Still Alive And Kicking

It’s amazing how much energy our four granddaughters have.  It’s even more amazing how much energy we don’t have, trying to keep up with them.  But it’s worth every second.

We’ve been here in Missouri visiting them for over a month now and have seen them almost every day.  The older two, Taylor and Kierra usually sleep over with us on weekends.  We’ve made great use of the campground’s pool, especially during the week.  The girls are home schooled so they’ve been able to swim in an almost empty pool on weekdays after their lessons have been completed.  You’d swear they’ve become fish.  Although Taylor jokes that they are “Dahl-phins” (dolphins).

                                            Kierra.

               

                         Beka taking a break at the pool.

                

                               Taylor and Charlie.

               

It’s not been all swimming, though.  I did help Ryan in his search for a new motorcycle.  Like me, he’s been riding since he was a youngster.  He picked up nice Triumph Tiger, a sweet ride.  Hopefully one of these days, he’ll be stationed close enough to us so we can ride our motorcycles together.  Some of my fondest memories are motorcycle trips and rides I took with my dad.

                  

Miracle of miracles, our missing mail package finally showed up, over a month late.  I’m happy to get it, but not happy at all about the terrible service of Dakota Post.  I’ll never recommend them to anyone.

                 

We’ll be here a few more days, we’re going to roll out on July 6 and head to our NJ granddaughters, with a brief stop in Ohio to visit one of Marti’s sisters.  Sad to leave the Missouri grands, but looking forward to spending time with the Jersey grands.

Thanks for visiting and feel free to leave a comment.

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18 Days And Counting

Yep, still no mail.  It’s already 18 days overdue.  In fact, I just received my June mail and the May shipment remains missing in action.

I called the Patrick AFB campground last Friday, where the mail was erroneously sent and they said there is no mail package for me there.  Talking to Dakota Post right after that, they claimed they had contacted a person at the AFB earlier in the week who said they would drop the package back at the Post Office.

A call from Dakota Post today stated they still have not received back my mail package.

I’m at a loss as to what to do.  I know about what most of the mail is in that package, but there are always some other things that are sent to us in every mail package that we don’t know is coming, plus several magazines and renewed club membership cards are probably in that package too.

It’s amazing how something so simple can grow into such a huge problem by someone’s carelessness.  I think it’s time to talk to the Dakota Post owner again.

Thanks for visiting and feel free to leave a comment.

                  

Backyard Fun

Well, we’re still waiting to receive our mis-sent mail package from Dakota Post, our mail service.  After not hearing anything from them (as they promised to keep me updated) I called them, asking to speak to the lady responsible for our mail.  Of course I just got her voice mail and asked for a return call.  It never came.

So I sent an email asking for an update. The lady returned my email saying she tried calling my phone (and gave the correct number), but it was “busy” the three times she tried to call.  That’s funny, I have my phone with me 24/7 and usually only make one call a day to my dad in the evening, well past business hours.  Plus, my phone captures any missed calls.  Strange, there are not any calls from Dakota Post.  I guess the lady “misspoke” like our politicians do…

At least she did give me an update, they were not able to intercept the mail via the Post Office and it did arrive at the Patrick AFB campground (FL) where we were in April.  Supposedly the campground has been contacted and they are going to send my mail back.  This is getting to truly be “The Check is in the Mail” episode.

I intend to talk to the Dakota Post owner once I finally get my mail package and inform him of the terrible service and follow up by his employee.

In the mean time, we’re having a great time with our Missouri granddaughters.  Ryan had a backyard barbeque for friends and the crew of his cutter.  A wonderful time, and to keep the kids occupied, they brought out a Slip-N-Slide for them to play on.  It did keep them busy for hours. 

Little Charlie (Charlotte) discovered something even more fun than sliding, the mud that developed at the end of the slide and made the most of it.

                 

I guess she needed to take some instruction from her older sister Bekka (Rebekah), who managed to stay clean, but from the tired look in her eyes, wore herself out.

                     

We’re glad we’re here to spend time with the granddaughters.  They are growing fast and it’s wonderful to be a part of their lives.  :c)

Thanks for visiting and feel free to leave a comment.

                  

“Fun” With Our Mail Service

Last winter we were headed to Florida, to change our mail service from Dakota Post to one recommended by many friends in Crestview, FL.  If you recall, we had problems with our air pressure gauge and had to turn around and put it off for another year.

We should have pressed on.

I normally send my mail request to Dakota Post via email as to where I want my mail shipped.  They acknowledge back with an email and then send another email when the mail is sent with a tracking number.

I sent my usual email for my mail, received back from them the acknowledgement email and then waited and waited for the “sent” email, which never came.  As did the mail that never came.

Several days after the mail should have come, I called them up asking where the mail was.  I asked for the owner because I wasn’t happy with the initial response I got from the first person who answered the phone.

He wasn’t in but I was promised he’d call me back, which he did several hours later.  He apologized and said they had found my email and had sent out my mail.  I wasn’t too happy with that because I wanted them to overnight the mail now that it was a week late.  He gave me a one month extension to my annual mail contract in an effort to make it right.

That night I got the sent email.  I opened it up and found that they had sent my mail alright…to Florida where we were in May and we’re now in Missouri, only 1200 miles away!  They used the old email request I had sent them in April for where to send my mail instead of the latest one.

Yesterday morning I called them up again and asked to speak to the owner.  They gave me his voice mail where I explained that they had screwed up again and to please call me immediately.

Yesterday afternoon, I received a call from a lady at Dakota Post who again apologized and said they contacted the post office and were going to try and get the mail package “intercepted”, returned to them and then overnight it to me at their cost.  She asked me if I wanted regular calls to keep me informed as to where my mail issue stood, I said “Yes”.

Today, I have not heard or received any email updates from Dakota Post.  To say I’m not pleased is an understatement.  I hesitated to put up this negative post about the business, but I’ve had issues with them even back when the were known as Alternative Resources.  I can’t recommend them anymore to people that ask me what mail service I use.

We’ll be switching to a highly rated Florida mail service soon.

Thanks for visiting and feel free to leave a comment.

                     

Slide Bushings

Sorry it's been a while since my last post, but a certain foursome of energetic granddaughters has kept us delightfully busy.  Hopefully, they'll slow down enough for me to get a picture or two!  :c)

In the mean time, I wanted to get some pictures up of the Journey's slide bushings that I'm concerned with replacing.  The large living room slides on the Journey have two large aluminum arms that move in and out.

 

 

The arms ride in and out of the frame and are supported on plastic bushings.

 

 

The bushings on the driver's side slide are showing some serious wear.  This is the front arm bushings.

 

 

This is the rear arm bushings.

 

 

What has me even more concerned is little pieces of the bushing plastic that have broken off and fallen on top of my basement compartment.

 

 

 

Researching on RV forums, some folks have done this bushing replacement themselves and claim it is really easy.  Since I can't get an appointment with the Winnebago Factory Service Center until mid August because of their annual Grand National Rally during July, I'm going to have to figure out a way to do this repair myself.  It is going to involve jacking up the slide somehow to get clearance to remove the old bushings and install the new ones.  

 

 Interestingly, only the driver's side bushings are cracking, the passenger slide bushings are fine.  I think it has to do with the fact that the driver's side slide is a deeper slide and therefor heavier than the opposite side.

 

 I'll order the bushings now and put my thinking cap on to figure out how to do this.  I will wait until we get to New Jersey in July at the Naval Weapon Station Earle campground to attempt the fix.  They don't mind if you work (or wash) your RV and they have large cement pads to park on, making jacking up the slide easy.  At this campground in Missouri, any jack would just sink down into the soft grass, plus they have a no working on your RV rule.

 

If anyone has had any experience doing this repair, I'd appreciate hearing about it.  Otherwise, stay tuned for my mid July attempt at a DIY fix. 

 

Thanks for visiting and feel free to leave a comment.