b2dad

Thanks Lewis for the update. So sorry to hear this, I know the family has a lot of grief to handle right now. I will continue to pray for all of you. Donating his organs to give life to others is such a selfless gift. That is amazing. God bless you all Patti and Don

If you are going to Sturgis and need a place to stay please contact Terri Talkington @ 877.411.SPUR. She is the new owner of the Spur Campground and cabins in Piedmont, SD. It's about 20 miles south of Sturgis. She has about 10 cabins still available @ $775 wk. RV camping spot with full hookups is $33 per night per person. Electric only is $27 per night per person. Tent camping is $15 per night per person. The address at the campground is 2305 Elk Creek Rd, Piedmont, SD. She is really nice and you will have a good time. Patti and Don

Hummingbird, that is gorgeous!!! Unfortunately I would not have room for that in my RV. I would cry if I had to leave it behind. Thanks again for your beautiful work. You have a special talent. Take care. Patti

Hey Hummingbird! Thanks for the teaser. I still have the one that I won at Potato Creek. One of the first things I packed in our RV. I get compliments on it all the time. Thank you for your beautiful workmanship. Your new one is beautiful too. Patti

Buddy: Saw your 03 Venture last week when Monty and Angel came to visit. They were camping in Mississippi I think. It looks real good. Monty is taking really good care of it. I know you miss it, but you know it's in good hands. Patti

It's hard to read this so it must be even harder for Black Owl. Prayers dear friend. Peace and love.... Patti

We totally understand Steve. It was worth a shot, right? Congrats on getting back to work. Take care and maybe next time around we can meet up. Patti

In the middle of the night, Don came up with B2dad. The meaning is a tribute to our son, Jason, who is a B2 Bomber pilot in the Air Force. So of course, I am B2mom. Jason is still a B2 pilot, a LT Colonel, and taking over as squadron commander in June at Whiteman AFB. WE are definitely proud parents. Patti

Hey Dragonslayer! Thanks for the offer of your Hacienda, but we already have a campground booked and paid for. We will be at Stone Mountain for a couple nights - May 2 - May 5. If you want to get together, let me know. Please see my phone number in a previous reply. Patti

Steve We will be in Kissimmee from April 10th to April 15th. When we leave there on the 15th, we will be heading up the east coast towards Savannah, GA. If you want to meet us in Kissimmee or we can meet half way before the 15th, let me know what day is good for you. We don't have any special plans right now. Otherwise, we will be towing a large 5th wheel and while it's possible to stop on our way north, we need a very large parking lot (easy in and out) to meet up at. My phone number is 731-514-0224 if you want to give me a shout. Leave message if I don't answer and I will call you back. Patti

Just wanted to let you all know that we are alive and kicking!! Don is doing much better after his THIRD knee replacement in less than one year. He's still working on improving his strength and stamina. Doctor says we are ready to travel!! We are leaving southern Alabama this Wednesday, March 29th. Heading for Florida to see barrycuda and and my cousin. Then we will be heading up the east coast, stopping in Savannah and then on to Columbia, SC to see Sleeperhawk and his Mechanic (George and Bobbie). Next stops are in Atlanta and Payne's Creek, GA; Gatlinburg, TN and then to West TN to see kids and grandkids for a couple weeks. Then we head north into Illinois, stopping to see eusa1 the first week of June and then make our way to Kansas City to see youngest son, the B2 pilot. He is now a LT Colonel and is going to be the Squadron Commander. Very proud of him! After that we will be heading out west, doing the "touristy" thing at Mount Rushmore, Badlands, Crazy Horse, etc. That will be in July. Not sure where we will end up for the winter. Thinking of checking out Arizona or maybe Texas. But for now I am content to travel and see this beautiful country of ours. Sorry we are not going to make Mikes Root Beer Run or the International this year. Have to be in Kansas City that week. Hope there is a good attendance at both, they are great events! Hope everyone has a great summer! Patti

Hi Black Owl Sorry to hear that you have been "under the weather". You have so many friends here praying for you and wishing you the best. B2dad and I included. Sending prayers and a big hug! That is quite an honor from Freebird, saying you were member #3 . WOW! The stories you could tell about the early years, some middle years, and then the last few years. Sure wish we could talk about all the fun you've had. Please get better so we can share some good times. Thinking of you.... Patti and Don (B2mom and B2dad)

I know it's kinda late in the season, but I was wondering if anyone was planning on going to the Dragon in the next month or so. If so, I need a favor please! I need a PATCH from the Dragon. Will be glad to pay for it and shipping. Can anyone help me out? thank you so much Patti

thanks everyone for the posts here and the vote of confidence. it's definitely been a long road this year. DVeron is doing quite well considering what he has been thru. None of the tests could tell us why he had the stroke and seizure. They did tell us that he appears to be in good shape tho. His blood vessels in his brain all look good, no other bleeds. His heart looks good. He needs to lose some weight and get his sugar more under control tho I drove over 600 miles between yesterday and today. It wasn't bad at all and I had a great co pilot. Don was very encouraging and gave me tips as needed. We even went thru a couple of bad storms. WE are now at Mount Magazine State Park in Arkansas, visiting some VR friends Colesgrampa and his wife Joan. They helped us set up, which was good because apparently our RV is still not fixed. We couldn't get one of the slides to open. It sounded like the gears were stripped in the motor. Don and Raymond pushed the slide open while I operated the motor. I guess it goes back to the shop. We had a 6 week trip planned and now I don't know what will happen. Calling the company tomorrow. Prayers are appreciated. Patti

eusa1: I don't know where you find these pictures, but this one is perfect! Pretty sure this was me and Don this morning when I pulled out of the campground. I am sure Don was thinking: WTH have I done!!!! LOLOL. He was very good today and only offered advice if I asked for it. I think we finally got this. It wasn't so bad pulling the trailer except the GPS mostly sent us down 2 lane roads, some 4 lane but not much interstate. I think this won't be so bad after all. Patti

Thank you all for the kind words and well wishes. Don is doing much better today and we expect he will be moved to a regular room soon. Love you all Patti

Hey all!! Thank you all for the good wishes. My shoulder / collarbone is still quite sore and of course bruised but it will heal up in time. We are still in Tennessee waiting for our RV to be fixed. Camping World should have received the final parts yesterday with repairs completed this week. We don't have confirmation yet on this. It's been a long summer for sure. Don and I appreciate your love and support. Will keep you updated

Yall have a great time and give our best to everyone. Sure do miss these fun times. Don and Patti

I knew you weren't done!!! No man is ever done with with his bike...always something else to add on. Sheesh!!!!

UPDATE; We heard from our Service Tech today and he was on the phone with Keystone for 3 hrs. They agreed to send 2 new complete living room slides (including furniture and carpet) and walls for the 3rd slide. Not sure when they will arrive, but they will keep me posted. It's a start.

No sandman here either....prayers up!

Hi Steve (Kiwiroyale)! You would think that about the warranty, wouldn't you? Most people would. But I was told, on the phone with Keystone, that if we went past that warranty date and no work had been requested / performed, they could end that warranty. Also, IF any work gets done, Keystone does not EXTEND that warranty. It ends on July 1, no ifs, ands or buts. the only warranty we would be allowed would be by Camping World for the work they do, and it's a 90 day warranty only. The Lemon Law only applies to MOTORIZED vehicles, not a camper being towed. So we can't even get any relief there either. I am basically an optimist so I am still very hopeful that this will all turn out for the good. Appreciate all the well wishes and prayers. Thank you all very much. Patti

I suppose it could make us 2nd guess our decision, but for now, we are still wanting to travel. It certainly has been a bit strange tho!

WE planned this for 18 months. It really took a lot of planning and things falling into place to pull it off. But it was what we had talked about for years and finally decided to do it. We sold the house because we didn't want the hassle of renting it out nor did we want to leave it empty. Didn't want to burden the kids with the upkeep either. However, oldest son has checked on it every week and done the yardwork (for pay). In the end, since the new owners didn't move in, the house has rundown a little. Not much, but you know what your place looks like when you go on an extended vacation? We decided on a 5th wheel because of a couple reasons. A Motorhome (that I wanted) was very expensive and just couldn't find a used one that I really wanted to spend thousands of miles in. I didn't want to spend all our money on this. I wanted gas money and FUN money, right? Also, a 5th wheel has a lot more room in it, not to mention a bit more storage. (I know this issue can be debated, but I really like ours). With that being said, we purchased a new one so as to have a WARRANTY. However, remember that this little thing is only as good as your manufacturer / selling dealership. So far, neither of which we have had much luck with. Dealer doesn't care about us and manufacturer is dragging their feet. Trying to get us past that one year of warranty and then they can wipe their hands of us. Keystone is their name, by the way. We've been told they are the worst to deal with. The best? Winnebago. I still don't regret our decision, at least not yet. We love traveling, just haven't got to do a whole lot yet. If you want a motorhome, at least get a diesel...so much easier getting fuel than trying to find a station to accommodate a large RV that needs GAS. And if you are towing a vehicle, that makes it much worse. There are lot of other pros / cons, but I'm here to tell you that sometimes it's a nightmare trying to find a gas station to accommodate us. ugh!!! Overall we are enjoying it and will enjoy it even better when our home is fixed. Being back in our old home tho is really a mixed blessing. Although we are very grateful for a place to stay, we have to realize that we are basically just visiting and it is NOT our home or property. You just need to decide if you want to sell your home or keep it. Then find that perfect traveling home...whether its a motorhome, 5th wheel or pull behind. You will probably know it when you walk into it and see it. There are lots of forums for these vehicles. Especially on Facebook. Join a group and read their stuff. You will gain a lot of knowledge! Good luck!!! Patti

I wish we could Mike, eusa1. Time will tell. Your root beer run is always a great event. Anyone in the area should go. If you are NOT in the area, then make plans to go. It is the BEST root beer in the country!!! I knew you were kidding Dragonslayer! But you don't know how bad we would love to do this. I just don't have the time right now. Thanks Cowpuc! They are really good kids. I mean, how would you feel buying a house several states away and at the last minute, you can't move in? Well, I guess they could but his employer offered him a huge raise AND a bonus (HUGE) to stay 1 more year and train his replacement. He said at the end of the year, they should have enough money to pay all their bills off, including the house. Pretty tempting, right? Heck! I would have done it!!! To be under 30 and debt free??? Amazing! Patti