Our Week From Hell or Serving Time in Purgatory

   Don took a week of vacation time so we could take the Suite Pea back to the manufacturer (DRV) for repair work on the bedroom slide. We also had an appointment with Tiara RV Service Center for updates to our rig.
   We arrived Sunday afternoon in Howe, IN and set up in the parking lot at DRV where they offer a 50A plug in to rigs they are servicing.

   Friends of ours we met through the Indiana Chapter of Escapees invited us over to their campsite for dinner. One of the few highlights of this trip; where they laid out a spread of fish tacos, assorted salads and dessert. The tacos were made from fresh Halibut that a member had caught while in Alaska. What a delicious treat that was!
   We visited into the evening, catching up with each others lives then back to our rig we headed to get some shut eye prior to our 5 AM wake up call.

   And it's mostly downhill from there on in.

   Monday 5 AM: Roll out of bed. Get cleaned up. Leave the rig for the day while it's in the shop.
   Monday 2:30 PM: Return to DRV at the end of their shift. Work crew perplexed. Slide not fixed. Sleep in parking lot.

   Tuesday 5 AM: Roll out of bed. Get cleaned up. Leave rig for the day while it's in the shop.
   Tuesday 2:30 PM: Return to DRV at the end of their shift. Work crew perplexed. Slide not fixed, however, DRV has decided to call in reinforcements. Lippert Components to take a gander at it. Sleep in parking lot.

   Wednesday 5 AM: Roll out of bed. Get cleaned up. Leave the rig for the day while it's in the shop.
   Wednesday 2:30 PM: Return to DRV at the end of their shift. We're told the slide is fixed. Lippert replaced the hydraulic actuators. We hook up, pull out and head for Elkhart, IN and Tiara RV Service Center for the upgrades we want to have done.

   Thursday 6 AM: Aah! An extra hour of sleep. Roll out of bed. Get cleaned up. Leave rig for the day while it's in the shop.
   Thursday 5 PM: Return to Tiara at the end of their shift. Second AC still not installed. Chimney fan for refrigerator still not installed. Short in kitchen island footlights still not repaired. Direct TV satellite still not installed.

   At this point, we'd had enough. We leave the Suite Pea with Tiara for service to start at 6 AM Friday and we check into a hotel room for the night. Aah! Full service! Air conditioning! And we get to sleep in!

   Friday 5 PM: Return to Tiara at the end of their shift. TV satellite installed. AC installed. (Although not checked out). Wrong fan ordered/shipped for the refrigerator. Not installed. Short in kitchen light still not repaired. Service Center closed for the weekend and we're out of vacation time.

   While all of this is going on, we are trying our best to keep an appointment with an Amish gentleman in Shipshewana to discuss him building and installing a desk/dining room table combo for the Suite Pea; an appointment that is consistently being canceled and rescheduled.

   We leave Tiara and Elkhart behind us and head for Shipshe where we check into a 30A campsite at Shipshewana Campground North. It's convenient to Mr. Yoder's farm and woodworking shop. He takes pity on our plight and he and his family come to us to take measurements and retrieve a cupboard door so as to match the stain.
   Meanwhile Don is struggling mightily to turn off the zone 2 AC that SHOULD run independently from the zone 1 AC unit, but isn't. It's consistently tripping the breaker.Houston? We have a problem. Do we stay in the area, returning to Tiara on Monday morning to fix the problem while Don's pay is docked or do we find us a 50A site to see if we trip the breaker there as well? Fortunately, Shipshewana Campground North has a sister park on the south side of town with 50A hookups. We pack it in and are on the move again.

Fill'er Up!!

   Finally by 9 PM we're unhitched, settled in, with no problems with the breaker, and we're ready for some supper. Since we had anticipated our frig being shut off for the fan installation, our food supply is limited. That's okay. There's mouth watering made from scratch, Amish cooking to be had in town.
   OH NO! What's this? They roll up the sidewalks in town at 9 PM? We settle for Subway, not quite what our taste buds had anticipated. That evening, under the light of a full moon, we stroll hand in hand listening to the gentle cadence of horse hooves clop, clop, clopping down the lane. How relaxing! We needed that!

   Saturday morning after a simple breakfast of oatmeal and strawberries we venture out to do some grocery shopping. Being quite familiar with the area, we know the Amish shops to visit for baked goods, bulk foods, meats and dairy products. Driving the back roads through the bucolic countryside soothes our weariness and frustrations.
   We end our day snug in our home on wheels, being lolled by the rain on our roof, thunder rolling across the sky, and the decision made to return in the Spring for repairs when Don is FINALLY retired and we are no longer under any time constraints

   P.S. Our bedroom slide is still sticking.
 
   Here's looking at you kid..................................