Movin' on down the road or should I say northeast..

So this post sort of details what goes on into a move to a new location. I know many of you probably don't understand how all this works..so possibly this will help a little! :) This way I also won't forget what fun we had when I read this in 20 years and wonder how we did it!

As I previously mentioned we moved on Saturday. We knew this move wasn't anything long distance..but we did know it would take almost all day. I confirmed  our appointment with the RV repair company on Thursday afternoon, only to hear that the parts still were not "at the shop." I literally laughed because over the past 7 months I have heard many varying responses when I asked about said parts-

 " Mrs. B. they were supposed to be in several months ago so I will try and call the manufacture, oh they are on back order, they have been shipped, on back order again, oh we had to special order something for you and we are having to get approval from the manufacture of your 5th wheel, they have been shipped and should be here next week, Mrs B you never decided on a design for us to order, oh they are on back order,  Mrs. B I never heard back from you so we didn't order them yet, we had to have something special ordered because you have an odd size slide seals (what?!), they are shipped (however upon questioning) I will try and call the company to make sure they were manufactured...(you said they shipped!) , they are on back order, they shipped and should arrive in a week, and they should be delivered sometime on Thursday. "

I told them I would call back at our set appointment time on Friday. So I did.."the parts have not arrived but they should this afternoon and I will call you when they do and our guys will come out to install."  Well, they finally called me to say "the parts didn't arrive. Could we schedule something at your new location and we will come to you to install?"  I talked calmly and started laughing when I got off the phone. 35 minutes later they called back and said "they had tracked the package and it didn't make it on the truck out of Houston to be delivered. So that is why they had not received it today."  Really???? They said "we are willing to work a Saturday on a holiday weekend, drive all the way into Houston pick up the parts at UPS, and install them so we could be on the road by noon. We just want to make sure you are a happy customer since you have had to wait so long. We will be at the park at between 10 and 10:30 am." NO WORDS!  So, we couldn't do a lot until after they left in regards to packing up the final things as they were moving slides, etc. At 11:15 on Saturday I called them.."Yes Mrs B the guys are leaving my house and are on the way. It will take about 30 min for them to drive over." (D was furious!) An hour and a half later, they showed up and got started. They finished around 2:30 and actually did the list of things I made for them.  D said they did admit fault and apologized. (Um..how kind.) We still don't know that the saga is over and won't  until we take the 5th wheel in for more work. Oh excitement (insert sarcasm!)

Lets go!

 By the time we finally got on the road it was 3:30 and we headed toward East TX. We had looked up several parks on-line as per our typical plan to have some tentative places in mind. It took us longer to drive the trip than normal because it was so hot and we were worried about tire blowouts. (Trailer tires are more likely to separate if the road  and air temperature are hot. Road friction and heat are not a good combo, thus why you see a lot of Tractor Trailers with blowouts in the summer months)  Your welcome for that lesson on tires! We drove past a few parks and pulled into our last hope of the ones we had looked at online. I was not a fan. It didn't look safe and I would have been bonkers by the end of this rotation. Daniel agreed however, we ran into the problem of no other park options. We pulled into the Kroger parking lot (we always seem to do this..parking lot looking) and I got on the laptop to start searching others around the area. We finally found one about15 miles outside of town that sounded decent and the people were very nice when we called. Of course we went completely wrong direction and had to turn around on a 2 lane closed road with drop offs on both sides. It was super fun! We found out quickly we have spotty (at best) cell reception in this area so we couldn't even talk about what to do while driving. We arrived here around 9:45 pm to one of the nicest families greeting us. We had to pick out a spot and park in the pitch black. A challenge. This park is also relatively new meaning we had to do a little extra as far as outside set up so we would not sink into the ground. It is super fun to do this when you are extra tired. Back up, no stop, ok go forward, you are almost on the boards, etc. Oh how much fun this always is! HA! We did have to set up that night as far as hooking up certain things (water, sewer, electric), open the slide outs, and the basics (straighten stuff that shifted in cabinets, hook up tv, move random stuff in sink, put things back on shelves in shower, move hanging clothes off of bed, etc). We are staying in a park across from the lake. It is definitely in the country, we were able to get a large spot in the back, and our view is a large pond and trees.

Saturday we headed 20 miles into town to go to Sam's and the store. I always try to use up the refrigerated food before we move. Here is my theory- it cuts down on weight,  I personally don't think the refrigerator is as cold when it uses propane, and we typically don't cook the night before we leave and the days we move so it is less work (dishes, cleaning the kitchen, etc.) Daniel's cousin also lives in the area and had us over for dinner that night. We met his girlfriend and kiddo. They super nice and I am sure we will be seeing them often. Glen was so kind to let us do our laundry while we visited. THANK YOU! I know the guys had a great time catching up. We really had not had a chance to visit with Glen since he stopped by on his way through  3 years ago. Wyatt explored all over his house and went back and forth between the living room and kitchen.

We got home around midnight after finishing up our laundry. Sunday we were all three exhausted. Daniel worked on a school project and Wyatt and I unpacked a little (cooking items, laptop, toys). We are planning on taking the 5th wheel in to the dealership in the next month so unpacking is only the essentials. We have this process down to an art!

Daniel finished his first class this week and a huge weight was lifted off of his shoulders. I think getting a first class under his belt has really helped.
I got a small pool for Wyatt since it has been in the 100's this week. By the late afternoon he needs something new to do, mama and daddy are sweating so much we need a break outside, and something to occupy him. HA! I have been busting this out after our walk when we are all three sweaty. Of course he is the only one in the pool, but he splashes like a champ and it feels good!

 Wyatt and I haven't done much this week besides play. Daniel and I had actually visited here before when we lived in the area 3 years ago however, I don't really remember it. It is a one blinking light town with a Family Dollar, Dollar General, Sonic, Gas station, and I think I saw a DQ. It also has a few local restaurants! Daniel and I are both content with this rotation as we are thankful to have a job!  We found the local park with a jogging trail and play scape. Wyatt is already a huge fan and I am sure we will go often. They have a just hatched area with little kid stuff! He was actually able to do more than just swing and I could tell he loved it!

 

 

Tonight we are going to a Longview vs North Little Rock football game. High school football is huge in this area, so I am sure we are in for some fun! (Well it is everywhere but we were warned it was a BIG deal!) Watch out AR is in the house! We don't know what the rest of the weekend holds...but I can bet it will include hiking! :) Cooler temps are on the way!