Frolicking on the Sun Coast ...

As most of you know we are great frolickers. Hither and yon we frolic; usually from one disaster to another but now with most of that behind us, we can now focus on serious goofing off.

... Well that's not entirely true as we've been spending some needed time with friends and family in the Battle Creek. It was good to see them all and provide support in some difficult times.

Anyway we've been poking around the South Haven area, discovering new places and things to do. Since this time of year kicks-off the fresh vegetables and fruit harvest; roadside stands are overflowing with peaches, blueberries, tomatoes and sweet corn. Not wanting to disappoint any of the local farmers, we've tried to stop at all of them for a few items. The downside of all this fresh stuff has made many of the local restaurants a little despondent as we've not been visiting them as often. It's a heavy burden we carry... literally and figuratively.

We've wandered down to the beach at sundown to catch one of nature's wonders ... sunset over Lake Michigan. Joined by hundreds of other sunset worshipers, every one is different and magical. Earlier in the week we were joined by our friends Tom and Mary and witnessed an oncoming thunderstorm complete with lots of lightening. Beautiful, exciting and maybe even a little frightening too as the lightening strikes grew closer.



That's Tom, Mary and Sharon in the photo, watching calmly as it all unfolds. About 3 seconds after the flash the thunder clap reached them and it sorta' looked like the tryouts for the Olympic 100 meter dash getting back to the car. Tom won.

Sharon and I wandered down to Blue Chip Casino ... only now we call it the Buffalo Chip as that's the chips we ended up with. Actually, a few winning spins on the roulette wheel got us back even but it sure could have been a lot better. On the return trip we were greeted with another one of Mother Nature's treats. A super severe storm that brought high wind, tornadoes, torrential rain, and wide-spread damage. As an old storm spotter back home I knew this one was a doosey. In between lightening flashes I was convinced I saw a forming tornado quartering toward us. With no place to turn off, I barrelled ahead and got beyond its path. Not exactly textbook behavior but in this case it worked out. The old heart muscles sure got a workout for a few minutes.

We're struggling with our satellite system as we're having trouble finding a clear opening to the southwest sky. Trees are great for shade but suck for satellite reception. Without it we're stuck with whatever our analog antenna will get us ... two gospel stations and a channel specializing to cucumber cultivating. Good thing we brought our lawn darts. They are a little dangerous at night however.

And so it goes ... life in fast lane.

Still livin' the dream

Home again and again and again ...

With fond memories of our New York sibling gathering still wandering around my head, I opened the back door of our home after the long drive. With cat-like speed I quickly figured out that I wasn't still at Upper Saranac Lake but was now standing in my own lake. Not the welcome home we expected. I could see the fallen drywall, the warped flooring, the general mess. I poked my head out the door and informed Sharon that she soon would be not too happy. I went upstairs to find a similar mess and to confront the problem that caused all the damage. The small water line that attaches to the toilet had broken and had ran for the better part of 9 days. I was right about Sharon not being too happy. Anyway a call to the State Farm Insurance agent got the process rolling to get us whole again. Staying calm helps but staying calm with vodka helps better.

State Farm put us up at the Residence Inn and brought in a catastrophic damage team to clean up the mess and begin drying out the house. About five days later we returned and then began the process of working with contractors to do the repairs. After a week or so fussing and fuming with various contractors, I call the insurance people and told them to put everything on hold as we were going on vacation for a couple of months. We figured why spoil the perfectly good trip we'd planned to the sun coast of Michigan! So we quickly solidified our plans and began packing for the trip.

We could only go so far in packing as our coach was still in for paint and repairs. A few days later we got the call that all was ready so we picked it and brought it home for packing. Normally it's a two day job but we managed to get it ready in one. The coach looked great and ran like a top.
At least from the shop to our driveway.

The next day we shut down the house for our two month trip, packed the final toothbrush, attached the tow car and headed out. We got only a few miles and a warning light came on and the engine lost power and the transmission wouldn't shift. I could only see our savings account disappearing as each minute passed. I called American Recreation Vehicles in Burton Michigan and told them of our problems.


We returned to their shop and a few adjustments were made and we were off once again.

This time we made it almost to Lansing (about 40 miles) and the loss of power and overheating reoccurred. I grabbed the cell phone and once again called American RV. All of you RV owner know the feeling that was overtaking me. Slightly nauseous, tightening sphincter muscles, bulging veins in the neck and that knowledge of pending poverty. Our vacation ruined. I knew the RV gods had left the building.

Two techs were immediately dispatched to our I69 rest stop location. They soon arrived and after a passing monsoon let up they worked on a few things and we soon discovered the same problems crop up after the engine reached a certain temperature. So we all decided to return to the shop for addition diagnosis.

So day 1 was scrapped and we needed to decide where to spend the night. American RV wanted to put us up in a local motel and take care of our dinner expense but we decided to return home, turn the electrical and water back on and just put up with the mess our home was still in. We really appreciated their offer but it wasn't such a big deal for us to return home. None-the-less it was very nice of them to ask.

Day 2 passed, so did day 3 only to again find the overheating problem was not solved. The best (?) minds from Monaco Corp., the best (?) from Cummins Engine, and the best (?) from Allison Transmission were of little help in helping our shop resolve this problem. As it turned out... someone at Monaco dusted off one of the old guys who new that the new charged air cooler the shop just had installed was slightly different from the original and needed some special shrouding fabricated to funnel the air properly through the new unit. Sure would have been nice if they had told my service people at A.R.V when they ordered the part.

Speaking of American RV in Burton, we cannot express how well we were treated through this whole experience. The owner, Clarence Reynolds and his crew spent many long hours trying to fix our problem when all along it was an undisclosed design change from Monaco that caused our four day delay.

As most RV owners know, owning one of these mechanical marvels will get you acquainted with repair shops some time or another... and I'm no exception. I've frequented maybe 8 various shops in our travels but none, including Monaco's factory shop, can hold a candle to the dedicated crew at American RV. To top off the final day they had sincere apologies for taking so much time and they presented Sharon and me with a beautiful bouquet of flowers for the coach and thanking us for our patience. First class outfit ... I'd say.

So fellow RVer's take note. This is an unabashed endorsement for the quality of service we experienced at American Recreation Vehicles. Take the Belsay Road exit (I69 exit #141) just East of Flint on I69 then go about a quarter mile north just past the railroad tracks. Tell them Phil sent you. Their names in the picture above are... (l to r) Joy, Clarence, Laurie, Jay, and Jason. Thanks again.

Headed for South Haven and still 'livin' the dream.