Carolina Blue Sky

We have had cool weather with beautiful blue skies since arriving in Concord, NC Sunday evening. Travel from Columbus was very easy. Traffic was never a problem, the coach performed well, and we cruised in comfort. We stopped for diesel fuel and lunch at a Flying J in Commerce, GA; acute heartburn caught up with us soon after.

Fleetwood Campground is part of Lowe's Motor Speedway. Full hook ups are $25 per night when there are no races at the track. During 'race week' the rates climb to $200+ per night. Tom Johnson's Camping Center is about 100 feet from the campground. We settled in Sunday night and noticed a need for the space heaters to keep the coach comfortable. By morning we were very glad we had the heaters.

We took the coach to the service area about 7:45 AM Monday. By 9:00 AM we had met with the service adviser Richard and technician Philip to discuss the list of needed repairs. We then left to find breakfast at a local Cracker Barrel Restaurant. Shopping followed and we sought ways to kill time until picking up the coach around 5:00 PM. This has been the routine for the three days of repairs. Each day has had its frustrations. Missing parts, defective parts, and stubbornness have had us praying for patience. Each morning we meet with Richard and Phil to discuss what will be done that day; each night we discuss why the morning expectations were not met.

On Monday we planned to leave Thursday morning for Virginia Beach, but we are now awaiting a key part that is to be overnighted and scheduled to arrive by 10:30 AM. We will be fortunate to get away by mid day. Sadly all the repairs will not be done when we leave. Hopefully, we will get an appointment at the Monaco Service Center in Elkhart, IN while we are en route to Iowa for the Monaco America Rally in May.

We have Internet access here at the dealer's location. It is helpful to stay in touch and to pass time. More later as the journey continues.