We took lessons from Rick Andrews, a well recommended instructor. He meet us at our site, in Branson and started out giving us an overview of things we should know about our motorhome. He answered questions for us also. He had a stick that he called a tire bat. It looked like a pole with a metal strip around one end. He thumped on each tire to make sure the tires weren't flat. He asked Bob if he had a tire pressure gauge. Bob did!!! It was still in the package. He said we should thump the tires before we leave each trip and use the tire gauge about once a month. He started thumping our tires. The front two were great, the back left two were fine, but the inside tire on the right side thumped empty. Bob put the gauge on it and it was completely empty. How long had it been empty???? Who knows, and Rick and Bob thought that was bad. No driving lessons till we got the tire fixed. Yes, we called Coach-Net. They came out, Eric worked in 100 degrees heat to fix the inside tire, which turned out to have a leaking valve. He worked over an hour and our charge $40.00. Like I said, we LOVE Coach-Net!!!! By the time, our coach was ready to go, it was after 2:00 p.m. and Rick thought we should wait and start fresh in the morning. So much for driving lessons day one, but we sure appreciated the tire lesson. Could have saved us our lives and/or severe damage to our motorhome. Thank you so much Rick!!! Lesson learned. We now have our own tire bat and use it before each trip.
Friday, dawn hot and sunny. Rick was at our coach ready to go at 8:00 a.m. We had our coach ready to pull out to drive; slides in, jacks up, and unhooked from cable, electricity, water, and sewer. Rick had me in the driver's seat by 8:15. I pulled forward, turned left and learned to watch Rick for hand signal to back up. Bob and I both learned how to talk to each other with our hands. An important skill for me since I don't know my left from my right. Before I knew it, I had backed a 40' motorhome into its spot without hitting anything. Amazing!!. Bob's turn. He did great and much quicker than I had done. (I still felt successful:) Next it was time to hit the road. I went first! I pulled out on the road drove around a little, made a bunch of right (square) turns. My good friends the Henards had a bet going. God fearing Christians that they are. Charlene, my true friend, bet I would not hit anything. Carl bet I would hit something. Well....... I don't think I hit anything, unless a curb counts. Charlene and I are sure it does not, but Carl thinks it does. I did hit a curb pretty hard, the good thing is I kept the coach under control. The bad thing was I broke a coffee cup and a few things fell on the floor of the motorhome. When Bob drives nothing breaks or falls. Bob drove next. Then we went out to an interstate for some higher speed driving and up and down hills. Missouri has lots of hills. I learned about exhaust brakes. I like them very much!! I also learned that Missouri has a minimum speed law of 45 mph and that I need to speed up a little an I need to center the coach more. I tend to drive too close to the right. Many of you know that, that was my big complaint with Bob's driving. That he drove too close to the right side. It is so easy to criticize when you are not driving. We returned safe and sound, except for one coffee cup. Rick gave us certificates. I guess that means we passed. It also is my proof that I lived through it. I never drove with the car attached, so I need some additional training, but I do feel confident enough if there was an emergency, I could drive.
Best of all, Rick's wife, Darlene recommended a great hair dresser for me in Branson. I got the best hair cut I have had it several years at and a good color.
Looking good! Knew you could do it :) Love all the pictures. Looks like you are having loads of fun. Looking forward to seeing you at Refugio!
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