Hamilton
Prior to leaving Victoria we arranged with Dick Paterson (a GMC specialist in his field) for a rebuilt engine and for Frank Gorrman to install it in his shop near Hanover, Ontario. We dropped the Motor home off at Frank’s to have its “heart transplant” and drove to Hamilton in his car. Good to have a smaller vehicle to drive around the city!
We arrived at Lorne’s dad’s in plenty of time for dinner and Sandy (Lorne’s sister in law) and husband Steve joined us at the Mandarin, a Chinese buffet restaurant with an amazing amount of choices. Lots of things I didn’t need to eat but had to taste anyway… Art really enjoys this restaurant; it is a welcome change from the institutional food he receives at Shalom Village. Art lives in a small apartment in Shalom Village, which is a remarkably nice facility. A bedroom, living room and small kitchen plus bath constitute his apartment. It is a small apartment but very comfortable and the furnishings are his own. The caregivers are excellent and provide good care for him. Lorne and I stayed at Shalom in a guest room they have downstairs and spent the days with Art in his apartment. Art is doing amazingly well physically and mentally for 96, unfortunately he is not a cheerful man.
The next day I had a great swim in Sandy and Steve’s pool with the great nieces and nephew, Raina (5), Daisy (3) (Geoff and Simona’s girls), and Barry (4) (Jordan and Marnie’s son). Such sweethearts they all are. Little Daisy smiles with her entire body! It was great to make a connection with these children; a difficult thing to do when we live so far away and don’t get to visit often. Dinner was at Sandy and Steve’s and Art had a bad fall off his chair – he bent over to pick up a pill he dropped – as if he could see it! He has macular degeneration, and is quite blind. We had to call 911 as he was bleeding quite profusely from wounds to his head, arm and hand (being on blood thinners certainly contributed to this bleeding). An ambulance brought him into Emergency where he was kept from 8pm – 2am before they finally treated him; by merely changing the bandages applied by the ambulance attendants! In my opinion it was quite cruel to leave a 96 year old man on a gurney for so long. It also seems very inefficient to keep 3 ambulance attendants and their ambulance out of commission for such a long time – the policy is that they can’t leave until their patient is treated.
Toronto
Lorne, Sandy and Steve and I drove to Toronto to have dinner with Karen. Lorne returned to Hamilton with Sandy and Steve to continue his visit with his dad. I stayed in Toronto with Karen for three nights. Karen’s kids Jordan and Marla came by for a visit; it was just so great to see them! Marla is expecting her first baby in March – this is such good news and absolutely thrilling for Karen who has needed some happiness in her life for some time. Karen continues her struggle with ovarian cancer; she has had a multitude of surgeries, two chemo sessions and now is on her second session of tamoxifin. The doctor says if she doesn’t respond to this she will have to have another session of chemo. As if this wasn’t bad enough she is in the midst of divorce proceedings and needless to say a generous settlement is not on the table. All of this is entirely too much stress! Karen continues to present her cheerful capable self in spite of it all; I don’t know how she does it. It is very fortunate she has a supportive family and many friends who love her.
The County
I took the train up to Bellville on Sunday, my niece Lorren picked me up at the train and we went back to her and Jamie’s for dinner with their sons Nile and Jackson. Jody, Caelan and Maya joined us for dinner too. I went back to Jody’s to stay overnight as Lorren was leaving early Monday for Toronto to help Micha move from one apartment to another in Toronto. I returned to Lorren’s Monday in the late afternoon as the plan was for Lorne to pick up the repaired motor home and drive to Lorren’s. Unfortunately the motor home had a few more problems than we anticipated (so what else would we expect?) so Lorne didn’t arrive until Tuesday night. Lorne was held up on the 401 for about 2 hours due to a homicide. Apparently a man was shot in a Lexus and tossed out of the moving vehicle onto the highway while he was still alive! Needless to say emergency crews were out in full force and traffic was backed up for miles!
Lorren and Jamie’s farm is developing nicely. They now have pigs, cows, chickens, huge vegetable garden, plums and apples, and pinot grapes. They have participated in a work program with Mexico and have two male farm workers working for them and staying on the property until the middle of October. They have accomplished a great deal with the help of Louis and Andres. Still in the planning stages are a pub and restaurant and another house. Jamie clearly loves the farming life which also supports his whole animal and sustainable and seasonal food ideology. Needless to say we ate very well.
Jody has done an amazing amount of work renovating her farm and farmhouse. She has such vision! Maya and Caelan are doing very well. Maya is such a bright little character! Caelan is a very pretty teen and is doing very well at school and sports. Mark is working at a top restaurant in Picton for some very nice people and really enjoys that. He is also helping Jody with the farm.
Brockville
We left Thursday morning for Brockville to enjoy a few days with Duane and Marg. We drove over to the US for a visit to the Remington museum and gallery. Such an amazing artist he was. We left Saturday morning with a plan to stop in Toronto for a quick visit over dinner with Karen, her mother Auntie Bunnie, Marla and her partner Shawn, and Karen’s friend Pam. I was also able to pick up the beautiful jewellery I had ordered from Karen through her website: anoccasionalpiece.com We continued on for a few hours after dinner, stopping in the pouring rain at a nice campground near Milton, west of Toronto. We seem to be hitting the tail end of hurricane Ike.
It has been all too short of a visit everywhere we have gone; wish we could stay much longer everywhere along the way. We are so fortunate as to have such a wonderful caring family and many friends, unfortunately they don’t live close to us, dang.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Monday, September 1, 2008
Water Water everywhere
August 29, Ontario
We crossed into Ontario at Kenora, some 100 km or so north of the 49th parallel. This region is called Northern Ontario. Considering that Ontario goes clear up to the Hudson’s Bay this is confusing to me. It’s not so very far north as far as north in Ontario goes I don’t think, however, that is what this region is called in the parks books. Perhaps anything north of Toronto is considered Northern Ontario? Lorne says when there are no more Birch trees we will be in Southern Ontario.
The area just after the Manitoba border is nothing but water, its like we are island hopping there is so much water! We have been driving by one picturesque lake after another and the trees grow lusher the further south we go. We stopped for lunch on Lake Superior and I had a glorious swim. Lorne played lifeguard. The water is so clear and clean I could see a long way underwater. So far Ontario is not so terrible.
The street names here are very practical, Old School House Road, Railway track Road, Mine Road, Bridge Road and Church Street, different from Old Stone Church Street to name a few. Then of course there is Squirrel Town Road, Slash Road, and Wobanganada Road.
The Provincial Parks are numerous and beautiful, and of course all of them so far have been on a lake. We are now behind schedule so are hustling along as quickly as possible, dang. Long hours of driving with no exploring time. Some of those hours in darkness!! (We have an appointment to get a rebuild engine from a GMC specialist just outside Hanover)
Lorne was having a wee rest while I was driving when suddenly we were spewing blue smoke!! Yikes – stopped by the side of the road, gave it a quart of oil, drove down the road to where we could really stop, and checked the transmission fluid, seems ok. Decided to drive on down the road in search of a gas station to load up on oil…. The blue smoke is spewing on deceleration….. Lorne thinks that means rings…. Guess it’s very good that we are getting a new engine on the 2nd – hopefully we can drive there and don’t have to get a tow!! The transmission seems to be slipping. Perhaps we have two problems??? Yikes.
Yup our mistake, we are loosing transmission fluid. We think from the cracked pan that we had welded last year when we cracked it on a big rock coming back from Torquart bay last year. Hopefully our relatively new transmission installed by Mannie is not broken!!
Stopped in Sault St. Marie for dinner along the St Mary’s River. If there are locks there we didn’t see them. We’re heading for Chutes Provincial Park just outside Massey along Lake Huron. We should get there after dark, about 9:30 or 10. We will have 144 km to get to the ferry in the morning. We need to be in Hanover by tomorrow night for our engine replacement and we are concerned that the ferry may be busy on this long weekend.
We crossed into Ontario at Kenora, some 100 km or so north of the 49th parallel. This region is called Northern Ontario. Considering that Ontario goes clear up to the Hudson’s Bay this is confusing to me. It’s not so very far north as far as north in Ontario goes I don’t think, however, that is what this region is called in the parks books. Perhaps anything north of Toronto is considered Northern Ontario? Lorne says when there are no more Birch trees we will be in Southern Ontario.
The area just after the Manitoba border is nothing but water, its like we are island hopping there is so much water! We have been driving by one picturesque lake after another and the trees grow lusher the further south we go. We stopped for lunch on Lake Superior and I had a glorious swim. Lorne played lifeguard. The water is so clear and clean I could see a long way underwater. So far Ontario is not so terrible.
The street names here are very practical, Old School House Road, Railway track Road, Mine Road, Bridge Road and Church Street, different from Old Stone Church Street to name a few. Then of course there is Squirrel Town Road, Slash Road, and Wobanganada Road.
The Provincial Parks are numerous and beautiful, and of course all of them so far have been on a lake. We are now behind schedule so are hustling along as quickly as possible, dang. Long hours of driving with no exploring time. Some of those hours in darkness!! (We have an appointment to get a rebuild engine from a GMC specialist just outside Hanover)
Lorne was having a wee rest while I was driving when suddenly we were spewing blue smoke!! Yikes – stopped by the side of the road, gave it a quart of oil, drove down the road to where we could really stop, and checked the transmission fluid, seems ok. Decided to drive on down the road in search of a gas station to load up on oil…. The blue smoke is spewing on deceleration….. Lorne thinks that means rings…. Guess it’s very good that we are getting a new engine on the 2nd – hopefully we can drive there and don’t have to get a tow!! The transmission seems to be slipping. Perhaps we have two problems??? Yikes.
Yup our mistake, we are loosing transmission fluid. We think from the cracked pan that we had welded last year when we cracked it on a big rock coming back from Torquart bay last year. Hopefully our relatively new transmission installed by Mannie is not broken!!
Stopped in Sault St. Marie for dinner along the St Mary’s River. If there are locks there we didn’t see them. We’re heading for Chutes Provincial Park just outside Massey along Lake Huron. We should get there after dark, about 9:30 or 10. We will have 144 km to get to the ferry in the morning. We need to be in Hanover by tomorrow night for our engine replacement and we are concerned that the ferry may be busy on this long weekend.
Mountains, Friends, Family, Prairie
August 25, 2008
Tabby, Patti, and Boo joined us at Dan and Freela’s in Calgary. Such a nice visit and a nice meal, thank you Freela! We had a great sleep under the trees in their back yard. We got caught up on what was happening for all present, and a few who were not of course… particularly our old friend Gayle. Thank goodness for Tabby – we should all be so lucky to have such an advocate! Gayle is now safely (and happily) living in a care facility close to her daughters so hopefully that will resolve many of her care issues and give all who love her ease of mind. Gayle has certainly been through a great deal since her stroke(s) several years ago.
Bob, Patti’s husband, was hit by a car in a crosswalk a few weeks ago, on his way to work. He broke his hip so is at home recovering. Big hugs to Bob!
Off to Strathmore in the morning to visit my cousin Kate. We mistakenly took the Trans Canada through Calgary – good grief. A journey that should have taken little more than half an hour turned into hours! We finally had to stop for lunch! (there was a lot of construction so it will be bigger and better I guess – who knew?) Good visit with Kate, she has such a lovely home right on a small lake in Strathmore. I thought she would have moved out to Victoria by now but she seems completely settled in Strathmore. My cousin Dennis (Kate’s brother) dropped by for a visit after dinner, so nice to see him. He and his wife Olga live in High River, so not such a long drive away.
Off to Bassano in the morning to enjoy a nice visit with cousin Brian (Kate and Denis’s brother). We also stopped by to visit mom and Auntie Kay’s grave who are buried in the Bassano cemetery. Unfortunately I lost my silver and pearl bracelet at some point, dang, I really liked that one! Made it to Medicine Hat for dinner and a sleep over with cousin Loreen.
August 27
Well that’s it for family and friends to visit until Ontario. Off to an early start – about 11 am - for our trek across the prairies of Saskatchewan.
We spent the night at an RV park in Moose Jaw, the campers next to us were Celtic musicians called Damanta from Ireland (except for the guitar player who was from Vancouver). They were playing in a pub in town. Unfortunately it was too far to walk and we didn’t bring lights for the bikes, so we didn’t go into town to hear them, however, I did buy their cd. Not bad, nice people. They were on their way west to play in Creston, Vancouver, and Victoria at the folk club and the Irish Pub. They left Cape Breton Island on Sunday, this was now Wednesday – they have been driving Hard!! They drive in shifts I guess.
Next night we camped west of Winnipeg in a beautiful Provincial park called Spruce Woods. There were excellent bike trails and we had a nice ride in the morning before heading out.
Tabby, Patti, and Boo joined us at Dan and Freela’s in Calgary. Such a nice visit and a nice meal, thank you Freela! We had a great sleep under the trees in their back yard. We got caught up on what was happening for all present, and a few who were not of course… particularly our old friend Gayle. Thank goodness for Tabby – we should all be so lucky to have such an advocate! Gayle is now safely (and happily) living in a care facility close to her daughters so hopefully that will resolve many of her care issues and give all who love her ease of mind. Gayle has certainly been through a great deal since her stroke(s) several years ago.
Bob, Patti’s husband, was hit by a car in a crosswalk a few weeks ago, on his way to work. He broke his hip so is at home recovering. Big hugs to Bob!
Off to Strathmore in the morning to visit my cousin Kate. We mistakenly took the Trans Canada through Calgary – good grief. A journey that should have taken little more than half an hour turned into hours! We finally had to stop for lunch! (there was a lot of construction so it will be bigger and better I guess – who knew?) Good visit with Kate, she has such a lovely home right on a small lake in Strathmore. I thought she would have moved out to Victoria by now but she seems completely settled in Strathmore. My cousin Dennis (Kate’s brother) dropped by for a visit after dinner, so nice to see him. He and his wife Olga live in High River, so not such a long drive away.
Off to Bassano in the morning to enjoy a nice visit with cousin Brian (Kate and Denis’s brother). We also stopped by to visit mom and Auntie Kay’s grave who are buried in the Bassano cemetery. Unfortunately I lost my silver and pearl bracelet at some point, dang, I really liked that one! Made it to Medicine Hat for dinner and a sleep over with cousin Loreen.
August 27
Well that’s it for family and friends to visit until Ontario. Off to an early start – about 11 am - for our trek across the prairies of Saskatchewan.
We spent the night at an RV park in Moose Jaw, the campers next to us were Celtic musicians called Damanta from Ireland (except for the guitar player who was from Vancouver). They were playing in a pub in town. Unfortunately it was too far to walk and we didn’t bring lights for the bikes, so we didn’t go into town to hear them, however, I did buy their cd. Not bad, nice people. They were on their way west to play in Creston, Vancouver, and Victoria at the folk club and the Irish Pub. They left Cape Breton Island on Sunday, this was now Wednesday – they have been driving Hard!! They drive in shifts I guess.
Next night we camped west of Winnipeg in a beautiful Provincial park called Spruce Woods. There were excellent bike trails and we had a nice ride in the morning before heading out.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Not Another Baja Trip
Not another Baja Trip
This time we are traveling from Victoria to Ontario via the Trans Canada with a return to Victoria via the US Interstate 90. We will visit friends and family along the way there, hopefully have a few pleasant adventures, meet some nice people and see parts of Canada we have never seen before. Returning we will once again visit the Badlands and Yellowstone.
Will it be the shop across Canada trip? Will we find interesting things to see and do along the way or will we just drive drive drive? Is the Trans Canada really as bad as Mexicali One? Is the highway through Saskatchewan truly boring? Is Ontario really Onterrible? Will we find good swimming in the Great Lakes? Will Summer be over by August 28, our expected entry into Ontario? Did we bring the right clothes? Will we long for our kayaks?
Day One
Tuesday August 19, 2008
Caught the early ferry – for us – 5:00 (pm that is). There are always so many last minute things to do that just have to be done – have the grandkids over for a sleepover and play, celebrate Natasha’s and Lindsay’s birthdays, clean the house, get the mirror on the pocket door in the master bathroom, get the watering system done for the deck plants, figure out the lyrics for some songs, stop at the clinic for antibiotics for my wasp sting(s) on my toe which has predictably blown up. Important stuff.
A little nap on the ferry and we’re good to go! Put the steaks back in the fridge and had dinner at McDonalds in Chilliwack – I really really really have to find some kind of fast food that I can eat on the road. I really can’t do McDonalds, enough said. Open for suggestions – please please please….
Drove through what we know is beautiful country in the dark and ended up exhausted in Kamloops around midnight. After some rumbling up and down side streets looking for a level spot we found a great camping spot in front of some beautifully manicured little houses. Wish I had brought my niece Renee’s address in Kamloops with me and we could have surprised her in the morning when she opened her curtains! Oh well, next time. Off to Salmon Arm in the pouring rain complete with thunder and lightening in the am.
Day 4
Friday August 22, 2008
Off to Canmore after having a great time visiting my long time wonderful friend Miranda in Salmon Arm! Played music till our fingers were sore. Listened to some fabulous tunes she has written, recorded some and learned some. Ate the freshest, most delicious organic vegetables from the local market. Enjoyed a great evening walk with Bella (the dog) visiting beautiful horses along the way – Percherons, Warm Bloods, and some perfectly lovely, friendliest of all, no name brand. Our pockets should have been full of apples if we had been planning more carefully. While there had just been some super hot days before we got here it was relatively cool so no swimming this time.
Looking forward to seeing Wanda and Tim this evening and being in the mountains.
Day 7
Sunday August 24, 2008
Feels like I am home, some wonderful memories of living in Banff and hiking every day with Laura, Bill E., Herbie…. OMG these mountains are so very beautiful, they are definitely part of my soul. Great Visit with Wanda and Tim, Suzie and Bob! Had a nice little hike up to Grassie Lakes. Beautiful aqua lakes, we sat and watched some rock climbers for awhile. It was all we could do to keep Lorne from roping up!! Hahaha. Grassie was a very interesting man, he was responsible for the building of many trails in the area, all by hand. Apparently there is a book about him, I would like to read it sometime.
Had a yummy dinner that night with Wanda, Tim, Suzie and Bob and Suzie’s brother from Australia. Shrimp, steak, fabulous salad and excellent company! Suzie is amazing – her recovery after her near death experience has been miraculous indeed. She looks her old self for sure. What a relief.
Had a great little bike ride along the river today with Wanda and Tim. So beautiful, its part of the trans-Canada trail system and part of it was paved so very easy riding and very pleasant indeed. Unfortunately we had to cut it short, head home for a quick lunch and now we are off to Calgary to Freela and Dan’s and hopefully to visit a few other old friends of mine.
This time we are traveling from Victoria to Ontario via the Trans Canada with a return to Victoria via the US Interstate 90. We will visit friends and family along the way there, hopefully have a few pleasant adventures, meet some nice people and see parts of Canada we have never seen before. Returning we will once again visit the Badlands and Yellowstone.
Will it be the shop across Canada trip? Will we find interesting things to see and do along the way or will we just drive drive drive? Is the Trans Canada really as bad as Mexicali One? Is the highway through Saskatchewan truly boring? Is Ontario really Onterrible? Will we find good swimming in the Great Lakes? Will Summer be over by August 28, our expected entry into Ontario? Did we bring the right clothes? Will we long for our kayaks?
Day One
Tuesday August 19, 2008
Caught the early ferry – for us – 5:00 (pm that is). There are always so many last minute things to do that just have to be done – have the grandkids over for a sleepover and play, celebrate Natasha’s and Lindsay’s birthdays, clean the house, get the mirror on the pocket door in the master bathroom, get the watering system done for the deck plants, figure out the lyrics for some songs, stop at the clinic for antibiotics for my wasp sting(s) on my toe which has predictably blown up. Important stuff.
A little nap on the ferry and we’re good to go! Put the steaks back in the fridge and had dinner at McDonalds in Chilliwack – I really really really have to find some kind of fast food that I can eat on the road. I really can’t do McDonalds, enough said. Open for suggestions – please please please….
Drove through what we know is beautiful country in the dark and ended up exhausted in Kamloops around midnight. After some rumbling up and down side streets looking for a level spot we found a great camping spot in front of some beautifully manicured little houses. Wish I had brought my niece Renee’s address in Kamloops with me and we could have surprised her in the morning when she opened her curtains! Oh well, next time. Off to Salmon Arm in the pouring rain complete with thunder and lightening in the am.
Day 4
Friday August 22, 2008
Off to Canmore after having a great time visiting my long time wonderful friend Miranda in Salmon Arm! Played music till our fingers were sore. Listened to some fabulous tunes she has written, recorded some and learned some. Ate the freshest, most delicious organic vegetables from the local market. Enjoyed a great evening walk with Bella (the dog) visiting beautiful horses along the way – Percherons, Warm Bloods, and some perfectly lovely, friendliest of all, no name brand. Our pockets should have been full of apples if we had been planning more carefully. While there had just been some super hot days before we got here it was relatively cool so no swimming this time.
Looking forward to seeing Wanda and Tim this evening and being in the mountains.
Day 7
Sunday August 24, 2008
Feels like I am home, some wonderful memories of living in Banff and hiking every day with Laura, Bill E., Herbie…. OMG these mountains are so very beautiful, they are definitely part of my soul. Great Visit with Wanda and Tim, Suzie and Bob! Had a nice little hike up to Grassie Lakes. Beautiful aqua lakes, we sat and watched some rock climbers for awhile. It was all we could do to keep Lorne from roping up!! Hahaha. Grassie was a very interesting man, he was responsible for the building of many trails in the area, all by hand. Apparently there is a book about him, I would like to read it sometime.
Had a yummy dinner that night with Wanda, Tim, Suzie and Bob and Suzie’s brother from Australia. Shrimp, steak, fabulous salad and excellent company! Suzie is amazing – her recovery after her near death experience has been miraculous indeed. She looks her old self for sure. What a relief.
Had a great little bike ride along the river today with Wanda and Tim. So beautiful, its part of the trans-Canada trail system and part of it was paved so very easy riding and very pleasant indeed. Unfortunately we had to cut it short, head home for a quick lunch and now we are off to Calgary to Freela and Dan’s and hopefully to visit a few other old friends of mine.
GMC Rally in Santa Rosa
I meant to post these pictures from the GMC rally in Santa Rosa on our way home from Mexico in April. Well, better later than never....
These are the GMCs at Miguel's shop in California where we stop on the way to Baja and on the way back. Its always interesting watching him move them around.....
In Santa Rosa at the GMC Rally in April. A view of the campground full of GMCs from the roof of ours
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These are the GMCs at Miguel's shop in California where we stop on the way to Baja and on the way back. Its always interesting watching him move them around.....
In Santa Rosa at the GMC Rally in April. A view of the campground full of GMCs from the roof of ours
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GMC Motor Homes
Thursday, April 3, 2008
The Convention/Rally/Cult
We have been in Santa Rosa now for a week. It has been cold, compared to Mexico but not as cold as home is! We are in a gravel parking lot type of RV Park with almost 220 GMC motor homes of various floor plans at the Sonoma Fairgrounds. We love these conventions. Lorne likes them because he gets lots of technical information about maintaining the coach at all the workshops, meets specialists in the field to answer his questions, and there is a general sharing of technical information. I like them because there are so many interesting people to meet and some of them like to play games. We both like the two days of open houses where we can go around and look inside the coaches to see what people have done.
Believe me there are some interesting things and some fantastic things. One person is the original owner of a 1975 coach! It has the entire original interior. Another has renovated their coach with all new upholstery, carpet, window coverings etc. but with the same materials of the original design. Many have “Classic Vehicle” licence plates. There is the “Lone Star Coach” of a man from Texas – its painted like the Texas flag – inside are Texas colors – one blue chair, one red chair, and the table between is half red and half blue. One half of the interior in fact is red and the other is blue – including carpet, counter tops, cupboards….. and on open house day he was wearing…. Hold your breath – blue pants and…… a Texas flag shirt with the lone star over his chest and a cowboy hat!! I didn’t meet his wife…..
Not all these folks have a spouse. Or have brought their spouse with them. The camouflaged coach for example – his wife won’t go in his coach (she doesn’t like the camo look) so didn’t come to the rally – when I asked why he would paint his coach with colors not appealing to his wife I was told the paint job was the result of a bit of a party with his buddies involving a bit of alcohol. They did not a bad job considering……
Last night when a man appeared dressed in camouflaged shirt and pants I asked him if his outfit matched his coach (the camouflaged coach) – he was offended that I didn’t recognize him as the Lone Star guy.
Most coaches have renovated interiors or are in the process of being renovated – mosr by their owners, although some have taken theirs in to places that do renos for lots of money. The thinking is that most RVs do cost a few dollars, if one spends the money on completely renovating a GMC motor home, (which us fans believe is a very well designed coach) including the mechanics, one has a very nice new coach for less money than a new one. To keep them on the road one does have to be mechanical and be willing to spend money on maintenance. And I think one has to enjoy tinkering with them.
Most of the male owners were engineers, pilots, or skilled machinists in their working life. Some of these guys worked as engineers for General Motors. Many of them built boats or renovated boats, or had a boat, hence tinkered with boats, in their spare time while working. Many have had their GMCs for 15 – 20 years so have done a lot to their coaches over that time. Some bought their coaches with nothing inside – these coaches were also used as the Coca Cola sales vans, and as ambulances back in the 70’s so were never set up as a motor home. Some of the woodworking they have done is amazing – these engineers are fastidious carpenters. One coach we were in yesterday had a button to push which locked all the cabinet doors so that when driving nothing will fly open! He also had a button to push to raise or lower the day/night shades. His was a 23 foot, a shell when he bought it, had just a crate for the driver to sit on and no engine. He has worked on it for 2 years and even did the exterior paint job himself. He has a slide show of the process – what he started with and the finished product; absolutely beautiful. He renovated it for his son, having already renovated their own 26 foot. He is delivering this coach to his son after the rally and then will begin his next project – he just bought the hull of a sail boat – a bit of work to get that in the water – at the moment it is in his back yard - and he is very excited to begin!
There are a couple of coaches that have been “stretched” from 26 feet to 30 feet. They look like they actually came that way the work has been so well done.
Believe me there are some interesting things and some fantastic things. One person is the original owner of a 1975 coach! It has the entire original interior. Another has renovated their coach with all new upholstery, carpet, window coverings etc. but with the same materials of the original design. Many have “Classic Vehicle” licence plates. There is the “Lone Star Coach” of a man from Texas – its painted like the Texas flag – inside are Texas colors – one blue chair, one red chair, and the table between is half red and half blue. One half of the interior in fact is red and the other is blue – including carpet, counter tops, cupboards….. and on open house day he was wearing…. Hold your breath – blue pants and…… a Texas flag shirt with the lone star over his chest and a cowboy hat!! I didn’t meet his wife…..
Not all these folks have a spouse. Or have brought their spouse with them. The camouflaged coach for example – his wife won’t go in his coach (she doesn’t like the camo look) so didn’t come to the rally – when I asked why he would paint his coach with colors not appealing to his wife I was told the paint job was the result of a bit of a party with his buddies involving a bit of alcohol. They did not a bad job considering……
Last night when a man appeared dressed in camouflaged shirt and pants I asked him if his outfit matched his coach (the camouflaged coach) – he was offended that I didn’t recognize him as the Lone Star guy.
Most coaches have renovated interiors or are in the process of being renovated – mosr by their owners, although some have taken theirs in to places that do renos for lots of money. The thinking is that most RVs do cost a few dollars, if one spends the money on completely renovating a GMC motor home, (which us fans believe is a very well designed coach) including the mechanics, one has a very nice new coach for less money than a new one. To keep them on the road one does have to be mechanical and be willing to spend money on maintenance. And I think one has to enjoy tinkering with them.
Most of the male owners were engineers, pilots, or skilled machinists in their working life. Some of these guys worked as engineers for General Motors. Many of them built boats or renovated boats, or had a boat, hence tinkered with boats, in their spare time while working. Many have had their GMCs for 15 – 20 years so have done a lot to their coaches over that time. Some bought their coaches with nothing inside – these coaches were also used as the Coca Cola sales vans, and as ambulances back in the 70’s so were never set up as a motor home. Some of the woodworking they have done is amazing – these engineers are fastidious carpenters. One coach we were in yesterday had a button to push which locked all the cabinet doors so that when driving nothing will fly open! He also had a button to push to raise or lower the day/night shades. His was a 23 foot, a shell when he bought it, had just a crate for the driver to sit on and no engine. He has worked on it for 2 years and even did the exterior paint job himself. He has a slide show of the process – what he started with and the finished product; absolutely beautiful. He renovated it for his son, having already renovated their own 26 foot. He is delivering this coach to his son after the rally and then will begin his next project – he just bought the hull of a sail boat – a bit of work to get that in the water – at the moment it is in his back yard - and he is very excited to begin!
There are a couple of coaches that have been “stretched” from 26 feet to 30 feet. They look like they actually came that way the work has been so well done.
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