IT WAS A L-O-N-G WEEKEND FOR SURE

Being the weekend I didn’t see anybody around yesterday to check on the rig.  I was hoping it was going to be ready for tomorrow.

Today, while I was walking Bennie around the building, I saw Paul, the Painter.  He’s working overtime this weekend to get my rig ready as soon as possible.

It’s looking good for sure and just talking with him gives me so much confidence about his own standards on the quality of work.

This side is pretty much done he said.  I think there’s just a clear coat left to go on.

He was putting the first coat on the back today.  He said he’s hoping for Wednesday for my rig to be ready for me.

Today my Friend Linda drove up from Toronto to visit and we went out for Lunch.  Sure was nice to see her again – it’s been 3 years since I’ve seen her last – AND we’ve known each other since the 70’s !!  WHAT ??  Surely to goodness I can’t be THAT OLD !!  LOL

Ya think Bennie is comfortable ??  I dunno !!

THE PAINTING HAS STARTED

BUT FIRST THE WEATHER UPDATE

This morning it was 0C/32F – as of 9:00AM.  The HIGH today is going to be a whopping 5C/41F and right now there are those tiny white things flying through the air.  SNOW !!

There is hope on the horizon though as the forecast is saying on Monday it will start to warm up.  By Wednesday it will be in the High 60’s !!  YEAH !!

I’m about one hour North of Toronto and there is at least a 5 degree (Celsius) difference in the temps.

Yesterday I took the loaner car and took Bennie to the Groomer.  So he’s clean now (for awhile anyways ! LOL) and showin’ off a new haircut – ready for the warmer temps.  While waiting for him I went to see my buddy Jo and we went to the Golden Griddle (one of my favourite restaurants) for a late lunch.

Here’s the progress as of yesterday.  These are the two last compartment doors that got the most damage.

It will be interesting to see how they manage to get the three colours back in these doors. The red arrow in the next pic shows that these doors have a light grey; a dark grey and a little bit of the red swirl in them.

Thankfully the bottom part of the back is all one colour.

Jenn said they are doing the smallest colour first.  So I’m guessing the parts exposed are the areas where the dark grey is.

An awful reminder of why I’m here !!

That’s Paul, the Painter, way down the back there.

It’s going to be a L – O – N – G weekend.

REPAIRS ARE PROGRESSING NICELY

Today we actually saw some SUNSHINE here in the great City of Barrie.  At a High temperature of 11C/52F, it wasn’t warm by any means but I was DETERMINED to get out for a little ride on the bike and that is exactly what I did.

Loaded up with my HEATED JACKET AND HEATED GLOVES plus lined boots etc. I just took a short scoot around and stopped at a few places – including Timmy’s for a cuppa and a croissant.

This morning I saw another Canyon Star pull in here.  I bought mine early last Summer and this is the first one I’ve seen – and I’ve been looking.  No, Not even while in Quartzsite.

This is a 2012 (mine is 2010) and I was anxious to talk with the Owner to see how they like it etc.  This one has a few extra features that mine doesn’t have – like the electric awning.  Turns out he’s only had it a few weeks and he wasn’t in much of a talking mood.  Oh well.

Talked with Paul (the Painter) and Keith (the Repair specialist) and things are really starting to shape up now.  They explained the process of priming the damaged areas and then looking at it again to make sure no cracks were missed.  If they were then the filling and sanding and priming again.  I really have confidence that these guys know what they are doing and that’s a good feeling.  Something I would not have had, had I waited to get this done when I got ‘home’.

Bob asked yesterday about the rear of the Coach.  Well it did go down into that ditch with a bang.  I noticed several cracks in the fiberglass after that and figured it was due to the accident as I had not noticed them before.  And seeing as I’m going through my Insurance – AND PAYING A $2,000 DEDUCTIBLE – well you can be assured I will be getting everything fixed.

The door ‘skins’ (for the two doors that got the most damage) are in and on and ready for painting.  The skins are just the top part of the door.  Paul said he should be ready for painting by tomorrow !!  YIPPEE

But I expect this is the part that’s going to take the longest – waiting for drying in between.  There are three colours in these doors plus the priming.

While I was out on my little run today I just ‘happened’ to see a Harley Davidson place !!  Now surely it’s been MONTHS AND MONTHS since I’ve been into one of their stores !!  LOL

Has to be the Owner’s car I figure.

Nice store – just browsed around – didn’t buy anything.  Prices at HD are outrageously expensive at best – but add Canada to the equation and they are even worse.

Took a walk around the Dealership here with Bennie when I got back.  This is one BIG place.  Make no wonder they use those golf carts for zooming around here.

I checked my e-mails when I got back and sure enough got one from Jenn, the Body Shop Manager.  Painting IS starting tomorrow and once that starts I won’t have any access to the rig so I’d better be sure I have everything I need out of it.

Won’t be long now !!

WOKE UP TO THIS !!

Woke up this morning to SNOW and 0C/32F.

Had a horrible night last night.  Just couldn’t get comfortable and couldn’t get to sleep.  Even Bennie was uncomfortable.  I tried as best I could to make a ‘spot’ for him in the tiny, single bed but there just wasn’t enough room.  He eventually jumped off the bed and went to his own bed on the floor.

But he wasn’t happy with that either so I got another quilt and put him on the other single bed, wrapped him up, and in less than a minute he was snoring.  He was comfortable – he was warm – he could see me – All was well in his little world.

I have no idea what time it was when I eventually fell asleep – but I’m sure it had to be the wee hours of the morning.

The temperatures are all over the map.  Tomorrow it is forecasted to be 12C/54F – not warm by any means – but at least it will be sunny and no rain.  I dare say I will be getting my heated gear out and going for a ride.

Still going back and forth to my rig getting things that I need to ‘live’.  For example, I was going to fry an egg this morning for breakfast – NOPE – forgot to take my frying pan – and the list goes on.

Work on the rig is progressing quite quickly and quite nicely.  There are two Brothers that work here – one does the painting and the other does the repairs.  But it appears they are both now working on the repairs – I guess to speed up the process for me.

This is the Painter guy and for the life of me I cannot remember his name.  He DOES NOT like getting his picture taken – but for the sake of the Blog he agreed.  God love him !

This is his Brother Keith who is the master of the repairs.

The days are long (and this is only the second day !! LOL) and very boring.  Nothing to do.  Hoping for the weather to change so that I can get out on the bike.

They have a loaner car that Jenn offered to me so I took a short drive today to Walmart just to break up the day.

And that’s all Folks.

HALF RAIN --- HALF SNOW

Yup, That’s the kinda day it is here – and COLD – and WINDY.  The snow is melting before it hits the ground but UGH all the same.

Current temperature is 2C/35.6F but the online forecast says it feels more like –2C/26.6F.

And tomorrow we have the same type of weather to look forward to.  Wednesday it’s supposed to smarten up and we should at least see some sunshine. Gonna be two very long days !!

Now having given all that gloom and doom regarding the weather, I sure wouldn’t want to be in Arizona at this time of year.  They are experiencing 100+F temps.  I’d just melt into a puddle !

This morning I got kicked out of my home – yes, the repairs have started.  They are letting me stay in an older coach while the repairs are being done.  I miss my Canyon Star already !!  LOL

This is THE COACH I'LL BE LIVING IN for the next two weeks.  If you’re so inclined to check out the link, let me tell you that the pictures make it look better than it is.

If you are not inclined to check out the link, it is a 1990 Mallard (never heard of that one before) complete with BLUE carpeting and BLUE chairs etc.  It has been sitting all Winter and it took some time to get everything working, not the least of which was the engine battery which was dead. And there is quite a musty old smell – obviously ‘cause it’s been sitting for so long.

Don’t get me wrong here Folks – I am VERY, VERY grateful.  Jenn, the Body Shop Manager, has gone out of her way to accommodate me in every way from the day I first arrived here.  Other staff members that I’ve spoken to are so polite and friendly and also go out of their way.  The Folks at the THE HITCH HOUSE certainly know the true meaning of Customer Service.

I’ve had to run back and forth several times already today to get various things out of my rig.  They wasted no time in starting the work.  ALL the compartment doors on the passenger side got damaged – some to a greater degree than others.

The last two compartment doors got the worst of it (see where the plastic is) but thankfully the ‘frame’ was ok.  Therefore they had to just order new ‘skins’ and they should be in by tomorrow.

There were some fine cracks on the back of the coach that must have happened due to the impact.  The drying process will take some time I expect.

I think it must be the painting part that’s going to take so long – they are telling me the work will likely take two weeks.

As you can see, most of the repair part is already done.  The doors consist of three colours – light grey; dark grey and red.

That’s it for my update today Folks.

CAN’T RESIST A FLEA MARKET

The rig is going in for the repairs tomorrow morning.  They are saying it’s going to take two weeks.  I am so thankful that they came through with another rig for me to stay in onsite.  Trying to pack a few things now to take over to the other rig – which I won’t get until tomorrow afternoon sometime.

But at least this way when I realize I’ve forgotten something (and that’s guaranteed to happen !) I can simply walk over to the Body Shop and get it.

I’ve been using this ‘downtime’ weekend to get a few things done.  I FINALLY got that BLIND CORRECTLY RE-STRUNG.  Glad to have that working properly again.

I also had a leak under the sink quite some time ago.  Still don’t know where it came from but it did damage the cupboard bottom.

So finally I got around to putting some Mac Tac on it.  Well this stuff is probably not called that anymore but I put that sticky stuff down.  And it’s a BITCH to put down in such a contained area – and of course not without creases in it.  Oh Well !!

Today my buddy Byron came to visit.  Byron posts regularly on the Blog either under Byron or more likely HarleyB.  He was FROZE by the time he got here.  It’s about an hour’s drive from where he lives in Toronto to where I am in Barrie.

Pretty scary creature don’t you think !! Look at his hands – he’s sooooo cold !!  LOL

He starts to ‘layer off’…..  Getting scarier !!

Yikes !  Now if he’d only get rid of that UGLY thing on his chin !!  LOL  He ‘says’ his wife likes it but I dunno about that.  He even had an elastic band around all that scruff !

We went for a short ride.  So glad I have all my heated gear.  On went the heated jacket AND the heated gloves – could have used my thermal long underwear on but didn’t realize I needed them until we were on the Highway.

Thankfully we didn’t go far – but it was sure nice to finally get out on the bike again.

Byron wanted to go to the Flea Market – LOVE a Flea Market.

Of course the first thing I eyed was this HD ‘butt’ can – didn’t buy it.

Somebody sure had a good idea to “re-use” (what I think are) these old coffee cans.  They had them painted in every ‘theme’ possible.  Even had one for us Newfies.

Typical flea market junk piled to the ceiling.

There must be lot of Newfoundlanders living in this area ‘cause they also have a Newfie store complete with all the goodies that one can only get there.  Like ZEST PICKLES !  Yummy !

“The Rock” or better known as “’Da Rock” is a term most commonly used when referring to Newfoundland.

Bennie didn’t join us today – far too cold for my little guy.  He sure was glad to see us when we got back though.  Did you know that dogs have no concept of time ?  It’s true !  You could be gone for 5 minutes or 5 hours and they don’t know the difference.

BIG – BAD – BIKER DUDE with my little boy.

And he’s geared up again to head back to Toronto.

Don’t let the beautiful sky and sun fool you.  It was 4C/39F later in the morning and reached a scorching 10C/50F by mid afternoon.

Byron, Thanks for dropping by to visit.  Loved hanging out with you and going for a wee ride.

STILL HANGING OUT IN BARRIE, ONTARIO

 

Spent the last few days hanging out in the driveway of old friends, Jo-Anna and Mike and their beautiful daughter Adia.

Jo & Mike used to rent my basement apartment many, many years ago when I lived in Toronto.  And Adia was just a wee little munchkin then.  She’s 14 years old now.

They now have a lovely house of their own in Barrie, Ontario.

Jo took to Bennie right away – but then again who doesn’t !!

Adia has a little pup of her own – Abby.

But Abby doesn’t like to play like Bennie does so Adia had a great time playing with him.

Abby and Bennie got along quite well – once territories were set and who was the Boss was determined.  I think Bennie won that argument.

Mom and Daughter…

Note the serious and determined look on little Abby’s face…..protecting HER bed !

Well she had good reason to be – ‘cause look who took over….

And made himself quite comfortable I might add….

I assigned Adia the job of re-filling all of my drinking water containers – one that she took quite seriously and completed very well.

I’m going to be residing at the Dealership (Hitch House) for the next two weeks while my rig is being repaired from the INCIDENT.

I’ve spent the last days dealing with the Insurance Company, Adjusters, Appraisers etc.  FIGHTING with the Insurance Company is more like it.  It turns out my deductible is $2,000 !!!  AND that’s not even the worst of it – there is no provision in my Insurance for accommodations while the rig is being repaired !!  AND my premiums on both the RV and my Honda CRV (that is still in NL) are going to increase for the next SIX YEARS.

Could have knocked me over with a feather.  I’ve been dealing with this Insurance Company for at least 30 years; have had all my previous homes and vehicles insured with them; still have the Condo, the CRV, the Harley and the RV insured with them.  Have NEVER had a claim – ever !!  And they are going to increase my premiums !!??

I was beating myself up for having such a high deductible thinking “I” had chosen this in order to lower my monthly payments – but no, it turns out ‘they’ assign this high deductible because of the high cost of the rig.

I’ve spent hours on the phone with different people escalating this – with no success so far.

The Manager at the Hitch House really came through this afternoon and told me they do have a rig I can stay in during the repairs.  This is not something they do because there is an RV Rental place right on their premises and people usually rent an RV during repairs – because their insurance covers it.

So it’s been a stressful few days.