A Mish-Mash of Updates -> Slide Fix, Sept Plans & Danish Dreams
After many thousand miles, a ridiculous amount of stops (thanks to a major Orbitz mess-up), a flight spent with a party-gal in a skin-tight pink velour track-suit (who was well topped-off by alcohol, large diamond rings, Gucci sunglasses and a fluffy white dog -> yes, these people actually exist), I finally made it back home to “the beast” and all its furry animals.
Through the fog of jet-lag everything seems rather like a dream, but thanks to some good sunny walks, wine and espresso I’m finally perking up and getting back on track.
Now, those of you who are followers of the blog may remember our 1,000-mile dash to get to Oreon to have our slide issue fixed. Poor Paul was left with the task while I went out gallivanting around Denmark. Despite all assurances by Monaco that it would be “no more than 3 days” to get into the factory, my better half waited almost 3 weeks and didn’t look anywhere close to getting in (“just a few more days” was the standard response). In a final fit of desperation he got the number of a mobile tech who had worked at the factory 10 years to come look at the thing, hoping at least to get an analysis of where to go.
The final result? After our 2 days in CO, our 1,000-mile drive and no end of waiting it took the tech 1 hour to fix. All he did was file down the aluminum runner between the slide and the RV wall so that it no longer caught as the slide was coming in. “Oh yeah, we see this all the time with the big Monaco slides” was his response “and this is our standard fix”. Apparently the living room slide is so heavy it’s not at all unusual for the supports to bow and the slide to drop and catch, especially on the slide with the fridge. All-in-all it seems a minor miracle that no-one could tell us this (even when we called Monaco from CO), but it just goes to show that sometimes the biggest problems are really the smallest ones.
So, the good news is that to the best of our knowledge the slide is fixed! Paul, bless him, forgot to take any photos (at all) and managed to kill all our RV plants, but he did get the job done, kept the animals alive and (here’s the kicker) make home-made sausages while I was gone (from scratch no less!). Thus I forgive him all because a man who can welcome a girl home with a good sausage is a man worth his weight in gold 🙂 He also had a most social time while I was away meeting no less than 3 RV couples including Laurie and Odel from Semi-True Tales of Our Life on the Road. Quite the party-man.
So, what’s next? Given we have a longing for the coast we’ve decided to spend all of September driving down Hwy 101 and have booked 4 beach State Parks from Astoria to Florence to give us a comfortable sampling of Oregon-ass-in-the-sand enjoyment before we head on south for winter. With that in mind I leave behind a photo-journal of Danish dreams….large sausages (yes, I love all kinds), romkugler (Danish rum-cocoa balls), marzipan cakes, viking graves, castles, friends, family and a few glimpses of downtown Copenhagen. I sure had fun while I was gone, but I’m sure glad to be back.
If you contnue South on 101 stop in Brookings at Harris Beach State Park it is great.
Thanks! We’ll probably be back on the coast next year so will add that one to the list.
Nina
Yayy you are back! and the slide is fixed! Double yayay. You are on the Oregon Coast. Triple Yay. Now for the non-yay. Mo and I decided to head to Brookings this week and will be in Harris Beach State Park from Wednesday through Sunday. Just a bit too far south. Ah well. maybe next time?
Sue,
Bummer!!! So close yet so far. Where are you guys headed from there?
We’ll probably winter around San Diego.
Nina
Hurray for the fixed slide!
I had a college friend by the family name of Iisager who amazed me with tales of how progressive Denmark was even then (1978). So, I’ve admired it from afar ever since. I’m glad you could go home to admire it close-up.
Roxanne
I do love my home country. If it weren’t for those winters I’d definitely consider living there 🙂
Nina
glad to see all is well that ends well and that you are enjoying the new camera….
Cheers, Jil! We’re pretty happy the slide issue was such an apparently easy fix. Hoping the fix lasts!
Nina
Great photos from Denmark … and glad to hear your slide problem is fixed. have fun on the Oregon coast.
Thanks! Looking forward to some beach-time! Nina
welcome back…
Thanks!! Nina
Gorgeous Danish castles is an understatement. The pictures are beautiful as always. Poor Paul. Three weeks without you…I am sure he is thrilled you are back! He probably had a wonderful time with Laurie and Odel. So glad you got the slide fixed! Welcome back to the good old USA!
Paul’s been suprisingly social the whole time I was gone. So, his 3 weeks went faster than expected.
I was really happy to see him meet some folks.
Nina
Copenhagen looks beautiful!
In summer with the sun it’s simply gorgeous! Nina
Of *course* such a small RV fix would take weeks to get taken care of. =P Glad it was that simple, though! The photos from Denmark look amazing, and I’m sure you two will have a blast driving down the Oregon coast. Our old stomping ground!
Yeah, you guys got us inspired w/ your shots on the blog. Can’t wait!
Nina
Welcome back and congrats on having the slide issue behind you guys. Enjoy the coast, we’ll be counting on you to scout out some spots for us!
Cheers! We’ll try to find a few good spots for ya!
Nina
What a wonderful time you had, what wonderful pictures you brought us. Can ‘t pick a favorite our of all of them, but your sister-in-law and sausage was special, of course. Poor Paul, to have to go through all that waiting, really for nothing, and to be alone at the same time. No wonder he killed the house plants! We’ll be waiting in Arizona when you get there!
Yeah, I DO like that shot of the sausage….too yummy for words.
We’ll definitely try and see if we can hook up w/ a few friends this winter.
Looks like lots of us are wintering in the SW!
Nina
What’s your itinerary for the State Parks you’re staying at? We are right behind you heading down the same trail.
Oh how cool!!! I’ll e-mail you our detailed itinerary. If we’re close would love to meet-up.
Nina
Sent you the itinerary by e-mail. Lemme know if you didn’t get it. Nina
Welcome back! We’re really looking forward to your impressions about campgrounds along the Oregon Coast. We’re planning to head that way next summer on another 2-3 month trip.
Sheila,
Thanks! We’ll just be doing a short part of the Northern Coast, but hoping to find some nice spots.
We’ll probably come back & do the southern part next summer too! Maybe we’ll be on the same track!
Nina
Beautiful shots! Glad to hear everything worked out and you had a great time in Denmark. We snorted out our coffee on the sausage line (I think you know which one I mean). =)
Hehe….yeah, I snuck that one in there 🙂
Nina
Speaking for myself, I’m presently waiting for Travelling Companion to arrive from Bonn. Not so sure she’d be willing to be greeted by a “good sausage” however. These things tend to change as we to age. It sucks, but whatcha gonna do?
Oh yes, as a friend from Kalvehave, I think Nina has taken the most beutiful pictures from Denmark. As a dane we love our contry, but here is very could in the winter, so Nina lives in USA and some of us dream to go to Italy for lovely weather and italien food..hihi. We all have a great meeting and of cause we will meet again, in USA or France or some where else. I sent you a lots of love from Denmark in the most beutiful september weather from my garden with still yellow roses from The Queens Carsle Marselisborg, love Susanne.
Welcome home! I’m glad you guys are all squared away and fixed up. 🙂
If you stay on Oregon long enough we may meet up yet.
Cheers and Tally Ho!
We’re definitely staying ’till end Sept. Turns out I’ll be right here at Fort Stevens State Park (near Astoria) until the 24th or so.
If you’re in the area, lemme know!
Nina