We had looked around at several RV parks/resorts in the local Orange County area over the past few months.  We know that we’ll be here for various holidays and to help support Megan when she is not in school.  One of them that had caught our eye was the Canyon RV Park which is right next to the 241/91 interchange.  Earlier this summer Diane and I decided we’d give it a try and check it out as a possible place to park for those holiday and support occasions.  As we looked at the schedule, we also were contacted by Jeff at the Komfort Kruisers.  They are a local Southern California Motorhome club that is affiliated with FMCA (Family Motor Coach Association).  We joined the FMCA, and Jeff had received info on a new local member, so he contacted us to let us know about the club.  The timing of their outing at Canyon RV was perfect for our schedule, so we decided to check out the park AND the Komfort Kruisers.

To be brief, both are FANTASTIC.  The members of the club are VERY friendly and presented us with a warm welcome.  We got to spend time with most of the members that were on this outing, and there’s not a bad apple in the bunch.  Even Molly was having a great time without there being other kids around.  The park spaces are big, and plenty of open space.  The freeway noise is constantly reminding you it is there, but it can be ignored, more or less.  If you want walking or bike riding, this park is about a mile long, so just one “lap” and you’ve done 2 miles.  There are plenty of nice clean bathrooms and showers, as well as a pool and camp store.  The store hours are also really good, and they stay open later than most.  We didn’t check out the laundry, but if it’s as good as everything else we saw it’ll be just fine.

Great food, great company, great times.  Such a good weekend, Molly has almost stopped giving me a hard time about shutting the door on her thumb.

May the Fourth be with you.

It went fairly well.  Molly got sick the first day, and ended up sleeping both nights in the RV.  We originally had a spot that was farther away from the road, but, no electricity.  It got pretty cold that first night, and not enough battery/electricity to run the heater.  So, given the sick kid and weather, I talked to the Rangers and arranged to move to an open spot with some electricity.  Second night was very comfortable, with plenty of light, heat, and no worries of upsetting neighbors with generators and such.

We did have one issue where I crushed about 6-8 inches of the end of the tail pipe as I was adjusting the RV in our first spot.  I had the battery powered reciprocating saw and some metal/rescue blades.  Took about 5 minutes, but I was able to cut off the crushed portion so the back pressure wasn’t too big on the engine.  I should be able to get this section fixed fairly cheaply so we get the exhaust out the right way.

No immediate plans right now.  I’ll spend May working on things like the mirror, the tailpipe, and the hitch/bike/tow bar setup.  I also have to fix one of the kitchen draws and the blind over the door.  Might work on the TV’s too, and get the CRT’s out, and the LCD’s in.

It has been a very hectic March for all of us. We finally got everything squared away with the RV, and I was able to pick it up on March 5th. Diane’s Dad helped out by shuttling Molly and I to the dealer for the final paperwork and delivery. This is while Diane and Megan were off in New York visiting Hofstra University, and Victoria was away with friends. It was an easy and fun ride from the dealer in Murrieta to the storage spot in Lake Forest. Pulling in and even backing into the spot was super easy. Molly and I were able to grab some In-N-Out, and had our first RV meal sitting in the storage area. I had to leave on a week long work trip the next day, so the RV got to sit and rest in its new surroundings till I got back.

Over the past week we’ve had some time to get new bits like sewer and water hoses, an air compressor, and the special TP and tank treatment things. We’ve also had our first dead battery experience. This forced me to read the manual and figure out what devices were attached to what batteries, and then how each battery bank was charged. We were able to get the engine jumpstarted from the FJ, and then drove around for a while to get everything back up and in working order again. Diane and Molly were with me for the driving, and everyone is liking the whole thing a lot.

This past weekend was all about getting the back bedroom fixed. The unit came with two twin mattresses, which make for a king bed width, but only 75 inches long. We had purchased a queen memory foam mattress (via a great deal at woot.com). But, we should have waited and learned a bit more. The extra 5 inches in length on the standard queen is too long, and it impedes the bedroom/bunk slideout as it comes in. So, we’re investigating a custom sized bed to give us the maximum size and best operation, or may just get two new twins. Time will tell.

The box that the be sits has a liftable lid, which houses a storage area, and the fresh water tank and pump. One of the piston type lift mechanisms for the lid was broken (stuck open) and caused some of the wood pieces to become broken as others (and I) tried to force it closed. Also, I discovered the fresh water tank wasn’t strapped down. As of today, I’ve got the wooden bits repaired and back at the RV, and just need to reinstall them in the next couple days. I also need to pick up a really long socket wrench extender so I can get the fresh water tank straps back on. Hopefully finding some sound isolation material can happen this week as well, so I can get the fresh water pump to be a bit quieter.

That’s it for now. Just an update on the progress, and fixing up the site a bit. Trying to add some map/tracking, and got a few ad’s for stuff we use/like setup. Hopefully they get a click or two and generate a little to pay for the site.

We’re still waiting for the credit verification portion to be complete. Not sure why it is taking so long. I’m told it is the credit reporting agencies that are causing the delay. Basically, there’ a guy who looks over the credit report, and makes recommendations that will raise the score. He then has to go to the credit reporting agencies and show them proof that the changes were made, and then they give him something that he takes to the bank/credit union showing the higher score. This will get us a lower interest rate, and whatever.

ANYWAY, due to the delay of all this (it SHOULD be done this week) our sales person had another used 35 foot bunkhouse come in, and he wanted us to look at it. We would be able to switch, if we decided that was what we wanted to do. Well, we have chosen to do just that. We’ll now be getting a 2007 Itasca Sunova 35J. This one is nearly identical to the Winnebago, as the Itasca is a Winnebago Industries brand. There are only a few differences, and they are all improvements. Plus, the Sunova comes with some extra things that we were going to want to add anyway, and, it was a little bit less money. All in all, a good thing was delivered in this time we had to sit around and wait.

Our plan had been to be out this weekend at an RV resort in Mission Bay, San Diego. That didn’t happen, but we had fun visiting the RV’s at the dealer, and had Diane’s parents with us for the trip. A good time was had by all. Even Molly, who insisted that this one chair in the Winnebago was better than the one in the Itasca. Our every helpful and attentive salesperson Roger is going to make sure those chairs mysteriously get swapped so little Miss Molly is satisfied with the switch.

So, we have a storage spot for it, all the paperwork for credit history stuff is turned in, and it has been in for a week. Fingers crossed that we have the RV in our possession this week!

Here’s a picture of the Sunova. Looks nearly identical huh?

If you’re watching this, you’ll see many changes over the next couple months. We’re trying to prep ourselves to go mobile. We’ve got lawyer meetings this week, and will have a better idea of our abilities to “do this” after those meetings.