Saturday, August 13, 2016

Aug 6th - 12th - IN, KY, TN, MS

Aug 6th - 12th – IN, KY, TN, MS
Sat – (I just looked back over the blog and realized that I didn't include the reason that we seem to be backtracking and going in all sorts of wrong directions. We are going to get some warranty work done on our 5th wheel in Indiana since we really don't like the dealer & their service department in Arizona where we bought it. We called a while ago and made an appointment for the work and for a tour of the Grand Design factory.)
We took our time getting going and first found the locations of the repair place we will be using and the Grand Design factory. Then we went to Shipshewana which is a town full of mainly Amish owned shops. We wandered around a long time without buying anything. We went to the RV Hall of Fame where there was also an RV show taking place. We checked out a few toy haulers before going into the Hall of Fame. We have been there before but it is an amazing place and we enjoyed it again. Back to the rig to relax and have dinner.
Sun – We drove all over looking for a place for breakfast. The GPS did a wonderful job of sending us in circles and had us in a slum-y housing development instead of at a Denny's. We did eventually get to eat. We went to Menards (like Home Depot) to get a couple of small plastic bins and something to repair a hinged access door at the back of the garage. We damaged it on New Year's Eve with the legs of a plastic lawn chair and just now figured we should do something. We pulled up the non-slip covering and cleaned up the glue residue. We found a throw rug just the right size and put it down with double-sticky carpet tape. The back wheel of the bike goes over it all the time so we will see how well it lasts! We also made a stop for very few items at WalMart as we were on the bike when shopping. Hot weather so we stayed inside with the ACs running. We loaded the bike in preparation for tomorrow.
Mon – We took the 5th wheel into Charger Enterprises at 8:00 and went over all the repairs needed. Some picky, some not like the fridge door that came open when driving and the counter top put a dent in the door. We went back to Shipshewana, found a place to have breakfast (“Haystack” for Terry) and then checked out a few more stores including one with an amazing selection of fabrics. We went to the Grand Design factory for a tour at 2:00. There was only us and one other couple in our group with a very knowledgeable young tour guide. The workers had mostly finished for the day (they start early to beat the heat) so we were able to go anywhere to check things out from the bare frame to the finished products in the quality control area. Very interesting! We went from there right to the repair place and found out as we were driving that they pulled the rig beside their office and plugged it in (30 amp) so we could stay overnight and they could continue working on it in the morning. Luckily the office was still open when we got there as we found out that the fridge door did not arrive and they had no idea when it would get there and a slide to fix a bedroom drawer was on order. We ended up being pretty ticked off with the shop manager (who we thought from phone calls was “on the ball”) and decided to hook up and go back the RV park where at least we had 50 amps for multiple ACs.
Tues – The repair shop was to contact us today when they wanted the rig back in so we hung around and basically did nothing. OK – we played a FEW computer games!!! We did not get a phone call at all!!!!
Wed – We packed up and left fairly early and headed south. We finally got a phone call saying the drawer slide was in (I didn't mention that they broke the drawer slide fixing another problem in the dresser!) but they had no more information on the fridge door. We told them yesterday that we would have them ship the door to Mesa to be repaired when we get back. We drove a fairly straight line south – 31 to I65 (around Indianapolis in a blinding rain storm) and 2/3 of the way through Kentucky where we ended up in Cave City at a Passport America RV park where we stayed a few years ago. Still hot & humid. We went for a walk after dinner and stopped to chat with 2 couples traveling together – brothers & their wives – Jim & Sue (Oklahoma) and Ken & Judy (Wisconsin). We told them about VVV and will give them more info.
Thurs – After coffee, toast & a few computer games, we went to Mammoth Caves and bought tickets for a 9 o'clock tour which was starting in a few minutes. We chose the “Historical Tour” which included walking down a road to a big cave entrance, going through “fat man's nightmare” (narrow by your feet & head) & “tall man's nightmare” (yup, duck down all the way), across the “bottomless pit” on a metal grid bridge, into a couple of HUGE caverns and up & down many stairs. The tour guide was very good & knowledgeable about all the history involved. Of course the cave was cool so walking back UP the road in sudden heat was a workout. We went to WalMart for groceries and had lunch there first at McDonalds. We stopped at a liquor store (cost more than groceries!) and came back to put everything away and rest for a while before dinner. We walked down to visit our new friends for a while and to give them VVV fliers for the fall special.
Fri – We never unloaded the bike as the back of our site was downhill and the back ramp would have been very steep so it didn't take long to pack up & leave. Terry prefers driving freeways so we continued south on I65 and then west on I40 at Nashville. This continues to be “construction season” everywhere with lots of work just out of Memphis. Conflicting construction & permanent signs caused us to miss an exit and we ended up on “surface” streets in Memphis – yuk! But we made it to Sam's Town RV park just out of Tunica MS and got set up. I saw a post on FB that Bob & Bobbie were in Graceland which is not very far away so I sent a message and they ended up driving down to see us. We had a nice chat before we all went for the seafood buffet at Sam's Town. We stayed to register for our site (I had registered online but we needed to check in) and Bob & Bobbie headed back. We were tired so didn't even stay to gamble.

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