Year 2 Days 95 and 96 Rain, Rain, And More Rain

We are s-l-o-w-l-y making progress on the last stage of our visit to the Tiffin Service Center here in Red Bay, Alabama.  We discovered today that we will be delayed in our anticipated departure by a few days.  We learned that after the paint is applied, we have to wait three days for it to cure before they can apply the top protective covering that is called Diamond-Shield.  It is a clear plastic sheet that protects the paint from rock impacts, bug etchings to the paint and general scratches that occur while driving down the road.  Furthermore, the application of this protect shield can only be done by a specialist and he, at times, can have his scheduled impacted by those in front of us.  Thus, our potential departure is now toward the end of this coming week, instead of this weekend or Monday.  Ugh!

We are also being further delayed because the people at the Tiffin paint and body bay discovered micro cracks in the front right corner of LeuC that were caused when we were hit by the mule deer that ran into us in New Mexico this last September.  They recommended that they re-fiberglass this area to remove the micro-cracks.  Therefore, yesterday they applied the fiberglass and today they sanded it smooth and applied the base primer paint.  They also sanded rough the side aluminum panels and applied the etching primer to them.  Here is what everything looks like as of today.

It will not be until Monday before they start painting these areas.  We are not sure how long the painting will take since we are dealing with hand painting the scroll work and multiple colors that will be used.  We hope the painting will be done by Monday late afternoon but that may be a pipe dream.

While we are waiting for all of this to be done, my “itchy butt” is getting worse and worse.  Normally, we would be taking day drives in our cute, little Fiat 500 to explore the area.  There are lots of neat things to explore that are not too far from here.  These include the Helen Keller home and the Muscle Shoals, Alabama music studios (where such artists as The Rolling Stones, Paul Simon, Wilson Picket, Bob Seger, Aretha Franklin and others recorded numerous famous songs).  We are also close to Tupelo, Mississippi, where Elvis Presley was born and raised and his birth home and museum are there.  There is also a wonderful golf course here in Red Bay with green fees of only $25.

Unfortunately, the weather has been just crappy with lots of rain and cold temperatures.  For example, it has been raining continuously for the last 24 hours with temperatures hovering in the low 50s.  This has dampened our desire to go outside and explore the area.  During our two weeks here in Red Bay, we have faced wave after wave of cold and rainy weather fronts passing over us.  This weekend will be no exception so it looks like we will just be hunkering down, staying warm and dry inside LeuC.  Sigh!