Almost to our Summer Home

After leaving the Kentucky Horse Farm we drove another three hours and stayed overnight at the KOA in Wapakoneta, Ohio. Site 36 although they have a number of sites where we don't have to unhook. Easy in and out and folks very friendly. This has been our stop a number of times when traveling. They deliver food to your site. Last time we had wings, fries and pizza and all was really good. We ordered double cheese on the pizza and it came with too much cheese. Nice dog park. Satellite friendly. Next morning we got on the road for another 3 hour drive to spend the weekend at the KOA in Kimball, Michigan (Port Huron). Our favorite before crossing the border into Canada. We called Willow Lake CG in Woodstock, Ontario and advised we would be arriving early. They are waiting for us. Looking forward to seeing all the upgrades the new owners have done to the park since buying it last year.

Northward Bound

Entrance to KHP

This was a new experience for us and would def go back. Site must be booked online and you don't know what your getting until you arrive. We were in 14 but they were able to change us to 49 which was better. All sites back in and 50 ft long. John listed the following sites that we would look at in future. Fewer trees, level and easier to get satellite 71, 73, 131, 04, 154, 157, 158,159, 164, 198, 31. The following are level: 132, 133, 134, 68, 69, 70, 72, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 168, 169, 165, 162, 163, 155, 152, 201, 202,203, 209, 208, 199, 180, 181, 172, 173,174,175, 63, 64, 30, 32, 36, 39. Although satellite is maybe, there are lots of local channels available.  Excellent 50 amp and water. No sewer but two dump stations. Great bike trail and you can actually ride to the Kentucky Horse Farm. We enjoyed the Farm. $18 for seniors and $16 if staying at campground. The campground office gave us a map of the KHF so we could plan the Horse Drawn Trolley at 10 am, Hall of Champions Show at 10:30, Parade of Breeds at 11 am, Draft Horse Demonstration at 11:45 and then we wandered thru the International Museum of the Horse and watched the movie at the Gift Shop. The same scheduled shows run again in the afternoon and there was lots to see and do. We would go back to the KHP Campground to stay and then do the Horse Farms Tour,  Mohammed Ali Museum in Lexington, enjoyed the Bluegrass Festival going on at the campground as well as other events in the area. Great stop

Mounted Police Barn

Derby Winner: Go For Gin

Parade of Breeds Finale

Clydesdale and Shire pulling trolley

Tiffin Magazine "Roughing it Smoothly"

Reminder to our Tiffin Family: when you go to the Tiffin Motorhome website at tiffinmotorhomes.com and go to the Owners section and then to Roughing it Smoothly, you may want to bookmark that site in you favorites. All of the issues dating back to 2004 are there plus,,,, you can search a word and every article with that word in it will be listed. Excellent tool if you are looking for information on an area, looking for a campground in an area, looking for information on an issue or simply wanting to read about other Tiffin owners. Fred Thompson has done an excellent job of bringing information to us.

Northward Bound

 Arrived at KOA Pigeon Forge Thursday. Because of all the rain, the first site was muddy and too small for us. They graciously moved us to a deluxe site which was much larger and dry. Patriot's Park is beside the campground and it has a half mile paved track for biking and walking. Can also walk across to buy ticket for the Trollie and catch it around Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. $2.50 for wrist band for the day with unlimited on and off. The Mill restaurant is right there as well so KOA is a good location. We would caution to be careful of the site you book as roads in campground are busy and sites are tight. Took in the show "Country Tonight" Friday evening and enjoyed. Went up to highest point in Smoky National Park for pictures. Absolutely beautiful everywhere in the park. Temp at campsite was 85F and at top at Clingmans Point was 63F. Much warmer than when we were here with Don and Scarlett 12 years ago. That day we took pictures in the snow. John was not able to get the Stanley Cup playoff game on their cable network and satellite would not come in for this site. However, the internet signal is the best we have ever had so he watched game on Direct TV on his iPad.

 


 Tomorrow we are on the road again heading north !

Heading North May 2018

Hiked to Lost Falls

Desoto Falls

Small house just outside State Park

We were so fortunate to get a site at Desoto State Park, Fort Payne, Alabama for the Memorial Day Weekend last minute. They were able to change us from a back in to a pull thru. Great site, lots of room and full hook up. We ended up staying longer while we toured the area. Lots of rain from Alberto but lots of sunny times as well.

Hiking in State Park

Indian Falls 

Alabama Fan Club Museum Closed
 but did check out gift shop

Store in Mendone, AL

Mendone is highest elevated inc city in Alabama

Heading North 2018

Thursday morning, Cherokee Farms took the AquaHot out (major work and took hours) and found a bad weld on one of the fittings resulted in us needing a complete new unit. Bobby sent the info to Cornerstone (our extended warranty) and arranged for an adjuster to come out the next day. The cost was going to be approx. $10K. The adjuster sent in everything before the end of the day and Bobby went to work getting a replacement. John had talked to Tiffin and they were able to overnight one to us at a reasonable cost. Getting one from AquaHot would take well over a week and more expensive. Glad we own a Tiffin Motorhome ! Bobby cleared the following Thursday to install the unit. That took all day and then bleeding the air from the lines took forever. They ended up attaching an additional pump and the job finished much more quickly. They then installed the pump for us at a reasonable cost. Plus they moved the unit a bit to give easier access in the future. By Friday all was complete and Bobby from Cherokee Farms sent the bill off to Cornerstone. Excellent service and would recommend them to anyone in future. In 21 years of RVing this is the first time we have ever purchased an extended warranty and were unsure about. Tiffin has looked after us for the past 11 years that we have owned a Tiffin. We are lucky that the first time we needed it was Cherokee Farms looking after us. We not only have hot water again but the heating system works better than it did when the coach was new.
While in Foley, we stayed at Anchor's Aweigh RV Park. Excellent stop. Showers across from us were great. Friendly, clean and let us pay by the day as we were unsure of timing for the repair. Previous years when we have stayed in that area we stayed at Gulf Shores State Park. Tanger Outlets was across the road from the RV park with great sales. Landry's, home of the thrower rolls, was across the road. Lots of eateries and short drive to the beach. Big music festival was happening while we were there so a big part of the beach was closed off. Not our kind of music tho. We did go to FloraBama near Pensacola Beach to see a friend of Wayne and Debbie's play. Big Earl. The band has a great sound and we enjoyed hearing them.

Dog Park at Gulf Shores SP

Dinner at Bahama Bob's on the beach.Excellent food

Heading North May 2018

Topsoil SP was just down the road from Geronimo RV park but was full. Staying there is on our bucket list but not this time. Most CGs were full. We were still close to the same beaches.

The floating playground at Destin harbor was cool. Floating water toys for kids and bars for parents. We passed this on the highway after leaving Destin area and traveling to Foley Alabama to get the AquaHot fixed. Coolant was leaking out the bottom of the unit. John spent hours searching and testing for leaks in the lines but could find nothing. AquaHot sent us to Cherokee Farms RV Repair for service. They told us to just drop in and they would analyze the problem and look after the extended warranty for us.

On the Road Again ! Spring 2018

Geronimo RV Park, Marimar Beach, FL

It’s hard to believe we left Davenport less than a week ago. We travelled to Panama City and stayed at Emerald Isle for 2 nites. Upscale resort and a little on the pricy side but beautifull. We ate on the beach at Harpoon Harry’s where the food, service and prices were great. On our travels  we found out our ‘Smart Wheel’ steering wheel was not working properly and the Aqua Hot was not working. So no windshield wipers, if caught traveling in the rain, and no hot water. Next stop was to Commercial Truck in Fort Walton Beach where they diagnosed the steering wheel problem and ordered the part from Tiffin. Campgrounds in the area were busy but we found Geronimo RV Resort,  Miramar, FL. Small resort, no pool but friendly and clean showers. And 1/2 mile walk to the beaches. Tiffin covered the cost of the module to fix the steering wheel problem and Commercial Truck gave us excellent service at a reasonable price. After we left the Destin area, the steering wheel stopped working again. John popped out the module and put back in. We talked to someone in a Newmar in Desoto SP, AL
that the same thing happened to. His mechanic told him to pop the module out starting at one end and then plug back in starting at the other end. Easy fix and good to know.

Harpoon Harry's on Beach at Panama City