On our way home from the winter trip (See epistle 1) we stopped at Amazing Creations ( 541-556-0501 ) in Junction City Oregon for a "desk design session". Much like the experience of having a "bespoke taylor" design a suit for you, these guys come in the Rig, discuss what you want to have done, measure everything, and agree to have it ready to be installed on your return visit. We picked May 1st to be the installation date and the original plan was a quick trip to Junction City, have the desk installed and then head home. Before we headed south, to have this done, we had to remove the couch and store it so that when we sell Périgord, we can give the buyer a choice to return to the original configuration. It seems that a lot of people prefer to have the couches as they make into a double bed. However, Elsie and I belong to the group who believe that an RV was designed for 8 people for cocktails, 4 for dinner and 2 for sleeping. Besides, watching the amidships TV was particularly uncomfortable sitting on a couch.

To get a better idea of the layout, this is the generic shot that Newmar provides for our model. However, it is not all that accurate! The sofa we are replacing is the one on the left in this shot. With the TV in the back, I found that trying to sit on the bias became very uncomfortable very quickly.

 

 

To picture our RV, the kitchen is on the right side, and we have a stand alone dining table on the left, as in the picture on the right. So, you have to picture the sofa gone and in its place is a computer desk and Stressless easy chair.

 

 

 

So, on Monday, April 30th off we go south. For a quick 3 day trip.... right?

 

It was a nice, dry and warm drive south. Seattle proved to be no real problem as we hit the HOV Lane and had a clear route through the usual traffic mayhem. With memories of Périgord's bad manners last January on the same route, we were more than a little pleased to arrive in Premier RV Resort unscathed and on time. Whew!!!!

May 1st was a Tuesday and we arrived at their shop sharp at 8:00 PM. to begin the birthing process. As we drove up, we could see a desk sitting in the bright sunlight getting a tan. They explained to us that the Coastal Cherry Wood used in our Coach, and in the new desk, darkens quite a bit over the first several years. As the Rig already had a year in this process, we had to encourage the wood used for the desk to catch up. The match really was remarkable!

They had said that it would take one day to install and they were dead on. We sat there and watched them carefully to make sure that the desk fitted perfectly and that there would be absolutely no chance of future rattles developing as we roared down the road. By 4:00 o'clock the desk was in place, the electric plug changes made, and everything was cleaned up. Wow ... it looked like it had always been there.

One final, and I do mean final, change to Périgord we made while we were there, was to have these guys replace every window's day/night shade with MCD day/night blinds. It's only money, right?

Click here for product information.

For you RV owners, you'll know what a pain in the butt, those pleated day/night shades are. Not only are they hard to operate, the cords continually break and we have spent too much time, both in Harvey & Périgord, searching for someone to restring the damn things. Now we have easy to use, sunlight resistant, "no string" blinds and the future looks beautiful! And, Elsie, this is the absolute LAST change... Huh.... PLEASE?

We headed back to our RV Spot in Coburg, and tried out the new toys. We were more than satisfied ... highly recommend Amazing Creations to anyone who has any alterations in mind for their Coach.

For the rest of this trip, RV whimsy plays a huge role!

Surprisingly, the weather was spectacular! So, we thought ... while we were there, why not head out to the Oregon Coast? Lincoln City we had not visited for several years .....

We had a great 4 days there, doing what we are good at ... hitting restaurants in search of the perfect clam chowder.

Then we thought ... the weather is holding ... why not head to our favourite spot on the Coast, Cannon Beach?

Another perfect 4 days passed, and we thought ... while we are here, why not head to Sunshine Valley just 15 Km's east of Hope BC to attend a "mini Rally" of Newmar coaches over the long weekend?

The Park there charges $54.00 per night. We were going to stay for 6 nights so we could avoid the rush home. (54.00 x 6 = $324.00 .... Yikes) But, once again, Elsie to the rescue ... a little research showed that this Park belonged to the RPI chain that we belong to so the nightly cost was only $9.00 per night -- $54.00 total). We can afford that. We thought that we would not mention this to the other full paying people in the group.

If you remember the May long weekend, you'll recall that the weather changed for the worst. Gone were the beautiful sunny days and the wind and rain started. We arrived at the Park just before noon. Good thing we did. Elsie goes in to register and guess what ... they had no record of our reservation. Yet again ... fastidious Elsie to the rescue. She had the name of the person with whom she made the reservation, the number, and the date made.

This being a long weekend all sites were full, but they did keep an emergency site for just this situation. So we were saved, but.... the site was a little less than perfect. We had a view of a parked pickup truck and back hoe which blocked the view of the swimming pool that due to the weather was not being used. On top of that, if I walked to the back of the uneven, rock strewn site, I could spit on the Hope Princeton Highway. Boy, was I glad that Newmar made a super insulated coach that managed to cut the noise down to a bearable level at night. But, the wind cut through you like a knife!

It was good to meet the Newmar Gang, several of whom were also going on the Caravan to Gillette WY. this June.

The 3 day trip south had became a 3 week wander! This is the best part of owning an RV ... you are the captain of your own destiny! You go where you want; stay as long as you like! Whimsy Rules!!! Does retirement get any better?

Périgord ran like a dream! The "Lords" behaved perfectly ... could we ask for more?