Countdown-- 6, 5, 4, ...

I started off the month with lunch at Cracker Barrel meeting up with a long time friend, Judy, and we had a great meal and good conversation. I then went to the dentist.

The pump on our Splendide washer decided to die so we had to call Splendide and ordered a new one. Thankfully Larry is good at repairing things and was able to put the new pump in. The hardest part was getting the washer out and back in the cramped space and took longer than he had anticipated.

Pulling the washer out

Replacing the pump with the washer on the bed

Larry decided he needed to take the bike to Go Arizona for the yearly oil change so he dropped it off and then we went to breakfast and two days later we did the reverse, going for breakfast and then picking up the bike. The traffic on the 101 seems to be getting worse every day so both days we returned via Bell Rd.

The original welder Larry had lined up didn't show up so Larry was able to find another certified welder who is the brother of one of our neighbors and he spent six hours under the MH repairing the cracks and adding additional braces that Larry had measured and cut to fit beforehand. There was more to do but Roger was really hot and tired after six hours under the MH so Larry sent him home and finished up with his new welder a couple of days later.  Then he replaced the shocks and air hoses and re-mounted the six back tires and I helped him torque the lug nuts, a total of 80, all to 475 ft lbs. We took turns and the only way I could do the torquing was to sit on the end of the seven ft. bar!

Added braces and cross weld

Brace on the back of the down tube

Certified welder, Roger, hooking up the tank

Larry torquing the lug nuts to 475  ft. lbs

Ellen trying to torque the lug nuts with an added bar (worked best when I sat on the bar!)

We both have had doctor's appt. and everything is looking good for both of us. We are getting everything ready for us to head north for the summer. Larry has re-worked the Hydro Lift to make it easier for us to load the bike on the back of the MH. Need to make things easier as we get older!

The desert is really lovely now with the Palo Verde blooming and I enjoy the views as I'm walking. Next month we should be writing from OR.

Beautiful AZ desert in bloom