I've had a request to contiue my blog, so here goes!
We really enjoyed our time on the road and weren't prepared to get back to reality.
We got home on a Saturday night and surveyed the construction progress. The roof on our house wasn't done right when it was remodeled 25 years ago, so we had part of it torn off and rebuilt. Of course it rained while the roof was open, damaging the ceiling in the familyroom. So we will be pulling that down and redesigning the lighting in that room.
Rebuilding the roof also meant replacing skylights with light tubes and repairing the ceilings in the guest room and master baths. And building a walk in closet over an unused balcony. So there is lots of construction all over the house.
Sunday morning, August 18, I woke up and couldn't move. Stiff as a board. I manage to get out of bed, finally, as Steve comes in and announces that the refrigerator isn't working.
Can we go back on the road?
By Monday, I've decided we needed a new mattress, but don't want to mess with one until we get some of the construction out of the way, so I buy a mattress topper, which helps.
Tuesday, the refrigerator repairman comes and fixes the frig. We empty the four ice chests back into the refrigerator.
Diana and Leigh (who are both staying with us through all this) help us decide where lights should go in the family room. Steve and I pick out recessed lights and indirect lighting for the family room and flourescents for my new closet. The new closet is in the hallway to the bedroom, so Steve says it's MINE! (He wants more space in the master closet.)
Through all this we have construction workers traipsing through. The dogs are confused. They can't use their doggy door as construction litter is all over the back yard. Our lovely neighbor has offered to let them run around her backyard. It's a stitch. I take them over there and they sniff around a bit and then lie down. Don't want to misbehave at someone else's house!
Meanwhile, I'm watching the ads for rvs. We really like the HitchHiker RVs we've seen. They are very well built. After looking at a couple, I check their web site. They have a wonderful archive of past models and it looks like their 29.5 model will fit us best. Of course we've never seen one. So I'm looking for one close enough to go see.
About the time they actually finish the roof (but nothing else) I find an ad for a 29.5 HitchHiker in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In between picking out cabinets for the family room (an old broken built in grill is being removed) and managing the dogs, I remember to tell Steve about it. The ad is on Craig's list and I found a way to search more than just locally, so I go search again to show Steve. Two ads now pop up. They are Hitchhiker 29.5 triple glides, 2006 models. Both in Grand Rapids. Both look good in the pictures. Time for a road trip!
We call and make appointments for September 4 and 5.
In the meantime, the aunts are planning a bridal shower for the last unmarried niece. Just the two nephews are left and neither of them has a steady at the moment. So meetings and projects for that take up time, along with Steve's activities.
We drive to Grand Rapids Wednesday, September 4. On the way, we find a riverboat restaurant in South Haven Michigan. Good food, great casual atmosphere.
We are impressed. It's very clean and I can only find one small piece of damaged trim. This is the kitchen:
This is the living area:
Dining area and entertainment center:
It's tough to get a good shot of either the bedroom or the bath, but this is half the closet (with a light):
Here's the dresser (two drawers each):
Steve thoroughly examined everything underneath and on top. Everything looks good, so we thank the owners and head for the hotel. We agreed that this unit is well cared for and priced right. The one we see on Thursday will have to be perfect to top it.
So the next morning, we're off to see the second trailer. It too is in very good shape and we spend a lot of time looking at this one. In the end, it comes down to small things. The upholstery in the second unit is not as neutral:
And there was no fan in the bedroom. The first trailer also had a compartment and wiring for a generator. This one didn't.
But they were both in good shape and had been well cared for.
So we went back and talked to the first owners and set up an appointment at Camping World for an inspection of all the systems and mechanicals. That won't happen until September 16, so we had a while to wait.
But while we were waiting, Steve went to work on finding a truck. After lots of research and back and forth, he ordered a truck last week. Of course, it won't be in until the end of October.
And now the inspection is done. By the end of this week, we'll be the owners of a fifth wheel, which will remain in storage in Grand Rapids until the truck comes in.
Construction meanwhile, continues. Rumor has it that the drywallers finished today, so everything is covered in dust. It's lucky that we have a lot of bathrooms. Only one can be used without cleaning it first. And the pool bath is out of commission entirely, as it's getting a makeover.
So now we only have trim and painting to do. Plus the cabinets and counters in the family room and most of the work in the pool bath. Maybe in another month?
But next week we get to go play grandparents for a few days! Yeah!
