Kathleen & Paul Smith's RV Travelblog

On Why I'm Sorry I Wanted our TV Upgraded....
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We left Deerfield RV park this morning. (We stayed here last year when our Lazy Daze "Little Red" got new batteries.) It's a lovely place - lots of green and plenty of trees and flowers. Deerwood RV Park

This flowering bush was right next to our RV.

Deerfield really is a lovely RV park. It's close to I-5 and easy to find. Once we were settled in the space we took off for Albany, OR where Paul wanted to pick up a SilverLeaf VMS 240 to replace the Road Relay 4 engine monitor that malfunctioned when we first entered Oregon. We drove up to Albany on I-5 and returned on OR99. Kathleen loves the "off highway" roads and it was a pleasant drive down the two lane (sometimes 4 lane) road.

Back in Deerfield we ate dinner and enjoyed a quiet evening followed by a good night's sleep.

This morning we were up early and off to northwest Eugene to the Oregon RV Satellite Service place to have the DirecTV service started. It wasn't too difficult to find the way there; we Googled it and printed out the directions to the place, but I use my iPhone and believe that the iPhone still serves as the best "finder" we have. We found our way to 1st Ave W - thanks to the iPhone. But once we saw "3498 W 1st Ave sign we turned into the parking lot only to discover that the place we wanted was on the "other side" of the building. "You'll have to back out," said one of the fellows who works there. "No way am I going to back out of this place in a 40' rig," reasoned Paul.

For about 30 minutes (that seemed to last forever) Paul valiantly drove forward, pulled backward, veered to one side and then to the other --- up and back -- over and back - dodging metal containers, large stacks of boxes, tarp-covered equipment, all but touching the half opening of a large storage area --- it was exhausting just to watch him try to "pull it off." Finally he gave up and backed out. I ran out to the street, accompanied by two other fellows who work on that side of the building. We stopped traffic so Paul was able to safely pull all the way out, turn to his right and then immediately turn to the left into the correct parking lot.

Oh no, not quite ... the entrance was really a sharp incline... too steep for the rig to negotiate getting into the parking lot without ripping off part of the rear mud flap of the Foretravel. He had to drag it into the parking lot where he stopped as soon as possible. OMG!!! It looked awful! The skirt is very heavy, and how could we possibly re-attach it to the body of the rig?

A pleasant woman came out of a motorhome parked at the end of the lot, and Kathleen was anything but cheery in her response to the woman's friendly greeting. "Look what happened to our rig!" "Oh, I'm so sorry - there's another entrance you could have used if we had known you were coming." "What, you don't have us down for an appointment this morning?" .... "No, Don makes afternoon appointments." "OMG!!" What a charming way to begin .... The kind lady disappeared into the rig.

Thank God, Paul was the cool cucumber and when Don Marr shortly thereafter came over to the rig, the two of them had a good report. We were actually early - how was I to know? But Don went right to work and began doing what he was able to do. A delivery from DirecTV was expected ... hummmm when might that finally make it? Paul was told it would be between 8:30 am and noon. "Ha! I'll believe that when I see it....." But guess what? Shortly after our arrival (broken back skirt and all) we received a call from DirecTV, informing us that we might expect delivery within 15 minutes! Wow! And true to their word, the fellow delivered the DVR within the 15 minutes, installed what he was able to, wished us well and was off! Note! DirecTV gave us excellent service, answered all our questions and were first rate in everything!

So back to Don. He was on the roof, doing what he had to do .... It was hot and his job was not easy. Never did he show any sign of not being up for the job - in fact he did more than he had to, made sure everything was up and running, spent hours installing, fixing, updating - making it possible for us to have TV coverage.

So why was having a working TV so important? Had Kathleen been able, she would have cancelled at 9:20 this morning! But here it was, TV in both parts of the rig - bright, clear and just perfect. And now the "Why" of needing a TV. Come July and the annual "Tour d France" will be on. We have become enamored of and devoted fans of the Tour. What is a July without the Tour? So now we are ready to view it on our bright and shinny TVs. One would never believe that they are 10 years old!

When the bill was totaled and payment made, Don was not finished. He hoped he would be able to drill a hole into the rear of the Foretravel and attach the back skirt effectively. Drill as he did, it didn't work --- but he did manage to put some black strips around the skirt and the frame of the rig.

It is a band aid, but an important and big one, and he spent a long time (on the ground, part way under the rig) to achieve a good attachment.

This was above and beyond the call of duty, and we were both so grateful for his conscientiousness and fortitude.

We HIGHLY recommend Don Marr of Oregon RV Satellite Service. Oregon RV Satellite Service

Only call Don first and get proper directions to his entrance. When we left, he unlocked a gate that allowed us into a parking lot the entrance/exit of which was low and flat - no problems with scraping!

We left Don (with much appreciation and gratitude) and headed for Albany, OR where tomorrow Paul hopes to have the VMS 240 installed.

We noticed an RV park in Albany, close to I-5 that we chose for the night. Knox Butte RV Park was easy to find and Wanda (one of the owners) was as warm and friendly as she could be. Knox Butte RV Park What luck to find this place! When we tried to unhitch the Element from the RV we could not disengage the darn thing. One of the fellows here banged on one side with a hammer, Kathleen pulled for all she was worth to pull the pin out of the bracket and Paul jiggled the Element back and forth in an effort to loosen things up. FINALLY! The task was complete and we were soon in our spot - a nice, accommodating site that Wanda directed Paul in his backing into the spot.

Once we were plugged into the electric we stopped at the office where Wanda gave good directions on where to find a grocery store. We headed off to get some fresh vegetables and some fish. We found some delicious fresh Keta salmon at the local Albertson's and had a delicious dinner.

What a day this has been! More good things than not so good, but we are both glad to see the gentle sunset. Here's a picture of the rig here at Knox Butte RV Park.

And in all its glory, the datastorm bold and strong.

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Life on the Road with Paul & Kathleen: "Not bad for two dumb kids from Ohio" - Proving once again that it's never too late to have a happy childhood

Our Lazy Daze at Kirk Creek Camp on CA Hwy 1 40 mi N of Hearst's Castle 11/24/03: Shortly after full-timing began.	Foretravel & Friends at Rio Grand Village Full Hookup Camp, Big Bend NP 5/21/06