Vet visit, Lettuce Days and Installing New Flooring

Posted on March 5, 2014 by Jim Melvin

Please don’t take me there!

Well Friday was Chica’s annual vet visit. I had called the day before and got a 2:15 appointment. How lucky I thought. Until I opened their door. There must have been 25 people in the waiting room with their pets. There were dogs of all sizes and shapes. Unfortunately there was no place to sit down as all the seating had already been taken. One idiot thought it would be really neat to show off to everyone how his dog could bark on command. DUH!!!

I had to stand up the entire time before getting in to see the vet. Fortunately they called our name early and Chica seemed all happy to see all the people who worked at the animal hospital.

I took her to the Foothills Animal Hospital on the advise of Debbie and Gayle. They had been there previously in the week and really liked them. I would highly recommend them as well. They are very professional and don’t even charge for an office visit, unlike the other vet I took her to last year.

The nurse came in and took her to get a pedicure and were back after a few minutes. Then she returned to have the Doctor look at her.

I thinks she spotted those needles and decided this was not a good thing.

The vet said she is in good health although starting to get a bit pudgy, so he had me cut back on the wet food I mix in with the dry food. He also said that she needs to come back for a teeth cleaning.

Lettuce Days

Sunday Chris and I went to the Lettuce Days in Yuma. It was a very neat event and lots of informative information about farming in the Yuma area. They had everything from Giant tractors to lots of wonderful produce.

Her is a great pic of Chris and the Dole Pineapple.

Then we met this poor sap who played music for donations to help fix his car.

It was a great day.

Back to the dentist

Monday I returned to the dentist where she removed two crowns and took impressions for my new bridge. YUK! I hate that stuff they use for making impressions. I now only have one more appointment to install the bridge and pull a wisdom tooth. That should really be a blast from the past!!!

Off to Hot Springs LTVA

Tuesday i left Mittry Lake to head on over to the Hot Springs LTVA just outside of Holtville, CA. After I posted that I had got an estimate for removing the carpeting and replacing it with a nice flooring material I received an email from Peter of American Traveler fame. He offered to remove the carpeting and replace it with a vinyl flooring product. WOW!! What great friends I have!

Peter and Bea live on Campobella Island in New Brunswick, Canada. They travel in the winter to the southwest were they spend approximately 6 months. I have known them since Mar, 2011 and without making any plans have run into them every year since. This was the first time we planned to meet each other.

I couldn’t believe the offer from Peter. So now I am parked at the Hot Springs right near Peter and Bea while we work on my flooring. Peter drove me into the Home Depot in El Centro and I selected a vinyl flooring. Then it was back to my rig to remove the carpeting. It came out fairly easy, but then we had the job of removing all the tacks that Lazy Daze uses. Lots and lots of tacks.

Her is a pic of Peter ready to attack the removal of the carpeting.

Of course Chicka had to help too.

Chicka has a new place for her bowl.

More pics of the flooring after the carpet was removed. Now it is nothing but pulling out tacks.

Now Peter is laying the vinyl tiles, with Chicka’s assistance of course.

Peter was able to lay four rows of tiles before we called it quits about 3:00pm. We then relaxed a bit and then headed down to the hot springs were we took a refreshing dip in the hot water. It was a busy day and I cannot thank Peter enough for tackling this project.

Batten down the hatches

Posted on February 28, 2014 by Jim Melvin

Rain on it’s way

The rain that hit Southern California is headed this way. That means making sure I have everything I need for a few days as I don’t want to be traveling down muddy roads. Going to Yuma requires driving on a dirt road for about a mile and then it turns into pavement. Hopefully we will not be hit too hard.

Dumped tanks and got estimate

Yesterday I dumped tanks and filled up with water. After that I drove into RVDecor in Yuma to get an estimate on replacing my carpeting with wood flooring. My carpeting is really hard to keep clean especially when you are camping in inclement weather such as rain and snow. Besides that I just want a new and improved look. The owner came out and checked my rig and told me they could put in wood flooring and new carpeting in the cab. Great, but how much. $1800. YUK!!!

Since I don’t have that kind of money floating around I told him thanks for the estimate and drove back to Mittry Lake. It is something I will definitely have to save for. I have replaced my window blinds and when I am at my sister’s home in a month or so I will change the curtains over the kitchen window and the door. Then I only have one more blind in the back to replace. While I am in Yuma, I am going to Lowe’s and pick up a kitchen faucet.

Vet Appointment

While they were here Debbie and Gayle and Jim took their animals into the Foothills Animal Hospital for shots and checkups. They were very happy with them and so I called yesterday and was able to get an appointment for Chica at 2:15. She is going to have her annual shows, nails trimmed and teeth cleaned. The vet is not her favorite place to be, but hope all goes well and we are in and out in a short time. I will let you know how things go.

This was a piic of her at her first vet visit last year in Mesa, AZ.

I will try to get a couple of pics this time as well.

Cha-Ching!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted on April 21, 2012 by Jim Melvin

Cha-ching, cha-ching!!

I noticed my rig had been sluggish. So as you remember I took it into the Rancho Santa Margarita Ford dealer and had a major tune-up and a rebuilt catalytic converter. After driving down and back to Oceanside I now noticed that it was idling rough and was missing. It was then back to the Ford dealer. I dropped it off and spent the night at my sisters home. They called to inform me that one of my injectors was not performing properly and recommended replacing it. They would have to order the parts and would install them the following day.

I picked it up yesterday and it does run very smooth now. It made a huge difference. I hope this is the last time I will see them for a while. I have to dip into my savings to pay for all the repairs, but it was necessary and it is my home I am talking about.

Ready to make tracks

Anyway I am back at O’Neill Park and will be wrapping things up in So CA very shortly. I have a couple more appointments my sister set up involving my mother’s care and finances. I also have to take a new passport photo to send in to renew my passport. I am also seeing my old ski buddy on Wednesday for coffee, conversation and dinner. Then Thursday morning I am off on my newest adventure.

A couple more photos of O’Neill Park. During the week there are only a few campers here but on the weekend this place really fills up.

Stay tuned folks.

Still in SO California

Posted on April 7, 2012 by Jim Melvin

On the move…

Last week I moved from Oceanside Elks to the Mission Viejo Elks. I had to attend a memorial to a prior boss. I was only at the MV Elks for 3 days (which is all they allow at one time). You just park in a parking lot with no hook-ups. I then moved out to O’Neil Park for 2 days only. I knew I was taking my rig into the local Ford dealer (where I have taken it several times before) for service and check a few items.

Need some work done on rig…

I took my computer with me so I had something to do while in their waiting room. They were going to check my brakes and a normal service, plus also check to see why it has been so sluggish lately.. When going down the mountains I can smell the brakes. I am very careful when driving in the mountains and don’t stand on my brakes all the time.

All I needed was a simple check up…HA!

They said that the brakes were OK, but also suggested I get a major tune-up. It hadn’t been done in some time so went ahead and took care of that. They road tested it and it was still sluggish. I needed a new catalytic converter. BUMMER!!!

So after replacing the catalytic converter it runs really good. Lots of pep. I still might have them replace the rear brakes anyway and turn the rotors. Better to do it now then when I am on the road somewhere in no-man’s-land trying to find someone to help me.

No place to call home!

After leaving the dealer on Thursday I returned to O’Neil Park and requested 6 nights. NO WAY says the park ranger. We are booked through Easter. She did have space available for that night only. I stayed there that night. PANIC MODE!!! I called several other parks in the area and they were all booked up. Then I called the MV Elks and they said come on down. They don’t have very much space and there were already 3 other rigs there, but I was able to squeeze into a spot. I am here for 3 days and then will probably return to O’Neil Park as I am only allowed 3 days maximum at the MV Elks.

Back to Oceanside in another week

I also got in touch with my son and we decided to meet up in Oceanside where we can hang out and catch up with each other. So it looks like I may be returning to the Oceanside Elks for another week. I am really glad I joined the Elks when I did. They are life savers this week-end when everywhere else is full.

HAPPY EASTER !!!

Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta – Days 4-5

Posted on October 6, 2011 by Jim Melvin

Up close to the balloons

I decided to go across the street and watch the balloons take off from the field. You can get up close to all the balloons and thousands of people are everywhere on the field. It is very exciting to be there in person. Besides the balloons, you also get to see what they call the “Zebras”. They are the folks who originally dressed in referee costumes and actually direct the balloons and tell them when they can take off. They also keep the crowd away from the takeoff zone of the balloons. Some of them are very colorful and go to extremes with their costumes as you can see from this pic.

First balloon of the day

They send up several balloons which are called the Dawn Patrol. They usually go up about 6:00 when it is still dark. The glow of these balloons are really neat. About 7:00 they send up the first balloon with the “Stars and Stripes” hanging from it. They also have someone sing our National Anthem. It is very emotional. Today the first balloon that went up was called the “Dream Weaver” from Albuquerque, NM.

Thanks Millie for all the great comments!

While on the field I took many pictures. This is one for my favorite friend Millie who you may have seen her many comments on my blog. She works at State Farm and is very near retirement.

Thanks Terry for watching my money!

Then I can’t forget my financial broker Terry who works for Wells Fargo Advisors. My 401K may not be going up, but the Wells Fargo balloon did a pretty good job of climbing.

The next couple of pics shows the balloons preparing for the “Mass Accension”.

Then I took a few pics of individual balloons. This is Skywalker from Ridgeway, CO

Here we have Kachina from Witchita Falls, TX.

And finally one of my favorites Lindy from Saint Louis, MO.

Breakfast at the Mule Barn

On the following day I went to breakfast with Steve, Annie and Rick at Murphy’s Mule Barn. The place is not much to look at but if you are looking for good food at great prices that is definetely the place to go.

North to Alaska!!

At 12:00 we all got together for a talk about traveling to Alaska. Linda and Carole headed up the group but there were several others who have already been there and much was learned about what to expect, the pros and cons, where to camp, and what to see. It was very interesting and it has me thinking about heading north. Thanks Linda and Carole you really have me thinking of making a trip to Alaska. Now I just have to save my $$$$$.

Mike and Lisa’s Barbeque. Umm Good!!!

We had a 4:30pm pot luck dinner/cocktail hour and Mike and Lisa Sylvester supplied the delicious barbeque. Then Mike gave a great talk all about RV refrigerators and water heaters. He gave us a lot of great tips on keeping those appliances going and what to do if we have problems. Thanks Mike and Lisa for a great time!!!

Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta

Posted on October 4, 2011 by Jim Melvin

Lazy Daze at the 40th Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta

There were 35 Lazy Daze rigs that all got together at the Balloon Fiesta. The SW Lazy Daze group had 14 rigs that caravanned from the Caravan Group. Here is Linda Leach, our group leader, greeting Jack and Jenette Walker of the Caravan Group.

That afternoon at 4:30 we had cocktail hour and everyone brought something. It was a regular feast.

My annual maintenance

Then next day Mike and Lisa Sylvester (The RVGuy) performed my annual appliance maintenance on my rig. I have had it done each time I have been at the Balloon Fiesta. I also had Mike replace the motor in my furnace as it was getting very noisy. They are very good at what they do and know all about the Lazy Daze RV’s. They were kept very busy by our group.

Good Friends

My good friends Terry and Karen Reitz were crew members for the pink pig balloon this year and got these great t-shirts. They were really cool!

More Food

The following evening we had “Heavy Finger Foods”. It was delicious and again a good turn out.

Again everyone scarfed it down and nothing was left.

Lots of Balloons!

But we all came here for not only GREAT FRIENDSHIPS and DELICIOUS FOOD but to see the balloons. This is my 2nd year at the Balloon Fiesta and I took a ton of pics last year but couldn’t resist taking more this year.

Darth Vader patrolling the sky.

Hear no evil, see no evil and smell no evil!

It was a great start for the Balloon Fiesta. It was fun meeting up with old friends and meeting new ones as well. The food was delicious and the weather was perfect. This week should be a great time!

Hit The Road Jimbo…

Posted on September 7, 2011 by Jim Melvin

The call that I have been waiting for

At 10:00am I finally got the call from the Ford dealer in Dallas stating that the new pump was installed and it was ready for pickup at any time. When he first got on the line I was afraid that he would say – “Wrong pump Jimbo” – or “Still has a problem Jimbo!” Thank you Daniel at the Ford dealer for getting it right. I then had to ask him to pick me up at the InTown Suites. I purposely stayed there since it was only 2 miles from the dealer.

Am I crazy giving away my Corona’s

In the mean time the maintenance crew for InTown Suites had just knocked on my door to tell me that they were installing a new A/C in my room. PERFECT TIMING. I had 2 TV dinners, water, a couple of Dr Peppers and of course my Corona’s. Rather then have to haul all of that stuff I gave them to the maintenance crew. He told his guys to come in and grab the water and Dr. Peppers, while he kept the TV dinners and the Corona’s for himself. What a guy!! That way the refrigerator was cleaned out.

Don’t stop now, this is too much fun…

I was planning on heading over to Lake Arrowhead State Park out side of Wichita Falls, TX. I didn’t get out of Dallas until about 2:00pm. Once I hit Wichita Falls I decided to go on further. The “Breeze” (my Lazy Daze) was running GREAT and I was really enjoying driving it and didn’t want to stop. I finally drove all the way to a tiny RV park 10 miles outside of Crowell, TX. I pulled in as it was starting to get dark. The hosts were really nice people and they were so glad to see me. I was the only one in the park. I am so thankful that this day ended the way it did.

On to Palo Dura State Park…

Tomorrow I will be heading out to Palo Dura State Park. Since the weather has improved and it no longer feels like I am on the equator in the middle of summer, I am thinking of staying there for 3 days . I have heard that there is no Internet or cell phone coverage so I may not be able to share my experience there until later.

Thanks everyone for all the words of encouragement and thanks Steve for the infamous pump part number. I am just so happy to be back on the road and in an adventurous mindset!

Lets Hope It’s The Right Pump

Posted on September 6, 2011 by Jim Melvin

I am still w…a…i…t…i…n…g…

I spent the Labor Day Weekend in my room at InTown Suites online catching up on blogs and also watching TV. Fun eh! – NO! I would much rather be on the road making new adventures. Besides TV dinners are not the greatest either. YUK!!!

Part should be here today – HOORAY!!

According to the FedEx tracking system my fuel pump should arrive at the dealer sometime today. I called Daniel at the dealer to let him know the pump will be coming in today and to let me know when it arrives. With any luck it is the correct pump and I should be out of here in a few days.

Swype on my Droid is so fast…

I subscribe to a newsletter sent out by Geeks On Tour. In it they describe how to type on your Android phone a whole word at a time without removing your finger from the keyboard. WOW!! I love new technology and just had to see how this works. I read their article and within a half hour I was typing away on my phone’s keyboard with the greatest of ease.

I would highly recommend checking out the Geeks on Tour site. They have a lot of FREE articles and videos that cover things like Picasa, computer tricks. organizing your computer, Google Earth, Microsoft Streets and Trips, etc. Check them out. Like I said many are FREE but you can also sign up for their paid membership for $39 per year and have access to all of their videos on how to do many interesting things using your computer. I have a yearly membership and can’t begin to tell you how useful it has been. I have really learned a great deal from them. They also give seminars at many RV rallys throughout the country so look for them.

By the way, I am not affiliated with any of the above recommendations except to be a very satisfied user of all.

Short Stop Over In Dallas Turns Long – @%*&

Posted on September 1, 2011 by Jim Melvin

When my rig was towed into Dallas for repairs the folks at Coach-Net, my Emergency Roadside Service, told me the Ford Dealer would begin working on my rig the very next morning. I was confident that it wouldn’t take that long to perform the repair. However, I was DEAD WRONG!! It took me over a week to just find out the part I should have ordered for the repair. The Ford dealer was able to diagnose the problem the next morning, but later called back to tell me they were having problems locating a part.

The part they were looking for was an intake fuel pump that is inside the tank. Ford no longer manufactured the part and a replacement was a Motorcraft part number. I went on line to see if I could order the part and have it shipped to the dealer. There were four parts stores that said they had the part in stock and all were priced the same. I then ordered it online. Once I completed my order I called them to verify when the part would be shipped. They told me it was too late for Friday’s shipments and they were closed over the weekend so it would ship Monday and the dealer would get it on Tuesday. Soon I would be on the road again.

Not so fast Jimbo! I called the part store on Tuesday to verify that it had been shipped and low and behold they told me they didn’t have one in stock as they had said on their website. I then called the three other parts warehouses on line and none of them had it available. Now what? I called the dealer and asked them if there was an aftermarket replacement part for this fuel pump. I can’t imagine that a ’91 would not have a replacement and that the Ford dealer would not have that information.

My father had three MG’s, one dating back to 1955 which he completely tore apart and rebuilt every part on it. He never had a problem finding any part for his cars. My rig is a ’91 RB Lazy Daze and I couldn’t see why there would be any problem. I was sooooooo wrong! Not only could they not find a replacement part but they had no idea what would replace it.

My frend Steve in the Yahoo lifewithalazydazerv group felt my pain and caming running to my aid. Thank you Steve – dinner at the Balloon Fiesta is on me. He contacted his local parts dealer and they were able to track down the aftermarket replacement part I needed. He emailed me the number and I then looked it up on line, where they have a picture. I called the dealer with this information and Daniel told me he would have to call me back after checking with his technician. A few minutes later he called back to state that his technician and he decided it was the correct replacement part and for me to go ahead and order it.

Now I have it on order through Auto Zone who in turn has to order it through their source. It will take 3-5 days then they will ship it out next day delivery to the Ford Dealer. So I am looking at another week here in Dallas. At least I am saving gas and campground money. LOL!!

I just cancelled my reservation at Storrie Lake State Park in New Mexico. I saved a whopping $11 after paying $10.60 for the cost of making the reservation plus one nights stay of $4. That at least beats a kick in the head!! Now I will just take my time getting into New Mexico and should not require a reservation since the campgrounds won’t be as crowded.

Short Stop-Over In Dallas

Posted on August 27, 2011 by Jim Melvin

I started out from Tyler, TX and made it as far as McKinney, TX where the old rig slowed down and refused to go any further. Fortunately I was in a Walmart parking lot and not at the side of the road somewhere off the beaten path. I have been having problems with my rig as it keeps acting like it was running out of gas. I had the fuel filter replaced, then the fuel pump and it would run fine for a while and then poop out.

I called Coach-Net and asked them to tow it to the nearest Ford dealer. There is one located about 2 miles down the road but they told me that they would not be able to work on it right away and had me towed to Dallas about 33 miles away. The tow company had to get my rig there by 6:00 and we had not left McKinney until after 5:00. So I am riding in the tow truck pulling my rig, sailing down the road about 70 mph. I don’t even drive that fast myself. What an experience!!!!!

I dropped it off at the dealer but had to find a motel as I could not sleep in their lot. Even if I could it was way too hot (103) so the dealer dropped me off at a Motel 6 where I spent 2 glorious nights.

I called the dealer early the next morning to check in on the fate of my rig. Seems that it was a fuel problem and it was due to a defective intake fuel pump that is located within the fuel tank. Since my rig is a 1991, Ford no longer manufactured the part. The mechanic said they were checking around and they thought they had located someone who had the part. No such luck!! They called me the next day to inform me that the part they were sent does not fit the tanks of RVs. They suggested I go online and try to locate it. I found one and was having it shipped out next day delivery. However, since it was Friday noon the part would actually ship on Monday and they would receive it on Tuesday.

I was in the Motel 6 from Wednesday through Friday. I didn’t really want to venture very far hoping that the repairs would be accomplished quickly and I could move on down the road. By that time I really had cabin fever bad. It is funny that the room I was staying in at the Motel 6 was larger than my rig but the walls seemed like they were closing in on my. I really appreciate my rig even more now. I haven’t really experienced cabin fever even though I have been cooped up in my rig for the last 6 weeks due to the 100+ temperatures and high humidity.

My son and his wife live in Fort Worth so I called him and he saved me from another night at the Motel 6. HOORAY!!!!! Thanks Curt and Jackie for saving my sanity. I will be staying with them until my rig is repaired and ready to go. I am hoping that I will be back on the road either Tuesday or Wednesday and head over to the Lake Arrowhead State Park at Wichita Falls, TX. I will be so happy that I am final getting this lingering problem fixed and not have it to worry about.