GUEST BLOGGER - LUCY'S SPRING BREAK

Hi everyone!

I'm Lucy. I'm a dog.

This is me.

My humans went to see my Aunt Daughter and her family for spring break and they left me with Mimi and Pops (better known to all of you as well, Mimi and Mr. W).  Who knew that I would have such a great time! So, I asked Mimi if I could do a post in her blog about my spring break so my humans can see what I did while they were gone.

First of all, I had never stayed in Mimi's 5W.  But, she parks her 5W in the neatest places.  We started out at Stephen F. Austin State Park in Sealy, TX.  Everywhere you went, there was yard! What dog could ask for more?  There was grass to roll in, squirrels to chase, and other dogs to bark at. Ahhh, paradise.........

The 5W

See what I mean?  What dog wouldn't love this?

Stephen F. Austin State Park (SFASP) has a loop of 30 sites that have full hook-ups.  One of the few state parks in Texas that has full hook-ups.  It also has a loop of water/electricity sites, a loop with water only for tent campers who don't care if they don't have electricity, many shelters, and an area with a building big enough for groups to meet and/or eat.  So, in a place where there are many humans, there are also other dogs. I made a good friend while there. 

My new friend Shadow

SFASP has many trails but unfortunately most were closed while I was there because it kept raining, and raining, and raining.  But, you can only stay inside for so long and then you gotta get out and stretch your legs.  Know what I mean?  However, the rain can wreak havoc on a girl's hair.

Time for a walk

Where are my rubber boots when I need them?

See what I mean about a girl's hair?

SFASP has a golf course and a driving range.  Mr. W was happy about that but with all the rain, he didn't get to enjoy it like he wanted.  The park has streams and creeks running through it.  It also has an amphitheater where the ranger gives talks and presentations during the summer.

One of the streams

Dang it! I forgot my clubs at home.

Hey! I'm here for the presentation.  Where is everyone?

If you just want to come for the day and have a picnic, there is also a really big picnic area.  For the kids, there are several playground areas too.  All in all, a nice park. 

Now I know why the kids love to swing!

I thought we were having a picnic.  Where's the food?

So, that's what I did on spring break.  If you ever get the chance to visit Stephen F. Austin State Park in Sealy, TX, come on by.  You will be glad you did!

Love,
Lucy

FOLLOW UP ON BROKEN SPRING HANGER

A, s you remember, we have had 2 spring hangers break on the 5W.  This last time, we were in Schulenburg, TX when this happened and I can't say enough nice things about the people in Schulenburg. But, Lippert (the manufacturer of the spring hangers) asked us to send the broken spring hanger back to them so it could be tested.  Also, even though they told us to get a hotel room and get a mobile welder to fix it and they would pay everything, they told us after it was done that they wouldn't pay for anything until we sent it back and if it tested faulty.  Remember, we were ONE month out of factory warranty.

OK.  Now that we have reviewed everything, let's move on.

So, I shipped the part back to the address they gave me.  It came back as "refused".  So, I called them, checked the address, and sent it again.  Came back again.  This time I called and I wasn't so nice.  They gave me a different address and I mailed it again.  This time they got it.  They tested it and sure enough, the metal was faulty.  They then agreed to pay for everything that happened in Schulenburg.  However, at this point, I told them that I thought they should replace the 4 remaining spring hangers before they broke and we were once again stuck on the side of the road somewhere.  Lippert agreed and asked us to get an estimate of the cost to replace the spring hangers from a dealer and send it to them.  We contacted Cliff Jones RV in Sealy, TX since they had been semi involved in this from the beginning. 

Roy, the service manager at Cliff Jones, sent in the estimate.  Lippert was agreeable with the estimate and agreed to provide all the parts to correct the problem.  As most everyone knows, the weather around the US has been crazy.  So, the parts were suppose to be shipped one week, but because of inclement weather, did not get shipped until the following week.  Also, once the parts were shipped, they got stuck in Illinois and then in Kentucky because of all the snow.  But, finally, the parts arrived and the 5W went in for repairs.  Cliff Jones RV had told us that they would do their best to do the work in 1 day and they did.  Mr. W took the 5W in at 8:30 when they opened and they were finished around 4:00 that afternoon.

I want to say that I appreciate Lippert being a stand up company and standing behind their products and their name.  I was very put out with them when all of this happened but for them to admit that the metal was faulty and then agree to replace the remaining 4 at no cost to us was EXCELLENT customer service.  I for one will be singing their praises to everyone I meet.  Good job Lippert.

So, that's the follow up to the spring hanger saga and Lippert really did come through.

BACK AT WORK............TEMPORARILY!

Back in November maybe?, I did something really dumb.  I know you all find that hard to believe, right? :) I agreed to work for my "old" Boss for a week! What in the world was I thinking?????

Don't get me wrong, I have a lot of really good friends at that office and I love getting together with as many of them as I can from time to time.  Usually it is a lunch for someone's birthday or a dinner just to catch up.  But, at the last birthday lunch, my Boss' new administrative assistant asked me if I would work in her spot for a week. 

If you remember, I worked in education.  Every now and then the school districts in H-town will have different spring breaks.  There are probably at least 15 districts in the city limits and immediately outside the city limits.  When this happens, about half of the districts will have one certain week in March as spring break and the other half will have the following week in March as spring break.  This is one of those years.  So, J's (Boss' admin. asst.) children go to a school district that has the earlier week off for spring break and they had planned a trip for that week.  Since the district that she (and I use to) works for isn't off for spring break until the later week, Boss would be in the office with no administrative assistant.  That is never a good thing.  Come on, admit it.  We all know who really runs the office and it isn't the boss!  They can never be left alone!

Anyway, I said yes.  I'm thinking, "This will be great! I'll get to see my friends and we can catch up.  I'll be using my office skills.  I'll be interacting with more people than just Mr. W.  I'll get to wear REAL clothes and shoes for a few days."  You get the idea.  Well guess what?  I forgot that you have to get up at 5:00 a.m. and immediately get your shower and get dressed and put on make-up and do your hair and get your lunch and do stop and go in HORRIBLE traffic for an hour.  You can't get up leisurely and sit around and drink coffee and then shower and dress when you feel like it.  Also, there have been MANY changes.  Responsibilities have changed so figuring out who someone needs to contact is a crap shoot.  Softwear has been updated several times and most things don't work the same or look the same.  And, people want you to do stuff when THEY want it done! Like on a time schedule! Can you imagine?  :)

To top this off, 2 of the Executive Directors that worked for Boss when I was there have lost their admin asst.  She took another job.  So, they called me about 2 weeks ago and asked if I would come in this week and work for them.  Now we are talking 2 weeks in a row in the office.  Oh boy! Right?  Remember all those things I forgot about doing that go along with work?  I'm getting to experience those things for 2 weeks. See what I mean.  What was I thinking????  I just had one of the directors ask me if I would be available to sub after spring break.  He did look a little funny when I said, "Get thee behind me Satan!"

All of this blog has pretty much been tongue-n-cheek but this just reminded me that I am glad that I am retired.  It is nice to visit, but I'm glad it's not permanent.  Gotta go.  Someone wants me to do something. Geez!