Our Christmas Journey

We begin our Christmas Trip in Arlington WA. we were so excited to spend Christmas with the Kids and Grand kids all was ready,  we had filled with propane and got the last minute look over from Roy Robinson RV service in Marysville, WA ( who might I add also fixed the light problem with the towed , and we were on our way.

Determined no to stay in every Campground every night we wanted a little adventure in this trip, so we planed to stay in a few campground the one I listed here.

Our first night was harrowing to say the lease, we got into Portland, Oregon the top of rush hour and the people had either forgotten how to drive on jsut never learned in the first place. missing our turn off because some would rather get home 2 minutes earlier than let someone merge, we ended up in the wrong express lane, and had to go out of our way, we but as I mentioned we asked for adventure. 

We did get to see some old ( long time friends) in Salem and stayed the night at the rest area jsut south of Salem was a peaceful night and we woke up refreshed.

We headed for California and the Siskiyou's Mountain Pass. To our delight no snow.  just rain, and though we did see some on the side of the road nothing on the roads, was a relief.

We stayed the next night at a Wal-Mart in California,  was a bit out of the way and because of road construction it was tricky but the Manager and Customer service people were great and we spent our 2nd night in restful sleep. Arising at 3Am we were determined to get out of the area before rush hour, we did. and then instead of I-5 we decided on hwy 99 out of Lodi. we were going to spend the night at the flying J, but as I said decided on the Wal-Mart instead.  

Most of the Pilots and Flying J's we found has no pull thru's and if they did most were taken with backing truck and pulling out Car we did not wish to un hook and back in and re hook up in the morning. 

We arrived in San Jacinto Ca, were we were to spend the night, we arrived early so as to go see a long time friend and retired pastor and meet up with a friend I had known in Alaska.  was a great reunion, on both parts, However, the Campground (Reflection Lake RV Park & Campground)  ,Sorry no photos,we were no there long enough and with the problems with the parking and rv we just did not think of photos,  was not good for pull thru and towing a vehicle. they had big post they expected you to pull thru and between the Cow farm and silage pits it looked nice had to get into, and though it was Very inexpensive, the stay was not.  out first challenge was the motor home would not start, we had no power to the dash, and we tried everything, Finally calling Good Sam Road Side Service, who promised to be at the campground at 8Am they showed up at 9:30 We had planned to leave at 9 AM the road side service men got there shined their lights and opened a few panels and said "Guess we have to tow it"  they had no idea what they were doing.  I called around and finally with the help of my brother in law who is a snow bird, we found a guy who interrupted his children's Christmas shopping trip for 20 minutes and had us back on the road... we gave him all the cash we had, but wish we could have given him more..

We headed for New Mexico 

and finally Texas, we were to stop at a Pilot (at exit 1 Between California and Arizonia)who said they had Bulk Propane, NOT.. well they did have in a awkward place, I pull the rv around had to pull into a hotel parking lot to turn around and then after all that the guy tell my wife that he dies not know how to fill rv tanks and we would have to wait til 4PM for the guy who did...Are You Kidding me??????  this was at 1PM where am I going to park for 3 hours, the truck parking lot was full...so we went on our way.

Our next night, we stayed at a Wal-Mart in Ferguson Texas, just outside of Austin. was easy to get to and easy to park in. they did not mind us staying and said we could park over by the Auto department.

We left early the next morning, and glad we did, we heard of several bad accidents behind us. and we headed for Houston....May I ask here...Who designed the freeways in Houston Texas???? is there an asylum for these people...we almost missed out exits so as to stay on I-10 but the traffic, and the turn this way and then  quickly get in the left lane and then the right on in a blink of an eye. you could go insane in that town jut driving through it...BUT we did

Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida panhandle was easy driving, although there was some tricky moments in Louisiana because of the storms and expected tornados in texas, but the adventure continued....We also found there are no rest stops in Louisiana...none...and the ones in Arizona were mostly closed...

We arrived in Florala Alabama and stayed at a wonderful State / Now City Park.  Having recently been taken over by the city of Florala, they were making some great improvements and I would advise anyone traveling through the area to stay there. the evening sunsets were spectacular.

Our next stop was in I-24 Campground in Smyrna Tennessee, 

great campground, the rv sites were gravel. but the people and the grounds were kept nice. we had no problems getting the rv in and out.  spaces were big and plenty of room.  We stayed two nights. was a great time with a friend.

Then off to New Mexico, thru Arkansas and Texas. stayed in a few rest stops and a Flying J, I have found that Flying J is more Suitable for rvs than Pilots. 

We stayed at Hacienda RV Resort in Mesilla New Mexico, 

had breakfast at The only Cracker Barrell in the town, and met with some long tome friends. the camp ground was beautiful. the noise from the freeway did not effect us, as there was an rv dealership that blocked the sound. the people were great. and the spaces were not tight.  flat pads, and thought they were gravel they were level.

 Visited the Ranch and Farm Museum in Las Cruces.....

My only complaint for these rv campgrounds, is when they had laundry facilities they charged money and you needed change, but there was no change machines, so you had to go out , with the office closed. I know more planing on our behalf. but I still say if the campgrounds are going to provide Laundry they should have change machines.

After a few nights there we headed home.

Here is where I caution my RV friends....

Do not plan to drive hwy 101 in a large RV,  the curves, the turns, the hills, you are not going to go very fast, and we had rain and wind to contend with. The drive thru the red woods and even the california coast

 and Oregon coast, was beautiful but would have been much better in a car...

We did find a great rest stop outside of Willis, CA named  Irvine Lodge Rest Area, away from main traffic, and CHP patrolled.  got a great night sleep.

Our next stop was the next Pilot off Rice Hill Exit in Oakland Oregon.  plenty of Pull thru parking, and the Dennys had a great dinner.  we slept a few hours and then headed for Everett, wa....

Over all the trip was 7464 miles. and three weeks of great fun and the sights were great.

We do love traveling and seeing this country

What a Trip

Well it was some kind of trip, leaving our home and over to Leavenworth, and Alpine RV campground, great place, kind of tight for our RV and pulling car. but still we got in and out fine.  the Owner and host was great and helpful, we tried to stay an extra night, but they were booked, they said we could stay an extra night but a smaller site, and with 36ft motor home pulling a 7ft car tight is not an answer we were looking for.  location was great, across from Safeway, and close to downtown and the cost was perfect.

The city of Leavenworth was, as usual, wonderful, the shops we visited were preparing for Christmas, and the people, as always, were great.  

Places to visit the ALPS store just before you get into Leavenworth,

We had dinner at PAVZ in Leavenworth and Breakfast at Annie's Waffle house. both were excellent, our meals were enough, I ordered the Waffle breakfast, one medium waffle was to small, should have been two, but the meals was not to big or to filling.  The dinner at PAVZ was filling, and plentiful for the price.  

We left Leavenworth and drove to Winthrop, most of the stores were already closed for the season in middle of October, the town was full of people and no where to go except three finger jacks for dinner and a coupe of sporting good stores.  why they would close this early was surprising to me. lost alot of income from this.  dinner at three finger jacks was great, and we had a cinnamon from the breakfast bar, we ordered to go and ate the next morning. we stayed at Pearrygin Lake State Park

The drive over hwy 20 and the pass from Winthrop was at time exhilarating and fun and other time was boring, we were looking for fall colors and though we did see a lot of beauty and gold, reds, and oranges, because of the summer we had and the early fall the leaves were almost gone.  

The views of Both Ross Lake and Diablo Dam Lake was breathtaking,

All in all it was a great trip

Thanks for reading and see you out there

Sleep Number NOT SO CUSTOMER ORIENTED For RV Life

Hi Everyone I called Sleep Number about their RV Mattresess  ,  Since we have one in our home and have had alot of problems with it, I thought maybe thay had gotten better.  BUT this is the conversation I had this morning with Sleep Number.  Seems they will sell you their beds but the service that comes with it, no so much. they want you to install it, and when you do then they say "Well you installed it wrong and voided the warrenty"  becareful with them...Our home bed the customer service really stinks...and now I see the RV customer service does also

Welcome to Sleep Number Live Chat, you are now connected with 'Angela'.

John: I have an RV I need a sleep numb er rv mattress. the problem is there is no place to put the motor unless the one for the rv is different than the one in our bed room

Angela: Thank you for visiting Sleep Number! My name is Angela and my SLEEP NUMBER® setting is 40.  How may I assist you?

Angela: Hi John.

John: hi

John: I have an RV I need a sleep numb er rv mattress. the problem is there is no place to put the motor unless the one for the rv is different than the one in our bed room

Angela: Ah ok1

Angela: So I know we carry lots of sizes for RV beds, do you know what size woud work?

John: it is a queen

John: 60 X 75

Angela: Ok short queen.

John: yes

Angela: We have two models , the Deluxe and the Premier, would you like to see them?

John: I want to know the set up how are they for room. is there a special hookup for the air chamber

Angela: There is a Firmness Control System with an extended 4 foot hoses for each side.

John: how big is the motor and how hard is it to set up

Angela: It is 3 3/4" height x 11" for depth and depth is 5 3/4" width

John: I am not sure how I woould fit that in my motorhome...there has to be a technician to help with setup

Angela: We do not offer Home Delivery for RV beds, they are not allowed to enter RV's.

John: when we purchased our one for the home you sent out people to do the setup

Angela: Hi John, I will need to find that information, bear with me.

John: I will allow them to enter the RV..

Angela: I am sorry, this is not possible , we only do UPS ground for RV beds.

John: What ever happened to Customer service...Seems the customer is not valued at sleep number... they only want to sell the beds and not provide the customer the service that should come with it..I will mention that on my RV Blog ..thank you Angela

Angela: You are welcome to do so John, this has always been our policy for RV beds. I am sorry we are not able to help more, Have a great day.

Angela: Thank you for visiting Sleepnumber.com, sleep professionals are available by calling 1-888-411-2188, visiting sleepnumber.com again, or visiting your nearest store. Please let us know how we are doing by participating in our three question survey. Click the word "Close" above to end the chat and access our survey. We look forward to helping you sleep better soon!

Recommendation Beyond Compare

As most people can tell you I do not recommend alot of companies.

Especally RV and Home Maintenance Work.

The problem has always beed customer serivce.  Once they do thework they disapear if something goes wrong, or their prices are so far our there that they are priced out of the market.

You will hardley find any company who will be both customer minded and fairly based.

BUT I found two
As you know I highly recommend Roy Robinson In Marysville,  (It has to be said here I get no special treatments for my recommendations NOR would I accept one) The customer service and People who work there all have been trained first in customer service.

I also Found nother company I highly recommend Home Tenders of Everett  , Dennis Keith is the Best when it comes to getting it right and making it right. fair based and honor and integrity driven..  

You will not find any better business in the Everett/Lynnwood/Marysville/Monroe area Dennis is quality and honor.  He gets it right.....If you want to find them just let me know because from Home repair to inside RV repair.. Dennis knows what he is doing..

Thanks for reading this Blog.

John