When the going gets tough...

... the tough go shopping. Yesterday was a shopping day for us. Oh, we didn't buy a bunch, but we did get our exercise while on the hunt. My poor old hiking sandals have seen better days - I've worn the tread right off of them. I saw some that I really liked at Bass Pro Shop (one of my favorite places to shop), but they didn't have my size. Pull out the trusty Droid and do a search... there are plenty of options.

We did some "great circle routing" to check out REI, Sports Authority, Sports Chalet, a few more "sports" stores, Dick's Sporting Goods, and then finally Nordstroms. Yep, the big department store had them, and real service to boot... um, to sandal. Along the way, we made other important stops at Fry's Electronics (just 'cause it's fun to wander around) and Famous Dave's (just 'cause they have good BBQ).

Then last night, we saw on local TV that LaMesa RV had a bunch of RVs in the University of Phoenix Stadium. For clarification, that stadium is the home of the Arizona Cardinals NFL team. We decided to take that in today.

When we arrived there this morning, there weren't a lot of cars in the parking lot. We found a very close parking spot and headed in. There were a dozen or so toy haulers outside (where they had more room to open them up), including this "blast from the past"...


We had one like that (same model even); functional, certainly not fancy.

Once inside, we went down two levels to get to the "field level". Nice stadium, and lots of RVs, stacked end to end...


I was particularly impressed with the way they were laid out: openings in the floor with access to 50 amp electrical; arrange the RVs so that the port side faces in towards those openings, and no one has to be concerned about tripping over power cords. Smart.


It was an impressive number of motorhomes, 5th wheels and travel trailers. Mostly new, but a few "previously loved" coaches on display, too. Of course, "Hot Deals" on every unit... pretty much the same deal that you could make if you went onto their sales lot. But, as we all know, if you move all your inventory, rent some expensive space in a big stadium, and pay all your sales help overtime, it really helps keep the cost down so they can "blow 'em out!" ;-)

Still not planning any big lifestyle changes, but it's fun to see what the manufacturers are offering that is the newest and greatest. We were impressed by some of the offerings of Winnebago. We had a couple of those early in our RVing that left us a bit less than impressed... they've obviously stepped their game up. Even the smaller units seemed to be well constructed. I was amazed at how much livability they were able to get in units less than 30 feet.


We spent about 3 hours wandering through the different units, letting sales people know that we were just entertaining ourselves, and getting a few miles in. Even though we didn't bring our checkbook, we always get some ideas on "the next" unit. I was impressed with this pull out counter - something that allows more kitchen counter space, but slides in for travel...


I'm not one to go to a dealer just to look around, I don't want to take a salesperson's time. When they bring their wares to a stadium and advertise a "free RV show," I figure that's different. An enjoyable way to pass the time. Nice stadium, too.