Waiting and Waiting…..

  Almost everyone who reads this already knows the whole story of the building of our new motorhome but just in case someone  missed it here’s the short version. We contracted to get this motorhome built way back in September.  Ken , the builder, told us that it would be well on it’s way to being done by Christmas but as soon as we weren’t around he stopped working on it.The only way we could get him to do any work  was by putting constant pressure on him so when we went back east for our niece’s wedding we were concerned about leaving him on his own. Still it was kind of a shock when we came back to Washington state and saw that he had done NO work on it the whole time we were gone – six weeks!
  We finally took a good look at our contract , something we should have done a long time ago , and noticed that we have a clause concerning holding shop time. We paid a few thousand dollars extra up front so that our project would have priority.  We confronted Ken with this , along with all of the other complaints and problems that we’ve been having with him and he  has finally started back to work on it. Not as much as we would like though. He has one other big job that’s almost done and then ours should be the only job that they’re working on. Here are a few pictures of the latest work. Not a lot done for two weeks of work!
This is Kevin , Ken’s cousin ,finishing up on the wiring

  They have all of the panels up on the ceiling and most of the walls. They’ve started planning how the cabinets will be built.

   The only type of paneling we could find was this white stuff so Eden is going to do some subtle sponging after they’ve primed and finished the walls a bit more.

  Updates in a week or so!

On Our Way West

  That was a fast trip back east for Krisi’s wedding! We’re so glad that we got to see everyone even if it was way too short of a visit. We’re almost a third of the way back to Washington  state so more motorhome updates shortly.

More pictures here-  http://cid-4ce32117b0082fb8.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/On%20Our%20Way%20West

The House on a Rock , Wisconsin

   There’s no way to adequately describe this place. Supposedly Alex Jordan wanted to work with Frank Lloyd Wright , the famous architect. But when Jordan showed Wright his building plans , Wright said " I wouldn’t hire you to design a cheese crate or a chicken coop. You’re not capable"  An angry Jordan then preceded to design and build his own house and later, with his son’s help , added many more rooms to display their ever growing collection of miscellaneous bits and pieces.  Many of the creations were built on site , almost exact copies of antiques and items like Tiffany lamps. Others are sheer fantasy , assembled from whatever they could pick up cheaply when buildings and factories were being demolished. And some are actually real.  So what is The House on a Rock? Not a museum , more like a huge work of art , partly totally tacky , partly complete genius. We spent five hours just going through all of the rooms!

More pictures here- http://cid-4ce32117b0082fb8.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/The%20House%20on%20a%20Rock%20,%20Wisconsin

Black Hills , South Dakota

   This sculpture is actually in Montana at the location of the Battle of the Little Bighorn. In 1876 Montana, South Dakota and Wyoming were still territories and the Lakota and Cheyenne Indian tribes roamed throughout the Black Hills and the prairies. Conflicts with miners and settlers (who ignored previous treaties) during the 1800s eventually led  to this battle. Twenty one companies of soldiers ,including the men in Custer’s command ,were planning to surround the Indians camped on the plains by the Little Big Horn River. The Indians would then be forced back onto the reservations in western South Dakota. At least that was the plan! But Custer and his men were all killed and the Indians fled towards Canada. While most were captured ,Sitting Bull and about 200 of his people made it to Canada. In 1881 , due to lack of food and supplies , they returned to the US , surrendered and were placed on reservations.

More pictures here: http://cid-4ce32117b0082fb8.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/Black%20Hills%20,%20South%20Dakota

Heading East

We’ve started on our trip east through some of our favorite scenery in Montana. It’s way too cold to live here but it sure is beautiful in the spring.

More pictures-click here: http://cid-4ce32117b0082fb8.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/Black%20Hills%20,%20South%20Dakota

Sleeping in Seattle

  Seattle has been more living up to it’s reputation this spring – not only has it been exceptionally rainy , it’s also been cold!  Our motorhome is not near being finished so we’ll be going back east with the Scotty. Looking forward to seeing everyone!

More pictures in the slide show above or click here: http://cid-4ce32117b0082fb8.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/Sleeping%20in%20Seattle

Where’s our New Motorhome !!??

We took the coastal road through Oregon – beautiful scenery!- and now we’re cold and wet in Washington state. Our motorhome builder is overwhelmed with work and he’s hardly been working on our job , maybe one day a week. We’re giving him a few more days then we’re moving into his driveway ( he has a place out in the country with a lot of room) so that he has to look at us every day! Updates to come – hopefully!

More pictures in the slide show above or click here:   http://cid-4ce32117b0082fb8.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/Where|4s%20our%20New%20Motorhome