NOTICE about the FUTURE this Website/Blog
Dear Friends,
We hate to have to say this but we are going to have to greatly curtail the future of this website. In the last two years (post Covid) everything seems to have gotten more and more complicated and products are less reliable. Since purchasing the house in Star Valley Ranch, WY, it seemed that all we ever did was work on updating and upgrading it. We got to do nothing more than work on the house constantly. Then, Roxy's issues started getting worse. And after buying, first the Montana 5th Wheel, and last December, trading it for the brand new 2023 Fleetwood Discovery LXE 44B, we had to spend additional time addressing over 40 deficiencies, of which only about half have been taken care of. We still have to take it back to the Factory Service Center in Decatur IN come May 2024. to let them take care of the remaining issues under the warranty.
As if that was not enough, even the Aqua Hot air and water heating system stopped working, which since there is no propane heaters in these All-Electric pieces of excrement, we have been without hot water or heat (other than the single heat pump, which only works over 40 degrees. It has not worked since about the second month from NEW. We have had to take the rig to Idaho Falls TWICE, because Aqua Hot 'requires' that only an Aqua Hot 'certified' technician work on it, to keep it 'in warranty'. Idaho Falls ID is 95 miles away from Star Valley Ranch WY, but Aqua Hot does not have ANY Aqua Hot 'certified' technician any closer to us. TWICE that he took it to their 'certified' technician, he was unable to fix it, because the recommendation that he gave (to replace the unit), Aqua Hot would not authorize. Eventually we had to leave for Florida, as the weather was getting really cold, and under 40 degrees the single Heat Pump that this rig has is not enough to heat it, Since we have no Aqua Hot, in essence we have a $600,000 'luxury' motorhome... with NO HEAT.
Once in Florida we AGAIN went to an Aqua Hot 'certified' technician (mobile, at a cost to ourselves of $100... some warranty that is) and still, two months later he still has not been able to fix it, because he says it has several problems and needs several parts; yet, Aqua Hot will only send them to him ONE at a time, and requires a report after the install. Only after the second part replaced (2 months later) were we able to get heating and hot water. IF we ever get another RV, which we hope NOT to, it will NOT have an Aqua Hot system for heating. So, due to all these things going on, and I am sure more to come because something new is constantly breaking on this RV, I am no longer going to keep up with certainly as many posts as we have done in the past, cataloguing every place we go to.
The main reason for this BLOG and website has been to have a record of Mary and my travels, since we met and started to travel, so that our friends could be kept in the loop, without our having to be writing a bunch of emails with photos to each one. Another purpose of it was to serve as our memory as we get older, should a touch of Alzheimer's set in later on. To that end, we think the Blog has served well. However, Life has just gotten too complicated and I keep falling behind on keeping all the posts on-going, which just adds more pressure to the already busy lives we live.
December 16th, we participated once again in Wreaths Across America. What a let down that was. The took our money but never gave us the wreaths we purchased for our loved ones, so we had to go to Costco in Wesley Chapel to get more wreaths to place on our loved ones' graves, as when we went back to the cemetery their graves were bare. We voiced and wrote our complaint to Wreaths Across America, which never even bothered to acknowledge their dishonesty, so WE SHALL NEVER SPONSOR THAT ORGANIZATION AGAIN. We will have to rely on getting our own wreaths at a Nursery, or elsewhere, and take them to the cemetery, ourselves, to be sure our folks are honored for the holiday season.
At a later date, as we have done in the past, we will travel to Sebastian Inlet on Florida's East Coast and cast a wreath into the sea on the outgoing tide. This is where Mary's father's ashes were launched in 1998-1999. In this manner the wreath will follow the route of his ashes to join his heritage of Norwegian seafaring ancestors.
Starting in 2024, we will only add a post on when something special to us occurs, of when we go to a NEW destination, and perhaps when we sell the WY house or buy our winter residence in The Villages, etc.
We thank all of you who have followed our Blog these past (almost) eight years, since the first post on March 21, 2016. As we look back through the posts, we are so glad to have shared these stories of our wonderful travels and photographs with you.
Holiday greetings and much love, always,
Bill and Mary (and in spirit, Roxy)
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