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!