July 6, 2015 - Columbia, MO

Cummins Service shop was not open when we sat down to drink our morning coffee.  The shop does not open until 7 am.

We opened the window in the dining room to let the breeze in, since it was cool outside. It was overcast.

Few mechanics and office workers began arriving around 7:15 am, but the garage is not open.  It was around 8 am when we walked into the service department to inquire.  The manager said he got ahold of Newmar and they are shipping the part via priority express that should arrive tomorrow morning.  We asked if we could stay in our LH on the site. “Yes, you can park in the back and we have power”, said the manager.  Erwin moved the LH to a vacant spot that was close to the power pole.  We turned the air conditioners on.

If the part arrives tomorrow morning they will start working on the LH.  We are hoping it will take a couple of hours to fix it, so we can hit the road and go south to the Ozarks.

Since our LH cannot be serviced on until tomorrow today was a good day for us to go to Robinson Cleaners/Laundry to wash clothes, towels and sheets.  It is not far from Sam’s Club off Broadway St. The laundromat had all dryers, for a limited time, free (complimentary).  The Mega Load front loading machine cost $8 and the Triple Load front loading machine was $4.25   Edith brought the laptop with her just in case the laundromat offers free wifi, which it did, and she worked on the June 10 travel blog while Erwin took care of the laundry.

Next stop was at Menards to get a couple items needed for the LH: Pump sprayer and windshield wiper fluid. The store has a bit of everything from groceries to nursery.  BUT BUT it did not have BLUE Dawn dish soap!!! :-(

We had lunch at Pancheros Mexican Grill, not too far from the laundromat. Erwin got steak quesadillas and Edith had steak burritos.  The restaurant does not use ready made tortillas, they use fresh dough and has a machine that presses and cooks them.  So fresh!  Their guacamole was very chunky and tasty.

Last stop before going back to the LH was to pick up stuff at Mosers’ to make beef stew for supper.

We are back “home” and Erwin wanted to do a bit of washing the LH, but it got too hot for him to stay outside. We relaxed a bit with Erwin reading a book and Edith taking a power nap. (She plugs herself in and recharges her batteries)  ;)

The service manager informed us that Newmar RV company is shipping the part (stabilizer bolt) via priority express and it should arrive around 10:30 am tomorrow morning.  

Edith prepared beef stew and let it cook for 2 hours. While it was being cooked Edith went to Target to use their wifi to check email, make videophone calls, send Glide messages, etc.

Beef stew was cooked to perfection.  There was enough for two leftovers.  Only thing missing is carrots.

Nothing special was going on after supper. We just stayed “home” and chilled out. Around 9:15 pm down came the heavy rain along with the constant lightning and thunders.  Good way to “wash away” the dirt from the LH and the Jeep.