Friday early evening, June 1, 2007. June already, where has the year gone? It's been officially a year since we moved into the motor home, I've thought about the Simi house once and missed it but it didn't last long. All and all the time has flown by, I don't mind keeping this up for a while longer. Who knows, we might even make Dave's 5 year plan, but I'm not ready to hold my breath yet, but right now if we just keep moving I think I could go longer then 5 years. Maybe I'm afraid of stopping, if I do I would probably have to find a job and my only prospects would be a Wal-Mart greeter because at the end of this year I'm going to be 50 and who the hell wants to hire someone 50?

Anyway, I'll try and recap the week, since I last wrote, which I believe was Sunday.

Monday, May 28th, was Dave's "60th" birthday. Happy belated birthday to him, I was there so this is only a belated birthday wish for the blog. Anyway, I got him an ipod for his music to listen to when he starts walking with me, hint hint. He is going to retire again at the end of July so he has no excuse,( no, I can't go walking because I have morning meetings, won't work anymore). We went over to Kim and Danny's at 8 am so Dave and Danny could work on putting up the gate in the backyard so PG&E could get in the back yard and read the meter without the dogs attacking them. We have gotten warning notices from PG&E so this had to be done, bummer Dave had to work on it on his b/day. Monday night we all went to dinner at Outback Steakhouse so he could have his Prime rib dinner.

Tuesday, I went to JC Penney's, while Dave was working, looking for the "Mother of the Bride" dress. I had an idea of what Kim would like me to wear because we looked at some the Saturday before when we went to get the Flower Girls dresses. Well any way, I ended up purchasing "3" dresses at Penney's and told them when I paid for them that I would be bringing back at least 2 if not 3, it all depended on what my daughter liked, and they said No Problem.

On Wednesday early evening I went to the gym with Kim and I think she was trying to kill me, but it didn't work, we went to a kind of work out class. You do a lot of stretching, lunging with weights and abs, and if I must say I believe I kept up with the class. Even as fat as I am I did better then some of the girls that are 1/2 my age, they kept quitting and I didn't. Kim gave me a bad time because I was sweating so much but at least I kept up, she even said that to Danny and Dave, she didn't sweat at all but mom did. See if I go with her again.

When we got back from the workout, Kim and Danny fixed dinner then I went in and tried on my dresses for them to judge. Well needless to say the "Mother of the Bride" dress is picked out. Now that Dave has his tux measurements done and I have my dress picked out it is really starting to feel real to me.

Thursday Dave and I returned the dresses I wasn't going to keep and got some bridal gifts for the bridal shower on Saturday.

May 27, 2007, Sunday night. Kim and Danny left a little bit ago they came over for dinner and then some card games, god knows how Danny likes to gamble. (he lost most of the games, luckily it was just for fun no money involved)
Let me recap the last couple days, Thursday, when I last wrote, Kim had come over for dinner, Danny worked late, he works late Tuesday and Thursdays. Kim asked if we could switch cars so we could take her car in on Friday for an oil change, the Honda dealership is right down the street from us, and they have a jiffy service that does that stuff real fast. Well, like idiots, we agreed, when we went to drop it off it was not only due for an oil change but also almost due for filters, rotate tires, ect ect, she told us it was only going to cost 25.00 it ended up costing 295.00. She's not a stupid girl, she waits until we come into town then wham!! Just kidding she said she will pay us back, I sure hope so. Danny doesn't realize what a high maintance girl he is marrying, I wish him luck. (just kidding, or at least until the wedding ring is on her finger, Danny)
Friday night we went to a wine tasting event here in Bakersfield, which was real nice. So many different wines to try and cold and hot appitizers to go with it. It was a nice event to go too, I was surprised that Kim and Danny even drink wine, afterward we went to dinner then they drove us back to our coach. Saturday we all drove down to Northridge to get the men's tux measurements and get the flower girls fitted for their dresses. We ended up having to order the flower girl's dresses because they didn't have the right colors in, which was no big deal. So now the tux's are done, the flower girls, maids of honor and brides maid, so now it's the Mother of the Bride and Groom's Mother's dresses we have to work on. I haven't gotten anything yet and either has Kathy, Danny's mom. NO PROB, WE HAVE PLENTY OF TIME.
I think that's it for now, will write later.

May 24, 2007 Thursday and we are here in Bakersfield, arrived last night, a day early. We will be staying at this new RV Park here, just opened a month ago, called "Bakersfield R.V. Resort". No live ins here, yet, they said they won't let people live here long term, will see, they all seem to say that when they 1st open. After a while they seem to give in because then they have a guaranteed income every month. Anyway, it's a real nice and clean park, has a pool, spa, small playground, laundry room, which I don't need anymore, and it even has "The Crest Bar and Grill" which we went to last night with Kim and Danny.
Last Tuesday we had gone wine tasting at some wineries in San Benito, after Dave finished his morning meetings, and of course we bought some. Wednesday morning I asked Dave if he wanted to go into Hollister and look for a graduation present for Kim and he came back with, why don't we leave now for Bakersfield so that's why we got here a day early. I guess we were too close to Bakersfield for him and Daddy wanted to see he baby girl, ha ha. Either that or he didn't want to go shopping for a present for her, who knows.
That's it for now, just wanted to give a short update. Since we are now in Bakersfield, until July 1st, I'm sure my updates will become shorter and shorter, I mean how much can I say about Bakersfield. P.S. Valley still hanging in there, walking better and better each day.

May 21, 2007 Monday afternoon and we are here in a Thousand Trails RV Park in Paicines Calif., which is right outside of San Benito. We got here yesterday early evening and this place is really big and dangerous. Dangerous because of all the ground squirrels, they are everywhere, needless to say if we let Valley out of the coach to lay outside she has to be chained up. Which last night after we got set up we sat outside and talked to a lady that works here, thank goodness for that chain for Valley, she would have been gone. These squirrels run all around you, Valley thought she had died and gone to heaven, she could easily blow out all her legs. Another thing you have to watch for is the Bobcats, and a mountain lion has been spotted so that's the one thing you really have to watch out for. The Bobcats, we were told, won't attack any humans but it's a different story for the mountain lion.
When I went walking this morning I saw a couple deers, lots of rabbits then I turned the corner and there was a Bobcat. The Bobcat just got down low and watched me walk by, it was a little scary. Later, after one of Dave's business calls, I got him to walk around and check out the place and we came to where the Bobcat was and there it was again. Dave was really surprised to see it he had said to me, right before that, the Bobcats only come out in the early morning and evenings but there it was. Bobcats are about 3x's the size of a regular cat, pretty neat to see up close and personal. Maybe I'll leave Valley outside the coach tonight then maybe I'll get to see a mountain lion, just kidding. That's about it for now.

Sunday May 20, 2007 we spent the night at Mountain Gate RV Park in Redding Calif.
Dave's flight didn't get into Eugene until 3:15a.m. so I never did go to bed because I was afraid I wouldn't wake up on time. I just kept dozing on and off in the living room with Valley. Although I was suppose to leave the coach at 2:15am but dozed off until 2:30am so was late picking him up. Dave slept a little bit on the way back to Sutherlin then a little bit more when we got back to the coach. When we got back to the coach it was almost 5a.m. so there was no way I was going to be able to sleep and since Dave had to drive he needed some sleep, actually he needed a lot of sleep but didn't get it. It was a really tuff drive to Redding, because we were both really tired, after Dave dozed for a second while driving he then decided to pull over at rest stops and walk around just about every time we saw one. Way too many hills to climb and steep down grades for me to be driving, so I just kept telling him to keep his eyes open.
This RV Park we are at is where we stayed last year when we went to the car races and they had a boat race too on the track, we had posted pictures about it. Anyway this time I didn't even look to see if they had car racing, there was no way we were going anywhere last night. Dave even fell asleep I believe at 6:30 pm and went to bed at 7:30pm and didn't get up until 5am this morning, boy that's a lot of sleep. We hit the road again this morning and are headed for Hollister Calif. where we will stay until Thursday, then on to Bakersfield.

Friday early evening May 18, 2007 let's see I haven't written since Tuesday it's time to get caught up again. Tuesday I did get my nails done and then just hung out at the rig. Wednesday when I was leaving for the dealership I couldn't turn the ignition on and when I pulled my key out, the knob on the ignition fell off. I was able then to start the car and go to the dealership where I sat for 4 1/2 hours. The "service engine soon" light was because of a leaking purge solinoid, which could wait to be fixed for when we got back to Bakersfield. The ignition switch was a damaged lock cylinder, and cover which the tech told me something had been done to the ignition area and was broken off. To fix it we need to have the whole ignition area we placed, which could wait for Bakersfield. So the only thing that was done was an oil change and the filters changed. When I told Dave about the ignition he said the locksmith that Marty got had broken the ignition, I had forgotten about the keys Marty had made. When I went to Marty's for breakfast, this morning after Valley's vet appointment, I asked Marty about the locksmith. He said he remembered the locksmith mentioning that he needed some glue, but didn't really think about what he needed glue for, that locksmith broke it and knew it but didn't say anything. Dave said we can't prove it so will see if we get it fixed in Bakersfield. Anyway, so my Wednesday was sitting at the dealership, Thursday I went to the Wildlife Safari in Winston Oregon. That was really neat, I have to say I got a little scared too. You actually drive thru the areas where the wild animals are, and in one area the Wildebeest or American Bison, can't remember which one, were right there in the road and wouldn't let you by. I was the only car there at first then others showed up after me, wait till you see the pictures I took, boy I hope they come out. I even got some pictures of the medical team working on a cheetah, don't know what was wrong but a lot of park ranger trucks were rushing to the area. While driving thru the wild animal park you are suppose to keep your windows closed and don't even think about getting out of your cars. It was fun. Valley had her last Oregon vet visit and she is doing OK for it only being 3 weeks, I got her xrays and medical records to take back with us. Dave called and his flights have been changed and now he doesn't get into Eugene until 2 a.m. Saturday, boy it's going to be a long night. I told him to call me from Vegas, to wake me up, and hopefully I'll make it to Eugene by 2am, will see.
Rob called today and Valley's new vest/sling finally showed up in Blaine Washington and since we are leaving tomorrow I asked him to send it to Bakersfield. That's it for now, will write more on Saturday or Sunday.

May 15, 2007 it's don't purchase gas today, per all the emails going around. I don't need any so I guess I'll participate. I'm still here in Sutherlin, last Sunday, Mother's Day, I drove Dave to the Eugene Airport so he could go to Virginia for the week, work meetings. He flies back in this Friday at 10:30 pm.
Before I go on I want to wish Brad Johnson, our friend and Dave's diving instructor, Happy Birthday. Last Saturday was Joann Fry's birthday, Happy Birthday to you too.
Sunday when I got back to the coach Valley and I got all caught up on the shows I had been recording. That was it, very exciting, all though in the late afternoon the sun did come out so Valley and I got to lay out a little bit.
Yesterday, Monday, we hung out again and the weather was in the 80's, that was really nice. The park here really started to fill up, so it was fun seeing all the coaches and trailers come in. While I was walking this morning I saw the sign for the Oregon Rogue River club, so that's why this place filled up yesterday. This morning also I drove into Roseburg to the GM Dealership, the "Service Engine Soon" light is lit on my car, the techs were gone to training school so I made an appointment for tomorrow morning. This afternoon I get my nails done and it's suppose to be another nice day so I get to lay out again. Not much news, sorry, will write later more.

May 12, 2007 we arrived at Hi-Way Haven RV Park in Sutherlin Oregon yesterday afternoon. We did drive thru Junction City and pick up our table then thru Eugene and picked up our new rugs. Everything looks great and today we drove into Roseburg and picked up a lamp, for Dave's desk, and a throw for the chair, we are really getting into this decorating stuff. Last night we had dinner at Marty's and it was unbelievable, the crab cakes and the fish tacos were Fabulous.
At 4:30, yesterday, Valley had her vet appointment, the vet took off the bandage and her poor foot was just raw on top. The bandage had gotten wet and started shreding on the bottom so Dave duck taped it, well that shouldn't have been done. It just kept all the moisture in there and just rubbed her foot raw, the vet said it's like a real bad diaper rash. She was shaking so much and in so much pain, I just couldn't take it. I wanted to put her down but Dave wasn't going for it so I walked out. She was nawing at her foot and if you stopped her she would just kick the wall because of the pain, I just couldn't stand watching it. The vet came back in and gave her another shot to calm her down then Dave brought her out to the car so I could sit with her in the back. Dave went back in and got more pain pills, antibiotics, and a spray to put on her foot if she starts digging at it. We then had to go get upsom salt to soak her foot in, boy was that fun to do when we got back to the coach. Then I filled her up with all the pills plus added 3 benadryl, then sprayed her foot and about 1/2 hour later she was sleeping. We put the cone on her and locked her in the bathroom and headed out for Marty's.
Today, like I said earlier, we went to Roseburg and shopped, then went to Oakland Oregon because they had a car show going on, great looking old old cars and trucks.
Valley's foot does look better today and she isn't licking it, but the walking isn't very good. When she had the bandage on at least she would walk on it, now she mostly limps, she doesn't want to put that foot really down yet. I'm sure it is still sore plus she doesn't have the protection of the bandage anymore, I'm still towel walking her, or I should say vest walking her and I have to do that for the next 4 weeks, at least. Dave ordered the correct back leg vest for Valley and had it delivered to Harrisburg but it didn't show up in time so we did a forwarding to Blaine, Washington. Then it didn't show up there either before we left so hopefully Kelli, Rosie or Robert can pick it up for us next week and get it to me before we leave Oregon. I should could use the correct vest, this one chokes her at times. Anyway, either way I believe this will be Valley's last trip in the coach, maybe I'll take Chelsey from Kim and she can have Valley back.
That's it for now.

MAY 11, 2007 got on the road around noon yesterday and stopped at 5 pm at Jantzen Beach RV Park in Portland Oregon. We stayed at this park last year and I think in just about the same space. Last year when we were here we drove into Portland because they were having an Italian festival going on with different kinds of food and wines. The weather is in the 70's which is just perfect, I don't know how we are going to handle the hot weather again once we get back to Bakersfield, it's been so long since we have had to be in the 100 degree stuff, I know Valley isn't going to be able to handle it. If it gets to 75 degrees she pants like crazy, oh well, will find out soon.
We head out of here and go to Junction City and pick up the new table we ordered from Davis Cabinets then stop in Eugene and pick up the new rugs we ordered. After that we head to Sutherlin to camp out for the week. Valley has a doctor appointment at 4:30 then after that Dave and I will go to Marty's for dinner. It's Mexican night, with fish tacos and crab cakes, should be great.
Black eye is almost all cleared up now, yea.

May 10, 2007 Still here in Birch Bay or at least until noon today then we head back to Oregon. Don't know yet if we will stop in Portland or Salem to spend the night then Friday we will end up in Sutherlin where I will stay for the week while Dave is in Virginia. Last night we went over to Bob and Rosie's for dinner, which we were late too because we had issues with Valley. It was a great dinner, thank you Rosie and Bob.
Yesterday Dave and I decided to go driving around and check out the beach area, in between his business calls, so we put Valley in the bathroom where she stays while we are out. I swear the leg that is injured and wrapped she tried to lick it off. She has enough skin problems anyway, so her skin is sensitive, but she licked it raw. So before we could go to Bob and Rosie's we had to get out her head cone to put on her and it took awhile to figure out how to put it together. So she was not only locked up in the bathroom with a wrapped up leg now she had to have the cone on, so she was really screwed. Friday afternoon she has another doctor appointment so we will see then how her leg is really doing, and hopefully the vet will take the wrap off.
That's about it for now.

Tuesday May 8, 2007 boy, haven't written now for over a week, I better get caught up.
We left Marty's on Tuesday to go pick up the coach from the tile store, they hadn't finished yet so we had to stick around. Marty and Dayna met us there to switch cars then at 7 pm we went back to Camp Monaco to spend the night. Wednesday Monaco installed our new camera and bathroom door but the motor for the door awning wasn't going to be in for another month so they said it was OK to get a dealer in Bakersfield to install the new motor when the new motor comes out in a month. Thursday morning we had to go back to the tile store because they still had some work to do, then over to the cabinet shop because they needed to do some touch up work then finally got headed for Washington at 1 pm. The new tile and carpet look great. New pictures are posted now on the website.
Before I forget, Valley is doing good still has the leg all wrapped up, but what a chore to get her in and out of the coach. I have to carry her out of the coach and carry her back in, boy is that work, all 67 pounds of her. Other then that she just lays on the couch all day but when Dave and I leave we lock her up in the bathroom so she can't walk around.
Thursday night we stopped at Rochester Washington to spend the night, and of course the first thing we did, after hooking up, was do our 1st load of laundry in the new washer/dryer. We looked pretty stupid standing there in the bedroom watching the washer for about 1/2 hour, Valley was watching from the couch in the living room. It worked really well and it only takes like 3 1/2 hours for the washing and drying. We have been doing a load everyday since.
We got to Birch Bay Washington late on Friday and talked to Rob about getting together on Sunday. Then after we got everything hooked up Dave decided to clean the windows and put the shades on since we were going to be here for a little while. I carried Valley outside and she layed down so I could help Dave put the window shades on. Well, as he was putting the big window shade on he asked me to get the windshield wiper out of the way. It was stuck behind the shade so as I was pulling, Dave moved the shade and the wiper came flying at me and hit me in the face. It hit me across the nose and left eye, I actually thought it broke my nose. Within seconds I had the biggest mouse under my eye and Dave said I better put ice on it, which I did, but on Saturday morning did I have a shiner. The picture is posted. Saturday we did house cleaning, and boy did it need it. There was so much dust from all the work being done and dirt from everyone trotting in and out of the coach from Monaco people, carpet/tile people and cabinet people. We did some running around and every store we went into I kept my dark glasses on so no one could see my eye, then came back and just relaxed finally in our new surroundings, and of course did more laundry.
Sunday we went out to dinner with Rosie, Bob, Rob, Kelli, Alex and Kelli's niece(sorry don't remember her name) We had a good Mexican meal and we talked for a long time, just catching up on stuff. After dinner Bob and Rosie came by the motorhome to check out the new updates we had done. I didn't know it but Bob and Rosie really want a motorhome, especially Rosie I think.
Monday we went to the car dealership and got another electric clicker to open the car for Dave then shopping for decorating the coach. Monday night we went to Kelli and Rob's for dinner, which was very nice of them, everyone was there except Kelli's niece and we talked for hours.
That's about it, I think, I'm finally caught up.

Got a call from Marty and the locksmith was able to make a key for the car, they even made another one for Dayna. Marty thinks he flushed the 1st set of keys down the toilet, all though, he said the toilet could barely flush a turd down so how in the hell could it flush keys down?
So next week we will have to go to a GM Dealer and get another automatic unlock gadget and the only other key that was lost (flushed) was the key to our truck in Bakersfield. We will have to get Kim or Danny to get another copy made before we return to California.
Hopefully by the end of next week we can go to Birmingham Washington for a week then I think I'll stay at a camp ground here in Sutherlin when Dave goes to Virginia, it was nice and safe and closer to Marty and the vet for Valley.
That's it for now again.

Sunday April 29, 2007 Haven't written for a week so I've got some catching up to do.
Monday morning we drove the coach over to Davis Cabinets and they got started on the work they needed to do. We drove back over, in the car, to Camp Monaco and hung out in the lounge where Dave could hook up his computer and work. Around noon we were suppose to go back over and check out the coach and see if they had any questions, but before we left Lee had told me to watch out for Brian's butt crack, and that when they had their coach worked on Vicki had gotten sick of seeing that thing. (Brian is the main guy that was doing the woodwork on our coach) Anyway, when we got back Brian was just going into the coach to install the new sliding drawers when I walked in behind Dave, OMG there must have been a good 3 inches of butt crack, too funny. I stayed outside after that, when possible, when we got back to Camp Monaco I had a good laugh with Lee and Vicki. We picked up the coach Monday night, and Davis Cabinets had 80% of the work done already, but we did need to bring it back on Tuesday morning at 8 a.m. Monday night, the gang, Stan, Ginger, Lee, Vicki, Dave and I went out to dinner at P.F. Changs for dinner and it was great.
Tuesday, we got the coach back that night and all the work was done with Davis and it looks great, now all I need is the washer/dryer combo and that work will be done.
Wednesday we just hung out at Camp Monaco and Dave worked on hooking up the computer system again.
Thursday morning we drove the coach over to the tile/carpet place, they were going to begin gutting it and removing the old carpet and some of the tile. Around noon we drove up to Marty's to move in with him and Dayna for a week. It ends up that Friday night Dayna and Marty were driving to Washington to be assistants to scuba diving students so really we will be house sitting for them. Late Thursday afternoon one of Valley's trips, by herself, outside looking for the cats, she came hopping back into the house on 3 legs, she was holding her right back leg up in the air. Oh no I thought not torn ligaments again, I hope, so we waited until the morning and took her to Marty's vet because she was still holding her leg up. Sure enough torn ligaments but this time in her right leg, it was like 5 or 6 years ago when Chelsea jumped on Valley and tore the ligaments in her left knee. Valley is almost 11 yrs old so we told the vet NO SURGERY, so she ended up wrapping up the leg and for the next 6 weeks I have to towel walk her. The vet is going to try a series of shots once a week to try and help the leg heal itself, will see. Yesterday, after Marty had called me and told me he had lost my car keys, Dayna and him had taken my car to Washington, Dave drove down to Junction City to the coach to see if we had the serial number for the keys for the locksmith. No such luck on finding it but on the way back Dave stopped at Pet Smart and picked up a vest for Valley to put on with handles on top so I can walk her around. Boy, that vest is much easier to hold on too then using a towel. Anyway, this morning we went to Marty's for breakfast and as of this posting I haven't heard from Marty so don't know yet if he got a key made. He had told me the locksmith said he could do it without the serial number so I guess I'll find out later. As soon as Dave shows me how to post pictures to my blog, I'll post pictures of Valley with her leg all wrapped up. That's about it for now, all we are doing is hanging around Marty's doing laundry, cleaning his house, watering his plants and garden, and making sure Valley stays still.

Sunday, April 22, 2007 Lee and Vicki left this morning to go visit with a few of Vicki's relatives and Dave and I took off for Elkton to have breakfast at Marty's. Boy, it sure seems like that drive to Elkton from Harrisburg gets longer and longer. We did stop on the way and drove thru a campground where Valley and I will probably be staying at when Dave flies to Norfolk Virginia for a week. There are two campgrounds at the same exit, one to the left and one to the right. The only problem is the one to the left is $43.00 a night and the other one is $24.00, so can you guess where we are staying, it's a no brainer, I'm cheap. If it doesn't work out for Valley and I we can always go stay with Marty and Dayna, or at least that's what he told me.
I'm just hoping now that we get the coach all done so we can do a quick run up to Washington to see Rob, Kelli, Alex, Rosie and Bob. I was hoping to stay in Washington while Dave was in Virginia but to change his flight out of Eugene was going to cost us $500 and there is no way we are going to pay that. When we got back this afternoon we started cleaning out the file cabinet, that Dave had put in for his work, and the closet so Davis Cabinets can start their work tomorrow. We threw away so much stuff, shoes we haven't worn for a year and misc. stuff we haven't touched in a year. (we should have had a garage sale, one of the Monaco campers said to me) Anyway, that's about it for now, will update more later.

Thursday, April 19, 2007 we are still here at "Camp Monaco". Today we got to keep the coach no work could be done until the parts show up and hopefully that will be tomorrow. The new bathroom door won't be here for 2 more weeks but the stuff for our back-up camera and new motor for our door sliding should be in tomorrow. Stan, Ginger and Katie left this morning for Seattle, Ginger has a sister there and since their coach is stuck in the paint shop they figured they might as well drive to Seattle and visit with her sister and stay for the weekend. Monaco put them up in a motel but because of the dog they have to stay in a smoking room, which they said smells really bad so they plan on coming back on Monday and I think that's when they get their coach back. All of us up until then have just been hanging out, driving into Eugene, going out to lunch and dinner or just hanging out in each others coaches. Oh by the way, last Sunday we went to Marty's for dinner then the show across the street at the winery. This guy use to open for Jewel, and Dave and I saw him last September when we were staying at the camp ground in Elkton. We left after the 1st half last September and we left after the 1st half on Sunday too. Stan, Ginger, Lee and Vicki said he was pretty good but they didn't want to stay for the 2nd half either. For one thing we had an 1 1/2 hour drive back to "Camp Monaco" plus I don't think they could take another hour of him either. Marty had left too because he said it was the same old stuff he has always done but when I talked to him the next day he said we should have stayed because the 2Ned half was all new and really good. I don't know if I can believe that, Marty has a weird sense of humor. (still love you bro) Sunday, Lee and Vicki are going to go visit some of Vicki's aunts, it's about 100 miles away so they might be back late of even spend the night. Dave, Valley and I will either hang out or go visit Marty. Don't want to bug Marty too much because when we have the carpet and tile replaced we want to stay at his place and that will be for about 4 or 5 nights and he might get sick of seeing us.
Monday the cabinet, and desk work is suppose to get started, the other day we went and ordered the washer/dryer combo. The wood work should take about 3 days, then on Thursday we take the coach to the carpet/tile place where they will start to gut the RV and replace with the new stuff, I believe they need it for about 5 days. It will look really beautiful when the work is done, thank goodness we had Vicki with us to help pick out the tile and carpet, we all know I have no taste for that stuff. Don't get me wrong, I think our coach is really nice as it is but having carpet just really sucks, with us living in it full time there is just no way to keep it clean.
I just can't seem to teach Dave and Valley to wipe their feet before coming into the place, then spilling the wine doesn't help either. (Dave with his hands and Valley with her tail, ha ha) We ended up picking a little darker tile for the entry way and up to the kitchen tile(which will stay the same as it is) the new carpet will be on the slide and bedroom. We did add a border between the 2 different tiles to break up the rooms, so to speak. We will have the living room, (one type of tile) the dining room, (carpeted) kitchen the original tile when we purchased the coach. We will post pictures when it's all done. All the work being done, plus the new washer/dryer will run us about 12k and that's a lot cheaper then buying that new coach, which would have cost us 100k. I just hate spending money with Kim's graduation and wedding coming up, but we do live in this thing and we have to have it fit our needs, plus who wants to leave any money for the kids, let them earn their own. ( Sorry, love you kids) Better cut off for now, see you on the next blog.

April 14, 2007 we are here in Harrisburg Oregon at the Monaco Facility, as everyone who has a Monaco product calls it, "Camp Monaco". Stan and Ginger plus their dog, Katie, will be arriving here in a couple hours. We met all these folks, Lee, Vicki, Stan and Ginger last year when we were all here at Camp Monaco last August/Sept. time frame and have just kept contact with each other. We all still needed warranty work done so when one of us scheduled it the others decided to go at the same time so we could meet up again. Stan and Ginger are just arriving because they had other commitments when we joined Lee and Vicki in Susanville. Stan and Ginger live in Camarillo, and Vicki grew up in Simi Valley, what a small world.
Enough of the recap, we are here and tomorrow night we will all drive up to Marty's, again, and have dinner then go to the Winery across the street for a show they are putting on. Monday we will get together with the repair people and start the warranty work. Don't have any idea how long we will be here, Stan and Ginger are getting a new paint job besides what ever else so they will be here the longest, I believe. Vicki and Lee have minor stuff and need to be back to Susanville the beginning of May. Us, we have the somewhat minor warranty work but then afterwards we are having the carpet taken out and everything replaced with either tile or wood, new desk for Dave then the cabinet being fixed for a washer and dryer. (I'm sure I've mentioned all of this before in one of the other blogs, but, oh well) Dave also has to go back to D.C. again the 2nd week of May so I have No idea where he is going to leave Valley and I. I know for sure we will be back in Bakersfield by the beginning of June because of Kim's graduation.
That's enough for now, you can tell when nothing is going on because I just keep writing and writing.

April 14, 2007 we are still here in Winchester Bay until about 11 a.m. then we hit the road for Harrisburg Oregon to Camp Monaco. I left off with Dave flying out on Tuesday, Tuesday night Lee, Vicki and I went out to dinner at Griff's, which is a seafood restaurant right across the bay from us. Wednesday it rained just about all day, we just hung around the coaches all day, Lee fixed breakfast for all of us then for lunch we went to Griff's again, love that place. For dinner we just had crackers, salami, turkey, crackers and cheese, Dave got back to the coach about midnight. On Thursday morning Dave and I did some running around, post office, bank, grocery store while Vicki was having her hair done. For lunch we went to Griff's, again, Dave hadn't gotten to go, then we drove to Coos Bay and just did some site seeing. For dinner we did shrimp and scallops, some of Marty's bread, rice and squash, great dinner.
Friday we left at 9 a.m. and headed for Newport, Oregon to go to the aquarium there, what a really nice place, and a hell of a drive to get there. We didn't get back to the coaches until 5 pm, our poor dogs were stuck in the coaches all day. When we got back we walked them around a little bit, fed them dinner then headed for Elkton Oregon to have a Mexican Dinner at Marty's, which was great and way too much to eat. We then got back to the coaches at 9:30 pm and it started raining, Valley doesn't like getting wet so she just ran out real fast did her thing and ran back into the coach.

April 10, 2007 Winchester Bay, Oregon
I left off on the last blog that we were going to Vicki's Dads house for Easter dinner, which we did had a great dinner and fun conversations. What a really nice family she has, I mainly stayed in the kitchen talking to Vicki's sister and Step mom.
We got going on Monday morning about 9 am and stopped in Grants Pass, Oregon at Rogue Valley Overniters. Dave and I got going this morning at 6 am because we needed to get to Winchester Bay RV Resort to get set-up before Dave had to drive to Eugene to catch his flight to D.C. I don't know how to set-up the rig yet for camping plus I sure as hell wasn't going to drive these Oregon winding roads. We were really a head of time so we did stop in Elkton and see my brother, Marty. His restaurant wasn't open but he came down with his computer so Dave could help him a little and visit before we got back on the road again. While there, of course, we got some pastries from him and some wheat sour dough bread, yum. Winchester Bay RV Resort is great, Lee got us reservations facing the harbor, the sun is out and I've already gone bike riding and walking Valley around. Lee and Vicki arrived around 2pm, they saw a herd of Elk (around 60 of them) and stopped to watch them in the field. We heard the weather has been really bad here and today was the first nice day they have had in the last couple weeks, let's hope it stays that way, but this is Oregon. Dave just called, and his flight was just getting really to take off, he flies back into Eugene late tomorrow night and should spend the night there and drive back Thursday morning. That's about it for now.

April 8, 2007 HAPPY EASTER.
Yesterday we went driving around with Lee and Vicki, we drove around one of the lakes here and saw the devastation the resent fires have done, what a shame. We then stopped at the new rest area here and had a picnic lunch and looked over another lake that is really a mud hole. After that we drove back in town and they dropped me off so I could get my nails done. Dave came in later, while I was still there, and had a pedicure. That night we went out for a real nice dinner and just had a great relaxing day.
Today we went out for breakfast then Vicki went on to church. Lee and Dave started getting the coaches ready for hitting the road tomorrow morning. I got all my laundry done and cleaned the inside of the coach. Tonight we will be going to Vicki's Dad's for Easter Dinner then tomorrow we head out for Oregon. That's about it, it was really a nice relaxing couple days of rest for Dave, Valley and I. Susanville is a nice small town, great for visiting but couldn't stay here for more then 2 weeks I think for me, anyway.

April 7, 2007 1st let me start out with saying "Happy Birthday" to my brother, Marty.
We got to Susanville Calif. yesterday and are now staying at Mountain View RV Park, what a nice place. We are parked next to our friends Lee and Vicki and their dog Fleetwood. Yesterday they took us around town and showed us the sites, small town, they say the population is 17,500 but that number includes the 5,000 inmates at the prison. Lee BBQ'd chicken for dinner for all of us, they figured we were tired from all the driving we had been doing, and boy were they right. It was so nice to get up this morning have coffee relax then take Valley on a 6 mile walk. We will all leave here on Monday morning headed for Oregon, we plan on being in Winchester Bay Oregon on Tuesday mid morning and staying there until Saturday morning. After that we will be headed for Harrisburg Oregon to the Monaco plate so we all can have our coaches worked on, Stan and Ginger plan on meeting us there.
We are going to be leaving soon to do more site seeing so let me tell the slide story.
The other day when we parked one of the back slides would only come out a little bit then stop, Dave pulled it back in and tried it again. It would go a little bit then stop, so Dave then decided to help it slide all the way out. This is the slide at the foot of our bed, anyway, as he was pushing the button for the slide he used his other arm to help push out the slide. Next thing we heard this loud sound, the slide jerked and slide out. Dave stopped pushing the button and we ran outside to see what damage had been done. We couldn't see anything wrong with the outside of the slide so Dave came back in and started the slide again when I heard him say "Oh Shit". What had happened is one of the doors on the cabinet had opened up in the slide while we were driving, and you can't see it because it is in the slide. The slide was being stopped by the door, so when Dave helped by pushing it shattered the door and bent the hinges. Luckily we were able to get the busted door out of the way then we could open the slide back up. So it's a lesson to all, if the slide doesn't open check very carefully before you help force it open.