Yes dear, there is shrinkage......

You will recall a few blog posts ago that I acquired, through a fellow Classic Newell owner, a hundred feet (or so) of his just removed rubber trim to be used to replace the 33 year old shrunken rubber trim on my Newell Classic.  Depending on how long some of the rubber strips were the shrinkage was quite noticeable as you can see in the picture below.  This particular piece had shrunk about 4-5 inches on each end.

Just after I picked up the salvaged trim I coiled it all up so it would fit in the back of the VW, and this is what it looked like just before it was stowed for our trip back to the Verde Valley a few days ago.

This stuff is quite old, and I needed to uncoil it and lay it in the sun to soften up again so I could work with it.....after a couple of hours in the sun it was like limp spaghetti!

The sun did its job, and then I began mine.  Over the course of 6 hours I was able to replace all the rubber trim on the passenger side of the coach and it looks much better.  I know many people did not notice the 'shrinkage', but I did......now she looks more like her original self.

  Started on one of the short corner pieces

There wasn't enough of the salvaged trim to fill in every spot, so I re-purposed some of the pieces I removed by cutting and fitting them into the shorter runs, and by doing that I will have enough to remove all evidence of prior shrinkage.

No shrinkage here.....

That was pretty much my day......well, let me back up a tad.....we decided we will stay here at the Krazy K RV Park until the 14th.......Marla cut us a very good rate......basically she extended our Passport America discount for 10 days......the website says it is only good for 2 days, but Marla is a very accommodating gal, and we appreciate her generosity a lot.  On the 14th we will head back to the NFS land a few miles up the road to spend another week before heading north to Lake Powell to spend some more time in one of our favorite boondocking sites.  One of our reasons for staying where we are a couple more weeks is to give the weather time to warm up a little.....those overnight temps in the mid 20's can be draining on the batteries.

Around 5:30 I fired up the Sea-B-Que in preparation for a filet mignon TLE had purchased the day before.  TLE prepared mashed potatoes, more spinach mixed in with the leftover rice concoction from the night before, an broccoli.  We chased the food with some wonderful Pino Noir.

While we were eating we began talking about our friends Bob and Karen (college buds) who live near Coupeville, WA on Whidbey Island.  Our habit has been to see them pretty much every year, but we missed them in 2014.  They have both been on my mind lately so we decided to call them to see how they were doing.....as it turns out Karen was out of town, but we talked with Bob for close to an hour.  We will be stopping by to see them on our way to Spokane in October.....YAY!!

The Newell 'shoe horned' into Bob and Karen's backyard back in 2008.

For the night cap we watched the season finale of 'Gold Rush', and the second installment of this season's 'Amazing Race'.

Thanks for stopping by!

When stuff breaks keep it simple!

After we had moved from NFS land a couple of weeks ago to beat the rain TLE mentioned that the right turn signal on the trailer was not working, and neither was the brake light.  I've been having trouble with those lights for a couple of years now, and just thought it was a ground issue.  However, when we were getting the Newell and trailer out of storage a few days ago I had her do a light check on all the turn/brake/running lights and found that the right rear brake light on the coach was not working too......now that was very concerning.

Back in our first month of nomadic meanderings in early 2012 I had serious issues with all the rear lights on the coach and trailer, and it took me several days of trouble shooting to untangle the wiring mess in the back......but I did, and since then everything has worked well with the occasional trailer light issues now and again.  So, when TLE said the right rear brake/turning lights weren't working I felt that old sinking feeling creeping back......I don't know why, because I have become very competent at trouble shooting 12 volt electric issues since that time.

In addition to that the shower drain was not draining as fast as it should when we left, but when we returned Wednesday it was significantly worse.  In my mind I imagined having to disassemble the drain from the shower to the gray tank to find the clog......why do I do that?  It rarely ever is as complicated as I dream it will be, but I always seem to start out expecting the worst.

Since I always feel more at home fixing plumbing problems I started with the shower drain issue.  I opened up the driver's side water bay door to disassemble the 'trap' to see if there was a clog there, and quickly found it wasn't clogged at all.....the 'trap' is pretty close to the gray tank, as you can see, so it was easy to rule out any clog downstream from the trap, so next up was the shower drain itself.

I have known for a long time that the drain was clogging up, but it appeared I would have to remove the entire drain "assembly" (the dreaded "assembly" word).   I had a feeling there was a ball of hair just below that screen, but it didn't appear initially that I could remove it, so I devised a sort of wire hook to 'fish' out the hair, which worked to a degree, but then I discovered that I could actually remove that screen......:-/  It took less than 2 minutes to remove the hair clog.

Once again, a job that could have taken less than 5 minutes took me an hour and a partial disassembly of the 'trap' in the water bay.  Once it appeared I had gotten all the hair out I ran the water to be sure, and it drained wonderfully.......right onto the floor of the water bay because I had not reconnected the 'trap' before going inside.......sigh.....so I had to run outside, after turning the water off, and mop up the water that had flooded into the water bay through the disassembled 'trap'.  On a positive note the flooring of the water bay is much cleaner today than it was yesterday.

Then it was on to the electrical issue, which meant it was time to unlock the door to the dreaded rear electrical panel....

There are three relays that control both the tail lights on the coach, and the trailer.  As you can see the one on the right is not original equipment.  This relay was replaced by me when we were in Vancouver, WA about 2.5 years ago, and has worked well since then, but now we are once again having problems with the right brake/turn lights, so I'm thinking it has failed again......why do I always run to the worst case scenario in my mind?  Well, instead of removing it I began to troubleshoot as I have learned to do.    I tested each circuit on the relay and discovered it was receiving a signal and sending out a signal, so the relay was working!  I then began to test the wiring running from the relay to the tail lights and found a loose connection.  Once that was fixed the right rear lights on the coach began to work again.  However, the right rear lights on the trailer were still not working, so I began to test the wiring all the way to the rear of the trailer and found the signal was making it to the LED tail light, but the tail light was not working.  So, all I need to do is replace the right rear LED tail light on the trailer, which I found on Amazon.com!  It will be here at the park we are staying at Saturday.

While I was working on all that I discovered the LED strip lighting I had affixed to the driver's side undercarriage has ceased working, so now I need to delve into that 12 volt mystery, but decided to leave that for another day.

Next I began to remove some of the old rubber trim on the coach that had shrunk, and actually installed a couple of pieces.  It looks like it will be an easy process, but to make it easier to work with I need to let the replacement trim sit in the sun to make it pliable.

While all of this troubleshooting fun was going on TLE was out doing a 'big' shopping at the local Bashas.  She returned around 2:30 while I was deep into the weeds on the trailer wiring, but I did stop to help her unload the groceries from the VW.

Around 5:30 I got out the Sea-B-Que to grill some Ahi Tuna for dinner.  TLE made sides of cooked spinach, and wild rice, with sauteed onions/mushrooms, and then baked that concoction with a layer of Italian Cheese on top.  What a great dinner!

Looking forward to replacing more shrunken trim on Friday......thanks for stopping by!

Back home.....

Eight days is the longest we have been away from our wheeled home since we moved in 4 years ago.  There are many things I missed about our small home while we were absent, most importantly our bed, but, of course, there are many aspects of living in a home on wheels that I miss whenever I am away such as privacy, the sounds of nature just a few feet away, not having to shut the bathroom door when it is in use, the proximity of everything inside the coach, my garage on wheels, being able to spend days at a time with just each other for company.

The one thing I did not 'love' about the last 8 days was all the 'until next time' sessions we went through, especially with my kids, in-laws, and close friends, and Wednesday morning we went through that ritual once again with Tom and Darlene.  On a positive note, we will see them near the end of April when we head back to Yuma for TLE's implant surgery.  We were in the Bug by 10 am and headed northward to our home, and the beautiful Verde Valley.

The drive north on I-17 was completely uneventful, and we arrived at the NFS land off Thousand Trails Road about 12:15.  We decided to reconnoiter the area before we retrieved the coach and found a bloody muddy mess into which there was no way we would be driving 39,000 pounds of steel.  We were barely able to get in and out of there in the very light VW.......so what to do?

As we drove down the hill to the Thousand Trails storage facility and our awaiting coach we began discussing our various options and essentially settled on moving over to a small RV park in Camp Verde for a few days until the NFS land dries out enough so we can return.  When we got to the coach it was still quite cold outside so I turned on the block heater (we were plugged into 30 amp the entire time we were gone) and began looking up local parks that accepted our Passport America card (50% off).  There was only one locally that accepted it in the month of March, and that was the Krazy K RV Park in Camp Verde.  I called and talked with Marla who agreed to hold a spot until 2 pm.  Their price is normally $36/night, but only $18/night with Passport America for full hookups, plus WiFi.  That's only good for two nights, but this is also a 55 plus RV park, and if you are over 65 their daily rate is $22, so not too bad.

After a sufficient amount of time we turned over the DD 6V92, which roared to life immediately, and then picked up the trailer and headed down to Camp Verde arriving there just before 2 pm.  Krazy K is a small park, but the staff was able to help us maneuver around and get into our site for the next two days without too much difficulty.

We spent the rest of the afternoon getting set up, and mostly unpacking from our 8 day road trip......until I had to put my 'stuff' away I had not really focused on how much 'stuff' I had taken.  On a side note, I am happy to report that with the exception of a few t-shirts, I wore everything else I took with me.

The weather forecast for the next 10 days is for clear, and mostly clear skies and warming temperatures, which is important as we begin to migrate our way northward which we will begin to do in less than two weeks.

We spent some time catching up on shows that recorded while we were gone......since we were able to keep the coach plugged in we left the satellite dish up, and the receiver on to catch all of our usual programs while we were gone.  Apparently the cloud cover never got bad enough to interfere with the recording of any of the programs.

It's good to be back home, and we are looking forward to a few weeks of solitude!  Thanks for stopping by!

Wittmann living....

I slept in to 7:30 am Tuesday.....it was so wonderful to sleep in a bed larger than a double....that was the size of the bed in the Hilton room we shared with TLE's sister.  We haven't slept in a double bed since we were first married.  A double bed is wonderful if you are by yourself, but does not work for two old fogies.  

We 'lazed' around most of the morning.....well, I should say I 'lazed' around....TLE played cards all morning with Darlene and her friend Michelle.  They have quite a rivalry going after a few years of card playing.  Originally Darlene used to win all the time, but now TLE is winning more often.

A friend, and fellow Newell owner recently contacted me saying had removed a bunch of rubber trim from his Classic Newell, just like the trim I have on mine, and wanted to know if I wanted it.  Over 33 years the rubber trim on my coach has kind of shrunk up to where it is about 1-2 inches too short on each end now.  I was beginning to research where to find replacement trim when I got the e-mail from Jim Ellis.  As it turns out Jim was having his coach repainted in Mesa, AZ and got the shop to agree to hold the trim until I returned to Arizona, so Tuesday was the day headed over to Mesa to retrieve the trim.  Since Jim's coach is 4 feet longer than mine there are enough long pieces pieces to replace the ones of mine that have shrunk!

The rubber trim after I 'coiled' it up to get it in the VW

We left about 1 pm to drive over to Mesa, which is a little over an hour away.  It continued to rain on and off on our 130 round trip drive.  Once we retrieved the trim we grabbed a cup of coffee at Starbucks before beginning the drive back.  We decided to stop off at Rock Bottom Brewing on Bell Road in Surprise to have an early dinner as our hosts would not be home until about 9:30 that night.

 Habanero Shrimp and Street Tacos (fish)

We were back in Wittmann by 6:30 and spent part of the evening catching up on a few recorded TV shows (Tom and Darlene watch many of the same shows we do) before heading to bed by 10:30.

Thanks for stopping by!

Eastbound and down....

We were up and packed by 8 am, but not yet ready to leave, so we wandered downstairs one more time to see who might be in the reunion hospitality suite.  We ended up talking for quite a long time to one couple (Dick and Vicki) who were interested in the nomadic lifestyle we lead.  I have a feeling we will be hearing from them in the near future!  Around 9:30 it was time to move our luggage downstairs and call for our car so we could get on the road.

Phyllis needed to be dropped off at the Ontario airport so she could catch a 12:30 pm flight back to DFW, and we wanted to have an early lunch with Meredith, our daughter, before leaving town again.

The outbound traffic was light so we were also able to drop by Kate's office (middle daughter) in Claremont to pick up a small box of things we had left at her house the prior week, then it was over to the airport to drop off Phyllis.  We had a wonderful time sharing a room with her the past 4 days while we were at the reunion, and it literally cut both our costs in half.....thank you Phyllis!

We met Meredith at Lazy Dog Restaurant in Rancho Cucamonga just after 11 am and had a wonderful 'until next time' meal with her.

By 12:15 we were merging on to I-10 eastbound headed for the Arizona border.  Within a few miles the rain began to come down.

It rained....sometimes quite hard.....hard enough that the car began to hydroplane once, or twice when we hit unexpected puddles on the Interstate, but eventually the sun came out once again, and we were treated to an amazing rainbow that seemed end right in our lane.....what do you think?

We arrived at the Arizona border at just 3:30 pm, but, of course, we lost that hour we had gained just a week before, and it was now 4:30 pm.  We refueled, and were safe and sound at our friends home in Wittmann by 6:15.

We'll spend a couple of nights with our friends (Tom and Darlene) before heading back up to Cottonwood to retrieve our coach and trailer and resume vagabonding.

Thanks for stopping by!

Finale

Sunday was our last day at TLE's college reunion, and the only activity remaining was banquet finale that evening at 5:30.  Initially I walked over to Starbucks for a light breakfast sandwich with the Houghtaling (pronounced Ho-tel-ing) sisters  seen in the picture below.....Phyllis is on the left, Laureen is in the background, and, of course, TLE is on the right.  The first Houghtaling sister I met was their oldest sister, Marcia, back in 1963 at a church summer camp which was called SEP (Summer Educational Program) held in Big Sandy, TX.  Little did I know at the time that I would, over the course of the next 7 years, meet the other three sisters, and choose to spend the rest of my life with one of them.  Regretfully, Marcia passed on way too soon back in 2010 at the still young age of 67 years old.  In all TLE has 5 siblings.....3 sisters, and two brothers.  Their father, Frances, raised 4 amazing women whom I have been privileged to call family for the past 43 years.  It would have been wonderful if Marcia had been able to attend this reunion as I lost track of number the people who asked after her over these past 4 days.

Hangin' with the Houghtaling girls

Marcia Houghtaling Demarest....RIP

You might be wondering how it is that so many different class years are represented at this reunion.  Ambassador College was a very small college.....I think the total student body the year TLE entered her freshman class in 1967 numbered somewhere just over 6, or 700.  This particular reunion was open to all those who attended from 1947 to 1977, so there were three decades of graduating classes represented.  In the first decade of the college I don't think the entire student body exceeded 100 in any given year.

After returning from our late breakfast we spent a couple of more hours in the hospitality room talking with friends, then TLE and I walked over to the local Rubio's with Laureen's husband, Glenn, for small lunch, and then retreated to our rooms to take a break.  My brother Dwyer came by and spent a couple of hours visiting for which I was very grateful.  Over the past few years spending time with my siblings has become a priority and every chance I get now seems so precious.  You just do not know when your number is up, and if there is a chance to connect we make it happen.  I no longer feel I have the luxury of thinking 'I'll see them next time around'......you just don't know for sure that the opportunity will be there.  Life seems so much more fragile, and temporal at age 65 than it did at age 45.

TLE talking with good friend Dick Quincer

Waiting for the evening's festivities to begin

Around 5:30 we got dressed up in our 'Sunday go to meeting' finest and headed downstairs to the grand finale banquet where we spent a few more hours talking with friends, and exchanging contact information.  We have received so many offers to stop by and visit friends from around the U.S. that it will take a few years to work them all in to our travel plans.

It has been a wonderful four days in Pasadena reconnecting with our past, but we are both mentally exhausted, and are looking forward to returning to the solitude of the high desert near Sedona to recharge, and resume our nomadic wanderings.

Thanks for stopping by!

Time trippin'

Saturday was the day we would take a tour of our old college campus located near the intersection of Orange Grove and Colorado Boulevards in Pasadena.  Late in the 19th century and moving into the early 20th century the area where our small church college eventually was located was called 'Millionaires Row'.  By mid century many of these large mansions had fallen into disrepair and our church began to buy up the properties to form the Ambassador College campus.  While the college no longer exists, the property has been sold to another church group which is utilizing a large part of the original campus for a Christian high school called Marantha.  Here are a few pictures that I think will convey the original grandeur of the campus....

'Lower Garden' where graduations were held (TLE & her sister Phyllis)

 One of the former mansions we called 'Mayfair', which was utilized as a dormitory by our college.

 The 'quad' area

The student center kitchen where TLE toiled her freshman year

The food service staff at Marantha H.S. provided us with a lovely lunch in the dining area of the student center where as young adults we spent many hours many years ago.  It was comforting to see that Marantha is going to great lengths to preserve many of the structures and features of the old Ambassador College Campus.

The old Huet C. Merritt Mansion that was called 'Ambassador Hall'.  My first summer home from the Texas campus I worked on the grounds around this building.

 The planter where I would store my sack lunch until lunch time each day

My first summer home from the Texas campus I worked on the 'landscape crew', and I was assigned to work around 'Ambassador Hall' (shown in the three pictures above) weeding the dichondra lawn.  It was the kind of lawn that looked great in pictures, and from a distance, but required a lot of labor to keep it looking good.....not very practical, but very beautiful.  It was during that summer of 1968 that I developed a friendship with the Lovely Elaine, which blossomed over the years, and the rest is history.

Later in the afternoon I made contact with my brother, Dwyer, who was in town for a few days and made arrangements to meet he and my sister Jill at Congregation Ale House just a half mile from the hotel.  TLE, Phyllis and I walked the half mile over to the ale house about 10 minutes arriving there just after Dwyer had arrived, and Jill arrived about 30 minutes later.  They have a wonderful selection of their own brews, as well as other local brews.  I had their Cocoa Porter for starters, and then had a pint of their Dark of the Covenant Stout, to go along with a basket of their tacos....both were excellent, and is mute testimony to why they get a 4 star rating on Yelp.  It was the perfect venue for our family get together.  We had a wonderful 2 hours of talking and laughing before heading back to the hotel for the evening.

Thanks for stopping by!