Moving West (Part 1)

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What a wonderful time for us. The start of a new adventure is always exciting. We leave Eufaula with a touch of sadness in our hearts for our friends there, but we know when we go somewhere, we will be heading out to the next venture.

The first stop for our trip to Oregon is in a small town called Red Bay Alabama. It is the home of the Tiffin Motorhomes, the manufacturer of our house on wheels. We had a few nagging leaks and other small necessities to look after. It is nice that we can take our house to the repair shop instead of waiting for different services to come to us. We had plumbing, roofing, structure and air conditioning service all at one shop, but not at the Tiffin shop after all. Tiffin was booked up, so they set us up with a shop run by a former employee of Tiffin right across the street. The service was excellent and we were on the road in two days (instead of the week we would have had to spend at Tiffin.)

The lineup waiting for yearly service or repairs in Red Bay.

Next stop, Westwego Louisiana. It is the site of Bayou Signette, our home near New Orleans. We got a lot of Grady time, spending the day on Friday with him. Baby sitting on Saturday night.

Papa Tom reading to the Gman - he loves books!

We spent Sunday with him and the family and the other grandparents and their family. First we went to Storyland at New Orleans City Park - he really like the B-I-G slide (with Dady) and the little statues.

Look at that smile! And at Daddy's concentration on getting stopped safely!

The Murphys were celebrating Kerry's birthday and we were invited for Sunday dinner - and we're most grateful! Family time is great. Once again, we thank the New Orleans connection for a great visit.

Grady has to help Kerry open her gifts.

We decided to detour our planned route to go to Livingston Texas. It is the headquarters of Escapees, an organization of RV travelers. They host many services, including a care center for members with some type of illness or need for care while recovering from an operation.. We did not get to tour the care center because we arrived late, but we did walk around the grounds and talk to several of the members. They are a great group. Should you chose this lifestyle, they are one of the “must join” groups.

We did have an issue in Livingston. Not with the Escapees, but with the motorhome. Our stabilizing jack motor quit working. We were headed to the Dallas area, so we scheduled a stop at RV shop. Luckily it was a connection problem and we did not have to wait on a part. You know, sometimes you just get lucky.

Our plans were taking us to DFW to visit friends. We had a very pleasant evening with Bill and Carol (and a great meal.) The visiting was so good, we forgot to take pictures! We had planned on seeing other friends, but we were unsure about the jack situation, so we did not make contact. Next time.

Rest areas in TX are not just for humans...they even installed a hydrant for the "K-9" contingent.

From Dallas, we drove 2 days to Deming, NM. This is the third time we stayed there. Sally visited the local used book store (bought several books) and the Rockhound Gathering at the fairgrounds. A nice break.

Next stop - Tucson. We have lots of pictures and things to talk about there, so we will sign off here and leave you with that teaser. We hope all of you are doing well and thanks for indulging us with your time.