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Sally and I just got home from 6 months on the road. Poor Corvette has been in the garage since fall 2015. Not coming out till spring 2017.
We spent 3 months driving to Alaska towing our 5th wheel trailer and poking around the interior of Alaska. Went halibut fishing with friends out of Homer and limited on halibut in just over an hour. Brought home 40 lbs of fillets.
We got home, washed cloths and packed to fly to LA to catch a Princess Cruise ship. We headed south out of their Long Beach terminal and headed for the ditch. Couple stops in Mexico along the coast, then Nicaragua, then Costa Rica, sailed through the Panama Canal then stopped in Columbia and headed north to a port in Aruba before arriving in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. From there we rented a car for a few weeks and did the Florida Keys, then up to the Kennedy Space Ctr. They had a nice C-7 at the National Car Rental lot but not at our rate. :-(
We visited Sally's brother in North Carolina, a long time friend of mine in TN then ventured up to Bowling Green to tour the factory and NCM before heading back to Ft. Lauderdale to dump the rental car and fly home.
Got home and two days later left for Missoula, MT where we had purchased a new 40' 5th wheel trailer on our way home from Alaska the previous month or two. I forget. It's been a long summer of travel.
From there we moved the trailer to Clarkston where Sally has taken on a new job for Brunswick Corp as they bought out Thunder Jet Boats there. After a week we got the trailer all set up for the winter as a home away from home for Sally. It's a 5 hr drive to return home on the weekends when she chooses to return to Twisp for a visit.
At the end of the Corvette Factory Tour the car coming off the line would not start and had to be pushed off to the side while a bee hive of employees stood around it trying to resolve the no start issue of a new car. I suggested a new battery to start with.
Building 170 new Corvettes per day with every single one sold to either a dealer or a customer through a dealer. Either way the factory is humming right along building cars as fast as they can at .9 mph that the line runs at. Really enjoyed the tour again this time. Work is proceeding on the new in house Paint Booth which they hope to include in the factory tour.
How I spent my summer:
Alaska was great
Cruise was great
New trailer is a dream as a 2nd home for Sally to live in while working in Clarkston.
Wow, George. You took "a rolling stone gathers no moss" to heart! No moss under your feet.
Sounds like an outstanding, and busy, summer/fall. I haven't been back to Alaska for a visit in about six years now. Seems odd since that's where I grew up. Maybe I'll take the wife up early next summer for halibut/salmon fishing in southeast AK but much of that area isn't the most friendly for wheelchairs. I really miss having my freezer stocked with assorted fish and meat that wasn't bought in a store.
Hi George, sounds like you had a very busy and fun summer.
We pretty much stayed in Washington this summer and attended several car shows including the Leavenworth, Shadow of the Mountain and Vintage Wheel Show in Winthrop again. Was thinking about you but didn't have your number handy. Looks like you weren't home anyway.
Only other fun thing was the wife and I both taking the Spring Mountain driving coarse last May. After seeing some pictures of her driving through corners so hard that the inside tires were starting to lift off the ground, she can drive my Z06 anytime.
Not sure if it was any cheaper but Bretz RV & Marine in Missoula, MT is a great dealer to deal with. Large and VERY BUSY. We stayed there 3 nights checking out our new rigs systems. We had 50 amp service and a dump station on the property for our use when we departed. Water was off for the winter however they filled the trailers fresh water tank for us on delivery day. Bretz also provides up to 2 years free storage on their secure property, 2 nights of lodging at an RV park in a nearby city. Forget which town. 1 year free road service and towing plan for your new RV that also includes any vehicles you have. Similar to Good Sam and other road service providers. Think they also said the policy would tow to any facility regardless of distance.
We bought a new 2017 Grand Design Solitude, 369 which was discontinued a short time after we purchased ours. It had a dishwasher from the factory. We had the dealer add a washer and dryer, 160 solar panel with controller, 2 roof air vent covers and slide toppers on the units 3 slides. Trailer is 39 feet in length.
Then to top it off our old piece of crap Forest River 5er had to get in the last word after being abused all summer in Alaska. We went to jack it off the 5er hitch and only one of the front jacks would lift. Mechanic came out took a look said the obvious causes were not the problem and the trailer would likely require a new left front jack. They didn't bat an eye regarding us paying for the repair. Nice way to treat new customers. I was impressed and would shop with them in the future. All the staff treated us like family. Plus they have an open shop policy. Customer is more then welcome to visit their RV while it is being serviced and worked on and ask questions of the mechanics doing the work. That was different compared to most auto repair shops.
Also, Grand Design was bought out very recently by Winnebago Industries.
Our Salesman was Myron West, great guy and very knowledgeable. Plus he owns a boat made where Sally just started working in Clarkston, WA. Thunder Jet Boats. They were just bought out this summer by Brunswick Corp. which is why Sally was called back in as a fixer at the newly bought boat manufacturing plant. I don't know if she'll ever get to retire full time as they keep calling her back and offering her more green.
George
Last edited by George's_Vette; 11-13-2016 at 05:06 PM.
Not such a great 2016. I need to do better in 2017. Thanks for the inspiration.
I guess the highlight of 2016 was probably taking the 2day class at Spring Mountain.
Spring Mountain is always a great getaway. Been there multiple times and I'm being pressed to go again by a close friend here in the Methow Valley who just bought a new 2017 Artic White Vette a month ago. 4,000 miles and into winter storage. However, many of those break in miles were to Spring Mountain. I introduced him to Corvettes then Spring Mtn and he's been there more then I have and plans to go again next spring following his new C-7 purchase. Traded in a Black C-6 for a White C-7. Think he was getting tired of washing the black one. :-)
Next summer we hope to get our C-6 out and enjoy it. That and a summer cruise to Alaska out of SEA to JNU, SGY, Glacier Bay then KTN and Victoria.
11-06-2016, 12:20 AM
What you guys been up to?
