Found a way to post pictures thats new to me and its taking some time to figure out. Below are a few of the pictures taken at Kentucky Horse Park that are the first for me posting with this system. Next post will try to be more organized.

Finally...On the road again!!!

We left today as the snow storms were predicted to arrive shortly!!!! We have really decided that being a snowbird is the life! We have always enjoyed the snow and even towed snowmobiles behind the motorhome for weekends away in the snow country, but sunshine is a wonderful thing ....it just makes you feel good and with reasonable warmth can't be beaten.



Tonight we are at Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington Kentucky. This is a beautiful place with the horses in wood fenced pastures and beautiful farms all around. This time of year they are preparing for the coming holidays with a light show with Christmas lights and figures everywhere. Unfortunately, it is not ready yet.. I tried to find pictures from a previous visit and I thought I had posted some on this blog, but apparently not. Maybe next time. Tried to post new pictures but the connection did not want to work for pictures for some reason. Will add them later.



Tomorrow we're off towards Columbia, South Carolina and hopefully a little warmer weather. Tonight is supposed to be in the low 30's or high 20's but we are warm and comfortable. Our "new" coach is really working out well.

Harsens Island - St Clair River

As you may have guessed it's been difficult to keep up with everything and it seems prudent that if this blog is to continue, it needs to keep current so.......

Our plans for this fall are starting to fall into place although where we will be for Christmas is still uncertain. We do plan on being in the middle of the Colosahatchee River at the Franklin Lock Corps of Engineers park to celebrate Thanksgiving. Actually, we are most anxious to get on the road and use this new coach and both of us are excited about going down the road.
This past weekend we got a little taste as we attended our annual get together with old High School friends on Harsens Island located in the middle of the St Clair River. Art and his wife Jane are fellow motorhomers and they have a place on the island that is about as restful as they come. We also tend to eat exceptionally well when the group gets together and we all come home thinking we shouldn't eat again. Getting to their place is kind of interesting as it seems from our perspective to be a pretty small ferry to get on the island. They treat us with care when loading and unloading and it is really an unusual feeling sitting in the coach while it moves with the wave action.

As you can see there is not a alot of room for a larger coach!

Arts place is located right on the water at the North Cut and while his boat (a classic 26" Chris Craft from 1939) was being repaired this year one of his friends stopped by with a 1936 Gar Wood triple cockpit runabout. It looked like it just came off the showroom floor and boy was it a beautiful boat."The Boat"

Captain and 1st Mate

Speeding by an ocean going freighter on the St Clair River

Thats Marge and I in the back on the North Cut

We do eat well and do have a good time......Thanks Art and Jane!

All but one couple will be heading out for warmer climates soon as we will be. Out plan is to visit friends on the way down and take the Natchez Trace....Will keep you posted.

Update

This will be a long post as we have been really really busy! My computer still has not been fixed until now and a lot has been going on....

CHESAPEAKE BAY AND COASTAL VIRGINIA

We left Royal Oak on Monday and stayed that night on the Upper Potomac near Hagerstown, Md at a nice KOA. Longer drive than expected but comfortable in the new coach. The campground is located right near a old mill that was quite picturesque.It was nice and relaxed and somewhat suprised that this close to Washington DC and Baltimore that someone hadn't developed the area. Tuesday we moved on down to Norfolk and Virginia beach area before crossing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel system to Virginia's Eastern Shore.

Marge on a stump

We both were blown away at the beauty of the bay and shoreline and were surprised to see that some of it looked not unlike Eastern Lake Michigan and its shoreline with dunes and sand beaches everywhere.

Entrance to one of the two tunnels that allow ships to cross unhindered by bridge height.

Typical bridge span with boats all along fishing

The tip of the eastern shore of Virginia

KIPTOPEKE STATE PARK

This state park located at the southern tip of the Virginian eastern shore and its a great place. Rates are reasonable, campsites are full hookup (unusual for a state park) there is a nice beach and boat launch as well as fishing pier to catch fish or crab. I have attached some of the pictures below.
Old Ferro Cement Liberty ships from WW II being used as a breakwaterPart of the Beach
The fishing area of the Pier - even a disposal for the fish carcasses from fish cleaning station.

The campground is located behind some dunes and as I said has full hookups. Its pretty much open but there is actually room between sites and the Virginian hospitality was wonderful. We stayed for 5 days and met our friends from florida and we slipped right into the eating routine immediately. Tried a variety of new things including fresh clams and blue crab. Our friend Matt supplied fresh Oysters from his "Oyster farm" and Jim who lives nearby brought his traps in and supplied the crabs and picked up the fresh clams. Needless to say the rest of the group provided more traditional things but what a meal!The "group" doing what they do best .....a cup in hand and talking!

DAY TRIP TO CAPE CHARLES

While in the area one of the more picturesque communities is cape charles where the railroad ferry crosses the Chesapeake Bay. Neat spot!

Even a private business car from the 30's

Downtown Cape Charles

Pier off the downtown of Cape Charles
A real Chesapeake Bay boat

I am very taken with area and the degree that it is still such a rural area. It's a wonderful area although the signs of development are starting to pop up. Try to visit the area soon.

Computer Problems

Our computer crashed and we are without its use until we get back. Note our location in the See where we are now link to the right. Will post once we get back our computer.

Maiden Voyage

We were introduced to the Manistee River 40 years ago by a friend that took me fishing for the day to his "secret spot" on that river and it has become a part of our life to go there at least once a year if not more. I'm not sure how anyone can look at this first picture below and not think it as one of the more beautiful settings in Michigan. The Manistee has changed a little in those 40 years with some growth and population along its banks, but there are still spots that are just something to behold as evidenced in the picture below.
Our new coach is everything we thought it would be.....and roomier than we thought. It is truly an apartment on wheels in which we can be comfortable anywhere we go. We did find a few things that need some work which is to be expected when buying a used unit but nothing excessive or a problem. One particular thing we noticed is that it is a much "tighter" coach than our previous Endeavor and there is much less road noise which is a nice plus for driving down the road. We are still fumbling around adjusting to new locations for light switches and which drawer has what in it, but spending time in it will cure that quickly.
The shot above here is of our private little camp space that our good friends have made for us and which we enjoy thoroughly. There is electricity and water for when we need it and its just behind their place right on the Manistee river. We generally canoe and fish in this area and enjoy the quiet of the river with a campfire at night and we generally eat well and more than we should. Below is another view of the sight and notice that we are not really close to anyone with lots of woods and a hunting preserve on the opposite side of the river.
Another beautiful view of this natural area that's relatively untouched.
We are leaving soon on a new trip which will really test us as we head to Cape Charles, Virgina to meet our friends that we met in the Florida Keys to have a get together were we again will probably eat too much....should be a great time!!

Trip Home

Well, we've been slow to post, but since we picked up the coach it has been busy! The trip home was three days as I was unsure about going back through Canada with just a bill of sale and someone else' license plates. We purchased the coach in Maine, the title was held by the State of Florida and the bureaucracy 's involved were more than I thought the customs would be able to sort out......soooo..... we took the long way home. Trip was uneventful except for the fact that the backup camera did not work (we knew that when we purchased it) and the braking system for our toad was a bit of a problem in that the it drained the battery on the toad. This of course presented a problem when we finally pulled into a camp for the night and attempted to disconnect. My good wife and I had a "discussion" about the best way to approach this problem when along came "Mike" who was walking the dog before going home to his wife. Mike who must have had a discussion with his wife about having forgotten their anniversary helped start our toad and life was good. Thanks Mike!

Had somewhat the same problem with a dead battery the next night and realized that the brake system needed looking at and was put on the list for repair when reaching home. The list is growing substantially and with all that we need to do relative to restocking the coach with all that we carry... the next few weeks will be busy. We will post pictures of the "new baby" as soon as we can.

Bar Harbor & Acadia National Park

We took a little time off to visit Acadia National Park and the town of Bar Harbor Maine and were overwhelmed with the natural beauty. The vistas along the coastal areas we everything we had read and heard about but until you actually see the area you just can't imagine how beautiful it really is and we saw it on a really bad day with rain no sun. Check out some of the pic's below:







Oh Yes! Marge finally saw her moose.
I need to learn how to post a slide show to some of the pictures we haven't posted and we will try that soon. Bar Harbor is a nice quaint resort town and it was fun to visit some 0f the shops there but scenery is something everyone should see.

The Trip East to pick up the New Baby

We left Wednesday morning for Maine to pick up the new coach. The pickup was packed to the hilt with goodies that we have been accumulating for the new coach and of course we had just a little excitement on our part. We are soooo.... looking forward to enjoying an RVagain....we really miss the traveling and we have all those reservations in place for this fall!

We decided to go through Canada not only to cut off some distance but to see something new. Ontario was great with good roads and with a Tim Horton's every so often to stop and snack. Our trip a year or so ago around Lake Huron was a pleasure with the roads good and we enjoyed going 90 Km/hr and less with time to see the surroundings.....this was more of the same.

The first interesting place we came across was Presque Ile Provincial Park on Lake Ontario which I had seen on the maps and thought it would be a good stopping place for a future trip to the North East. The park far exceeded my expectations with nice beaches and campsites right on the water....we will come back and stop there. Just down the road I just happened to spy a old Grand Trunk Steam Locomotive so I had to stop and hence the picture.
Just East of the Provincial park lies the "Thousand Islands" and the St Lawrence Seaway with ships moving up and down the river amongst these beautiful and quaint houses built on the smallest of islands..all with scenery that never ends.

We stopped the first night in Cornwall, Ontario and then pushed on to Quebec where the roads were in the same category as those in Michigan and I have to add the City of Montreal as one to avoid driving through with a motorhome particularly with the degree of congestion we ran into. The rains of course didn't help.

Crossing into the United States was kind of neat. We had thought we might have trouble as we had brought a lot of the replacement items for the new coach with us although we had receipts with us. The stop at the border was unique...a very nice guard that worked out of a small former gas station asked us all the pertinent questions and checked our passports but we had no troubles. It was a far cry from hundreds of cars an hour to what appeared to be a few every hour....most pleasant! And on top of that around the corner was the "piney woods of Maine" with lakes and views that were fantastic.

The rivers and lakes of Maine reminded us very much of northern Michigan but this was new and unfamiliar and really beautiful. We were even reminded to watch out for the Moose as they are quite active this time year. We even saw some fresh tracks where a group had crossed the road just before us. Maine is also another place we will return to and explore further.

We are in Bangor now and will have the coach soon.

New Coach

We leave Wednesday to pick up our new coach on Friday.....We are excited! This memorial day weekend we have been shopping with the settlement we received. We are replacing things like the crock pot, toasters, bedding, towels, etc. etc. etc. Boy, is it easy to spend money....almost scary! While its always easy to spend money we usually haven't bought so many goodies all at once and while the settlement was fair I can foresee that the depreciation factor will show with the purchase of so many things. Not everything will be replaced immediately.

We will load the pickup with all these goodies and our plan is to go through Canada which is the more direct route to Bangor and a little shorter. The route will take us along the northern shore of Lake Ontario and even the St Lawrence Seaway. We will try and post some pictures of the trip along the way.

We are going to do more shopping in Bangor to stock the coach with food and other little items that will probably be determined once we settle in. While familiarizing ourselves with the coach we also plan on visiting Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor which is only 35 miles from where we pick up the coach. Everything we have read and heard from friends who have been there have told us not to pass up the opportunity while there.

As I said, we are anxious to be on the road again and of course we are looking forward to some normalcy to life once again without fires and the related issues with it. I haven't had anything really to photograph of late to post to this blog but below is a picture of a small souvenir....a melted piece of the radiator from out old coach that I thought unique. Thought maybe I would drill a hole in and attach it to some keys or a bracelet.
After Acadia we will come home to fully pack the coach and organize everything more completely.

New Coach

Well......we found our new coach!! This last week after perusing countless advertisements on the Internet, visiting dealers, and trying to find what is available out there.....we found our next coach in Maine of all places! Here it is.....Its a 2004 Diplomat made by Monaco with the all the bells and whistles including a transferable warranty period for three more years. We close on it the 1st of June. It has everything we had previously plus lots more and we think at the right price. The interior is maple instead of oak which makes the interior much lighter. It has two couches that face each other in living area, pretty much the same kitchen and is decorated a with a little more resemblance to a home to my way of thinking. Our plan is to pick it up in Bangor, Maine....outfit it with some of our things we plan on bringing from home, and then shopping for whatever else we need when we get there.
We also plan on visiting Bar Harbor for a few days and then heading back to Michigan to outfit it further. Needless to say, our settlements have come in and while we probably lost some money relative to the depreciated values, we are pleased that we came out as well as we did. We are especially happy to be able to continue traveling as we have in a motorhome seeing this wonderful United States.

Marge and I both read quite a bit and while in Bangor we had to go by Steven Kings home which was fun. Didn't really see much except a very nice house and a unique iron fence with gargoyles and dragons. The picture below is Marge in front of his house. Being a celebrity you may notice that the gates were locked although with the subject matter he writes about, we decided he probably wasn't bothered all that much by people. He is very popular with the local townsfolk and has done a lot for the community. They all seemed to know where he lived and had a story about him.
We can hardly wait for next week....we can plan again, make reservations and think about all the places we want to go.....again!!!

Insurance

Noticed on www.hitchitch.com that our blog was still on the "new list" because of the fire incident we had a few weeks ago. The webmaster mentioned that there was curiosity about how the insurance was handled. At this point, we are very pleased with what the adjusters have done with us and we were in my opinion very lucky to have changed insurance companies from GMAC to Progressive Insurance. Frankly, I was less than pleased with them a few years ago due to the increased insurance costs and had switched from them to the Good Sam insurance program. After 40%, 30% and 25% increases from the 1st year with Good Sam without explanation or claims or driving record changes, we had had it with GMAC. In shopping around, the most promising choice was Progressive and they were quite competitive. They also suggested that since the coach was 5 years old that we have it appraised and then insure it for that amount which we did. That particular advice has worked very well for us as the coach was a total loss there was no bickering about value. Actually, the fire was on the 19th and we had a check in hand on 7th of May for the coach only. It would have been sooner but a confirmation from the investigators that arson was not involved had to acquired. A pleasant surprise was that the company will pay or reimburse for the sales tax (in Michigan 6%) of the agreed amount towards the purchase of a new motorhome. I don't usually recommend insurance company's, but I do have to say that Mr. Jeff Jardine at Mason McBride (www.masonmcbride.com) led me through the process this past January and was most helpful. Obviously, he was looking out for me.

Contents are a little bit different, but the same in some ways. First with us it is covered by our home owners insurance ...not the motorhome insurance. In our case Allstate Insurance. We claim those items lost at our cost when purchased. That cost is depreciated to get an actual cash value. That plus the sales tax payed at purchase is reimbursed to us. Beyond that our policy allows for reimbursement cost coverage. To qualify, I must first repair, rebuild, or replace the damaged property item and present receipts for same with in 180 days. This covers the difference between actual cash value and replacement cost. They are giving me actual cash value and if I replace the item or items, they will pay the difference.

Insurance is certainly strange and we were lucky...mostly that "things" were involved not people. We had just come back from a 5 month trip and were not in the motorhome at the time. These past few weeks have gone by so quickly and we have been fortunate enough that they have gone well for us. If you have a motorhome or coach and are not sure about your insurance it might be a good thing to check you policies. Oh and another simple little thing... take your camera video, digital, whatever and record your property ......and store it somewhere with children or safe deposit boxes away from your coach.

Once again thankyour for all the interest and concern...were looking for a coach now and hope to be back on the road soon.

Motorhome quest

After a lot of thought ....well maybe not that much thought....we have decided to replace the old motorhome with something new (or used) and we have been looking to see what is out there. Motorhoming has been such a part of our lives since 1974 that we decided we can't give it up yet. We both think that if we can, we want to get another Monaco product. We had such good luck with everything on our old coach that its hard not to replace it with something similar. It was the first of any of the coaches (7) we have owned that actually got 10 mpg (not always, but for one 2500 mile stretch). Our average since we have owned it was 9.1. Mind you. we have slowed down considerably to achieve that goal, but these days its nice to know it can be achieved. We also had very few problems from day one, which we think is indicative of the manufacturing at Wakarusa, Indiana where both the Diplomat and Endeavor among others are made side by side. Yes, we did have a fire, but from everything we have determined it was a bit of a fluke with something simply shorting out that shouldn't have. I do think that the Roadmaster Chassis is one of the best.
We have spent a little time traveling to see whats available and this next week we plan to go east to check out something that looks very promising near Boston. Last week we were at the plant in Indiana. Strange not to be moving around like this without a motorhome. We have even found a new ...never titled ....2004 unit on the west coast that looks good. I know ....no pictures....but we will post some soon.....maybe a new coach!
We will post in a week or so to let you know whats up.

Goodby old coach

Where to begin....

This past week or so we have had insurance investigators on all sides here trying to figure out the cause of the fire. I think we have had no less than 10 representatives of insurance companies as well as experts , engineers and specialists that do this for a living .....looking and digging through the mess from the fire. The smell just does not go away and we have had to keep an old pair of clothes and shoes for when we are anywhere near the coach or the area around it.

At this point, it appears that somewhere in the coach some heavy wiring shorted out and eventually heated to the point of combustion or at least provided the heat for something nearby to combust. The experts poked around and picked up pieces of wiring and anything else that might point to a more distinct cause and of course took all kinds of pictures to document everything. They all were interesting to watch with everyone dictating into portable recorders marking things etc.
How they determine anything from a mess like above is beyond me but they seemed to conclude that it was indeed a short in something in the coach that led to the fire. After they left we were finally given the ok to get what we could out of the coach, but other than the outside compartments down low most everything was destroyed. We were able to get silverware and some of the pots and pans cleaned up and they will be used again, but all the books, maps campground guides and other treasures were gone or destroyed.
.The wrecker arrived and spent quite a bit of time preparing it for its last trip. It was slowly pulled out of the parking area with a great deal of squealing and noise. Like it didn't want to go.
They wrapped it pretty good with tarps to prevent debris from flying off while being towed
Backing down the street on its last trip.

Not sure what happens next, but we are starting to look for a replacement and everyone should know that we have no qualms about looking at another Monaco product. We both think they make an excellent product and would buy one again. This fire from all the discussion appears to be a bit of a fluke....the investigators said that most fires in motorhomes have been caused by refrigerators or kitchen fires.

We have had lots of emails from friends and even complete strangers from all over which we certainly appreciate. We thank you for your concern, but things will get back to normal soon!!