Monday and Tuesday - The Good , Bad, and the Ugly!

Ken and I left Walterboro, SC by 6:45 and were on our way to Lazydays in Tampa, about 425 miles away.  Again traffic was rather light and the drive went well.  We stopped at one of my favorites for lunch, Sonny's Barbeque within 10 miles of Lazydays, because we had told Samantha, our service rep, that we wouldn't arrive till between 2 and 3.  After a delicious lunch, we went to Parksdale Farm Market to buy some fruits and veggies.  It is strawberry time in that area and the lines for their famous strawberry sundaes and shortcake were soooo long.  We were really good and didn't get any of those special treats. (Actually we were full from Sonny's!)

People waiting in line to buy their strawberry sundaes and
shortcake!

These strawberries are so good and sweet!

Can't beat the prices at Parkesdale!

Part of the large strawberry fields!

We arrived at Lazydays around 2:45 and went right to see Samantha.  They had parked Waldo in the front lot and we had electric for the night, but no water or sewer - not a problem!  She had suggested we stay for 1 night to make sure everything was working properly.  When we put out the repaired slide, we could not believe how much quicker and smoother it worked and all the room we had in the hallway!  We felt like we were living in a mansion.  3 months without the slide operating can make you feel that way!

At 5 we went over to the large lounge in the huge Lazydays building to watch the Rose Bowl.  They close most of the area down at 5, but the housekeeping crew was there till 9:30 so we could stay to watch the game.  We were the only ones watching on the 70" screen and we moved the most comfy chairs to the TV.  At halftime I went to Waldo and brought back a tray of peanuts, cheese and crackers, etc.  We had our own private party and what a game it was.  So much excitement and unbelievable plays.  Such a shame that either team had to lose!

After the game we went to a nearby Wal-Mart for some groceries (by now the refrigerator was cold).  By the time we went to bed at 11:30, we were exhausted.

Tuesday morning we were up by 6:30 because Samantha had scheduled Waldo to be washed around 8:30.  When Ken disconnected the electric, he checked to see if the inverter was working.  We had told them it needed repaired because it was "throwing a code", but they claimed there wasn't a problem - Wrong!!!! Within 20 seconds it threw the same code.  We saw Samantha walking across the parking lot and told her we had a problem.  She sent a service technician to us immediately and after some testing determined we definitely needed a new one.  Now what???  Long story short, Samantha contacted our warranty company but it can take days or weeks to get approval for some repairs.  She was hopeful that they would respond within hours. 

So, Ken and I went to Costco where another frustration began.  Somehow my purse was not with us when we got to the car and I knew I had brought it.   I checked back in the store but none was found.  Of course, it was not in Waldo when we got back, so no license, credit cards, phone etc.  I was upset.  I waited about 45 minutes and then called Costco and after a 2 minute hold, she said they had it.  Hallelujah!  So back to Costco and everything was in my purse!  I was so thankful.  

We met with Sam at 1:30 and she asked if we would wait until 2:30 to give the warranty company a little more time.  So we waited!  Then at 2:30 she asked us to please give her till 4 and she was hopeful the problem would be resolved.  We had hoped to be at Harbor Lakes CG by 2 or even earlier so we could get all set-up and have some time to relax.  Not going to happen.  Went back to Samantha at 4 and she had gotten an inverter and a technician was ready to install it.  She never heard from the Warranty Company but said it wasn't our problem that it wasn't fixed while we were gone in December and she did not want us to have to come back for the repair.  She assured us that it was not our expense - it would be taken care of by someone!  Samantha is amazing because so many things are out of her control and she looks out for our best interest.  We so appreciate her!

We were on our way to Harbor Lakes by 6:15 and by now it was dark, traffic was really heavy around Tampa, and we were exhausted physically, mentally, and emotionally.  But, we left with everything working - another Hallelujah!!

We got to Harbor Lakes at 8 and found our campsite.  Unfortunately there was a tree with some low hanging branches, but by using our phones to communicate (it was very dark) we were able to maneuver our way into the site after several tries.  The tree would need to be trimmed if we wanted to put out our slide and awning.  We only hooked up water and electric and put out the bed slide until we talk to them tomorrow morning about trimming the tree.  We were in bed by 9:15 and both of us were too tired to even think!

PS:  Here are the real positives from today - The technician who came to check the inverter was the gentleman we replaced the system on our slide.  He definitely knew what he was doing (actually trained by Winnebago to repair these slides) and gave us some very helpful tips and insights on how the slides work as well as the jacks.  He gave us some invaluable information.  Also, we had trouble with our Memory System on our bed, neither of the controls would give us a read out to know how firm it was.  We had talked to the company and they said it was under warranty and we could remove the box and controller easily (just hard to get to) and take it to their office in Clearwater and they would give us a new one.  When Ken open the area under the bed he discovered that the strap that held the box in place was unsnapped and the 2 controllers were not plugged in securely.  Bingo, an easy fix and we didn't have to make a trip to Clearwater!  Also, on the way home on our western trip, we had a emissions light come one on our dash saying it may need service.  When we got to Lazydays, the light no longer came on and Samantha mentioned that they had changed a dirty oil filter - it solved the problem.  So, we had many things to be thankful for!