Tuesday, June 26, 2012 Goshen Indiana

Today is Tuesday and we have relocated to Goshen at the Elkhart County 4-H Fairgrounds.  We are here for the Fleetwood owners national rally which opens tomorrow.  We moved in here on Monday and have had yesterday and today to just sit and relax which we are getting good at.  Actually, yesterday we went trailer shopping.  No, not a camper trailer, rather an enclosed car hauler trailer.  Ever since we started RVing, we have always towed our jeep behind the RV and this has been a simple and easy method to get our car to where we are camping.  However, a couple of years ago, we spent the winter in Florida and it was, to say the least, traumatic, due primarily to the weather.  Apparently the winter of 2009 was one of the worst in Florida with temperatures in the 30s, and high winds most days.

Now, we love our motorhome and all the conveniences it provides, but for what ever reason, I really like to get out and do "something" during the day.  Some of you know that I like to make pens on my lathe and the plan that winter was to do just that.  However, it is the nature of wood turning that it produces a lot of dust, something that is not really compatible with the inside of a motorhome.  During the 4-5 months we were in Florida, I attempted to set up an outdoor work shop on our patio where I could spend time doing my pens.  To say the least, the weather did not cooperate.  Between cold, wind, and rain, it was just about impossible to do anything outside.  I tried sitting and reading a couple of times but finally gave that up too.  About the only outdoor activity we could engage in was taking the pups for walks around the lake.  By the time we left Florida, I was traumatized and hesitant to ever return for another winter.

Fast forward to today, and we are now considering an enclosed trailer which would serve two purposes.  First, we can haul the car in the trailer, but more importantly, when we arrive at our destination, and unload the car, the trailer can serve as a climate resistant workshop that doesn't mind having a bit of dust around.  At least that is the theory.  We don't know how that will work out, but we see a lot of RVers doing just that, and it seems to have some possibilities.  As a result of this line of thinking, we have been looking around for a suitable trailer.

  The first thing that we realize is that there are no used ones anywhere.  For whatever reason, people who buy these things hang onto them.  This is encouraging and gives us confidence that we are moving in the right direction.  The other thing we realize is that it is possible to order these things with just about every imaginable option including 42" plasma TV, surround sound, etc.  I mean, you could live in it if properly spec'd out.  Of interest to us, are the various options that affect the utility of the trailer such as torsion axles, lights, etc.  To this end, we visited 3 trailer dealers yesterday on our day off to help in the education process, and we did learn a lot, including that we want an extended tongue!

Today we are talking with a trailer dealer in Georgia about pricing and options as we begin to zero in on what we want.  I will also add this comment, if President Obama is looking for a bright spot in US manufacturing, he should hitch his wagon to the cargo trailer industry.  These folks, by their own admission, are booming!  Most are selling 6-8 trailers a day, and if you want to custom order one, you will wait 6-8 weeks!  Add to that the fact that nobody is selling their used ones and you have an amazing success story.

There is more to tell on this story and we will try to keep you all posted as it unfolds.  Until then, have a great day.

Sunday, June 24, 2012 Getting ready to move on

I started writing this on Sunday when the quiltfest was over.  Our friends Orlando and Sally left for home early that morning and we were just being lazy that day.  On Mondaymorning we packed up and moved about 20 miles down the road to Goshen Indiana for the Fleetwood RV national rally which is being held at the Elkhart county fairgrounds.  Not sure what to expect because this will be our first Fleetwood rally.  We don't have any expectations so it would be difficult to be disappointed.  :)

One thing that deserves comment is the weather here in the midwest.  Most of last week the temps were in the 90s, with clear skies and sun.  Today is no different and the forecast for the coming week is for the high to reach up to over 100!!!!  Remember, we are in Indiana, in June!  To my way of thinking, this is not normal.  Along with the high temps, there has been virtually no rain for some time.  Although we did have some spotty rain one day last week, it lasted about 10 minutes max.  Obviously the farmers, of which there are many, are not happy.  Many fields have irrigation systems running in the hope of saving the crop.

June 20,2012 Catching up......again

Since we have been spending a few weeks at home, I have been busy with other matters and have not been posting on the blog.  Now that we are out on the road again, I am hoping to get caught up a bit starting with where we are and what we are currently doing.  First, a bit of history.  Last year we attended a rally with the American Coach Association at Shipshewana South Campground, in Shipshewana Indiana.  While at the rally, Linda became aware that the town holds an annual quilt fest during the month of June.  At that point, the die was struck, and reservations were made to return this year during the fest.  We made these arrangements with our friends Orlando and Sally because Sally is also a quilter, and I needed someone to watch over me while the girls attend daily seminars to learn how to quilt.  (Silly me, I guess I just thought they already knew how!)   We arrived here last night, checked in, and went to dinner at Blue Gate Restaurant.

This is what you might call a typical Amish style restaurant with lots of "comfort food" such as chicken and noodles, fried chicken, etc. as well as lots of home made pies.  Needless to say, we did not come home

hungry. 

Unfortunately, while getting ready to leave yesterday, our front air conditioner decided to let the smoke get out which generally means it won't work anymore.  Add to this the fact that we are experiencing mid August weather with temps in the 90s, and you can begin to see our problem.  Today, the girls were "shop hopping" so the boys decided to attempt to fix the broken air conditioner.  This involved a trip to South Bend Indiana to visit W.W. Grainger to pick up a new compressor start capacitor, and then back home to install the new part.  Unfortunately, while the capacitor was bad, it turns out there is a PTCR in series with the offending capacitor and the PTCR is also bad.  End result: the new capacitor immediately smoked.  YIKES!!  Fortunately I remembered some spare electrical parts I had in the basement compartment and was able to get the thing going temporarily.  Now I have to locate the right parts and get the permanent fix installed.

It has been a busy time here in metro Shipshewana Indiana and while I started this post on Wednesday, it is now Friday morning.  I am going to finish here and post this and try to start another post later.  This retirement thing sure does take up a lot of my time! 

Sunday, May 13, 2012. The Preacher's treehouse

We had such an interesting day today, that I had to do an "extra" edition of the blog.  We are staying at Spring Lake RV resort in Crossville Tennessee for an American Coach Association rally.  Today was a quiet day for official activities and it was suggested that we take a tour of the Preacher's tree house.  This was perhaps, the most interesting and most weird tours I have ever taken and suggest you take the opportunity to tour this amazing structure if you ever have the chance.  If you click on the link above, you will read some of the history of this structure which is a 7 or 8 or 9 story tree house.  I'm not sure how many stories there really are, but by all accounts, the house is over 100 feet tall.  As you can see from the pictures, the actual structure is difficult to describe, even if you have been in it, walked up and down in it, toured it, and walked away from it, shaking your head in wonder.  One word kept coming to my mind and that is, "WHY??".  Why did this preacher invest the time and money into building this structure which, while unique and different, is almost totally useless.  What I have heard is that several couples said their vows in the chapel, and at one point some homeless people lived there.  Other than that, there seems to be no purpose, no use, no reason for the tremendous effort put into erecting this house.  It did, however, provide an interesting afternoon for us, along with a lot of exercise exploring the twisting random rooms, stairways, and hall ways.

While this photo doesn't really do the structure justice, you do get an idea of the magnitude of the project.

Randomly located throughout the house are lifesize carved wooden figures of various biblical characters.

This is a view of the "chapel" from the "balcony".  I use the quotes because at any moment, you are never really certain what room you are looking at or located in as the structure is very non-descript.

This is a photo of the tower that extends up from the roof of the house.  If you climb up to the top of the tower you are at least 100 ft. above the ground.  There is a warning that if you jump or fall, you will die!

This is your view of the front lawn from the top of the tower.

Our "tree hugger"  This is one of seven trees that the house is built on/into.

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Today is Sunday, and in addition, today is also Mother's day so consider this a great big hug to all the mothers out there who work hard to raise kids, and keep their family together.  Obviously being a mother is a full time job and one of the hardest jobs on earth.  I thank God every day for my family, for my kids, and give credit to my wife for her contribution to the way my kids turned out.

Along a similar line, I was having a discussion the other day, here in the motorhome, about one aspect of RVing that hasn't been discussed before, that is the subject of towels, and in particular, those smaller "hand" towels that are sooooooooo useful in daily life.  In case you don't know what I'm talking about, here are a couple of examples:

I will readily admit that when I am in desperate need of a hand towel for (as an example) wiping up spilled water, or cleaning off some greasy engine part, I reach out for the closest one in reach.  My first glance is to the counter top where all hand towels should be stored!  Where I do not look is on the towel rack shown in the first picture.  Who in their right mind will go to the trouble of taking a hand towel, folding it neatly, and then threading it through the rack?  Why go to all that trouble when you know you will need that same towel in just a few minutes anyway?  Seems like a waste of effort to me.

The green towel laying on the counter is just fine for me, but apparently not for the other occupant in our rolling home, or as our son calls it, "the box".  "She who must be obeyed" is of the school which says you have to hang the towel back up on the rack, or even worse, if you find the towel neatly and precisely folded when you arrive, you must neatly and precisely fold it back into the same shape after you are finished using it.  I suspect there is some mysterious precise location on the counter top where the previously mentioned precisely folded towel must also be positioned or some awful fate awaits the errant towel positioner.  Just one more thing to worry about in an already troubled world!

Men know instinctively that those pretty towels typically found in places like the bathroom of the home of special friends you are visiting, those towels are not there to be used!  After all, if you use them, you have to refold them, again, precisely and neatly, and then reposition them as you found them.  All men have found this to be totally impossible, at least for the male of the specie and therefore chose not to even attempt it as the results are a very poor imitation of the original.  Besides removing those greasy spots after drying ones hands just takes too much time.  It is soooo much easier to just take the path of least resistance and wipe one's hands on one's jeans and then walk out of the bathroom with a smile on your face, acting as though nothing special has happened.  If you watch carefully in this situation, I have actually seen our hostess slyly get up, go into the aforementioned bathroom and surreptitiously check to see if her towels had been disturbed.  Don't deny it ladies, you all do it!  Men know that and that is why we use our garments as towels.  Keeps us out of trouble and that is the goal of every married man.

Getting caught up----maybe

I was reminded recently that according to my blog, I am stuck in Wyoming, when actually we made it home to Ohio mid April.  After remaining in Ohio for about a week, we then left for a gathering of friends in Gettysburg Pa., staying at Gettysburg Campground.  We had a great time getting caught up with everyone, and I was busy fixing various motorhome problems including installation of a new battery charger, and fixing an icemaker.  We traveled to Gettysburg with our friends Orlando and Sally, and spent about 3 hours on Saturday touring the civil war battlefield.  The magnitude of that battle still amazes me when you start to realize the number of combatants, the amount of ammunition expended, the casualties, etc. it is overwhelming.  This doesn't even begin to take into account the human interest stories that abound. 

On Thursday, we all traveled to Lancaster Pa. to see the presentation of Jonah and the Whale at the Sight and Sound Theatre.  This was an amazing performance.  The special effects and the costumes were tremendous and the story was a joy to watch.  The theater holds 2200 and every seat was full. If you are planning to be in the Lancaster area any time before Dec. 29, you should look into attending a performance.

Following the trip to Gettysburg, we returned back home for a week to relax and clean up the RV.  Then, on Wednesday of this week, we headed out again, this time for the Volunteer state.  We will be in Tennessee for a week and a half to attend a rally in Crossville Tn. with the Great Lakes Chapter of the American Coach Association, and then on to Sevierville Tn. to attend the national rally for the American Coach Association.

Today is Thursday, and we just arrived at Spring Lake RV resort in Crossville.  Thus far, it appears we are going to have a comfortable stay here with full hookups, a large grassy site, with a very nice view of the lake located right behind our site.

As the week goes on, I will try to discuss some of the attractions here just in case you decide you might want to visit the area.

Sunday, April 15, 2012, Cheyenne Wyo.

Having considered the weather, both here in Cheyenne, and in Nebraska, we decided to stay here last night, and then remain here at least until later this afternoon, hoping the wind will die down and the tornadoes will go away in Nebraska.  This is an example of what we are contending with here in Wyo., and people wonder why people don't camp in Wyo. in April!

 

And so we sit, waiting for the weather to improve when we will head out for Nebraska.