Good Things Come to Those Who Wait

 

It took six weeks, lots of emails, an unknown number of phones calls, a trip to Corpus Christi, and I can't remember how many other campers we looked at, but here we are, finally, finally, at a place where we can simply say:

Ron Hoover made it right.

We had no idea the saga that would be our experience with campers this year - we came to Ron Hoover in July excited to buy a new camper to get us out of the mold drama that was the Wildcat we purchased from PPL in Feburary, not knowing that the new camper we bought had "lot rot" - a quarter-sized hole in the roof membrane that had allowed water to leak in and create mold in the rafters of our new 2019 Palomino Columbus, which we discovered after only 17 days of owning it.

(Y'all, it's crazy to see the last 7 months' worth of anguish so succinctly written out in just one paragraph.)

*sigh*

Yet, here we are! 

Yes, that's me on the roof (with Lance, one of the service techs) crawling around inspecting every single inch to make sure we weren't walking into the same issue the last one had with a hole in the roof membrane.  

I went on the roof. 

Lance went on the roof. 

Rusty, our sales guy, went on the roof. 

Even Ken - the general manager - went on the roof.  

We were leaving no stone unturned on this inspection and I'm thrilled to say, the 2021 Palomino Columbus Compass Series they traded us into was in excellent - NEW - condition.

It was as close of a like-for-like trade as they could get; the new 2019 that we had bought in July had a few more tech bells and whistles (we could control the lights and slides from our phones, as well as checking our tank levels), and the floor plan was a bit different (there was a bar sink in the kitchen), and there was TV in the bedroom (they added one for us on the spot). The furniture was an upgrade in the 2019 so we asked Ken if he'd be willing to switch them so that we could keep the Lazyboy branded leather loveseat and residential sofa sleeper - and he gladly did!  Overall, we were very happy with the trade out. 

It was probably the fastest sign-the-papers moment we've ever experienced. Since we paid cash for the 2019, and Ken made it an across the board trade for the 2021, I think it was only 5 minutes of signing over the title and a few other warrantee transfer docs, and we were out the door.  

Kudos, again, to the service department: Lance did a walk thru for us, and then brought the old 2019 over to the inspection area, facing door to door, so that we could transition all the personal items we had left behind when we dropped it off a month and a half ago.  We had been stocking to head to Colorado, so needless to say, there we a number of trips up and down the stairs moving things into the 2021 unit.  A big shout-out to Rusty, for hanging with us not just thru all of this mess, but also taking the initiative to help us move items from one camper to the other - in the rain no less!

Ron Hoover made it right.  

Ken, as much as I'm sure he was exasperated by RDB's firmness, made it right. 

In a world where it's hard to trust that a corporation really stands behind it's products and services to their customers, Ron Hoover in Katy stood behind their word that when they sold us a new camper, with a major unknown issue, that they would make it right.

They deserve that "5-star rating" they brag about.

Now, enough of all this, on to making memories!

(Wish us luck!)

Park n' Drive: Mission Tejas State Park

 Know before you go - a park drive thru video. 

Mission Tejas State Park

We've not been here with our camper, but I have Car Camped once in Site #12.

Into the Forest I Go...

"Into the Forest I Go..."

 "...to lose my mind and find my soul." - John Muir

Before Covid hit, the majority of my job was on the road - traveling along South Texas, out visiting companies to teach employees about retirement planning, meeting with individuals face to face to discuss their specific retirement plans.  I officed out of my home, but I worked in other companies' offices - so there was a LOT of travel and driving involved.  Now? I'm 100% work from home; my commute is about, oh, 4 steps from bedroom to office.

RDB noticed that I was missing the road time, so, he set me up to go Car Camping. We bought a Toyota Prius hybrid a few years ago with this very thought in mind for him and he's since been to over 20 places across the broader US.  This weekend, while desperately waiting for an update on our camper, it was my turn!

I left out Friday night for Mission Tejas State Park - one that we've not been to before and only about a 2 hour drive from home. I arrived to the park in the dark, and since RDB had already set it up for me, it was just a matter of parking the Prius, crawling into the bed in the back, and going to sleep!

Ok, so you're probably a little confused by that last remark: "crawl into the bed in the back."  The Prius is actually large enough that if you fold down one side of the back seat, and push the front seat forward, you can lay down bedding (we use a tri-fold mattress and a few thick standing mats for cushion) and fully stretch out and sleep!  See, check this out:

Since it's a hybrid gas/electric car, you can leave the car running overnight for A/C, and the engine only kicks on when it needs to charge the battery; on average, that uses a little over a gallon of gas for the whole night.  Hello, Hybrid Hotel!

Mission Tejas is a beautiful park - packed with big loblolly pine trees and lots of trails and walking paths.  Driving up Highway 21 from Crockett, I noticed what seemed like a Historical Marker ever other mile, so, naturally, when I woke Saturday morning, I crawled out of bed and went for a drive to explore the area.

I stopped for lunch in Crockett, dining in at The Davey Crockett Bar and Grill. (Funny story there, check out the Yelp review).  Then continued on my search for more historical markers.

I didn't get a picture of it, but the historical marker next to the Caddo Mounds Historical Site had been snapped off at the base above the pole.  An F-3 tornado came thru the area last year, destroying not just the historical marker, but also the newly renovated site museum, though the earthen mounds were left untouched.

RDB and I had toured around on a past camping trip years ago before the new (now demolished) visitor's center was opened.  I felt moved to go in to the temporary building that sits on the site and had the great pleasure of meeting and talking with Robert, the site manager, about the Caddo culture.  

They've done an excellent job of re-creating the information and displaying the cultural artifacts; you can hear the passion and respect in Robert's voice as he answered my (many!) questions and told me the stories of the Caddo's creation beliefs and views on death. 

The burial mound out the window; a NOAA weather radio standing watch.

Though RDB and I didn't have a chance to see it after its construction and subsequent destruction, the site once included a replica of a traditional Caddo grass house; I enjoyed watching updates about the project via their FaceBook page.  Robert told me that he had just been sharing details of the documentary that was filmed onsite during the construction with a teacher who was planning to use it as a resource this year, and did I know that the documentarian was awarded a Texas Emmy for the project? Y'all - it took all the strength I had to not ask Robert if I could hold it!

All too soon, another family came thru the doors, and I felt the need to continue on with my search for more historical markers.  (BTW, I had referenced my day's journey to Robert, and that I was sad the marker wasn't out by the mound - he mentioned that they did recover it after the tornado: a neighbor was clearing out a ravine area a few hundred yards eastward and came across it - still intact. I could only imagine the terror of one of those large steel plates flying thru the air that fateful day.)

Back at the State Park: The CCC Troop 888 is responsible for much of the park; the representation of a mission being one of their projects.  The Spanish tried to convert the native Caddo to Christianity, but after three failed attempts (and three abandoned missions), they left the natives in peace.  

Varying views aside, the acoustics in the church were astonishing. 

I found conflicting points of view, reading the various markers around the area, the pamphlets provided by the park, and the pop-up banners at the Caddo Historical site, about the failure of these missions.  From those coming to conquer, the natives were considered insincere, "taking the Spaniards gifts, but not their religion;" from those being colonized, an "[association] of the Europeans and their religion with death." I noted in one of the banners that "Historical documents record eight known epidemics to the Caddo region between 1691 and 1816, approximately one every generation." 

I found a shady spot to enjoy a bite for dinner and read a bit; "car camping" is interesting because, with the way RDB has it set up, everything I need is right there with me - including a mini fridge (tucked under the head of my bed) and tasty beverage or two before bed!

Sunday morning I woke to another beautiful day in the woods. 

Packing up to head home was perhaps the easiest ever: literally, crawl out of bed, tie up the curtains (yes, we made curtains for the Hybrid Hotel!) and jump in the drivers seat!  

A few more historical markers along the way home enlightened me to:

A thriving Black community:

A family "plot": 

An early, but now ancient, industry:

And a WWII POW camp in Texas:

I honestly gasped "WHAT?!" when I stepped out of the car and read the title on that marker.  I had no idea of that part of our Texas history... or our national history for that matter. 

There's so much to learn, about our state, our country, even ourselves, if we would just slow down a bit and take the time to listen, reflect, grow.  I'm grateful that RDB knows what helps me get back to center, and that he hugs me tight before I go, leaves me hints of his love along the way, and welcomes me back with gentle and loving arms. 

I was at Mission Tejas State park, site #12.  Not sure that we'll be able to take a camper there - especially as we've upgraded to a larger 5th wheel - but it's a perfect park for smaller rigs, pop-ups, and tents.  And the occasional Hybrid Hotel.

For more pictures, and more Historical Markers, go here.  

And now? We wait.

There she is: beautiful, new, only had it for 17 days camper of ours.  RDB and I are still so beside ourselves on the fact that we specifically bought a new camper so that we could walk away from the mold issues in the Wildcat that we bought from PPL in February, and yet, here were are, again, dealing with mold issues.... in what should be a brand new, mold-free camper. 

We texted our sales guy, Rusty, Sunday afternoon as soon as we realized the problem, letting him know we were coming down to the dealership first thing Monday morning.  RDB asked him to let the GM know that we'd want to discuss this with him as well; we wanted everyone aware of the situation from the get go.

The service department gave us a call as we were on our way, wanting to make sure we knew they were aware of what was taking place, and to ask for Victor when we checked in.  In no time, they were up on the roof inspecting the damage and agreed with what we had puzzled together.

The hole in the roof membrane near the front AC unit was likely there from the time the unit was installed at the factory (Forest River). The unfortunate part to this meant that it was likely letting in water from the time the dealer (Ron Hoover) took delivery of the unit until we found it.  It's a new 2019 model, so we could figure that it's been on their lot, leaking every time it rains, since the beginning of last year (just shy of 52" at IAH last year, including Hurricane Imelda which hit in September, and another 21" in Houston so far this year).  We've heard others say the two things that will kill your camper are: water, and electricity.

And they weren't kidding:

Those were the photos we received from the service department, once they had taken down the ceiling in the bedroom.  RBD went back and took a few more, to give us better context on what was visible on that first day.

The roof was so soft, from all the rain damage over time, that the service techs were able to tear away portions of the plywood using their bare hands.  The dark black on the ceiling panels, and the white fuzz in between the rafters? Mold. Obviously, this damage had happened over a lengthy period of time - not just in the 17 days that we took possession of it. 

Ken, the GM, said that they'll work Forest River to determine a plan of action. He mentioned several times that "there are steps we have to take" and (in summation) if we were unhappy with the resolution that we could "take it up with Forest River." We understand that he has a process he has to follow, so we're doing our best to be patient.

RDB made sure to inform him, as we had told Rusty when we arrived that morning, that we have no intention of taking this specific unit back; Rusty knew our story: we came to Ron Hoover to buy a NEW camper, so that we wouldn't have to deal with mold issues.  Taking back the Palomino Columbus, even if it were repaired, doesn't change the fact that it now has a history of mold. It's not just a cosmetic issue (though the pictures of it torn apart are breaking my heart); it's a health issue; not one we ever wanted to deal with.

So now?
 

We wait. 

If it Weren't for Bad Luck....

...we'd have no luck at all.

So, with Hurricane Hanna upon us, and our camper parked in the driveway getting ready for a week long trip to Colorado with KD & the Vowels, we discovered the very thing we were trying to avoid when we Cut Bait only two weeks ago - we have water issues.

And not just water issues, but a HOLE in the roof - and who knows how long it's been there?!  Well, actually we know it's been there long enough, at least, for the water that was pooling inside the LED light over the bed to be GREEN - as in MOLD green.

M. O. L. D.  Again.

We'll take it back to Ron Hoover tomorrow morning, and see where we go from here.

Amazon Camp Prime

Just randomly ran across this tonight.... even Amazon wants to go camping!

Back to Brazos Bend

There are a few State Parks, within a short drive from home, that really just have so much to offer and we can't help but keep returning; Brazos Bend State Park is certainly one of them.

RDB and I packed up Friday afternoon, and with the new site specific reservation system, we knew exactly where we were heading to.  And this time? Our favorite "camping buddy" came along with us!

Maybe it's just me, but he sure looks like he's gonna be the king of the castle in this new camper! Diesel's 8 years old now, and he's calmed down a fair bit in his "middle" age.  We've stopped bringing his crate on camping trips - now he just hangs out in the bedroom when we go off on short adventures, and sleeps on his fuzzy bed at the foot of the bed at night.  Well, as long as I can get the fuzzy bed up there before he puts himself to sleep, that is!

Brazos Bend has plenty of adventures, and this weekend, especially, we were hoping to catch a glimpse of the NEOWISE comet; the observatory on campground is closed (due to the pandemic) but we brought our own telescope... too bad we didn't think to put it in the truck to "defrost" before we went off to stargaze; it just completely fogged up and we couldn't see anything! 

-Joseph Masiero, who serves as NEOWISE deputy principal investigator at NASA’s JPL

Even if we couldn't see the comet, we still really enjoyed the weekend in our new camper - finally getting "moved into" it and (for me) organized and decorated the way I've been dreaming about.  We enjoyed a new bottle of wine (in our whiskey glasses) and did a few improvement projects - changing out the lights in the bedroom for a nightlight/touch version, putting a backsplash up in the bathroom behind the dual sinks (did I tell you, we have DUAL SINKS!?). I'll keep an updated album on Flikr for the updates that we do over time. There's not a whole lot that really needs to be done in a new camper, but it's certainly nice to personalize it and make it truly our own.  

I still can't believe we own this camper!

The road from headquarters back to the campsite is long and windy, and at a max speed of 30 MPH, it's just the perfect spot to just relax and enjoy the ride.  Keep your eyes open for deer crossing, and the occasional alligator sunning himself, though, as the park is filled with wildlife and marshes for them to hide in. 

Perhaps the funniest thing that happened this weekend was on our evening walk around the camping loop. We were taking the trash over to the dumpster, and RDB stepped back and held Diesel off a ways, "Just in case a trash panda jumps out."  Sure enough, as I got closer to the dumpster to toss in our bag of trash, a raccoon lifted up the lid and jumped right out!  Like I said, _lots_ of wildlife here at Brazos Bend!

All too soon, we were packing up to head back home.  RDB set me up with a great "phone drop" station for charging in our bar area, and the external speakers on the TV in the living room are Bluetooth capable, so we were enjoying great music as we finished up breakfast and cleaned up to leave.  you can't help but smile and sing along with "Don't Worry, BE HAPPY!"  We really are Happy Campers again.

We were in site #126 of the Burr Oak Camping area.  We're still really impressed with how they keep the sites feeling private, even though you're tucked in with lots of neighbors (we were also kinda surprised by how long the grass was in our site - only mowed down around the fire pit, but then, it may be because the campground is minimally staffed due to Covid-19). 

We've been to Brazos Bend before: 

Rainbows, Stars, Bikes and Trains

Going Back for Seconds

Super "Brazos" Weekend

And you can find more camping photos from this trip here.