Stuck in the middle (of the country) with you.....

For the past two weeks, we have been hanging out in eastern Tennessee, soaking up the sun and all the tourist attractions in the area. I still haven't Zip Lined or gotten in any White Water Rafting, but we've kept ourselves busy with tech-y stuff, wine tastings, hiking and plain ol' every day life. 

Our "tech" stuff was related to our trusty HP printer that finally decided it had taken it's "final trip" and quietly refused to print one day when it was truly needed. It was lovingly replaced with a newer model, but after spending about 4 hours trying to get a wireless connection to both our laptops, iPad and Kindle, I realized it might just not be compatible or able to handle so many devices. Back to the store it went and a different model was purchased and connected last night. It took a long time to download the drivers and software over our phone's hot spot, but George actually got his set up and running before even I did. I'm hoping that wasn't just a fluke, because I'd gladly turn over the technical stuff to him.

Now for the reason for why we've been hanging in limbo in TN for so long. We hadn't wanted to share our good news until we returned to NY, but a mechanical glitch threw a monkey wrench in our plans. Since we've had to explain our behavior to most of our families and friends, I will now officially announce that we will be purchasing a new and improved version of Allie that we will finally be able to take possession of on June 9th. Her name will be determined. I was thinking of Gracie II or Allie II (two, duex, due, du, dois, dos, zwei, et al), but I think I need to see her in person to make my decision.

Many may shake their heads and wonder why we would purchase a newer version of the very same motor home opposed to getting something totally different, however, we purchased the the one that had the most of what we really wanted and needed.  There is no motor coach that embodies every single desire, but this model, the Tiffin's Allegro Open Road 36LA, continued to come the closest for us. We love the bath and a half, the recliner, the fireplace and tons of storage and the huge counter top in the master bath is crucial for me. Other than opting for a big 40+ foot diesel pusher, we couldn't find all of those things in this class of motor home.

Some of the different or newer features include a heavier-duty chassis, an outdoor TV (George's favorite) a residential refrigerator (bigger, better and no defrosting), a ceiling fan in the bedroom, pull down shades (opposed to chain pulls), mocha wood cabinets, porcelain bathroom sinks, a straight (opposed to L-shaped) sofa, a computer station that has file drawers, pull-out shelves for a laptop and the new printer, lighter colored wall coverings and accents, upgraded faucets and counters and a beautiful kitchen back splash. I now have extra storage under the stove top since we opted to omit the never-used oven. 

Although it was an afterthought, we realized that perhaps Lucy might not even notice the difference since her litter box, scratch pad, water fountain and food dishes will all be located in the same areas. We can only hope.....

Here a few stock photos I found on line that are the closest to what we ordered: 

Rear end.

Same exact floor plan as Allie, just with a regular couch and the table with desk option.

The huge counter top in the master bath.

 

George insisted on this....

New fridge - no more defrosting! Ours won't have that oven but the counter and cabinets are the same.

New one will have a ceiling fan. Handy for warm Walmart nights.

Half-bath with lighter colors and porcelain sink and commode.

We have a lot of work ahead of us next week. The almost 400 mile trip to Sherman MS, transferring all of our possessions from one coach to the other and then the long, three day ride back to NY will surely exhaust us once our adrenaline stops pumping. 

The delay in taking possession of the new RV was due to an issue with the Anti-Lock Braking System that needed to be rectified by Ford before Tiffin would release it to the dealer. We figured we would give Ford all the time they needed since brakes were involved. We really want and need good breaks, I mean good brakes. 

That bad break with the brakes necessitated a revision to Phase II of our journey out to the west coast. We decided to shave off two weeks in order to give us some extra time in NY to catch up with family, friends and doctors. 

Our discovery of The Badlands, Custer State Park and Grand Tetons will need to be postponed until we head out west again. The more I think about it, the more I realized I tried to fit way too much into that trip, so the disappointment and frustration in having to reschedule so many reservations has just faded into quiet acceptance.

My birthday was a couple of days ago and George took me out to the restaurant of my choice (there were two to pick from). I chose Angelo's on the Point, which was located right on Douglas Lake. We had lovely views of the lake and the Smoky Mountains in the distance. Of all things to order, George chose pizza! After the waiter left, he looked at me and said, "What made me order pizza in Tennessee?" I ordered a soup and a salad and figured I would taste his pizza. Turns out (Moe - don't read any further) that there is a whole lot of sugar in their pizza dough. It tasted like dough you would use for an apple pie. It was topped with "less-than-acceptable" mozzarella cheese, but the sauce was tasty.

Regardless of the food (my soup and salad were good), we had a fun night as we celebrated yet another year of my life. The ride to and from the restaurant afforded us the opportunity to see the old town of Dandridge, a very quaint, friendly-looking place that is depicted below.

I've included a few photos of my birthday celebration and what we've been doing.

Celebrating my birthday!  Bad lighting is so flattering. I think my eyes were even open!

George's Tennessean pizza!

George's opinion of Tennessean pizza.

My birthday dinner, soup and a salad (plus a taste of the pizza)

They were closed when we drove by, but I'd love to have seen the soda fountain!

Jefferson County Post - the local newspaper.

The Maxwell House - B&B. I wonder what kind of coffee they serve.

Can't figure our when this dike was built. Am I missing something?.

No post is ever truly complete without a "Lucy" update. As you can see below, she is very comfortable in Allie. Like I said earlier, she may never know we got a new motor home because all of these spots will be the same.

Morning spot - in the sun.

Afternoon nap spot.

Evening location. At first I was very worried, but then I heard her gently snoring.

Deep thought for the day: As much as we are the masters of our own destiny, there are many contributing factors that make us just a novice.