10/2/08
I drove the RV down tonight to the Thousand Trails RV Resort in Peace River. It was about an hour and a half trip from the RV storage and this place is in the middle of NOWHERE! It was a nice (i.e. slow) drive, but other than thinking we were lost, the trip was uneventful. I helped my Mom get everything set up and settled in before heading back to Tampa while she had a quiet night to herself in the RV.
10/3/08
After work, I picked Peyton up from home and we headed down to meet my Mom at the RV. For some reason, Peyton was surprised that it was the same one we slept in at Disney World - I don't think he has quite figured out that we bought this thing! We arrived around 6:30 and my Mom prepared a delicious filet with a baked potato and fresh baked rolls. While she cleaned up, I took Peyton to go get a fire ring and wood so we could make S'mores. I then took him on the scooter and we drove around looking for sticks to help get the fire started. He told me that the scooter was MUCH better than the golf cart!
Once I thought I had enough sticks and kindling, I started to light my first campfire. I don't really like camping, so I had never started a fire in my life! Of course, after watching about 8 seasons of Survivor, I could understand the art of getting a proper fire going. I didn't have any flint, but I did have one of those butane lighters to help in the affair! After many attempts and honing in on the perfect arrangement of kindling, small sticks and 'real' firewood, I had an excellent roaring fire going. I made Peyton and I some double-stuffed S'Mores and then I sat by the fire admiring my handy work.
Peyton and my Mom are playing attack UNO right now, so fits of giggles are going off in the background. Tomorrow will be an adventurous day!
Friday, October 3, 2008
Monday, September 22, 2008
Nirvana
Have you ever looked back at something in your life and asked - 'Gee, what was I SO stressed about'?
I spoke to Bossman on Thursday and he said they already had the new mirror installed and the new bed was being installed as we were on the phone. He assured me that everything would be ready by Friday afternoon for us to pick up the RV and head out to Disney.
Everything was perfect. I had the new title and Bossman's boss came out to shake my hand and thank me for my patience. He handed me my $1,100 in gas cards and the keys. One of his employees then drove me out to the RV delivery site and Stanley even showed up to make sure I had not forgotten anything since the walk-through. This was VERY reassuring since a couple of minor user errors came up and he was able to show me what I did wrong before panic on my part set in. :)
Getting out of the site was very simple and I managed to drive all the way to Disney World without running anyone off the road or even hitting a single object. Patrick followed me in the SUV to the site and once we got to the Campground, I could not figure out for the life of me how I was going to use the tricks that driving school taught when the RV was bigger than the road in the campground. Patrick was convinced that he could park it, so I let him put his money where his mouth was and although there were a lot of backing up and pulling forward, he did a great job getting the rig in such a small space. I was thrilled.
We unpacked everything, got Peyton fed and then headed to Kid's Camp for Peyton and fancy celebration dinner for Patrick and myself. Our favorite restaurant is the Yachtsman Steakhouse, so after a leisurely dinner we headed back to the RV to watch a movie with Peyton and fall asleep.
The new bed was wonderful and Peyton enjoyed the new sheets and pillows that I bought for his bed (the converted dinette). We slept until nine and then made a delicious breakfast of fresh baked biscuits, eggs and bacon. My Mom drove down to meet us and then we relaxed in the RV until I was able to bribe Peyton to go out for a swim at the pool. I ran into an old business associate of mine and it turns out that her son is the same age as mine. We had a wonderful time playing in the pool with her kids. For dinner, I made my Mom's favorite - Panne Veal with pasta and peas. It was delicious.
The Disney campground has a 'Sing-a-long' every weekend and then they have an outdoor movie. I made the obligatory S'Mores at the campfire and then we watched 'Enchanted' under the stars. This is a really cute movie that was quite entertaining.
Exhausted, we dragged ourselves back to the RV and climbed into bed. It was heaven. Peyton and I slept until 10:00am! It was bacon and eggs again for breakfast and then we slowly packed up the RV and headed home. I even managed to drain the black and grey water lines without getting dirty! I was much more relaxed on the way back and was actually able to enjoy the drive a lot more. We went fairly slow on the Interstate - maybe around 60mph the entire way back.
The RV is now safe in her new home and Mom and I are already planning the next several trips! We have decided that this is already better than the boat. :)
I spoke to Bossman on Thursday and he said they already had the new mirror installed and the new bed was being installed as we were on the phone. He assured me that everything would be ready by Friday afternoon for us to pick up the RV and head out to Disney.
Everything was perfect. I had the new title and Bossman's boss came out to shake my hand and thank me for my patience. He handed me my $1,100 in gas cards and the keys. One of his employees then drove me out to the RV delivery site and Stanley even showed up to make sure I had not forgotten anything since the walk-through. This was VERY reassuring since a couple of minor user errors came up and he was able to show me what I did wrong before panic on my part set in. :)
Getting out of the site was very simple and I managed to drive all the way to Disney World without running anyone off the road or even hitting a single object. Patrick followed me in the SUV to the site and once we got to the Campground, I could not figure out for the life of me how I was going to use the tricks that driving school taught when the RV was bigger than the road in the campground. Patrick was convinced that he could park it, so I let him put his money where his mouth was and although there were a lot of backing up and pulling forward, he did a great job getting the rig in such a small space. I was thrilled.
We unpacked everything, got Peyton fed and then headed to Kid's Camp for Peyton and fancy celebration dinner for Patrick and myself. Our favorite restaurant is the Yachtsman Steakhouse, so after a leisurely dinner we headed back to the RV to watch a movie with Peyton and fall asleep.
The new bed was wonderful and Peyton enjoyed the new sheets and pillows that I bought for his bed (the converted dinette). We slept until nine and then made a delicious breakfast of fresh baked biscuits, eggs and bacon. My Mom drove down to meet us and then we relaxed in the RV until I was able to bribe Peyton to go out for a swim at the pool. I ran into an old business associate of mine and it turns out that her son is the same age as mine. We had a wonderful time playing in the pool with her kids. For dinner, I made my Mom's favorite - Panne Veal with pasta and peas. It was delicious.
The Disney campground has a 'Sing-a-long' every weekend and then they have an outdoor movie. I made the obligatory S'Mores at the campfire and then we watched 'Enchanted' under the stars. This is a really cute movie that was quite entertaining.
Exhausted, we dragged ourselves back to the RV and climbed into bed. It was heaven. Peyton and I slept until 10:00am! It was bacon and eggs again for breakfast and then we slowly packed up the RV and headed home. I even managed to drain the black and grey water lines without getting dirty! I was much more relaxed on the way back and was actually able to enjoy the drive a lot more. We went fairly slow on the Interstate - maybe around 60mph the entire way back.
The RV is now safe in her new home and Mom and I are already planning the next several trips! We have decided that this is already better than the boat. :)
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Bossman's Boss
"Hello Karen, this is Bossman's boss. I want you to know that here at Lazydays we want our customers to be happy. We are going to fix the bed."
...couple of hours later...
"Hello Karen, this is Bossman. I ordered you a new mirror and we are going to fix the bed."
T-minus two days to Disney. Too late to cancel reservations. Should I really trust that everything will be fixed? Panic of a different sort sets in, but at least I feel better about choosing Lazydays over the private coach.
Stay tuned!
...couple of hours later...
"Hello Karen, this is Bossman. I ordered you a new mirror and we are going to fix the bed."
T-minus two days to Disney. Too late to cancel reservations. Should I really trust that everything will be fixed? Panic of a different sort sets in, but at least I feel better about choosing Lazydays over the private coach.
Stay tuned!
Hello? Bossman?
Tuesday - 9/16 - around noon
"Hi Karen, this is Bossman. Just wanted to let you know that your coach is all ready".
"Great, did you fix the bed?"
"Uh, no. I sat on the bed and there is nothing wrong with the bed"
"Really, you didn't notice the 3" ridge that runs about 2 feet up from the bottom of the bed? Why don't you go back out to the coach and check again"
... calling wonderful salesman who always assured me that Lazydays took great care of customers...
"Hi wonderful saleman, it's Karen. Can you please go out with Bossman and look at that 3" ridge in the bed? He doesn't see it and we talked about how all it needed yesterday was some air. Thanks, you're the best."
Wednesday - 9/17
"Hi Karen, this is Bossman. I see the 3" ridge now, but this is the way the bed is made by Fleetwood, so I am not fixing it"
Ok, right about now is when I FREAK out! I called 'wonderful salesman' again and he said "no one would be dumb enough to make a bed like that" so he will go find out what Bossman's problem is and get the bed fixed. I get a phone call from wonderful salesman that afternoon saying that he personally we out to the bed where Bossman showed him that is how the bed was designed. He then gave me the number to "Willie" (name changed again). Now Wille is the self-professed REALLY smart Regional Sales Manager for Fleetwood and he knows all about this bed. He tells me that the bed is designed to be this way and I should get a piece of foam from WallMart to stick under my bed and make it even. Second FREAK OUT HAPPENS NOW!!
OH MY GOODNESS, I just spent a small fortune on a coach and I am going to be sleeping on the floor! Third FREAK OUT COMING ON STRONG.
I spent the entire night posting on every RV site that I knew about and even called several RV dealers with my coach for sale looking to see if anyone heard of a sleep number bed with this "feature". The standard answer was "who would be dumb enough to do that"? I called Select Comfort, Fleetwood corporate (who did acknowledge the existance of Willie, but didn't know what he was talking about), two private owners of a 2006 Pace Arrow with sleep numbers installed and none of them had ever heard of a sleep number bed that only filled 3/4s of the way down the bed.
Mom called the family lawyer to see what our options were, I tried to remain calm while breathing deeply into a paper bag!
"Hi Karen, this is Bossman. Just wanted to let you know that your coach is all ready".
"Great, did you fix the bed?"
"Uh, no. I sat on the bed and there is nothing wrong with the bed"
"Really, you didn't notice the 3" ridge that runs about 2 feet up from the bottom of the bed? Why don't you go back out to the coach and check again"
... calling wonderful salesman who always assured me that Lazydays took great care of customers...
"Hi wonderful saleman, it's Karen. Can you please go out with Bossman and look at that 3" ridge in the bed? He doesn't see it and we talked about how all it needed yesterday was some air. Thanks, you're the best."
Wednesday - 9/17
"Hi Karen, this is Bossman. I see the 3" ridge now, but this is the way the bed is made by Fleetwood, so I am not fixing it"
Ok, right about now is when I FREAK out! I called 'wonderful salesman' again and he said "no one would be dumb enough to make a bed like that" so he will go find out what Bossman's problem is and get the bed fixed. I get a phone call from wonderful salesman that afternoon saying that he personally we out to the bed where Bossman showed him that is how the bed was designed. He then gave me the number to "Willie" (name changed again). Now Wille is the self-professed REALLY smart Regional Sales Manager for Fleetwood and he knows all about this bed. He tells me that the bed is designed to be this way and I should get a piece of foam from WallMart to stick under my bed and make it even. Second FREAK OUT HAPPENS NOW!!
OH MY GOODNESS, I just spent a small fortune on a coach and I am going to be sleeping on the floor! Third FREAK OUT COMING ON STRONG.
I spent the entire night posting on every RV site that I knew about and even called several RV dealers with my coach for sale looking to see if anyone heard of a sleep number bed with this "feature". The standard answer was "who would be dumb enough to do that"? I called Select Comfort, Fleetwood corporate (who did acknowledge the existance of Willie, but didn't know what he was talking about), two private owners of a 2006 Pace Arrow with sleep numbers installed and none of them had ever heard of a sleep number bed that only filled 3/4s of the way down the bed.
Mom called the family lawyer to see what our options were, I tried to remain calm while breathing deeply into a paper bag!
The Ramp - a.k.a Sleep Number Bed
It was the WORST night's sleep I ever had in my entire life! My beautiful new coach came with a 'fancy' sleep number bed. The problem?? The entire bottom half of the bed did not inflate! I could change the 'sleep number' on the left side or the right side, but no matter what, there was a 3" dip going right down the center of the bed that caused me to 'slide' down to the foot of the bed all night long!
We found a couple of other minor issues (some light bulbs were burnt out), and realized that we didn't get our promised gas cards or a temporary tag. We decided to leave the coach at Lazydays so they could get everything fixed for our first trip to Disney next week.
We found a couple of other minor issues (some light bulbs were burnt out), and realized that we didn't get our promised gas cards or a temporary tag. We decided to leave the coach at Lazydays so they could get everything fixed for our first trip to Disney next week.
Our First night!
Well with our bank accounts now empty and our brains teeming with knowledge we went back to the coach to settle in for the night! My husband was kind enough to watch Peyton (darling son of seven years), and dropped him off at the RV so he and Pierce (darling stepson of fifteen years) could go to Orlando that night.
Peyton was VERY upset! He did not like the "VAN" and it was not the one he wanted. Oh my goodness, what have I done?? Mommy and Wendy's chicken nuggets to the rescue. I decided that what Peyton needed was a little food and a little perspective. I told him that the new RV was going to be a great adventure and the whole point of the RV was for the family to have fun. He began to warm up to the idea.
After some food and lots of shadow creatures on the walls of our neighbor's RV with Peyton's new flashlight, I had a happy child. He got to pick which movie we watched for the evening and while "High School Musical" played in the background, Mom and I agonized over ever decision of where every newly purchased trinket should be stored - that Type 'A' personality comes through again.
Around 10:30pm, we were exhausted. We finally crashed, each in our own little bed and again dreamed of beautiful campsites in the woods on crisp fall days.
Peyton was VERY upset! He did not like the "VAN" and it was not the one he wanted. Oh my goodness, what have I done?? Mommy and Wendy's chicken nuggets to the rescue. I decided that what Peyton needed was a little food and a little perspective. I told him that the new RV was going to be a great adventure and the whole point of the RV was for the family to have fun. He began to warm up to the idea.
After some food and lots of shadow creatures on the walls of our neighbor's RV with Peyton's new flashlight, I had a happy child. He got to pick which movie we watched for the evening and while "High School Musical" played in the background, Mom and I agonized over ever decision of where every newly purchased trinket should be stored - that Type 'A' personality comes through again.
Around 10:30pm, we were exhausted. We finally crashed, each in our own little bed and again dreamed of beautiful campsites in the woods on crisp fall days.
To close or not to close?
We received a call on Friday that everything was fixed and the RV was finally ready for delivery on Saturday. If we would arrive at noon, then we could close and then do the walk-through. WAIT just a minute. I think you meant, do the walk-through and THEN close, right?
I then got a call on Saturday morning saying the coach wasn't quite ready, but if I came in at noon and did the closing first, then the coach would be ready by the time the paperwork was done. Yeah, nice try.
I insisted that I was not going to sign any piece of paper until I was able to see for myself that everything was fixed and ready to go. Ok, new closing time is at 2:00. Just to be safe, we showed up at 3:00 and the coach was still not ready. :)
They walked us through the free $5,000 value Thousand Trails membership and signed us up for the Camping World President's Club and then around 4:00 our coach was finally ready for our review. The delivery manager was "Stanley" (name has been changed to protect his identity). One of the tips we received was that we should tape the walk-through just in case there was something we missed in all the excitement we could always reference the tape. Stanley told us the Lazydays lawyers did not allow that just in case they told us something stupid in the walkthough. My confidence in Stanley was REALLY high. ;)
We immediately noticed that there were several items on our list that were not touched, but Stanley said he didn't know anything about our list and we would have to take that up with Stanley's boss. We were feeling REALLY good at this point that we did not close!
About halfway into the walk-through, Stanley's boss enters and we pepper him with questions. Smugly the 'bossman' says, "oh that is cosmetic, so I am not fixing it". I replied with "ok, glad we didn't close, because I am not buying it if you are not fixing it". Bossman didn't know we didn't close yet. Salespeople were called and attitudes changed. "Sorry Ms. Mitchell, everything will be fixed". Stanley's knowledge of everything in the coach also increased quite a bit after bossman entered. When I commented to bossman that Stanley didn't know what some lights meant and did bossman know their function, Stanley quickly protested and divulged the necessary information. I think the straw on Stanley's back was when I went on the roof of the RV to inspect if the skylights were fixed and sealed. Tasting the oil, pushed him over the edge. Hey, I read it on the Internet!
The only "sticking point" was that the driver's side mirror was the wrong mirror. It was pushed right up against the window so there was no gap between the outside of the mirror all the way to the inside of the coach, giving you a REALLY big blind spot there. Bossman said it was functional and he was not replacing it. I said it was wrong and I was not closing. Stanley then drove us all over the Lazydays lot looking at RV mirrors trying to convince me that was the right mirror.
Salespeople panicked when we weren't in the RV and called my husband to beg me to close that day. Mirrors were promised to be replaced and we closed.
I then got a call on Saturday morning saying the coach wasn't quite ready, but if I came in at noon and did the closing first, then the coach would be ready by the time the paperwork was done. Yeah, nice try.
I insisted that I was not going to sign any piece of paper until I was able to see for myself that everything was fixed and ready to go. Ok, new closing time is at 2:00. Just to be safe, we showed up at 3:00 and the coach was still not ready. :)
They walked us through the free $5,000 value Thousand Trails membership and signed us up for the Camping World President's Club and then around 4:00 our coach was finally ready for our review. The delivery manager was "Stanley" (name has been changed to protect his identity). One of the tips we received was that we should tape the walk-through just in case there was something we missed in all the excitement we could always reference the tape. Stanley told us the Lazydays lawyers did not allow that just in case they told us something stupid in the walkthough. My confidence in Stanley was REALLY high. ;)
We immediately noticed that there were several items on our list that were not touched, but Stanley said he didn't know anything about our list and we would have to take that up with Stanley's boss. We were feeling REALLY good at this point that we did not close!
About halfway into the walk-through, Stanley's boss enters and we pepper him with questions. Smugly the 'bossman' says, "oh that is cosmetic, so I am not fixing it". I replied with "ok, glad we didn't close, because I am not buying it if you are not fixing it". Bossman didn't know we didn't close yet. Salespeople were called and attitudes changed. "Sorry Ms. Mitchell, everything will be fixed". Stanley's knowledge of everything in the coach also increased quite a bit after bossman entered. When I commented to bossman that Stanley didn't know what some lights meant and did bossman know their function, Stanley quickly protested and divulged the necessary information. I think the straw on Stanley's back was when I went on the roof of the RV to inspect if the skylights were fixed and sealed. Tasting the oil, pushed him over the edge. Hey, I read it on the Internet!
The only "sticking point" was that the driver's side mirror was the wrong mirror. It was pushed right up against the window so there was no gap between the outside of the mirror all the way to the inside of the coach, giving you a REALLY big blind spot there. Bossman said it was functional and he was not replacing it. I said it was wrong and I was not closing. Stanley then drove us all over the Lazydays lot looking at RV mirrors trying to convince me that was the right mirror.
Salespeople panicked when we weren't in the RV and called my husband to beg me to close that day. Mirrors were promised to be replaced and we closed.
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