Downsizing Further

     Well, with the completion of our facilities at The Preserve of Texas we now have a place to keep many of the items that we have carried around with us since we went out on the road. Living full time  in a motorhome necessitates that you have clothes for all seasons, tools for minor repairs (both home and automotive), picnic and outdoor cooking items, along with a host of other things that we did not want to store and would potentially have use for.  We can now store many of the things that we carried with us and now only need during the cooler months. So, with a summer of traveling all around the western US on the horizon, we made a decision to downsize our motorhome. After a few phone calls, we were off to Tampa, FL to the LazyDays dealership where we have bought and sold our last two coaches. They worked out a good deal on a 2014 Allegro Breeze. Once again, we bought a Tiffin made motorhome. Our experiences with Bob Tiffin and his company through the last several years makes us a loyal customer and we will always choose Tiffin products if given the opportunity.  The new coach is 8 feet shorter in length, 6 inches less in width and 1 foot lower in height. Doesn't sound like much  but the differences are obvious when looking at the two side by side.

Old Phaeton behind the new Breeze.

Our old Phaeton on the left, new Breeze on the right!

      You can notice the difference driving the Breeze also. It is lower to the ground so it doesn't feel like a Bus. It is lighter and has a shorter wheelbase so it turns easier. It is still a diesel pusher and has an airbag suspension and independent front suspension. It rides smoothly and is definitely responsive in the steering department. Kinda like the difference between a truck and a sports car. No, really!! Because it is lighter though, it is more susceptible to cross winds and turbulence caused by passing semi trucks. It gets half again better mileage than the Phaeton (which isn't saying much but with the price of Diesel, every MPG adds up!). It has two slide outs up front, one on the passenger's side, one on the driver's side. These open up the living room and galley areas and make a nice roomy space. The appliances are all smaller in the new coach so that takes some getting used to and there is not as much storage for pantry items. There are plenty of cabinets and drawers so it just takes some planning and organization in order to get everything into its new place. Our previous Phaeton is such a popular model line that it was sold before we had it unloaded and had moved out of it!! Our last day on the LazyDays lot saw the Phaeton moved to its new owners slot and they had begun moving in as we left!

Looking towards the rear of the coach from the front. (Slides are out)

Looking forward from mid-coach.

     The back of the coach is where we lost the most space. The Phaeton had two slides in the back that really opened up the bedroom and gave us a lot of storage space. The Breeze has no slides in back and the head of the bed is against the back of the coach. There is a little space on either side of the bed to get in and out but there are plenty of closets and cabinets to put our clothes. The nice thing about this arrangement is that we can easily get to our clothes no matter where we are stopped. In the Phaeton, when we stopped at a truck stop for the night, we had to quickly open a slide to get our clothes out for the next day then button back up. We also had to crawl over each other to get in and out of bed. This will be much nicer while traveling. 

Breeze Bedroom.

     We left Tampa and spent a day visiting with Rick and Kate Pierce in Zephryhills, FL. We worked for them in New Jersey at a park they managed. They have since transferred to Zephryhills and we took the opportunity to see them. We had a nice but short visit. Our next stop was in Robertsdale, AL near Foley. We dropped by and saw our friends at Bella Terra RV Resort. It was great catching up with them and seeing all of the new things that Bella Terra has done since we worked there. We had lunch with my financial advisor and friend Rick, and got to meet his wife and young baby son. Had a great lunch at a restaurant that would be right at home in the French Quarter of New Orleans! It was fantastic! We also had the "mandatory" stop at Lamberts for dinner. Lamberts for the uninitiated has two restaurants in Missouri and is famous for their homestyle dinners and "Throwed Rolls". Yes the rolls come hot and fresh out of the oven and are literally thrown to you. You catch the servers attention and he/she tosses it to you. The roll is a little bigger than a baseball and is thrown like one. That night we had a thunderstorm and questioned whether we were going to move on in the morning. We got up and looked at the weather and took the chance to go. Glad we did. That afternoon/evening, the Foley/Pensacola area got 22 inches of rain!!!!! Wow did we dodge the bullet there.

     So we got back and are now packing up for the summer travels. A quick trip up to Kansas for Mother's Day and some Doctors appointments and a graduation then back to Texas for a day. Then we head West for the next chapter in our continuing adventure. 

The new motorhome at the new winter home!

Building the Casita... Time lapse

     I haven't posted a blog entry for some time, but those who follow us on Facebook know why. As detailed on the last blog entry, we are building a spot to stay for the winter months that is warm (relatively) and yet conveniently near family. We have now finished 98% of the project and will be starting our summer travels soon. So, for those who are interested, we thought that you might like to see how the lot shown in the picture above became the site shown at the top of the blog.

     When last I blogged we were in the throes of having 100+ truckloads of dirt delivered and packed down to form the foundation of the site. Load after load were delivered, spread, and packed by an industrial roller. Once this was done the site was formed up for the concrete. 

The RV Pad area packed and ready for the concrete forms.

     The concrete pad was massive! Not only was it 6 inches of reinforced concrete base, but there was also a 6 inch edge around the entire perimeter. This edge does double duty. It serves to contain the brick pavers and also provides a clean, neat edge between the pavers and the yard area. It was determined to do the pour in one shot instead of multiple days of pouring. So, with the aid of a concrete pump, 9 truckloads of concrete were delivered, poured and finished. They started about 8:00 in the morning and worked all day, but the results were well worth it! The pads for both the Casita and the Spa were poured at the same time and were a part of the entire process. This made them an integral part of the concrete and not just sitting on or next to the patio. A much more stable platform and less likely to have problems later.

The pad for both the Casita (foreground) and the Spa (on the upper left)

     We were able to walk on the pad that evening but once poured and finished, we needed to wait a few days before we could start the buildings. We needed to wait a month for the concrete to cure  before we could start putting down the pavers or driving any heavy equipment on the pad.

Casita (left) and Spa being framed and sided.

Casita from the street. Spa to the left.

     It took a while, but finally the buildings started taking shape. As with all building projects, they seemed to grow or shrink in size as building progressed. Sometimes they seemed huge and other times they seemed waaaayyyyy too small. We found ourselves second guessing our decisions on several occasions. 

Sand around the Fire Pit area.

Pavers being started.

     The next big step was to add the sand for the brick pavers to set on. Once spread and packed, the pavers were placed using brownish-red bricks accented by a curving sidewalk pattern of white bricks. Once laid, a polymer sand was spread between the bricks. This polymer eventually turned into a grout like consistency and helped to keep the pavers in place. 

Doors are on and the cedar wrap added around the Spa.

     Once the Casita was sided and roofed, Brad was able to get in to begin finishing the interior. Our Platinum package called for The Preserve to finish the Spa but we chose to finish the Casita. After some careful planning, the first thing was the placement and installation of electrical lines. Outlets and light switches were planned and boxes installed. Wires were pulled and marked. The ends were coiled up and we waited for the breaker box to be installed and service power provided to the site.

Murphy Bed wall with electric wires and outlets installed.

Murphy bed wall and Sofa Wall as insulation was going up.

     After the electrical was finished came Brads favorite part...NOT. Insulation! It took a while but finally it was completed. Just in time as the temperatures finally began to rise outside and it was getting hot in the upper parts of the ceiling. We did encounter a pesky leak that ruined several of the ceiling insulation batts and resulted in the roof being re-done. 

     Our next order of business was to stain the concrete floors. Well that was the plan anyway. The stain went down on the Casita floor and instead of a nice smooth copper brown we had a splotchy patchwork that resembled a cheetah's coat! A second attempt only made it look worse. The Spa had a similar issue with coverage and then combined it with the most god-awful green color you ever saw. Not a pleasant forest green or even mint green, it was a pea soup nasty green. Not anywhere close to the color that we thought it was going to be. Well, we dashed off to our second home this winter... Home Depot, and picked out two new colors of concrete paint. We brought those in and had them painted on and were relieved that the uneven coverage and green tinting was gone. 

     Our daughter and grandkids were due out for Spring Break and we wanted them to be able to stay in the Casita. Things were running behind so we hurriedly put up the wallboard for the wall where the Murphy Bed was to be installed and wallboard where the HVAC unit was to be installed. So their visit saw only half of the walls completed and no running water in the Casita. The Spa's shower wasn't completed until the last day of their visit, but the kids got to take the inaugural bath in it. 

     After Spring Break, Brad buckled down and spent many long days finishing the walls and ceiling, installing the lights (both inside ceiling fan/light and exterior porch and floodlights). The kitchen cabinets came in and were built and installed. One cabinet stayed on the back order list for 4 weeks giving us quite a scare. It finally came in and we breathed a big sigh of relief. As the Casita and Spa interiors were  being finished, the outside was being landscaped and the sod brought in and laid. Both buildings were painted and the RV pedestal area (which provides electric, water, satellite and sewer hookups for the motorhome) was finished. One of the original ideas we had was to put a storage loft above the kitchen/entertainment center area. This took some designing and is supported in the front by two cables that are attached to the ceiling rafters. It came out better than we had hoped and provides a good amount of storage without taking up valuable living space. 

     One of the last things was the outdoor kitchen. It was the first time that this particular model had been built by the folks at The Preserve and it proved to be quite a learning experience! I won't bore you with details, but it is finally 98% complete as I write this blog and can serve as a cooking area if we need it. 

     So below are some photos of the completed site...

Looking at the fire pit and into the back of the property.

The Outdoor Kitchen and Patio table.

The "business end" of the Outdoor Kitchen.

The Casita and Spa as seen from the Motorhome.

The "monster" shower in the Spa.

Looking in the Spa. Shower to the right, Sink center, Laundry facility to the left.

Kitchen/Entertainment Center wall without loft and storage (before).

Kitchen/Entertainment Center wall with loft and storage (after)

Corner of Murphy Bed and Sofa walls (before)

Corner of Murphy Bed and Sofa walls (after)

View from the Casita porch!