We are in Wisconsin, I don’t remember the weather being this hot and humid when we lived here. The day we arrived it was in the nineties and the heat index in the hundreds, but more about that in a minute. I need to get caught up on our last couple weeks.
When we arrived in Elkhart I couldn’t get the toll booth to take my credit card, whoops it wouldn’t take the Visa so I tried MasterCard and it wouldn’t take it either, there was no attendant on duty. I had to resort to good old cash I had to find it first. We finally put together enough cash and the gate raised for us. I’m always afraid the gate is going to come down before we get the camper through and then we would have a mess. So I had the brilliant idea of getting the I-Pass, http://www.illinoistollway.com/portal/page?_pageid=133,1392734&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL, or EZ-Pass, http://www.illinoistollway.com/portal/page?_pageid=133,1392734&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL, as some states call them. Indiana’s is called I Zoom and accepted in multiple states. It is a device you attach to your windshield and this allows you to go through the toll booths without stopping, the device is read by cameras and the toll is charged to your account. I bought the device in Indiana and it is good in fourteen states, including Illinois, I predict more states will begin putting toll booths on some highways, especially new construction, to pay for the maintenance of the roads. So on our trip back to Illinois it worked great.
More about our last week in Indiana. So on July 27th we went to the DRV Suites plant http://www.drvsuites.com/. This company used to be called Doubletree RV but the Doubletree Hotel chain made them quit using the name so they became DRV Suites. This plant reminded me a lot of the Excel facility. It is not as big as all the others, except for Forks RV, and you are able to get up close to the units as they are being built. We were the only ones on the tour who did not already own a Mobile Suite RV. They are a quality built unit and have many things in common with our Excel unit. Mobile Suite was my second choice going into this lifestyle and what I saw would make me consider them again if we ever replace the unit we have.
Out next factory tour was at Heartland Industries, http://www.heartlandrvs.com/. This was another company I looked at, they were in the top four on my list. They make a good product, again there production line is not as big as some of the other manufacturers but they still produce 14 or 15 units a day. I wasn’t as impressed with their production processes as Forks RV and DRV but the finished product looks very nice.
As usual Sarah had me out walking a least three times a day, first thing when we got up, noon, and evening. Of course I always had some type of excuse not to walk but she always gave this look, you guys know the look, and I always gave because I knew it was best for me anyway. Of course I haven’t lost any weight because most of the campgrounds have these freezers and in the freezers are the ice cream bars etc. I don’t indulge every day but whenever I can or Sarah lets me I get one and enjoy.
We left Elkhart on Sunday the 31st and drove to Hollywood Casino RV Park, Joliet. We stayed there on our way to IN and it is good for an overnight stay. I don’t understand, except for cost, why they didn’t put in sewer. The cost is a bit high but from my research not for this area. The EZ- Pass worked great I didn’t have to stop except for the toll booth in IN, they make you stop and it reads the device in the truck and puts up the gate, they sort of defeat the purpose of traffic flow.
We arrived at Joliet about ten thirty and Sarah called her niece Cheryl and her and Rod, her husband, came out and we met them at the casino and had lunch. We ate at the buffet, wrong thing to do because the choices were numerous and tempting. I did eat too much. We had a great visit with Rod and Cheryl, they go to see the camper and we caught up on the goings on in their lives.
That night Tom and Cathy, long time friends from the Ruan days, came out to the campground. We hadn’t seen them for a couple of years. Tom had a stroke about five years ago and even though he is impaired by the stroke a bit he hasn’t changed at all. He is still up beat, gregarious and as ornery as ever. Now Cathy is a saint mostly for having to put up with Tom. She is as young looking as ever, of course I always tell Tom we come to see him when in fact it is Cathy I come to see. We had a great time with them, went out to dinner and thoroughly enjoyed the evening. Tom even bought dinner, thank you for your graciousness.
Monday morning we headed north and got to our campground around one, more on that in the next post.
Remember- Dreams Do Come True
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