Yeaaaa!

May 8, 2009
Kalispell, MT

The microwave is back! The parts arrived at the repair shop in the morning on Thursday, and the repair guy called at 5:00 PM to say that he wanted to drop it off on his way home in about 15 minutes. After a little wrangling about the parts (I ordered two of the damper motors to have a spare and he claimed that there was only one in the box), he was here with the microwave and the spare motor ("must have gotten stuck under all the packing in the box"). Together, we leveraged it back into place and fished the power cord through the cabinet to the plug. I had all the tools laid out so he didn't even need to bring any in. After a quick test run, he was on his way. I wasn't particularly pleased with the $100 repair/delivery/re-installation charge, but it was better than trying to lift the thing back in there myself.

So, we're ready to roll, right? Not so fast. Since we can't get into our next stop until after the Victoria Day holiday weekend, we decided to hang around here for another week. Geri found a salon for a hair session next Thursday, and that prompted me to do some shopping for coach tires, which I'll have installed next Wednesday.

I'd been planning to replace the four remaining "original" tires on the coach when we returned from Alaska in the fall, since we'll go right by my "favorite" tire shop in Junction City, Oregon. Of the eight tires, four were replaced in 2007 due to excess wear (when the tag axle was out of alignment) or out-of-round problems (unfortunately, a common issue with Goodyear tires). The four original tires are almost down to the wear bars, and are all dated early-2004, when the coach was built. RV tires should generally be replaced after 5-7 years (definitely no more than 10), depending on wear and sidewall condition. Ours have ~65,000 miles on them (above average for RVs), and I was hoping to have them last the 8,000-10,000 miles we'll put on this summer. Then, I got to be thinking about how "life" sometimes tries to tell you things, and you have to "listen". Hmmm, it was a good decision to have the microwave fixed now, even if it meant staying here a few more days. Hmmm, we're already planning to spend the extra time. Hmmm, no sales tax in Montana, like Oregon. In the final analysis, the value derived from pushing the tires just isn't worth it. If we were spending the summer in the "lower 48", and not traveling as much, sure. Off to Alaska, not so much. So, I've rationalized the swap now and am comfortable with that.

Otherwise, not much is new. It's been cold (cold for us; probably cool for locals) with temperatures in the upper-40s and lower-50s, windy, and showery. If we get some better weather over the weekend, we'll spend some time exploring the area, and I'll break out the grill for some steaks. The extra time we're spending here is definitely giving us the chance to whittle away at the stuff we had in the freezer, and the "wine storage drawer", which should reduce our issues at border crossing.

That's it for now...