Places We've Stayed -- Part II -- Day 62

It's been a little over a month and 1600 miles since I first posted a Top Ten list of our favorite places. When I made that list, we hadn't even stayed in 10 places yet! Oh how quickly things can change ...

I have learned so much in the last six weeks since that post that it boggles the mind. I attended the Escapees RV Boot Camp, which was an amazing daunting experience. We celebrated Thanksgiving with random strangers in Bay City, I had my birthday at a nudist resort down in Edcouch, and we got to see Star Wars during opening weekend back in Irving! Then there was the scary brake failure in Grand Prairie, and Christmas with my son. That's a LOT of adventure for such a short period of time!

There were 11 stops over the last six weeks, 3 of which were repeats (Hico, Lake Park, and our son's apartment.) Of the 8 new places, 4 were only for a single night and of those 4 only 1 made us wish we could stay longer. It's also interesting to see how priorities have changed with our experiences, and that influences the enjoyment of the stay. This Top Ten list will only be places that we stayed since the last list was made.

From worst to best (based on my enjoyment of the stay):

10. The corner of Skyline Rd and Center St -- Grand Prairie, TX. If you have read my other posts, this is where Fezzik came to rest after the brakes failed. I would be happy to never this intersection again for as long as I live.

9. Mustang Island -- Port Aransas, TX. As part of my birthday celebration, I wanted to hit the beach, see the ocean, stir up the spirit of my island heritage. This is not the place to do that. At least not in winter. It reminded me of the Oregon coast we used to visit when I was a child. Cold, windy, gray. No ocean view from the RV park, and no electricity in the first place that we were assigned. Nobody liked it here, and I don't see us coming back. 

8. Cedar Hill State Park -- Cedar HIll, Tx. Located just the other side of Lake Joe Pool from Loyd Park, which we loved, we were excited to try this park out. One of the top rated disc golf courses is just a few minutes away, and it's close enough to civilization to visit our loved ones. However, the roads were so bad I thought I was going to tip the rig over, and the camp sites were so uneven that we couldn't run our refrigerator! We ended up only staying one night, thanks to the brake issue, but we were not impressed.

7. Lake Park Campgrounds -- Lewisville, Tx. Still the least expensive option when staying in DFW. They even got their WiFi up, which was adequate. Internet access was limited though, so no YouTube or Netflix, and the disc golf course was closed because of the flooding. We'll still stay here for the cheap, but this was the least fun we've had here.

6. City of Hico's Bosque River RV Park -- Hico, Tx. Down from the former top spot, Hico was really put into perspective for us. Yes, the internet is still the best we've seen. Yes, it was cool that since we arrived late on Friday we didn't have to pay until we left on Monday. BUT the "Koffee Kup" restaurant that is one of their "famous" landmarks was terrible, and the disc golf course is not really that good. 

5. Mother Neff State Park -- Moody, Tx. Sleepy little town with a really well-kept state park. Great, level, concrete pads with crushed granite surroundings. Electric, water, and sewer for only $25? Plenty of trees for privacy, and even though the thunderstorms were violent, we felt safe and secure. Wished we could've stayed longer!

4 60 North RV Park -- Bay City, Tx. I'm not gonna lie, this is an ugly park. It's like a big parking lot, with only a few trees near the entrance. Having said that, we really had a great time here! We came during Thanksgiving week based on the online reviews stating fast internet. The internet was nothing compared to Hico, but the manager had her three kids with her the whole week. Zoe had playmates! The manager also invited any guests that didn't have plans to join her family for Thanksgiving dinner, which was really awesome. I doubt we'll come back here, unless we know the kids are out of school.

3. Lake Corpus Christi -- Mathis, Tx. Beautiful and serene, just the way we like it. Not very crowded, and plenty of wildlife to enjoy. We hiked and geocached, Zoe went fishing with some Brits she met. This was one of those magical places that we love to discover. We loved it so much that we opted to spend an extra day just relaxing in the peaceful atmosphere.

2. Randall and Jason's apartment -- Irving, Tx.  Our son Jason and his roommate Randall always let us crash at their place when we're in town. This time it was after the rescue of the brake failure. They were so gracious, and giving. It really makes a parent proud, ya know? Amenities included: hot showers, super fast internet, lots of video games, and pizza. Zoe would have loved to stay forever.

1. Nature's Resort -- Edcouch, Tx. To be fair, we haven't been staying in resorts, so the other places are at a serious disadvantage. Pool tables, darts, petanque, horseshoes, shuffleboard, pickle ball, two heated pools and a hot tub? Yeah, this was the best birthday present. We loved it so much, we talked about renting a spot for a YEAR (it was only $2300!) Calmer heads prevailed, as we realized that it's going to be hellishly hot in the summer months. But we're definitely planning to come back whenever we can.

The one place that I left off the list is our final stop, Independence Park in Gonzales, Tx. We just got here last night, so there isn't much to go on. I will say that although the park appears a bit older and the roads are pretty beat up, the campsite is one of the most level we've seen and it's quiet. There is a disc golf course 2 miles away that we're going to check out either later today or tomorrow, and THAT will determine where this spot lands on the next Top Ten list. Stay tuned!

Ed, the Christmas Angel -- Day 57

After the veritable Hell that was the last 72 hours, it's nice to be able to write about something happy and positive. I don't believe in coincidence, and neither does Ed.

Ed works for Massy Wrecker and Towing, and he's an ex-truck driver. He's been all over the country and seen a lot of things. He's done things that he's not proud of, and paid the price for those mistakes. Now he lives his life with a higher purpose, and tries to make the world a better place.

I can say with full confidence that Ed is doing it. When he showed up Tuesday morning to tow us, I already had a good feeling about him. Wiry little guy with a dusting of gray stubble on his well-lined face, his ready smile and firm handshake immediately put me at ease. I was saddened when Good Sam told me that he wasn't the right guy, and to send him away. Fortunately for us, Ed knew how these things go, and that if he left we would probably have been stranded there all day.

He cheerily hooked us up and brought us to Prevost, taking care of our home the whole way. After the mighty phone battle that afternoon with Good Sam, it was nice to see his familiar face coming back to take me to the park to get some rest.

Customer service is all about meeting the customer's needs. Those that are good at customer service will anticipate other needs that may arise and meet those as well. Ed had chilled bottled water for me while we drove. It even had Star Wars figures on it.

Superior customer service sometimes requires doing the unusual. Ed was asking me what happened and why we were going back to the park. After I explained the situation, he asked if it would be ok if he spoke with his boss, since they have a whole service bay to take care of their trucks. They have mechanics on site that aren't super busy, since it's Christmas week.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Of course you can ask your boss if y'all can fix my rig! Ed called Bobby, and Bobby wanted to warn me over the phone that they aren't licensed to work on our vehicle, and they might not even be able to do the service. But if they couldn't do the service, they would tow me back to the park, as the original plan at no additional cost to me.

CHRISTMAS IS THE TIME FOR MIRACLES

So they took us in, immediately started working on my rig and had it done by the following day. I highly recommend Massey Wrecker and Towing, if you're ever in Dallas. They tow 24 hours!

Ed saved Christmas!

Wooosah -- Day 56

This is one of those days. I mean one of those days.

We lost our brakes yesterday, which was a terrifying moment, but we survived and persevered. Alive and happy, and clutching our roadside assistance info, we figure we're going to be okay. The tow truck showed up 47 minutes before we expected him, which was amazing, but then he left without a word. I called dispatch and he needed a bigger truck, which is understandable. This is a 34' Class A Motorhome, not something that you tow everyday. We have Good Sam roadside assistance, and one of the cool things they do is send a follow-up automated message to make sure that you're taken care of. Since we had not been, it connected me to customer service. It's late, dark, getting colder, and we're still stuck on the side of the road.

I do not blame Good Sam, because I know they don't have tow trucks. They are contracting the work out to a provider, and they have no control over what happens after that point. However, it was really disappointing to have the person on the other end of the line tell me at 11 o'clock at night that there was no way anyone was going to come and tow me back to our campground. Fortunately, we live in an RV, so technically we were already home -- but it would have been nice to have electricity and heat, which we get from plugging in at our campsite. We hunkered down to wait for the morning, when I was supposed to call to reschedule the tow.

As dawn broke, the chill in the RV was annoying, but the smoldering anger at being left on the side of the road warmed me from within. I called Good Sam just after 8am to see how long it would take to get a tow truck out. They were courteous and quick and dispatched one right away, to arrive within the hour. When the confirmation text message came through, the destination still said Cedar Hill State Park. See, last night they were supposed to tow us there, and then come back to tow us somewhere to get our brakes fixed.  That's the policy: either to a service shop, or if that is not available, to a safe place.  "No worries," I'm thinking, "I'll just call and tell them they have the wrong destination."

Every time I call Good Sam, I have to repeat all of my information: name, phone number, membership number, and then explain my situation. This, if you are keeping track, is phone call number five in the past twelve hours. After the brief explanation, they tried to get in contact with the person that had dispatched my truck incorrectly. They asked if I would mind being called back. I've got nothing else to do today, right? I can't go anywhere.

Good Sam called me back, and apologized for the mix up, arranging for another tow truck to be dispatched to take us to a Prevost service center to get our brakes fixed. While I was on the phone, the first tow truck arrived and I explained to him that he had the wrong information and his service was not needed. He asked to speak to the Good Sam rep to clarify, so I handed my phone over to let these strangers figure it out. After much confusion, Ed from Massey Wrecker and Towing got us hooked up for the drive to Prevost, about 8 miles away.

Ed is a really cool guy. Professional, friendly, and helpful. I really appreciated his attitude, and the fact that he showed up with the right equipment to complete the job. After dealing with the ineptitude of the Good Sam rep, it was nice to have someone competent to deal with.

We arrived at Prevost just in time to interrupt their catered lunch only to find out that Good Sam had not notified them that we were coming. The service department supervisor also warned us that it would be $115 per hour for labor, at a four hour minimum JUST TO DIAGNOSE THE PROBLEM.  I immediately called Good Sam back to make sure that they had taken us to the right place. While I was on the phone, Anya continued to speak with the supervisor and described the problem to him. He informed her that they don't normally work on our kind of rig, and they may not even have the parts. It could be days or even weeks to get the job done. He didn't understand why we weren't towed to a regular RV place? I relayed this information to Good Sam, and they insisted that this was the nearest place that could do the work, and if I wanted to be towed elsewhere, I would have to pay for it.

Wooosah.

I explained that their job, as my roadside assistance, was to tow me to a place that could get the brakes fixed. They have not yet done that, and I would like for them to complete the job for which they have been paid. I also mentioned that this situation was now entering it's sixteenth hour without resolution, and I was quite unhappy. I may have raised my voice a little.

The folks at Prevost were super nice, and let us hang out in their customer lounge with free sodas and cable TV while we waited for Good Sam to resolve our situation.  Another hour or so later I get a call from Good Sam informing me that they had good news and bad news. They found a place that can work on our brakes! But it's not going to be until the first week of January!

Woosah!

Our reservation was paid up through the 27th at the Cedar Hill State Park, and they have a limit of 14 consecutive days. I figured that I could throw myself on their mercy and beg for an extension, since I have no brakes, and couldn't conceivably move the rig when the time was up anyway. Plus, it's not that far for Randall or Jason to come pick us up to do grocery shopping when we run out of food, or for disc golfing. It's a workable situation, although not ideal.

Good Sam refused to tow me to the park. "Policy states that we are to tow you to the service center, if one can be verified, so that is where we are going to tow you. If you want to go back to the park, you have to pay for that towing."

WOOOOOOOSAH

So what am I supposed to do for the next two-and-a-half weeks while my rig is at the service center waiting to get looked at? "We have discounts on hotels and rental cars, if you have the Travel Assistance package on your membership."

WOoOoOOoSAH!

I don't have Travel Assistance. Why would I? I live in an RV! I'm not going to be renting cars, or staying in hotels. I stay in my RV and I drive my RV. "Would you like for me to transfer you to member services to see what they can do for you?" I was so defeated that I let her transfer me. Of course member services couldn't do anything for me, I had no opted in to that package. I hung up the phone and wanted to rage. I don't like feeling helpless, and now here we are about to be homeless for two weeks.

Wooooooooosaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh

This roadside "assistance" wasn't very helpful. They brought me to somewhere that I didn't want to be, and now they're going to do it again? NO. I'm not going to stand for this.

I called through the automated system, locked and loaded, ready to get this situation resolved to MY satisfaction. I am PAYING for this service, and Good Sam had screwed me over.

I will spare you the gory details, because it wasn't pretty. There was a lot of rapid fire heated logic bullets tearing through the flesh of the weak phone reps, mowing them down on my way to the boss battle with the person who I knew could make decisions. THE MANAGER.

Being the coward that most middle managers are, I actually didn't even get a chance to speak with him. I got a call back an hour after I had laid waste to the phone reps that didn't want to give me what I demanded basically granting me everything that I had been requesting -- which was simply that if it was going to be over two weeks before I could get my brakes fixed, I would like to be towed to the park where I had paid for a reservation. And then I would like for my rig to be towed to my appointment, but at the expense of Good Sam, since that would complete the job for which they were hired.

wooooosaaaah

So, they dispatched faithful Ed to come take me back to the park. Randall came and picked up Anya, since it was now almost 3pm and someone had to stay with Zoe while the boys went to work. I waited for the tow truck and drank some more free sodas.

Tasted like victory.

Sometimes Your Brakes Fail -- Day 55

Riding high off of Star Wars weekend, and seeing friends and family, life is cruising along at a comfortable speed -- and then the brakes fail. Literally.

Driving a 34’ motorhome has been a learning experience with it’s own share of scary moments. Remember the time a passing truck was so close to us that we bumped mirrors? Well, that was was nothing compared to our drive home last night when our brakes failed. It is a very uncomfortable feeling to step on the brake pedal and have a dashboard warning light turn on that says, “BRAKES” and notice that you are not, in fact, stopping. Fortunately, we were approaching a not very busy red light, and I was able to maneuver into a right turn down a side street. Also of note: when you have a brake failure, hills are not your friend. This side street that we turned down was a down hill to a short flat area and then an uphill to another flat area, where I was able to coax Fezzik to a full stop.

Breathing may now recommence.

Here are some tips, if you are thinking about becoming a full-time RVer:

1. Have roadside assistance. I highly recommend this to anyone driving any vehicle. AAA, Good Sam, or through your insurance provider. You never know when you might need it, and it can really save you.
2. Know where your roadside assistance information is stored. While this sounds like a no-brainer, I didn’t know where our packet was. Fortunately, Anya did.
3. Get a Randall. If you don’t know what a Randall is, I’m not sure that I can help you. An invaluable resource, that makes my life so much easier.

Also helpful, if you are planning on breaking down in any way, you should probably do it during business hours. We had our brake failure at 8pm, which was really inconvenient for the service departments, the towing companies, and us. We had to wait an hour for the first tow truck to come, only to find out that he had the wrong equipment. He left without a word, and I had to call his dispatcher to find out that he was getting the bigger truck. When my roadside assistance provider called 45 minutes later to ask how the service was going, I had to tell them that we were still not being towed. An hour later they called me back to let me know that it was too late for anyone to come out and we would have to call back in the morning.

I’m not mad, really.

This is where your Randall comes in handy. Everybody should have that one person that you can count on, any time of the day or night. For some, it's a close friend, others have family. We have Randall. To call him a friend would cheapen the depth of the relationship that we have. He's more like family, only not the kind that gets on your nerves. He's the guy that would use his last dollar to buy you lunch, give you the clothes off his back, and insist that you sleep in his bed while he takes the couch. I love him completely.

Not only did Randall drop whatever he was doing and forsake whatever plans he had for the evening, he drove 30 miles at midnight to our location, and took Zoe out for chicken nuggets while we were waiting for the tow truck. When they said we were going to be stuck here, he offered to watch Zoe and Muffins until we could get the situation sorted the next day. Zoe was thrilled because Jason and Randall have the coolest apartment to hang out in, and we didn't want her to miserable all night on the side of the road.

Now we’re sitting here, 12 hours later, still waiting for a tow truck. But we’re safe, alive, happy and together.

Life is still good.