ToWanda's maiden voyage

[Henry Jay Hannigan]

---Nice to hear from you James.......I might be interested in that
NASA roof paint. We will be in Vegas from about 24 June til the
WSOP ends in Midjuly and then who knows...if I win the 10 million,
I'll pay for my Sp36 and keep it cause aint no better except and old
77-80 BIRD....WHOOPS..there I go starting trouble with my big mouth!!
Sorry guys...ALL BIRDS are GREAT!!!!!

Maybe we will head East sometime in July, maybe North to the cool,
then East.
See ya sometime...your bird sounds good..aint they great!!!
Regards,
Hank Hannigan
90Sp36






In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "orbitalsolutions"
wrote:
>
> Yes, Hank, I am the James from Vegas.
>
> I pulled out of town on May 11th, to escape the summer heat.
>
> I did a lot ot upgrading to the old 'Bird over the winter --
> completely new electrical system -- Batteries, Chargers, Xantrex
XBM
> battery monitor, Pure sine wave inverter, High Def LCD TV, Stereo
> system, amature 2-way radio station and lots of new wires and
> cables.
>
> I also did the roof thing with stainless fasteners set in 3M 5200
> and painted the decking with a new heat reflective coating. It's
> actually aluminum particles suspended in a poly resin, developed
by
> NASA, and it really does a GREAT JOB! You can walk on it in the
> middle of a 100 degree day in your bare feet and it feels cool to
> the touch.
>
> Now, I'm enjoying the fruits of my labor. I am en-route to the
> Ozark Plateau in southwest Missouri where I will spend at least 3
or
> 4 weeks before heading off for other destinations.
>
> Sorry to miss your return in June, but not sorry to be missing the
> 120 plus degree heat that comes with summer in the desert.
>
> People who see the old bus frequently ask me if it is new !! I
lost
> count of how many coats of Dri-Wash I have polished the bus with,
> but it looks like it has about 6 coats of clear sprayed on it.
>
> The only thing I wish I had done differently is to buy a
Wanderlodge
> many years before I did.
>
> I hope you gave those Aussies a few poker lessons. Perhaps we
will
> meet up somewhere down the road in the near future.
>
> Later...
>
>
> James
> 78FC33SB
> Cherokee, Oklahoma - 30 miles west of Oklahoma City - (A place
where
> you can eat BBQ Buffalo and Buffalo burgers. Quite tasy too!)
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> --- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "Henry Jay Hannigan"
> wrote:
> >
> > ---For Patty & James: the year will pass soon enough..make sure
u
> > enjoy from NOW until the year ends......FOR JAMES with the 78
> > Bird...are you the JAMES from VEGAS??????
> > If so, I want to meet u when we get to VEGAS sometime in late
> JUNE.
> > Want to see that 78 BIRD.
> > Regards,
> > Hank Hannigan
> > 90SP36
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "orbitalsolutions"
> > wrote:
> > >
> > > Nice!
> > >
> > > When I bought my bus I drove it eighteen hundered miles in
four
> > days.
> > >
> > > Something was pumping...
> > >
> > > Congrats, and best wishes.
> > >
> > > I don't know Ralph, but if I ever do meet him, I will demand a
> > great
> > > dinner.
> > >
> > > Of course, I will prepare it on the bus and attempt to treat
> them
> > as
> > > well as they have treated you. (provided he has a level place
> for
> > > me to park.)
> > >
> > >
> > > James
> > > 78FC33SB
> > > Parked on a ranch in Texola TX
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > --- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, KP Marsh
> > > wrote:
> > > >
> > > > Everyone,
> > > >
> > > > We just got back this past weekend from our 2 week
excursion
> > to
> > > pick up our Bluebird, ToWanda, down in Duncan, Oklahoma. We
> left
> > > Minneapolis on Saturday, April 29th, for Duncan. We arrived
> early
> > > Sunday evening to Ralph & Charolette Fullenwider's home.
Their
> > > arms were wide open to welcome us, dinner was on the table
and
> > cold
> > > beer was waiting. We can't thank Ralph & Charolette enough
for
> > > their wonderful hospitality and for the exceptional care they
> > took
> > > of ToWanda since she came to "nest" at their house last
August
> > > right after we bought her.
> > > >
> > > > We stayed in Duncan the entire week, getting reacquainted
> with
> > > ToWanda and preparing her for the trip home to Minnesota by
way
> > of
> > > Nebraska and Iowa. We had the pleasure of meeting some new
> birder
> > > friends and sharing in their knowledge and experience. It was
a
> > > GREAT week that went entirely too fast. :o)
> > > >
> > > > On Saturday morning (5/6) we said good-bye to Duncan and
the
> > > Fullenwider's hospitality to head for our next stop in
Pender,
> > > Nebraska at the Blue Ox Factory. This leg of the trip was to
> have
> > > our hitch/tow package installed on Millie, our VW Beetle. It
> was
> > a
> > > fairly uneventful trip with the exception of a slight detour
as
> a
> > > result of my (Patti) taking the wrong exit while Ken was
> > napping.
> > > >
> > > > This resulted in a "baptism by fire" driving experience for
> Ken
> > > on some VERY narrow secondary roads. The "pucker factor" was
> > > definitely a white-knuckle 10+ in trying to keep our big
girl's
> > 40
> > > foot long by 8 1/2 foot widebody centered on a barely 10 foot
> > wide
> > > paved surface with absolutely NO shoulders and an immediate
> drop
> > > off into a very deep drainage ditch..... plus we were
towing
> a
> > U-
> > > Haul car transport trailer behind ToWanda with Millie
strapped
> > down
> > > on it. But Ken kept her "between the green and with the
shiny
> > side
> > > up!"
> > > >
> > > > We stayed overnight on Saturday evening in a service
island
> > area
> > > on the Kansas Tollway, just north of Wichita. We arrived in
> > Pender
> > > on Sunday in the mid-afternoon. We had an appointment with
Blue
> > Ox
> > > to have the hitch/tow package installed on Monday morning.
We
> > > stayed Sunday night and Monday night at the RV park that Blue
> Ox
> > > has right next to the factory for it's customers. It was
VERY
> > nice
> > > accommodations plus we made some new SOB friends, Sally
Blonder
> &
> > > Freddie Lewis (retired teachers from Palm Coast, Florida),
who
> > were
> > > there also having some work done. We can't say too much too
> good
> > > about the quality of the installation job and the customer
> service
> > > attitude by everyone we encountered at Blue Ox. It was well
> > worth
> > > the trip to have the installation done at the factory by
their
> > > people.
> > > >
> > > > We left on Tuesday morning (5/9) and drove over to Cedar
> > Rapids
> > > to spend Wednesday and Thursday helping Ken's Mom & Dad with
> > > preparations to move into an assisted living apartment. Our
> only
> > > incident during this leg of our journey was our brain-fading
> and
> > > leaving Millie's key in the accessory "on" position. We
didn't
> > > find this out until much later down the road when we stopped
> for
> > > lunch and discovered that as a result of leaving the key in
the
> > > accessory position Millie has automatically locked her doors
> once
> > > she had rolled a few feet under tow. Hussy! Then we
realized
> we
> > > had forgotten the "extra" key back home in Minneapolis...
> > DUH!!!!
> > > >
> > > > Thankfully we made it to Cedar Rapids Tuesday evening
> without
> > > further incident and had a locksmith open Millie's doors for
us
> > > first thing Wednesday morning. Ken went immediately to VW and
> had
> > > an extra key made for Millie to be kept in ToWanda at all
> times.
> > > As Ken & I recounted the experience we took the excellent
> advice
> > > our new SOB friends gave us before we parted company in
Pender
> > and
> > > we both said "Wow, Look at all the new things we've
learned!"
> > > Thanks Sally & Freddie!!
> > > >
> > > > Things went well at Ken's folks. We had our first
Walmart
> > > parking lot experience just a few blocks over from Mom &
Dad's
> > > house. We got lots accomplished for Mom & Dad in helping them
> get
> > > ready for their impending move in July. We left Cedar Rapids
> on
> > > Friday morning (5/12) and drove straight in to Minneapolis
> > stopping
> > > once for gas and lunch.
> > > >
> > > > The only "problems" we experienced in our 1000 mile trip
were
> as
> > a
> > > result of our brain-fades. Our "big girl" performed
flawlessly
> > and
> > > she is a joy to drive! Ralph was absolutely correct when he
> > > checked her over for us last year and then told us "You
> definitely
> > > want to buy this one. She's tight as a tick and one sweet
> > coach!"
> > > Thanks Ralph! You dah man!
> > > >
> > > > We had a great time on our trip and learned a lot about
our
> > > rapidly approaching "new" lifestyle as full-time RV'ers, most
> of
> > > all being that we can't wait until we are retired next year
and
> > > can "keep on going" :o)
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > Til then, Happy Trails!
> > > > Patti & Ken Marsh
> > > > Mpls ~ Keepin' our eye on the prize
> > > > Full-timing as of March '07
> > > > ToWanda'89WLWB40ft
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> > > >
> > >
> >
>