WE ARE LIKING OUR WINNEBAGO ACCESS BUT A FEW FRUSTRATIONS TODAY……………..

Don't have to tell you what we occupied ourselves with for most of the day. Kelly worked away inside the rig getting things put back into cabinets & closets. Got the big rear bed wrestled into shape with clean sheets & pillow cases.  I busied myself with organizing, & stowing things away in bins & checking out the systems. Added water to the fresh water tank & cranked on the taps. TV aerial up & down, check. Climbed up on the roof & made a mental note it needs a good wash. Fiberglass roof by the way & on the flip side we are running on 6 nearly new quality Michelin tires.

 

LOADING UP WINNIE THE BAGO THIS MORNING

 

THIS LARGE STORAGE AREA IS LOCATED UNDER THE BEDROOM AREA

 

I’M CURIOUS AS TO WHY WINNEBAGO PLACED THE AMBER FRONT CLEARANCE LIGHTS  ON THE CABS ROOF JUST AHEAD OF THE SATELLITE DOME INSTEAD OF FORWARD & LOWER DOWN ON THE CAP

No complaints about the sound quality of the Jensen radio but I'm afraid my frustrations came roaring back with that dam touch screen crap. Working with treble, bass, fader & sound balancing I sat there & practically wore my finger out trying to make simple adjustments. Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-poke-poke-poke-poke-peck-peck-peck-peck-press-press-press-hammer-hammer-hammer-kick-kick-kick!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! As I said Monday, I do like the graphics much better in this radio but why oh why oh why & where oh where is the common sense logic in this repeatedly irritating peckable touch screen technology anyway.  If one could just press the key once & it would change, fine.  But it takes me 4 or 5 or 6 pokes to get any key to change at any time.  Of course Kelly can just look at the keys & make them change………………………….’Aaaarrrrgghhhhh’
  

I LIKE THE SIMPLE EASY TO SEE RADIO GRAPHICS BUT DAM THAT TOUCH SCREEN STUFF!!
I like the fact this Ford has an actual working tachometer & it is not digitalized. Easily readable needle tells me when I'm cruising at a comfortable & fuel efficient 2,000 rpms. No need to go through half a dozen computer screens for that information. At first I was a bit put off by the Ford's simplistic instrument panel until I realized last night when I turned the lights on this simpler approach was probably going to work better for my aging eyes in the long run.

A SIMPLE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER IS MAY JUST WHAT I NEED
Really appreciate the easier entry Ford has for the driver. Seems to me like their cab is lower than the Chevy & instead of having to step up & climb into it I just sort of somehow step straight into the driver's seat. Really like the wide running board & it makes it much easier for me getting out with my sore hip. The door seems to open a bit wider as well. Very driver friendly entry.  Thanks Ford:))

BIG SCENIC HEATED MIRRORS ARE ADJUSTABLE FROM INSIDE

 
EASY ACCESS & LOVE THAT BIG EASY TO USE RUNNING BOARD

THEY SURE CRAM A LOT OF ENGINE UNDER THE HOOD

I was under the impression our macerator pump actually mashed up the black tank grunge before discharging it. Thought that is what a macerator pump did. But no, in our rig it only macerates the gray water which seems kind of pointless to me. We can dump the black tank the normal way but to empty the gray tank we have to now press a switch & activate the pump to discharge the water. What!! Also, the compartment for the sewer hose is on the opposite side of the rig from where the dump pipe is. What again!! Both our Damon & Sunseeker had the gray & black valves & pipe enclosed in a bin keeping them free from road grime. The Winnie’s dump pipe is underneath the rig & not as easily accessible. Hmmmmm. Oh well, at least if we have a nasty black tank accident we won't end up with a pile of soup in a bin. It will just simply be all over the ground. Yep, been there, done that.

NOT SURE IF THIS OUTSIDE PLUMBING THING IS A GOOD IDEA OR NOT…THE GRAY WATER VALVE IS BACK BEHIND THE DUAL WHEELS NEXT TO THE GENERATOR

Like the bigger & much brighter interior lights & the 3 big windows in the bedroom.  And we love the easy pull down MCD roller blinds instead of the day/night shades.  Deep cabinets in the bedroom are welcome as well. The shower door is kinda weird because it is a squeegee door. Not sure how I am going to like that. It is a spring loaded material that is pulled out of the wall & locked into place. It then snaps back into place when released squeegamagating water off the plastic like curtain as it goes. May or may not be a good thing. Don't know until I get myself all wet in there.

INSIDE THAT ROUNDED & CURVED WALL IS THE BATHROOM

  

FIRST TIME WE’VE HAD PULL OUT PANTRY SHELVES…SHOWER CURTAIN SLIDES INTO THE WALL AT RIGHT

MCD BLIND DOWN & SLIDE OUT…BOTH DRIVER & PASSENGER SEATS CAN SWIVEL & FACE INWARDS

Couch seems comfy enough but that blow up mattress inside is going to be a tolerance tester if we ever have to use it. Pulling the couch out is a bit of a spine stretcher & getting air into that mattress bladder seemed about one snort short of hopeless. It has an air pump but seemed to take forever to get any kind of air into the blow up bladder. Even the technician guy demonstrating it Monday was obviously frustrated. Took all three of us to get what little air was in it out again & fold the couch back up. I think we are going to have to pour some thought into replacing that couch with a better couch system or a couple comfy recliners. As most RV’ers know, nothing is perfect & one has to make the necessary changes to get things as close to perfectly comfortable as possible.

SLIDE IS NOT OUT BUT WE STILL HAVE PLENTY OF ROOM

 

NICE BACKSPLASH FOR THE STOVE & I LIKE THE BIGGER BRIGHTER LIGHTS…SMALL PODS ARE SPEAKERS FOR THE SURROUND SOUND

LIKE THE IDEA OF HAVING THE TV DIRECTLY ACROSS FROM THE COUCH

We like the additional colorful graphics on this particular coach simply because they cover more of that basic bland white look.  White is not one of my favorite colors & anytime I can take something white & change it’s color it makes me a creatively happy guy.  Maybe that’s another one of the reasons I do not like winter.  White, white, white:((

 

 

  

We did end up with one major frustration today though.  Kelly patiently worked for hours trying to get our home entertainment center working.  She’s no slouch at this stuff….but no go.  Partially our fault in that we did not have the folks at FOREST CITY MOTORHOMES fire up the TV/DVD & surround sound system & walk us through that.  Forest City Motorhomes removes the televisions from all their rigs because of security & re-installs them when units are sold.  We are probably going to have to bite the bullet & drive the rig all the way back to London & have them get this entertainment center working properly.  We both ended our day so frustrated with ourselves for not remembering to have them do that:((

KELLY POURS OVER THE JENSON TV & RCA DVD MANUALS…SEEMS IT IS THE DVD PLAYER THAT IS NOT WORKING

  

KELLY WORKED ON THIS PROBLEM FOR WELL OVER AN HOUR BUT, NO GO:((

 

TV IS ON A STURDY SWIVEL MOUNT & FOLDS BACK TO THE WALL WHERE IT CAN BE SECURELY ANCHORED

And a question for Ford……At the bottom of the front end grill right in the center of the bumper there is a 3 x 30 inch opening.  When I look in there I can see the bottom of the radiator yet there is no protection for that radiator.  No grill in that open space, no wire mesh, nothing.  Any kind of road debris like a rock, a chunk of tire or ice can come right through that opening & into the radiator.  Even a bird or animal.  And by the looks of the way that big 10 cylinder engine is packed into that cab’s front end I would say that would be one major & hugely expensive operation to change that radiator out.

Noticed ONE TEXAN'S TRAVELS has joined our Blog Followers list.  Looks like some nice photography over there & I think there may be something for all you Foody folks as well.  Welcome aboard:))

GROANER’S CORNER:((    For his wife's birthday party, George ordered a cake with this inscription:  "You are not getting older. You are just getting better."
Asked how he wanted the message arranged, he said, "Just put 'You are not getting older' at the top and 'You are just getting better' at the bottom."
It wasn't until the maid served the cake that he discovered, that the cake read:
"YOU ARE NOT GETTING OLDER AT THE TOP. YOU ARE JUST GETTING BETTER AT THE BOTTOM."

-------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.

YAAAAAAAAY, WINNIE THE BAGO IS HOME:))))))))

 

After the Baby Shower in Cambridge Sunday Kelly decided not to stay an extra day & came home about 8 p.m. And as always, Pheebs & I were glad she did. Us guys miss the Boss big time when she's away.

Following our morning walk I wasn't long in getting my new B&D battery powered weed whacker into action. Had green weed juice flying everywhere. Luckily we do not have a lot of grass anymore so the whacker is a nice easy way to go in keeping things trimmed.  No sputtering gasoline engines & any day without a small sputtering gasoline engine is a good day for me.

Because of Kelly coming home Sunday night instead of Monday it moved our whole week up by a day.  We weren’t due to pick up Winnie The Bago until Tuesday morning but we knew it was done so sent FOREST CITY MOTORHOMES an email.  They said ‘sure, come on down about 2 & pick it up’.  That of course quickened my happy step for the rest of the morning & I was again able to get a lot of yard work done.  I like those accomplishment days.

TECHNICIAN JIM GIVES US A WALK AROUND

 

CO-OWNER & SALES GUY RICK DEMONSTRATES THE POWER AWNING

It was high noon when we backed the Sunseeker out of our RV spot here at home & headed for FOREST CITY MOTORHOMES in London Ontario. So nice to have a warm sunny day with dry roads. Had it been raining, all my work cleaning the Seeker last week would have been for naught. We were at the RV Dealership east of London in about an hour & 20 minutes. Paper work was commenced leading to a walk through & inspection of the Winnebago. Questions asked, demonstrations given, a couple concerns addressed & that was about it. Ownerships changed, license plates switched, a couple hand shakes & a final farewell wave to the Sunseeker & we were headed for home by 3 p.m.

CHECKING OUT THE HOME ENTERTAINMENT CENTER

THE COUCH AIR MATTRESS DEMONSTRATION LEFT US WITH FROWNS ON OUR FACES

DON’T YA JUST HATE ALL THE PAPER WORK STUFF………………….

With each mile my apprehensions about giving up the sporty Sunseeker just seemed to melt away. With each mile driven I was able to make the transition from one Motorhome to another. No more Chevy/Ford comparisons in my mind. No more Forest River/Winnebago comparisons. Our WinnieFord is now the new norm & I thoroughly enjoyed it's handling & solid ride all the way home.

FINALLY READY TO HEAD HOME AS WE WAVE GOOD-BYE TO THE LITTLE SUNSEEKER IN THE BACKGROUND LEFT

How nice to FINALLY have a radio (Jensen) I can can easily work with. No problem seeing the touch screen from the driver's seat & here's my favorite part.......it has a KNOB for controlling the volume. Yaaaaaaaaaaay:)) No more manic Woodpeckering with my finger. Graphics are easily readable & accessible. Yes, it's still a touch screen but it is a user friendly touch screen & I can get myself onto that for sure. And then there is the sound quality. Even without tweaking anything I could tell immediately this radio had a far better sound to it than the Sunseeker's Magnadyne.

INSPECTOR PHEEBS COMES ABOARD TO CHECK THINGS OUT & CALLS OUR NEW RIG A HOWLING SUCCESS:))

 

I'm sure I will get used to & like the Winnebago enhanced Ford dash. It's growing on me & I already have a few ideas for jazzing it up a bit. All & all by the time we made it back to Bayfield we were both pleased as punch with our new (to us) rig. Soon as we pulled in the driveway we hurriedly brought the Pheebs out to see what she thought of it. She was even more excited than we were. How nice to have that extra room again as we all sat on the couch, the bed, & played on the spacious floor like we used to do in the Damon. Over the next few days I will point out some of the other things we have likably discovered.....& a few things that put a bit of a frown on our faces & made us scratch our tea kettles a bit.

 

AND A BIG SNUGLY BED TO BOOT

Right now before publishing this I am patiently waiting for darkness so I can slip outside & check out all the dash lights.  I am very easily moosemerized by cool looking dash lights.  That new neon like technology blue gets me every time.  The more Geeky space age rocket ship lights they can cram into a dash the better I like it.  A long way from the days of my first 1961 Volkswagon Beetle & it’s single speedometer gauge barely lit by a dusty candle of a bulb.  A long way indeed.  In the morning we will begin the task of loading everything we took out of the Sunseeker back into Winnie The Bago.  And more photos, observations, & opinions for sure……………………:))

YEP, I THINK WE ARE GONNA LOVE OUR WINNEBAGO ACCESS…….’YABBA-DABBA-DOOOOOO’

GROANER’S CORNER:((   A man goes to a clinic early on a Monday morning and asks to see a doctor. He appears to be in great pain, and his hands are in bandages.
The nurse looks at him sympathetically. "Arthritis, with complications?" she asks.
"No," says the man. "Do-it-yourself, with concrete blocks."

-------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.

A FINE AFTERNOON FOR A WALK IN THE TRILLIUM FOREST

 
THIS FOREST FLOOR NEAR OUR HOUSE IS CARPETED IN TRILLIUM FLOWERS
Kelly was packed up & headed for Cambridge by 9 this morning. A short time later Pheebs & I were Jeeped up & heading off on a back roads tour. A stop at the Canadian Tire Store first netted us a new battery powered Black & Decker weed whacker. I left our 2 year old B&D whacker in Congress. Weeds are exploding out of the ground all around us here so a new whacker was hurriedly in order. Out of respect for neighbors I don't like making a big noise with power equipment on Sundays so Monday morning I will officially declare war on weeds & whack my way around Weedville for awhile.

A message in the Shout Box this morning told us Aunt Jean had safely made it back to Sarasota Florida. That journey involved an early morning car ride to London, a van ride to Detroit, a plane ride to Baltimore, a two hour wait, another plane ride to Tampa Florida & late night car ride home. Tires me out just typing all that so you can imagine how tired Jean must have felt by the time she got home. Still enough energy left to fire up her computer & send us a message though. Yep, that's my Aunt Jean alright & she's made of some pretty darn good stuff I'd say.........:))

 
I've been aware for quite awhile that I look kinda frumpy. When one doesn't see oneself from afar one really does not have a concept of what they look like. Everybody else does though.  Wasn't until Kelly brought me a pair of better fitting Blue Jeans home this week that I realized the two faded pairs I have wearing since the turn of the Century hang on me like a couple old long forgotten dusty potato sacks.  I did dress much better years ago but somewhere along the line I turned the corner from trying to look good to just plain feeling comfortable. At least with baggy pants I can bend over easier, get up off the ground better, & I don't nearly break my leg in half getting on & off the motorcycle. A shirt flopping outside my pants instead of crammed into my pants just makes a whole lot more sense & makes me feel a whole lot more comfortable. No fighting to put on shoes anymore either. I just take the laces out of the darned things & flop my way along. 

 
Always hated wearing hats & it wasn't until we began RVing back in 06 that I started setting the darned things atop my dome. I was totally hatless for the best part of 62 years. Now it's kind of hard to not go along with the logic of wearing a hat. First & foremost it keeps that bright sun out of my eyes. Second, I can hide under it. When I see someone approaching I would rather not talk to I can just kinda dip my head & the brim hides me from eye contact as I stealthily slip on by.   And thirdly, it hides my thick mop of hard to manage & sometimes scary hair.  But here's the thing, I much prefer my Mr. Flumpster look nowadays as opposed to my Mr. Natty Dresser look from back in the 80's. Soooooo glad I finally grew myself out of that stage & got myself comfortable in my own threads. Of course there is another whole way of looking at all this but I don't think I'd better go there.......................

In a recent interview with Canadian singer/songwriter & humanitarian Tom Cochran I heard him describe song writing as a form of therapy. Couldn't agree with him more & I also understand the close connection that therapy analogy has to many Bloggers such as myself. It's actually an opportunity for some of us to sit at our keyboards each day & write about things on our minds. Sometimes those things are not easily said or verbally talked about.  However, for some of us, thoughts & feelings can sometimes be easily written about. Writing for many Bloggers is a form of daily therapy. Not all of us have those perfect happy-happy, bouncy-bouncy, back to back, awesomely awesome days. You the imaginary yet real people reading our posts are in fact the Therapists. You are the real reason many of us put the time & effort into our weekly or daily posts. You patiently listen, your understanding is appreciated & your comments & emails are always important feed back for any Blogger. Again, just a big thank-you to all the readers who have hung in over the years through the ups, the downs, the gray days, the funny days, the flubs, the mistakes, the embarrassments, the high points & the accomplishments. Without you folks reading there wouldn't be much incentive for some of us folks writing..…………………………

 
And here is what you never want to happen to you in your whole RV lifetime.  Check out what Tammy & Art from “IT'S GOOD TO BE US” recently came across.  We have all made our embarrassing & costly RV mistakes so I do feel for this poor fellow who made a quick decision………….& it cost him:((

  
GROANER'S CORNER:(( A pastor was giving a lesson to a group of children on the 23rd Psalm. He noticed that one of the little boys seemed disquieted by the phrase "Surely, goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life..." "What's wrong with that, Johnny?" the pastor asked. "Well," answered Johnny, "I understand about having goodness and mercy following me around but I don't want Shirley following me around all the time. She's a gabby gossip and a pain in the ass!"
-------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.

WAS IT ILL THOUGHT OUT & IMPATIENT………I THINK NOT!!

AN ALLIGATOR OR JUST PAPA GOOSE KEEPING A LOW PROFILE ON THE POND…….HINT:  WE DON’T GOT NO ALLIGATORS HERE:))

Another beautiful Spring day. Not a lot going on. Hips a bit on the sore side so I kept activities to a minimum for most of the day. Pheebs & Jeeped ourselves to Goderich this morning & ran a few errands. She talked me into going through the drive-thru at McDonald's again. Amazing how she can spot those golden arches up ahead.

---
I removed a comment in our Shout Box a few days ago. It was not rude, sarcastic, or derogatory but it did suggest our Winnebago purchase was 'another' hurried & ill thought out idea brought on by Kelly's impatience. I don't know how the commenter came to that conclusion if they had been reading our blog for any length of time. I don't think it is possible for a human being to have more patience about anything than Kelly. We have been pouring over RV 's on ‘for sale’ sites since returning from Borrego Springs 3 months ago.  Been looking for a 26' Class C with a walk around bedroom, bigger washroom with enclosed sink, & a comfy couch/bed combination. They are rare & it took us all this time to finally locate one at a decent price in London Ontario. Walk around beds in a 26 footer are about as rare as hen's teeth. Kelly is the one who has been diligently doing the searches simply because she had the patience to wade through all the pages of 'For Sale' ads each day. Whenever something of interest is found we both talk it over & discuss it at length. Decisions at our house are never made by just one person. We bought the Sunseeker at what we considered a fair price in Arizona & knew it could be a springboard to a slightly larger Class C if necessary. And it was. Also, sales tax is only paid on the difference when trading something in & not on the full price of the RV to be purchased. We also figured we had a far better chance of selling our South-West themed & solar equipped Damon Motorhome in the South-West rather than here in Canada.  And we figured right.   But impatient & ill thought out?   No, I think not. Only downside to the whole Sunseeker deal was the amount of stress we endured from the bumbling dealership we bought it from in Quartzsite Arizona plus the whole 'importing process' before reaching the border. We learned enough from all that not to do it again………………………………

THIS PAIR OF MALLARD DUCKS HAVE BEEN HANGING AROUND THE POND LATELY BUT NO SIGN OF A NEST YET

Looking back over our RV decisions through the years I see our truck & fifth wheel decision as the one where we kinda slipped up.  Being fairly new to RVing we went back & forth on trying to decide between a Motorhome or truck/trailer combination. Nothing wrong with trucks & fifth wheels but it just was not the right RV set up for us & our 3 dogs at the time. Only made one winter trip to the South-West with the truck & fiver & upon our return to Canada we traded that truck/trailer combination in on a Class A Motorhome. We ended up keeping that Motorhome for nearly 6 years.

RED WING BLACKBIRD >>>

Sherry from IN THE DIRECTION OF OUR DREAMS had a comment question in which she asked. ‘Are you or is Kelly the wheeler/dealer’. Always wished one of us were good at that'. Well Sherry, I wished we were good at that as well but neither Kelly or I are adept at that wheeler/dealer stuff.  Especially me & I just hate having to go through that grinding process every time.  Encouraging to know there are at least 4 of us non wheeler/dealer types in the world now.

---

Kelly is off to Cambridge in the morning to spend a couple days visiting her kids.  Baby shower coming up Sunday for her youngest daughter so it is a good opportunity for everyone to get together & make a day of it.  Kelly returns Monday & Tuesday morning we pick up the Bago in London.

EVEN OUR LITTLE CEMENT FROG IS HAPPY IT’S SPRING

Pheebs & I made it around the Pine trail this afternoon.  Took my cane along but luckily I hardly had to use it.  Kelly was talking to my Nurse Practitioner a few days ago & was told my hip X-rays will be seen by a panel of London Doctors sometime in the next 3 weeks or so.  Apparently that panel goes over countless thousands of hip X-rays & decides what cases need immediate attention & what cases can wait.  I think that is a fair way of deciding who is in most need of surgery.  Worst first.  Because my pain is not consistent or constant & I am able to move about without pain about 75% of the time I expect I will be near the bottom of that ‘to do’ list somewhere.  If I don’t move my leg I have no pain & If I have to have anything done to this hip at all I would prefer to have it done next April after we get back from Arizona. 

I’M GUESSING THIS LITTLE FELLOW AS SOME KIND OF SANDPIPER AT THE POND’S EDGE THIS MORNING

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Marcy walks into a drug store and asks the clerk if she can use the store's baby scale. "Sorry, ma'am," says the clerk. "Our baby scale is broken. But we can figure the baby's weight if we weigh mother and baby together on the adult scale, and then weigh the mother alone, and subtract the second number from the first." "Oh, that won't work," says Marcy. "Why not?" asks the clerk. "Because," she answers, "I'm not the mother - I'm the aunt."
-------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.