And now we wait...

I don't think I lost any list position by arriving just after Winnebago Service closed yesterday - I was first in line this morning... we drove up to the service building at 6:35 am (yes, it was a very early morning), and I parked myself on the bench outside the door, waiting for their 7:00 opening.

The nice lady at the service desk gave me a form to fill out.  There were plenty of people behind me, but, looking at the stand-by status board, most of them already had appointments.  We are number 10 on the wait list.  She gave me an approximate time of Thursday at 11:40... and then said, "It will probably be before that, but we just want to give you an idea of how long it could be."

She gave us a parking permit (one day at a time) and said they'd call us when a service slot opens up.  So, now we wait.  We dropped our cargo trailer off...

I visited for a while with a nice couple in their Winnebago View.  They seemed to be around our age and will be traveling all summer with their View, with no tow car.  She said it drives like a big SUV, and they do fine with it.  That is about 5' shorter and narrower than the Aspect.  But, we are about to find out how we do without a tow vehicle... easier without the cargo trailer behind.

The light sprinkle that started the morning turned into a steady rain, with a cold wind.  We drove into town for breakfast - and they had a couple long parking spots...

Maybe for buses (it wasn't marked), but we fit in there just fine.  And, it was a lot dryer and warmer than getting the scoots out.  From there, it was on to the grocery store, since it sounds like we may be here for a few days.  A double length parking spot fit us fine here.  Something we don't see in south Texas: good ol' Iowa beef...

We stocked up on groceries for a few days, then went back to service to make sure we could leave our cargo trailer where it was and get a spot to plug in and wait.  I asked about getting some fresh water (we usually travel with 1/3 tank or less of fresh water and used that this morning) -  the nice lady directed me to the Rally Park for fresh water and dump sites.  Oh, and we had moved up to #8 on the list in two hours... there is hope.  ;-)

We drove around the parking by the service building, but people had already staked out the "good sites" (those on pavement), even though their motorhome was in for service; they reserved their spot by putting chairs across the site - nothing but soft(ish) looking gravel sites left.  In the rain.  We chose to go back to the Visitors Center/WIT site, where the gravel was more packed.

I was very impressed with the Rally Park - acres of parking (on the grass) with electric hookups.  Water spigots around the perimeter.  I put on some fresh water (in the rain)...

Nice facility.  Back to the Visitors Center RV parking, where we are plugged in, TV on, parked level... waiting for a call.

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As of noon, we are up to 5th on the list.  Probably won't get in today, but we'll be ready when they are.  The factory tour will be our afternoon entertainment.

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The tour of the Winnebago factory was very impressive: over 600 acres, 20 buildings, and 2,900 employees (in a town of 4,500)... with more facilities in other communities.  Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take photos on the tour.  Winnebago makes many of the components that go into their RVs: furniture, cabinets, tanks, fiberglass caps, fabric items, and all the extruded aluminum pieces (not so with most RV manufacturers).  They purchase the motors and chassis that are the base for their motorhomes, then weld up the frames that eventually become motorhomes.  It was interesting to see "raw" motorhomes, before the full body paint jobs.

A couple photos in the Visitors Center...

The tour ended just minutes before service shut down for the day - no, we didn't get "the call."  But, we have moved from 10th to 4th on the list.  Maybe tomorrow... maybe.

There are now a LOT of motorhomes in front of the service building - seems busier that ever.

It is Cinco de Mayo.  We considered going out for supper at the one and only Mexican restaurant in town, but with the weather, that would mean taking the motorhome.  Or walking.  Not sure of the parking situation... we may just take a little walk.

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It sprinkled on us during our walk to and from the Mexican restaurant (Ay Jalisco).  The food was good; our waiter's first evening on the job - he did fine.  The walk there and back helped work off the cheese dip.  ;-)