Grand Haven, MI

Not clear in the photo, but our front wheels are off the ground!

          Our next stop was in Grand Haven, Michigan. The campground left a bit to be desired. First of all, our site was sloped significantly downwards. To get level, our jacks brought the front end off the ground by several inches! (A quick call to Tiffin to verify that this was OK made us feel a little more comfortable about it.) Then the water hookup was waaayyyyyy on the right of the coach. Our 50' water hose was about a foot short. The electric pedestal was waaayyyyyy to the left of the coach. Again our cord, plus a small extension, plus the surge suppressor barely reached. The roads were narrow and were very challenging for a 39' motorhome. We saw folks in fifth wheels and travel trailers that had issues with parking and maneuvering.

      On the bright side, we drove into town and walked along the seawall boardwalk. The day was magnificent and the lake was relatively calm.

     A little closer to our campground was a small hike that took you over the "mountain" that divided  the shoreline from the interior. The trail wound through the woods and eventually came out on the sandy coastal plain. The trail in the center of the picture above eventually ended up on the beach.

The trail was well groomed and easy to walk

Looking back toward the hills from the shore

Eventually you reached the beach

     We had lunch at a little local brewery that also memorialized people and their pets. All along the walls were photos of dogs and their owners. Many of the chair backs were emblazoned with the name of a favorite pet. In the picture above you can see the menu board in the shape of a dog bone. Cute!

A Little "Hiccup"

At least it was a really nice campsite!

     As we were preparing to leave our campsite and move on to our next destination, we followed our usual process of bringing in the slide outs. Barb usually does this from the inside while I am outside disconnecting the water/sewer/electric lines. As I was doing my chores, I heard a rather loud questioning inquiry and a call for my immediate presence. Upon arrival Barb asked me if I knew why only one side of our bedroom slide was moving! After a quick check of fuses and wiring, I could see no reason for the problem. We tried to manually push the slide in with no luck. A call to Tiffin service and we determined that one of the two motors that retract the slide was bad. Either a connection wire had come loose or the motor had died. With the slide stuck out it was impossible to quickly and easily  determine which problem it was. We immediately checked with the campground owners and they could accommodate us staying for another night or two. They also had the contact information for a mobile repair guy who could come out and provide further trouble shooting. We called and he came out that evening. The general consensus was that the motor had failed and that it needed replaced.  The next morning we called Tiffin again and found out a few things:
     1) The motors were still under warranty so they could be shipped at no expense to me.
     2) Since they were a warranty item, Tiffin would pay for the repairs. I only had to send them the bill.
     3) Subsequent to my coach being built, the motors in this particular slide have been "upgraded" with stronger motors. Now that the onsite tech had determined that the motor was to blame, Tiffin would send me two of the newer, stronger motors to replace the existing ones.

     The folks at Tiffin also agreed to ship the motors to me "overnight" to limit my down time. As this was Thursday, the parts would arrive Friday afternoon and the techs planned on coming out first thing Saturday to make repairs. So, once again we checked with the campground to see if we could stay through Saturday and luckily they had openings. Had this occurred the coming week, it would have been Memorial Day and the park was booked up!

   Things happened as planned (for a change!) and bright and early (7 am early!) Saturday morning the techs showed up. Surprisingly to me, the motors are reached from the inside of the coach. In the picture above, the guys have moved the mattress and are removing trim around the edge of the slide. As the trim was removed the motors were easily visible. The offending motor was removed and upon closer inspection, the wires came loose from the motor!

     I was surprised at the small size of the motors considering the size of the slide that they have to move. Above are the two new motors. The object at the bottom of the picture is a normal ball point pen.

     The motors were replaced and we ran in the slide. A couple of things happened:
     1) The slide began to come in and both motors were working.
     2) At about 3" of travel the right side stopped working and the left side continued.
     3) If we released the extend/retract button for a moment, then continued the operation, the slide retracted as normal and aligned itself upon closing.
     4) The same thing occurred on going out, except the left side stopping and the right continuing.

     It being Saturday, Tiffin service was not available. We put our heads together and, since the coach was movable, we would continue on to our next destination and call Tiffin on Monday.

     The move was uneventful and after talking with Tiffin, it was determined that the computer controller for the slide motors was defective. Tiffin has mailed it to our campground in Sturgeon Bay, WI and we will get it when we get there on June 6th. In the meantime, we can function and continue our journeys.

Elkhart, IN-- RV Ground Zero

     In and around Elkhart, IN a large number of RV's are manufactured. From motorhomes to pop up trailers and everything in between. Also in Elkhart is the RV/MH Hall of Fame. Here RV's dating from the early 1900's through today are exhibited. There is also an extensive library containing an unbelievable amount of information about RVs. As the name suggests, individuals who have played an important role in the RV industry are recognized and honored along the wall of fame.

The unique Blue/Black paint scheme is accurate on this old Ford.

One of the oldest known RVs still in existence 

Barebone Luxury

Once used by Mae West while on location to film movies

The interior of the Mae West RV

Retro Chic

     While in the area, we also visited the Notre Dame University campus. Specifically we went to the large cathedral on site. We got there just as they were closing, but a very nice security guard let us in and we took a few pictures. Very impressive and very kind of the security guard to let us stay!

Along the Mississippi

     Went touring the Mississippi River Distilling Company today. This small operation primarily makes gin and vodka. The copper tanks and evaporators came from Germany. I have seen how Beer and Bourbon are made but never Gin or Vodka. While this is a small operation, they provide quite a bit of product across the US and Europe in a surprising variety. Below is a picture of what they distill and market here.

     We went down the road to a nice little German restaurant for lunch. Above is the view out the patio. A large barge was navigating up the Mississippi. You are that close to the river! It was a relaxing stay in a very nice park.

Touring Iowa

State Capital Building

     We left Manhattan and drove northwards to Des Moines. We spent some some time seeing a couple of movies that had come out, enjoying some new local restaurants and touring the state capital city. We lucked out as the huge farmer's market debuted on its first weekend of the season. This is one huge market. About five city blocks long and a block on either side are filled with vendors. Crafts, vegetables, flowers, and meats were just a few of the things to buy, see, and/or eat.

Just a part of the Farmers Market

     The RV park where we stayed had a new crop of Canadian Geese. They were cute and Misty was quite fascinated with them (much to the distress of the parents).

   

Imes Bridge

     Just a few miles south of Des Moines is Madison County. This county was made famous by the book and movie, Bridges of Madison County. You can tour the county and see all of the remaining covered bridges. They are the last of over 1,000 wooden bridges that were built in Iowa during the later half of the 1800's. There are six bridges on the tour. The Roseman Covered Bridge figured prominently in the movie.

Holliwell Bridge 

Cutler-Donahoe

Roseman

Roseman

Cedar Bridge

     The Cedar Bridge (above) is the only bridge that you can still drive through. All of the others are easily accessible but blocked to traffic. 

     Above is the Stone Bridge in Winterset's City Park. This served as a scene in the movie also.

     No visit to Winterset should be complete without a visit to the birthplace of a famous American. This icon of the silver screen was born in the above modest home in a very small Iowa farm community. Just up the street is a museum chronicling the life and times of this legend. Who is it you ask? Well none other than John Wayne!!!

Soaps and Locally made Crafts are sold here

     From Des Moines, we drove a short way to the Amana Colonies. Here are seven villages that were started by German immigrants in 1843-44. This was not an Amish or Mennonite community as many think. They were Inspirationists, an offshoot from the Luthern faith. They pooled their resources and purchased 5,000 acres near Buffalo, NY. In ten years they needed more space. Leaders searched for and found the ideal place in Iowa. In 1855 they established six villages, a mile or two apart across a river valley tract of 26,000 acres. They named the villages Amana which means "remain true". The six villages were: Amana, East Amana, West Amana, South Amana, Middle Amana, and High Amana (not necessarily creative in naming their villages). The village of Homestead was added in 1861 giving the colonies access to the railroad. Life in the colonies was communal in nature. All of their assets were pooled and money was not used in daily life. Residents received housing, medical care, meals, all household necessities, and schooling for their children. Adults were assigned jobs by the village council of brethren. If they needed things they could go to the cobbler for shoes, the woolen mill for cloth, the general store for other goods. They would pick up what they needed and it would be recorded on a ledger. They raised most of the food that they needed and the village craftsmen made items that were shipped to the rest of the country bringing in additional money for the colonies. This way of life remained essentially the same until 1932 when the Great Depression forced Amana to set aside its communal way of life. Hundreds of thousands of tourists visit the colonies annually now. Many of the historical buildings are beautifully maintained and easily visited. Craftsmen still practice their crafts and offer tourists their wares. 

     We were fascinated with the unique lattice structures along the sides of the homes and buildings. Still early in the season, there is no vegetation. In the summer I assume that there is a lush green covering of leaves that block the heat of the sun and keeps the inside of the building cooler. 

Each Craftsman has his own bench in the wood shop

Just some of the wood crafting machines

...and the end result is...WOW

     The wood crafting shop is amazing. Any piece of furniture for the home or office is made and sold here. Each craftsman sees a piece from board to finished product and personally signs their work. The clocks in the clock shop were beautiful!!

     In the Wollen Mill, fabric items are made from scratch. The wool is brought in and turned into thread. The machines above contain dozens of spools of thread that are joined together into unique fabrics. Wool blankets, tablecloths, placemats, mittens, and socks are among the items made here. The mill building above dates to the early days of the colonies and once was destroyed by fire. It was rebuilt and you can see the difference in the brick at the roof line where the roof was replaced. 

     After a couple of days and some fantastic German meals, we left Amana and Iowa in continuance of our journeys. On to Illinois...

Beginning Our Summer of Fun!

     We got our Summer adventure off a couple of days early. We watched the weather forecast for the Houston area and all we saw was drenching rains. We made a decision to move up our departure by a couple of days and we were glad we did. Even as we left, we had to navigate roads with water running over them. As the day went along, they were closing roads we had just travelled! We stopped overnight at the WinStar Casino on the Texas/Oklahoma border, then on to Wichita the next day. We stayed on McConnell AFB once again at the FamCamp. We left the coach there and made a quick weekend trip up to Kansas City to cheer for Shelby (Shawn's girlfriend) as she competed in her second fitness competition. Shawn came into town from Kentucky, Barb and I along with others in the family came to support Shelby. She works very hard for these shows and we wanted her to know we were there pulling for her. She did really well, placing 5th in one of the categories she was competing in. We all were very proud of her and her achievements and we all met at Old Chicago following the show to celebrate (and for Shelby to finally eat!!)

Shelby posing during the competition

After the competition, sporting the 5th place Medal!

     The next day we all trooped out to breakfast, then drove over to The Legends shopping area to see if there was anything that we just couldn't live without (there wasn't thankfully!). We drove back to Wichita and stayed for the next week catching up with friends, family, and doctors. We left and headed to Manhattan to visit with Barb's Mom and Brother. From there it is off to Iowa.

Preparing for the Summer

     Well, according to our Facebook page, we were already on the road for our summer in Oregon this time last year! This year we have delayed a little. After all, we are retired, we have nothing but time right?!? Plus, there is still snow in the north!  Anyway, we have spent the last couple of weeks getting things ready to either travel or be stored for the summer. We spent time checking the irrigation system in the yard and garden. We raised up some sprinkler heads and re-adjusted the coverage area of others. Making sure that everything we wanted to water would be getting water (and in the right quantities) was the goal.

     Back when we landscaped the place, we put in a decorative grass called Monkey Grass. Now come to find out there are two different varieties of this stuff. One stays in a nice clump (like a mini-Pampas grass). The other takes off and overruns a garden like Bermuda grass on steroids. Unfortunately we had what appears to be a mixture of both. I wanted flower beds not a grass pad so we took to trying to remove all of the offending Monkey Grass. That was a major chore!! Those things shot out runners in all directions and were actually choking out some of the flowers and shrubs. We succeeded in removing a vast majority of the grass and replaced it with another type of decorative grass. This is a wider blade clump that isn't supposed to send out runners. We'll see how that goes.

     While running to Home Depot for gardening supplies we came upon this car in the parking lot. Thought it was an odd thing to have in the parking lot of a hardware store but unique nonetheless. Turns out that Houston has an annual Art Car Parade and Show and Yoda here was part of the entries. We saw it featured later on the evening news and saw that there are also two very large ears that are added when the car is in show mode. Portlanders have nothing on Houstonians for weird!

     What is amazing is that when we came back here in February, most everything you see in the photo above was under water. The flooding of the Bayou and the Trinity river came up to just below our site. The waters have receded and spring is blossoming out all over. (So is the pollen!!)

     A significant part of our preparations includes some TLC to our home/transportation. Besides the usual checking of tire pressures and engine fluids, there is the checking of bolts and connections to insure that things that may have come loose get snugged up again. Then there is the cleaning... To wash and wax the coach, I take my time (primarily so as not to exhaust myself but also because I'm a perfectionist). It takes 5-6 days for me to thoroughly inspect, clean, and polish "The Beast". We also opened the underside bay doors and cleaned and inspected them. Barb helped frequently but took it upon herself to better organize our storage areas and to vacuum the accumulated dirt. She inventoried what we had onboard, determined if we really needed it or not, organized like task items and put the stuff we seldom use deep in the middle and the stuff we use more frequently to the outside. In the process she freed up some space and we actually have some open spots now! My task is to try not to expand into the new open space. :)
     The car is not forgotten in this frenzy. It too gets washed and waxed. It gets cleaned inside and out and the tow bar is cleaned and re-attached.

     We also have spent time packing up the interior of the Casita and Spa. Both have gotten a thorough cleaning and things have been put away and stored until we need them again. There are a few things on our list that must wait until just before departure but we are just about ready. We have decided not to workamp this summer and will spend our time touring the upper mid-West. Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Ohio are on the travel plans. We will come back through Kentucky to check up on our son, then meander back towards Texas to park the coach for the late Fall and Winter. Hopefully there will be more posts this summer (compared to last summer) with details of our travels.