Closing the Deal

Friday turned out to be an eventful day. We met with Kim early to go over the punch list. It was reduced to a few items to work and several questions yet to be answered. The shop foreman, Rich, told us they would finish Friday; Kim told us it would be Monday at the earliest. The coach was returned at the usual time. The techs must have been in a hurry to get to happy hour, because they left a drop-cloth under the steering wheel.

We had an early dinner at a Texas Roadhouse near I-80/I-90. Storm warnings were everywhere. The weather channel had shown possible tornadoes in Iowa heading to Illinois and then Indiana. By early evening, the tornadoes were to our south, but we were in the path of severe weather. It arrived soon after Ralph went to the lounge to solve a communication problem on the computer. Janice was in the coach as the winds roared through and the rain came in torrents. She tried to call Ralph to tell him to come back, but he was on the phone to Direct TV. His call lasted over 40 minutes, and when he finished, the storm had passed. Good news: through the wind and rain, the coach did not leak.

Saturday was a sleep-in day, and we also wanted to drive to South Bend to see the Notre Dame University campus. We enjoyed excellent weather as we made the 16-mile trip. Miss Garmin took us into the back side of the city. We went through some rundown sections before the beauty of the campus came into view. This was Reunion Weekend on campus and there were many alumni walking the campus. We drove those roads we could; the interior roadways are ‘pedestrian only’. We saw the stadium, the “Touchdown Jesus” mural, and the “Golden Dome” on the administration building.

Downtown South Bend is a typical college town with many bars, restaurants, and businesses that support the university and students. Additionally, the community is home to the College Football Hall of Fame. We spent about 90-minutes touring the museum. The tour was excellent in every way. The quality of the museum is impressive and any football fan would enjoy this place.

We had planned to take the coach on a test drive to check out the squeaky front door. We needed to dump the holding tanks as a prelude to travel. When we closed the coach slides, the awning over one of the bedroom slides failed to retract; it rolled up on the roof. We emptied the tanks, but canceled the test ride.

Sunday dawned as another beautiful blue sky day. It seemed a perfect day to wash the coach. We still had mud from West Virginia on tires and under wheel wells and a lot of dust and dirt on windows and side panels. Lots of folks came by to invite us to wash their rigs, but we declined. A new couple arrived and told us they had been in South Dakota on Wednesday and had 3-inches of snow; they need a wash also. Both of us worked several hours to clean the coach, and then rested watching the NASCAR race.

We celebrated our daughter Amy's birthday Sunday evening with dinner at Papa Vino’s. This is a must visit place for anyone in this area. It is in Mishawaka about 10-miles west of Elkhart. Everything about the place is remarkable: service, food quality, and price. We highly recommend it.

This morning, Monday, is another great weather day. Ralph saw Kim walking the campground at 6:30 AM and told her about the awning problem. She immediately called Rich who sent Dirk to the coach. Dirk told us we were not scheduled for service today; we were finished on Friday. This is a surprise to us, and we have asked Kim for a meeting. Dirk did take the coach in to repair the awning. So we wait.