RV Adventures

We had been home since mid-May, with a couple of mid-week excursions out in the RV.  But for the most part, the summer at home was been spent doing upgrades on the both RV and the new house.  It’s hard to believe it’s been over a year since we moved!  We’ve lived longer in the RV these past 12 months than we have in the house.

So, what’s new on the RV?  Let me show you.

The living area television was a 14 year old, rear projection, analog television.  It still worked, but needed a converter box to watch over the air TV.  It also didn’t have any of the new HDMI ports, so we were jumping through hoops to get devices connected to it.  After copious amounts of research, Jim found a TV mount made for RVs.  I found the TV and sound bar.  As a result, we were able to put together a pretty decent entertainment system!

Our new TV! The old VCR is gone (thank goodness) and in its place is the new sound bar. We have lots of room below the TV for all the components. And the TV pulls out so we can get at the wiring behind. This was a HUGE accomplishment. There are now plans to maybe put a pull-out desk in that cavernous space under the TV. Time will tell.

We are also gearing up for a trip to Alaska in a few years.  It is almost essential to have a spare tire.  Since the Blue Flame needed two new tires, we made that happen.  The best of the two OLD tires was kept and mounted on the rear behind the bikes.  We can now check that Alaska-must-have off the list.

This is our newly mounted spare tire without the bikes in front of it. The tire cover was actually a innertube cover I made years ago to be pulled behind a boat. Our friend Mary Ellen still had it and suggested it as a tire cover. It worked (with slight modifications)!!!

Other projects were a new pull out drawer for our basement refrigerator and additional shelving in some of the taller cabinets. We also found ourselves with dead chassis batteries one day (meaning the RV wouldn’t start!).  Cha-ching…we had to buy four new batteries.  Yes, that’s how many it takes to start the Blue Flame!

We have now left home on our Fall trip.  Yes, it’s not quite Fall, but we have a couple of travel goals that necessitated us leaving when we did (more on those as time goes on).  So, we left early last week.  Our first stop was at Quadra Manufacturing in White Pigeon, Michigan.  Our 14 year old leveling system needed to be upgraded.  It seems like we are throwing a lot of money at the RV these days…but it is still cheaper than buying a new RV.

The nice people at Quadra Manufacturing have overnight parking spots for RVs. That way they know you are there and ready to go in the morning. Camping in industrial parks seems way too normal for us these days.

I got a kick out of the electric box that we plugged the RV into. The WiFi password was right on the box. Since we arrived after closing, this was much appreciated.

That work was done in a morning and now that we can again level the RV automatically at the touch of a button, it was time to pay a quick visit to the Mothership.  Yes, we dropped in at Showhauler, where the Blue Flame was made.  We needed some unique parts to modify our basement doors and Showhauler had them.  It was nice to stop in and talk to the General Manager and see how business is going.  If you were to order a new Showhauler today, it would be January before building it started.  Business is booming!  It was also interesting to learn that they are now also doing remodels of interiors!  Our Showhauler is number 339 and it’s 13 years old.  New units are numbered in the 1700’s. But recently, number 16 showed up for an interior redo. It will look like new when Showhauler is done.  And that shows you how well these RVs hold up!

Showhauler in Middlebury, Indiana.

So, revamped leveling system…check.  New basement gas springs…check.  It was time for some fun!  Dave and Brenda are friends from back home. Their daughter Jess and her family just moved (like 3 days before) to Angola, Indiana.  Guess what?  Angola was on our path and Dave and Brenda would be there!  So the next stop was a no-brainer.  Angola here we come!  There were still in the stages of moving in, so Jim helped trace out some wiring, hang pictures, etc etc etc.  I got to play with baby Penelope.  It was a lovely time…and we just fit in the driveway!

Jess and husband Dave’s beautiful new home.

Spencer the MinPin traveled from New York for the visit too.

Enjoying the outside patio and fireplace.

This is Jess’s new living room. When I saw the colors, I knew I had just the fabrics to make them a housewarming quilt. And here it is! I am very pleased with the way it came out.

Penelope agreed to model the quilt for me. Such a cutie!

It was time to continue onward.  We decided to spend a night on shores of Lake Michigan.  Not many people know that there are huge sand dunes on the east shore of Lake Michigan. So we popped back into MIchigan to do so.  FYI…this area is called Michiana, because you are literally crossing the state line multiple times in a day.

Warren Dunes State Park. On the sandy beach, looking back at the dunes.

There is room for everyone!

The roots of this tree are really exposed, and it’s right on the beach!

After fighting the traffic around Chicago (always an adventure), we are now in Cleveland, Wisconsin, Jim’s hometown.  His brother Tom and sister-in-law Cheryl are building a new house and we all know how Jim LOVES pounding nails.  So Jim is going to do that and help Tom for the next week or so with some construction.  Our latest camping spot is at the farm of our friends Al & Bonnie.  You can’t say “No” to free driveway camping, along with free, fast WiFi, free electric, and access to a washer and dryer!

Here we are, nestled between the machine shed and round bales.

Our nearest neighbors are the Angus cattle. There is no need for an alarm clock with these guys mooing outside your window in the morning!

This is the view from the RV window. Not bad!

While visiting, the Dairyland Festival took place.  This small town parade had a few unique features.

I’ve seen parade participants throw candy to the crowds many times. But this was the first time I have seen them throw cans of beer!

The Budweiser truck was in the parade too!!!!  Only in Wisconsin!

Jim will continue to help Tom this week.  I’m taking advantage of the RV sitting still to fly out of Green Bay tomorrow to visit Callie in Portland.  Janelle is already there for a conference, so I might as well be there too!  The Goeke Girls are going to have a summer vacation together. I fly back to Green Bay in a week and then we are continuing westward.