On the Road Again

We got the motorhome slide-out problem repaired last Wednesday, Oct 21st, at Chisolm Trail RV in Albuquerque and they did a fantastic job for us. They ordered the parts from Winnebego and replaced the slide out mechanism for us in one day.
 
We also got our Ford F-150 back from the Don Chalmers Ford body shop on Wednesday, where we had the bumper, front fenders and hood repainted to repair the rock chip damage from our trip to Alaska this summer.

We left Albuquerque on Thursday morning and headed to Castroville, Texas with overnight stops in Las Cruces, New Mexico and Fort Stockton, Texas.

We arrived at Alsatian RV Resort on Saturday afternoon, following a bad storm with heavy rain across Texas, but we were just behind the inclement weather.

We’ll spend a week here in Castroville, where we’ll visit Julie’s mom nearby. We’ll also be busy making arrangements for Paul & Ying’s upcoming wedding on November 28th.
  

Steve & Julie Cornelius

Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta

We got the motorhome slide-out problem diagnosed by Camping World on Wednesday morning and it turns out the gearing is stripped and the whole slide-out system for the kitchen-living room must be replaced.

I contacted Winnebego and they offered to pay for the new system, including labor, even though the coach is no longer under warranty.  We have made arrangements with the local Itasca dealer here in Albuquerque to order the parts and fix the slide-out. We’ll know this coming week when the repair parts should arrive to schedule the work.

We headed to the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta early Wednesday afternoon to spend four nights there in our motorhome. This was our 5^th time at the annual balloon fiesta and every year it gets better and better with new balloons. On our second visit, we started coming mid-way into the 11-day fiesta because we really enjoy the “special shapes” balloons. The fiesta began in 1972 with 13 balloons and today there are almost 600 balloons that participate from all over the world.

We left the fiesta grounds this morning and drove across Albuquerque to Kirtland Air Force Base, where we’re staying in the Family Campground. We could be here a week, possibly two weeks, until the parts come in and the repair work is completed (a one day job we’ve been told).

Steve & Julie Cornelius

Still Hot Las Vegas

On Wednesday, Sept 30^th we began the day with breakfast at the 50s-style diner at the entrance of our RV park. The breakfast was very good and the interior décor was fitting. The booth seats were upholstered with a bright red “metal flake” naugahyde. 

After breakfast we went to Camping World to pick up a few things. Then we decided to stop at the South Point Hotel and Casino. Mike and Marcia played roulette for a little while, then some slots. We headed home about 3PM to rest up.

We enjoyed a light dinner at a New York style deli in the New York New York casino on the strip. Afterwards we headed downtown Las Vegas to watch the light show at the Fremont Street Experience. We were surprised how many people were there on a Wednesday night. The light show was good, but people watching was better.

 

We stopped in Binion's Gambling Hall & Hotel, formerly Binion's Horseshoe, to play their slots. We spotted a “Walking Dead” penny slot machine and Julie had to play it. Well, she played five dollars and got $146 back. Mike did even better on the “Walking Dead” penny slot machine next to Julie’s, winning over $196.

Thursday, Mike and I made a trip to Total Wine to pick up a few things. We relaxed the rest of the day and enjoyed a nice tri-tip steak dinner outside at our campsite.

On Friday we all enjoyed burgers for lunch at a nearby In N Out drive-in. Mike and I went to the airport on Friday night to pick up my youngest sister Janet and her partner Nancy who flew in from Sacramento to spend the weekend with us. We enjoyed our wild-caught halibut for dinner and celebrated Nancy’s birthday with “Steve-o-ritas” and bread pudding.

Saturday, we enjoyed dinner and a show at the Palazzo casino, next to the Venetian. We saw “Frank The Man. The Music”, a salute to Frank Sinatra. It was a theatrical production, starring Bob Anderson, and included a 32-piece orchestra. He looked and sounded very much like Frank Sinatra when he sang the many songs. We all enjoyed the show.

 

Janet and Nancy had never seen the Fremont Street Experience so we headed down there after the show, for an hour or so.

Mike, Marcia and Regena left as planned on Sunday morning and headed to Williams, AZ. We had lunch with Janet & Nancy before dropping them off at the airport to fly home.      

As we too prepared to leave, we had a problem on our motorhome with the kitchen-living room slide-out. It would not retract all the way and was making loud noises as we brought it in. Julie and I decided to stay another day in Las Vegas to have a local RV dealer take a look at it Monday morning.

We drove across the city this morning to the dealer and they couldn't look at the RV until Oct 15th. We called another Las Vegas RV dealer and they couldn't get us in until Oct 21st. So we ended up "Leaving Las Vegas" this morning and drove to Williams, AZ. We'll get the RV looked at in Albuquerque on Wednesday morning.  

Steve & Julie Cornelius