Dinata Misovec

We left the campground at 8:37 and drove one mile to Tiara RV.  When we drove in, we noticed that they did not have any motor homes, only trailers.  Andy and I both were a bit concerned whether we had come to the right place for our repairs. There seemed to be two men working in the service department, but maybe I just didn’t notice any others.

Our fears were unfounded.  The service manager guy said he had worked at Monaco (the company that built Sao) for eight years.  The other man, also happy to see Sao, worked at Monaco for eighteen years. When we described our problems, the service manager guy said, “It’s a solenoid”.  He recommended a local restaurant down the street for breakfast while he diagnosed the problem.

Andy was stunned.  The waffles were better than the ones he makes at home.  I had some non-descript bagel-shaped bread with cream cheese.

When we got back to the RV repair shop, Sao was fixed.  It wasn’t the solenoid, but the wire going to it that needed replacing. Everything seems to be working! He did point out that our battery cut-off switch needs replacing. That switch is used when the motorhome is put in storage, which we never do because we live in it full time. He didn’t have the switch in stock so we decided to worry about it later.  They charged us for one hour of labor.  That is still $125!

Thanks to John Dobson for offering to diagnose the problem over the phone.  But, Andy had already given up and just wanted to take it to “the guy”.

For a moment or two, we were stunned and didn’t quite know what to do with ourselves.  We always end up in repair shops for days and never even considered that we would be on our way in two hours. Andy said, “We can make it to Mequon in five or six hours.  It’s only about 250 miles”.  I called son-in-love George and daughter Jennifer to let them know we would be there in the early evening.

I HATE driving anywhere near Chicago! I-90 and I-294 around Chicago are many lanes wide and full of trucks.  People drive too fast with less than a car or truck length behind the vehicle in front of them.  And, the toll was over $20. I told Andy I want to find an alternate route the next time.

Grandchildren.  They are good for what ails ya. Andy could see me cheer up right away. They were so happy to see us.  Two-year-old Cam is very cuddly and lovable.  He is also talking non-stop. George and Jennifer went to get some exercise at a Zumba class and left us with the boys.  We picked raspberries in the yard and then drove to the park and the boys played on the playground.  I kept them out too late and bedtime was late.  Bad Grandma.