it was very impressive. Looked like a lot of hard working people there. They have some large projects in Dallas (the new Dallas Omni) and some big contracts overseas in Vietnam and other parts of Asia.

After that we headed back to the campground. We were going to get some steaks to grill but saw some roasted chickens that looked great. Since it was late in the day, they were on sale at half price. We got those and had a great dinner while we watched some baseball.

That was it for another day out here in RV land. Thanks for reading the Roadrunner Chronicles. See you next time.

From the Oasis to East Fork

We had an uneventful night in the Roadrunner at Dallas Freightliner. We slept well and felt safe. We got up ready to get the coach fixed. About 8:45 Nick was assigned as the mechanic to our coach and it got pulled into the service bay. While that was being done I decided to replace the defective wiper blade. My duct-tape repair held up. It was a pretty easy fix. I shake my head over paying $72 to have blades special-ordered at the RV Service Center in Flint MI in July. A replacement blade directly from the factory cost $15.00. We are learning...I also took off the front wheels of our bikes and put everything in the back end of the Honda. The back seats fold down so we have a lot of space. The $60 bike bag we ordered from Camping World works pretty well but traveling down the highway at 60 mph gives it a pretty good beating.
Meahwhile, Nick pulled some codes off the diagnostic machine that indicated a faulty fuel pump (transfer pump). It is covered under Cummins warranty with a $100 deductible which is very good news. Apparently after a coach is two years old, you automatically get enrolled into a program with a $100 deductible.
We watched Nicked get the part off and install a new one but it was not easy. He had to crawl under the engine, take off the exhaust pipe and muffler and bust some knuckles to get to it. After gettting it back together he ran up the rpms and took it for a test drive. It all looked good.
While he was at it, he replaced a metal band around the air cleaner ($3.00 item).

It was a little anti-climatic as we waited for him to get it all done. We passed the time reading and logging on to my computer. Although this was a 9 hour job and Nick stayed late to get it done, it was a terrific experience at Dallas Freightliner. We had a nice place to hang out in the lounge at the Oasis and met some customers who were getting a tour of the three month old facility. Dallas Freightliner is working on a fleet of new Walmart trucks that were made in Mexico in addition to the medium truck area where our RV was serviced. There is also a dog kennel on the lot. Some drivers have dogs and need a place to put them while their rigs are getting worked on.

Back to the transfer pump replacement: we got out of there a little after 6:00 PM.

Recap: We 'broke down' for a little over 48 hours. We stayed one night at the Walmart in Hillsboro, TX. We got towed to the Dallas Freightliner Center in Dallas, TX. We spent one night on their gated/secured property in the Roadrunner.

Total cost to us including towing and service: $103.00

(Membership to CoachNet is $99/year. We also lost one night at our COE campground site which is $18/night.)

When we left, the sun was shining and the weather was looking pretty good. It took an hour to the campground. I didn't like the thought of hitting commuter traffic and setting up in the dark but I wanted to get on our way.
The East Fork US Army Corps of Engineers (COE) park is northeast of Dallas. It was the first time we have set up in the dark, but it worked out fine.

Kelly brought Ed (her dog) out and met us there while we were setting up. We had a late dinner and Kelly and Ed left about 9:30 PM. Pam and I talked for a while and hit the hay.

All in all, we are very pleased with how things turned out. We would not have been surprised if the bill was a really big $$number. It gave us some more experience in this lifestyle and we were able to learn some new things. We look forward to seeing what other adventures come our way. And you can be sure we will post them on the Roadrunner Chronicles.

Thanks for your interest!

They Got it Wrong Before They Got it Right!

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We spent a comfortable and safe night in the WalMart parking lot. The tow truck was supposed to be there around 10:00AM.The tow truck showed up about 11:10. It had to drive from Fort Worth which was about 55 miles away. Yikes!
As he approached the truck seemed to look a lot like the one the COULD NOT tow us yesterday. After a brief conversation, the driver confirmed it and headed back to Fort Worth.I called CoachNet again and we started over. About 90 minutes they called back to say they located a bigger tow truck with air suspension, a Low Boy and/or a wheel lift system. Sounds good but we'll see...Meanwhile, I called Duncan Freightliner in Waco to see if they were going to be able to get to us today. Thought I would set expectations. I also wanted to confirm we could stay in the lot over night as CoachNet told us. Uh oh... no can do???

I called CoachNet and they spoke with the same Service Manager I did. The Service manager told them the tow truck could drop us outside the gate and they would move us into the yard first thing in the morning.

Not acceptable! Have you ever been to the outskirts of Waco? Not the safest looking place I have seen.
I wanted to speak with a CoachNet Manager. We were now into 20+ hours of waiting to be towed to the 'nearest qualified Freightliner service' which was in the opposite direction we are headed.

I told him after two attempts and now this new information I wanted no part of Duncan Freightiner. I was civil but we went at it for a bit. He said the cost to tow to Dallas would cost me the difference. What? After all CoachNet has NOT done right?? Where is the SERVICE in Customer Service. He said he'd call Dallas Freightliner.

I expected another round with him after he called Dallas Freightliner to say that it would cost us $$ yada yada yada.

To my surprise CoachNet said were were scheduled at Dallas Freightliner, no cost to me. Hallelujah! I have no idea what changed his mind. Now we were gettting some where...

This right equipment showed up they Dale and Kelly took their time to get things hooked up correctly. They took out the bolts securing the driveshaft, secured front wheels and tied up the mud flap.Then we followed them and the Roadrunner to Dallas.
Dale (the driver) and Kelly called us after we got on the road and said to give them a quick call if we saw any thing that did not look right.

We pulled into the three-month old facility without incident. The security guard checked us in and we talked to the Service Manager. We are on the schedule when they open up at 8:00 AM.We thanked Dale and Kelly for their attention to detail and the careful handling of the Roadrunner, then plugged the coach into 50 amp service.

Then we headed to Kelly's place. Ed checked out his new digs. Kelly prepared dinner for us and we had a very nice evening.We got to meet her roomates, Shea, Meesh and two other friends, Amanda and Becca (hope I spelled that night.)Her place is about 10 miles from Dallas Freightliner. We returned to the Roadrunner and called it a day.

We are grateful for being here. More tomorrow on what they find out about the sick engine. We'll keep you posted. (I am also on Twitter at RandyWarner.)

Thanks for checking in. Hope to see you next time on the Roadrunner Chronicles. The journey continues...

Not the Wall Mart we were planning on

It was a rainy drizzly day and I put in some hours with the non-profit company that I do some part-time work for. It is a great situation. While I was working most of the morning, Pam did the wash at the free laundry at the campground.Meanwhile, Ed was doing what he does best...We wanted to be at a Wall Mart near Kelly's place in Dallas for the night, so we headed out just before 1:00 PM. It was raining on and off. I used my duct-taped wiper a couple of times and was pleased that it held up.The replacement was sent from the factory and is waiting at Kelly's. We were making good time. First we stopped and filled up with diesel. Later, stopped in Waco at a truck stop and got our propane tanks filled since they were getting a little low. Then we moved on down the road.

Everything was fine until...the engine started chugging...and I was losing RPMs...and speed!
I was able to pull over along a tight section of the highway before the engine shut down!
Yikes! This is not good...

I called the Tiffin factory and left a message.
Next (at 3:45PM) I called CoachNet (sort of like AAA for RVs). They said it would take a while to find a wrecker and send one out.

So we waited and watched some TV and read and posted updates to our status on Twitter...
Marlin at Tiffin called back and said we needed to call Freightliner. I called them but it was past business hours so I will followup tomorrow with them. CoachNet indicated that we were going to be towed to Duncan Freightliner in Waco.

Marlin said I should request a reference number from Freightliner. He also gave me his personal number and told me to call him and let him know if he could help. Tiffin is the best! They couldn't send a tow truck-- but the gave me some help and a phone number and they care. At this point in the day I was glad for that.

Happiness (at 5:52 PM)is seeing one of those big boys back up along the side of the road for you! The driver was nice and helpful. He asked what kind of suspension we had. I explained to him (as I had done with CoachNet on the phone) that we have independent front wheel suspension. He was concerned and took a look underneath the front of the rig and confirmed his hunch.

Bad news for us --- he said he was afraid he was going to mess up the tie rods? or something, because his tow truck would likely damage the square tubular something underneath our RV. He couldn't tow us.Sadness is watching what you thought was the solution pulling away and leaving us...

So we called CoachNet again (at 6:03PM) and started the whole process over. CoachNet said they would find someone else. We knew it was going to be a while, so Pam fixed dinner. Right now a couple of frozen dinners (pasta and Mexican) tasted pretty good.Later, I tried starting the engine since it had been a couple of hours. It worked! We decided to slowly move about 3/4 mile down the road to the first exit and pull off the highway into a small truck stop.
At 6:47PM I called CoachNet to let them know where we were. This place was better, but there were no RVs at the truck stop and lots of noise and lots of trucks.
At 7:53PM CoachNet called us back and said they could not find a tow truck tonight but that someone would be here by 10:00 AM tomorrow. So we made plans for the night.

We saw a Wall Mart across the highway and checked it out. It was a much better option so went back and got the Roadrunner and drove over there. We called CoachNet to update our location.

We went inside for some retail therapy (as Pam calls it) and bought some bread and milk and diet Dr Pepper. Then we went back to the Roadrunner and read some more before we turned in.

And with that we will see what the new day brings. Another day in the life of the Roadrunner Chronicles. Thanks for following.