On our way to visit our family in Kansas and Missouri, we stopped in Smith Center KS to tour the Peterson Industries plant where they manufacture Excel 5th wheels. Alan has been doing some research and wanted to check it out. The tour was very interesting - and off we went towards Overland Park KS.
The largest Excel dealer happens to be in Moriarty NM, just outside of Albuquerque, so we stopped on our way to AZ to check it out. Well, you know what they say about not going to the dog shelter if you aren't prepared to bring home a dog? Apparently, the same holds true for RV dealers.
We ended up buying a 2014 34' 5th wheel trailer, just 6" longer than our HitchHiker. The dealer couldn't get it to us for a couple of days because they host a safe trick-or-treat event for the area and all the rigs were parked end to end for Halloween. Each trailer is sponsored by a local business and volunteers stand in front of each trailer (about 30 of them) to hand out candy. We volunteered to man our new trailer, and it was a very fun event. They had 1665 folks come through - admission was a can of food or $1 that benefitted a local charity. Afterwards, the dealer fed all the volunteers dinner too.
We didn't have costumes, so we donned our long underwear, warm clothes and some Halloween headgear.
Alan handing out candy bars.
The man in the rig across from us had this Spongebob costume and it was the hit of the event. All the kids wanted to have their pictures taken with Spongebob and it created quite a traffic jam! While Alan and Spongebob handed out candy as fast as they could, Sandy cut open bags and restocked both supplies. Spongebob, Alan and I were all worn out by the end of the evening.
This tiny bumble bee was half frozen - it was very cold and windy.
Getting to look up to Spongebob made it all worthwhile.
Here is our new home as we saw it on the sales lot.
A larger TV than we have ever had and even a fireplace. We really like the hickory wood cabinets.
It has a residential refrigerator, quite a culture shock after having an RV refrigerator for the last 14 years.
A microwave/convection oven - my friends tell me it isn't hard to make the conversion.
Nightstands - that is really a treat.
View of vanity and washer/dryer closet - no washer/dryer for us as we need the storage space.
Maneuvering the contraption that helps makes moving easier.
The "bridge" in place. All it takes is one step down, a walk across and one step up for each load. It took us two full days to move and we were exhausted. We had lived in our HitchHiker for almost 14 years, and we worked hard to clean out, throw out, etc. Still, we struggled to fit everything in the Excel. NuWa made that HitchHiker with tons of storage space.
We spent two or three days living in the Excel, making a list of things that needed attention by the dealer. Then a day or two for repairs and adjustments before heading to AZ. We were glad to be on our way, since it was 13 degrees a couple of nights while we were in NM.
Here we are on the road. One of the repairmen said that NM is known as the Land of Enchantment but it is really the Land of Entrapment. That is kind of how we felt after being at the dealership for so many days.
Here is the space above our kitchen cabinet, displaying some of our treasurers - Diane, your quilt is there and Chris, Pollo Loco is in the bear's lap on the left. These things are very special to me.
More treasurers, including the Santa Mary made me and the pillow Lisa embroidered and the little bear with the picture drawn by Brandon when he was little.
It is beginning to feel a little more like home. Other than too much stuff in too little space, we are liking if fine!
Love the new doghouse, can't wait to see it!
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