The plot thickens. (long post)

I finally got a call from Samsung this morning, but it wasn’t good news.  They finally looked at my fax to them, but said only the cover page came through; nothing else.  Ugh!  So I said I’d send it again.  I also stressed that I hoped it wouldn’t take them until Monday to read it.  The guy was noncommittal.   A couple of hours later, they called again to report that yes, it was under warranty (no kidding), and that they would notify Mid America Appliance in Carbondale of my problem.  They also said it could take a day or two for Mid America to get an appointment arranged.  (here we go again)

Well, it wasn’t a half hour later when Mid America called to set up an appointment for Monday morning.  I said make it as early as possible because I was using ice to keep things cooled.  Once I said that, they put me on hold to see if any techs could possibly squeeze me in today.  They were all booked solid, but she said they would try to stop if at all possible.  By 1:30, a tech was knocking on my door!  He was traveling in between appointments in different towns.  He gave the fridge the once over, hoping it was an easy fix, and determined that the compressor was still working so the Freon (sp?) must have leaked out because of a hole in the lines somewhere.  Not an easy fix.    He couldn’t do anything about it today.  As he left for his next appointment, he said he would talk to his boss about it, and get back to me at the end of the day.  I’m waiting for his call now.

In the meantime, I called Cory at Thibodeaux’s Premiere RV in Louisiana.  He’s the young man that did the installation in January.  I needed to talk to someone experienced in what was involved, and that I trusted.  He assured me that pulling the  fridge out to work on it shouldn’t be a problem, and the work can be done inside the rig.  Alrighty then.  I’ll be better informed and confident when the Mid America tech calls back in a little while.

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Jump ahead an hour…Mid America called and said the boss declined to work on the unit unless it is sitting in the middle of the floor, and that it would likely take two weeks to fix it.  I then called Samsung back to further explain the present situation.  (In the back of my mind is just driving to Louisiana to Premiere RV)  I was transferred to another department, and assured that their tech team would call me back tomorrow with a service company that will take the unit out and work on it. 

In the middle of that phone call, there was a knock at my door.  Now what?  It turned out that Martha Norman, a reader of my blog, stopped by to see how I was doing.  Who would guess that someone in Marion, IL, reads my blog?  Not I, that’s for sure.  Anyway, we had a nice visit while her husband went to a hardware store.  It was a welcome interruption to the roller coaster I was on.  She did say that she enjoyed my photos, but that there weren’t very many lately.  She had that right. 

So to remedy that situation, Emma and I are taking a drive to visit Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge tomorrow.  My original plan back before the brake situation was to spend some time at this refuge.  I guess I’ll get my wish after all. 

I know this is a long post, and I appreciate if you have made it to the end.  It’s a good way for me to document what’s happening, and easier to type than writing it out by hand.

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

I was happy for almost two days…

until I decided to pack a lunch last night for today’s drive.  That’s when I noticed that the fridge seemed not very cold.  The LED read out at the top said the fridge was 38*, and the freezer was –2*.  I didn’t think so, so I put in a thermometer, and sure enough; the fridge was 60 and the freezer was nearing 40.    My soaring spirit took a nose dive.  I checked everything I could think of last night, but it was too late to call anyone.

This morning, I did battle over the phone with SAMSUNG about getting it repaired.  They said they couldn’t authorize any warranty work on it until I faxed them a copy of my receipt of purchase.  They felt it was out of warranty.  I just bought it in January for Pete's sake! 

I’m at the Marion Campground and RV Park down in Marion, IL.  To my surprise, they had a fax machine and faxed the required document to SAMSUNG at 9:00 this morning.  SAMSUNG told me they would call me back after they looked at it.  Five hours later, I called them back to find out what the holdup was.  I was informed that it takes one to two business days for them to look at the fax.  What a load of crap that is!

So, I’m back to playing the waiting game once again.  At least this time I’m in a campground with full hookups.  I just went over to the office and got two bags of ice.  I sure hope someone can come out tomorrow to fix it.  Uff-dah!

Finally got to blow this Popsicle Stand!

Hot Diggety Dog!  The part came in shortly after dawn, the brakes were bled, and the wiring to the parking brake replaced.  After a couple of test drives, it was deemed repaired and safe for me to travel!  I paid the $100 deductible for the nearly $5500 bill, hooked up the toad, and was on the road by 2:00 in the afternoon.  The trip through the southern portion of Chicago ensued, but I didn’t care.  I was free at last. 

By 4:30 I was setting up home at Prairie Pines Campground in Rantoul, IL.  This is the campground where my friends, Linda and JIM,  roost at every summer, so I knew it was a fine place to stop for the night.  I only traveled about 120 miles today, but for me it was like traveling to a different planet from the parking lot. 

As you can see, Emma was happy to actually find some grass without sand burrs!  We are both very happy campers.  I’ve got 50 amps, and full hookups for the first time in a month.  And I don’t have to hang onto furniture as I walk through the rig because it’s level!  Besides being in a parking lot, I’ve been on a real slant for the last four weeks.  Adversity helps you appreciate those little things in life.  With a working parking brake, I can actually level the rig; and when I stepped on the brakes today, the rig came to a stop.  Whew!

While I was waiting yesterday, my oldest son, Daniel, got on Team Viewer and got me all set up for using Chrome instead of Internet Explorer.  What a difference that has made.  I really like it, and he was able to instantly import all my favorite places into Chrome.  RICK wrote about how to do this a short time ago, and I was going to try doing it when things calmed down, but Dan did it for me in minutes.  So, I thank both of them.

Not a spectacular sunset tonight, but it sure beats the parking lot view with all the 18 wheelers and trains going by.    I’m almost tempted to stay here a few days to regroup from the stress of the last month, but I’ll check the weather forecast first before I make any decisions about that.  I’m just so relieved to be back on the road, again!

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

P.S.  This was written on Tuesday, but I couldn’t get it to post last night. 

Did you ever wonder about…?

Olives?   I have.  Some people seem to love green olives, and others love black olives.  Personally, I like both of them, but black olives have always been my favorite.  Why is it that green olives come in a jar that stays good in the fridge for what seems like forever, but black olives only come in a tin can?  Is it because black olives don’t seem to be pickled?  Well, I made a wonderful discovery recently:

Black olives are now available in a re-closable container, so I can have a couple with my sandwich for lunch, and pop the container back into the fridge.  I’ve had this container several weeks, and the olives are still fresh.

Tonight as I took Emma out after her dinner, I found two dimes and a penny in the parking lot.  Have you ever wondered where coins like this have been?  I have.  What has been their journey?  One of the dimes was 14 years old.  I just wonder where it has been.

And what about all those planes coursing through the skies?  Have you ever wondered where all those passengers are going to or coming from?  I have.  I’m guessing these folks are going to O’Hare or Midway Airports, but where did they come from, and what are their stories?

Lately, I’ve mostly been wondering if I’ll ever get out of this parking lot in Indiana.  Let’s just say it will be another day or two. 

                                                  What is it that you wonder about?

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

An Indian Summer Saturday

Way back in the early 60’s I received my driver’s training from my father on the roads and expressways of Chicago.  I don’t believe the present  National Interstate system had been established yet, but we had the new Kennedy, Eisenhower, and Dan Ryan Expressways to practice on along with the Chicago Skyway, State Street,  the Loop, and Lake Shore Drive.  That early training served me well this morning as I made my way from Indiana to Chain O’ Lakes State Park which is near the Wisconsin border in northeastern Illinois.  My route took me right through the heart of my original home town.  Being early on a Saturday morning, the traffic moved right along…way over the stated speed limit.  I had to go with the flow so I wouldn’t become a traffic hazard, don’t you know.

Anyway, after two and a half hours, I arrived at Pam and Stan’s campsite.  It was a relief to be out of the parking lot, and enjoying a magnificent fall day in a state park.

Emma was beside herself with joy to be with her boyfriend, George.  They’re having an animated ‘conversation’ here.  As I said last night; poor George just isn’t quite sure what to do with all of Emma’s exuberance.  She just wants to run and play, and he wants to remain aloof.  Emma’s pretty persistent about not being ignored, though. 

After chatting for a while, we decided to have our lunch outdoors since it was such a nice day and there weren’t any bugs to bother us.  October is about my favorite month for camping up north.  I hope you’ll notice that we are definitely a Hellman’s Mayo type of family.  None of that Miracle Whip stuff for us!

Later in the afternoon, Pam and I took the dogs for a nice long walk around this very large state park.  That’s when we found this restored wetland area with a flock of Canada geese on it.  It was shorts and t-shirt weather for me today.  So nice this late in the season. 

The park has five campgrounds in it and numerous picnic areas.  The place was really packed, and there was barely an empty camping site.  Pam said that is very unusual for this time of the year.  I think it’s because the weather folks have been touting this as a fabulous weekend all week, and for a change they were right!

In all too short a time, I had to pack Emma into the car, and start the long drive back to the rig.  I don’t drive after dark, so I was out of there shortly after 4:00.  It was the perfect Indian Summer day…

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

Murphy still has my number!

Dang it!  The part came in today, but was for regular brakes, not hydraulic brakes.  As you know, I’m not very familiar with mechanical things, so as I understand it the needed part is to be able to ‘bleed’ the brakes so they won’t go out on me as I’m traveling down the road.  Anyway, the point is that the correct part has been reordered and is due to arrive on Monday.  That means another weekend in the parking lot.  I’m sure you’re getting as tired of this as I am, but none of you volunteered to take Murphy off my back, so it is what it is. 

As you can see, I decided to haul out my rocker, and reinstall the extended stay propane tank.  It’s just too hot to sit inside the rig in the afternoon.  

I called my sister, Pam, today, and she and Stanley are camping at Chain O’ Lakes State Park in Illinois this weekend.  I’m thinking Emma and I may just go up there to visit them tomorrow.  It’s a 90 mile drive, but it’s got to be better than sitting out the day in the rig, once again.  I’m hoping the traffic won’t be so bad through Chicago since it’s a weekend.  We’ll just have to see.  I’m sure Emma would enjoy seeing her boyfriend, George, too.    Poor George, he just doesn’t know what to do with all of her wild enthusiasm!

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

Brief update, and I’m not talking underwear!

The computer mother board came in early this morning, so there was the possibility I would be on the road this afternoon.  Since all forms of electricity, including batteries, was turned off by 8:00,  I headed over to Robyn’s to do one last load of laundry.  After that, and having my last Italian beef for a while, I arrived back at the rig shortly after 12:00 only to find out that a further part was needed that is being shipped overnight.  So, with a little bit of good luck (which I’m not known for) I might be heading out tomorrow afternoon.  That would be sweet!  I’ve chosen a campground only about 100 miles from here so it will be doable if I can get away before the Chicago afternoon rush hour.  I’ve got my fingers crossed.

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later, Judy