Tuesday, May 9, 2017

Day-2 of PDI, a day in Middlebury, IN

The covered bridge at Essenhous in Middlebury

 













The Entegra technicians picked up our coach at 6:30 am.  We visited with some of the other owners in the lounge during the morning hours and then headed out to see the area.

We went to the Rise and Roll Bakery in Middlebury for lunch and enjoyed the Explorer’s
Temptation sandwich -
 ham and swiss cheese toasted on a cinnamon raisin bun with a little mayo, red raspberry jam, tomatoes and lettuces; a little side of potato salad completed this scrumptious lunch. They have donuts, cookies, breads, fritters, cheeses, jams and amazing good chocolate covered nut-bark candy.
Before leaving we picked up a few apple fritters.






We stopped at Guggisberg Deutsch Käse Haus and learned how they make cheese in very large vats. After tasting some of their creations, we bought an assortment of cheeses to enjoy with wine tonight.






Monday, May 8, 2017

Entegra Factory Post Delivery Inspection (PDI) - Day 1

Entergra invites each coach owner to the factory for a Post Delivery Inspection (PDI) where a technician works on the coach to functionally optimize it before the 2-year warranty runs out. 

This was the first day of our PDI.  At 6:30 am, two friendly technicians, Kyle and RJ, met us at our coach and drove it away to be worked on.  We waited comfortably in the owner's lounge until Stacey, an Entegra Service Advisor, called us back to her desk at 9 am. After a friendly greeting, she reviewed the list of items we requested to be fixed. We sent an updated list just a few days ago and she already had all of the new items included on the work-order.  She explained to us that Entegra also has their own PDI Systems List that they will use to inspect the coaches' system of systems: Appliances, Water, Power, and Audio & Video - a detailed list. Then she walked us to the maintenance bay where we all walked around the coach and ensured nothing was missed. As we walked through the coach, it was nice to see four technicians hard at work on our coach. During their inspection, the technicians found a few additional items that need attention. 
At the end of the day, Stacey gave us a status report on which work items were started today, which ones need more work and what the team completed. When we got the coach back we reviewed the work that was complete and the guys did a great job.  The techs will pick up our rig at 6:30 am tomorrow morning.

Sunday, May 7, 2017

At the Entegra Factory for our two-year PDI





Yesterday, we setup our coach at the factory, in parking area that Entegra reserves for their coach owners.  Entegra provides 50 amp connections for the coaches and a big comfortable lounge for the owners.

Last day in Howe, IN



We have an appointment at the Entegra factory on Monday morning so we thought we would move our rig there today. But before we pulled out of the beautiful town Howe, we took a walk around the area and said good-bye to the local horses.

Friday, May 5, 2017

Cinco de Mayo


Happy Cinco de Mayo!!!

We found good food and margaritas at a Mexican restaurant in Sturgis, Michigan.

Thursday, May 4, 2017

Shipshewana's Blue Gate Restaurant & Bakery

We had four days of very cold rain, it was almost non-stop. We used these days to catch up on some reading and TV binge watching: Mozart in the Jungle and Bosch on Amazon. We were in the mood for good Amish cooking so all four days we waited for the rain to break and headed to Shipshewana to enjoy dinner at the Blue Gate Restaurant; great home-style cooking, amazing pies, and friendly service. And we visited Blue Gate's Bakery after most of our meals to pick up a fresh apple fritter or two for the next morning.








Sunday, April 30, 2017

Wakarusa Maple Syrup Festival


Today, we made it to Wakarusa, Indiana for the Wakarusa Maple Syrup Festival, which has been held there every year since 1969. We ate maple cotton candy and pancakes with pure maple syrup.

We enjoyed walking through the historic village where we met two wonderful men, the first was an Amish maple syrup developer that explained all the stages of making the stuff 100% pure. The second was an Amish blacksmith who demonstrated his process and then gave me the cool spirally spoon he made. 
 











There was a civil war camp and a display of old tractors  



When it started to rain, we decided to check out some of the antique boutiques. Before we left the town we visited the fabulous candy shop, The Dime Store.



 



It was another good day.