Thomas & Deborah - Home safe zoom zoom!

Monday August 15

Well, our sojourn has come to an end. With driving hard, yet sleeping when needed, we arrived in Fresno late Monday night. It was quick trip home, but nevertheless enjoyable. "Oh look, that's where we ate breakfast 2 1/2 weeks ago!" Zoom. "That's where we changed the trailer tire!" Zoom. "This is where we slept on the way out!" Zoom zoom and before we knew it we were taking the Chestnut exit of Highway 99.

Even though we didn't really settle in, the Holiday Rambler Scepter was a beautiful coach that had a soft quiet ride. The floor plan was different than most, with the fridge right behind the driver and a little hallway along the side of the restroom to get to the rear bedroom. Two full-length windows were there that gave the center of the coach an airy, open feeling. Another option we appreciated was the Aqua Hot. If you're looking into purchasing a new or used motorhome, we'd sure try to get that along with the other amenities we mentioned earlier on the Monaco Executive.

Anyway, aside from having a couple of tires failing on the trailer, the trip was smooth and carefree, all 20 days. (On a side note, Thomas and others have noticed a problem with trailer tires: they age quickly, come apart, or go flat easily. This can be resolved by putting light truck tires on your trailer instead of tires designated "trailer use only". This works for 18-wheelers and it has solved all our tire problems.)

Our dog and cat were sure glad to see us; it's good to be home. It's been a pleasure logging our trip, and we hope you benefited from traveling with us. The folks at Paul Evert's RV are great people; we love working with them. See you out on the road or in the camping spot.

Take care and God bless,

Thomas and Deborah

Thomas & Deborah - Road Trip Wrap-Up

Sunday August 14

We're Thomas and Deborah, and because we're friends of Curt Curtis, the general manager of Paul Evert's RV Country, we are able to combine our vacation with delivering a motorhome to Wisconsin. Click on our names to gain access to our previous blogs.

On Saturday, August 13, our days on the bike finally came to an end. Over the past 12 days we put on about 1700 miles and made it all the way around Lake Michigan along with many enjoyable side trips. The best part, is that we're still in one piece. Riding street bikes is dangerous; there's no getting around it. There's nothing between you and all those potential accidents but a bit of leather. Compound that cold fact with bad weather, road construction, traffic, and we're just thanking God we're safe. Dangerous, yes, but definitely worth the risk at our age. We rolled in to Madison and were happy to see all our friends from Paul Evert's. In yet another rain storm, we moved from the bike into the motorhome.

The coach we selected, out of the few that needed to be taken back to Fresno, is a 2008 Holiday Rambler Scepter. It’s a beautifully crafted coach with many amenities similar to the Monaco Executive we drove east. This time, however, we can’t afford a leisurely pace that allows us to enjoy our time in the coach—school begins for Thomas Wednesday morning. The FMCA show in Madison ended Saturday evening. Hammer down.

It was a good show with many people now enjoying their new or pre-owned RVs, but the sales team, and Deborah and I are ready to return home. The drive is made easier knowing that every mile brings us closer to our family including the grandkids and dog and cat. We love to travel, but we also love our home. We met a couple from California last week who lived in their Holiday Rambler along with their 14 year old calico cat. She didn’t mind living on the road a bit and would periodically beg to be taken outside on her leash to be walked. Upon returning to the coach she’d find a warm spot to settle in for the next several hours. With a nice RV, life on the road can easily become life at home as well.