Breeze

Photo modified by Ross, Original photo from Cruzer as posted in the TRVN forum.

The rest of the fall trip - Ill, Kentucky & Tennessee

So, off we went from Bailey's Grove headed to Champaign, Ill. Planned on overnighting there, but ended up staying two nights so Mary could get some important work completed. Also had a terrible drive down there due to road construction, poor roads, etc. Needed some rest!
Nice park and Nice folks at the DW Lake Campground. Would have been very nice had it not rained all day, every day.
On Wednesday we headed off to the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington. Nice drive, all expressways. Really a nice RV park, no sewer hookups, but we surived just frine. Rained most of the 5 days until the day we left. While Mary was working, I went on part of the Burbon tour to Woodford Reserve Distillery. Beautiful place, old quaint and moderrn all at once. Finally we got to visit the horse park. Wow, very worth a persons time. Even if you are not a horse person, just seeing all the history and learning about how the horse became such a part of America was interesting. Highly recommended. They have 29 miles of white fence in the horse park. Vey well kept and , well, fun to see. The countryside in the Lexington area was also worth a good drive.
Oh, don't go there and expect any sleep on a fall football weekend...Fun, noisy, but not rude.

Next was the trip to Tellico Plains, TN and the Tiffin RV Network Rally. Woww, 50 coaches showed up. This was really fun, meeting people we met in Beverly Beach in the spring, making some new friends, learning more about our motorhomes, lots of great food and more. I know now why the FMCA Rally was such a downer. This was really well done and fun. Can't wait for the spring Rally in Gulf Shores, apparently we're up to 75 coaches already there.
The Tellico Plains area was also beautiful. It is the start of what is called the Cherola Skyway. A very senic, twisty drive up in the mountains, a number of very beautiful vista etc. Fun to drive as well. Went up on the modern road, but came back on a ORV trail (why have a Jeep and not use it capabilties?)for about twice as far, but really beautifull. Followed the Tellico River all the way, see a couple pics for a taste. And one of Bebe after a meal of grass.. Dog or mini horse??

Finally left Tellico Plains and headed back to Knoxville to drop off Cecialia and head back home in the Jeep. All done with no problem, about 18 hours driving time after leaving Tennessee RV. Stayed a night just south of Chicago and made it home Sunday afternoon about 4 PM.

Hope you enjoy the pics and reading about our travels. Can't wait for Feburary!!

Door County

Had a great time up on the Door County penisula. Excellent fall colors, very charming little villages and shops. Lots to do and see without driving very far from the campground. We stayed at Baileys Grove CG in Baileys Harbor. It's on the Lake Michigan side. Very nice CG, friendly hosts and well kept up. We had our Allegro Club meet and greet on friday night for a local fish fry and a chili dump on saturday after the club meeting. That was something new to me, everyone brought their favorite homemade chili and it all got dumped in a pot and heated together, excellent idea.

Monday we drove to Champaign, Ill and are spending a couple nights there before moving on to the kentucky horse park on Wednesday. We have kept warm with no problem in the motorhome and no issues with frozen water. Not very cold yet though.

Fish Fry Tour, Part Duex

Been at home base for three weeks now, must be time to get outa Dodge again. So, off we go; first to Wausau to pick up the motorhome from Kings. A few repairs completed. Really a great shop with good people and very customer oriented. After that we are off to Door County for a long weekend with the Wis Allegro club. Friday fish fry, Chili pot luck and other activities.

Watch for updates...

Minnesota Point - Stop three of the Fish Fry Tour.

I had always wanted to check this place out. It's right on water on the harbor side of Minnesota Point in Duluth. Really neat, yes you are parked in a parking lot, but it's on Lake Superior. Wow. We choose a full hook up site, but in hindsight, I would have choosen a water/power site. They have the best view of the water, lift bridge and Duluth. Sort of face NW as opposed to SW for the full hookups. You can watch the bridge going up and down, boats coming and going, sunsets...

Hayward - Stop two of the great Fish Fry Tour 2009.

From Wausau, we made our way aways NW to the Hayward area. Not a lot of choices in campgroungs so we stayed at the KOA just north of town. Actually it was very nice, we had a premium spot with a patio and table and chairs. Very nice actually. No tv reception and our dome didn't work nbecause of the trees, but we made do and actually enjoyed the place. It was very clean and well kept. A few photos are attached for your enjoyment. Note that our little girl puppy is really growing up.

First leg of the Wisconsin Fish Fry Tour. Wisconsin Allegro Wanderers Rally at Kings Camper in Wausau, WI.

Since our one year warranty was about to expire, I though it may be a good time to estabish our selves with Kings. Especially since we now live in Wisconsin, not MN. I then remembered there was a upcoming WAW meet at Kings. Wow, kill two birds withn one stone. Have a good time with some fellow Tiffin owners and get some work done on the coach. So, off we went friday the 11th (Minute of silence please - seriously). Had a great time with the fellow owners, a few of which we had met at the FMCA rally in Albert Lee, MN. Adam, one of kings techs spent some time with me looking at our comparment door issues. We decided that this might be a big job and it would require some body work etc. So we'd have to leave the MH there for a couple of weeks. Well, can't do that since we have plans. So they are going to document stuff so there will not be a issue getting it properly repaired in the future. I'm ok with that. End.
Friday we went out with the group to a nice fish fry at a nearby eatery. Ron G., the owner of Kings was gracious enough to attend and I ended up sitting next to him. What a impressive guy. Very proud of his city and family and his RV operation. I learned a lot about things that I would never have thought of. He also related a number of stories about Bob Tiffin. All very interesting. It was a very worthwhile evening. And just generally fun.
Saturday we had the same tech, Adam spend the morning with us answering all sorts of questions, again, a very worthwhile time. Then everyone went off to do their own thing until the evening business meeting and pot luck dinner.
All in all, it was a fun wekend with fellow Tiffin owners etc. I hope we can do it again next year. Oh, we all camped on the Kings property at no cost. Power and water were provided and a dump station was accross the street.
Since our most recent experiences with Shorewood have left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth and they have done no follow up, we are now going to look at Kings when we decide to upgrade to a Bus.

FYI, look at some of the pictures below. Some real deals to be had...Wish I was a Powerball winner, I know what I'd be driving home....

Have a look at the pics in the link below (copy and paste into your browser if needed.
http://picasaweb.google.com/river.ratg/WindowAndKings#5381136385893416690


We are off to the Hayward KOA and then Lakehead Boat Basin RV park in Duluth. Can't wait to see the latter.

Brainerd area visit

After leaving Spicer, we headed north to the Brainerd Lakes area of central Minnesota. Very beautiful area and a highly desirable lakes area. Lots to do, many gold courses, great fishing etc. But there never has been a nice RV park. In my opinion anyway. Most of the parks are full of seasonal campers and don't show a lot of nice design features or even basic amenties. That's changing, I found about RV Resort Village at the FMCA Rally in Albert Lee. So we booked in for about a week stay in August. While there is lots of work still in process, this place is very nice and will only improve with time. We had a great site overlooking a small man made lake that is in the center of the first phase of the Class A area. A pull in site with a huge concrete pad, properly placed utilities etc. We were treated well and enjoyed every minute of our stay. It was close to many eating places, golf and of course the lakes.

You can see numerous pictures here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/river.ratg/ResortVillageAug09#

If you look at their, site plan at yoiu will see they have some areas for Class A's and also many sites for 5th wheels, travel trailers and Park homes.

Full info here: http://rvresortvillage.com/

Now we'll be home for a month or so while we make plans for our winter trip.

Trip to central Minnesota.

We are off to Spicer, MN for the weekend and then heading up to the Brainerd area for a week. Will post updates about the new RV resort once we get there.

Did a few maintance items on the Bay prior to the trip. Replaced the shore power cord because of separation between the plug and cord outside rubber coating. Now it's water proof again. Made the old one into a extension cord. No longer storing extra cords and adapters in the main electrical bay. Things get to cramped.

Finally got the toad lights fixed. Shorewood obviously modified or messed with the cable connections since they were not as they should have been. Oh well, losing a bit of faith in their service.

More to follow.

A mod to our Allegro Bay

One thing that I have always felt was done "on the cheap" on our Bay is the lack of finishing of the inside of the storage bays. While in Red Bay, we saw the raw material that is used on Phaetons, etc for lining various parts. Actually looked quite simple. We found a material called Ozite that is made for that type of use at Menards. In fact I believe it is exactly the same. Mary trimmed it all out and we mounted it in place with 3M 77 spray adhesive. Looks very good and was not a difficult upgrade. Well worth the time and was a minor expense (less than 65 bucks for everything. See the photos.

Another (local) adventure....

Well, we spend another week at Mystic Lake's Dakotah Meadows Park. Still a nice place, but we decieded we like the lower part of the pak better. At least we found it more friendly and generally a bit nicer. Mary had work with Allina down by Abbott Hospital and I met up with my old work chums for lunch on two ocassions. Enjoyed it.

Then moved to Grand Casino RV park for a long weekend. Still a nice place, but is starting to show it's age a bit. The dry summer has taken it's toll on the grass (obviously not their fault) and It is a party park, at least on concert weekends. But that's why we came as well, so can't fault anyone for that. It quiets down as it should later and today we woke up to a beautiful blue sky. First in quite a few days. Josh Turner part of the concert was great, but Gretchen Wilson sucked the big one. Lived up to my low expectations, we and many others left. It was loud for the sake of being loud. Unlike Lynard Skinner, which was loud and fun. Only saw one other Tiffin MH, a Bus, in a sea of white gelcoat.... Parks was completely full.

Next month off to Brainerd lakes area and Spicer MN.

Bebe, new pic

Here is a picture of our puppy with her Miniature Schauzer puppy cut.

Dakotah Meadows RV Park @ Mystic Lake Casino

We spend a week at this park. We were very impressed overall. Very clean and well kept park. No pool, but the bathrooms and laundries were very clean. Everyone that worked there was pleasant and helpfull. They have fuel on site at better prices that elsewhere nearby. Location is almost in the Metro MSP/St Paul area. Therefore there is much shopping etc in the area. I didn't use it, but they have a fully enclosed self service car and RV wash. It would accomadate even the largest rigs. I would expect it to cosy 15-20 buck for a largish motorhome. You buy tokens, but unused ones will be refunded. Nice set up with a catwalk to reach the top etc. We are going back in early July for another week when Mary has to work in the city. The only possible downside is that your neighbor is parked right next door on a shared hookup island. We didn't find that to be a issue though.

I think it was about 28 bucks a day. Has WIFI, but no cable TV. It's so close to the city that it isn't needed, you can get all the local on air stuff easy.

FMCA Rally at Albert Lee, MN

We arrived on the first day we could, Tuesday. It then turned into a wet mess. Tons of rain turned much of the fairgrounds into a mud bog. We had to stay put until Wednesday morning when it dried up a bit But no more people were allowed to park on the grounds. They were redirected to the high school parking lot for the duration. Sort of spoiled the event for many I'd guess. We drove cart to move handicapped folks around on Thursday and Wednesday evenings. That was nice and we met many of the Badger charpter folks. Great time and great folks. Can't say the same for the rally itself. I'd have to say much of it was poorly ran. No food on the grounds or even soft drinks or coffee. The seminars were ok in about half the cases, but many were just sales pitches not educational really. Due to the weather the evening entertainment was moved into the horse barn. Ok for wenesday, but not after that. Hot, and generally unpleasant surroundings. Spend a bit and get a covered stage. I know they were concerned about weather, but....

Many folks I talked to felt the same way and especially those put out of the fairgrounds. Didn't seem like the city did much either. No listing of churhes/locations/service times or other events..

Not sure I'd attend agin. But many stated this was the exception, not the rule, so I guess we'll see.

No photos, nothing remarkable to show. Only Winnies and Newmars on display. No one from Tiffin or their dealers.

Meet Bebe

We have a new traveling companion. Bebe the Minature Schunazer pup. What a delightful little creature. She was 10 weeks when we got her, now is just under 14 weeks. Very smart girl, but very spoiled as well of course. She has taken to life with us very well, she is a bundle of energy as expected and love to chew most anything including toes, shoes and socks. She has been very easy to train and gives us very obvious clues when she needs to go out etc. We have taken her on many tripos in the car and Jeep and she does well. She'll nap in her crate without any issues as well.

Back home...what's been happening?

A week after we got back from our trip to the Southeast, we took our Bay into Shorewood RV for some follow up warranty work and a engine, gen and chassis service. It wasn't due yet, but I thought it would be agood idea.

The windshield wipers failed again the first time I used them after having them fixed in Red Bay. Very frustrating, just a poor design in my opinion. If it happens agin, Bob T will be getting a call and some other actions will be taken. I am very displeased about this. The saving grace is that is really the only issue we have had with ethe motorhome.

We bought a new Jeep Unlimited Sahara to use as a toad on future trips. We ended up spending more on rentals while gone that we expected. That's what drove that decision. I had Shorewood put the Blue Ox baseplate on the Jeep when we went back to pick up the Bay. They also wired the Brake Buddy, failsafe, etc. We had a problem where the Jeep front tires locked in a slight right turn while driving back home. I had given Shorewood detailed instructions on how to hookup the brake buddy and they chose to ignore them and give us instruction that said to not keep the key in the car in the Acc position. Since they were the experts we followed their advice. We ended up completely ruining the two front tires. Nope I wasn't happy.

I though Shorewood should pay for the tires and any damage to the Jeep. Of course they didn't. Ended up that they did pay for the tires, installation and a 4 wheel alignment. They are also responsible for any future issues related to the front end of the Jeep. Warranty or not. I had to get tough and threaten further action, but they did agree. Bottom line: follow you owners manual and don't deviate.

Just been cleaning and waxing the motorhome getting ready for the FMCA convention in Albert Lee mid June. Can't wait to tour the Spam factory.

Signed up for the Fall TRVN Rally in tennessee in october and the next spring Rally in Alabame near Perdidio Key. That'll be fun.

All for now.

Rest of the week at Red Bay

Chris Berry completed Mary's desk and installed it. Wow, it's really nice. See the pictures.

Brannon H. installed our cell phone antenna and the trick-L-start for the chassis batteries. I'm happy about that now. Should take care of the problems with batteries.

In the process he found a number of big wiring problems on our Bay,they were:

1. 250 A main fuse blown

2. Generator wiring wqrong so it needed the key to be on to start. that should not be.

3. Alternator out put was hooked up backwards so the chassis batteries didn't get the proper charge off it.

4. Aux jump didn't work because of the reversed wiring.

He fixed them all. We were to dumb to know we had a problem. we did know things worked different than others did, but didn't have enough information to understand what was happening.

Now stuff is correct.

Finally got into express service right away Thursday AM. Had the 250A fuse replaced, told the techs about the wiring issues and asked for a refund of the time Brannon charged us. That's only fair. Ended up they didn't do any paint fixes. just the fuse, checked the mid TV for bad wires, apparently were was some issue that was corrected. Again, couldn't make the BR slide malfunction. Ok well. Got out by 10, packed up and headed on out way home. Almost 6 weeks away. Had a great time and enjoyed almost every minute, met lots of nice folks, made some new friends etc. details of the fuel used, MPG etc to be added shortly.

April 19, return to Red Bay

Had a good time in Tupelo, sunday afternoon, we returned to Red Bay to get back in line for service work. As we arrived at the campground, we noticed everyone was outside talking, climbing around their coaches etc. Seems we just missed a huge hailstorm that went through about 30 minutes before we got there. It came from where we were, but we some how missed it all. Quite a bit of damage to roof vents and a lot of autos suffered hail dents. But, no one was hurt, although they were scared. we dodged another problem it seems.

Got number 295 this time. Still having issues with the bedroom slide, will try to get the paint touched up and some other stuff that didn't get finished last friday.

Sunday April 19 in Tupelo, Mississippi

Well, the first part of our service/Red Bay adventure is over. We left Red Bay late friday afternoon to visit Elvis' birthplace. Although neither of us have much real interest in that. But since we have to go back to Red bay, we throught we'd go somewhere else for the weekend. Had a nice day shopping and looking around. We found a very nice RV park very near the main shopping area. See the pics.

We went on another tour of the Tiffin plant when they were working. Much more interesting to see things happening and hear all the nises of productivity. A few more pics are included. Also below are the links to our web picture storage. Lots there and maybe some duplicates, but you can decided what is of interest.

Here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/river.ratg/MPicsAtTiffinAndTupelo#

and here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/river.ratg/RossRedBayApril16#

Sunday we are off back to Red Bay to finish up a few of the minor things, get the workstation installed and then finally head home.

Allegro Campground

Here is a small number of the total coaches waiting for service, here for plant tours and just visiting.

Phaeton awaiting shipment

Allegro Open Road awaiting shipment