the Youngest Snowbird:

The Tiffin Mothership in Red Bay, Alabama

Yesterday we dropped off JohnnyDisco at Tiffin Motorhomes.

Our little RV family actually arrived in Red Bay, Alabama on Sunday afternoon and stayed the night at Camp Tiffin - basically a huge parking lot with numerous RV stalls and full hook-ups.

The arrival process was fast and easy. We were immediately greeted, our RV and tow vehicle were registered and I filled out several forms regarding the repairs that needed to be done.

Here's the list:

• bubble forming on the roof over the fridge area - the roof leaked once in the bathroom between the skylight and the drivers side wall
• fridge does not defrost - interior light does not work anymore
• freezer does not defrost
• generator needs to be looked at - from day one we couldn't put even half an electric load on it
• rear auto jacks take very long time to store (we need to auto store, auto level and then auto store AGAIN for the back jacks to store) 
• drivers side electric window will open but needs to be pulled up manually to shut it
• rear furnace will not ignite (the furnaces were wired backwards when we first bought JohnnyDisco)
• siliconing: around slides, windows, bathroom sink
• front door: seal on window has been coming off since we bought the unit; seal around door is loose; have to slam to close properly;  screen door was not hung straight;  screen door paint by latch is peeling
• main awning is twisting
• rivets coming loose on corners of slide outs 
• all the bin doors on the two front slides need to be looked at (some won't latch properly, some stick)
• passenger side windshield fluid hose is broken
• passenger side window separating (interior, bottom left)
• screws and seal not properly fixed under bunk slide
• paint peeling/rusting under slide bin doors (latch area)
• paneling beside fridge on both sides is loose
• black water tank hands free (no fuss flush) is leaking into sewer bay

It may appear like we're being picky about some things that should be considered regular wear and tear. But keep in mind, we bought a brand new unit less than two years ago and 75% of these problems were discovered within the first few days/months of ownership. Was the person in charge of quality control not working the day our unit was built?

Monday morning we met with our service guy to go over every single thing that needed to be fixed. And then we sat down with the Tiffin service manager to make sure we were all on the same page about the repairs. (He and I had been corresponding via email and I'm not really sure how happy he was to see me in person  :)

My Fella and I felt optimistic when we finally left the Tiffin service bays by Monday afternoon.

But then again we were also very optimistic when we first drove our brand new unit off the dealers lot, back in February 2010 ... 

I'll keep you updated on our repairs and Tiffins customer service.

Starstruck

My Fella and I are dropping JohnnyDisco off at the Tiffin Motorhome mothership in Red Bay this weekend... 

... but I have to share a little story with you first. And maybe you can decide if I'm a sucker or not  :)  

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you know that I quit my full-time radio job at age 37 and have been living off stock dividends/interest since then. Investing started out as a hobby, but soon became our main source of income. And while this blog revolves around our RV travels, occasionally I toss out some stock talk or give updates on the portfolio.

One of our largest holdings is a company called Student Transportation - trading on the TSX and recently, the NASDAQ. It's a bus company, transporting kids to school in both Canada and the USA. I opened a large position in STB during the TSX sell-off in 2008, and have bought more since then on price dips.

STB is one of our largest stock holdings for several reasons:

• kids will always need a safe way to get to school
• STB management is good with guidance and transparency
• the monthly dividend has been consistent since the company IPO in 2004

This is not a recommendation to buy shares of Student Transportation. I am neither your financial advisor nor your mother; do your own due diligence and consult a fee-only advisor you trust ... and blah, blah, blah... 

That out of the way, Student Transportation is a solid company and a great moneymaker for us. Which is probably why I gush about it so much.

Needless to say, I was completely stunned to see a blog comment this morning from Denis Gallagher, the BIG CHEESE of Student Transportation. On MY blog.

"Thank you for investing in our company for the past years. In your travels i'm sure you've experienced bumps along the road, weather, higher fuel costs etc. Well so have we and you know what, kids are still going to school. We have a great company that gives back to our shareholders. please visit our web site at www.ridesta.com and view some of our videos. I'm so glad I stumbled onto your blog. Its cool reading and a neat adventure. Continued good success on the road to excellence." 

Denis Gallagher, Founder, CEO Student Transportation, Inc

The comment was made on this blog post written almost a month ago. I'm totally blown away that the very accomplished founder/CEO of one of my best investments left a comment on my silly little blog.

Or was it really him?

Not being completely naive, it has occurred to me that one of my devious pals (looking straight at you here, Laurie) might have left the comment to get me riled up.  If that's the case, it worked.  I'm starstruck.  And gushing.

On the other hand, if it really was you Mr G, thank you for the comment.  And for doing such a bang-up job and getting kids to school safely.  And for making us so much money $$$ over the years. Continued success right backatcha and everyone at Student Transportation.

And please keep doing smart things with your company, so I can keep gushing.

*edited to add:  sorry if you were misled by the title of this post and thought I may have met Oprah or George Clooney or someone... but getting a blog comment from the Big Cheese of one of my fave companies is better than Oprah - trust me  :) 

Tennis in Troy

Between stormy weather days, My Fella and I have been playing lots of tennis.

We love the free courts at Troy University, which are mainly reserved for uni and high school students, but can also be used by the general public.

I have never seen such gorgeous, well-kept, free courts. In Canada or the USA. And we've played at lots of different courts, in various places, while on the road. 

Where did the $$$ money come from for these (dozen or so) tourney caliber tennis courts? 

Troy, Alabama is a little university town... similar in size to Comox, BC.  Or Yorkton, Saskatchewan. Grand-Mère, Quebec. Or Petawawa, Ontario.

It's hard not to notice how black and white it is down here in southern Alabama. Not black and white regarding race.  Black and white in terms of money. There are tons of mobile home parks. And there are the fancy restored homes. Not much in between though.

That's why these twelve spiffy new tennis courts seem out of place in a town of only 14,000 folks. But what the heck do I know? I'm just a tourist.

That loves tennis.

Historic Montgomery, Alabama: Part 2

more scenes from our tour of downtown Montgomery... click on the pic to enlarge

From the website History.com: 

In December 1955, Alabama was at the center of the American Civil Rights Movement after Rosa Parks, a black seamstress refused to give up her seat on a city bus to a white passenger. This act became the catalyst for the yearlong Montgomery Bus Boycott, during which African Americans in the city refused to ride public buses. The boycott is regarded as the first large-scale demonstration challenging segregation in the U.S.

One of the organizers of the boycott, a young pastor named Martin Luther King Jr, emerged from the action as a national civil rights leader while also solidifying his commitment to nonviolent resistance. In December 1956, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered Montgomery to integrate its bus system.

Following the boycott, tension between blacks and whites continued, resulting in numerous demonstrations and acts of violence throughout Alabama. On September 15, 1963, members of the Ku Klux Klan, a white supremacist group, set off a bomb in the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, killing four young girls. The bombing sparked outrage across America and generated support for the civil rights cause, helping to bring about passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlawed segregation in schools, public places and places of employment.

According to the smartest person I know, wiki:

Born in Mount Olive, Alabama, Hank Williams moved to Georgiana, where he met Rufus Payne, a black street performer who gave him guitar lessons in exchange for meals. Payne had a major influence on Williams's later musical style. After moving to Montgomery, Williams began his career in 1937 when  WSFA radio station producers hired him to perform and host a 15-minute program. He formed as backup the Drifting Cowboys band, which was managed by his mother, and dropped out of school to devote all of his time to his career.

Hanks Williams hit songs include: 

• Hey, Good Lookin
• Honkytonk Blues
• Your Cheatin' Heart
• I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry

During his last years Williams's consumption of alcohol, morphine and other painkillers severely compromised his professional and personal life. He divorced his wife and was dismissed by the Grand Ole Opry due to frequent drunkenness. Williams died suddenly in 1953 at the age of 29. Despite his short life, Williams has had a major influence on country music. The songs he wrote and recorded have been covered by numerous artists, many of whom have also had hits with the tunes, in a range of pop, gospel, blues and rock styles.

During our RV travels, My Fella and I have discovered the best day to tour the downtown core of most cities seems to be on Sunday, late morning/early afternoon. We explored downtown Montgomery for several hours last Sunday and, once again, had the empty streets to ourselves.

Historic Montgomery, Alabama

Last Sunday My Fella and I drove north to Montgomery, the state capital of Alabama and the birthplace of the Confederate States of America.

Interesting facts about Montgomery and Alabama state:

• Alabama workers built the first rocket to put humans on the moon
• the Monarch butterfly is the states official insect
• the pecan is Alabamas official nut
• the world's first Electric Trolley System was introduced in Montgomery in 1886
• singer Nathaniel Adams (Nat King) Cole was born in Montgomery in 1919 and died in 1965
• in 1902, Montgomery doctor Luther Leonidas Hill performed the first open heart surgery in the Western Hemisphere 

Here's some pics from our Sunday tour of Montgomery. Most of the photos are self-explanatory but you can hover your mouse over each pic for a quick description... and click on any shot you want to enlarge.

On the ground right in front of the Archives Building is a huge map of Alabama, detailing the places, people and events the state is famous for.

Downtown Montgomery is full of history and we took tons of pics.

But right now I'm ready for wine and pizza (and then more wine) so I'll save the rest of our pics for tomorrow.

When Up on the Roof, There Arose Such a Clatter

"Plunk. Plunk. Plinkety plinkety ... rollllllll - plunk."

Just a few of the daily noises coming from JohnnyDisco's roof...

We are surrounded by about a hundred crazed 'Bama squirrels, tossing acorns and other nuts from the bare trees. Our RV roof is the mid-point between the high tree tops and the chilly winter ground.

It's a perfect spot to bounce your treasure chest of acorns down from the trees.

Alabama squirrels are hilarious.

I'm starting to wonder if a small gang of them gnawed thru security and discovered the homemade apple pie moonshine.

Edited to add:  This has nothing to do with the squirrels (I hope) but I keep forgetting to mention the one thing that bugs me about Alabama so far is hearing all the gunshots. Out at these country RV parks we've been hearing random gunshots every few days, at all hours of the day and night. If you're not used to that (and I AM NOT) it's really disturbing.

Internet for RVers in the USA

Just read a post from my blog buddy Rene about using wireless internet while on the road.

Which reminded me that I never showed you what was in this box we had delivered to Coulee Playland RV Resort, our first stop after crossing from Canada into the USA.

We got this:

It's a wireless USB stick from a company called Millenicom. We went with these guys cause they had the best plan for us. Random stuff about our Millenicom service:

• the USB stick was $99 dollars
• the plan is $70/month for unlimited use, but you prepay one month in advance
• our plan uses Sprint - great coverage across the USA
• there is no contract and no taxes
• you turn your service off when you leave the USA and then turn it back on when you return the following winter, just don't lose your USB stick
• when you first purchase the USB stick, it has to be shipped to an American address - that's why we had it sent to our first US rv stop instead of our home address in BC
• had to call their billing folks once and the tech line once and both employees were efficient and friendly
• I can use the internet while My Fella is driving JohnnyDisco down the interstate  :)

Our internet plan isn't cheap but the convenience is worth it. So far we're totally satisfied with Millenicom, but I'll definitely let you know if that changes...

Deer Run RV Park

This might be my new fave RV park in Alabama.

Their website isn't much but I think that's one of the reasons I like this place; they under promise and over deliver, instead of the other way around.  

Since they don't have many pics on their website, here's another shot of the catch an release fishing pond.

See that teeny blue spot down there?  It's My Fella and his new fishing rod, trying to outsmart the fish.  The fish always win, honeybunny.

JohnnyDisco from across the pond.

Still can't believe this RV park is only $400/month, including all taxes. 

I also wanted to mention that the owners of the park live in a house at the entrance gate, which means 24 hour security.  And they're pretty neat people.

The hubby stopped by our RV yesterday, asking if we wanted to try some homemade apple pie moonshine. He doesn't make it, but he knows a guy who knows a guy  :)  

My Fella doesn't drink any kind of alcohol, and anything stronger than light beer or wine has me dancing on tables, so we declined the offer.  But I still thought that was pretty sweet.

True southern hospitality.

My Alabama Walmart Haircut

Yup, I just got a Walmart Special. 

15 minutes in the salon chair and my trim was finito.

Actually it was more than a trim. My hair hasn't seen professional scissors for almost three years and it was starting to become obvious. So I  stupidly  bravely told the scissors wielding stylist "I wanna start all over again with fresh hair. Can you get rid of the split ends and even it out?"

And she did.

Four inches later my hair is just below my shoulders and looks really healthy. It's a little shocking though. I haven't had hair this short since my age was represented by only one digit.

My Walmart Special was only $15; a 15 minute haircut for $15 dollars, or a dollar a minute. 

And now I can say I got my hair cut at an Alabama Walmart.  How many folks can say that?

We must be on a hair binge around here 'cause I just buzzed My Fella's hair too.

Let me know if you'd like to use that noggin for advertising  :)

Another Day, Another RV Park

We switched RV parks yesterday.

After staying a full week at an overpriced park in Ozark, we moved further north to a resort roughly an hour away from the Alabama capital of Montgomery.

The new park is really spread out, with tons of space. Here was the view from my little office window at 7 this morning. 

that body of water just down the hill from JohnnyDisco is a catch and release fishing pond

Our new park is $400/month (including taxes) and features:

• full hook-ups, 50 amp service
• free wireless
• tons of cable channels
• lots of room between rv sites
• great walking areas for me and the mutts
• two fishing ponds for My Fella

And groceries and other necessities (like beer and peanuts  :)  are only 5 minutes away by car. We're excited to explore this part of 'Bama and make some day trips into Montgomery.  And at the end of January we head to the Tiffin Mothership in Red Bay.

* If you're keeping score at home, our weather has been pretty decent for the first week of January. Yesterday was sunny and 17C, with similar highs forecast for the next few days.

Fort Rucker, Alabama

We spent yesterday at the US Army Aviation Museum at Fort Rucker.

Admission and parking were free, but unlike the Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, we had to show our drivers licenses and car registration to get a visitors pass for the Army base. 

Before September 11th, the main post was unmanned and civilians were able to drive through. Following the World Trade Center attacks, this policy was changed and the post is now closed to unauthorized traffic and visitors.

as usual, hover your mouse over the pics for a description

This was another very cool aviation museum; great exhibits, but on a smaller scale than the naval museum in Pensacola. Lots of history in this building... and once again, it was free.

Edited to add:  While serving in the Army, Al Gore was stationed at Fort Rucker before his five-month deployment in the Vietnam War.

And I also forgot to mention how small the cockpits were in most of these choppers.  My Fella is 6'4" and 220 and I'm 5'7" and 150 pounds; we both felt really claustrophobic sitting in the pilots seat. Can't imagine how scrunched up/closed in the pilots would feel with added layers of flight gear and helmets.

Donde son los Cacahuates?

Where are the peanuts?

We spent New Years Day walking around Dothan, Alabama, the self proclaimed 'peanut capital of the world'. Roughly half of the peanuts grown in the United States are found within a 100-mile radius of Dothan and the National Peanut Festival is celebrated in this Alabama town every November.

Peanuts Around Town is a public art project organized by The Downtown Group, consisting of peanut sculptures decorated in various fashions and displayed around Dothan. There are about 40 peanuts scattered throughout the downtown core, and here are the ones we saw:

as usual, hover your mouse over each pic for a description

Peanuts we missed include the History Nut, the Elvis Nut and the Hooters Peanut.  My Fella very graciously offered to hop in the car and head back out to get a shot of the Hooters nut, but I told him it wasn't necessary  :)  

During our peanut search we saw a few of the murals that downtown Dothan is also famous for:

Dothan (pronounced doe - thin) trivia:  One of the most well-known citizens of Dothan was former Alabama Attorney General and Lieutenant Governor, Bill Baxley.

From wiki:  During his time in politics, Baxley aggressively prosecuted industrial polluters, strip miners, and corrupt elected officials. Baxley appointed the state's first African American assistant attorney general, who later became a federal judge.

Baxley's tenure was noted for its racial unrest, and Baxley himself incurred the wrath of the Ku Klux Klan when he reopened the case of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing. In a letter, the Klan threatened him, compared him to JFK, and made him an "honorary nigger", but Baxley responded on official state letterhead: "My response to your letter of February 19, 1976, is -- kiss my ass."