07.16.17 The good and the bad of our travels so far – by Roy Chauvin

Sunday, July 16, 2017 – Today’s blog is written by Roy Chauvin

We always seem to write about all the good things that we see and that happen while living and traveling around in our motor home. Well today I am going to tell you about some of the problems we have encountered in the last few week. And a really fun opportunity I’ve had while here!

We are members of Coast to Coast Resorts, a system of RV resorts throughout America. We joined this great organization years back when we first purchased our motor home. As members we can stay virtually free at Coast to Coast parks across the US for up to two weeks at a time. To keep within our budget, we take full advantage of this organization. Generally when we head out on a new adventure one of our first stops is in Mountain View, AR where we can venture out to enjoy some very talented music picking and singing in the Town Square where local musicians come and form groups to play and entertain the crowds. This along with perusing the local shops makes for a very interesting outing. There are also many beautiful sights to see and clear water streams running throughout the Mountain View area. So here is where it starts. The usual Coast to Coast RV Park we have stayed at in the past was having a special event. During special events Coast to Coast members cannot make reservations so this forced us to look elsewhere. We found another Coast to Coast park located in Shirley, AR which is located about 40 minutes outside of Mountain View so we booked our reservations. Don’t get me wrong as this is a very nice park. It was taken over by a new owner about 3 years ago and they have worked very hard to make it really a nice place to stay. But being 40 minutes away with very winding and steep roads has limited our trips and the amount of time we were able to visit Mountain View.

Those that know me also know that I like to fly radio controlled airplanes. On the plus side, the Lake Area Fun Flyers Squadron’s RC field is less than 5 miles away and they graciously allowed me to use their beautiful air field. (More on that later.)

While getting settled into the park, I noticed that the hitch pin that holds our TOAD (the truck we tow behind the Motor Home) was missing the lock that holds it in place. I’m not for sure how that happened but the pin on one side should have fallen out and may have cause big problems. The Lord must have been looking out for us as the pin was still in place with no lock to hold it in. I had to purchase new hitch pins so that when we leave the truck will be safe behind us.

The next night I started hearing a squealing noise coming from the rear air conditioner. I tried to ignore it but as you know that was not going to fix the problem. Later that evening as the air conditioner cycled on and off, the blower motor refused to work and I was forced to turn the rear unit off. The next morning I climbed up on the roof and took the cover off of the AC unit and sure enough the blower motor was locked up. I managed to get it free enough to run but only if I turned it by hand after the power was on. I set the rear AC to High Fan cool so that the motor would run constantly without cycling off. I know that if it turned off that it would not start again without some persuasion. I ordered a new blower motor that day and had it shipped to me at the RV Park. It arrived here very quickly in about 4 days. Now I am out in the direct sun and heat changing the blower motor. It took a couple of hours but once again both AC units are up and running.

I went to the RC flying field and met several of the members all of which were very friendly and welcomed me as one of their own. I got to fly my plane several times and on many different days. (More on that later.)

Rosalyn and I decided to do a little exploring so we headed out in “Boots” our truck to visit the nearby towns of Clinton, Shirley and Fairfield Bay. We had an enjoyable time but somewhere along the way I manage to get a 4 inch nail in the tire. As luck would have it the nail did not penetrate the bottom of the tire but it went through the sidewall which meant that it was not repairable. I put the spare on and a tire shopping we will go.

Back in January, I purchased 2 new tires for the front of my truck. Thank goodness that the punctured tire was in the rear. As members of the Family Motor Coach Association I get a very good discount on Michelin tires but it require me to purchase them at a Michelin Advantage Dealer. I decided that it would be best to replace both the rears tire that match the front tires. I found a dealer in Batesville, AR about an hour drive from the RV Park. I gave them a call and of course they did not have the tires I needed in stock but were able to get them in the next day. That worked out good for us as we planned to visit family members who live in Cherokee Village. Batesville is in the direction of Cherokee Village about half way. We headed out the next day to Batesville and had the tires replaced at the Ozark Tire Center. They were very nice and professional. They got the tires installed very quickly and we were soon on our way to Cherokee Village to spend some time with family members that we haven’t seen in quite awhile.

Now back to the Lake Area Fun Flyers Squadron (LAFFS) flying field. I mentioned that I met several of their members and that they all were very nice and friendly. What I did not mention is their beautiful planes they brought to the field and how fantastic they were able to fly those planes.

I am very thankful to have met them and how they all welcomed me. Most of the time we flew starting about 1:00 in the afternoon. I decided to go to the park around 4:00 pm this past Wednesday when the temperature had a chance to cool down some. I suffer from essential tremors which causes my hands and fingers to shake making it very difficult at times to have full control of my RC plane. Normally I fly my using my thumbs on the radio to control the plane. Today I wanted to try something different by using my thumb and finger in a pinching fashion to control the plane in an effort to cut down on the shaking. This turned out to be a big mistake and I wound up losing the plane in the top of the trees.

I went home to get Rosalyn so she could help me. With a lot of persistence and a fishing pole with a weight on the end, I was able to shake the branch it was in and got the plane to fall a few feet but not all the way. The fishing line I was using was not strong enough and keep breaking on me. Then finally the fishing rod popped in half and cut my arm in the process. I temporally fixed the pole and tried many more times until it turned dark and I could not see anymore and was forced to leave it in the tree overnight.

When I got back to the RV I changed clothes and headed out to Walmart in Clinton, AR. I purchased more weights as all the ones I had were lost when the line keep breaking. I also bought a spool of 50lb SpiderWire. When I got home I fixed the pole with epoxy and replaced the old line with the new SpiderWire line.

The next day was the day that we planned to get Boots some new tires and visit family in Cherokee Village, AR. We planned on leaving at 10:30 am. I woke up very early and left about 6:30 am to attempt again to get my plane out of the tree. After about 8 more casts, I finally managed to get the line over the correct branch and the new SpiderWire line allowed me to shake the branch pretty hard without breaking. My plane FINALLY fell out of the tree and I was able to be underneath it to break the fall. I retrieve my plane virtually unscathed. However, the main landing gear which just snaps into place had pulled out and is still in the tree somewhere. I will have to order a $7.00 landing gear before I can fly my plane again. I made it back to our motor home about 8:30 am with plenty of time to get ready for a fun filled day of long driving.

We both very much enjoyed our visit with Barbie and Johnny Tate at their home in Cherokee Village, Arkansas.  We’ve known them for almost 30 years meeting them when we first moved to Pumpkin Center.  Maybe even when we were still living in Metairie.  Sally and Eddie use to live down the road from us on Hinson Road and John is Sally’s son. Barbie’s mom Shirley lived quite near us in Pumpkin Center and all the families just made us part of their family when we moved there.  Her step dad at the time helped us city folks take a stab at growing vegetables.  I think that lasted one year but we appreciated them helping us!  We love them dearly and they are as family to us as family can be without being blood related.   Barbie and Johnny (who are known outside of the family as Barbara and John)  have a beautiful home on a lake which we really enjoyed getting to see.  We’ve been friends on Facebook through all the time they’ve lived in Arkansas and us in Louisiana.  We’ve seen lots of upgrades John has done to their home and it was fun getting to see it all in person.  We wound up staying longer than we had planned since we were having such a good time. It was great to see them again. By the time we got back to the Motor Home that night I was dead tired and slept till noon the next day.

Rosalyn’s Note: Today, Sunday, we are leaving Arkansas after being here for three weeks!  We are headed to Branson, Missouri where we’ll stay for 9 days!  Because it is unbearably hot right now and will be that hot, if not worse, along Route 66 right now, our travel plans past Branson have changed.   The plans still include Route 66, just not now. Once we decide exactly what the new plan will be I’ll share!

Ya’ll come back now, ya’ hear!