Remembering Scotland

Today I welcome Nellie and Jonathan who are also keeping a blog of their RV adventures. Check out their fun blog at http://www.midlifecruiser.blogspot.com/.

Yes, we are still sitting still. Well almost. On Sunday we moved our fiver about 25 feet back off the driveway onto the lawn. For many years Len and I hosted a yard party for our friends and family. Another one will be held this Sunday. Every inch of the driveway will be needed for parking as up to 140 guests attend.

This year daughter Terri and husband Steve are taking over as official hosts. Len and I will assist. As Steve is in a band, live music will be provided. Two years ago when we had our party, he was lead singer in a country band. Our driveway was used for country line dancing. He now plays classic rock. Will there still be dancing as their friends still like the country style.

We are so hoping the weather cools. It is predicted to be 97 on Saturday but DOWN to 90 on Sunday. Fortunately the side yard is shaded with tall, tall oak trees and there is usually a cool breeze.

Update on repairs. I called the dealer last week. Some parts have arrived including the cabinets. However, not the back end that includes the inside wall and the back cap. These are the main items I would think.

I remarked to Len that I am afraid that even after the items arrive at the dealer, they will still take their time getting us scheduled and doing the work. He made a good point. They have to pay for the parts, we have the insurance check. They don't get paid until the work is done.

As we have no pictures of recent travels because we have not recently traveled, I am attaching a few from our trip to Scotland back in September 2008. The trip was lovely but our timing was horrendous. There we sat listening to how our investments were tanking due to the financial crisis throughout the world and especially in the USA. OUCH!

I sure wish I could remember the names of these places. Perhaps a reader can help? This ancient castle sits on a cliff looking over the North Sea.



Another castle ruin.

We toured the inside of this castle. If I remember right, it is a relatively new structure built in the 1800's.

A quaint fishing village.

Standing along the shores of Loch Ness.

So much to see in this world. We have been to parts of eastern Canada, a short distance into Mexico, toured around Scotland and Ireland. We have seen many sites in this country but have only scratched the extreme surface. I have a bad case of the hitch-itch. Raring to go!!!!!

STILL sitting STILL

Oh yea, we are still in NJ waiting and waiting and waiting. We were assured our repair parts were ordered on July 2. Well how about that! We took the rig to the dealer on May 24.

We are told it takes 3-4 weeks for them to arrive. If their service so far is any indication of how long it will take for them to repair our fiver, we will not be happy uncampers. Except - they will be hearing from us daily. We will make such nuisances of ourselves one would think the work would be done ASAP just to get us out of their face.

We are scheduled for a NOMADS project in September in North Carolina. We would like to spend some time traveling before that commitment.

What have we been doing during that wait? Len is still working the temp job. This is a blessing. He would be unbearable to be around if he had to sit around the rig all day.

Last weekend we went to Maryland, got the granddaughters for the weekend. Amy and Scott were sanding floors and needed the girls away from the house. Okay with us. We really wanted to take the girls on Saturday to Storybook Land which is a nice smaller amusement park down near Atlantic City. The only day we have had rain for weeks was all day Saturday. We will keep a check on weather predictions and make plans to get them again before we leave.

This is Abby. Abby always (well usually) has a smile of her face.

Abby would wrestle with this bear. Sometimes the bear would win, sometimes Abby.

Charlotte spent time with cousin Justin sharing Popsicles and playing with Play Doh.

Got some satisfaction....

In the spirit of RVing AND the 4th of July I am posting this picture that was taken back in April at the Escapees Park in Livingston, Tx.

So today I talked to the salesperson at the Montana dealership. His last name is the same as the name of the dealership. That might help.

I explained what we have been going through. He checked on things and told me our order has been placed. He indicated that it would take a minimum of 3 weeks for Keystone to fabricate a new back cap and make the cabinets. I told him I expected that but I did not expect for it to take 38 days for the order to be placed.

He gave me his apology and said he will keep on top of the status. I told him we expected to travel this summer but due to the delay of ordering the parts, most of our plans have been put on hold. He asked that I call him if we have more concerns. He can put money of that!

To each of our friends who visit us here, have a great 4th. And welcome to Rick and Paulette who have joined our group of followers.

It's a Zoo

Granddaughter Charlotte is visiting with us for 5 days. The first two days were extremely hot so we did not do much. But yesterday the temps were in the 80's and the day was beautiful.

Our town of Bridgeton, NJ has a very small zoo. The admission is free but donations are gladly accepted. This zoo has mostly small animals such as Lemurs, fox, and various birds. They do have a few large animals, the most popular are the white tigers, a Bengal tiger and black bear.

Here is Charlotte with one of the many peacocks.

No real elephants, but she liked posing with this metal one.

A couple of the cute little wallabies.

At the water wheel entrance.

We still have no word of when we might expect the parts to arrive at the dealer from Indiana. We are looking at being here for a length of time. Not how we wanted to spend this our first summer on the road.