tbutler

If you are concerned enough about appearance to want to do the stainless steel replacement, I can't imagine trying to do-it-yourself and expecting an appearance that matches the professionally produced product. It is expensive because stainless steel isn't that easy to work with.

Rich, Thanks for the link. I spent a few minutes on their site and found several screw mounts that would attach to a cabinet to hold a camera, perfect. They really have a very wide range of mounting devices. This is a great resource. I've bookmarked the site!

I looked at these this fall, Garmin has a good looking one but it works with a proprietary software link for the computer. I don't want a suction cup mount, I'm looking for one that can be mounted on the cabinetry in the front window. I would even like to have one that could be used with 110V electric or a USB which could be run off 110V electric (I have the adapters). I haven't seen any that offer an alternative to the suction cup mount and there don't seem to be any third party vendors making mounts for them yet. So I'm just looking right now. Would really like to have something by next spring.

George, In addition to your time constraints it always helps to know your main interests. If you are going to Napa I assume you are interested in wine! Napa isn't the only wine area out west. If you are interested in wine-ing your way west you will find small wineries all along the way. The Amana Colonies in Iowa have wine shops featuring many kinds of fruit and vegetable wines (blackberry wine, peach wine, dandelion wine, etc.). In Oregon the Willamette Valley and along the coast there are many wineries and also a nice scattering of wineries in Washington state. We even enjoyed exploring wines in the Olympic Peninsula. California has wineries in many locations other than Napa. We visit our grandchildren in the Gold Hills around San Andreas and Angels Camp in Calaveras County southeast of Sacramento. In and around the small town of Murphys are about a dozen wineries. We spent a day a the annual grape stomp there in October. Yes, they really do stomp grapes in a competition at their festival. I just did a quick search on Winery Near Me that turned up 21 wineries in Murphys and it didn't even have our favorite, Twisted Oak. Check the Older Posts for the rest of the list for each location you search on this web site. By the way they have 432 listings for Napa and a few more for Napa Valley. You could spend a lifetime wine-ing there. If you click on the winery name you get a Google Map as well as the web site of the winery. Another search site for wineries is Winery Directories. This works best by clicking on the country, then the state and then the area or city which is on your route. You can search but if you don't enter the name of the area or city exactly as the directory has it you will get no results. This site shows only seven of the wineries in Murphys, CA so it's listings aren't as extensive as Winery Near Me. Still I like this as a handy reference for the traveler. We enjoy exploring for wines as we travel. Having a car in tow helps when going out searching for wineries. Many have small parking lots which make them inaccessible for a large vehicle. But a large vehicle can be handy when wine-ing. While in California, check with BevMo!, a liquor store chain which has periodic sales on wine. They have a wide variety of selected wines on sale, buy one bottle at regular price and the second bottle of the same wine is 5 cents! If you purchase a case (mixed cases are OK), they give an additional 10% discount! It makes the second bottle less than free! That sale has been on in October the last few years when we are there. I understand they do this about four times a year. You would be surprised how many cases of wine you can fit into an RV. Just don't have a wreck, it might be hard to explain the smell of liquor that pervades the accident site! If you have other special interests such as natural history, volcanoes, rivers, cultural events such as rodeos or county/state fairs, native American art or history, recreation such as hiking or bike trails or beaches and swimming areas, fishing, scenic routes, etc. let us know. What interests one person may not be another persons interest at all. It's a big country and there are spectacular things to see all along the way.

Dennis, Thanks for the comment. I've been remiss in my writing. We're at our winter park now and once the motor home is parked there is a flood of activity to get set-up again in our mobile home. Your note prompted me to get back to the story... in a few days. It's on my list. Tom

Here is a link to the Atwood Company. This link is for a retail business, PPL, that sells Atwood products and parts. There are other companies that sell their products. You can find dealers and repair shops at the Atwood Company link.

Here is a link to a recent discussion on Dash Covers. There are several suggestions for suppliers in this discussion.

It isn't so much a matter of getting them in and out of the coach as making sure they will fit within the existing dimensions of the refrigerator or if larger, within the range of possible modifications. In our case the removal of the window was a 5 minute process and once done the old refrigerator went out the window easily and the new was in the window without struggles or maneuvering. One went out and the other came in within an hour all was done and the window replaced. There are numerous articles on this forum that list possible models that have been used. Unfortunately, many of the articles may mention models which have since been discontinued. For myself, when we decided to go to a residential refrigerator I talked to the company which I wanted to do the modifications. They recommended a model that they were familiar with and had installed in other similar coaches. That model worked fine for us as well. If you want to consider all the possible models which might fit, measure the height and width of your Norcold, if possible get the depth also. Then with the model information you have and the measurements you have for that model, go shopping. If you are going to do the remodeling yourself, try to examine the cabinet to determine if there is any additional space that could be easily "stolen" from adjacent cabinets on either side and above and below. You could put those measurements in a separate list that would include models which you could use if you could find nothing else. Most residential refrigerators will give you more inside space for the same cabinet size so you could down-size the refrigerator slightly and still have more internal space than before. We chose a model which fit the width but we had to modify the space above and below to accommodate a slightly taller refrigerator. The tech who did the job was unfazed, he knew exactly what had to be done. The easiest way to shop for refrigerators or any other appliance is to begin searching on the internet. Go to the manufacturer site and check dimensions to see if they have any that come close to your available space.

January cold in South Texas is nothing like January cold in Houston either Herman!

When on road trips we usually carry a full tank to start and use it as we travel. When we stop and stay in parks I'll refill the tank before we leave. Having water in the tank is one thing that makes the coach fully functional. When on the road, we like to have options. If we want to stop at some interesting place or are just are tired of driving we'll pull over and spend the night. Having water makes that a convenient option. We just passed the 134,000 mileage mark with zero problems from the fresh water tank.

Cummins does a great job of catering to the RV community. We're on our way to the Regional Cummins facility in San Antonio. We've been going to the Cummins Distributor there on a regular basis. We've used distributors in Phoenix, Denver, Arcata-CA, Anchorage, Regina-SAS, Bakersfield, Chehalis-WA, Billings-MT, and others. Cummins also has Coach Care facilities that are specialists in servicing motor homes. The Coach Care facilities are not everywhere but we've always found excellent service at the distributors and the authorized service shops for Cummins. Check your local area and see if there is a dealer near you. I'm betting you'll find one nearby. If it isn't a distributor (large cities only, US and Canada), you can get your work done near your local community. We've been able to get service on the road when we needed it. Full time for almost 10 years and I can't imagine better or more convenient service. Cummins owns Onan and they service our generator while we are there. Cummins is the over the road standard and you can find authorized shops in almost any town. Cummins has representatives at almost every FMCA Convention and they offer service on your generator on site. You will find other engines in RV's but I'd bet that most that you look at are Cummins engines. Parts and service where you are, you can't ask for more than that!

We spent most of this week with our daughter and her family at their vacation home in Oregon. During our stay there were several days of rain and clouds. Nights were cool enough that we had the furnace running. Oregon is beautiful. Their home is on the Umpqua river about 30 miles inland where they can actually fish from their back yard for salmon. In fact, the oldest girl, age 8, landed a 20 pound Chinook Salmon on Wednesday. Her father assisted by powering the rowboat and helping her with the final capture of the beast. Dad could be described as a fish whisperer. He has taken us fishing and can almost always pinpoint where the fish will be. Anyway, we love Oregon but the weather sometimes can be a bit of a wet blanket. We were on schedule, departing Oregon this morning heading for our winter haven on the South Texas border. I try to get everything done the day before we leave but there are utilities to disconnect in the morning and the door mat to put away. Add to that sweeping the roof, we were parked under pine trees and the deciduous trees are losing their leaves so the roof was a real mess. I could let it blow off but the toad would never forgive me. Everything was wet and putting away wet materials means putting away lots of dirt. I hate doing that because it means I'll have to clean it all up later. This time it is the last trip of the year and the coach will get a good cleaning upon our return home. So I guess this will just make the dirt a little easier to see. After hooking up the car we said our final good-bye's and were down the lane to the highway. From Elkton, Oregon the trip to I-5 is a tedious drive up and down hill and around curve after curve. Despite the fact that we're starting a 2400 mile trip, I'm taking my time on this road. The light rain continues off and on all the way to I-5. Then we're on the interstate. Oregon has a speed limit for trucks, 55 MPH, and I usually drive the truck speed limit even if it isn't specified for RV's as well. This time I'm going with the car speed limit. I'm driving in the 62 to 65 MPH range so only a few trucks are passing me now. At Exit 99 on I-5 in Oregon is the Seven Feathers Casino. They have diesel fuel at discount prices, no difference between commercial diesel and private coaches which is not the normal case for fuel in Oregon. You can also fuel your own coach which is a variance from the Oregon requirement of full service fueling. While discounted for the normal diesel prices in Oregon, we're headed to Nevada and the fuel prices there are better so I'm taking on just enough to get me to the Reno/Fernley area on I-80 where I'll take on more fuel. I always do a survey of fuel prices along our route to determine where to purchase fuel. I use Flying J's posted fuel prices because the give me a good overview of a state or several states. There are times when I fuel at Flying J but I also use Gas Buddy to locate low cost diesel suppliers in an area. As a general rule, when traveling west I'll fill up at each stop, usually just before leaving each state. Fuel in Wyoming is cheaper than in Utah. Utah has cheaper fuel than Nevada, Nevada is cheaper than California. If I do things right I won't buy any diesel in California! When traveling east my general practice is to purchase just enough fuel in each state to get me to the next. The GPS routing for the trip would take us through the central valley of California but that is a route that we're avoiding for several reasons. First is the terrible crush of traffic. It doesn't matter if it is I-5 or US 99, the roads are always packed with trucks and traffic in and around towns and cities it is even worse. We have just come from the Tulelake area and decided to travel through that area to US 395 south to Reno, Nevada and then pick up US 95, a favorite route, south through Nevada. These roads are all in good condition and have little traffic along most of the route. Once we get to Tulelake we're past the mountain driving. The highways weave through the high country between mountains. There are some elevation changes but nothing like driving I-5 in northern California. Today the drive was easy, traffic even on I-5 to Medford, OR there were few trucks. Once on the road to Klamath Falls we had very little traffic at all. Even on the two lane road there were seldom any cars following us. We found a nice roadside pull off for a lunch stop and stopped several times for rest stops in towns along the way. We considered stopping somewhere in Susanville but it really wasn't on the route so we bypassed Susanville, stopping for the night at the Honey Lake Rest Area on US 395. There are lots of empty truck spaces here and we are alone at one end of the parking lot. Once we shut down the generator we should have a nice quiet night of sleep. Tomorrow we'll be in Nevada and on roads which are more familiar to us. Familiar isn't always a goal but when we're trying to get somewhere in the shortest amount of time, familiar works well. We'll do more sightseeing next year.

There is a separate thread on the enforcement of the law in Arizona. You should post this on that thread as well. Could make a real difference for us, we're going to be in Arizona in a couple of days. Is the commercial only aspect of the law posted on the pumps? If not, how can we verify this for ourselves. I'd hate to get hit with that fine. Thanks for posting this information.

Navigating snow and ice takes patience. If the forecast is for snow along your intended route or you wake up to a snow covered coach you have decisions to make. You could change your intended route or stay in one place for an additional day or two to let the storm pass. This is an easier decision if you aren't on a schedule and don't have reservations for the next night or two. If you awake in a snow storm, wait until the storm passes. Traveling in an area where there has been snow is best done in the middle of the day when temperatures are warm and salt and other melting agents are melting the snow. Don't stay on the roads too long if temperatures are near freezing as the melted snow will start to refreeze and can form ice patches. Notice I'm saying that you don't drive in that stuff, I'm suggesting ways to get along your way on your trip without driving in snow or ice. Patience! I always prefer dry roads but sometimes you just get caught in the rain or snow melt. After driving in melted snow you should give your rig a thorough wash, top to bottom to get all the salt, calcium chloride or other melting agent off the coach. Use plenty of water to wash away all the chemical. I've only been caught in that condition one time and the coach looked horrible after a day of driving but it cleaned up nicely thanks to a friendly campground owner who said yes to my query about washing coaches. I think they are more welcoming in winter when they don't have so much business.

We have several heated basement compartments and others that are not heated. Our coach has "system heat." That is the label on the switch. This was an option on our coach. It has an on/off switch that we have to activate manually. There are temperature controls on individual elements that engage when the temperature is near freezing. Our freshwater tank has a heat pad under it which keeps that tank from freezing. In the sewer compartment there is a small electric heater which keeps the waste tanks and the plumbing there from freezing. Both are on the system heat switch and are only operating if we switch them on. They are 110V AC and we must have the generator running or be plugged in to use them. Any heating element uses a huge amount of energy. I would be surprised if a battery system were able to operate overnight without additional electrical input. Besides these, the other compartment which has many of the water pipes, water filters and the water pump also contains the inverter and the hot water heater. Between those two devices the temperature in that compartment should always be above freezing. Plumbing outside those compartments is entirely within the living compartment. We've never tested this system in hard cold freezing weather but it functions well in the mid 20's for overnight lows. Our hot air furnace has duct work in the floor but it doesn't open to the basement. It would keep the ceiling of the basement warm and should help keep all compartments above freezing in mildly cold weather. We also have thermal windows in all but the windshield. If you are full timing properly you shouldn't have to worry often about cold weather unless you are a ski or ice fishing enthusiast. Most of us are motivated to full timing so we can travel and avoid shoveling snow, raking leaves and mowing grass. When it gets cold we head south. We've had a few family situations that tested us but as soon as those obligations were fulfilled we were on the road. How your coach handles hot weather could be a bigger concern though there is a remedy for that, keep those tires turning until it gets cooler! Keeping the coach cool requires good insulation, two or three air conditioners on most large coaches, sun screens for the windshield and cockpit windows and awnings on as many of the remaining windows as are possible. If you enjoy fresh air, you'll want windows with screens and a screen door to allow plenty of air circulation when the outdoor weather permits. Powered roof vents can help circulate air when necessary for moisture or odor control. If they are covered so they can be used in rainy weather that will be handy. As far as deal breakers, it depends on your expectations. A coach that is 9 years old and is lightly used may have problems with aging of systems that have been left unused for extended periods of time. How many miles is lightly used? My definition would be 5 to 6000 miles per year or somewhere in the range of 50,000 miles. The generator should have at least 300 hours on it if it has been run regularly. Sitting can be as damaging for a coach as being driven. If not stored indoors, it likely has seen very hot temperatures and cold temperatures inside. Condensation in cold weather and heat damage in hot temperatures will take a toll on fabrics, plastics and metals. Electrical connections will corrode and everything is well out of warranty. Be prepared to deal with a succession of problems, small and large. As a full timer you should be able to cope with these problems better than those who travel on vacation. You can adjust your schedule to get work done when necessary. Finding a repair place can be a challenge as you won't have a home dealer nearby to take care of all your problems. You will be depending on the kindness of strangers! We started with a 7 year old coach with 50,000 miles and learned many of the things above through experience. It wasn't a disaster, we lived in it for two and a half years before trading it for a new coach. Having started with a used coach really made us appreciate the "improvements" in the newer coach. It also gave us a chance to experience the full time lifestyle and determine if we were in it for the long haul. After two and a half years, we were hooked. We now have a home where we wintered for many years and are traveling to cooler climates each summer. Louise likes to say, "Life is a banquet and most people are starving." That is a quote from one of her favorite movies but it describes the difference between living in a fixed home all your life or traveling full time. Herman has already given you good advice on tires and general maintenance items to inspect and/or replace. The older coach will cost you more than you expect for upkeep. Be prepared and you won't be disappointed.

Sorry that you haven't heard from anyone else. The truth is that you won't find one shop that will do all the things on your list. There are fogged window specialists but most RV shops won't touch this. I don't know anyone who installs sound systems in motor homes, not even auto sound shops. Why? Because the intricacy of motor home systems is much more complex than a radio in the dash and a few speaker connections. It's the same with DirecTV and Dish, no network installer is going to come to your motor home and do an install. Installing a new ATS should be something most shops could do but they won't know what to order until they see your coach. That means two, three days, maybe a week waiting for the correct part. Replacing the slide topper is an anyone can do it, you could if you wanted. I've done it several times. You have to order the canvas and they won't do that until you show up. The rear/side camera monitor is another part to order. The small corner cabinet could be done by many shops but there are real experts in the Junction City area. They can work in conjunction with the factory service center if the service center doesn't want to do the work. They will refer you to people who will build what you want. You just started full-timing but didn't indicate how long you have owned your motor home. When we bought our first motor home, it took me several years to get a handle on where to go for service. Now I go to the experts. For the engine, I go to the company that built the engine. For the transmission I go to the builder of my transmission. For any specific appliance I go to a manufacturer authorized repair shop. For general work I'll go to one of a number of trusted shops that I've tried over the years. For all the rest, I'll do my best to get to the coach manufacturer. They are the best people in the industry for your coach. They've been working on them for years and can make short work of a job that a general RV shop will spend lots of time and then be making best guesses on how to solve the problem. If nothing else, this reply will bump your request for help to the list of current topics and perhaps you'll get a response from someone familiar with the Salt Lake City Area. I don't know anyone in that area. Sorry.

Generally the specific configuration of equipment installed on any coach is the domain of the manufacturer of the motor home. Since this seems to be a non-standard installation, I would Contact Country Coach and talk to their technical department for a possible answer to your question.

The less there is in the tanks, the less you have to drain and flush when you start traveling again. I'd leave them as dry as you can. Tilt the motor home so the drains are on the low side and drain as much liquid as you can from each tank. Any bacteria growth and/or sludge will likely dry up over the storage time and can be rinsed out easily when you begin using the tanks again. A little residual moisture that you can't drain from the tanks will not cause any damage if the tanks freeze. You will never get rid of all of it and leaving water in the tanks simply leaves more moisture for bacteria to grow in. The storage tanks are heavy duty plastic and don't need moisture to keep them in good shape. Dry them out if possible!

Great information! I second everything you said! We're going to Oregon this weekend to join our daughter and son-in-law. We'll leave Thursday and take the grandkids and go to Lava Beds National Monument in northern California on the way. We'll stay two nights and spend all day Friday exploring Lava Beds. Maybe visit the Japanese WWII Interment Camp in Tulelake on Saturday morning. Mom and Dad will make the whole trip on Saturday, typical working folk schedule. Thanks for the great article. Tom

Victoria, Welcome to the FMCA Forum. A good place to start looking might be RV Park Reviews. You'll get the low-down on the parks from people who have been there. If the reviews look good to you there are links to the campground web site if they have one, plus phone numbers so you can call and talk to someone at the park, make reservations, etc. You can't beat national and state parks for natural settings but finding one near a city (stores) might be a challenge. Usually the connections (water, sewer, electric) are limited in national and state parks and many have limits on how long you can stay. As Bill said, Arizona has a lot to offer. What kind of natural setting do you want. There is everything from desert to mountains, hot to cold, forest to city. If you are full time, I'd recommend that you go exploring. Pick out several areas and spend a little time in each this winter. You'll know when you find a place that feels good to you. Some people are comfortable staying in one place for an extended time, others like to move occasionally to explore something different. As a full timer, you are free to follow your interests. If you travel then stop for a week or two and then travel again, you can stretch the travel out so the fuel costs aren't huge in any one month and you can take advantage of weekly and monthly campground rates which usually offer a nice savings over the daily rate. Once you are out exploring, you might want to venture further than Arizona. There are many other areas where people winter and each offers its own unique set of plants, animals and natural resources. We winter in the Rio Grande Valley, the southern tip of Texas. McAllen, Edinburg, Mission, Harlingen, Brownsville and South Padre Island are a few of the cities in the area. There are over 70 RV parks, some small, others huge. Some are rustic, others resort quality. Some of the parks are near or within cities and others are rural. Some have many activities, others don't have any organized activities. There are many nature parks and state parks there. Our park is called a resort and is truly a resort with well kept grounds, heated pools, tennis courts, a part time restaurant, apartments and a recreation room. One of the big attractions of this area are the birds from Mexico and Central America. The native plants are also quite different than those found in the the rest of the US. The Gulf Coast offers a bountiful supply of migratory birds from the the northern US and Canada so you can enjoy the birds and butterflies to your heart's content. Within a 20 minute drive we have every big city store you could want. There are three international airports in the area and each of the large cities have quality hospitals and plenty of doctors as well. Parks in the area cater to the winter visitors as do the parks in Arizona. There are craft clubs in nearly every park. Parks have dance and music groups, bicycle and motorcycle groups, golf and exercise groups, just about any interest you want to pursue can be found in some park. This is true of areas like Arizona, Florida, and many other wintering areas in the southern US. I hope that you find the full-time RV lifestyle as enjoyable as we have. Again, welcome to the FMCA Forum.

Thanks to all for the comments. We had a great night here in Valley Springs. Skies were crystal clear. We had our two granddaughters up and they really enjoyed the show. Loved seeing all the stars show up as the moon faded and really enjoyed seeing some meteors as the night went on. Temperature were cool and no bugs, can't beat that.

One of the hazards of astronomy, clouds! And now the tropical storm clouds really don't help. Best of luck!

One of nature’s great spectacles, a total lunar eclipse, occurs on Wednesday morning, October 8, 2014. There are many interesting things about a lunar eclipse. For one, the lunar eclipse is a show going on in space. We are all seeing the same thing at the same time. That is, everyone on Earth who can see the eclipse is seeing the same Moon. It is as if we are all watching a drive-in movie. When I say we are seeing the same thing at the same time I don’t mean that our clocks will all be the same, clocks in the eastern US show a different time than those in the central or western US. So to describe the time to look it is necessary to list a number of different times. Likewise, the circumstances of the eclipse vary depending on where you are when you watch the eclipse. A lunar eclipse occurs when Moon is directly opposite Sun in the sky. A lunar eclipse can only happen at full Moon. A full Moon always rises as Sun sets and a full Moon sets as Sun rises. They are 180 degrees apart in the sky. Another way to think of this is that Earth is exactly between Sun and Moon. For those in the eastern US, Moon will set during the eclipse. The exact time of moonset depends on your location. If you have access to a program that gives sunrise and sunset times, you can find the time of moonset. The partial phase of the eclipse begins at 5:15 a.m. EDT. At 6:25 a.m. EDT Moon will be entirely in the full shadow of Earth and the eclipse will be total. Totality lasts until 7:24 a.m. which will be well after sunrise for much of the Eastern Time Zone. The partial eclipse ends at 8:34 a.m. EDT. For the Central Time Zone, the times are 4:15 a.m. CDT as the moon begins to enter the umbra of Earth. The umbra is the darkest shadow of Earth. As moon enters this dark shadow the partial eclipse begins. At 5:25 CDT the entire moon will be within the umbra and the eclipse is total. For many in the Central Time Zone the eclipse will end with moonset during the total phase of the eclipse. The total phase ends at 6:24 a.m. CDT. The partial eclipse ends at 7:34 a.m. CDT which will be well after moonset for most of the Central Time Zone. In the Mountain Time Zone, Moon enters Earth’s umbra and the partial phase begins at 3:15 a.m. MDT. At 4:25 a.m. MDT totality begins. Totality ends at 5:25 a.m. MDT and the eclipse ends at 6:34 a.m. MDT about the time of moonset for many people in the Mountain Time Zone. Most of the Pacific Time Zone will be able to see the entire eclipse. The eclipse begins at 2:15 a.m. PDT, becomes total at 3:25 a.m. PDT, totality ends at 4:25 a.m. PDT and the partial eclipse ends at 5:34 a.m. PDT, about the time that dawn is beginning to brighten the sky in the east. Alaska and Hawaii will see the entire eclipse as will most of the Pacific Ocean. For our friends in eastern Australia and New Zealand, the eclipse begins shortly after moon rise the evening of Wednesday October 8 on the other side of the International Date Line. Don’t miss this special event, set your alarm on Tuesday evening, October 7 to be up to see the eclipse in the predawn hours Wednesday morning, October 8.

Looking at your list of repair items, I think the simplest solution would be to visit the Country Coach Factory Service Center. I recently did the same with our coach at our factory service center. Check my blog for my write up of that visit. They have all the parts and the people who built your coach all in one place. The service you get will be so much better than visiting a generic RV shop and waiting for parts and dealing with people who don't know your coach. The factory service center for Country Coach is located in Junction City, Oregon and may be out of your way but I think you'll find the time and distance to be a good investment. Call them and talk to them anyway, 541-234-2167. Factory service centers are usually scheduled in advance. Get on their schedule now and you'll get service when you arrive for your appointment.

After our stay at the factory service center in Oregon, we are now in California staying with our daughters family in the Gold Hills south of Sacramento. We come here every fall to take care of the two girls, age 6 and 8. Their school is on a year-round schedule and they get a break this time of year. Mom works in another school district which has a different vacation schedule. Dad has a varied night work schedule. So we take care of the girls for a week. It saves them money for child care or a babysitter and we get to know our granddaughters better. We've been here for one week, the week before our babysitting duties. The girls have been in school and we've been free to do some shopping and relaxing. There are no RV parks near where our daughter lives. For a number of years we stayed at a park about 20 miles away. We tried several parks over the years but none was convenient and we were often driving home in the dark. Last year the kids put in a 50A outlet and we there is a water faucet about 50 feet away and a sewer connection. Life is so much more convenient when we are living next door. We've had an opportunity to go with the girls for their gymnastics lessons. They have been attending classes for several years and they are showing nice improvement. It is fun to watch them develop their skills. The girls love to visit the motor home. They find excuses to come visit us when we aren't at the house. We keep a store of coloring books and drawing paper to entertain them. There are some other toys and games and they enjoy those as well. Both the girls are in 4-H and we will take them on a 4-H field trip to Apple Hill next Wednesday. Apple Hill is a fall festival area for children. There are dozens of apple orchards, wineries and farms. In the fall they all market their wares, pumpkin patches, corn mazes, petting zoos, and a host of other activities for children. For adults there is food, a pleasant outdoor shopping and recreation experience and a place to entertain the children. We've taken the girls in the past. This year it will be part of a larger group. Both Louise and I have done many field trips with children when we were classroom teachers. This will be a flashback experience for us. Today we went with Mom and the girls to the Grape Stomp in the town of Murphys. Each year they hold a festival to celebrate the grape harvest. As part of the festival they hold a grape stomping contest. This is "I Love Lucy" grape stomping. There are two person teams, one person stomps the grapes and the other moves the grapes and pushes the juice out the drain to a collecting bucket. Each team is given 5 gallons of grapes, freshly harvested, still attached to the vines. The grapes are in a half barrel which has a one inch drain. Contestants are sometimes in costume, sometimes just shorts and t-shirts. They have five minutes to get as much liquid as they can from their 5 gallons of grapes. It is as much fun for the spectators as for the teams. Louise posted the girls near the stage so they could see the action. They were close enough to catch some of the splattering juice from one of the teams! We only watched one of the preliminary flights of contestants. There were over 50 teams competing in the contest this year. The main street of Murphys is lined with vendors and all of the wineries in the area have their tasting rooms open. In the park where the contest is under way you can purchase a souvenir wine glass and there are many wines there to be tasted as well. With the girls along we didn't do much wine tasting. As the designated driver my job was to entertain the girls while the ladies tried some of the wines. We brought home three bottles of wine. The girls enjoyed wading in the stream that flows through the park. They met several of the dogs who were also enjoying the cool water on a warm afternoon. They spent some time touring a real old-time toy store. It had all the great stuff many of us remember from the neighborhood dime store. I resisted my impulse to steer the girls toward some of the musical toys even though mom refused to pay for my silence! We all had a good time. We've taken the girls on trips in past years and this year will be no exception. We're going to take the girls on a trip to Oregon. Mom and dad have a family vacation house not far from the Oregon coast and they will spend a week at the vacation house. We'll take the girls in the motor home for the trip to Oregon. It will just be a two day trip, no special destinations, just a road trip in the motor home and the girls will be thrilled with that. After we spend several days with the family we'll begin our trip south for the winter. There are so many ways that having a motor home enriches our lives and the lives of those we love. We truly are fortunate to have this wonderful home.