Chapter 32...So you think the pioneers had it rough...

By now, dear reader you must think that your intrepid Captain has become OBSESSED with air conditioners.  This is simply not so!  Just because I think of air conditioners each hour, every day ( while resetting tripped circuit breakers ), dream about properly functioning a/c's throughout the night, and have full color posters of nice air conditioners hanging in my bedroom does not mean that I'm OBSESSED.  Focused, perhaps, but not obsessed.

The Coleman air conditioning guys have sent us three new a/c units.  They were intstalled properly ( I watched every step).  Still the breakers are tripping.  Leslie is tripping.  The pups are cool, but they are closer to the cool tile floors.

The Commodorable and your Captain reconsider the notion that perhaps we should get three new air conditioners (which happen to be attached to a new coach).

A family council is held wherein the decision is made to review our finances and find a replacement Beast which fits our budget.  A thorough Internet search reveals a coach which does fit within our budget, providing the dealer gives us a good trade in allowance on the current Beast.

Here it is...

This beauty uses no gas or diesel fuel, but runs instead on boiled corn squeezin's.  The interior will need some work.  Furniture and a floor, for instance.  We love the retro, but still modern, look and shall call it the POSSUM if we proceed with this trade.

The Commodorable reined in her initial enthusiasm and suggested that we shop a little more so that we wouldn't jump at the first great coach we saw.  Reluctantly, your Captain agreed.  We thought more about the 2015 American Heritage we had seen in Petoskey, Michigan.  Checking the Internet, we find  the asking price has been lowered from $575,000 to $477,000!  Now that is a serious discount!!!

Still plagued by the strangeness of this beautiful coach being on the used market with only 3,950 miles, your Concientious Captain does his usually thorough research (in this case consisting of accidentally bumping into the original owner, Ed.). Ed tells the Captain of his trials with the American Heritage, then goes on to discuss in detail the greater difficulties he is having with the replacement Heritage he has recently purchased.  Conversations with other owners in the service lot leaves us convinced that while our American Heritage is flawless ( the a/c's are aftermarket), the new ones have slipped greatly in quality.

Determined to find a candidate to replace the Beast, we take a day trip adventure to Elkhart, IN where Entegra Coaches are produced.

We were given an after hours, private tour of the entire factory and left so impressed that as of this writing, we are considering placing an order for a 2016 Entegra Cornerstone which looks like this...

...it will have places to sit and a floor...

...an awesome red stripe...and...

...a windshield with no bug remains smeared upon it...

To further contemplate our decision, we decided to find a good BBQ joint in Ft Wayne as we were driving back to Decatur.  As you, dear reader already know, great BBQ places are generally found in the less elegant precincts of a town.  Armed with this knowledge, your Courageous Captain navigated to that part of town populated by the kind of citizens who make you eternally grateful for your Second Amendment rights.  Here we found...

...the sign says...

...our sensible Commodorable, taking note of the environment realized that at this hour of the day, any dispute resulting in the utilization of firearms would likely delay our return to our puppies in Decatur.  Your Captain reluctantly left the area as the aroma of fresh BBQ roasting over hickory coals teased his senses relentlessly...We ate later on in Decatur.

Given the great hospitality of the folks at the American Coach Service Center in Decatur, your narrator is hesitant to mention it, but the parking lot there, while equipped with 50 AMP electrical service is lacking in other important aspects...there is no water, there is no sewage drain, and critically, there is no PAVEMENT!  Bottom line, you either are encircled by choking dust the consistency of baby powder, or are mired in the mud created when it rains...

...the lot with no rain...

...And with rain...

And so, with the new air conditioners still "acting up" we decided after nearly three weeks here to depart Saturday morning.  We paid our bill for all the labor, and left the dust bowl parking lot for a nearby paved lot with running water.  The Captain gave the Beast a much needed bath!!!

...Friday evening...the clean Beast, ready to travel...

 ...Saturday morning of departure...

...as is his routine, on the morning of departure, your Dutiful Captain filled the fresh water tank, emptied the black water holding tank (the stinky one) and emptied the grey water holding tank (the shower water one).  Unmentioned previously is the fact that our Beast is equipped with every option available on ANY high end motor coach.  This includes ELECTRIC holding tank valves which replace the notoriously RELIABLE manual ones.  You guessed it!  The electric valve in the grey water holding got stuck in the OPEN position.  

A review of the Internet showed us that the nearest place to get replacement valves on Saturday morning was Indianapolis, IN.  This was 135 miles south of us and not really on our way, but an open valve waits for no one!  

We drove to Indianapolis, picked up the replacement parts necessary for our repairs and pushed on toward Peoria, IL where we would stay for an evening before heading further west.  Here we would have the distinct pleasure of repairing the dump valves.

By mid afternoon our trusty GPS (Gertrude P Steinmetz) had led us across the state border into Illinois (state motto: Yes, the 'S' is silent, but we gave you the Obamas who are never silent)

...by 5PM, Gertrude was leading us down a gravel road which dead ended into a lush cornfield which was clearly NOT where our campground for the night was located.  

...imagine running into a cornfield in Illinois...it CAN be done

The Commodorable, using another GPS on her iPhone determined that the cornfield was definitely not our destination and directed us to our RV park for the evening (about a half hour away).

Soon after settling in, we began the repairs.  This joyous activity ended near midnight as we worked side by side by the light of a small flashlight.  (and they say romance is dead.  Ha!)

...we installed two of these...in near darkness.  Lots of immodest language was used...

In our next Chapter, you'll learn a bit about Iowa....stay tuned...