FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT…THE ROSENBAUM HOUSE

Wednesday, July 13 – We drove up to the Florence, AL area today to do some sightseeing at two locations. First stop was the Rosenbaum House designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

You actually enter from the back of the home…very different.

It is the only Wright-designed structure in the state of Alabama and has been called one of the purest examples of Wright's Usonian design. Wright’s Usonian style (named for the United State of America) was offered as a low-cost home for middle income families.

The house was build in 1939 for Stanley and Mildred Rosenbaum, who were the sole owners and occupants of the house until 1999. It is now owned by the city of Florence and has been restored to it's original beauty, and is operated as a museum.

Front of home.

The house is constructed of cypress, glass and brick. The flat roofs and large overhanging eaves, the expanses of glass and the flowing space are all hallmarks of the Usonian style and are found in this house.

Main room. Windows were a big part of Wright's homes.

The eating area was so unique. The table is built in. Dad sat at the head, then the four boys, and mom sat back in the corner. That made her closer to the kitchen.

Typical of many of Wright's projects, the house also includes furnishings designed by the architect. His choice of wood was plywood…very interesting.

The house originally contained 1,540 square feet, but when the Rosenbaum household grew to include four sons, the family called upon Wright to design an addition. In 1948, 1,084 square feet was added, containing a larger work space (kitchen), a guest bedroom, storage space and a dormitory for the boys.

Hallway to addition. All the hallways were very narrow.

Look how narrow the doorways are.

Yes, you read correctly…boy's dormitory. They actually slept in these bunkbeds until they went away to boarding school around age 14.

The front yard, which we thought was the backyard, is lovely.

The every room has an entrance out to the garden.

We were fortunate to have the Museum Director as our tour guide. She was a personal friend of Mildred Rosenbaum and was very knowledgeable about the family and the home. The tour lasted about 40 minutes and only cost $5. It was an exciting tour, and one we would recommend.

We had another fun happy hour.  We sit outside in front of the MH's and everyone circles around…..no campfire though….LOL.   Everyone brings something different each night to share. Marsha is getting a lot of new recipes. YUM!

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see ya'll back real soon. Have a great day!

SATISFIED CUSTOMER AT TIFFIN SERVICE CENTER

Monday, July 11 – WOW!!! What a day! Paul started the day by going down to the Tiffin Parts Store to pick-up some Tiffin parts he's been wanting. While looking at some items, he received a phone call from the service department asking him to report to service Bay #32. We weren't expected to get in until Thursday, so this was wonderful news.

Our service technician, Stanley, replaced our slide-out motor.

Paul and Stanley discussing the situation.

Testing the new motor before it is mounted.

Installation in tight quarters.

Stanley then sent us down to Bay #39 to have Brett install new springs on our leveling jacks. It was pretty interesting to see them raise our MH up on the lift. Wonder what Bella, our cat, thought about that.....she stayed in the MH during the service.

Getting ready to be lifted.

Very slowly now.

Up, Up and Away.

Paul and Bret looking the situation over.

Marsha helping to hold the front of the MH up for Brett.

Brett did the front springs with no problem. But when it came to the back, he had to have up to four guys help him.

Nasty old springs.

Beautiful new springs.

Brett tested them several times. YEA…no more getting out the board and steel rod to push them up.

They called a supervisor over to evaluate our roof rails (the curved section where the roof meets the side walls).

They informed us that they would need to be replaced. The good news is it's covered by the 10 year Tiffin Structural Warranty. The bad news (listen up Sandy!) is they can't get to it until next week. We have to be here anyway because we have an appointment on Tuesday, with Custom RV to have a residential refrigerator inverter installed. So we'll be in Red Bay, AL, for a couple weeks. YIPPIE......LOL

We were very pleased with our service today at the Tiffin Service Center.  The workers performed their jobs well, the pricing was more than fair, and they even got us in early!

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see ya'll back real soon. Have a great day!

RECONNECTING WITH GREAT FRIENDS

Saturday, July 9 – Not much going on at Camp Red Bay.....service bays are closed for the weekend. Paul washed the MH with the Solution, a waterless cleaning solution that he really likes. He also added water to our batteries....they are on their last leg and will be replaced soon.

About four o'clock, our friends, Brian & Janet Henderson pulled into the site next door. We had a great time catching up with each others lives and reminiscing about the past. We shared quite a few beverages sitting outside enjoying the evening. It's great to see these wonderful old friends.

Janet, Brian, Paul, Marsha

Sunday, July 10 – We're just hanging out on the old airport runway that is now Tiffin Camp Allegro (better known as Camp Red Bay). We took Bella over to the park so she could enjoy the grass and trees, but it was just too hot for our little kitty, so we returned home to the MH and she enjoyed the air conditioner instead....LOL

There was a HUGE storm that went through this area in May. It looks like the clean-up crew cut-up  a couple of trees and then left. This area was beautiful last year when we were here. We can't believe they have just left it a mess!

Hoyt Keeton Walking Path

Paul and Bella found a nice shady spot.

Later in the afternoon, we went with Brian & Janet over to the Tiffin factory to see several MH's sitting in the parking lot waiting to be shipped. They sure are nice, but nothing that would make me run out to buy a new one!

Boy, is Camp Red Bay filling-up! There are not too many empty spaces. Now that the July 4^th vacation week is over, everybody is back to work here at the service center. Busy, busy, busy!!!

We did another happy hour with several neighbors and had a good time sharing full-timing life and talking about life and what it sends your way!!! It's interesting how different people deal with the different road blocks of life.......pretty deep!!!

Brain, Janet, Susie, Becky, Paul,

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see ya'll back real soon. Have a great day!