Etched Glass

I tried etching glass for the first time. I was satisfied with my first glass, so I'll do more after my trip to Europe.

Fleetwood / American Coach Tour

Fleetwood is spread out in Decatur, but we found building 44 without much trouble.  There were eleven of us on the tour who came from Arizona, central Florida, Wisconsin, Michigan and of course Kentucky. Some, like us came just for the tour, others chose to tour while their coach was in for repairs.

We began by going out on the lot to see the different chassis then followed Tom, our tour guide who knows everything about Fleetwood's coaches, into the building where we watched as they set a foundation on a chassis, added the floor, ceramic tile, cabinets, walls, roof and then to the paint shop. I counted 13 units being manufactured at the time we were there and many more at the paint shop.

They build each model as the orders arrive, so we saw several models in progress and were even able to go inside two finished coaches. After touring the factory, I believe the coaches manufactured here are well-built, good quality RV's.

The one thing that impressed me most at the other factory tour we did this week, the air pallets to move the coaches through the plant, wasn't used here today. Instead, they drive the units through this facility. I recommend factory tour at Fleetwood for everyone. Because you are actually on the floor while the work is going on, they don't permit children younger than 16 on the tour.

Farewell Michigan

Sunday afternoon we headed to Paw Paw for the St. Julian's Winery Festival where I purchased my first Christmas gift. After going back to the motorhome for a couple of hours we had a delicious farewell dinner in South Haven at Clementine's. I'm very glad we were able to spend a week in Michigan.

Monday was  a travel day. We stopped in Decatur, Indiana to tour the Fleetwood factory. Fleetwood has a lot with 60 sites for visitors and folks coming in for service so we're on one of these sites.

Fly Wheelers

Saturday took us to the Fly Wheelers Festival. Another interesting afternoon in the country. A continuous parade of vehicles from lawn tractors, golf carts, antique cars to the antique tractors even an army tank moved through the festival grounds at a steady pace. Of course there was a tractor-pull and some other exhibits.

The highlight of the day was the steamed corn-on-the-cob! A steam engine provided the steam for the cooker where dozens of ears of unshucked corn were steamed. There was a line of folks waiting for  an ear of corn all afternoon, so we had to have one, too! That was some delicious corn. They pulled  they shucks back, wrapped a paper towel around them, dipped the kernels into a pot of melted butter and handed it to us. That was the best corn ever tender, sweet, juicy and hot.

Motorhomes in Elkhart

Friday was motorhome day. In Elkhart we stopped for breakfast then on  to Nappanee. We were on the 10:00 a.m. tour of the Thor factory. It was a great tour and I was impressed with how a motorhome moves through the different stations to completion. It was a day of learning! Now we're ready to see how some of the other manufacturers build their motorhomes to compare what we learned.

After lunch we went to the RV/MH Hall of Fame Museum in Elkhart where we saw many different types of vintage RV's. I was amazed by how similar today's modern RV's  are to those vintage ones dating back to the early twentieth century. Many of today's modern ideas are simply improvements on old ideas.

Thursday in Saugatuck

We spent a delightful day in Saugatuck, Michigan where we found dozens of shops, galleries and eateries. The first new thing I spotted was a black squirrel. I had never even heard of them.

Our day began at Monroe's for breakfast. The french toast was yummy! We found a few area attractions had closed on Labor Day for the year, but there was still plenty for us to see and do to fill the entire day.

Betty needed to get some postcards so we went into the local drugstore where she found what she wanted and the clerk was very friendly. She told us of things to see, of things we had missed because they are no longer in Saugatuck and how to get where we wanted to go.

Hello South Haven

It was a beautiful day! We began with the sales tour of Sunny Brook, a very nice RV resort. No, we didn't buy a lot. I took a couple of pictures at one lot on the resort's lake. The lots are 40' x 80'.

The "coach houses" are 10'x15'

A roll-up window at the bar

The neighbor has a private beach

Inside view of the roll-up window

and a full bathroom!

 

So what do you think? I'll post a few more pictures tomorrow at another lot.

 

On to South Haven...

We expected a thunderstorm which actually was a half hour rain shower, yea! The sun came out and we were off to town. We strolled in & out of the shops where we sampled olive oils and chocolates and even made a couple of purchases, too.

 

The young lady working at Kilwin's Chocolate, Fudge, Ice Cream Shop asked where we were from. I told her and she said she knew it. I asked how and she said we were funny, friendly and have that accent. I was glad we were funny and friendly.  I've never noticed an accent when I speak,,,,hmmm.

 

 

 

Welcome to Sunny Brook

Ray and I arrived at Sunny Brook RV Resort in South Haven, Michigan late this afternoon.  Our friends, Don & Betty got here just ahead of us. Earlier this year at the Tampa RV Show, we were given a complimentary stay at Sunny Brook. Tomorrow we'll get a tour of the resort.

 After dinner tonight we drove down through town. South Haven is a tourist town on Lake Michigan.  I spotted plenty of inviting restaurants and shops to be investigated as the week goes on, particularly a couple of chocolate shops I'll be sure to visit  just to be able to report on them to Vicki.

We stopped  to get a photo of the sunset on the lake before it was too late.