Last Sunday afternoon, we arrived safely in Nappanee, IN, for a previously scheduled 5 day appointment with the Newmar Service Center techs. As you may recall, or may not, all depends on you...we had a slight issue with the delivery of our coach to the dealer. An accelerator module failed, and the engine shut off. Freightliner claims this is a common issue (side bar....WHO THE HECK SAYS THAT'S OK?? Why not just FIX the darned thing and send 'em out RIGHT, the first time??), but it added a couple of weeks' delay in delivery and punched a hole in the front endcap, around the generator cover area. There were also a few minor adjustments we needed made, and a baggage door needed replacing (the tow truck operator stowed the mudflap in the bay and it either didn't fit, shifted, or something, but a gash in the insulation of the door was the end result). Soo, they said we could have 5 days at their facility and get everything all fixed up. Of course, we jumped all over that, and made our plans accordingly. Barbara & Charles (from Silver Springs, FL) decided to bite the bullet and placed an order for a SIXTH Newmar (still a Ventana) and they had a few final finishing selections to make, so they made plans to come up as well, thinking we could all explore together. Our friend, John, the retired Newmar executive, just so happened to have some free time this week too, so we all hung out together and had a blast!
So, grab a cuppa, sit back, and enjoy the picture show! We left Athens, AL and headed up through rolling hills to Nashville. The weather was just perfect for traveling and even the roads were pretty darned good. Much better than we remembered, that's for sure.
We rolled right on by Nashville, getting only a glimpse at the downtown area and skyline.
Nice easy fuel stop, with a young lady selling her homemade & handcrafted baskets. Couldn't stop, but hope she had a great day!
Stopped overnight at Camp Carlson Recreation Area in Kentucky, and lemme just tell you....we will NOT be returning to this facility any time soon. First we had to drive out to Egypt, over single lane, under construction roads, over a course that the GPS laid out, and it certainly was not the preferred route. Not MY preferred route, that's for sure. I could not for the life of me, understand why Sally (the SmartA$$LadyOfTheDash) directed us soooo very far north before turning west, but she often knows about low clearances, maximum widths and weight limits, so we both determined she knew something we didn't, and we had better follow her directions. Especially since they coincided with the Military Campgrounds database directions. Little did we know...apparently, they both needed updating. Anyhow, once we found our way into the Camp, we found it to be a nice little park, with decent interior roads and some shade. And a convenient dumpster. I neglected to mention other niceties and facilities, didn't I. It is not an oversight. There was no phone reception. There was no WiFi reception. There was no TV. There were no walking trails and no pool or hot tub. There WAS a discount, for our old age parks pass...a whole dollar! That made brought the cost of our plain jane site to a whopping $34! Barb and Charles stayed overnight at Exit 20, on the Ohio Turnpike, and they had lots of TV, their own WiFi, telephone reception and it only cost them $20! Definitely, we got had. But, the next morning dawned, bright and early, and we took MY way out of town. Much shorter and more direct. On the way out, we were met by this sign at the intersection. Look closely, maybe even click on the photo to enlarge it, and you will see the sign marking the gate to Fort Knox. Notice there's no guard, and it's closed to traffic. Yup, that's where all the country's money is stored!
Along the way, we noticed a whole lot of smoke in the air. We thought maybe it was a power plant, as it appeared to be coming out of smokestacks. As we approached, though, it appeared to be steam.
And then we saw the tell-tale hills. That's no power plant, nor is it a fire. It's gaseous release from the town dump(s)! Yup, those hills looked just like the ones we just left, in Marietta, GA, just down from the fairgrounds....humongous and lush. With vents.
Here we go, into Louisville. Too bad we didn't have time to stop in at the Corvette Museum. We did pass by it, and you may recall, they had a sinkhole a few years back, and just left millions of dollars worth of cars right there in it.
We made really good time, and before you knew it, we were heading into Indiana. Over a bridge, a big ole bridge. And to top it off, it was a TOLL bridge! Typically, we try to avoid tolls, but there were no exits prior to the bridge, so over it we went, fully expecting a toll booth and to cough up a few bucks. Maybe as much as ten. But, there was no toll booth! I'm guessing (and have later verified) there is a bank of cameras somewhere along the way. I'll be expecting an invoice in the mail, but you know what they say...Catch me if you can! To our knowledge, we haven't gotten the invoice from Chesapeake yet, either, so I'm pretty sure our bicycles are (illegally) obscuring our license plate. Our last piece of mail entered the box on July 3rd, so unless they are way behind, I'm pretty sure we owe our thanks to the good people of Indiana (and Virginia), who are subsidizing our bridge crossings.
This artwork installation reminded me of the arches over I-40, in Winston Salem, but, as Julie reminded me, those arches span the highway. And are lighted. Don't know if these light up or not, but, to be honest, they appear to be just as useless.
So, we've skirted Indianapolis, with not so much as a glimpse at any speedway, or even a skyline worth noting. But then we got to the farms and plains, and we knew we were in Indiana once more. We both remembered seeing nothing but corn, barns and silos for miles and miles when we were here last time, a couple of years ago. (Big shout out to JJ and Dee, from Jacksonville, whom we met in Decatur, while we were both getting our coaches serviced at the REVGroup facility.)
It was right about here when we let Barbara and Charles know we were only about 3 miles out from Newmar. Charles called right away, and asked what did we see? Well, this was our view. That horse's gait was simply beautiful to watch. He looked like he was floating on air, and all four feet seemed to be off the ground at once. It was really mesmerizing, and so sweet to listen to the clip clops! We've been here a week now, and they are all over the place, and I'm still enthralled each time I see or hear a buggy coming.
Once we got all settled in at the Service Center, we took a short ride into town, just to get the lay of the land. What adorable sculptures they've installed all over! Each one is made of recycle scrap metal and they are pretty much on every corner. They add a touch of whimsy to the charming downtown area of Nappanee.
Monday morning came, bright and early, and they took our coach & our list of issues away. At SIX A.M! They had it less than 3 hours, when we back back in to get something (a week later, and I have NO idea what, so don't even ask!) and this is what we saw. Unreal. It was disconcerting, but not nearly as upsetting as when we found the full wall slide out of our Vacationer and on its side, with no roof. Twice.
This view convinced me that I might even finally get a consistently working porch light! Oh, but it's the little things that make us smile! I couldn't wait for nightfall to test it out. (update - it works! That time, every time!)
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