MORE HOME IMPROVEMENTS

Wednesday, July 20 - No use sitting around here (Red Bay) doing nothing! So, Paul decided to replace the material on the awning over the door. It started unraveling about a year ago and is just about trashed now.

He bought the new material at the Tiffin Parts Store the other day and was going to wait for a cooler location to do the work, but might as well get it over with!

He removed the old material, and when he started to put in the new, noticed it was the wrong size.

So after three trips down to part, he finally got the right size....GRACIOUS!

Too bad an extra set of hands didn't come in the box....this was a two man job.

But a friendly neighbor came over and helped re-install the awning roller as Paul threaded the material on the other end and the rest went smoothly.

Now that should be good for another six or so years!

One of those jobs that should have taken a couple hours but between getting the wrong parts and having every man in the park stop to talk, it took about five hours. When you get all these men in his maintenance park waiting for service, they have to get out, walk around, and see what the heck other guys are doing on their motorhomes. A man's work is never finished! :=)

A second job, Paul decided to tackle while waiting on service is replacing the fog lights. Both lights have been hit by rocks, and Paul had the lens covered with clear packing tape.

So since the parts store is right here, might as well replace them. You would think you could just replace the bulbs or the lens cover, oh no! You have to replace the entire fixture. More junk for the landfills, I guess.

It wasn't a complicated task. Remove the old fixture with the broken lens. Unplug the wiring harness.

Plug in the new light fixture and bolt it back in place.

Wouldn't have been a bad job if it was so dang hot and humid....LOL

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

HOME IMPROVEMENTS

Tuesday, July 19 – We parked overnight at Brannon Hutchinson's Custom RV last night so we would be ready for our 7 am appointment this morning. He has 50 amp electric and water available to people waiting for service.

We entered the shop a few minutes early, and Brannon immediately began work on our inverter installation.

We had a 1000 Watt Xantrex Pure Sine Wave Inverter installed to power our refrigerator when we are not plugged into electrical power.

Brannon says we should be able to power our refrigerator easily for six hours without being plugged in or running our generator.

We also had our original six year old batteries replaced with new Interstate Batteries. We had four house batteries and two starter batteries installed.

Gross old ones.

Can you see the bulge between the old ones. Not a good sign.

What a dirty battery bay.

Nice and clean. Ready for the new batteries.

Our last item was the installation of a window awning.

Brannon working on the awning.

The living room window, on the passenger side, did not have an awning over it. Paul believes this is because it is under the main patio awning, but we don't always have the patio awning deployed. We like the privacy the window awnings provide, and the heat blocking factor they provide on warm sunny days like we've been experiencing in Alabama. Now all our main windows are covered by awnings.

We were very pleased with Custom RV. As the saying goes...”They ain't cheap, but they're good.” Brannon is a former Tiffin employee who decided to open his own shop. He is well respected in the Tiffin family of owners and has an impeccable reputation for doing fine work. We'll be back, if we need some custom work in the future. Brannon lived up to his reputation!

By two o'clock, we were re-settled into Site #43 at the Camp Red Bay Service Center. Paul went over and checked on the schedule for finishing up our warranty work. We are still on the list for the middle of next week.....JEESH! At least the work is covered by the Tiffin Extended Warranty!

FLASHBACK: On Saturday night, Janet, Brian, Robin, Paul and the two of us went out for catfish. Brian and Janet said we will love the catfish at Catfish Haven.

Catfish Haven is in Winfield, AL, about an hour north of Red Bay. Paul is NOT a lover of catfish, but said he would go and see what else they offered. GUESS WHAT…we both had the grilled catfish, and it was DELICIOUS!!! Paul had fried oysters, but didn't like them. Marsha had hushpuppies but didn't like them….soooooo….an exchange was made, and we both had an excellent meal.

Counter clockwise: Paul, Marsha, Robin, Paul, Janet, Brian

Brain and Janet left this morning. Tiffin finished working on their motorhome yesterday.  We miss them already. Thanks for all the great happy hours, long talks and lots of laughs!

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

ONE-OF-A-KIND GEOLOGIC WONDER

Friday, July 15 – We went to the Rattlesnake Saloon this evening with our friends Brian & Janet. We had planned on doing this last Thursday but storms popped up and niched that idea.

During the saloon’s three-day workweek, anywhere from 2,000 to 3,000 people visit to admire its ingenuity, listen to live music or simply grab some grub along with an ice-cold brew. It is located about 15 miles north of Red Bay in Tuscumbia, AL. To get to the Saloon, we could have walked down the winding road or ride in the back of the truck…we choose the truck. It was an exciting ride to say the least.

It is built under an overhanging cliff.

They have indoor and outdoor seating.

Wonder if this is where they got their name. Marsha loved the ceiling!

There is a huge dance floor, a really good country band was playing, and plenty of seating.

The lady in the middle played a mean pair of spoons.

They have a trail over the Saloon. Janet and Marsha decided to go exploring.

Looking down at another bar and seating area.

Can you see Brian and Paul waaaaaay in the back. Brian has the yellow shirt on.

Beer is served after five o'clock. They have sandwiches with names like the Buckaroo (Ham, Turkey and bacon sub), Trail Dog (Hot Dog), and The Duke (hamburger). We didn't try the Snake Eyes and Tails (Fried sliced Jalapeno peppers tossed in with fried green beans) or the Rattlesnake Eggs (Fried stuffed Jalapeno peppers). We did have the Skunk Rings (Onion rings), Cowboy Buttons (Fried Mushrooms), and Hay Stacks (Fries), Skunk Rings (onion rings), and a few other snacks

We had a great time! It's a place that can be easily missed but DON'T.

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