Day 11
27 June 2011
Fleetwood Motorhome Rally, Shawnee, OK

It's a windy day in Oklahoma. I could start a description of every day so far with that description but this morning seems even more so than others. I could also start with "It's going to be a HOT, HOT day in Oklahoma." Near record temperatures. 103 degrees F. yesterday was the high here in Shawnee is what I heard. More of the same to come.

The rally is going well. We've met a number of folks and enjoyed visiting with them. Who knows, some of them may even turn into friends as we get better acquainted. They've all been nice folks. Most are older than us, but some are younger. Most have bigger coaches than we do, but that is to be expected since we have one of the smallest. Of course, I've been looking at the coaches on display and have found one to love: Fleetwood Terra (2012) 34E. To me, it seems to have almost everything I would want in a coach. Mary likes it too, but in her way that complements mine so much she wants to see more examples, learn more, look at the dollars and cents. I think it is a good balance. I get excited. She restrains me. It works for us anyway, although I know that at times she feels like she is being a wet blanket to my enthusiasm. She's not. It's like a governor on an engine keeping it from running away and self-destructing. I appreciate her thoroughness. So now I have two "favorite" coaches, the Terra 34E and the Tiffin Allegro 34TGA. Each has something to recommend it over the other. Each has some points at which it is not perfect. Compromise is the nature of life so we'll see which way we go. Interestingly, the salespersons I have talked to that represent each of these models are both named Fred. It's too bad that I can't get them in the same room competing with each other to make an offer!

We've gone to some interesting seminars and learned some useful information. We both have gone back to seminars we went to last year and learned things that we either didn't hear last year or that have been added to the presentations. We have things we need to talk to people about to learn even more in areas like cleaning and safety and internet connection on the road. (I wish my US Cellular connection was more reliable and faster. I know the latter is unlikely to change unless I could stay in 4G areas and invest in new equipment, but those areas are scarce. The former, however, could be improved. I'm going to look into options: a booster, an external antenna, a new carrier [Verizon is likely, should I decide to change].) 

The highlight of yesterday was a beneficial discussion with Blue Ox, the manufacturer of our towing system. I've had some frustrations with installing the supplemental braking system in the car prior to driving each day. For those who haven't thought about it, even though a motorhome is a large vehicle, if it is towing even a very small car (like our Honda Fit Sport), it needs to have a system in the car that activates the car brakes when the driver steps on the motorhome brake. In our case, that is a Blue Ox Patriot model that pushes on the brake pedal when I step on the brake in the coach. It seems like it takes me half an hour to do something that should tae five minutes. I stopped by the Blue Ox booth and explained my problem and Michael Swan, a customer  service representative, came out to our coach and spent some time looking at the setup and suggesting some changes to solve the problem. It worked for him. Now let's see if it works for me on Wednesday when we get ready to leave here. I also got a free part to replace a small ring that had vanished somewhere along the road. Thanks, Blue Ox!

Saturday, both Mary and I took a short (two hour) driving course. It was excellent instruction. Some of it told me what I already knew, but we both learned that we could back a 38-foot coach through a slalom course of orange cones WITHOUT hitting or running over a single cone! We drove straight line learning how to handle a diesel coach (ours is a gasser and feels somewhat different...and easier to drive), backed straight line, practiced precision stopping, drove a slalom course forward and backward, and then
practiced turning corners in a long coach. And we both passed with no mishaps.

Last night (Sunday), we went out to eat at Alister's Deli, a chain we learned to appreciate in Murfreesboro, TN. Good eating, reasonable prices, and great sweet tea.

Now let's see if the conference center can top yesterday's breakfast which was biscuits and gravy. Off to begin a new day!