June 19, 2000- Monday- it was an early, early one this morning. Since the drop in coach owners are taken on a first come first served basis, and with 500+ coaches in town, I didn't want to get the awnings fixed next week. The service center opens at 6 AM. I got there at 4:50 AM and was the third person in line. By 5 AM I would have been the 10th person. By 6 AM, well, you get the idea….maybe next week. Fortunately being the third one on line, we were in before 10 in the morning, and by 12:15, were going down the road, out of Decatur. It was a long morning, but by the afternoon, I was in a groove, so we drove to East St. Louis, IL, to the Casino Queen River Boat. Now how is this…the RV Park has no power because they are switching the main lines to a new connector. So, no power, no pay. Free sites. I figured I might at well go full boat, so I asked the campground manager for some dinner tickets, and bingo, here are two buffet comps. At $11.95 per dinner, that wasn't bad. So, off we went for dinner, but the casino itself was so smoky that we did the ABS, (automatic back stroke). In the park itself are three other coaches from the rally. Small world, again!
We received a phone call from Debi tonight. She had an MRI and some x-rays done on her back. The results were not good for an active 28 year female. Arthritis, thinning disks, and other spine problems, are continuing to cause her pain. There is no apparent easy solution.
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June 20, 2000, Tuesday- did I mention that our free stay in St. Louis also included the breakfast buffet? As we started towards Kansas City the clouds started to thicken, and the forecast was for heavy thunder showers this evening. We got lucky today. As we passed an old camper today, he proceeded to speed up and flag us over. The rear battery compartment door on the passenger side had opened up, and we were traveling in a very dangerous situation. With the door straight out, we could have sliced someone in half, or damaged another vehicle or our coach. Fortunately, no problems arose. Into KC we come, and on schedule, the big rains, and t-storms, and tornado watches, and then warnings. As were arrived into the Casino Station parking lot, the rain was going horizontal, and the water looked like the top of the ocean. Lightening was right overhead. This is the third time we've stopped to see Brad and Rach, and the third time the water was a deluge. B&R looked great, and Rach, glowing with the baby that's growing by the day. We got to see Brad's office- a great building in the film district of KC. In fact, this building was the office of Universal Films. With Hollywood style carpeting, antique artifacts and film posters hanging….a great place to work everyday.
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June 21, 2000, Wednesday- and easy ride into Stratton, CO, 30 miles west of the Kansas line, leaving 150 miles for tomorrow into Denver. It didn't make sense to push into Denver and arrive at 8PM. Instead we got in a good walk and some relaxing time.
June 22, 2000, Thursday- after an easy drive into Denver we arrived in to the Dakota Ridge RV Park, and into the same space we left 5 weeks ago, and with the same neighbors. Dinner was with Allen and Fran, and Debi and Stephen. Lots of things to catch up on…
The coach was happy to have the batteries plugged into electric power after almost two weeks of dry camping.
June 23, 2000, Friday- running and running with 10 or more stops for today. Summer is here with the car reading 97 today. Getting ready for the trip…to ALASKA.
June 24, 2000, Saturday…I was busy doing a hundred things around the coach today….waxing the coach, purifying the fresh water system, changing water filters, boiling the batteries (to equalize the charge- an 8 hour process), etc. etc. My back sure got a workout today. Susan and Debi did a lot of clothes planning and shopping for the trip. We all got together downtown for dinner and a movie, (Me, Myself and Irene…funny and dumb), with the former at PF Changs and the latter at the new Pavilion area of downtown. The Pavillion, a complex that spans over many streets, is on the 16th street mall, and filled with yuppie stores and eateries. And, the whole area was a street fair happening with performers on blocked off thoroughfares.
June 25, 2000, Sunday- after traffic delays of over an hour, we finally got to have lunch with Naomi and her fiancée John. Although we had never met John prior, he was a great guy and will be a good addition to the family. Even after having flown all night from Mountain Village in Alaska, to Anchorage, to Salt Lake City, to Denver, he still had a sense of humor and a nice manner about himself.
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In our two stops prior to lunch, at Camping World and Wal Mart, my glasses departed my company. Even after retracing our steps, they haven't appeared. I'm not too optimistic about their recovery after having torn the coach and car apart.
June 26, 2000, Monday- got to see the orthopedic dr. today, and he's happy with the current status of range of motion and flexibility. The slight swelling of the ankle could take a full six months to disappear. Then to the dermatologist for our annual review, and it was a good year. No need to zap any growths. Much better then the 18 I needed last year. Dinner was with Les and Maureen at a great restaurant in downtown Denver called Kevin Taylor. It was an upscale eatery with excellent food, service and ambiance. A definite placed to return to on special occasions.
But the rain that started yesterday afternoon, continued through the night and all through today. I'm concerned that we have just a few hours of drying time before we leave the coach in storage. Rolled up wet awnings for two weeks aren't the best for the coach.
June 27, 2000, Tuesday- well, another day of ups and downs. After an early morning rise I had the jacks up at 7:15 to drive 45 miles to Longmont, CO, to get an upgrade kit put into the bedroom slide. They were to change it from a shear pin that's sheared twice, to a key system that is to be bullet proof. Arrived at the repair shop at K&C, and no part. It was arriving today. So they need us to come back. I explained that we were heading out of the country for 10 days. They agreed to keep the coach during our travels to Alaska, so it was a good compromise, saving us the cost of storage.
Back to Golden, where we drove Debi to the Day Surgery center for her cortisone shot between L4 and L5. After an hour, back to the coach with Debi where she recuperated on the couch.
Good news…I retraced my steps again from Sunday, and found my glasses at the Wal Mart. Good thing too since my backup glasses weren't as good as the first line specs.
It was semi dry for part of the afternoon, so we got lucky, and the small awnings all dried. Overnight it rained again, so the slide awnings won't be fully dried, but, that is life.
I finally received the additional disk space that we requested from Angle Fire at the beginning of the month. So, tonight I was able to get the May page up and running.
June 28, 2000, Wednesday- more running. Susan to the beauty parlor, while I dropped of Hobbes at the kennel. Then take the coach to Longmont, CO to get the closet slide upgrade and free storage. We are packed and ready for FUN!!!
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