It certainly is strange to have Gee Whiz in storage, mostly powered down and us not living aboard. We have been living on board continuously since November 2012. We will be back on board on June 11 as we roll down the road to Syracuse, 90 miles, to the Good Sam Rally being held at the New York State Fairgrounds just west of Syracuse. Before I get into that I want to note our unusual route from Covesville to Rochester. For the RVers among you our coach is a DP (Diesel Pusher) and only requires oil change and preventive maintenance every 15000 miles or one year.
May 8 we had owned Gee Whiz for one year and had put on 13,000 miles. I located a Freightliner (chassis manufacturer) Service facility that was listed as being motorhome friendly in Canonsburg PA, just south of Pittsburgh. This lead to our rather unusual route north. The first map routing suggested US 250 to I 79. Seeing the twists and turns on the map I was doubtful. Research by asking on RV.net/forums yielded the information that motorcyclists considered that route to have some really challenging turns! We opted for more miles and stayed mostly on interstates – very unusual for us. I 68 across northern Maryland turned out to be among the most challenging and beautiful Interstate drives in the East that we can remember. We arrived at Fyda Freightliner at 6 PM to find the service operation in full swing, the last techs leave at midnight. We set up in the parking lot with no indication of when they would call us into the a bay. Eventually we went to sleep and I got up in time to be at the service desk at 6 AM. They had us in a bay by 10 and then the waiting became serious. How long does it take to change the oil and filters and lube the chassis? Not very, but they did not have an oil filter in stock for the generator and had to send out for it. After an hour and a half wait, I learned that the Napa store they ordered it from was 1 1/2 miles away and I prepared to drive over and get the part myself. This triggered renewed activity in the parts area which located the part which have been sitting in the wrong place for over an hour. Once again we found ourselves delayed by poor communication in a service organization.
We rolled out by 3:30 PM and located a KOA campground on Lake Erie in Westfield NY. We arrived in time to prepare dinner and did not care to disconnect the Jeep and go exploring. We walked across the highway to a town park that sits on a bluff above the lake. The area might be worth exploring some day. We took the opportunity to renew our acquaintance with US 20, traveling from Westfield to just outside of Buffalo on that route, avoiding the NY Thruway as long as possible. We got on it where it crosses US 62 because we planned to stop at Flying J in Pembroke to top off the fuel tank before putting the coach in storage. Our worst mishap of the entire year happened as I pulled into the parking lot at Warner Lofts. I refused to listen to Carol and attempted to make a right turn into the lot. The angle is too tight from that direction and I left a bit of paint on the gate post before getting out and disconnecting the Jeep while messing up traffic on Pleasant Street. With the car disconnected I was able to back out and reenter with no further damage. Our departure, backing out onto Pleasant, was equally aggravating to motorists as it took a large number of very small moves to get out without making contact with any of the many obstacles.
Next week we will be vendors at the Good Sam Rally, selling memberships in Harvest Host and giving a seminar “Free Overnight Stays at Wineries & Farms” Friday 6/14 @ 3:00 – 4:30 p.m. in Seminar F. Please visit us in the booth #252. As those of you who know us on the road, FREE is the operative word, and we have had plenty of good times enjoying the Free!
Several days have passed since I wrote the above. I am not even sure what we have done, but we have the material for the Rally and have set up the credit card processor. We have visited friends and are working on filling our calendar, summer is getting booked and it isn’t even here yet.