10/19/2013
We have now moved up to St. Helena for a few days and are staying at Chis Herdell's beautiful restored 1930's bungalow vacation home.
Yesterday we finally got some straight answer's from our insurance company. I called them and was told the company thought we had picked up the rig and living in it. Where the heck they got that information we don't know. After a lot of discussion, we were told that they wouldn't cover anything on this claim, including paying for our hotels costs due to the claim to being a covered loss.
Next, we talked to the repair shop and found out that the order for the new tank had not actually been placed until Oct 14th. That means we would not get the tank until sometime after the 28th. Well Tonto, that ain't gonna work! We have to be in southern California on Nov 1st.
So, the bottom line is we are going to have the tank repaired, get back on the road and on with our lives.
Quality RV Repair does repair work on tanks all the time and we are firmly convinced that we will be alright. Kellie said she will work us into the schedule early this week so we hope to pick the rig up on the 23rd or 24th. We'll then stop by Glaspey's RV Park for a couple of nights then head south. Done! Final answer.
Now the letter writing campaign begins. Heartland say's they won't cover the problem even though the tank was improperly installed and we are out of warranty. Kellie at the repair shop said she will write up a narrative explaining the issue and provide us with some pictures.
The next letter will go to our extended warranty company. They told us that our policy won't cover the tank or repair because the damage was caused by a manufacturing defect. What the heck? Someone please explain why that makes a difference.
We are going to write a letter to management at our insurance company as well. We didn't expect them to pay for the tank but we thought they would at least pay for any damage caused by the leak and cover our hotel costs through our Trip Interruption coverage.
On a very positive note, I finished reading "
Killing Jesus" by Bill O'Reilly. I'm not going into a long review of the book but suffice it to say, if you enjoy reading historical books, this one is for you.
Another book that I recently read was "
Dog's Run" by Nick Russell, a full-time RV'er who also publishes the
Gypsy Journal. Nick has a way of developing character's in his books that make them come alive. If you want books that are very easy reading, with interesting stories that will keep you wanting for more, check out Nick's writings.
10/20/2013
Yesterday Joyce and I along with family walked downtown to check out the Harvest Festival celebration. Not much going on except booths selling stuff and a couple of wine auctions.
During our walk we did stop and admire some of the beautiful homes in St. Helena. Many are being restored helping make the town keep the 1930's feel. This home in town, owned by Frank (Joyce's brother) and Joann, is going for $795,000:
http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/1509-Tainter-St_St-Helena_CA_94574_M18340-04401?row=34 They expect this house to sell very fast. Interested?
This old winery in Conn Valley was the site of a murder back in the late 1800's.
10/25/2013
On Wednesday we left St. Helena heading north to pick up our house from the repair shop in Springfield, OR. We spent one night at the Seven Feathers Casino in Canyonville and finally got the rig picked up at 3:30. After a stop at Les Schawb to have the cracked wheel replaced, we made the drive to Oakridge and into Jim and Jeanne Glaspey's RV Park.
If you are in the Eugene, OR area and need work done on your RV, be sure to call Quality RV Repair. It's a small operation and you will probably need an appointment but the wait is usually minimal. Kellie, one of the owners, went out of her way to get us back on the road as fast as possible despite Joyce and I making changes during the process. She made phone calls to Heartland, our extended warranty company and our insurance company on our behalf and did everything she could to get someone to pay for the damage done by the leaking fresh water tank. While the rig was on their lot, they kept the refrigerator plugged in and Kellie even babysat Joyce's plant.
Cody, the mechanic that did our work did yeomen's work getting everything done in record time. He even did a modification to the frame so that the tank's neck would not rub anymore.
So, we plan to be here today and tomorrow and the head down to Fresno for a few days to visit my family.
10/29/2019
We left Glaspey's RV Park and made the run down to the Elks Lodge in Redding, CA, arriving about 3:30. Just after we pulled in and got set up, several other rigs arrived. Note to self: Arrive at Elks Lodges early in the afternoon.
We visited to lodge's lounge and had a couple of toddy's and since it was Sunday with all the football games going on, they we serving sandwiches for supper.
After a good night's sleep, we left there around 9 AM and made the long drive down to Fresno, CA where we are parked at the
Blackstone North RV Park. We'll be here for a few days then head down to
El Centro Naval Air Station.
11/02/2013
After a quick one night stop at the Ontario, CA Elks Lodge, we are now at the
Palm Oasis RV Park and Resort on El Centro NAS. The RV park has 91 sites all with full hookups. There is also fairly fast free WiFi and our Verizon MiFi Jetpack which we have connected to a Sleek amplifier is getting five bars of 4G service.
If you haven't driven the CA Highway 99/I-5 down from Sacramento lately and are driving a motorhome or pulling a trailer, you are in for a rude awaking. I thought that I-20 through Mississippi or I-80 through Pennsylvania were rough. Heck, those roads we could consider smooth compared to what we experienced the last couple of days. Hope we don't have to do that again anytime soon.
NAS El Centro is a very small base with the major activity happening in January when the Blue Angels arrive to train for their summer tour's. There's a small Commissary and Naval Exchange that we checked out yesterday, a lap pool near the Club and a few other amenities. The
Mirage Club Lounge is open every day and they serve lunch and dinner during the week. We've heard that retired folks can eat breakfast in the dining hall as well.
That's all for now.
Barry & Joyce
