A flurry of activity...

The RV parking area in front of the service building looked like a LeMans start for a race: coaches everywhere trying to vie for a parking spot.  We are parked at the Visitors Center, about a block away.  I walked down the hill to see where we are on "the list"... like a college kid checking for grades after a test.

Only one in front of us, assuming they take things in order.  That may depend on what needs to be done to each coach.

The nice lady at the desk said, "Keep your cell phone on.  We'll update the board again at 11:40."

Yep.

---------------

Getting close to 11:40.  I walked down to the service building.  No change in our status... but, there is a parking spot in this lot open.  The big advantage: it is on blacktop; we have been parked on wet, semi-muddy gravel.  Grass reasonably nearby, as you can see in this photo of Iz walking this morning...

That means, even with a lot of foot wiping, we still track that sandy gravel into the motorhome.

People seem to get a bit possessive with the 6 spots that are right in the service lot...

 

Yeah, they put chairs, cars, orange cones, coolers, etc out to hold "their" spot.  No, there are no "reserved" sites.  There are plenty of other sites with electricity, but these are the only ones on blacktop.  The site we were in previously is a block or two away - no big deal.  But Joan cleaned and vacuumed this morning... hey, we are in holding mode, so it isn't like we're going out exploring.

So, we moved the Aspect to the only site not being "held" or occupied (one)...

Puts us two blocks closer if we decide to walk downtown, too.  :-)

--------------

We did walk downtown for lunch.  Check the list when we got back - no change.  Checked again right before service closes at 3:30... the nice lady said, "Looks like tomorrow - check with us first thing in the morning, but we will call you when something opens."

Still #2 on the list.

Tweedle-y-deedle-y-deet...

When we got back from the walk to the Mexican restaurant this evening, Izzy pointed out this...

Yes, it is a robin sitting on a large rock.  I guess that makes it a... rockin' robin!

I'm sorry.

Not really.

;-)

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.

-----------

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.

-----------

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.

----------------------

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.  ;-)

Service...

The reason our path has been this far east: the dealer where we bought the RV wasn't able to do much for us with the shake-down repairs, so we had planned a stop at HWH, the manufacturer of our leveling jacks.  The dealer said the front jacks would have to be replaced - there was a very minor leak at the seals... once... when they were extended quite a ways on a hot day in Arizona.  Even though they knew about it 6 weeks in advance, they didn't have replacement jacks in stock.

So, a month ago, we made an appointment at HWH.  And the jacks have worked perfectly ever since.  No leaks.  Even though our appointment wasn't until tomorrow, HWH got us right in today...

Ugly color on the photo from the mercury-vapor lights.  Nice people at HWH.  They did a thorough check on the jacks and the whole system, and declared everything in perfect working order.  About the leak: the fluid expanded due to the heat and extension - normal.  Too bad the dealer didn't know this.

Joan and Izzy were able to stay in the coach at HWH - made them both happy.  I was able to be right there with the two techs who checked out the system - made me very happy, too.

This day ahead of schedule with the jacks gives us the opportunity to stop at the Winnebago factory to get a few other things addressed.  With no appointment.  Yeah, that puts us "on stand-by."  Their next open appointment is in August.

The service department at Winnebago closes at 3:30... the GPS said we'd be rolling in there at 3:45.  About 216 miles from HWH.  I have to be in line at 7:00 to see if/when they can get us in.  You can't get in the stand-by que unless you are there in person.

I didn't shoot any photos along the way - in fact, we made one quick stop for fuel and a sandwich.  The sky was gray all along the way... checking radar, it looked like we might get lucky and get north of this next line of storms.  Maybe.

We rolled into the Winnebago facility right at 3:45.  Parking at the service center was full... well, parking that had an electric plug-in.  There was more parking available at the next service lot, but the rigs already in there had parking permits in their windshield... which we didn't have.  We found a spot at the Winnebago Visitors Center, with a plug-in.

I will be there before they open in the morning.  The guy on the phone today told me to expect to have to wait "a day or two" to get worked in.  We are on a bit of a schedule, but we would like to get our issues taken care of before we head on down the road.

On the bright side, there is a very nice grassy area right behind us, so Izzy got to have a pleasant walk this evening.

Across the gravel and into another grassy area...

We had to stop and do a lot of smelling at this big tree - I'm guessing every dog in every coach that stops here has peed on this tree...

Then, eventually, back to the coach...

Maifest and wine tour...

Maifest - yeah, that's how they spell it.  It looked like this...

And a walking tour of wineries.  Quite a few wineries in the midwest we are discovering.

A self-guided tour...

And what is wine without cheese?

I took that as a sign that I really should buy this.  I'll let you know how it tastes.

And lilacs... brings back some childhood memories...

Back to the motorhome, some Izzy walking and guitar playing under the awning.  Not a bad way to spend a non-travel day.

-----------------------------

Izzy and I got one more walk in just as the sun was setting...

Izzy's ears perked up with the sound of thunder in the distance.  She hopped up on the picnic table on our site to look around...

Joan had radar pulled up when we came inside - there are severe weather warnings on the local TV station.  Looks like most of it will pass just north of us... if you can count on the predictions.  I think we're going to get wet tonight.

Go to the Slauson Cutoff...

... and cut off your slauson.  (rimshot)  If you said: "Johnny Carson, the bit from the Tonight Show," you get 25 bonus points!

Rolling out of Branson this morning.  There were a lot of Can-Am Spider three-wheel bikes on the roads - must be some kind of rally for them going on.  Interestingly enough, the "Scooter Tag" on the scooter forum was: your scooter with some kind of 3-wheeler (a trike, a Can-Am, a motorcycle with a sidecar).  I haven't submitted this one, 'cause it probably wouldn't count...

It's a Can-Am Spider in my rear view mirror... look close and you can see the fender on the cargo trailer, where the scoots are riding.  Yeah, probably not legit, but I had fun getting the shot.

We did do a short bit on the Interstate, just 'cause it was the easiest way to get around this part of the state.  But, most of it was two-lanes...

Oh, we're enjoying the rolling hills.  Central Missouri is very wooded and hilly.  Dang, there isn't much in the way of a shoulder on this road.  Is it just me, or is this road getting narrower?

Yeah, definitely narrower...

Yeah, double yellow lines most of the way.  Good thing there wasn't much traffic.  This is what I am calling "the Slauson Cutoff" - through the fields...

Yeah, these two-lanes are bumpy.  Damn - we could make some time if there was an Interstate around here.  Oh, look - a vineyard...

The sky started looking darker.  Yep, we're gonna get rained on.  It wasn't a pounding rain - just enough to completely spot up the motorhome.

We found another Passport Park and got there about 3 minutes before the office closed...

Nothing fancy.  It's kind of like a field with RV hook-ups... there is a Good Sam Rally going on here, and the place is nearly full.  I took Izzy for a short walk...

She was cooped up all day and needed some fresh air, too.  The sky is looking pretty dark to the west, and it's moving this way...

Yeah, I think we're going to get wet again.  It was time to close up the motorhome, anyway - all these rally folks have to have campfires going, and it's starting to get smokey.  Yeah, I know the difference between camping and RVing - they're camping, we're RVing.  ;-)

Head for the hills...

After a morning of laundry and cat walking, we took the scoots out for lunch - BBQ.  There are plenty of BBQ places in Branson, but I am kind partial to Famous Daves.  Nothing to do with the fact it is in the same shopping area as Bass Pro Shop...

Not a lot of people walking around Branson Landing, but Famous Dave's was busy.  Well, it might have been they were understaffed and didn't expect people to come in around lunch time.  ;-)

Joan asked me what this white flowering tree is...

No idea, but it was striking.

After lunch, we decided to scrap doing any other "Branson activities," like a show or shopping - we took the scoots out on some of the area roads.  We picked 'em out based on how squiggly they looked on the map.

All I had with me was my little pocket camera, and that isn't good for getting photos while riding... so, a description of the ride: we rode out Highway 76 to Bull Shoals Lake.  Through Forsythe, Rockaway Beach, Miriam Woods, and Walnut Shade... nice riding in those folksy-sounding places.  Rockaway Beach reminded us a bit of the Arnolds Park area around Lake Okoboji in Iowa - lots of cabins and little getaways.  Highway 76 to 176, which took us back to Highway 65, the 4 lane main road that runs north/south past Branson.  The speed limit is 65 on this freeway, with some steep up and downs - a couple of the steep ups put us down to 55 mph.  There is a limit to the highway work these scoots can handle.

We stopped for fuel (104 mpg for me, 109 for Joan), and to pick up a few groceries.  Joan suggested we drive through the parking lot at the store to see if we could find the current "scooter tag": your scoot with a Smart Car.  Nope.  Surprisingly, on the little two-lane on the way back to the RV park, there was a Smart Car parked by a small shop...

Got it!

We will be heading out tomorrow; we decided to stay in this evening - well, out under the awning of the motorhome - and put the scoots away in the trailer.  We'll be ready to roll.