The Roadrunner Chronicles

Some Key West Eatery's

2012-01-23T06:15:00.000-05:00

Key West (and the Lower Keys) has some great places to eat. When Adam and Kelly were here with us over Christmas, we had to find a vegan restaurant and ended up at the Old Town Mexican Cafe on Duval Street.

As we would expect, it was a little different than the Mexican food of New Mexico. It was not spectacular still good.

One morning we went downtown early to get our picture taken at the Southernmost Point buoy/marker.

Around the corner we found the Southernmost Beach Cafe and had breakfast. We will be going there again. The prices and food were surprisingly good and the view on the beach in the morning was great!

One place I knew we had to go while in Key West was Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville Restaurant and Store. It is also on Duval Street.

The food here was also good and the prices were not bad here either. (They make up for it in the Margaritaville Store with the T-Shirts though…) They were a little pricey.

After our first Sunset Celebration on Mallory Square with Marge and George, they took us to Kelly's on Whitehead Street. At one time this place was owned by Kelly McGillis of Tom Cruise and Top Gun fame.

We got a table on the lighted back patio yard and the atmosphere was great! And the seafood sampler was even better!

Down the keys at Key Big Pine (40 miles away from Key West) we went to the No Name Saloon and Bar after we visited the Sunday Flea Market. We had heard about this interesting place from George and Marge.

It has a reputation for great pizza. We settled on 'Nachos for Two' which was fine. It the cuisine is mostly bar food. The real draw is the reputation and history of the place.

Another great area in Key West known for good appetizers and bar food is Alonzo's Oyster Bar on the Harbor Walk. Our table on the waterfront was right behind where the guy is standing with the shoulder bag. A&B (Alonzo and Berlin) owned the place at one time. B (Berlin's) is upstairs and offers a more formal dinner setting.

This place has great seafood and during happy hour (4-6 PM) drinks and a lot of food is 1/2 price! The shrimp and the oysters did not disappoint!

Key West has a lot of great places to eat and we will no doubt check out a few more.

What are some places you'd recommend?

That is it for this edition of the Roadrunner Chronicles. Thanks for joining us! And thanks to the many new 'blogger friends' that have signed up - we appreciate you all and especially those that leave comments. Those are always fun!

Until next time...

Ernest Hemingway and Harry S. Truman in Key West

2012-01-16T10:23:00.000-05:00

Once we had Key West on the Roadrunner Travel Schedule, I started reading about famous people that lived here. A couple of months ago, I began some of the classics by Ernest Hemingway. I started with 'A Farwell to Arms', then read 'The Old Man and the Sea'. I also read 'The Sun Also Rises' and am a good ways into 'For Whom the Bell Tolls'. Somehow I missed that assignment in high school and am now just catching up.

I also recently finished 'Truman' by David McCullogh. I really liked that book too. My respect and appreciation for what he did during his life and presidency rose considerably. In fact, shortly after his death, he was ranked as the 5th most admired president.

Can you guess those ahead of him?

To further our historical interests last week, we went to see the Ernest Hemingway House and the Little White House here in Key West.

Ernest Hemingway heard of Key West while in Paris and first visited in 1929. His wife's uncle bought the house for $8000 in 1931. Hemingway and his wife Pauline lived there nine years.

It is said it was during his time at Key West that his writing was the most prolific. While in Key West he finished 'Farewell to Arms' and wrote a number of poems, short stories and novels.

The tour of the Hemingway House was very good. We had a guide who really knew some great details and history of the home and about the life of Ernest Hemingway.

Gladly, we were able to take pictures throughout the house. There are about 40 six-toed cats who live there and one was taking a siesta while we made our way through a bedroom.

While Hemingway was traveling, his wife had a $20,000 swimming pool built which was the only one in the Florida Keys at the time.

Most of the furnishings in there as they were in the 1930's. It was a large home on one acre and restored for living similar to that time.

Behind the house was an old carriage house that was remodeled into a studio/apartment where Hemingway did his writing. The tour was very good and well worth it.

Later in the week, we got tickets to the Little White House. The building was originally constructed in 1890 for US naval officers and was built right on the waterfront. Later the Key West harbor was dredged and more land was added. Sadly, government buildings were built in front and the view of the water was gone by the time Harry Truman visited for a much needed rest.

Harry Truman had been vice-president only three months when he was sworn into office on April 12, 1945. He had an excellent work ethic throughout his whole life and kept up a fast pace and worked long hours while president.

After 19 months in office he was in need of a rest and went to Key West. Over his presidency, he returned many times, eventually spending 175 days there.

There were no photographs allowed in the house. I liked the way the furniture from the 1940's remains in the house. The living room and family room (though I don't think they called it that) were very roomy for an old home. It also had a separate formal dining room near the kitchen. The bedrooms upstairs were fairly small but they had a lot of windows for a good breeze. The tour took about 30 minutes and again we had a guide who sprinkled stories and anecdotes throughout the tour.

So there are two stops on the tourist agenda you might want to consider. Both give some historical impact to the city and are well done.

That is all for now on the Roadrunner Chronicles. Thanks for joining us! Until next time...

Sunset at Key West

2012-01-13T11:25:00.000-05:00

Each evening in Key West, there is a phenomenon known as the 'Sunset Celebration'. Hundreds of folks gather each evening at Mallory Square to watch the sun go down. It is quite an event!

Last week we went down for the sunset with Marge and George, new friends from the Sigsbee RV Campground where we are staying.

They have been to Key West a number of times and offered to go with us. We found that Mallory Square was blocked off because they were filming an ESPN boxing match.

The Westin Hotel is right on the water about 100 yards from Mallory Square, so we got a table and had a beer and watched it all from there.

There were a lot of dinner cruise boats, charter boats returning after a day fishing and a few others.

A few days later, we returned to Mallory Square and all the 'regulars' were there. It was a pretty interesting place. We watched a few of the displays and vendors.

At times it was a little crowded but not too bad. And one of the big cruise ships, 'Carnival Magic', was docked.

And the sunset was something to celebrate…

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles! Until next time...

Back in the Saddle at Key West

2012-01-04T06:54:00.000-05:00

We have been in Key West about 10 days now and intend to be here through the month of January and into the first week of February. In a word---It is Nice!

We are staying at the Key West Navy Base, specifically Sigsbee RV Campground. I wasn't entirely clear about that in my last post, but we are staying at a Military Campground on base which means it requires an active duty or retired military ID card.

The have a about 200 RVs here with probably 300 sites. Most of the sites are for dry camping with no water, electric or sewer. But there is a nice dump station with easy access and there are a couple of easy access places to get water.

The campground does have some full hook up sites in a couple of locations on the base about a mile apart. The process is to sign in, pick out a dry camping space and wait your turn to cycle into the full hook up sites. The maximum stay for full hookups is two weeks if there is a waiting list.

It took us 10 days to get into full hookups but we were hoping to stay longer at our first spot. It was on the water and worked well for us. But when our number comes up, we have to move. That makes it good for everyone. All get to share in the front row, on-the-water sites.

The spaces are well marked so there is no question about you and your neighbor's area.

Like I said - we were right on the water.

When our number came up yesterday we moved a couple hundred yards onto a concrete hardpan with full hookups and 100 feet from the laundry and showers. We also have more room between campsites.

While here in Key West we have enjoyed the weather immensely. Right now it is cool and windy (low to mid 60's) but over the last 10 days it has been unseasonably warm (mid to high 70's). Like beach time, suntan warm--

And we have spent time at this beach over at the Key West Naval Air Station marina at Boca Chica about six miles from the campground.

We have also spent some time biking. Pam and I loaded our bikes in the car and went along the south side of the island for a picnic and bike ride the other day. The southside of town has a nice bike path on the water.

And I have had a couple of early morning 12 mile bike rides around the island from our campground.

And a few days ago, Pam and I made it to a tourist spot near downtown Key West.

The Southermost Point in the continental USA is a favorite place for a photo op. In the first few days we were here, the line was really long and crowded so we had to come back another day and get there a little after 7:30 AM.

Adam and Kelly returned to DC and Virginia Beach a few days ago. It was great to have them with us for a week and to enjoy our time together. I am back at my online work($$) and will be busy for the next few days getting some deliverables done, then we will have more time to explore beautiful Key West!

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles. Until next time…

Happy New 2012 Year!

2012-01-01T06:22:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year! Hope this year is a great one for you!

It has started off well for us. We arrived at Key West on December 22 and intend to be here for another 6 weeks. I don't know why the weather is so unseasonably warm here, but we are very thankful for it and enjoying it immensely.

Adam and Kelly were with us for Christmas and we enjoyed a quiet time together here in the Roadrunner exchanging gifts.

It is our tradition on Christmas morning to have breakfast of orange juice and sweet rolls before/while we are opening presents.

It seems like many folks have traditions also. Or they open presents at other times than Christmas morning.

How about you? Do you have traditions? When do you open presents?

After that, we decided to go into Key West and see what was going on. A lot of the shops were open on Christmas Day which surprised us.

And some cruise ships were docked at Mallory Square. Interestingly enough, the ship have to leave the dock two hours before sunset so all the folks can enjoy the daily sunset celebration there. We have heard about it and may go back down there in the next couple of days to check it out.

We signed up for the Christmas potluck back at the RV office and Kelly baked some great cupcakes. When we arrived 10 minutes before 2:00 PM. Yikes! There must have been 200 people there! We got a little bit of an anxiety attack - the place was very crowded to say the least. And I didn't see anywhere with four places at a table. So we opted to pass it up.

Instead we cooked some pork tenderloin on the grill along with some zucchini and vegetables. Adam sautéed some kale and we had dressing and cranberry sauce. Definitely a different Christmas meal but it hit the spot and was a memorable one.

Later we played ladderball at our campsite and did some reading and enjoyed a quiet evening.

Hope your time during the holidays was nice and you were able to be with friends and family.

We are enjoying it tremendously here in Key West. It is in the mid-70's or low 80's although it is supposed to get cooler in the next few days. There are a lot of interesting things here in Key West and things to do.

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles! Until next time...

Key West Christmas Greetings - 2011

2011-12-24T21:59:00.000-05:00

We want to wish you all a Merry Christmas

and a Happy New Year !!

Key West - December 2011

Roadrunner Reflections: First 20 Days in Florida

2011-12-21T08:29:00.000-05:00

We are in Florida for the winter. We crossed the border and have been in the state since December 2. We love it here and some things have impressed me about the state:

They are glad to see us. Florida loves visitors. At the first Welcome Center and everywhere else we have felt nothing but a friendly response.
It is warm here. Unseasonably warm at the moment. Which is completely fine with us. We hoped it would be nice and it is.
The breezes are nice. Everyday we have a little wind and the gentle breezes are great. One of life's pleasures - a warm day and a gentle breeze.
The oranges are cheap here. Yeah - no surprise there but the oranges and grapefruit are great and they don't cost much. At the Welcome Center, the OJ was free!
They have good flea markets here. We visited the one in Dade City and another a few days ago in Hialeah and thought they were both very good.
The highways are great. The roads we have traveled from Jacksonville to Tampa to Miami have been quite impressive. They maintain them well.
The mow the aprons along the highways. This tells me that the state budget is holding up pretty well since they mow along the highways and dividers. Some states we have visited in the last couple of years have quit doing that.
Rest areas are nice. In fact, in some stretches of highway, they are building huge, new, nice rest stops. Again, the state is doing some things to attract more visitors.
There are a lot of snow birds here. Yeah - no surprise there. It is crowded most every where so we will avoid Walmart at mid day and yesterday we got caught in commuter traffic from Miami.
The campgrounds have been good. We are in Miami now at a City Park (Larry and Penny Thompson) and it is not yet full. It is $32 a night and one that we definitely will come back to.

The kids flew in yesterday from BWI and we are going to spend a couple of days here before we head down to the Keys for Christmas. Hope you all are enjoying friends and family and this time of the year.

Thanks for dropping us a note / comment. And thanks for viewing the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Wrapping it Up in Dade City

2011-12-17T06:34:00.000-05:00

We finished our one-week build with the Care-A-Vanners yesterday. In addition to the fun work on the two homes, we went out to dinner as a group at a local place in nearby Zephyrhills: Maine-ly New England.

The food was excellent and the price was great.

Since it was our last day yesterday, the affiliate provide lunch for us at the work site. Then I got some pictures of our group. Moving along clockwise, we have Scotty and Lynn, Mary Ann and Art, John and Janie and Diane and Greg.

Also Steven and Janet, Lois and Stuart, Peggy and Dale with Donna and Ken.

A couple of single ladies were one the team: Laurie and Arlien. Then we had a couple of longer term snow birds who spend the winter here working with the local Habitat group, Jerry Ernie and then Pam and I.

The work crew was great. Jerry was the construction supervisor and has that exceptional ability to teach and give everyone productive work according to their experience and ability. It was really great to work with these guys.
And a group shot:

Later in the afternoon, we went to another Habitat home for a dedication. They had a very nice ceremony and agenda prepared.

A TV station from Tampa interviewed the new home owner and she also received a quilt from some ladies in the area.

There was a good turnout from the local area and it was a real treat to get to see a dedication ceremony.

It was another great week with Habitat and now we head south to Miami for a few days. Thanks for joining us on the Roadrunner Chronicles. And thanks for the nice comments. Keep them coming! Until next time...

Care-A-Vanner Habitat for Humanity, Dade City, FL

2011-12-15T06:02:00.000-05:00

We are in Dade City, FL for a week-long Habitat for Humanity Build.

We are here with nine other couples and two single ladies. The area where they parked us is called "Volunteer Camp". It has full hookups and as you can see, it is a bit crowded. But we are not here for the amenities or scenery this time. It is completely adequate.

The work has been great. Jerry and John and the other leaders keep us moving and explain things and let us do alot. This has been the biggest Care-A-Vanner groups (20 people) so it takes some planning to keep us productive throughout the day.

Stuart and John laid out the floor and made marks where the walls go. And others put felt on the roof and put nails in the outside walls.

And we started framing the walls and setting them upright out of the way until we were ready for them. And others put the house wrap up on the outside. On this house they secure rods the full length of the walls and bolt them into top and bottom for hurricane protection.

Once the walls were in place, we square it and secure it, then make some more walls.

And we have our breaks-- one at 10:00 for about 20 minutes and another for lunch at 12:00 for about 35 minutes. Then we wrap it up about 2:00 or 2:30 which is fine with us. The heat and hard work take their toll. Then there is that aging thing…we run out of gas about then, so it all works out.

Yesterday, right after lunch about eight of us went over to a warehouse and loaded some pre-made walls onto a trailer for the house next door. These walls were made by a church in Tampa and sent over to Dade City. It is impressive that there is such good coordination with other communities and churches in the area.

It has been a good build and we recommend it. The group here is a hard working bunch and the work has been fun.

Tomorrow is a bonus-- we have a house dedication at 4 PM and will see Dedication Ceremony for a new homeowner and many of the folks in the Habitat Office who made their house possible. This affiliate is going to finish their 100th home sometime later this summer!

That is all for this edition of the Roadrunner Chronicles. Thanks for joining us. Until next time…

From Tampa to Dade City FL

2011-12-12T06:25:00.000-05:00

After our stay at Mayport NS outside of Jacksonville FL, we drove over to the Tampa area and stayed three nights at the MacDill AFB FamCamp. MacDill Outdoor Recreation does a good job of making the hundreds of snowbirds and RV campers feel welcome.

We were impressed with a robust calendar of events for campers. The very large campground has hundreds of campsites and is organized by temporary/overnighters and longer term guests. The campground is near the beach which is where I took the sunset photo for the blog header.

They also have a cafe near the campground that caters to campers and has some specials during the week and some $5 dinner promotions going. While we were there they had a 'camper welcome' potluck luncheon where the base commander and campground staff welcomed the campers. They also had live music and it was a nice touch. They like the winter campers here.

From Tampa/MacDill AFB, we headed over to Dade City where we are now. We are ready to roll with the local affiliate of the Habitat for Humanity group. We are part of the Care-A-Vanners group for a week long stay here.

Dade City has a lot for campers where we have full hookups, laundry and restroom facilities. We are packed in pretty tightly with the 17 RV's, but it is fine and completely adequate.

We had a little 'meet and greet' session last evening and got some information and were introduced to the other 20 Care-A-Vanners here.

This morning we start our work week. Some have already been here for a couple of weeks and said they have a lot of good work for us to do so we are looking forward to it.

Hope everyone has a good week. Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!
Until next time...

A Five Star Campground

2011-12-08T08:02:00.000-05:00

We have not found many RV campgrounds we would consider "Five Stars" in our 2 1/2 years of Full-Timing. But Pelican Roost Campground at Mayport NS, FL is one that fits that category. We don't stay at expensive leisure resorts so our stay at Mayport was great.

It was great for a lot of reasons.

The view from our campsite was great. I was really cool to be 50 feet from the water and watch military and commercial ships go by. We saw destroyers and cruise ships, tug boats and autoliners and big cargo carrying ships.
The campsite was on a concrete pad with full hookups and the spacing between rigs was fine.
The $20 fee/night was good. (We had to pay all of $2.00 extra to be on the front row near the water!) We have paid $20 a night for a lot less.
Laundry at the campsite was free! That was a big surprise and the facilities are new and well kept.
The campground was clean and well maintained.
Allowed to wash the RV at your campsite.
Entry/exit on/off the base is easy.
Staff is friendly. No hassles or close 'over the shoulder scrutiny' of campers which is nice.
Only a short 10 minute walk to a big beach.
Within walking distance to shopette and post office.
People are friendly. For some reason (maybe it is Florida in the winter time?) people there were friendly. Seemed like we got into a friendly conversation with folks 3-4 times a day.

Here are a few of my favorite pictures while there:

The view from our campsite (before we got set up):

The beach:

The beach at sunrise:

Washing the RV:

Ships:

And trawlers:

And Navy ships:

We got to see a lot and we enjoyed our time at Mayport. We intend to visit again and stay longer than three days!

So that is one place we would call a 'Five Star' campground.

What is one campground you have been that you really like?

Hope you are having a good week. Thanks for joining us on the Roadrunner Chronicles! Please stop by again!

Roadrunner Financials - October 2011

2011-12-04T10:20:00.000-05:00

Here is something for you that are asking, "How much does it cost?" or are numbers people:

Four years ago when we were really considering Full-Timing, we wanted to know how much it cost. A big consideration for us was whether or not we could afford to retire and launch out. So with that in mind, I hope this is helpful to you.

One of the best things we did was to come up with a budget. I have modified that a bit but it was a great way to start.

Each month our costs fluctuate according to a number of variables. This month, we didn't spend a lot on diesel fuel and we stayed in one place long enough to get the monthly campground rate.

Monthly Recap:
We spent the majority of the month of October in the Virginia Beach area after leaving Joan and Mike's place in Maynardville TN where we did some "mooch-docking". We spent one nite in a Wal-mart parking lot en route to Virginia Beach and then spent the rest of the month at military RV campgrounds at Oceana Naval Air Station and at Dam Neck Annex.

Kelly (our daughter) lives in Norfolk and Adam (our son) lives in Washington DC so we spent a good amount of time seeing them during the month. Normally when we see family, we like to take them out to eat, buy groceries and maybe buy a thing or two for their house. We were able to build a shed for Kelly and install a counter top for Adam in his kitchen.

October 2011 Summary Snapshot:

Good news are areas where we are under budget-

- Gas (diesel). Our bill was low because we only had one fill-up. We started the month in Tennessee and drove to Virginia Beach.
- RV Maintenance. We replaced our Select Comfort Bed motor/pump and I had a couple of RV projects. Still we were under budget.
- Campground fees. Normally Military Campgrounds are about $20. We got a weekly and monthly rate break and averaged $13.30/night.

Biggest expenses for the month -

- Groceries/Food. We went way over budget on groceries and eating out. But we usually do when we see family.
- Gas (car). we had a couple of trips to D.C. from Virginia Beach and a lot of commuting to Kelly's place.
- Internet. In May 2011, I upgraded my internet service to Verizon (from Autonet Mobile). I went from $29/month to averaging over $165/month. With an iPad, iPhone and laptop, I am still figuring out how to minimize my costs there.
- Medical. We found a Groupon for dental and exam and checkup and then decided to get fillings and crowns done.

Large 'One Time Cost Item(s)' -

Misc/Household. We went almost $600 over because we spent $350 on a shed and starting buying Christmas presents.

Monthly average for year 3 (starting in June 2011) -
Yikes! We are $2100 over our monthly average. But we were able to save that amount and more so it didn't affect our cash flow.

We began our third year of Full-Timing in June. Since then we have three big cost drivers:

In September we installed a new $6700 residential-sized refrigerator which was not in the budget
We spend more on food when we are near our kids and buy things for them.
We decided to get dental work done.

So there it is for October 2011, our 29th month of Full-Timing. Hopefully there is some information that is of value and/or interest.

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles. Hope you are enjoying the holiday season!

On to Florida

2011-12-02T09:02:00.002-05:00

We broke camp just after the sun came up on Tuesday when we left Virginia Beach. We drove down to Shaw AFB (in Sumter SC not far from Columbia)and stayed a couple of nights at the FamCamp. The drive was 384 miles and took us about 7 hours.

From Shaw AFB, we are en route to Mayport, FL near Jacksonville where we will stay for a few days. It has been good weather and looks like it will even get better.

While at Shaw AFB, we played golf on Wednesday. It was a beautiful day and a very nice golf course. And the price at $12 each included greens fees and an electric cart.

The course was very well maintained and in great shape. It wasn't very crowded and we made it around in about 3 1/2 hours.

Yesterday, we went to the base gym which has been renovated and expanded. It has a lot of new equipment so we got on the elliptical, rowing and bike machines. It was a great hour of cardio work.

This is the time of the month that I do my online work, so Pam is driving while I get this out and then log some work hours. I am very thankful for the work. And Pam is a great driver so I expect to get a lot done while we motor down the highway to Mayport.

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

A Big Thanksgiving Weekend

2011-11-29T05:34:00.000-05:00

We thoroughly enjoyed the weekend. Adam rode the train down from DC and stayed with Kelly in Norfolk, and we were in Virginia Beach ~ so we were all nearby.

It was a beautiful weekend and I was able to take a couple of bike rides. The Virginia Beach boardwalk is about 6.5 miles from our campground which makes it a good distance for a ride.

Thanksgiving day, 'we' got down to business and prepared some food.

Since Adam is a vegan, he put together a granola-squash-honey thing that was delicious. Pam cooked some potatoes mashed potatoes we took to the group pot luck.

At the pot luck, I got to carve a turkey and everyone put their dishes out for a big spread.

Meanwhile, Ryan was deep frying three other turkeys in the back yard.

They turned out great and was one of the favorites of the day.

One Friday, quite a few of the same group got together to do some decorating at the church.

Along with the new curtains, we made a wire mesh Christmas tree for Angel Tree tags.

Up front, NOEL was placed on the wall.

I wish I had taken more pictures of all the help that was there...

While we were doing that, Adam was back at the RV studying. Then we all went over to Kelly's and then out to eat at Razzo's which is a really good restaurant in Oceanview.

Razzo's is an Italian place with great atmosphere in the Oceanview area near Kelly's house. After dinner we went back to Kelly's house and hung out for a while. Adam was getting on the train heading back up to DC the next day and was spending his last night at Kellys. I thought it would be a good time to get a family group photo for Christmas.

But alas, it was not to be. My attempts were thwarted…I quickly lost control and never got it done...

On Sunday, after church, a group went out to lunch and had a good time.

Yesterday, Pam and cleaned up, ran errands, packed up and got the coach all ready to travel. We leave in a couple of hours for parts south and Florida in the next few days.

Our 7 weeks in Virginia has been great. We especially enjoyed getting to see Kelly and Adam and our friends in Fairfax. And seeing Adam and Melissa run the Marine Corps Marathon. And getting involved here in Habitat for Humanity again. And the beach and nice weather. And the golf and the…

Thanks for checking in again on the Roadrunner Chronicles! Hope you have a great week. Until next time...

The Best Time of the Year

2011-11-24T05:49:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.
Every year the few days around Thanksgiving seem to kick off the "Let's be nice to everybody" season. I really like that and wonder why we can't be like that all year…

This time of the year makes me a little nostalgic and reflective. This year is no different.
I am very blessed and thankful for the family I have. I am keenly aware that everybody can't say that. Pam is simply the best. And I would not change one iota about our kids. Adam and Kelly are two wonderful, great kids. They are no longer kids --but you get the idea. They bless us every day. Thank goodness for cell phones and other technology that keeps us close when we are miles away.

I am especially thankful for this life we are able to live. Over the past 2 1/2 years we have had the chance to meet new people and reacquaint ourselves with some old friends and experience Americana from coast to coast and border to border. In many ways I feel like we are just getting started.

We didn't know how this lifestyle would work out for the holidays when we started out. But it has been great. This year we are in Virginia Beach and Adam rode the train from D.C. to Norfolk last night. He is a Kelly's place in Norfolk and they will be coming over later today.

We will join with Kelly's fellowship group from church and have a big Thanksgiving meal together later in the afternoon. And I am looking forward to taking a picture of the turkey like I do every Thanksgiving. It is part of the tradition.

What are some of your favorite Thanksgiving Day traditions?

I don't know why we did that but my dad always took a picture of the Thanksgiving Day turkey (and Christmas too) while the rest of the food was getting cold and being put on the table….

Here's one I took years ago of the Thanksgiving Day turkey on the table:

I want to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving and hope that you are with your family and/or friends at this time of the year.

Thank you for being part of our great adventure and taking the time to view The Roadrunner Chronicles and especially drop a note. A very special 'thank you' to all of those of you that have 'Followed' or signed up as 'Friends' on the Roadrunner Chronicles ~ it is a big deal to know that you are out there….

Until next time...

Habitat Groupon Golf and Birthdays

2011-11-17T06:31:00.000-05:00

Not knowing exactly what to call today's edition, I decided to 'focus' on four items:

Habitat for Humanity -

As you may know, we love working with local affiliates and are glad to be back in the South Hampton Roads area to work with some of the same group who befriended us here last year.

Our latest assignment is an old house in nearby Portsmith that is being refurbished and redone.

Our effort has been concentrated on the small back porch and deck.

What I loved about this project was that we got to learn about the whole thing from the beginning. Joe measured out where the 4x4 foot posts went, we dug the holes, poured in cement, then we worked off that to attach the support runner from the house.

It took us a couple of days and we are still not done, but we got the deck on and now are working on the steps, support posts and railing.

Golf/Groupon:

Pam and I also love to play golf and we have done that a few times while the weather has been good here. I found a city course deal on Groupon. $14 covered greens fees and carts so it was a bargain.

Also, we played three city courses in the area we normally would not have played: Bow Creek, Kempsville and Red Wing.

They are all on the rebound and the new management company that is managing them for the city is really doing a great job. Apparently six months ago, they were in bad shape, but the new crew is really getting them in shape.

I loved them all but my favorite was the last one we played at Red Wing. Pam enjoyed them also. The thing I noticed is that they are not really long courses and they give the woman a 50-80 yard advantage off the tee box. Their teeing area is well out in front of the men's but that makes it more fun and competitive for everyone.

We have seen some great deals lately on Groupon - Have you? Do you use Groupon?

In addition to the Habitat and Golf, we have celebrated birthdays in the last couple of weeks.

Kelly's friends from church usually get together during the week a couple of times and we joined up for a Sunday afternoon cookout and kickball time at the RV campground. These 'kids' (late twenties are a great bunch and very welcoming to us.

In addition to Kelly and Pam's birthdays in the last few days, I think there must have been 5 or 6 other peoples as well.

It was a bit windy but we were able to eat and hangout and they even had a rousing game of kickball. Some really got into it and it was fun.

Afterwards, we chatted some.

It was coolish so that didn't last long before everyone headed out.

We are thoroughly enjoying our time here in Virginia Beach and will be here two more weeks. I love this time of the year and it is great to be near our kids! Adam will be joining us next week for Thanksgiving and we are looking forward to it.

I hope you and yours are well and looking forward to the holidays also. Thanks for joining on this edition of the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Our Flag and Thank You Veteran's!

2011-11-11T10:11:00.002-05:00

I know it isn't officially flag day, but every day is flag day for me... And Veterans Day seems like a good day for a post about the flag we fly outside our RV.

I have always been an enthusiastic supporter of showing our flag. I don't know why that is ~ maybe because my dad would put the flag out on special occasions when I was growing up. I have been 'patriotic' ever since I can remember. My dad spent a career in the Army Air Corps/US Air Force so I was always around flags and ceremony and have great respect and love for our Country.

My brother Marty was in the Navy during the Viet Nam war off the gulf of Tonkin. Also, my brother Brad served in the Air Force and flew KC-135 tankers. My brother-in-law Mike served in the Army in Viet Nam bull dozing air strips. And I met Pam in the Air Force. She worked on ECCM gear on AC-130/Spectre Gunships, MC-130/Combat Talon, and F-4/Phantom aircraft. And I served 20 years, retiring from the Air Force in 1995.

And I know many of you have served or are serving. I think it is a wonderful thing to support our military. And I think it is due in a large part to George H.W. Bush. He made it a priority to have parades and publicly thank our returning military members returning from Gulf War I. Before that happened, I don't remember it being 'in fashion' to thank the military. Now everybody does it.

I have always loved our flag. I remember getting choked up at baseball games at college and high school baseball games in the 1970's. When we would rise to hear our national anthem being played to start things off, I remember saying to myself, "This is the best part of being here ~ being able to hear the national anthem being played". Other than that ...I can't explain it.

Pam remembers getting the flag duty in grade school the day President Kennedy died. She and some friends then had to go back out in the middle of the day and lower it to half staff.

When we moved to Virginia and bought our house in 1995, I bought a flag and decided to hang it out every day. We had the All-American dream: 2.0 kids, a house with a two car garage, white picket fence, dog --- and a flag flying every day.

When we started full-timing in May 2009, we saw people who had flags flying outside their RVs. Our favorite was Frank's. We talked and he gave us some instructions and a build list to make our own. Thank you Frank Cason. He gave us some great plans which we modified a bit.

We had the plans for a few months before Pam finally took them and built our flag pole that we use almost daily. And Kelly made the plans and diagrams that hopefully you will find helpful if you want to make one like this.

So here are the plans Kelly created from our notes/modifications and Frank's original drawings:

The pole(s) come apart for easy storage. And there are a few other things.

I picked up a 2' piece of rebar (from Lowe's) that I pound into the ground. Then I put two 1" washers over the top of the rebar that slides down to the ground. This helps the PVC pole swivel.

Then I slide the assembled pole over the rebar. As you can see here, I have an extra 3' of 1/2 " PVC leaning against the rebar. That goes over the rebar (for a little strength) and inside the 1" pole.

Note: The build list does not include the 1/2" pipe 3' long, 3' of rebar, washers, and eye screws. You will also need a very small carbiner hook to fasten the flag to the eyelet screw.

The whole thing assembled looks like this:

Then the flags - the large US flag and smaller state flags and Canada flags:

The small flags needed a 'sleeve' that Pam sewed along the edge so that we can hang it sideways. We pull out the bottom bar, slide it through the sleeve of the flag, and replace it into the T-joint.

If you can not enlarge the picture above or would like me to send you the .pdf file, let me know:

rwarner22@gmail.com

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chrnoicles! And thank you veterans!

How To Lose 25 lbs…

2011-11-05T06:33:00.002-04:00

I have wanted to do this post for some time. This is not another story in a long line of diets or drink formulas or sales gimmicks.

The real truth of the matter is that I lost 25 lbs with my iPhone. Yep - it even does that.

More specifically, I have an app that counts calories. I am amazed that the secret to the success (for me anyway) is counting calories. I have heard about counting calories for a long long time but never done it.

How about you? What has worked for you over the years?

Back about 10 years ago Pam and I found some success with the Adkins diet. I think I lost 17 lbs then. But it was very stringent and not without controversy. And I love some carbs now and then.

Then in the summer we went to see our good friends Steve and Theressa in Sioux Falls. They have made dramatic changes in their weight, losing a combed 100 lbs. They look great! And are going for more. When I asked how them did it ~ she indicated she tracked the food she ate on an iPhone app.

The app is from LoseIt.com The online account synchs with your iPhone. I mostly use my iPhone.

It is pretty basic. I just enter what I eat for all my meals and snacks. And I get more calories if I exercise.
Here is what it looks like on the iPhone app:

To begin with I register my age, height and weight and my target weight. It asks how aggressive I want to be in achieved my target weight. I figured 1 lb a week would be good.

I went from over a little over 180 to 165 in nine weeks.

All the literature I have read says my ideal weight is 155 so I decided to pursue that and got there in another couple of weeks.

It has changed my thinking about weight loss. I can eat anything I want and now that I am where I want to be, I know how much I can eat to stay here. It has also changed my eating habits and I snack about 1/3 of what I used to. And I stay away from candy bars (Snickers), carbonated drinks (even the diet ones 'bloat' me).

The success has changed my thinking about food. I don't want to get over-full any more. I like feeling a little lean. I also was surprised how I didn't have a large amount of craving going on. I was more interested every day in seeing if I could lose another pound, then another etc.

One thing I wish I had done at the beginning was buy scales. We have not had any until recently. I didn't start weighing in until I had already lost over 10 lbs.

So I wanted to share it with those of you out there who have thought about it and never really counted calories before. It works.

In our RV lifestyle, it is a lot easier to put the pounds on rather than take them off with exercise and fresh air. I thought it would be easier to do.

A word of caution: though I my current daily calorie budget is 2194 calories, there have been days that I have gone over. The key for me is not to get discouraged and not to cheat on my counting! The scales don't lie. And counting the calories tells a pretty good story.

Another thing: I am very aware of is that weight lost does not mean fitness. I can be where I want to be weight-wise and be very out of shape. So I have to get in walks, runs and some time in the gym when we are near one. I can also be in relatively good shape with lots of exercise and still be over my goal weight. I spent a lot of time over the years there...

That is it for today on the Roadrunner Chronicles. We'd love to hear your story so please share it. Thanks for joining us today. Until next time...

Weekend to Remember with Karl and Adam

2011-10-31T08:54:00.000-04:00

Karl Rove at the debate. And Adam running the Marine Corps Marathon.

Kelly works at Clancy and Theys in Norfolk. They are a good sized builder in the North Carolina/Virginia area and have been around for a while. They built some buildings on the campus of Regent University and were one of the Gold Sponsors of the debate: Clash of the Titans: Countdown to Collapse - Solving America's Economic Crisis

Pam wasn't too interested in going (Game 7 of the World Series was on) so I had the privilege of going with Kelly. On the stage for the debate:

Robert Gibbs - Long time advisor to President Obama and former White House Press Secretary
Larry Summers - Former Secretary of the Treasury and President of Harvard
Alan Simpson - Former Senator from Wyoming and served on the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform
Karl Rove - Former Deputy Chief of Staff and Advisor to President George W. Bush

The event was moderated by Brett Baier, anchor of Fox News.

I was struck by the civility of all on stage.

And the good humor despite the differences in the solution.

And these guys are good. They are pros at the top of their game. Every one of them is very smart. Very interesting. All made some good points.

I guess I was most surprised by Alan Simpson. He took his time allotted to say the debt crisis can not be solved but only one thing. We have to do a lot of things. Including raising some taxes, reforming Medicare and Social Security, and reducing spending. A trillion dollars is a large large number to overcome. $13 trillion (or more) is almost incomprehensible. He challenged us all to read the report the commission wrote: The Moment of Truth

And he had more than one humorous quip:

- "You can torture statistics and they will eventually confess…"

And each side said the predictable:

- "We need to invest more in the economy (more stimulus) and raise taxes on millionaires…" - and

- "We need to curb spending and we don't need more taxes in this already bad economy…"

blah blah blah….

What I found most interesting were the men themselves and how they spoke, countered the other side and sprinkled humor throughout. It is a very serious subject but sadly in this day and age all agreed that 'compromise' of previous days in politics has given way to mistrust where that is no longer possible.

I can't tell you how much fun it was to sit there and listen to each of these guys. No one came up with a new idea but it was interesting none the less. The fact that each got to speak for four or five minutes a couple of times was better than what we have been getting on the TV with the recent Republican debates.

So that was on Friday night with Kelly. On Saturday we drove up to Fairfax from Virginia Beach and are staying with friends. We were here to see Adam run the Marine Corps Marathon.

What an impressive event. We got up on Sunday shortly after 5 AM and rode the Metro to the Pentagon and walked over to the starting line.

We found them before the race and they were pretty pumped up. And a little cold. It was in the high 30's/low 40's.

Kelly made up some signs

We developed a plan to ride the Metro to various spots along the race route and predict when they would be coming by. We positioned ourselves at about mile 10 near the Lincoln Memorial and waited about an hour for them.

But we missed them. So we went to mile 12 and waited. I pulled out my camera and waited but didn't seem them. And then they ran by….

We saw them but it was too quick to get the camera out, turn it on, get a good picture….

There were a lot of different scenes and emotions during the day.

I was a beautiful day for a run after it warmed up.

After about 5 hours we moved over to near mile 26 to see them.

He looked great near the end. But the last .2 miles was straight up hill to the Iwo Jima Memorial. We missed that part of it thinking we'd be able to get a better picture here.

The finish came at 5:30. We were so happy for them and glad they made it. It was one of those experiences that will be with them forever.

Happy. And tired. And hobbling around. You could tell who the marathoners were. Most were the ones with the smile of accomplishment on their faces and the wobble 'my body hurts all over' walk.

We found them over in Rosslyn which was all closed down. What a mob scene. 30,000 runners. 120,000 spectators…

It was a big and busy weekend for us but memorable on many accounts. I will never forget being with Kelly at the debates where I got to see and get my picture taken with some pretty heavy hitters on the political scene.

And then to share in Adam's first marathon. It was great.

That is about it for this looong edition of the Roadrunner Chronicles. Thanks for joining us. Have a Happy Halloween! Until next time...

A Shed for Kelly

2011-10-29T22:14:00.000-04:00

We love to do projects for friends and family. So when Kelly mentioned she'd like a shed for her bicycle and lawn mower we jumped at the chance to build one for her. We looked around at Home Depot and Lowe's for ideas and decided most were too big and expensive and that we'd be better off to design and build our own shed.

We decided to make it 4' x 8' x 4 to keep it simple. We borrowed a truck and picked up materials on Sunday afternoon and got all ready to begin on Monday morning.

We decided where to put it behind her house and set out the cinder blocks on which the floor would sit. Surprisingly, it took a little bit of doing to dig out the holes for the blocks and make them level. But after a while, I got that done.

Next, I 'framed out' a floor while Pam started painting the OSB boards that were going to be the floor and the side walls.

Next the walls need to be framed.

Before too long we had the floor and a couple of walls up. We decided 8' was too high for the ceiling/roof so we made it only 6' 6".

Then built another wall and stood it up.

Then we cut the pieces for the doors and painted them.

Then we put the front on and squared it up.

Pam also worked on the trim.

Another big effort was hanging rafters for the roof, putting the OSB down, wrapping it with a drip edge and putting the shingles down.

Just in case you are wondering that took us into day three. At the close of day three, I was trimming the overhanging shingles. But ran into a problem.

I sliced the top of my hand under the sharp drip edge as I was trimming them. Yikes! I cut a gash in my hand. Good thing we were done for the day.

Off we went to Urgent Care (Patient First here in Virginia Beach) to sew up my hand. An hour later I was all fixed up.

Here is a before and after shot:

The doc did a terrific job and I had very little pain or issue with it. The next day we finished up an hung the doors on the shed.

Kelly's bike and lawnmower plus some extra things will fit nicely into it. We still have to make a few shelves, but we put a lock on it and will finish it up this week. Mission accomplished.

One thing I was happy about it that it is solid and plumb. I built a shed years ago in our stix and bricks house and had no concept of how to use a level. So we are learning and almost complete with another project under our belt.

That is it for this edition of the Roadrunner Chronicles ~ thanks for joining us. Until next time...

Dental Work and a Fixed Bed

2011-10-22T06:42:00.000-04:00

One thing we haven't quite figured out during the last 2 1/2 years of full-timing is getting regular checkups on our teeth. We have looked a few places but $75 or $100 to get our teeth cleaned just doesn't appeal to me.

Shortly after we started full-timing we were in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas along the border of Mexico and we went to Nuevo Progresso, Mexico. We both got our teeth cleaned for about $25. But that was two years ago when it was relatively safe.

So we have put off teeth work. Back when we had our house and I had a full time job we got our teeth worked on at least yearly.

Our daughter Kelly knew we were coming to the Virginia Beach area and saw a Groupon advertisement for a Mahanes Dentistry in Virginia Beach. -Really? a Groupon ad for a dentist?

It advertised a dental checkup, x-rays and teeth cleaning for $49. Sounded like my kind of deal. So we scheduled an appointment and arrived on Wednesday.

We were seen promptly and I was very impressed. Renee, the dental hygienist explained how she wanted me to bite for the x-rays and I watched them appear one at a time on the monitor as I sat in the dentist chair.

She also poked around and checked out old fillings and new areas for some work. When the dentist came in they pointed to the teeth in question and wrote up some notes.

Again I could see exactly what they were talking about. It was my first experience with monitors mounted on the wall for patients to see notes, x-rays and charts.

My cleaning went fine. Just for old times sake I was admonished to floss more. Unlike Pam, I only occasionally floss. She had periodontal disease years ago and flosses daily. As a result her gums and teeth are in great shape.

So we were very impressed with the dentist and the treatment. So we will be back.

How about you? What do you do for dental work? If you are Full-timers or extended-timers, do you have a new dental situation for when you are on the road?

On a different subject..., we replaced the controllers for our Select Comfort bed.
Over the past few months we noticed the digital readouts on both controllers were going bad. Then finally about 6 weeks ago, we lost the readout all together.

I called Select-Comfort and they wanted $300 for a new unit to fix the bed. Yikes! I didn't like that number….

While we were back at the factory in Red Bay, Alabama last month, we went to the old parts store and found a couple of used controllers. We got the circuit boards from each one and we were all fixed up! Total cost: $ 25 each.

That solution worked fine for about 6 weeks. But,,,,then we had no display in either controller. Those controllers went bad. This time I asked about the warranty when I called Select Comfort and the replacement cost went down to $105. They prorated what was left on the warranty.

So we ordered a new unit and a single wireless controller. They no longer make one for each side of the bed.

The package arrived last week and we did the installation.

We had to plug up the mattress while we unhooked everything. Then we removed the mattress so we could get to the bed frame.

The bed sits on a frame that folds in the middle. It is secured with six screws underneath the top of the mattress. The bottom half of the platform is over the storage area. We removed the arms that hold the bottom end of the bed platform up over our storage area and then removed the entire platform.

Then we unhooked hoses and changed out the power unit that was plugged in underneath the top half of the bed.

The new unit is a little smaller than the old one so it fit well into the space. Once we double checked the air hoses and power unit, Pam screwed down the bed platform again. (you can tell here who is doing the work and who is doing the videography….)

The new unit works like a champ and we are happy campers so to speak.

The new unit has a left and right button and the two unit version is replaced with the single controller. As per the directions we pumped up both sides to 100, then backed it down to 40 and 45. Then we put the mattress back in place and we were done!

I was wondering, what kind of bed do you have in your RV?

Two more things taken care of this week, now on to the next project…

That is it for this edition of the Roadrunner Chronicles! Thanks for joining us and until next time...

Virginia Beach Week 1 Highlights

2011-10-16T07:57:00.000-04:00

We have been here a little over a week. The first few days we stayed at Ocean Pines Campground at Ocean Naval Air Station.

(This is a photo off the website since I didn't remember to take my own while we were there…)

The campground was once a mobile home park they have converted to a campground. The laundry facilities and restrooms are good. But it is about 4 miles from the beach.

After three days, we moved over to Dam Neck where we have reservations. Sea Mist RV campground is where we stayed last year for a couple of months. They opened up 26 new sites and the old portion of the campground is closed until they can finish upgrading it.

The new portion has nice concrete pads with 50 amp electricity and full hook ups. And it is only about 200 yards from the beach. And the price is right at $450/month.

Kelly lives in Norfolk with is about 30 minutes away. Last weekend we met some of her friends and had dinner at the Baron Pub in Portsmith. We took the ferry across from Norfolk.

We walked about 4 blocks down to the pub and met her friends. There were about 15 of us in the group. I sat next to Megan from DC who was visiting her boyfriend here. She is in a small group in DC that includes Betsy who is the daughter of very good friends of ours. I have known Betsy's parents (Ed and Candice) since the mid 1970's from my Arizona State days. Small world!

Earlier in the day, Kelly had us go with her to her workout class. Ugh oh…

You have to figure that anything with 'Extreme' in the name is going to hurt a little. Or a lot…

Pam and I survived. We were out of breath a lot. The real soreness didn't set in until the next day or two. But it was fun and Pam and Kelly are going back for more. Since I was the only guy besides Heath (the trainer) there, I decided I would stick to biking and walking and running…

In fact we all did some of that yesterday. It was the 2nd Annual 'For The Love of Meghan Team' (Susan G. Komen) Run for the Cure here in Virginia Beach. We ran to celebrate the life of Meghan, our daughter-in-law who succumbed to breast cancer 18 months ago at age 28. She ran in a few of these and would be right there with Ricky and Nicos and Pam and Kelly and Lauren and Dan and Ryan J and Ryan H.
We ran to shake our fist at this deadly disease and to raise money and to remind ourselves to check regularly for breast cancer. We saw a number of different messages during the day: 'Save the boobies', 'Check your tatas' etc. Among my favorite is 'Squeeze. And we ran to have fun.

We also ran for survivors Sue (my sister in law), and Barbara (friend from our Hawaii days), and Rebecca (friend from our Korea days) and Gill (next door neighbor in Fairfax). All are doing well now.

It was a beautiful day for a walk or a run.

And we were off!

We are definitely enjoying it here in Virginia Beach. The weather has been fairly warm (low 70's) and only a little rain. We plan to be here until after Thanksgiving.

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles. Until next time...

Roof Work in TN

2011-10-09T08:30:00.000-04:00

We have been looking forward to seeing everybody in Tennessee for a while. We hadn't see Joan and Mike, Michelle, Jeremy, Kayla and Noah since January. And we planned on helping with Mike and Joan's roof which needed to be done. The good news was that we only had half a roof to do. The other half had already been replaced a few months ago.

But it was a big job for Mike and I. We had to take off two layers of shingles,

There are a number of ways to scrape off shingles. I have seen some use a shovel. The best way I know of is to use the tool that is laying there right beside Mike.

Here's another picture. The roof shovel thing is the best invention I have seen in a while. It made a hard job a lot easier.

It took us a while, but we were able to scrape up the old shingles and felt and nails. And I only had a couple of blisters…

We left piles of shingles on the ground to pick up later.

Then the fun began. We rolled out the felt paper to cover the roof.

Then we laid some shingles in place to start putting those down.

We put them across the bottom and sides first.

Then it was a matter of hauling the shingles up the ladder on the other side of the house and moving them into place to put the rest of the shingles on. We had a nail gun to use the last time I worked on a roof.

This time it was one nail at a time. Eventually, we got it done.

We had sore backs and I had a few dings in my fingers and hands, but we were glad to get it finished. Thankfully the weather was nice in East Tennessee and we didn't have any major issues.

That is all for now on this edition of the Roadrunner Chronicles. Thanks for joining us! Until next time...

Freezing Machine

2011-10-04T07:29:00.000-04:00

Last April when we were in Tucson, our Norcold refrigerator died. Like dead as a door nail. No more cooling or refrigerating…it was gonzo.

So we 'made do' with a small type refrigerator that is like one college students might use in their dormitory. But we used it in the Roadrunner. It worked fine and since we knew we were going to get a new one, we lived with it.

We made a reservation with Brannon at Custom RV in Vina, AL (about 5 miles from Red Bay) and showed up promptly at 7:00 AM.

We pulled into the bay and they jumped into action

The Whirlpool refrigerator had been in the warehouse for a few weeks along with the six AGM Lifeline batteries and the Magnum 2800 pure sine wave inverter that all go together.

Brannon and John got working on the batteries and inverter. They also cut the seal around the DS window and took off the back panel of the refrigerator to disconnect the propane line and get the electrical wires ready.

Meanwhile, the window had to come out and the fuse box panel door below the refrigerator space came off. Then the refrigerator was unhooked and disconnected and it came right out.

The new one was put on the pallet and hoisted through the window.

It was pretty amazing. With a little encouragement it fit right in. Then the back wires were all hooked up and it purred like a kitten.

The window and window coverings were all put back in and we were in business!

That is 22 cu. ft of pure refrigerator! We can't wait to fill it up. We are thankful we were able to save up and get this done. I think it will be worth every bit of the $6706 (in case you were wondering).

It was a big day and we love our new frig.

I am curious, how many of you all have a residential refrigerator?

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles. Until next time...

Wet Bay in Red Bay

2011-10-01T09:40:00.000-04:00

We went to Red Bay, AL (Allegro/Tiffin RV Service Center) to get some odds and ends done and to get our wet bay replaced. This has been a major problem for Tiffin Motor Homes over the last couple of years. I don't know if there is an accurate count of how many motorhomes have this issue but it is hundreds. The floor under the water and waste tanks is rotting out and it has to be replaced.

The bad news is that they need to be fixed. The good news is that Bob Tiffin is standing behind his work and fixing them at no cost to his customers. The fix is at least 5 hour job for two people.

Since customers with scheduled appointments go ahead of those in the Express Bay (us) Tiffin paid to have us go across the street to McKinney RV and get the job done on a Saturday. I think we had complained enough that we were moving down, not up on the list, so they finally found a way to get us in. We were glad to do it since we had been waiting 10 days.

I was a little concerned since McKinney doesn't regularly do these kind of jobs. But they have done a few in the past few weeks. My hesitations were quickly dispelled. These guys were good. And Mr. McKinney was there to make sure it was done quickly and well.

Gary, Jim and Eugene started unhooking wires, plastic pipes and hoses from both sides of the bay. Then they jack up the metal frame that holds the gray and black tanks. Once everything is freed up, they slide out the clear tank.

They cleaned up the tank on the outside, then had to remove all the rotted plywood.

Then they put in a new floor and replaced the cleaned up clear tank.

Once that was done, they reconnected all the pipes, wires and hoses.

Then they checked it all out and caulked everything.

We were very satisfied with their work and recommend McKinney. Total cost to us: $0. And our Saturday. But we were glad to get that behind us.

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles. And thanks for those that leave comments! We appreciate them!